Introduction to Commercial Site Grading Plans

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AutoCAD Civil 3D Interface

AutoCAD Civil 3D is a powerful application for civil engineering design. Although it runs in the familiar AutoCAD environment, the program is based on a dynamic engineering model that contains all of the core geometry and integrates all of the data. When you make a change to the design, AutoCAD Civil 3D automatically updates the related objects, views, annotations, tables, etc. Keeping all design elements synchronized is therefore greatly simplified.

AutoCAD Civil 3D is object-oriented. The major object types along with their icons are shown below.

The objects used in AutoCAD Civil 3D establish intelligent relationships. The following table shows these relationships and how if a change is made to one object, it is reflected in others.

When you edit this object... These objects are updated...

Points Surfaces

Surfaces Grading, Profiles, Pipe Networks, Corridors

Parcels Grading, Corridor

Alignments Grading, Corridor, Profiles, Parcels, Sections, Pipe Networks

Grading Surfaces, Corridor

Subassembly Assembly, Corridor

Assembly Corridor

Feature Lines Grading

Sample Lines Sections

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© 2007. Do not duplicate 1 - 3

To open AutoCAD Civil 3D, double-click on the Desktop. There is no need to select a path and a project where the drawing data is stored. AutoCAD Civil 3D opens as Drawing1.dwg and AutoCAD Civil 3D is a Multiple Drawing Interface.

1. Open AutoCAD Civil 3D by double-clicking on the Desktop.

2. Review the AutoCAD Civil 3D interface.

Some components of the graphic user interface are shown below.

1. Toolspace: Shown docked above, the Toolspace has tabs that are used for Object Management: Prospector, for navigating through the Object Collections, Settings, for managing styles and settings, Survey, for managing survey settings and data, and Toolbox, for accessing the Reports Manager.

2. Property Editors: Property editors have many tabs for easy modification of individual Objects. The editors for various Objects are very similar. Some have more tabs than others, but all have a similar look.

3. Item View: Item view enables you to view a list of the contents of the selected folder, or a graphic of the selected Object.

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4. Standardized Menus: Standardized menus ensure consistent access to the full range of commands.

5. Layout Tools: Layout tools enable you to create and edit objects, such as points or alignments. Layout tools have a similar look to one another to help you easily learn the interface.

6. Toolspace: Shown floating above, the Toolspace can be set toAuto-hide as needed.

AutoCAD Civil 3D displays a Panorama that contains a Vista. A Panorama is the entire window and a Vista is the editor within the Panorama, (for example, Point Editor). A Panorama can contain several Vistas, (editing points, editing a Description Key Set, etc.). Each Vista has a tab and selecting the tab displays its information. To hide a Vista, click on . If a Panorama contains multiple Vistas, clicking on closes only the current Vista. To close (hide) the Panorama, click on the ‘X’ in its mast.

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Object Base Layer

All major AutoCAD Civil 3D objects (e.g., surfaces and alignments) are assigned to a base layer. The base layer is defined through the Drawing Settings (Object Layer tab) or when the object is created. Manipulating the state of the base layer enables you to control object visibility. For example, turning off the surface base layer, turns off all surfaces in the drawing.

Tip: To append the object’s name to the layer name for that object, add an asterisk (*) as a prefix or suffix to the base layer name.

To control the display more easily, set the object’s name as the suffix for the created objects.

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Object Component Layers

As an alternative to using base layers to control the display of all similar objects in a drawing, you can assign each component to a layer using the Object Style. Doing this enables you to selectively control the display of the object components. It also enables you to control the component’s color, linetype, lineweight, and plot style. Component properties are specified using the Display tab when the Object Style is defined.

When the layer is set to Layer 0, the object base layer is used. This means that if the alignment’s Line component layer is set to 0, the alignment lines behave as if they are located on the alignment base layer.

Tip: Consider using ByLayer settings for the object styles. This enables you to change the layer setting using the AutoCAD Layer command rather then editing separate styles.

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2 - 1

Exercise 2:

Toolspace

Toolspace

Prospector Tab Overview

Settings Tab Overview

Survey Tab Overview

Toolbox Tab Overview

Point Description Keys Overview

Point Groups Overview

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Toolspace

AutoCAD Civil 3D uses the Toolspace to manage objects, settings, and styles. Toolspace has four tabs: Prospector, Settings, Survey, and Toolbox.They use a hierarchical tree interface to manage objects, their settings, and styles and are the critical control center for AutoCAD Civil 3D.

The Prospector tab lists all of the objects in the drawing (instances) and provides access to their information and data. Each heading in the list has a unique shortcut menu containing commands to create, review, and modify an object.

The Settings tab lists all of the styles (object, label, and table) and the drawing’s environment values. The Settings hierarchy enables values set at the top of the tree to influence all of the lower values. Changes made in a branch affect only those settings below the point of change.

The Survey tab lists the survey data, equipment, and feature settings.

