Prospector

Prospector allows you to explore your drawing file for Civil 3D objects, which makes assessing object data contained in a drawing a lot easier. Any objects will be listed under their corresponding object branch. When an object branch is expanded by clicking the plus sign to its left, Civil 3D named objects of that type are listed within the branch. Some branches, such as alignments, display object type branches when expanded. You can then expand the type branch to display the named objects of that type.

The Points branch is actually referred to as a collection. It does not expand, but it contains objects that can be displayed in Panorama. We will discuss Panorama later in this chapter. At the top of Prospector, you will see a pull-down menu giving you the following options: Active Drawing View and Master View.

Active Drawing View displays the following branches:

• The current drawing
• Data Shortcuts

Master View displays the following branches:

• All Open Drawings
• Data Shortcuts
• Drawing Templates

Master View displays every drawing you have open in the active session. The name of the active drawing you are working with appears at the top of the list in bold. To make another open drawing current, just right-click its name in Prospector and select Switch To.

In Master View, the Drawing Templates branch will contain templates saved in the path defined in Options Files tab Template Settings Drawing Template File Location. You may open a template or create a new drawing with a template by right-clicking it and choosing either option from the right-click menu.

Besides the two view options, Prospector has a series of icons across the top that toggle various settings on and off. Let's take a closer look at those icons:

1. Item Preview Toggle This icon enables an object's graphic preview at the bottom of Prospector when Show Preview is enabled for the object category.
   
2. Refresh Icon When Master view is enabled, the Refresh icon will display. The Refresh icon is operational only when in the Autodesk Vault Environment. Clicking it will refresh the status icons for the Vault project.
   
3. Preview Area Display Toggle This icon will be active only when Toolspace is undocked. This button moves the preview area from the bottom of the tree view to the right of the tree view area.
   
4. Panorama Display Toggle This icon provides one of several ways to turn on and off the display of the Panorama window. The icon will be grayed out if there are no active warnings or if you have not yet viewed data in the Panorama window.
   

   You can always return to the Panorama window, regardless of your warning status, by clicking the Event Viewer button from the Home tab Palettes panel.

5. Help Don't underestimate how helpful Help can be!
   

The Data Shortcuts branch provides access to shared Civil 3D objects across the project, which are objects that can be referenced into the current drawing and updated dynamically from their source (you will learn about data shortcuts and how to work with and manage them in Chapter 16, “Advanced Workflows”). Each main grouping under the drawing name is referred to as a branch. If you expand a branch by clicking the plus sign next to its name, you will see the contents of that branch. Also, you will notice that some of the branches are subcategorized based on their functional class. For example, by expanding the Alignments group, you will notice the functional subdivision based on the purpose for that object. In the case of the alignments, this categorization is assigned on object creation but can be changed at any time in the Alignment Properties dialog. You will learn about this in Chapter 6, “Alignments.”

Because all Civil 3D data is dynamically linked, you will see object dependencies as well. You can learn details about an individual object by expanding its group type collection and selecting the object (Figure 1.8).

When an object branch is selected, the bottom of Prospector displays the Item View. Clicking the plus sign next to the object branch also provides you with the list of the objects created under that object type. Using the Item View, you can edit the object's name, description, and style without having to open the Civil 3D Properties dialog. Right-clicking the object type gives you access to a number of commands that apply to all the members of that collection. For example, right-clicking the Point Groups branch brings up the menu shown in Figure 1.9 (left).

In addition, right-clicking the individual object offers many commands unique to Civil 3D, such as Zoom To and Pan To, shown in Figure 1.9 (right). By using these commands, you can find any parcel, point, cross section, or other Civil 3D object in your drawing almost instantly.

For example, if you are interested in locating a parcel named ACQUISITION : 7 using the Zoom To command, locate the Sites branch on the Prospector tab of Toolspace. Expand Proposed Site and highlight Parcels. Select the Parcel object either from the Item View or from the expanded Parcels collection, right-click, and select Zoom To. Civil 3D will locate the object and zoom to its whereabouts.

Also, note that by using the Properties option shown under the context menu for the object (see Figure 1.10, left), you can access its settings. Within the dialog that opens, you can modify the object's name, select its Civil 3D display style, and change its description, among other tasks (see Figure 1.10, right).

As you navigate the tabs of Toolspace, you will encounter many symbols to help you along the way. Table 1.1 shows you a few that you should familiarize yourself with.

Symbol	Meaning
	This represents the object or style is in use. It also appears when there is a dependency to the object or if the style has child styles. For example, you will see this icon on a surface when a profile has been created from it.
	Clicking this will expand the object branch of Toolspace.
	Clicking this will collapse the object branch of Toolspace.
	This indicates a collection. Data resides in a collection, and more information will be listed in the Item View.
	The object needs to be rebuilt or updated. This can also indicate a broken data reference.
	Civil 3D may still be processing the object, or the collection of Prospector needs to be refreshed.
	This symbol next to an object indicates that the object is data referenced from another drawing. A larger version of this icon is shown next to the Data Shortcuts branch of the Prospector tab.

Settings

The Settings tab of Toolspace provides the tools to manage the way Civil 3D objects display in the drawing and define the default behavior of the commands associated with the creation of these objects. Any annotation or text that is placed by Civil 3D is controlled by Label styles. Object styles control the way the features of the Civil 3D objects are displayed within the drawing. So if you take, for example, an alignment, the dynamic annotation of the stationing, offsets, and the like is controlled by its Label styles, while its graphic representation is controlled by the Object styles.

