Autodesk 23703-010008-1600A - Civil 3D 2006 Essentials Manual Download Page 1

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AutoCAD Civil 3D 2008

Moving from Land Desktop
to Civil 3D

April 2007

23705-010000-5011A

Summary of Contents for 23703-010008-1600A - Civil 3D 2006 Essentials

Page 1: ...AutoCAD Civil 3D 2008 Moving from Land Desktop to Civil 3D April 2007 23705 010000 5011A ...

Page 2: ...LISP Voice Reality Volo and Wiretap The following are registered trademarks or trademarks of Autodesk Canada Co in the USA and or Canada and other countries Backburner Discreet Fire Flame Flint Frost Inferno Multi Master Editing River Smoke Sparks Stone Wire Third Party Trademarks All other brand names product names or trademarks belong to their respective holders Third Party Software Program Cred...

Page 3: ...own as technical information No H1 N0 2 of the Geographic Survey Institute to be installed and used within this software product Approval No 646 issued by GSI April 8 2002 MrSID image compression format is Copyright 2005 LizardTech a division of Celartem Inc All rights reserved MrSID technology is protected by U S Patent No 5 710 835 and patents pending Portions of this computer program are Copyri...

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Page 5: ...orkflows 8 Choosing Pilot Projects 9 Dispersing Knowledge 10 Understanding Training Resources 11 Chapter 2 Comparing Land Desktop and Civil 3D 15 Comparing Terminology 16 General 16 Alignments 17 Cross Section Road Design 17 Grading 19 Inquiry 19 Parcels 20 Pipes 21 Plan Production 22 Points 23 Profiles 23 Survey 24 Terrain Surfaces 25 v ...

Page 6: ...rations 67 Styles Workflow 70 Styles Hierarchy and Creation 71 Label Styles 73 The Label Style Composer 73 Table Styles 76 Tips for Working with Styles 76 Chapter 4 Tools for Moving Data 79 Overview of Moving Land Desktop Data into Civil 3D 80 Opening a Land Desktop Drawing 80 Setup Object Conversion 81 Using the Import Data From Land Desktop Command 82 Converting Point Data from Land Desktop 85 I...

Page 7: ...er Interfaces 102 Prospector Toolspace 102 Vault Explorer 103 Microsoft Office 105 Backup Procedures 106 Civil 3D Workflow with Autodesk Vault 107 Level 1 Creating Individual Design Objects 111 Level 2 Creating Base Linework and Engineering Drawings 115 Level 3 Creating Top Level Production Sheets 117 Assessing Your Workflow 120 Chapter 6 The Next Move 123 Index 125 Contents vii ...

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Page 9: ...r individual civil engineers designers surveyors and drafters who are moving to Civil 3D Why Move to Civil 3D Civil 3D Features and Benefits as well as for IT and CAD managers who are assessing the overall process of moving to Civil 3D Preparing for the Move 1 1 ...

Page 10: ...h on your alignment the profile corridor model and plotted cross sections are all updated If you lower a building pad you can immediately retrieve updated volumes and display the new limits of construction Civil 3D effectively maps the civil engineer s work process into an easy to use and powerful software environment saving time and money and reducing errors Better Control of Standards Civil 3D a...

Page 11: ...arious alignment alternatives for a proposed roadway You can then begin refining alignments profiles and the makeup of the roadway cross section until the best design proposal has been developed With each change all related objects and drawings are updated automatically This functionality allows you to evaluate more design alternatives in less time providing your customers with a higher level of s...

Page 12: ... a project simultaneously You can share an alignment across multiple drawings while each drawing has different annotation and object appearance If the master alignment changes the alignment in all your secondary drawings is updated automatically There is no need to re create any drafting plan and profile remain in sync By using one or more of these features everyone on the team can work on files s...

Page 13: ...ed AutoCAD users can work in a familiar environment with tools and processes they already know while also taking advantage of the engineering surveying and industry specific drafting tools that are native to Civil 3D Civil 3D Features and Benefits This section discusses in more specific terms some of the key Civil 3D design features that will provide significant benefits compared to Land Desktop B...

Page 14: ...ow it compares to Land Desktop surface functionality see Chapter 2 Improved Parcel Features Dynamic relationships mean that parcel collections are always up to date Civil 3D integrates parcels that are within a single site topology so a change to one parcel creates related changes in neighboring parcels Improved Alignment Features The Civil 3D alignment object includes tangent curve and spiral fea...

Page 15: ...that includes graphical representations of the shapes Improved Section Features Extract and draft surface and corridor sections Select sections at specific stations at intervals along alignments or at specific points and create section plots for a single station or full section sheets Improved Site Grading Features Combine multiple grading elements into one group to find solutions for complex grad...

Page 16: ...r designing and delivering engineering design projects A clear understanding of your current workflows and processes will help you implement Civil 3D software successfully and be better able to validate results For example is your current workflow documented in any way either at a conceptual or detail level You might want to consider at least diagramming your current workflow at a conceptual level...

Page 17: ... projects from scratch The first approach using completed Land Desktop projects and recreating them using Civil 3D can provide you with the following benefits The timeline for the pilot project is not tied to a client deadline or milestone in other words the end date is open ended Encountering any unforeseen problems during this pilot effort have no impact on client related deliverables There are ...

