As customers transition from on-premises network servers to Egnyte, it is critical to optimize Civil 3D configuration for the cloud environment. Below are some best practices for configuring Civil 3D projects on the cloud. We have assembled these best practices after several discussions with successful engineering firms who use Egnyte for Civil 3D collaboration. In addition, here are the certification tests for Civil 3D 2024 for reference.
Optimize Civil 3D Startup Scripts to Reduce Civil 3D Loading Time
It is important to periodically review and clean up Civil 3D user profiles and plugins. It is possible that these profiles and plugins may reference outdated network paths that become invalid after moving away from legacy servers. Additionally, Civil 3D relies on support files, PC3 files, and custom templates—any delays in accessing these resources can impact performance.
Recommendation
Consider implementing a startup script (for example, using Robocopy) that automatically copies essential resources—such as macros, templates, support files, and PC3 files—from Egnyte to the local C: drive during application launch. This approach minimizes the need for repeated cloud access during runtime, significantly reducing load times and enhancing overall performance.
Consolidate Civil 3D Data Shortcuts Within a Single Folder on Egnyte
Civil 3D data shortcuts, typically small XML files, tend to accumulate across various subfolders throughout a project’s lifecycle. When users change the working directory or navigate through project folders, Civil 3D performs thousands of lookup and read operations on these shortcuts. If shortcut files are scattered throughout the project hierarchy, it can lead to performance degradation and application freeze —especially when operating in a cloud environment.
Recommendation
To mitigate this, centralize all data shortcut files within a dedicated folder inside the Civil 3D project structure. This consolidation reduces the number of file path resolutions and improves both lookup and file locking performance, optimizing round-trip times to the cloud and ensuring a smoother user experience.
To view and manage the data shortcuts in Civil 3D, open the Prospector tab of Toolspace. Specifically, the Data Shortcuts node, under the Prospector tab, displays the path to the active project and the data shortcuts stored within it.
Users can also access the Data Shortcuts Editor from the Start menu to view and manage shortcuts in a separate window.
Once users have the Prospector tab open, they can view where the data shortcuts are located and view the file path shown adjacent to the Data Shortcuts option.
Streamline Civil 3D Add-Ons
Over time, Civil 3D environments can become cluttered with plugins accumulated across various versions. It is important to audit the add-on library and remove any tools that are no longer essential to daily workflows.
Recommendation
To optimize the setup, consider enabling add-ons incrementally and observing their impact on performance. Additionally, starting with a clean Imperial base image and layering only the necessary plugins can help maintain a lean, efficient Civil 3D environment.
Batch Plotting on Civil 3D
Civil 3D’s native batch plotting tool can be time-consuming and may cause application slowdowns—especially when working with large or complex drawing sets.
Recommendation
To streamline the printing process, consider using Vasion Printing for more efficient print management directly from Civil 3D. Alternatively, if using Bluebeam, Civil 3D displays an option to choose Bluebeam as the print module in the Batch Plot workflow. Choose this option especially if there is a need to perform large batch plotting operations.