AutoCAD Civil 3D®

Procedures

AUTOCAD® AND CIVIL 3D® are registered

trademarks of AutoDesk, Inc.
 Chapter

1
STARTUPS FOR CIVIL 3D - CHAPTER 1 Pg to Pg

COVER PAGE

TABLE OF CONTENTS 1

STANDARD DRAWING NAME CONVENTIONS, LAYOUT & SCALES 2

TOPO SYMBOLS IN CIVIL 3D 3 - 8

CREATE AN ALIGMENT 9 - 10

CREATE A STATION-OFFSET REPORT 11 - 13

SEE THE LCE CAD STANDARDS AND SPECIFICATIONS MANUAL FOR CAD
DRAFTING SPECIFICATIONS

1
STANDARD DRAWING NAME CONVENTIONS, LAYOUT & SCALES
NAMING DOCUMENTS CONTAINED IN
DRAWING TYPE(S) LAYOUT OR VIEW MODE
CONVENTION DRAWING
TITLE TITLE_SHEET.DWG TITLE SHEET MAP IN MODEL SPACE - TITLE
BLOCK IN LAYOUT

GENERAL NOTES GEN_NOTES.DWG MASTER GENERAL SPEC. NOTES IN MODEL SPACE -

NOTES SHEETS IN LAYOUT

DETAILS AND SUMMARIES DET_SUM.DWG DETAILS AND SUMMARY DETAILS/SUMMARIES IN MODEL

TABLES SPACE - SHEETS IN LAYOUT

PLAN & PROFILES (TYPICAL PROJECTNAME_MASTER. OVERALL PROJECT PLAN, OVERALL PLAN/PROFILE IN
PROCEDURE IS TO ALSO INCLUDE DWG OVERALL PROFILE, PLAN AND MODEL SPACE - SHEETS IN
CROSS SECTIONS IN THE MASTER PROFILES LAYOUT
DRAWING)

CROSS SECTIONS (POSSIBLE CROSS EX. & PROP. CROSS EX. & PROP. CROSS SECTIONS IN
THAT THESE COULD BE X- SECTIONS.DWG SECTIONS AND CROSS MODEL SPACE - SHEETS IN LAYOUT
REFERENCED) SECTION SHEETS

SCALES:

DRAWING TYPE(S) DRAWING LTSCALE PLOT SCALE VIEWPORT SCALE

TITLE 1 1 N/A

GENERAL NOTES 1 1 1

DETAILS AND SUMMARIES 1 1 DETAIL DEPENDENT

PLAN & PROFILE SHEETS 1 20 1

CROSS SECTIONS 1 5 1

2
TOPO SYMBOLS IN CIVIL 3D

3
Carlson Symbols vs Civil 3D Cogo Points

The process for using topographic symbols in the Carlson Survey and Civil 3D software is now being
described in this manual. In previous versions, the symbology was controlled by Carlson Survey,
generating satisfactory topo points, however, having no dynamic capabilities, rotation of the topo
symbols was always necessary on projects that ran South to North, and some symbols had to be
rotated no matter the orientation of the survey. Carlson Survey will no longer be used as the final
application of creating topo symbols. Civil 3D will be used for this process, although, when a project
is delivered to staff, they will be receiving 2 drawings from the Survey Dept., one being the original
survey with the Carlson symbols and one containing just the 2D and 3D lines created by Carlson.

When topo symbols are created by Civil 3D, they are now dynamic, which means, that when the view
in model space or layout tabs is rotated, the symbols automatically rotate to the view (there will be a
few exceptions - see pg. 25).

Another benefit of using the C3D cogo points is you do not have to have the PNTS layers on to see the
PNT NO, PNT DESCR or PNT ELEV. Just mouse over any cogo point and Civil 3D reveals all – Point
Number, the Style controlling the cogo point, the Layer that the cogo point is on, the Description, the
Easting, the Northing, and the Elevation.

Civil 3D Cogo Points Labels

Labels for cogo points are controlled and edited differently than the Carlson symbols are. When
you click on a cogo point, right click and then click Properties. You can then modify and make any
changes to the label text in the Description Format field as shown:

4
Tree Symbols

The deciduous and coniferous trees have been modified for a more balanced look on the plans.
The trees now come into the drawing based on the size of the spread, not the trunk. Below is an
example of the deciduous tree:

30” Dec. Tree

Notice that the trunk size is more balanced and realistic looking in relation to the spread.

Below are the other tree and bush variations:

Pine Tree Multi-Stem Deciduous Multi-Stem Coniferous

Coniferous Bush Deciduous Bush (Updated Block)

5
Rotated Symbol Exceptions
There are two new exceptions of the symbol library that will not be dynamic in relation to
rotating automatically to the view. The sign symbols sign, and sign2. The reason for this will be,
depending on which side of the road these symbols are on and which direction they need to face.
They need to be rotated in a certain direction. In most cases, the direction will be North, South,
East or West. There will be a few cases though where there are exceptions to this rule:

 Curves on a road
 Roads that have NW & SE or SW & NE orientation

In these cases, the sign symbols will have to be manually rotated to face the correct direction.
Let’s go through some examples of what needs to happen for these symbols to face the correct
direction.

Let’s start with the basics of N, S, E or W direction.

Sign Example. Here is an existing sign on the east side of the road:

To get this rotated in the right direction, we merely have to re-assign the point style of the
symbol. There are four point styles for sign and sign2 that are based on direction N, S, E, & W.
Since this sign is on the east side of the road, the face of the sign needs to face South.

Just a note here – there will be some cases where you will have to rotate the sign symbol
manually, using the rotate command, because the sign is actually facing an odd direction. In
these cases, it is because it is a sign that may not be traffic related, but relates to an intersecting
road or drive entrance (a sign that is posted next to an drive entrance of some business or
landmark property), or could be due to the orientation of the road.

6
Sign Symbols

To change the rotation of this sign by Point Style, click on the sign symbol, right click and click
Properties:

In the Properties box for the symbol, go the Style and change the Style from Sign-E to Sign-S:

Here is the result. The sign symbol has been rotated to the desired direction:

All symbol labels are set up to rotate dynamically by the view.