Page 18: ...means training to various levels and covering the full extent of the product in every pilot project since each team will be new to Civil 3D for each one This process can be expensive because expert level trainers would be used for each team However with this method because each group except the first one will have coworkers that can provide guidance to others the learning curve for each subsequent...

Page 19: ... a pilot and training methodology and begin detailed planning for your user base training UnderstandingTraining Resources Whether it s time spent learning how to use the product on your own or time spent attending an offsite or onsite training class make sure that your pilot project strategy includes the appropriate amount of time for individuals to learn how to use the Civil 3D software The follo...

Page 20: ...that you explore the tutorials after you have read through the conceptual information provided by the Getting Started guide Help System The Civil 3D Help system is a compiled HTML Help system that provides comprehensive information about all Civil 3D features It is available by clicking Help menu Help AutoCAD Civil 3D Help A PDF version of the Help system referred to as the User s Guide is availab...

Page 21: ... functionality with hands on step by step real world exercises You can purchase AOTC Essentials courseware from your local Autodesk representative or distributor or you can order it online from the Autodesk Store at www autodesk com store e Learning Autodesk e Learning for Autodesk Subscription customers features interactive lessons organized into product catalogs Each lesson is 20 to 40 minutes i...

Page 22: ...whitepapers Civil 3D Weekly Webcasts Each week the Civil 3D management and development teams host live webcasts featuring a variety of topics This is a unique opportunity to interact with the experts and gain valuable product knowledge From basic Getting Started sessions to advanced corridor modeling tasks there is something for every type of user and skill level The webcast sessions are recorded ...

Page 23: ...y Comparing User Interfaces Civil 3D Where do you look in Civil 3D to find features that Comparing Features were familiar to you in Land Desktop This chapter presents a variety of information that will help you quickly learn how to discover features and accomplish tasks in Civil 3D It compares terminology user interfaces and some of the most commonly used features in both products 2 15 ...

Page 24: ...D you manage point groups using the Point Groups collection on the Prospector tab in Toolspace Using the Toolspace Prospector is a completely different way of working with features that brings consistency across a number of tools Refer to the following tables to help you become familiar with terminology in Civil 3D These tables may be handy references for you until your transition to Civil 3D is c...

Page 25: ...m Polyline Polyline Alignment Label Styles Alignment Labels Station Labels Station Station Offset Line Curve Spiral Tangent Intersection Alignment Layout Toolbar Edit Cross Section Road Design The following table compares the differences in terminology between cross section road design features in Land Desktop and Civil 3D Civil 3D Land Desktop Create Assembly Draw Template Subassemblies From Cata...

Page 26: ...ting Ground Sample Line Group Properties Section Plot Settings Create Views Section Section Plot Single Multiple Inquiry Tool Section View Inquiry Tool Section List Section Data Section Label Styles Section View Styles Label Sections Section View Band Styles Section View Labels Quantity Takeoffs Total Volume Output Composite Volumes Panorama utility Volume Surface Surface Volume Output Corridor Mo...

Page 27: ...rance Grading Editor Grading Properties Grading Properties Automatic Surface Creation Create Surface Grading Group property Grading Volume Tools Calculate Volume Balance Volume Inquiry The following table compares the differences in terminology between inquiry features in Land Desktop and Civil 3D Civil 3D Land Desktop Inquiry Tool Point Inverse North East Lat Long Geodetic Inverse Inquiry Tool Al...

Page 28: ...quiry Tool Surface Contour Surface Elevation Inquiry Tool List Slope List Slope Elevation at Slope Coordinate Tracker Track North East Track Elevation Parcels The following table compares the differences in terminology between parcel features in Land Desktop and Civil 3D Civil 3D Land Desktop Parcel Layout Toolbar Parcel Styles Parcel Settings Parcel Label Styles List View on the Toolspace Prospec...

Page 29: ... terminology between pipe features in Land Desktop and Civil 3D Civil 3D Land Desktop Pipe Command Settings Parts List Settings Pipe Network Pipe Run Pipe Pipe Structure Node List View in Toolspace Panorama View Pipe Run Editor Grip edit Edit Graphical Pipe Editor Structure Editor Edit Data Create Pipe Network Finish Draft Plan Draw Parts in Profile View Finish Draft Profile Pipes 21 ...

Page 30: ...n production features in Land Desktop and Civil 3D Civil 3D Land Desktop Plan Production Sheet Creation Plan Production Tools Sheet Manager General menu Plan Production Tools Create View Frames wizard General menu Plan Production Tools Create Sheets wizard View Frame Group Sheet Series View Frame Frame Create View Frames wizard Create Edit Frame Match Line Match Line Create Sheets Create Sheets wi...

Page 31: ...rences XDRef Manager Points menu Create Points Create Points all commands List View on the Toolspace Prospector tab Panorama Point Editor List Points Profiles The following table compares the differences in terminology between profile features in Land Desktop and Civil 3D Civil 3D Land Desktop Profile View Profile grid only Profile Vertical Alignment Existing Grade Profile Command Settings Profile...

Page 32: ...le Quick Profile Create By Layout Profile Layout Toolbar Define Vertical Ditch And Transition Alignments Edit Profile Geometry Profile Layout Toolbar Edit Vertical Ditch And Transition Align ments Survey The following table compares the differences in terminology between survey features in Land Desktop and Civil 3D Civil 3D Land Desktop Survey tab in Toolspace Data Collection Input Survey tab in T...