The Toolbox tab provides access to various reports that can be created.

The Toolspace can be docked or floating, like any toolbar. When floating, it can be set to Auto-hide. The AutoCAD Civil 3D work environment enhances the standard AutoCAD environment with additional tools for creating and managing civil design information. Standard AutoCAD features, such as the Command Line, the design space, and AutoCAD toolbars, work the same way in AutoCAD Civil 3D as they do in AutoCAD.

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Toolspace


Prospector Tab Overview

The AutoCAD Civil 3D Toolspace provides an object-oriented view of your engineering data. The Prospector tab lists all of the object types that occur in a AutoCAD Civil 3D drawing and uses the hierarchical structure to dynamically manage and display data references.

The pull-down menu at the top of the Prospector tab controls the display in the Prospector tree.

Master View: Displays all projects, open drawings, and templates. The name of the active drawing is listed in bold at the top of the tree.

Active Drawing View:Displays only items in the currently active drawing. Sa

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As Objects are created in the drawing, they are added to the Prospector tree. You can use the Prospector tab to manage the objects in the drawing (e.g., points, surfaces, and alignments).

Object names are case-sensitive. The buttons at the top of the Prospectortab are described below.

Button Description

Use to switch the status of a project as to whether it is checked in or out.

Use to switch the status of an object as to whether or not it is locked.

Use to switch the status of a drawing item modifier as to whether or not it is up to date.

Use to toggle the item preview display.

Use to switch the display of the Panorama window. If the Panorama window does not contain any active Vistas, this control is not available.

Use to display Help.

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Toolspace


Settings Tab Overview

The Settings tab manages a greater variety of AutoCAD Civil 3D components: styles (both object and label), label and command default settings, and overall drafting environment values (directions as bearings, elevations to 4 decimal places, etc.).

The pull-down menu at the top of the Settings tab controls the display in the Settings tree.

Master View: Displays all open drawings. The name of the active drawing is listed in bold at the top of the tree.

Active Drawing Settings View: Displays items of the currently active drawing.

Active Drawing Labels Only View: Displays only label style collections and label style items in the active drawing.

Labels Only View: Displays label style collections and label style items for all drawings.

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You can drag-and-drop styles from the Settings Tree of one drawing into another active drawing. The buttons at the top of the Settings tab are described below.

Button Description

Use to switch the status of a drawing item as to whether or not it can be modified.



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Toolspace


Survey Tab Overview

The survey data has its own tab in Toolspace. You can use the Survey tab to manage survey data and feature settings. If the Survey tab does not display, select Survey>Open Survey Toolspace.

The tab has collections for the following:

Survey Database:Contains collections that represent networks, figures, and survey points. The network collection represents the relationship of observations that connect known and unknown points on the ground. Each network collection contains collections for control points, setups, traverses, and directions.

Equipment Databases: Represents one or more sets of equipment definitions stored as an external file. The equipment database definition includes settings for how the instrument measures angles, electronic distance meter settings, prism offset and constant, and equipment accuracy.

Figure Prefix Databases:Represents a set of figure prefix properties. You use the figure prefix database to automate the creation and display of figures.

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AutoCAD Civil 3D provides tools for collecting survey data, performing calculations, and automating symbol placement and line work. The survey data and figures exist in a database and can be accessed via drawings attached to the same AutoCAD Civil 3D Survey database. Multiple drawings can access the same database.

Button Description

Use to display default survey settings. The settings specified do not affect the database or drawing data.



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Toolspace


Toolbox Tab Overview

The Toolbox tab enables you to access the Reports Manager and to add custom tools. The Toolbox can be turned on and off using the same menu command. Select General>Toolbox.

The following commands are available in the Toolbox shortcut menu:

Execute: Run a selected report.

Refresh: Update the items displayed in the Toolbox.

Button Description

Use to edit the settings for reports.

Use to add custom reports or other custom tools.



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Point Description Keys Overview

The Description Key Set has three primary functions: translating codes into a more meaningful description, assigning a point and/or label style, and assigning a layer for a point object. A Description Key Set can also scale and rotate point symbols in a drawing.

In the Survey profession, a Code (Raw Description) is a shorthand description that has a full description translation. For example, IPF is an Iron Pipe Found (recovered); EFYD is an Existing Fire Hydrant, etc. The Description Key Set translates a shorthand notation into a more meaningful description.

When receiving a survey, some offices use the codes without translation from Raw Description to Full Description, while others want only full descriptions. However, the Codes (Raw Descriptions) and their translations should be part of any office’s implementation of AutoCAD Civil 3D.

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Toolspace


Point Groups Overview

Point Groups are a powerful tool for organizing points and controlling their visibility. Points can belong to two or more groups. They not only organize points, but can also change the point style and label style of points in the group.

A point group has the following characteristics:

The Point group list identifies the points included in the group and updates changes that were made. The properties for a point group can be reviewed or modified. A point group can be locked to prevent changes. A point group can be managed at the project level.

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