When you first start on Carlson it is a little spooky because there are so many ways to do things. There is always more than one way to do anything you need to do.
For me, because I have an in-house standard set-up and a Corps of Engineers set-up that I have to deal with, I create a new drawing by using the "NEW" tab under FILES. That lets me set up the drawing with the proper dwt file, create my project folder and sub-folders, set my scale, etc., etc., etc. right at the beginning of the job, so that's where I set the project path. You also can use the OPEN option under FILES to browse through th eprojects and drawings to your heart's content.
There are at least 2 ways to draw by bearing/distance. One is under the SURVEY pull down and is called "ENTER DEED DESCRIPTION". (Watch the command line CAREFULLY. The bearing format may not be what you are used to.)
The second way is under the COGO tab and is called "Line by angle distance".Either one works very well.
As a new user, you need to go through ALL of the pull downs and see what evewrything does. Also, you can download the 2010 Embedded AutoCad users Manual (The 2011 may be up by now.) from this site. It will guide you through much of what you are looking for.
Also BE SURE to watch the training movies on this site. There's a ton of good info there. Take an hour a day and watch then all. I kick back with a cold beer and learn all that I can.
It's really not all that hard. I am a 63 year old Mississippi red neck and I figured it out. It will be very embarassing if you can't.
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