Page 33: ...ces The following table compares the differences in terminology between terrain or surfaces features in Land Desktop and Civil 3D Civil 3D Land Desktop Surfaces menu Terrain menu Toolspace Prospector tab Surfaces collec tion Terrain Model Explorer Surface Definition Edits Edit Surface Surface Style Surface Display Surface Style Contours Contour Style Manager Surfaces menu Add Surface Labels Contou...

Page 34: ...les Symbol Manager General Curve Label Style Curve Text Included in all object label styles Leaders Insert menu Multi View Blocks Multi View Blocks Insert menu Blocks Blocks Object Table Styles Lists Legends View menu Create Camera Camera Comparing User Interfaces This section compares the Land Desktop and Civil 3D user interfaces It provides an overview of some general differences in the user int...

Page 35: ...between the two interfaces is the Civil 3D Toolspace window a component that Land Desktop does not have The Toolspace window is a concept that is totally new to Land Desktop users Using the three Toolspace window tabs the Prospector Settings and Survey tabs you can control drawing objects and settings in ways that are not possible with Land Desktop For example using the Toolspace Prospector tab yo...

Page 36: ...rkspaces and Menus Just like Land Desktop Civil 3D comes equipped with a variety of workspaces that offer sets of tools commonly used for certain types of tasks For example in Land Desktop you can select the Survey workspace which provides access to tools and features commonly used while performing surveying tasks With both products you can create your own custom workspaces so that you can have qu...

Page 37: ...iry Utilities Window Help File Edit View Tools Map Projects Points Terrain Grading Layout Profiles Civil Design Cross Sections Hydrology Pipes Sheet Manager Inquiry Utilities Window Help File Edit View Tools Map Projects Points Terrain Data Collection Input Survey Analysis Figures Inquiry Utilities Window Help The following table lists the menus that are displayed in the top level menu bar for the...

Page 38: ...le Edit View Insert General Express Window Help Visualization and Rendering To become more familiar with workspaces including how to access them edit them and create your own custom workspaces refer to Create Task Based Workspaces in the AutoCAD Help Civil 3D Lines Curves Menu In Civil 3D 2008 there is a new menu the Lines Curves menu which is modeled after the functionality that is available on t...

Page 39: ...as AutoCAD commands With this functionality you can calculate horizontal curve properties based on arc or chord definitions You can select an ARC object from the drawing and display its curve properties in the Curve Calculator Also you can calculate properties and send a curve property to the command line interface within a current command or send the properties to the Windows Clipboard to cut and...

Page 40: ...ivil 3D is much more consistent than Land Desktop in the way that it allows you to manage features Points Experienced Land Desktop users will be happy to know that Civil 3D combines several of the point functionality concepts from Land Desktop into an easy to use Civil 3D point object This section begins with a brief description of how points work in Land Desktop Points in Land Desktop The Land De...

Page 41: ...ps let you quickly show point descrip Point Labeling tions on some points and not others label data such as northing and easting and control settings such as units text height and layers used Even though point functionality in Land Desktop accomplishes the work you need to do and you are comfortable with it it still has some limitations For example Have you ever moved some points only to realize t...

Page 42: ...nt label style This is a concept that is employed throughout many Civil 3D object types The point marker shown as the X in the preceding illustration is controlled by the point style and the label text for the point is controlled by the point label style Setting up proper styles is one of the keys to unlocking the potential of Civil 3D By simply setting the point style to the desired marker which ...

Page 43: ... Points Doing it this way is like switching from a BYLAYER setting to a fixed setting You can also set these styles at the point group level which means that all points in that group are updated automatically To do this simply click on the desired Point Group in the Project Toolspace Prospector Tab right click and click Properties Because you can associate a symbol with your points using the point...

Page 44: ...Desktop This means that your points cannot become out of sync with an external point database so operations such as the Undo command are no longer a problem Without an external point database commands like Check Points and Insert Points To Drawing are no longer necessary as well Creating Points The way that you create points in Civil 3D is very similar to how you created points in Land Desktop For...

Page 45: ...because most of the methods are the same as in Land Desktop Even the Import Points dialog box in Civil 3D which is shown in the following illustration should look familiar So while some aspects of using points are very different in Civil 3D much of your Land Desktop knowledge is still directly transferable when you start using Civil 3D Points 37 ...

Page 46: ...e the following illustration shows the similarities between the editing points menus functionality in Civil 3D and Land Desktop The following illustration shows the Land Desktop Edit Points drop down menu This illustration shows the Civil 3D Edit Points drop down menu 38 Chapter 2 Comparing Land Desktop and Civil 3D ...

Page 47: ...y created All points in your drawing are contained in the All Points group As in Land Desktop you can create as many additional groups as you need While you are examining Civil 3D note the Point Groups tab at the top of the Point Group Properties dialog box This tab lets you create a point group using other point groups For example if you have a Road CL Group a Road EOP Group and a Road Curb Group...

Page 48: ...they could be used in a 50 scale drawing rather than a 100 scale drawing Civil 3D point groups can be created from other point groups Have you ever wanted to create a point group by combining several other point groups Civil 3D uses templates with built in styles to guarantee standards compliance Have you ever found it difficult to maintain your organization s CAD standards so that points labeled ...