These settings and styles are defined and contained within the drawing itself; therefore, the need for a good template that defines these items before you begin working is obvious. When you have a standard defined for your Civil 3D drawings, these settings and styles will already be set so that you can go ahead and start your design. Chapters 18 and 19 are dedicated to the management and definition of these styles. Later in this chapter, you will learn more about templates.

Drawing Settings

As with the Prospector tab, at the top of the Settings tab you will see the name of the drawing. When using Civil 3D, it is a common startup practice to make sure that your drawing settings match the requirements of the project. To access the overall settings for the current drawing, from the Toolspace Settings tab, right-click its name and select Edit Drawing Settings from the displayed list, as shown in Figure 1.11, to access the Drawing Settings dialog.

Each tab in this dialog focuses on the management of specific settings for the drawing. If the settings for the Object Layers, Abbreviations, and Ambient Settings tabs are usually the same over all your projects, you can define them from a company-wide template. Because that does not usually apply for the drawing scale and coordinate information settings, which are project specific based on the desired output or its geographic location, you are likely to visit this tab at least once for each design file.

The Units And Zone Tab

On the Units And Zone tab, you have the option to define the default measurement system by selecting the default drawing units from the drop-down menu. In the same place you also have the option to define how the Imperial-to-metric conversion is handled. For the base template that ships with Civil 3D, by default the conversion takes the International Foot. If no coordinate system is assigned to the drawing, as in the case of the stock template, then by default your drawing will have assigned a No Datum, No Projection coordinate system. As soon as a coordinate system is selected from the Zone portion of the dialog, the Imperial To Metric Conversion option becomes grayed out. This happens because by assigning a coordinate system to the drawing, the coordinate system will take care of the conversion for you.

This tab also includes the options Scale Objects Inserted From Other Drawings and Set AutoCAD Variables To Match. The Set AutoCAD Variables To Match option sets the base AutoCAD angular units, linear units, block insertion units, hatch pattern, and linetype units to match the values set in this dialog. As shown in Figure 1.12, even though these settings are enabled in the figure, the base template has them disabled in order to avoid issues that might arise based on work environments. So, feel free to experiment with them and see how they affect your data.

The scale that you see on the right side of the Units And Zone tab is the same as your annotation scale. You can change it here, or you can change it by selecting the desired scale from the annotation scale list in the bottom-right corner of the drawing window. Note that this scale is available only in modelspace.

In the Zone area of the Units And Zone dialog, if you choose to work with the default No Datum, No Projection option, then you will work using an assumed coordinate system. However, since most projects today are developed within a spatial reference, it is advisable to set the coordinate system to the one that is local to the area of your project. If your drawing file does not require the use and management of space-referenced data, then you can leave the coordinate system set to No Datum, No Projection.

Civil 3D has an extensive database of coordinate systems that can be assigned. This database is common to and shared across multiple Autodesk products. The first step in assigning the coordinate system is to select the category that your coordinate system resides in. The categories are based on geographic location. Since Civil 3D is used worldwide, its coordinate system's database contains most of the standard coordinate systems (including the obsolete ones). Once the category is selected, the collection of coordinate systems that are available within that category will be listed in the Available Coordinate Systems drop-down.

As soon as a coordinate system is selected, you will notice that the Selected Coordinate System Code, Description, Projection, and Datum areas will be filled with the specific data that defines that coordinate system. If you use a coordinate system often, a quick way to select that system is by inputting its code in the Selected Coordinate System Code section of the dialog.

Try the following quick exercise to practice setting a drawing coordinate system:

1. Open the drawing 0102_TemplateStart.dwg (0102_TemplateStart_METRIC.dwg).

   You can download this and all other files related to this book from this book's web page, www.sybex.com/go/masteringcivil3d2016.

2. Switch from Toolspace's Prospector tab to the Settings tab.
3. Right-click the filename and select Edit Drawing Settings.
4. Switch to the Units And Zone tab to display the options shown previously in Figure 1.12.
5. Select USA, Texas from the Categories drop-down menu on the Units And Zone tab.
6. Select NAD83 Texas State Planes, Central Zone, US Foot (NAD83 Texas State Planes, Central, Meter) from the Available Coordinate Systems drop-down menu.

   You could have also typed TX83-CF (TX83-C) in the Selected Coordinate System Code box.

7. Click OK and save the drawing for use in an upcoming exercise.

Notice that once you have set the coordinate system, the Geolocation tab becomes active in the ribbon, and you can use the tools that are available under this tab.

By default, the mapstatusbar variable is now set to Show, which displays the name of the coordinate system on the status bar. If you do not want the coordinate system name displayed in the bottom bar, run the mapstatusbar command and change its status from the default of Show to Hide.

The Transformation Tab

Most survey-grade global positioning system (GPS) equipment takes care of the transformation to local grid coordinates for you. In the United States, state plane coordinate systems already have regional projections taken into account. In the rare case that surveyors need to manually transform local observations from geoid to ellipsoid and ellipsoid to grid, the Transformation tab enables access to enter transformation factors.

With a base coordinate system selected, you can do any further refinement you'd like using the Transformation tab, shown in Figure 1.13. The coordinate systems on the Units And Zone tab can be refined to meet local ordinances, tie in with historical data, complete a grid-to-ground transformation, or account for minor changes in coordinate system methodology.