7
Mailbox Symbol

The mailbox symbol is now being treated a little differently than before. This symbol will rotate
automatically with the view. The Survey Dept. now has two symbols for mailboxes – one left and
one right, which means they will shoot mailboxes on the left side of the road as ML and
mailboxes on the right side of the road as MR. When they do this, this will ensure that the
mailboxes will rotate correclty to the view, no matter what the direction of the project – west to
east or south to north.

8
CREATE AN ALIGNMENT

9
To define an alignment from a polyline (only use if an alignment has not been created)
1. Draw a polyline in your drawing that represents the surveyed baseline that came from the
Survey Department. When polyline is drawn, continue to next step.

2. In the Create Design Panel, Click Alignments pull down. Click Create Alignment From Objects.

3. Select the polyline that represents the baseline alignment.

4. Accept Alignment direction or Reverse direction

5. In the Create Alignment - From Polyline Dialog Box, specify a Site or accept the default
<None>.

6. Enter a unique name for the alignment.

7. Enter an optional description for the alignment.

8. Specify an alignment style or accept the default style.

9. Specify the object layer settings.

10. Specify an alignment label set or accept the default label set.

11. Specify the conversion options.

12. Click OK.

10
CREATE A STATION-OFFSET REPORT

11
In this procedure, you will create a station-offset report.

Type in staoff in the command prompt. Hit Enter:

Type in SE for Settings and hit Enter:

Be sure to sort by Station, leave the rest as is. Click OK:

Type in PO and hit Enter. Select _All Points and click OK:

Hit Enter after you have clicked OK.

12
Go to your Project folder and open up the _staoff.txt file:

Here is your station offset report:

NOTE TO CONSULTANTS: THE STATION-OFFSET COMMAND IS NOT A CIVIL 3D

COMMAND. IF YOU ARE INTERESTED IN USING THIS COMMAND ALONG WITH SOME
OTHER USEFUL ONES, VISIT http://www.quux.biz/SincpacC3D.aspx . SINCPAC C3D
SOFTWARE IS AN ADD-ON TO C3D. WHEN INSTALLED, IT INSTALLS THE TRIAL VERSION,
AND LIMITS SOME OF THE COMMANDS AVAILABLE, BUT THE COMMANDS THAT DO
RUN, RUN COMPLETE (INCLUDING THE STATION-OFFSET).

C3D DOES HAVE A BUILT IN STATION OFFSET REPORT, BUT OUR OFFICE PREFERS THE
SINCPAC VERSION .

13
 Chapter

2
PROFILES AND CROSS SECTIONS - CHAPTER 2 Pg to Pg

TABLE OF CONTENTS 14

CREATE A PROFILE 15 - 19

EIXISTING PIPE NETWORKS 20 - 30

CREATE P&P OR PLAN ONLY SHEETS IN THE MASTER DRAWING 31 - 36

CREATE SAMPLE LINES 37 - 39

CREATE EX. EDGES OF PVMT. FOR CROSS SECTIONS 40 - 54

CREATE SECTION VIEWS 55 - 64

ADDING ADDITIONAL PIPE NETWORKS IN SECTION VIEWS 65 - 69

LABELING PIPES AND STRUCTURES IN SECTION VIEWS 70 - 71

14
CREATE A PROFILE

15
To create a Profile (create profile in the Master.dwg - Note: Disregard Alignment Name as some of
these instructions were taken from previous manual procedures.)
1. Under the Create Design Tab, click Profiles pull down Create Surface Profile.

2. In the Create Profile From Surface dialog box, in the Alignment field, select your alignment:

On the right side of the dialog box, click . A centerline profile is added to the Profile
List.

3. Click .

This is the Create Profile View Wizard. Give your profile view a name, check other settings, click
Next:

Note: Most settings for the Profile and Profile View are preset.

16
Keep your Station Range to Automatic or customize it to your project needs:

Click Next.
Adjust the Profile View height:

17
 Here are the explanations of Split Profile Views:

Split Profile View

Specifies that the profile view will be split if the height of the profile extends
beyond the User-Specified height value of the profile view.

First Split View Style

Specifies the profile view style to use for the first split profile view segment. Use
the standard controls to edit the style or create a new one.

Intermediate Split View Style

Specifies the profile view style to use for the all split profile view segments
between the first and last segments. Use the standard controls to edit the style or
create a new one.

Click Next.

Profile Display Options (you shouldn’t have to do anything to this):

Click Next.

18
Data Bands (you shouldn’t have to do anything to this either):

Profile Hatch Options (to be covered at a later time):

Click Create Profile View. Select your Profile View origin.

19
EXISTING PIPE NETWORKS

20
TO CREATE AN EXISTING PIPE NETWORK

Here you have two existing storm manholes:

Now, go to the Pipe Network pull down>click

Pipe Network Creation Tools:

You should now have a box like this. Be sure

to select all the pull downs, then click OK :

21
The Pipe Network Creation Toolbar will appear:

Make sure to select the type of structure you need and the size/type pipe. By
default, it is ready to put the first structure in. (Note: If you only want to put the
structures in first, select the drop down arrow next to the icon. You have the option
of putting a structure only in or a pipe only).

When you are ready to put the first structure in, use either the center snap or the
insert snap, snap onto the first manhole. Then snap onto the next m.h. or pipe end:

You should end up with something like this:

22
If you need to add more pipes and structures to the pipe network you have just
created, click on the last structure and right click, then click Edit Network:

The Network Layout Tool appears for

this pipe network. You can change the
mode depending on what type of
feature you are continuing for this pipe
network.

We will just add another structure and pipe run to this network. Since we are
snapping onto an ex. C.B., we will change the structure type to the C.B. Snap onto
the structure that connects to the catch basin or whatever feature you are adding:

Hit Enter.

23
Here is the end result. Erase the labels from the plan by just selecting each one and
hit the Delete key on your keyboard, as the labels for structures only appear in the
profile and cross sections.