Page 49: ...ents several of the same issues you might have with points If you want to edit your newly created surface you must first import 3D lines This is true be Surface Editing cause the surface exists in an external file and not in the drawing After importing the 3D lines there are numerous options available for per forming edits After you finish editing a surface you must cre ate contours using yet anot...

Page 50: ...tiple scale drawings Surfaces in Civil 3D In Civil 3D you can create surfaces on the Prospector Tab in the Toolspace window by right clicking on the Surfaces collection and clicking Create Surface Or you can also select the same command from the Surfaces drop down menu A dialog box prompts you to assign the surface a name and a style If you don t assign the surface a name it is given a default nam...

Page 51: ...d surface to view the items beneath it and assign the data you want to use to build the surface You ll notice that the list of available data types contains primarily the same types that are available in Land Desktop By right clicking on a data type such as Contours for example and adding the necessary data the surface is automatically built and displayed in model space according to the style sett...

Page 52: ...Because the contours are a subset of the surface by simply changing the surface style you can present the surface in a wide variety of ways For example you can show contours at different intervals with slope arrows elevation banding and more Showing contours at 1 and 5 intervals after they were originally displayed at 2 and 10 intervals is as simple as a few clicks The same is true for displaying ...

Page 53: ...n Civil 3D all Surface Edit functions are conveniently located either from the Surface collection in the Prospector tree or from the Surfaces drop down menu in the top level menu bar These options should look familiar to Land Desktop users If you compare the Land Desktop Edit Surface drop down menu to the Edit Surface menu in Civil 3D with the exception of Flip Face being renamed to Swap Edge you ...

Page 54: ...The following illustration shows the Civil 3D Edit Surfaces drop down menu 46 Chapter 2 Comparing Land Desktop and Civil 3D ...

Page 55: ...to worry about whether the surface displayed in your drawing actually matches the surface in your data file For example with Land Desktop you sometimes had to worry that someone might modify the contours displayed on the screen and as a result the surface might not match the surface file currently being staked in the field By maintaining a single surface object the process of creating and editing ...

Page 56: ...ving to constantly re label the contours is substantial You access the contour labeling features by selecting Surfaces menu Add Labels and then clicking Contour Single Contour Multiple or Contour Multiple At Interval After selecting a contour labeling command you are prompted to pick two points in model space The line defined by these points becomes your Contour Label Line Like everything else in ...

Page 57: ...urfaces and displays the result You can still perform an earthwork calculation using multiple methods as in Land Desktop The two possible methods are Grid and Composite You can perform these types of calculations just as easily in Civil 3D as in Land Desktop It is no more difficult than creating a new Volume surface s These types of surfaces Grid Volume Surface and TIN Volume Surface are created u...

Page 58: ...on shows an example of a surface style being used to display earthwork cut and fill data by using elevation banding Colors can be used to indicate cut and fill areas For example a color such as dark red could be used to indicate deepest cut and dark blue could be used to indicate highest fill Civil 3D can also automatically prepare and insert a legend to define the coloring 50 Chapter 2 Comparing ...

Page 59: ...ifferent from working with surfaces in Land Desktop there are many benefits From creation to completion working with surfaces in Civil 3D is more intuitive requires fewer steps and helps eliminate the possibility of error The following table provides Surfaces 51 ...

Page 60: ...ake you made to your surface Creating surfaces from contour data in Civil 3D produces significantly more accurate Have you ever had to extensively edit a surface created from contours to fix areas not interpolated correctly results thereby reducing the need for ex tensive manual editing Civil 3D surfaces and labels are dynamic Changes to drawing scale and rotation will Have you ever wished your co...

Page 61: ...ts Station Label Settings dialog box Once station label settings are established create the labels by clicking Alignments menu Create Station Label Creation Station Labels A prompt asks if you want to delete the old station labels and replace them with the new ones Many users have noted that at this point in the workflow it s a little too easy to inadvertently delete all the station labels for all...

Page 62: ...t geometry and then realized that you now have to recreate the profile Have you ever had to rework a drawing because someone moved your profile Have you ever wished you could create more than one finished grade profile for an alignment Alignments and Profiles in Civil 3D In Civil 3D one of the most significant differences in working with alignments and profiles is that the alignment and profile da...

Page 63: ... When you do one of these the Alignment Layout Tools toolbar is displayed Basically you use this toolbar to construct alignments with specific engineering rules or constraints built in It provides you with a variety of options for creating your alignment The advantage of creating your alignment using the Alignment Layout tools is that you can incorporate design criteria directly into your alignmen...

Page 64: ...o an external database you can edit your alignment as often as necessary without having to go through any re creation process Have you ever needed to change the length of an alignment part of the way through a project How about having to rename one In Civil 3D tasks like this are no longer an issue Also you should note that there is a handy Reverse Alignment Direction option on the Alignments menu...

Page 65: ...h you display the profile data along with information such as the bands of data you want to display along the X axis above or below the grid At first glance this may seem complex but this methodology actually makes working with profiles easier For example using Land Desktop have you ever wanted to have more than one proposed profile for a single alignment so that you could show several options for...

Page 66: ...ng an existing and a proposed profile and begins by using the Profiles menu For the most part existing profiles are created using the Create Profile From Surface command and proposed profiles are created from the Create Profile By Layout command After selecting Create Profile From Surface the following dialog box is displayed 58 Chapter 2 Comparing Land Desktop and Civil 3D ...