These changes can be made with the following options:

1. Apply Sea Level Scale Factor This value is known in some circles as elevation factor or orthometric height scale. The sea level scale factor takes into account the mean elevation of the site and the spheroid radius that is currently being applied as a function of the selected zone ellipsoid.
2. Grid Scale Factor At any given point on a projected map, there is a distortion between the “flat” measurement and the measurement on the ellipsoid. In the Grid Scale Factor area, you are presented with four options. When your selection is set to Unity, the grid factor is assumed to be 1, which basically disables the grid scale factor. In the case of User-Defined, which is the most-used option, you will provide a scale factor.
3. When you use this option, the Civil 3D Northing and Easting values define the localized or project coordinates, while the Grid Northing and Grid Easting values define an approximation of the grid coordinates for the point. If you choose Reference Point, Civil 3D will determine a scale factor that is based on a selected reference point. The last option is Prismoidal Formula, where Civil 3D defines a different grid scale factor for each point in the drawing.
4. Reference Point To apply the grid scale factor and the sea level factor correctly, you need to tell Civil 3D where you are on Earth. You can use Reference Point to set a transformation value for a singular point in the drawing field via the pick button or the Point Number. The pick button and point number options both populate the Local Northing and Local Easting values. The Grid Northing and Grid Easting values must be entered manually.
5. Rotation Point Rotation Point can be used to set the reference point for rotation via the same methods as for the reference point. The pick button and point number options both populate the Local Northing and Local Easting values. The Grid Northing and Grid Easting values must be entered manually.
6. Specify Grid Rotation Angle Some people may know this as the convergence angle. This is the angle between Grid North and True North. Enter an amount or set a line to north by picking an angle or deflection in the drawing. You can use this same method to set the azimuth if desired. You can assign a rotation point or a grid rotation angle, but not both at the same time.

It should be noted that this is not the place to transform assumed coordinates to a predefined coordinate system. See Chapter 2 to learn how to translate a survey.

The Object Layers Tab

When you think about AutoCAD, you imagine lines, polylines, circles, and so on. Civil 3D adds its own specific entities, including points, surfaces, alignments, corridors, and others. All Civil 3D objects at the basic level comprise basic-level AutoCAD entities, but Civil 3D objects are dynamic elements.

Civil 3D is built on top of AutoCAD; therefore, all the objects reside on layers. When you define a basic AutoCAD object, you know the object will be created and placed in the current layer. When Civil 3D objects are created, they are placed on a predetermined object layer set up in your Civil 3D template.

Layers are found in several areas of the Civil 3D template. The first location you will examine is the Drawing Settings dialog Object Layer tab. The layers listed here represent overall layers where the objects will be created. For those of you who are familiar with AutoCAD blocks, it is useful to think of these layers in the same way as a block's insertion layer.

In the Object Layers tab, every Civil 3D object must have a layer set, as shown in Figure 1.14. It is a common practice to not have any of the object layers set to 0. An optional modifier can be added to the beginning (prefix) or end (suffix) of the layer name to further separate items of the same type.

A common practice is to add wildcard suffixes to corridor, surface, pipe, and structure layers to make it easier to manipulate them separately. For example, if the layer for a corridor is specified to be C-ROAD-CORR and a suffix of -* (dash asterisk) is added as the modifier value, a new layer will automatically be created when a new corridor is created. The resulting layer will take on the name of the corridor in place of the asterisk. If the corridor is called Congress Ave, the new layer name will be C-ROAD-CORR-Congress Ave. This new layer is created once and is not dynamically linked to the object name. In other words, if you find out that you got the name of the street wrong and need to change it, you can't just change the name of the Civil 3D object.

If the layer name that you chose to use for an object does not exist in the drawing, you can create it as you work through the Object Layers dialog. To access the mentioned dialog and be able to create a new layer if needed, double-click the layer name assigned to the object within the Layer column, and if the layer is not within the list, click the New button and set up the layer as needed, including color, lineweight, linetype, and so forth, as shown in Figure 1.15.

Make sure you have the Immediate And Independent Layer On/Off Control Of Display Components setting checked. As mentioned earlier, the layers listed here are the ones the objects will reside on. However, even though the objects reside in those layers, their display components can be configured to other layers as defined by the Object styles, which you will learn about in Chapter 19. Having this option selected means that when you turn off the layer in which an object resides, its graphic display of its components will act independently of the object. When this option is cleared, by turning off the layer the object layer resides on, all its components will be turned off, with no regard to what layer they reside on.

In the following exercise, you will set object layers in a template:

1. Continue working in the drawing that you saved in the previous exercise, 0102_TemplateStart.dwg (0102_TemplateStart_METRIC.dwg).
2. From the Settings tab of Toolspace, right-click the name of the drawing and select Edit Drawing Settings.
3. Switch to the Object Layers tab.
4. Double-click the Layer field next to Alignment and click New to create a new layer in the Layer Selection dialog box (see Figure 1.15).
5. Create a new layer called C-ROAD-ALIN. Leave other layer settings at the defaults. Click OK.
6. Select the newly created layer as the layer for the Alignment object in the Layer Selection dialog and click OK.
7. Set the layer for Building Site to A-BLDG-SITE. Since the layer is already present in the drawing, you can just select it from the Layer Selection dialog's Layers list.
8. Set the layer for Catchment-Labeling to C-HYDR-CTCH-TEXT.
9. For the Corridor layer, keep the main layer as C-ROAD-CORR.
   • Set the modifier to Suffix by clicking the Modifier field and selecting Suffix from the drop-down list.
   • Set the modifier value to -* by clicking and typing it in the Value column field for the object.