To draw (project) your pipe network pipes and structures to your profile, do the
following. First, click on and right click on one of the structures you are projecting to
your profile, and choose Draw Parts in Profile View:

24
Go to your profile and select the Profile View:

Your M.H. structure should look like this:

Note: Do not be concerned about the inner wall and floor showing up just yet. There
is a LISP routine that will be used near the end of the project to fill in all existing and
proposed structures in the profiles. The LISP routine is very simple and it
automatically draws in the correct wall thickness and floor thickness / bottom
invert.

25
Now just add the rest of your Pipe Network(s) to the profile:

To adjust invert elevations in the pipes and structures, here are the basics.

Click, then right click on one of the structures, and select Structure Properties:

26
Here you can modify the rim and invert properties and behavior of the structure and
pipes to match the Rim , Sump and Pipe Inverts collected in the field:

For Catch Basins, be sure to modify the inner

structure diameter to the actual size of the
existing structure – size of ex. structure is
usually indicated in the survey field notes.

27
28
Once you have the existing pipes and structures in the profile and the rim elevations,
and inverts of the pipes and structures to their correct elevations, use the following
LISP routines to draw in the inner walls of the structures. If for any reason, you have
to relocate an existing structure or move a proposed structure, delete the inner wall
from the structure, relocate it and then re-use these routines to draw them back in.

Steps for Inner Wall Creation

Type in appload in Civil 3D. Browse to g:\data\engineer\cadstds\lisp
and select PMH.lsp or PCB.lsp (PMH is for manhole structures and PCB is for catch
basin structures:

Select the desired lsp file and click Load. (If you hold down the CTRL key you can
highlight both). You can now click Close:

29
Now type in either PMH or PCB, depending on the structure. For this example, I will
be doing both.

1. Hit Enter

2.

Select the top and then the bottom of the structure:

3. 4. 5. Done.

Use the PCB command for catch basins. You will be

asked to provide the inner structure diameter. For this
example, we will use 2, since the structure is a 3’
structure. Now just select the top and bottom of the
structure as you did before:

30
CREATE P&P OR PLAN ONLY
SHEETS IN THE
MASTER DRAWING

31
Go to the ribbon, and click on the Output Tab>Create View Frames:

Click Next after choosing your baseline and adjust Sta. Range (if necessary):

Make your choice of Plan and Profile or Plan Only and your template is set:

After that, just make sure these settings are as follows:

32
Click Next. Click Next again to this screen. Click the 2nd checkbox and make the value 50
or 100. The value of 50 will give you 550’ of plan view and 100 will give you 500’:

You can click Next, and then click Create View Frames or just click Create View Frames.

Next, go back to the ribbon and click Create Sheets:

Be sure to check All layouts in the current drawing – click Next:

33
Click Next:

Click Create Sheets:

You’ll see this:

Click OK

34
You will be prompted to select an insertion point for the profiles for each sheet:

Pick a point in your drawing. You will see this:

Now you’ll have the profiles for each sheet in your model space and each plan and
profile sheet for your layouts:

35
Note: After you have created the sheets, you will have to adjust the elevation range of
each sheet profile in model space.

To do this, click, then right click on the Profile View and select Profile View Properties…:

Now, make sure you are on the Elevations tab, and then change the range to make it
more suitable for the sheet (Do this for each sheet profile):

Click OK.

36
CREATE SAMPLE LINES

37
In this procedure, you will create a set of sample lines along the alignment. This is the first step in
generating cross sections.

The sample lines define the stations at which the cross sections are cut, and also the width of the
sections to the left and right of the alignment. A set of sample lines is stored under a Sample Line
Group for the alignment. Each sample line group has a unique name. Each line within the group
also has a unique name.

To create sample lines

1. Click the Profiles and Section Views Sample Lines.

2. At the Select an Alignment prompt, press Enter to display the Select Alignment dialog box.

3. Select your alignment. Click OK.

4. On the next dialogue box, be sure to select the layers for Sample line layer and the Section
sampling defaults layer.

Click OK.

38
 5. On the Sample Lines Tools bar, click this pull down to get the station range option:

You should get this box. Fill it in as shown:

These are the right and left distances

from CL – use own judgment for
determining

Click OK.

Now select specific locations along you baseline, (such as drive locations, existing storm drain
structures, etc.) to include them with the sample line creation. Be sure to include the swath widths
(Note: Consult your driveway summary to specify drive locations by stations):

39
CREATE EX. EDGES OF PVMT. FOR
CROSS SECTIONS

40
In your Cross Section drawing, create an Assembly called “EX-EP”:

Be sure the settings are as follows:

Click OK.

41
Pick a point to locate your new assembly:

Next, make sure your markers are on:

42
Click the light bulb to turn them on and click OK:

Make sure your Tool Palettes is up to see the assemblies:

43
Select the following assembly component under the Imperial – Generic Tab:

LinkWidthAndSlope

Next, go to your properties box and make sure the side is set to right:

Now, select the assembly maker:

44
You should see this:

Go back to Tool Palettes and select the same component LinkWidthAndSlope, then go
to properties and switch the side to Left:

45
Now, select the assembly marker again and you should see this:

Go back to your Tool Palette and select LinkVertical:

46
Go to properties and change the Vertical Deflection to -1:

Now select one end marker and hit enter until you get the Command Prompt to insert
the LinkVertical component. Repeat for the other side:

47
Now go to your Prospector Tab and right click your assembly called “EX-EP” and click
properties:

Make the Construction tab active, right click on the Group Names and rename them to
something meaningful:

48
Like Existing EP group:

Click on the Right LinkWidthAndSlope (Right) , and under the Default Input Value,
change the Omit Link to Yes. Repeat for LinkWidthAndSlope (Left):

49
Now click OK.

Go back and turn off your markers.

50
You are now going to create a new corridor for your new assembly. Click the Corridor
pull down and click Create Corridor:

Give the corridor the name Ex EP (skip description unless one is needed):

Make sure these are set correctly:

Make sure these are set correctly as well:

51
 Set these last ones and click OK:

Click Set All Targets:

Select the Object Name field for Offset Target (Left):

52
Click Select from Drawing and select the left side edge of pavement survey figure line:

Now just click OK.