Page 67: ...ess having to select both the alignment and the surface in the various dialog boxes reduces the possibility of error It also means you don t have to worry about what is current and what is not as you do with Land Desktop Remember that the profile view is simply a container that displays the profiles Conceptually you only need to select your alignment and the desired profiles you want to display Ci...

Page 68: ...f your profile view When finished you are asked to select a point in Model space to display the new profile view Just as in Land Desktop you are selecting where the lower left corner of the profile view will be placed Once these choices are defined they can be easily changed using the Profile View Properties dialog box Just right click on a profile view and click Properties from the right click me...

Page 69: ...file a name as well as select styles to control how it is displayed and labeled Accepting the defaults will produce a proposed profile that looks very similar to a Land Desktop profile After clicking OK the following toolbar is displayed Notice that the Profile Layout Tools toolbar is very similar to the Alignment Layout Tools toolbar This is another example of the standardized user interface in C...

Page 70: ...posed Profile from Scratch Graphically You use the Profile Layout Tools to create the geometry You can not draw it using AutoCAD and then convert it into a profile later as you could in Land Desktop By clicking the button you can select either Draw Tangents or Tangents with Curves On the drop down menu you can also select Curve Settings to set the defaults Once the command is initiated you can sim...

Page 71: ...on to open the editor Panorama window In the editor you can create or refine the Proposed Profile geometry The column headings are similar to those in Land Desktop This is another example of where your Land Desktop experience is very relevant Notice of the Grade In Column In Civil 3D unlike Land Desktop you can grade in both directions Alignments and Profiles 63 ...

Page 72: ...in Civil 3D is simple and reliable Right click the align Have you ever wished you could rename an alignment ment in Prospector tree and click Proper ties Change the alignment name in the Name field and click OK Because alignments and profiles are dynam ic objects when you edit an alignment Have you ever had to edit your alignment geometry and as a result had to recreate your profile the correspond...

Page 73: ...yles Workflow Styles Hierarchy and Creation Styles control the appearance and sometimes the behavior of Civil 3D objects By using styles in Civil 3D you have great Label Styles Table Styles Tips for Working with Styles flexibility in the presentation of design elements including labels and tables This chapter provides an overview of styles explains how styles fit into the hierarchy of Civil 3D set...

Page 74: ...urces to developing your styles for your organization In Civil 3D there are various levels at which you can apply styles For example you can assign styles at the object level alignments profiles surfaces pipe networks and so on as well as at the object sub component level for example pipes and structures within a pipe network and even specific styles for the various components of pipes or structur...

Page 75: ...ing task but it is important to remember that you do not have to create all styles at once Review the default Civil 3D templates and choose one of these templates as a starting place By modifying the styles in an existing template you can create a template specific to the needs and standards of your company Style Considerations 67 ...

Page 76: ... It is designed for the CAD NCS Base manager who wants to build a style cata log from scratch This template should be used only by experienced Civil 3D users because there is little material in the tem plate file to modify This template contains styles that reflect the built in appearance of the AutoCAD NCS LDT Land Desktop profiles sections points and label styles This template provides a famil i...

Page 77: ... to create your style catalog With minimal guidance and using existing work he or she can create a template with styles that will closely match your existing work This approach will ease the burden on a CAD manager Do it yourself If time allows and your company wants to have an on site styles specialist designate someone in your firm to build styles This provides an opportunity to develop a strong...

Page 78: ...og Limitations in sharing data with those not using Civil 3D box and is faster than us ing the Layer Manager ByLayer Requires layering and AutoCAD Civil 3D stand ards to ensure controls Familiar to AutoCAD users and display is easily manip ulated through layer con trol Object component dis play is difficult to track and change Easier to share Civil 3D content between AutoCAD products Styles Workfl...

Page 79: ... is open in the drawing editor Styles Hierarchy and Creation The Settings tab in Toolspace contains all the object style collections The templates in Civil 3D have pre defined styles called Standard for each object Standard styles can be copied and modified to meet specific display requirements After you create an object style you can assign the style when you create an object If necessary you can...

Page 80: ...tab lists the name and creation information The Preview tab displays a preview of the style To preview other feature styles select the style from the Style drop down list To set style defaults at the command level 1 On the Settings tab in Toolspace expand an object collection 2 Expand the Commands collection right click a command Edit Command Settings 3 In the Edit Command Settings dialog box expa...

Page 81: ... t specifically change will be controlled by the parent style The General collection in Toolspace contains the Multipurpose collection of styles These styles are not associated with a specific object In the General Label Styles collection there is a label style for Notes which can be used in situations where you need to add a general purpose note that is not attached to a specific object You creat...

Page 82: ...orientation properties Label Controls the text style visibility and layer for the label Behavior Defines the location and orientation of the label Plan Readability Determines the text readability in relation to the page The Layout Tab 74 Chapter 3 Setting Up Styles in Civil 3D ...

Page 83: ...nding on the selected component For more information about the properties of the Layout tab see Managing Layout Properties for Labels in the Civil 3D Help The Dragged State Tab This tab controls the behavior of labels if they are dragged from the default location It has the following properties Leader Controls the display of the leader Dragged State Components Defines the text display border eleme...