   The asterisk acts as a wildcard that will add the corridor name as part of a unique layer for each corridor, as previously described.

10. Scroll down to locate the Pipe in the Object list.
11. Create several new layers and add suffix information.
    • For Pipe, create a layer called C-NTWK-PIPE with a modifier of Suffix and a value of -*.
    • For Pipe-Labeling, create a new layer called C-NTWK-PIPE-TEXT.
    • For Pipe And Structure Table, set the layer to C-NTWK-PIPE-TABL.
    • For Pipe Network Section, create a new layer called C-NTWK-SECT.
    • For Pipe Or Structure Profile, create a new layer called C-NTWK-PROF.
12. Scroll down a bit further and create a new layer for Structure called C-NTWK-STRC.
13. Add a modifier of Suffix and a value of -*.
14. For Structure-Labeling, create a new layer called C-NTWK-STRC-TEXT.
15. Add a modifier of Suffix to the Tin Surface object layer and a value of -*. Your layers and suffixes should now resemble Figure 1.16.

    

16. Click to place a check mark next to Immediate And Independent Layer On/Off Control Of Display Components.

    As described previously, this setting will allow you to use the On/Off toggle in the layer manager to work with Civil 3D objects.

17. Click Apply and then OK.
18. Save the drawings.

You can check your finished drawings against the completed file that can be downloaded from the book's web page. The file you will be looking for is 0102_TemplateStart_FINISHED.dwg (0102_TemplateStart_METRIC_FINISHED.dwg).

The Abbreviations Tab

When you add labels to certain objects, Civil 3D automatically uses the abbreviations assigned in this tab to indicate geometry features. For example, left is L, and right is R. Figure 1.17 shows a sampling of customizable abbreviations.

Civil 3D uses industry-standard abbreviations wherever they are found. If necessary, you can easily change VPI to PVI for Point of Vertical Intersection. In most cases, changing an abbreviation is as simple as clicking in the Value field and typing a new one. You might notice that most of the abbreviations are simply defined, but some of them are defined by using macros, as in the case of the Alignment Geometry Point Entity Data. You will find that these macros are widely used in the naming conventions for the Civil 3D objects.

The Ambient Settings Tab

Examine the settings in the Ambient Settings tab to see what can be set here. The main options you'll want to adjust are in the General category, and the display precision settings are in the subsequent categories. You will also want to visit the Angle and Direction categories to verify the format of the angles.

The level of precision that you see in this dialog does not change the precision in labels. What you see here is the number of decimal places reported to you in various dialog boxes.

Becoming familiar with the way this tab works will help you further down the line because almost every other settings dialog box in the program works like the one shown in Figure 1.18.

You can set the following options in the General category:

1. Plotted Unit Display Type Civil 3D knows you want to plot at the end of the day. In this case, it's asking how you would like your plotted units measured. For example, would you like that bit of text to have a height of 0.25” or ¼”? In the civil engineering world there is mostly a consensus on the use of decimal units. For example, many people who used Land Desktop before Civil 3D are comfortable with the Leroy method of text heights (L80, L100, L140, and so on), so the decimal option is an obvious choice.
2. Set AutoCAD Units This option specifies whether Civil 3D should attempt to match AutoCAD drawing units, as specified on the Units And Zone tab. This setting is specified on the Units And Zone tab but is displayed here for reference so you can lock it if desired.
3. Save Command Changes To Settings Set this to Yes. This setting is incredibly powerful but a secret to almost everyone. By setting it to Yes, you ensure that your changes to commands will be remembered from use to use. This means if you make changes to a command during use, the next time you call that Civil 3D command, you won't have to make the same changes. By setting it to Yes, you will save yourself the frustration of setting it over and over again.
4. Show Event Viewer Event Viewer is the main Civil 3D feedback mechanism, especially when things go wrong. Event Viewer uses the Panorama interface to display warnings such as when a surface contains crossing breaklines. Event Viewer will pop up with informational messages as well. If you have multiple monitors, it is a good idea to leave Panorama on but set aside for review.
5. Show Tooltips One of the cool features that people remark on when they first use Civil 3D is the small pop-up that displays relevant design information when the cursor is paused on the screen. If the cursor is paused over an object, it will display some basic properties about that object. If it is paused in a blank space on the screen, depending on the Civil 3D objects present in the drawing, it can provide horizontal and/or vertical data of the position of the cursor relative to those objects or within the definition area of the object. For example, for alignments it can provide name, station, and offsets of the cursor relative to all the alignments in the drawing as long as the cursor position from the alignments is perpendicular; for a surface, it can provide the name and the elevation of the point the cursor is placed over.

   Once a drawing gets complex, the amount of data displayed in the tooltip can be overwhelming; therefore, Civil 3D offers the option to turn off these tooltips universally with this setting. If you want to micromanage these tooltips, then you have the option to toggle the tooltip display for each Civil 3D object individually by accessing the toggle found in the Information tab of the Properties dialog for those objects.