Repeat the same step for the right side:

For the Slope or Elevation Targets, Target Profile (Left) again repeat the same step:

Select from Drawing the left side edge of pavement and then click OK. Then the right:

Select from Drawing the right side edge of pavement and then click OK.

53
It should now look like this:

Click OK and then you will be prompted to rebuild your corridor – do so.

Now add your new corridor to your sample line group:

Right click on the Sample Line group and click

Properties.

Click Sample more sources…

Highlight your corridor and click Add>>.

Click OK twice.

54
CREATING SECTION VIEWS

55
Before creating Section Views, you will have to change the scale under the general
settings of the drawing. Follow these steps:

In the Toolspace, click the Settings Tab:

Next, right click on the drawing name and click Edit Drawing Settings:

56
You are going to change the scale from 20 to 5, so the section views come into the
drawing, looking correct. Just change the 20 in the Custom scale field to 5, then click
OK:

Now you are ready to create your Section Views.

On the ribbon, click the Section Views pull down, and click Create Multiple Views:

57
On this first screen, you would typically want to do an Automatic setting for the
Station range, but I’ve specified a range to reduce the amount of Section Views for
this training document. The rest of the settings are fine as is. Click Next:

If the template is not set to the proper template file, click the button with the 3 dots
next to the field, and browse to G:\data\ENGINEER\CadStds\Plan Production
Sheets\cross section 2015.dwt. Set the Group Plot Style to as shown. Click Next:

58
On this screen, you can adjust the swath width of the Section Views, based on the
Portrait or Landscape format of the template. The default should be set for Portrait,
-40 and 40. Click Next:

Specify the Section view height option to follow a section – SRF. Click Next:

59
On this screen, you can choose to include or exclude the SRF and pipe networks by
checking or unchecking the boxes. By default, they will be checked. Click Next:

Be sure on this next screen that the band set is set to LCE Standard. Click Create
Section Views:

60
Here is the result:

You’ll notice that the pipe entering the structure does not look right. We can fix this.

In your plan that shows your sample lines, you’ll see that the sample line is cutting
straight through the structure and because the pipe is at an angle to the sample line,
the pipe is actually shown correctly in the section. We need to change how the
sample line is cutting through the structure and pipe:

Straight Sample Line Draw line thru run to BL Move SL by grip to line

61
 New Location Drag Sample Line end to Finished dragged state
pipe end or structure

Hit Esc. You’ll notice the section has extended out past the swath width of the
sections. This may not happen all the time, depending on where the end of the
sample line ends in relationship to the other sample lines.

62
This is easily fixed. Just click the section view and right click and click Section View
Properties:

Click the Offset Tab and change the Offset range by User specified settings, so that
the left and right side are at an equal distance, which should be 40. Click OK:

Now the section view looks correct:

63
Remember, when you initially run the Create Multiple Section Views wizard, you can
set the User Specified Offset range Settings to -40 Left and 40 Right and this will
control any pipe networks or pipe crossing that goes beyond the sample line and
section view limits.

ADDITIONAL STEP

You will need to adjust the location of the section views to be centered in the
layouts of the Cross Section Sheets when they are created. Use the Move Step A for
Portrait style cross section sheets and Move Step B for Landscape style.

Move Step A

Use the Move command > select all your section views > enter > select your base
point > type in the following:

@4,5

Hit enter.

Move Step B
Use the Move command > select all your section views > enter > select your base
point > type in the following:

@5,5

Hit enter.

64
 ADDING ADDITIONAL PIPE
NETWORKS IN SECTION VIEWS

65
To add additional pipe networks to your section views, do this. After the pipe
network has been created in your Topo drawing, be sure to add it as a data shortcut.
Right click on the data shortcuts in Prospector and click Create Data Shortcuts:

If you want, you can check the Hide already published pipe networks to show just
the pipe networks that you want published.

Check the pipe network(s) that you want published and click OK:

66
You see that this pipe network has been added as a data shortcut:

Click Save in your Topo drawing. Now open or switch to your Cross Section drawing.
You will see the following balloon notification if you already had you Cross Section
drawing opened:

If you do see this, click the Synchronize. If you re-opened your Cross Section
drawing, the new data shortcut will have synchronized automatically. You will still
need to make a new reference to the new data shortcut. Do this…right click the new
data shortcut and click Create Reference:

67
Depending on the type of pipe network you’ve referenced, be sure your settings are
correct, then click OK:

Now drill down in Prospector to your Sample Line group, right click and click
Properties:

68
Be sure the Sections tab is active, click the Sample more sources button:

Click on the available source(s) you wish to add and click the Add>> button:

Then click OK, and click OK again.

This is what was added to the Topo

drawing…

And this is what has been updated in the Cross Section drawing:

69
LABELING PIPES AND STRUCTURES
IN SECTION VIEWS

70
Select the pipe or structure pipe network in the section and right click:

Select Add Label:

To move the label, just click it to highlight it and select the grip, move the label and pick
a new location for the label:

1) 2)

3)
Repeat procedure for structures.

71
 Chapter

SHEET MANAGEMENT FOR CIVIL 3D - CHAPTER 3 Pg to

3 Pg

TABLE OF CONTENTS 72

CREATING P&P SHEET LAYOUTS USING PLAN PRODUCTION 73 - 91

CREATING SPLIT PROFILE SHEETS USING PLAN PRODUCTION 92 - 118

CREATING DOUBLE PLAN SHEETS USING PLAN PRODUCTION 119 - 127

CREATE A TITLE SHET FOR YOUR PROJECT 128 - 131

CREATE CROSS SECTION LAYOUTS 132 - 144

SETTING UP GENERAL NOTES & TRAFFIC NOTES DRAWINGS 145 - 147

LABELING P&P AND CROSS SECTION SHEETS 148 - 151

72
CREATING P&P SHEET LAYOUTS
USING PLAN PRODUCTION

73
PLAN PRODUCTION – USING THE PLAN PRODUCTION TEMPLATE
Typical Plan and Profile

When you are ready to create your sheet layouts, follow these steps.