Page 84: ...Don t try to create every style at once Start with the basics for your pilot project and add new styles as necessary While it is important for everyone using Civil 3D to be familiar with styles and their application in order to maintain consistency in company standards a best practice is to have one person control the creation and maintenance of the styles template After you create a template that...

Page 85: ...for the various aspects of a project for example Grading Plans or Finish Plans The defaults for the display of geometry label text in a drawing are set on the Abbreviations tab in the Drawing Settings dialog box Tips for Working with Styles 77 ...

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Page 87: ...esktop Perhaps you want Using the Import Data From Land Desktop Command to move data from a Land Desktop drawing into Civil 3D drawing or use Land Desktop for some tasks and Civil 3D for Converting Point Data from Land Desktop others and move the data back and forth While the Importing Point Data from Land Desktop recommended approach is to start with a new project in Civil Using LandXML Export an...

Page 88: ...t LandXML data that you previously exported from Land Desktop It is important to note that the process of sharing data between Land Desktop and Civil 3D is not dynamic In other words changes that you make to the data in one program will not be automatically transferred to the other program Another important aspect to note before you begin moving data is that to avoid conflict and confusion when sh...

Page 89: ...amed drawing name dfm This data is not brought forward into Civil 3D Setup Object Conversion Civil 3D reads the setup object as soon as the Land Desktop drawing is opened in Civil 3D and translates certain aspects into the Civil 3D drawing settings for the session NOTE If you close the drawing without saving it then the original setup object remains intact and you can open the drawing again in Lan...

Page 90: ...s in drawings the drawing does not have to be associated with a project However if you are using the Civil 3D project management features Autodesk Vault you can associate the current drawing with a Civil 3D project and check the data points surfaces and alignments in to a specified project It is important to note that data units cannot be converted when using the Import Data From Land Desktop comm...

Page 91: ...o select this option Surfaces Imports surface data Sites Using the Sites migrated alignment data collection s imports alignment data NOTE To migrate a Softdesk alignment database you must convert it into a Land Desktop 3 x through Land Desktop 2008 database before importing it into Civil 3D Profiles Imports both EG existing ground and FG finished ground profiles NOTE When importing a profile witho...

Page 92: ...may need to right click the feature and click Zoom To to see the surface in the drawing Alignments Sites In Toolspace on the Prospector tab if you specified a Site in the Import Data From Land Desktop Project dialog box verify that the site is included If you did not specify a Site expand the Alignments collection and verify that the alignments are included Profiles In Toolspace on the Prospector ...

Page 93: ...ivil 3D Help To convert Land Desktop points 1 In Civil 3D click Points menu Utilities Convert Land Desktop Points or enter ConvertLDTPoints at the command line 2 In the Convert Land Desktop Points dialog box configure point setting parameters by expanding the parameter selecting a setting and then specifying a new value in the Value column 3 To assign the Land Desktop points to a point group selec...

Page 94: ... see Importing Point Data in the Civil 3D Help To import point data 1 In Civil 3D specify the Point Identity settings which control the point numbers of the created points For more information see Editing the Point Identity Settings in the Civil 3D Help 2 Click Points menu Import Export Points Import 3 In the Import Points dialog box specify the point file format that describes the layout of the d...

Page 95: ... set of that the data in that collection When you export from the File menu all drawing data is selected by default and you can adjust the selection by clearing check boxes Alternately you can specify the objects to export by selecting them from the drawing The following sections provide step by step information on the process To export LandXML data from Land Desktop 1 In Land Desktop either click...

Page 96: ...t To LandXML or enter LandXMLOut at the command line The Export To LandXML dialog box contains a data tree where you can select any of the major data collections for export to the LandXML file 2 Do one of the following Select or clear the check boxes to filter the data types that you want to export to the LandXML file Then click OK NOTE The check boxes have a tri state display If only some objects...

Page 97: ...te system transformation is applied other than what is specified by the translation and rotation settings For more information see Translating and Rotating LandXML Data in the Civil 3D Help The following section provides step by step information on the process To import LandXML data 1 In Civil 3D either click File menu Import Import LandXML or enter LandXMLIn at the command line 2 In the Import La...

Page 98: ...status of each operation For more information see The Event Viewer Vista in the Civil 3D Help Civil 3D Migration Commands Summary This section provides a quick summary of the Civil 3D migration commands that have just been discussed Note that in Civil 3D you can access the migration functionality either on the menus or by using the following commands at the command line Description Command Imports...

Page 99: ...t Management Features can determine the best data structure and workflow to use in Understanding Autodesk Vault your organization This chapter takes an in depth look at Civil 3D project management options and discusses how to implement them into your organization Implementing Autodesk Vault Project User Interfaces Backup Procedures Civil 3D Workflow with AutodeskVault AssessingYour Workflow 5 91 ...

Page 100: ...isplay only object This is a standard AutoCAD function so it exists in Land Desktop too To insert external references in Civil 3D click Insert menu External Reference and insert a specified dwg into your current drawing Objects in the referenced drawing cannot be edited but you can use the Layer Manager to control the display of separate components When deciding if you should use external referenc...

Page 101: ...ortcuts or Autodesk Vault Some sample uses for this feature include Display a parcel layout within an alignment drawing Display existing ground information within a design drawing Display adjoining project phases in a plan set drawing The following best practices are recommended when using external references Select Relative Path as the path type when creating external references Where all documen...