6. Imperial To Metric Conversion This setting displays the conversion method specified on the Units And Zone tab. The two options are US Survey Foot and International Foot. This setting is specified on the Units And Zone tab but is displayed here for reference so you can lock it if desired.
7. New Entity Tooltip State This setting controls whether the tooltip is turned on at the object level for new Civil 3D objects. If you change this setting to Off partway through a project, the tooltip will not be displayed for any Civil 3D objects created after the change. Of course, you can go back to each of the objects and enable the tooltip if necessary.
8. Driving Direction This specifies the side of the road that forward-moving vehicles use for travel. This setting is important in terms of curb returns and intersection design.
9. Drawing Unit, Drawing Scale, and Scale Inserted Objects These settings are specified on the Units And Zone tab but are displayed here for reference and so that you can lock them if desired.
10. Independent Layer On This is the same control that is set on the Object Layers tab. Yes is the recommended setting, as described previously.

    Moving down to the Direction category, you have the following choices:

11. Unit Degree, Radian, and Grad
12. Precision 0 through 8 decimal places
13. Rounding Round Normal, Round Up, and Truncate
14. Format Decimal, DD°MM' SS.SS", DD°MM'SS.SS" (Spaced) and DD.MMSSSS (decimal dms)

    In most cases, people want to display DD°MM'SS.SS". Also, this setting controls how directions are entered at the command line.

15. Direction Short Name (spaced or unspaced) and Long Name (spaced or unspaced)
16. Capitalization You can preserve case or force uppercase, lowercase, or title caps.
17. Sign Gives you a choice of how negative numbers are displayed. You can use a minus sign to denote negative numbers only, use a set of parentheses to denote a negative, or use a sign regardless of value. The latter option will show a plus for positive values and a minus for negative values.
18. Measurement Type Bearings, North Azimuth, and South Azimuth
19. Bearing Quadrant This should be left at the industry standard: 1 – NE, 2 – SE, 3 – SW, 4 – NW.

When you're using the Bearing Distance transparent command, for example, these settings control how you input your quadrant, your bearing, and the number of decimal places in your distance.

Besides the Direction category, you can explore the other categories, such as Angle, Lat Long, and Coordinate, and customize the settings to how you work.

At the bottom of the Ambient Settings tab is a Transparent Commands category. These settings control how (or if) you're prompted for the following information:

1. Prompt For 3D Points Controls whether you're asked to provide a z elevation after x and y have been located
2. Prompt For Y Before X For transparent commands that require x and y values, this setting controls whether you're prompted for the y-coordinate before the x-coordinate. Most users prefer this value set to False so they're prompted for an x-coordinate and then a y-coordinate.
3. Prompt For Easting Then Northing For transparent commands that require Northing and Easting values, this setting controls whether you're prompted for Easting first and Northing second. Most users prefer this value set to False so they're prompted for Northing first and then Easting.
4. Prompt For Longitude Then Latitude For transparent commands that require Longitude and Latitude values, this setting controls whether you're prompted for Longitude first and Latitude second. Most users prefer this value set to False so they're prompted for Latitude and then Longitude.

The settings that are applied here can be changed both at the drawing level and at the object level. For example, you may typically want elevation to be shown to two decimal places, but when looking at surface elevations, you might want just one. The Override and Child Override columns give you feedback about these types of changes (see Figure 1.19).

The Override column shows whether the current setting is overriding something higher up. Because you're at the Drawing Settings level, these are clear. However, the Child Override column displays a down arrow, indicating that one of the objects in the drawing has overridden this setting. You can check child overrides by accessing the Feature Settings of an object such as a surface (see Figure 1.20, left) and looking for a filled Override check box (see Figure 1.20, right).

Notice that in this dialog, the box for the Precision setting is checked in the Override column. This indicates that you're overriding the settings mentioned earlier, and it's a good alert that things have changed from the general drawing settings to this object-level setting.

But what if you don't want to allow those changes? Each settings dialog includes one more column: Lock. At any level, you can lock a setting, graying it out for lower levels. This can be handy for keeping users from changing settings at the lower level that perhaps should be changed at a drawing level, such as sign or rounding methods.

Survey

The Survey tab of Toolspace is where survey settings, equipment settings, linework code sets, and figure prefix database settings are controlled. You can toggle this tab off and on by using the corresponding button under the ribbon's Home tab Palettes panel. Surveying is an essential part of land-development projects. Because of the complex nature of this tab, all of Chapter 2 is devoted to it.

Toolbox

The Toolbox tab of Toolspace is a launching point for add-ons and reporting functions. To display the Toolbox, from the Home tab of the ribbon, under the Palettes panel you can find the Toolbox icon to enable/disable the tab. The location of this icon was shown previously in Figure 1.6. Out of the box, the Toolbox contains reporting tools created by Autodesk, but you can expand its functionality to include your own macros or reports. The buttons on the top of the Toolbox, shown in Figure 1.21, allow you to customize the report settings and add new content. If you are an Autodesk^® Subscription customer, here is where you will find lots of the add-ons released for subscription customers only.

Create Line Command

The Create Line command on the Draw panel of the Home tab of the ribbon issues the standard AutoCAD Line command. It's equivalent to typing line on the command line or clicking the Line tool on the Draw toolbar.