Click on the Output Tab, then click Create View Frames:

Make sure you have your proper Alignment chosen and specify the type of Station Range:

Click Next.

74
Under the Sheet Settings, click on the Browse button next to the Template for Plan and Profile
sheet field (note-the template field may be already filled in with a default location-disregard this
location):

In this box, again select the Browse button to navigate to the LCE standard template file:

By default, the Open box should navigate to the Support folder out on the network. Click the Up
Folder icon to go to the previous folder:

75
Select the Plan Production Sheets folder:

Select the PLAN PRODUCTION.dwt file and click Open:

76
Now your selection becomes clear. Select the appropriate layout you wish to use. In this case, we
will use LCE PP6-20:

In the View Frame Placement settings, the default should be standard for our use. You may only
need to change this setting in certain situations:

Click Next:

77
Give your View Frame Group an appropriate name and click Next:

78
These settings are pre-set in the command settings or this wizard. You may change the
Repositioning setting if for any reason you would need to reposition any of the match lines.
Click Next:

79
In this box, you can pre-set the type of display you wish to see when your profile views are
created. For now leave these settings as is and click Create View Frames:

You see your View Frames:

It’s time to create your sheet layouts. Go back to the Ribbon and click Create Sheets:

80
As you can see, you have some control over what you can create here. In the Layout Creation, you
will have to make the determination of where the layouts are going to go based on the type and
length of the project you are doing. For this tutorial, I am putting them into a separate drawing
(this coincides with the new work flow chart). Click Next:

Now an explanation of the new north arrow block feature. Our north arrow is now a block that
resides in each of the plan production layouts. By default, the wizard is automatically set to use
our north arrow block called “narrow”. When the sheet layouts are created, Civil 3D automatically
orientates the north arrow to the orientation of the project. I specifically picked this test project to
show exactly how this works, since this project is orientated from south to north:

You will see this at the end of this tutorial.

Click Next:

81
Here you can create a new Sheet Set or add what you are creating to an existing Sheet Set. Take
note of the Sheet file name under Sheets. It is already set to be called Plan Production, again based
on our new work flow chart. Do not change this. Click Next:

82
In this next box, it shows the Profile view settings styles that will be used, the profile view options.
Notice that the profile I had created previous to the starting of this tutorial is called Overall Profile. I
think this may be a good practice for all users in the future. Click Next:

83
In this next box, since we are “transporting” the sheet layouts and the plan and the profile by x-ref
over to a new drawing called “Plan Production”, you can include any or all data shortcuts
automatically just by choosing them here. Make your choices and click Create Sheets (notice you
can copy your pipe network labels as well to your destination drawing):

Click OK to this next prompt:

84
Select a location for your new profile views:

When the process is completed, if you have created the layouts in the current drawing, then the
new profile views and the sheet layouts should of appeared in your current drawing. Since we told
the wizard to create a separate drawing for the profile views and layouts, we need to open the
drawing called Plan Production in the project folder. Let’s do that, shall we?

85
Go to the quick access toolbar, and click the Open folder icon. Select the Plan Production drawing
file and click Open:

Once opened, if you zoom in on the first profile view, you will notice that the profile is riding low
in the view.

86
This is a small bug in the software. Back in the wizard, there was a step where you could base the
profile views elevation range on the overall profile already created or you could manually enter in
the elevation range that you wanted:

Had we selected the Profile View Wizard, this is what we would of seen:

As you can plainly see, there is no way to change the elevation range here, because it’s grayed out.
So we’ll have to adjust each profile view as we go along. Here’s the quick way.
Select and right click on the profile view. Click Profile View Properties:

Click on the Elevations Tab, and put in a reasonable elevation range:

87
Now we are going to deviate a little from the current process to explain the two different grid
styles. (Please refer to this section of this tutorial as a reference for any other plan production
tutorials for switching between profile view styles and profile view band styles.) Ok, here we go.

By default, the profile view and the profile view band are set to what’s known as the LCE Design
View styles. We are going to change it to the LCE Plot View styles. Since you have the Profile View
Properties still up, click on the Information Tab and click the Object style pull down and change the
style to the Plot View style:

Next, click the Bands Tab, and double click the Style under the Bands List. Click the pull down
And select the Plot View Style and click OK:

88
Click OK:

Notice the change in the view:

To reverse the display, just reverse the process. Select Profile View, right click, select Profile View
Properties, Information Tab, change object style back to Design View, click Bands Tab, change the
style under the Bands List back to Design View, and click OK and voila you’re back:

89
OK, back to the Plan Production drawing. Here is one of the layout sheets:

Now, just a bit of explanation to the Plan Production Layout Sheets, the grid and the north arrow
block. As you may already know, the grid no longer resides with in the actual plan and profile
block. We are now using the Civil 3D grid that is created with the Profile View. Here is the spacing
details for the grid itself:

90
As for the north arrow, you no longer have to manually deal with this block. The Plan Production
wizard does it for you:

This ends this tutorial.

91
CREATING SPLIT PROFILESHEETS
USING PLAN PRODUCTION

92
PLAN PRODUCTION SPLIT PROFILE– USING THE PLAN PRODUCTION TEMPLATE
Typical Split Left and Right Plan and Profile

Before using this process, be sure that your pipe networks are separated by the left and right sides,
because this process can take that into account and make adding your pipe networks to your split
profiles that much easier.

When you are ready to create your overall profile and split profile layouts, follow these steps.

Be sure you are on the Home Tab, then click Profile View, then Create Profile View:

Next, give the Profile View an appropriate name, and make sure the stacked profile view is
selected and click Next:

93
Specify your Station Range, give the length of each view as 550’ and click Next:

For Multiple Profile Views, C3D only allows specific height, not Elevation Range. Use default:

SPECIAL NOTE – The next section may be a bit confusing, but the best explanation is this. This
section pertains to profiles that have larger elevation ranges where you would need to “split” the
profile vertically across the profile view, just as it shows when you enable this feature:

Do not use this feature unless your

profile requires it. In most if not all
cases, you will not need this feature. By
default, it is not enabled. Leave the box
unchecked.