Page 102: ...r tab Multiple objects from a single source drawing can be stored in one XML file and imported in one operation but for data integrity reasons it is recommended that each object be saved to a separate XML file Data shortcuts can be created for surfaces alignments profiles pipe networks and view frame groups a new Civil 3D plan production feature To create data shortcuts click General menu Data Sho...

Page 103: ...ace Some sample uses for this feature include Reference a surface and a pipe network into a drawing where you want to design a grading plan You can grade to the target surface even though it is just a reference Reference a surface and a related alignment into a drawing where you want to create profiles in a profile view This data structure enables you to keep profiles in a separate drawing from th...

Page 104: ...ages Autodesk Vault requires at least double the disk space needed by other project man Autodesk Vault is a robust database man agement system that provides user secur agement systems because all files exist ity data integrity protection version con trol and backup and restore functionality both in the Vault file store and in one or more external working folders Autodesk Vault requires ongoing ser...

Page 105: ...ans you can change the permissions for an entire group and change the permissions for an individual s by moving them to another group Understanding AutodeskVault Integrated into Civil 3D software Autodesk Vault is a data management system for sharing design data across project teams Autodesk Vault allows you to manage not only DWG files but all of your engineering and related data such as hydrauli...

Page 106: ...rmation You create only one vault database on the server and store all Civil 3D projects in that database All team members have access to this one location and you set up access control and user names only once By using a single vault to house all projects in the same location you centralize project access for all team members making it easier to find project data It is best to use a single vault ...

Page 107: ... permissions and access to projects separately For example you can assign write access to your surveyors to only their folders within the project while providing site and highway teams with read only access that allows them to consume use copy display but not edit survey data Multiple Vaults In some cases it may be advantageous to partition your data into multiple vaults on the same server For exa...

Page 108: ...Autodesk Vault You can then edit the files from within the working folders with the assurance that while other users can still get read only copies of the files they cannot check them out for editing until you have checked them back in This way you maintain a single version of each drawing while still allowing team members to share data within the drawing When you check a file back into a project ...

Page 109: ...orking folders on the server is the increase in network traffic Additionally if you do a nightly backup of the folders you may have a lot more data than you really need because you may back up multiple copies of the same files in each folder Working Folders on the Server in a Common Folder With this approach all users in your organization access a common folder on the file server when checking out...

Page 110: ...vil 3D to create all projects After creating a new project it will show up in the project tree in Civil 3D You can also view edit and manage drawings and Civil 3D object data stored in a vault with the Prospector tab in Toolspace as shown in the following illustration To work on a drawing use the Check Out command on the Prospector tab in Toolspace to copy the files to your working folder and then...

Page 111: ...08 includes project templates which provide a standard folder structure for projects Alternatively project templates can be created as a basis for creating new projects in a vault Project templates can be comprised of empty folders and and may also included empty document files A project template is created in a central location accessable by those who need to be able to create new projects Each t...

Page 112: ... on individual computers as explained previously You can also use Vault Explorer to create a secure working environment by assigning unique user accounts and passwords for a particular vault You can add and edit users or groups of users You can also assign roles and permissions to individual users and folders within a project defining what actions they can take and what vaults they can access For ...

Page 113: ...s referenced files are combined into a single package and sent to either a folder outside the vault or to an e mail recipient All files referenced by a selected label are automatically included in the package unless otherwise specified You can use Pack And Go functionality to archive a file structure copy a complete set of files while retaining links to referenced files isolate a group of files fo...

Page 114: ... and file store To back up your data you must use the Vault Manager which is a set of tools within Autodesk Vault for maintaining users and vaults Using the backup routine in Vault Manager ensures that the database and file store remain in sync with each other You will need the user name and passwords of your Autodesk Vault administrator to run the backup process After the backup is complete you c...

Page 115: ...engineering projects multiple team members need parallel access to design data With Autodesk Vault you protect data sharing throughout the project life cycle and streamline the design process by ensuring that your team stays coordinated and each member gets the project data he or she needs without having to wait for the next person to finish The following illustration and the sections that follow ...

Page 116: ...t point to individual objects in a drawing These shortcuts can then be loaded into other drawings creating a reference of the object that a user can stylize and use for more design work but can t edit This allows you to share your design objects across multiple drawings When you edit a design object Level 1 drawings that reference the design object Level 2 and Level 3 are also updated For example ...

Page 117: ...ing structure where the individual design objects provide a foundation for base drawings and production sheets you can take maximum advantage of the dynamic model that is integral to Civil 3D That is when a change is made to any of the objects in Level 1 it is automatically reflected in both your Level 2 base drawings and Level 3 production sheets By using this workflow you also take advantage of ...

Page 118: ...a references In Level 2 you create engineering plans by combining design objects with linework and geometry In Level 3 you can combine base sheets and engineering plans to create production sheets The following sections explore each level of this workflow in more detail 110 Chapter 5 Adopting Civil 3D Project Management ...

Page 119: ...t out can make changes Therefore to allow multiple people to edit multiple design objects you need to place the objects in separate drawings For example if your project design has five alignments and multiple team members need to edit these alignments simultaneously then you need to store each alignment in its own drawing By doing so each team member with write access can edit the alignments as ne...