Create Line By Point # Range Command

The Create Line By Point # Range command prompts you for a point number. You can type in an individual point number, press ↲, and then type in another point number. A line is drawn connecting those two points. You can also type in a range of points, such as 601-607. Civil 3D draws a line that connects those points in numerical order from 601 to 607 and so on (see Figure 1.30). The line that is created by this method connects point to point regardless of the description or type of point. Since a line is an element that allows each of its end vertices to hold different elevations, in this case each endpoint will inherit the elevation of the COGO point used for its definition unless the AutoCAD OSNAPZ variable is set to 1.

Alternatively, you can enter a list of points such as 600, 603, 610, 605 (Figure 1.31). Civil 3D draws a line that connects the point numbers in the order of input. This approach is useful when your points were taken in a zigzag pattern (as is commonly the case when cross-sectioning pavement) or when your points appear so far apart in the AutoCAD display that they can't be readily identified.

Create Line By Point Object Command

The Create Line By Point Object command prompts you to select a point object. To select a point object, locate the desired start point and click any part of the point. This tool is similar to using the regular Line command and a Node object snap (also known as an Osnap); however, it will work on only Civil 3D points. Each endpoint will inherit the elevation of the point to which it is created unless the AutoCAD OSNAPZ variable is set to 1.

Create Line By Point Name Command

The Create Line By Point Name command prompts you for a point name. A point name is a field in point properties, not unlike the point number or description. The difference between a point name and a point description is that a point name must be unique, just as point numbers are. It is important to note that some survey instruments name points rather than number points as is the norm.

To use this command, enter the names of the points you want to connect with linework. Each endpoint will inherit the elevation of the point used for its definition unless the AutoCAD OSNAPZ variable is set to 1.

Create Line By Northing/Easting and Create Line By Grid Northing/Grid Easting Commands

The Create Line By Northing/Easting command lets you input northing (y) and easting (x) coordinates as endpoints for your linework.

The Create Line By Grid Northing/Grid Easting command also lets you input grid northing (y) and grid easting (x) coordinates as endpoints for your linework but requires that the drawing have an assigned coordinate system; otherwise, the command resumes to be used as a simple line command.

Create Line By Latitude/Longitude Command

The Create Line By Latitude/Longitude command prompts you for geographic coordinates to use as endpoints for your linework. This command also requires that the drawing have an assigned coordinate system. Enter the latitude and longitude as separate entries at the command line using degrees, minutes, and seconds.

Create Line By Bearing Command

The Create Line By Bearing command is one of the most commonly used line-creation commands.

This command prompts you for a start point, followed by prompts to input the Quadrant, Bearing, and Distance values. You can enter values on the command line for each input, or you can graphically choose inputs by picking them onscreen. The glyphs at each stage of input guide you in any graphical selections. After creating one line, you can continue drawing lines by bearing, or you can switch to any other method by clicking one of the other Line By commands on the Draw panel (see Figure 1.32).

Create Line By Azimuth Command

The Create Line By Azimuth command prompts you for a start point, followed by a north azimuth and then a distance (Figure 1.33).

Create Line By Angle Command

The Create Line By Angle command prompts you for a start point, an ending point to establish a backsight direction, a turned angle, and then a distance (Figure 1.34). By default, this command assumes the angle-right surveying convention (clockwise from starting direction). However, an option to turn counterclockwise is offered at the command line if needed.

Create Line By Deflection Command

By definition, a deflection angle is the amount of angular deviation (usually measured clockwise) from a backsight direction. In other words, 180 added to a given deflection angle would be an equivalent angle-right. When you use the Create Line By Deflection command, the command line and tooltips prompt you to define a direction to deflect the angle off of by selecting or clicking two points; then you're prompted for a deflection angle followed by a distance (Figure 1.35).

Create Line By Station/Offset Command

To use the Create Line By Station/Offset command, you must have a Civil 3D Alignment object in your drawing. The line created from this command allows you to start and end a line on the basis of a station and offset from an alignment.

You're prompted to choose the alignment and then input a station and offset value. The line begins at the station and offset value. You will not see a line form until at least two points are specified.

When prompted for the station, you're given a tooltip that tracks your position along the alignment, as shown in Figure 1.36. You can graphically choose a station location by clicking it in the drawing. Alternatively, you can enter a station value on the command line.

Once you've selected the station, you're given a tooltip that is locked on that particular station and tracks your offset from the alignment (see Figure 1.37). You can graphically choose an offset by clicking the station in the drawing, or you can type an offset value on the command line. A negative value for offset indicates an offset on the left side of the alignment.

Create Line By Side Shot Command

The Create Line By Side Shot command starts by asking you to select a line (or two points) that will be the backsight for creating a new line and subsequent lines while in the command. After you select the first line, you will see a yellow glyph indicating your occupied point (see Figure 1.38). By default, Civil 3D is looking for an angle-right and distance to establish the first point of the new line. However, you can follow the command prompts to change the angle entry to bearing, deflection, or azimuth, if needed. You can also use the command-line options to change to counterclockwise.

Once you have entered data for the first point, you will be asked a second time for an angle and a distance to place the second point of the new line.

Create Line By Extension Command

The Create Line By Extension command is similar to the AutoCAD Lengthen command. This command allows you to add length to a line or specify a desired total length of the line. Figure 1.39 shows the summary report that will pop up indicating the changes made to the line.