94
Click Next:

On the next screen, this is where the stacked profile settings are determined. The command
settings for this feature are already set up for you. Click Next:

95
Here are the Profile Display options. In the Specify profile display options area, click the check box
under Draw:

Now click the Top View and repeat the same step:

Click Next:

This next screen allows you to add your pipe networks to your split profiles.

Be sure to assign the proper pipe network to

the correct view. Any left side pipe network
will be assigned to the Top View and any
right side pipe network the Bottom View.

Bottom View:
Top View:

96
The next screen should not be fooled with, just click Next:

97
Again, do not worry about the next screen either and click Next. At the last screen, if the screen
doesn’t look like this, change the settings to the following, and click Create Profile Views:

Here are the split profile views. Your Profile Views may look different in that the profiles will be
lower in the profile view itself. Not to worry, we will fix this issue a little later:

Now, click on the Output Tab, then click Create View Frames:

98
Make sure you have your proper Alignment chosen and specify the type of Station Range:

Click Next.

Under the Sheet Settings, the Template for Plan and Profile sheet field will probably already be set
to the proper location. If not, see the Plan Production-Typical Plan and Profile tutorial to browse to
select the Plan Production template. Select the Browse button next to the template field :

99
Select the LCE PPSPLIT 20 layout and click OK:

Be sure your offset distance is the way you want it and Click Next:

100
Give the View Frame Group an appropriate name and click Next:

101
Just click Next:

102
In this box, you can pre-set the type of display you wish to see when your profile views are
created. For now leave these settings as they are and click Create View Frames:

You should see your View Frames:

It’s time to create your split profile sheet layouts. Go back to the Ribbon and click Create Sheets:

103
As you can see, you have some control over what you can create here. In the Layout Creation, you
will have to make the determination of where the layouts are going to go based on the type and
length of the project you are doing. For this tutorial, I am putting them into a separate drawing
(this coincides with the new work flow chart). Click Next:

Click Next:

104
Here you can create a new Sheet Set or add what you are creating to an existing Sheet Set. Take
note of the Sheet file name under Sheets. It is already set to be called Plan Production, again based
on our work flow chart. Do not change this. Click Next:

105
In this next box, it shows the Profile view settings styles that will be used, the profile view options.
Notice that the profile I had created previous to the starting of this tutorial is called Test - Split
Profile. I think this may be a good practice for all users in the future to call these elements that
mean something. Click Next:

106
In this next box, since we are “transporting” the sheet layouts and the plan and the profile by x-ref
over to a new drawing called “Plan Production”, you can include any or all data shortcuts
automatically just by choosing them here. Make your choices and click Create Sheets (notice you
can copy your pipe network labels as well to your destination drawing):

Click OK to this next prompt:

107
Select a location for your new profile views:

Here is the result. Notice the Profile Views it created are not split, but we’re not going worry about
that, as we are not going to use these Profile Views:

108
When the process is completed, if you have created the layouts in the current drawing, then the
new profile views and the sheet layouts should appear in your current drawing. Since we told the
wizard to create a separate drawing for the profile views and layouts, we need to open the
drawing called Plan Production in the project folder. Let’s do that, shall we?
Go to the quick access toolbar, and click the Open folder icon. Select the Plan Production drawing
file and click Open:

Once opened, if you zoom in on the first profile views, you will notice that the profiles are riding
low in the views.

109
This is a small bug in the software.

So we’ll have to adjust each profile view as we go along. Here’s the quick way.
Select and right click on the profile view. Click Profile View Properties:

Click on the Elevations Tab, and put in a reasonable elevation range like the following:

Again, you will have to do this for each profile view.

110
Now we are going to deviate a little from the current process to explain the two different grid
styles. (Please refer to this section of this tutorial as a reference for any other plan production
tutorials for switching between the two new profile view styles and the two profile view band
styles.) Ok, here we go.

By default, the profile view and the profile view band are set to what’s known as the LCE Design
View styles. We are going to change it to the LCE Plot View styles. Since you have the Profile View
Properties still up, click on the Information Tab and click the Object style pull down and change the
style to the Plot View style:

Next, click the Bands Tab, and double click the Style under the Bands List. Click the pull down
and select the Plot View Style and click OK:

111
Click OK:

Notice the change in the view:

To reverse the display, just reverse the process. Select Profile View, right click, select Profile View
Properties, Information Tab, change object style back to Design View, click Bands Tab, change the
style under the Bands List back to Design View, and click OK and voila you’re back:

Change the Profile View settings back to Plot View or simply undo.

112
OK, back to the Plan Production drawing. Here is one of the layout sheets:

Obviously, this is not the right profile, so let’s use the Align Space method to get to the split
profiles we want to see (Note-you will have to use this procedure for each sheet layout.)

113
First, click and right click on the profile viewport and click Properties (Note-if you have troubles
selecting the viewport, just select the border block and send it to the back using the Display Order
command, by clicking the block, right click, Display Order, Send to Back):

When the properties come up, change the locked setting to unlocked (No) :

Hit the Escape key afterwards.

114
Double click inside the profile viewport:

Now pan to the split profiles that are associated with this view:

115
You should notice a point that’s part of the border block. This will come in handy when you follow
the next steps:

Click the Express Tools Tab:

Click Align Space:

116
Snap by Endpoint to the location indicated:

Hit Enter. Then, holding the shift key on the keyboard, right click and select Node:

117
Select the point that was pointed out earlier:

Hit Enter.

Here is your Plan Production Split Profile Sheet:

Proceed with re-aligning the rest of the sheet layouts. You can then delete the profile views that
were created by the Create Sheets step of the Plan Production.