Page 120: ...ngle source for editing Other Considerations There are several guidelines you should follow when managing drawings in Level 1 of the workflow These practices apply whether or not you use the one object one drawing or multiple objects one drawing approach For each drawing you create you need to assign a unique file name and save it to the designated project working folder in Autodesk Vault see Sett...

Page 121: ... need to find the drawing several revisions later Add a version comment that may help you remember the attributes of the version for example noting whether a survey has taken place or including the date Select the object as shareable so that other team members can use a reference copy of the object in other drawings Repeat the process of creating saving and checking in design objects as described ...

Page 122: ...ou can manage the survey database once it is checked in to a project using the Civil 3D Prospector tab in Toolspace Once you have the Survey Database checked out follow these steps 1 Open the Survey Database from the Survey tab in Toolspace 2 Add survey data by importing or manually creating it 3 Close the Survey Database on the Survey tab in Toolspace 4 Check the Survey Database back in to the su...

Page 123: ...Level 2 of the workflow These include base linework and engineering drawings Base Drawings Base drawings are created by combining Level 1 Civil 3D objects by data referencing them You can then use base drawings as external reference files for site feature plans or for plan sets sheet sets such as an existing condition drawing that includes survey data and a surface model Linework Drawings Creating...

Page 124: ...gs you take advantage of the work done on objects in Level 1 while leveraging the powerful Civil 3D design tools In a multi user environment engineers and designers are able to reference core objects from the project while at the same time technicians and drafters can create plan sets and conduct drafting as required The following steps describe the basic phases you would go through to create an e...

Page 125: ...ep your designs in sync across multiple users and multiple drawings 6 After you create your design in this case the corridor model and finished road grading check it in to a vault You can now share the new surface Repeat this process for all other base linework and engineering drawings you create to complete Level 2 of the workflow Level 3 CreatingTop Level Production Sheets After you have develop...

Page 126: ... 3 production sheet s Create the Plan Set Drawing Let s assume you are working on a plan and profile sheet First you create a new drawing name it and save it to your working folder Once it s saved check it in to a vault so that the drawing will be part of the project database Make sure to choose the Keep Checked Out option so you can keep working on it Use the XREF command to externally reference ...

Page 127: ...f the interfering text or you can create data references of the design object in the Level 3 drawings and control its annotation there Using this approach the Level 3 drawings can be synchronized to reflect any changes that take place in lower levels While creating references in Level 3 requires some duplicate work it is negligible compared to the benefit of having the top level sheets be in sync ...

Page 128: ...low Now that you understand more about how you can use Civil 3D project management capabilities to create an efficient workflow you need to assess your own organization and workflows to determine what can best suit your needs Depending on complexity an organization s project management needs may range from needing to manage a few drawings in a folder to needing to manage a large database with many...

Page 129: ...To learn more about how you can use Autodesk Vault with Civil 3D to manage your civil engineering projects visit http www autodesk com VaultForCivil3D AssessingYour Workflow 121 ...

Page 130: ...122 ...

Page 131: ...s may be ready to move on to exploring other training resources like those listed in Chapter 1 Or perhaps you are ready to contact your Autodesk representative for guidance If you still need to convince others in your organization that making the move is the way to go pointing them to this guide may be the next step If you are ready to begin your first Civil 3D pilot project you will be joining th...

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Page 133: ... of moving to Civil 3D 2 C Chronicles of Civil 3D 14 Civil 3D 2 8 11 14 16 26 28 30 32 40 48 52 55 57 65 67 68 73 76 79 82 85 86 92 94 96 107 114 alignment layout tools 55 alignments 6 alignments and profiles 52 Autodesk Official Training Courseware AOTC 13 Autodesk Vault 96 Autodesk Vault workflow 107 benefits 2 5 calculating earthwork 48 Chronicles of Civil 3D webcasts 14 Civil Engineering Commu...

Page 134: ...s 14 styles 2 65 73 subassemblies 7 surfaces 6 40 survey data 114 survey features 8 tables 76 templates 2 67 68 training 12 tutorials 12 User s Guide 12 webcasts 14 white papers 14 workflow 8 Civil Engineering Community 13 contours 48 labeling 48 coordinate system 80 82 corridors 7 curve calculator 31 D data compatibility 4 data sharing 4 80 92 data shortcuts 94 description keys 82 documentation 1...

Page 135: ...oft Office 105 accessing Autodesk Vault 105 model based design 2 moving data 79 N NCS Base template 68 NCS Extended template 68 New Features Workshop 12 O object enablers 81 objects 81 converting 81 Land Desktop setup object 81 P parcels 6 82 features 6 importing 82 pilot projects 9 10 pipes 7 82 features 7 importing 82 plan and profile sheets 3 plan production 117 plans 3 points 6 7 32 34 36 38 3...

Page 136: ...emplates 65 tips 76 workflow 70 subassemblies 7 subscription 13 surfaces 6 40 42 44 45 48 82 calculating earthwork 48 comparing 40 contours 48 creating 42 editing 45 features 6 importing 82 in Civil 3D 42 in Land Desktop 41 style 44 survey data 114 survey features 8 T tables 76 templates 2 65 67 68 training 11 training programs 12 tutorials 12 U User s Guide 12 V Vault 5 visualization 5 W webcasts...

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