The advantage of the Create Line By Extension command over simply using the Lengthen command is the summary report that appears at the command line. The summary report shown in Figure 1.40 shows the same beginning coordinate as in Figure 1.39 but a different end coordinate, resulting in a total length of 100' (30.5 m).

Create Line From End Of Object Command

The Create Line From End Of Object command lets you draw a line tangent to the end of a line or arc (but not polyline) of your choosing, as shown in Figure 1.41.

Create Line Tangent From Point Command

The Create Line Tangent From Point command is similar to the Create Line From End Of Object command, but Create Line Tangent From Point allows you to choose a point of tangency that isn't the endpoint of the line or arc. Use the Nearest or Midpoint Osnap to pick a point on the line. If you pick an endpoint, the command behaves the same as Create Line From End Of Object.

Create Line Perpendicular From Point Command

Using the Create Line Perpendicular From Point command, you can specify that you'd like a line drawn perpendicular to any point of your choosing along a line or arc. In the example shown in Figure 1.42, a line is drawn perpendicular to the endpoint of the arc.

Creating a Curve Between Two Lines

The Create Curve Between Two Lines command is similar to the AutoCAD Fillet command, except that by using this tool you also have other options to define a curve besides using the radius. The command draws a curve that is tangent to two lines of your choosing. This command also trims or extends the original tangents so their endpoints coincide with the curve endpoints. The lines are trimmed or extended to the resulting PC (point of curve, which is the beginning of a curve) and PT (point of tangency, which is the end of a curve). You may find this command most useful when you're creating foundation geometry for road alignments, parcel boundary curves, and similar situations.

The command prompts you to choose the first tangent and then the second tangent. The command line gives the following prompt:

Select entry [Tangent External Degree Chord Length Mid-ordinate
miN-dist Radius]<Radius>:

Pressing ↲ at this prompt lets you input your desired radius. As with standard AutoCAD commands, pressing T changes the input parameter to Tangent, pressing C changes the input parameter to Chord, and so on.

As with the Fillet command, your inputs must be geometrically possible. For example, your two lines must allow for a curve of your specifications to be drawn while remaining tangent to both. Figure 1.45 shows two lines with a 25' (7.6 m) radius curve drawn between them. Note that the tangents have been trimmed so their endpoints coincide with the endpoints of the curve. If either line is too short to meet the endpoint of the curve, then the software returns a no solution result, and you will need to adjust the length of the line.

Creating a Curve on Two Lines

The Create Curve On Two Lines command is identical to the Create Curve Between Two Lines command, except that in this case the tangents are not trimmed on curve creation.

Figure 1.46, for example, shows two lines with a 25' (7.6 m) radius curve drawn on them. The tangents haven't been trimmed and instead remain exactly as they were drawn before the Create Curve On Two Lines command was executed.

Creating a Curve-Through Point

The Create Curve Through Point command lets you choose two tangents for your curve followed by a pass-through point. This tool is most useful when you don't know the radius, length, or other curve parameters but you have two tangents and a target location. It isn't necessary that the pass-through location be a true point object; it can be any location of your choosing.

This command also trims or extends the original tangents so their endpoints coincide with the curve endpoints. The lines are trimmed or extended to the resulting PC and PT of the curve.

Figure 1.47, for example, shows two lines and a desired pass-through point. Using the Create Curve Through Point command allows you to draw a curve that is tangent to both lines and that passes through the desired point. In this case, the tangents have been trimmed to the PC and PT of the curve.

Creating Multiple Curves

The Create Multiple Curves command lets you create several curves that are tangentially connected. The resulting curves have an effect similar to an alignment spiral section. This command can be useful when you are re-creating railway track geometry based on field-survey data.

The command prompts you for the two tangents. Then, the command line prompts you as follows:

Enter Number of Curves:

The command allows for up to 10 curves between tangents.

One of your curves must have a flexible length that's determined on the basis of the lengths, radii, and geometric constraints of the other curves. Curves are counted clockwise, so enter the number of your flexible curve, as shown here:

Enter Floating Curve #:
Enter curve 1 Radius:
Enter curve 2 Radius:
Enter curve 2 Length:

The floating curve number will prompt you for a radius but not a length.

As with all other curve commands, the specified geometry must be possible. If the command can't find a solution on the basis of your length and radius inputs, it returns no solution (see Figure 1.48).

Creating a Curve from the End of an Object

The Create Curve From End Of Object command enables you to draw a curve tangent to the end of your chosen line or arc.

The command prompts you to choose an object to serve as the beginning of your curve. You can then specify a radius or a point for the way the curve will be defined. If a point is selected, then the curve will automatically be drawn ending at the selected point in the drawing. If a radius is selected, then you have the option to specify the radius or let the software determine the radius based on the arc's degree or the chord's degree. Finally, you can define its length by using an additional parameter (such as Delta or Length) (see Figure 1.49).

Creating a Reverse or Compound Curve

The Create Reverse Or Compound Curve command allows you to add curves to the end of an existing curve. Reverse curves are drawn in the opposite direction (that is, a curve to the right tangent to a curve to the left) from the original curve to form an S shape. In contrast, compound curves are drawn in the same direction as the original curve (see Figure 1.50). This tool can be useful when you are re-creating a legal description of a road alignment that contains reverse and/or compound curves.

Using the Curve Calculator

Sometimes you may not have enough information to draw a curve properly. Although many of the curve-creation tools assist you in calculating the curve parameters, you may find an occasion where the deed you're working with is incomplete.