118
CREATING DOUBLE PLAN SHEETS
USING PLAN PRODUCTION

119
To start, go to the Ribbon Output Tab > Create View Frames:

This will be similar to the process for the Plan and Profile sheet generation steps.
Choose your settings or leave as is. Click Next:

For this next setting, select Plan only and then click the Template for Plan sheet
button:

120
Browse to g:\data\engineer\cadstds\plan production sheets and choose
LCE PSHT2.dwt and click Open:

Now, just click OK:

121
If you need to set the view frame before the start of the alignment, check the box
and set the preferred distance value. Click Next:

Give the View Frame Group a name:

Click Next:

Click Create View Frames:

122
Here are your View Frames:

Next, go back to the Plan Production panel > Create Sheets:

123
Use the following settings, then click Next:

Click Create Sheets:

Click OK:

124
As you can see, only the top plan is created.

This was the only way to get this process to work; however, here is the quick
workaround. Go to the quick View Layout and click on to the second layout:

125
Select the top viewport, right click, Clipboard and click Copy with Base Point:

Select the upper left hand corner of the viewport by endpoint of this layout:

Hit Escape.

Click back on the first layout.

Hit the combo keys ctrl-v or right click>Clipboard>Paste.

126
Select the lower left hand corner of the upper viewport using endpoint:

And there you are, your double plan sheet:

Now, using this technique, you should be able to move and copy the rest of your
viewports into their respective layouts until you are done. Delete any layouts you
have left over. You will have to rename your layouts to reflect the new stationing
per layout.

127
CREATE A TITLE SHEET FOR
YOUR PROJECT

128
ArcGIS for AutoCAD – Title Sheet Location Maps

Start a new drawing using the Title Sheet template in Plan Production. Browse to the Plan
Production Sheets folder under CAD STDS:

You should then see this:

129
 Zoom into the Location Map area and double click inside the map area:

Once you see the cursor inside the map area, type in Zoom<hit enter> then E for extents.

It should now look like this:

You can now zoom into the area of your project.

130
You should have a result like this. You can now add Project limits; etc.:

131
CREATE CROSS SECTION LAYOUTS

132
We will continue to follow the older procedure of creating Cross Section sheets using
MAP BOOK, because the settings within the latest version of Civil 3D do not address
the format of our Cross Section Sheet template. After the Section Views are created,
the Section Views will have to be moved into a format that is compatible with the older
procedure using MAP BOOK. The Section Views will have to be moved, (in columns of 5
or 6 Section Views), based on the distance indicated below.

After your Section Views are created, there should be a constant distance of 100’
(portrait) between the centers of your columns of Section Views:

Draw a polyline beginning at the center base point of your 1st Section View in the last
column and draw it up to the top endpoint of the center of the last Section View in the
same column:

133
Move the polyline you just drew 100’ (180’ for the landscape procedure) to the right:

This will be your starting point for creating your tiles for MAP BOOK.

Depending on how deep your Section Views are, you should be able to fit 5 or 6 views
to one cross section sheet.

Now, count your Section Views and divide by 5 or 6. This will give you the number of
cross section sheets you will need to create using MAP BOOK. In this example, there
are 52 Section Views, and because these are not deep sections, we should be able to fit
6 sections on a sheet. So 52 views divided by 6, you end up with 8.67 or rounded up, 9
sheets.

134
First, let’s array the polyline we just moved. Using the array command, array the
polyline using these settings:

We should now have 9 polylines at 100’ apart:

Now, using the Move command, move the appropriate number of Section Views to
each line using the Endpoint snap to snap the endpoint of the center base point of the
beginning Section View and move the 1st group to the first line, then the 2nd group to
the 2nd line; etc. until you end up with the following:

Now we can run the new lisp routine that will create the tiles for MAP BOOK.

135
Run the command APPLOAD. Browse to the G:\data\engineer\CadStds\Lisp folder:

Scroll down to the file called tgenp15.lsp. Highlight it and click Load. You can also add
this lisp routine to the History List and/or the Startup Suite:

136
Type in the command tgp and hit Enter:

Type in the No. of Cross Section Columns needed:

Using the Endpoint snap, Select the Tile Point indicated in the command line below:

137
You should now have 9 tiles generated for each column of Section Views:

Now we are ready to use Map Book!

Start the Map Book process. Click on the Map pull down and click Map Book…:

138
You will most likely get this error message. Click OK:

Easy one time fix:

139
Once the path is added, just click OK:

Go back to the Map pull down and click Map Book… again and you should see this:

You will need to change the Source, Sheet Template, Tiling Scheme, Naming Scheme,
and Sheet Set.

Give a name to the Map Book Name field eg: Gradwohl Cross Sections.

140
Click on Sheet Template Settings and click the button for the top field below:

Browse to the network G:\data\engineer\CadStds\Plan Production\ and choose CROSS

SECTIONS.dwt and click Open:

Make sure the settings are as follows:

141
Next, click on the Tiling Scheme – Custom. Click the Select Tiles button:

Select the tiles in the drawing, starting with the 1st one (be sure to pick them in
sequence) and hit Enter:

You’ll notice the tiles you have selected. Change the Overlap to 0%:

Under Naming Schemes, click Sequential and change the fields below to 1:

142
Create a new Sheet Set. This is what came up as the default. Just leave it as is:

Click the Generate button:

If you click the double arrow pointing down next to Model below the Command line,
you’ll see the Cross Section sheets listed in the layouts:

143
Click on one of the Cross Section layouts and you will see the Cross Section Views are
aligned with the Cross Section sheet:

Perfect!

144
SETTING UP GENERAL NOTES &
TRAFFIC NOTES DRAWINGS

145
SETTING UP GENERAL NOTES OR TRAFFIC NOTES SHEETS

Start a new drawing. Click New:

Click the indicated icon:

Click on the Plan Production Sheets folder:

146
Click either of the indicated files (LCE_NBDR – General Notes or LCE_TNBDR – Traffic
General Notes):

For this example, we’ll use the LCE_NBDR.dwt. Click that file:

Click on the main pull down in the upper left hand corner of Civil 3D and
click Save As:

Name this file LCE_GNotes.dwg as directed in Chapter 1 and click Save.