The Curve Calculator found in the Curves drop-down on the Draw panel helps you calculate a full collection of curve parameters on the basis of your known values and constraints. It can also be found as part of the Transparent Commands toolbar that is discussed later in this chapter.

The Curve Calculator can remain open on your screen while you're working through commands. You can send any value in the Calculator to the command line by clicking the button next to that value (see Figure 1.51).

The button at the upper left of the Curve Calculator allows you to pick an existing arc in the drawing, and the drop-down menu in the Degree Of Curvature Definition selection field allows you to choose whether to calculate parameters for an arc or a chord definition.

The drop-down menu in the Fixed Property selection field also gives you the choice of fixing your radius or delta angle when calculating the values for an arc or a chord, respectively. The parameter chosen as the fixed value is held constant as additional parameters are calculated.

To send any value in the Curve Calculator to the command line, use the button next to that value. This ability is most useful while you're active in a curve command and would like to use a certain parameter value to complete the command.

To test your new line and curve knowledge, follow these steps (you do not need to have completed the previous exercises to complete this one):

1. Continue working in the file 0106_Legal.dwg (0106_Legal_METRIC.dwg).
2. Start the Line By Northing/Easting command.
3. For Northing, enter 184898.42 (56357.038 for metric users) and press ↲.
   
4. For Easting, enter 2305136.46 (702605.593 for metric users) and press ↲.

   You will not see any graphic indication that the line has been started. You will not see the segment until after you complete step 5.

   You will again be prompted for Northing and Easting.

5. Using the same procedure you used in step 2, type in the endpoint of the line at Northing = 185059.94 (56406.270 for metric users), Easting = 2305413.52 (702690.041 for metric users).
6. Press Esc once to end the Northing and Easting entries.
7. Press Esc again to exit the line command.

   To look at everything you have drawn until now, you can zoom to extents.

8. Start the Create Curve From End Of Object command.
   

   You are then prompted to select the Line or Arc object.

9. Pan to the left and click the east end of the line you created in steps 2–5.

   You will then be prompted to select the entry.

10. Press ↲ to select the default Radius option.
11. Enter a Radius value of 550' (167.6 m) and press ↲.

    Next you will see the Select entry [Tangent/Chord/Delta/Length/External/Mid-ordinate] <Length>: prompt.

12. Enter D (for Delta) and press ↲.
13. Enter a delta angle of 40 and press ↲. (Note: The degree symbol is not needed in angular entry.)

    You should now have an arc tangent to the first segment.

14. Return to the Curves menu and select Create Reverse Or Compound Curve.
    
15. Select the east end of the arc you created in the previous steps.
16. When prompted with Select [Compound/Reverse] <Compound>:, press R and then ↲ to specify a reverse curve.
17. Enter a radius of 630' (192.0 m) and press ↲.
18. When you see the prompt Select entry [Tangent/Chord/Delta/Length/External/Mid-ordinate] <Length>:, press ↲ to accept the default.
19. Enter a length of curve value of 400' (121.9 m) and press ↲.
20. For the last tangent segment, return to the Lines menu and select Create Line From End Of Object.
    
21. Select the east end of the second arc you created in this exercise.
22. At the Specify Distance: prompt, enter 150' (45.7 m) and press ↲.

Your completed lines and arcs will look like Figure 1.52, and they will be located just south of the property you entered in the previous exercise. You can check the result against the completed exercise as found on the book's web page; it's named 0106_Legal_FINISHED.dwg (0106_Legal_METRIC_FINISHED.dwg).

Creating a Best-Fit Line

The Create Best Fit Line command under the Best Fit drop-down on the Draw panel takes a series of Civil 3D points, AutoCAD points, entities, or drawing locations and draws a single best-fit line segment on the selected input. In Figure 1.54, the Create Best Fit Line command draws a best-fit line through a series of points that aren't quite collinear. The best-fit line will adjust as more points are selected.

After you press Enter to complete the selection, a Panorama window appears with a regression data chart showing information about each point in the selection, as shown in Figure 1.55.

This interface allows you to optimize your best-fit element by adding more points, excluding points, selecting the check box in the Pass Through column to force one of your points on the line, or adjusting the value under the Weight column based on how important each point position should be in the definition of the element relative to the other points.

Creating a Best-Fit Arc

The Create Best Fit Arc command on the Best Fit drop-down works the same as the Create Best Fit Line command, including the Panorama adjustment window, except that the resulting entity is a single arc segment as opposed to a single line segment (see Figure 1.56).

Creating a Best-Fit Parabola

The Create Best Fit Parabola command on the Best Fit drop-down is similar to the line and arc commands in how it works. After you select this command, the Parabola By Best Fit dialog appears (see Figure 1.57).

You can select inputs from entities (such as lines, arcs, polylines, or profile objects) or by clicking onscreen. The command then draws a best-fit parabola on the basis of this information. In Figure 1.58, the shots were represented by AutoCAD points; more points were added by selecting the By Clicking On The Screen option and using the Node Osnap to pick each point.

Once you've selected your points, a Panorama window (shown in Figure 1.59) appears, showing information about each point you chose. Also note the information in the left pane regarding the K value, curve length, grades, and so forth. You can optimize your K value, length, and other values by adding more points, selecting one or more check boxes in the Pass Through column to force one of your points on the line, or adjusting the values in the Weight column.