147
LABELING P&P AND CROSS
SECTION SHEETS

148
LABELING P&P AND CROSS SECTION BLOCKS GLOBALLY
Before we begin, please note this process will not work for all block attributes.
Some are unique to each layout (labels e.g.: Sheet Number, Station to Station).
Here we go…
After creating and organizing your sheet layouts, click on the first layout sheet:

At the command prompt, type in “ssx” and hit enter:

149
Select the P&P sheet block:

You will see this at the command prompt:

Hit enter.
Now go to the Properties box and click the Select Objects button:

150
Type in “p” for previous:

Hit enter.
Down at the bottom of the Properties box, you will see this:

Fill out the appropriate information:

Again, these fields should be left

blank as they are unique to each
layout and should be filled in later
Just hit Esc when you’ve
completed filling in the
information.
Now you’ll notice that each sheet in each layout is labeled appropriately:

This is the first

and second
sheet layout
of this
example.

Use this same technique for cross section sheets.

151
 Chapter

4
CIVIL 3D TIPS - CHAPTER 4 Pg to Pg

TABLE OF CONTENTS 152

CREATING A TABLE IN CIVIL 3D 153 - 160

CORRIDORS, OBJECT VIEWER AND PERFORMANCE 161 - 163

CIVIL 3D TEMPLATE FILE LOCATIONS AND DESCRIPTIONS 164

152
CREATING A TABLE IN CIVIL 3D
Type in the command Table
and hit enter

Click the button next to the Table Style

selector

Use this Table Style dialogue box to bring up the Table Style Editor-Click
New or Modify

If you click New, give your Table Style

a name, then click Continue

Now back at the main dialogue,

you have some insert options:

Once you have your table formatted the way you want it, click OK Set your
Table Style current, then Close the previous box

153
You can start from scratch using an empty table. We’ll do that one first. Set your
Insertion behavior, Column and row settings and cell styles:

Click OK:
Pick an insertion point by clicking a point or by
typing one in:

154
You are now presented with this (Please note the font for the style you created is not
the default-will continue to check on this and bring any updates to you):

You can start typing in a label name for the table if you wish. Click OK when you’re
done.
Now double click the first cell:

You can start typing, when filled in, just hit the TAB key and voila, you are in the next
cell, just like Excel:

155
Just repeat until the table is filled.
Another nice feature is the auto fill feature:

If your table has numbers, dates or any other type of data that runs sequentially in
order, just like in Excel, you can click once on the first cell, then click the lighter
colored snap in the lower right hand corner of the cell and drag it down to fill in the
other cells:

156
Repeat for the next cell column:

Pretty cool – so far…

Let’s try another type of insertion. Go back to Insert > Table and do this. Change the
Insertion Option to – From a Data Link:

Click the button next to the data link

field

You should get the box to the right –click on

Create a new Excel Data Link

You will see this:

Fill in the field and click OK.

157
Let’s go browsing:

Browse for the excel file you wish to use.

Click Open.

158
Here is the result:

You have some options here – Link the whole Excel sheet, or a named range or Link to
a range. Click OK. Then click OK once more and once again to insert your new Excel
table. Click or type in an insertion point:

159
If you make a change in the Excel spreadsheet while still in the AutoCAD drawing, you
will be notified that a change has been made and do you wish to update the drawing:

If you noticed the last cell in the table called out for all Type-5 guardrails. The updated
table in AutoCAD now looks like this:

Enjoy creating tables from now on!

160
CORRIDORS, OBJECT VIEWER AND PERFORMANCE
A post in the discussion group today got me thinking about something I do and take for granted. He
was complaining, rightfully so, about how slow corridors are in the object viewer. Read on to find out
a way to improve your performance.

The performance of the Object Viewer seems to be inversely proportional to the amount of data
you’re trying to view. Corridors have a ton of information in them typically.

1. You have corridor sections every X feet or metres; the more you have, the slower it will be.

2. Each corridor section has a ton of information as well. Just think of a LaneOutsideSuper.
13 links
10 markers
4 shapes
That’s 27 objects…and that’s just a single subassembly. A typical urban road may have over
120 pieces that make up EVERY corridor section.

We may need all of that when we create our assembly, but we don’t need to display all that info
inside our corridor. Really, we just need the Top.

Show All (122 objects)

Show Top Only (8 objects)

161
A savings of 114 objects per corridor section. a 93% reduction in objects. Even the most jaded techie
can appreciate that.

How do we do this? Easy…the dreaded Code Set Styles.

To make a long story short, here is an image of my code set style. Notice that the styles for
EVERYTHING except Top links are turned off.

Apply this to your corridor in the corridor properties and go to town in the object viewer

Just to make sure you’re not missing anything. When you are creating those “No Markers” type of
styles make sure you turn off the Links, Markers, or Shapes in both the 2D view and the 3D view. If
you forget the 3D view then, well, you’ve done a lot of work for nothing.

162
There is even more you can do to help yourself. Turn off all those pesky corridor feature lines that
you really don’t need…like all those that lie underground. You’ll find a Feature Lines tab in corridor
properties.

163
CIVIL 3D TEMPLATE FILE LOCATIONS AND DESCRIPTIONS
Location for the following –
E:\Engineer\Departments\Engineering\CadStds\Support\Templates:
ACAD21_New.DWT – This file is the template that contains the Lucas County
Engineers Standards by which all procedural and drawing standards are held
by (Layers, Linetypes, Textstyles, Civil 3D Styles; etc.)

Location for the following - g:\data\engineer\cadstds\plan production sheets:

LCE TITLE.DWT – This file is the template that is used in conjunction with Map
Book to create each project’s Title sheet

LCE PP6-20.DWT – This is the plan and profile template file with the smaller
profile grid that is used with Plan Production

LCE PP8-20.DWT – This is the plan and profile template file with the larger
profile grid that is used with Plan Production

CROSS SECTION.DWT – This is the cross section template file (landscape)

that is used with Map Book

CROSS SECTION.DWT – This is the cross section template file (portrait) that is
used with Map book

LCE NBDR.DWT – This file is the template by which you can create the Master
General Notes from. All 6 pages and their associated layouts are already set
up in this template. Modify as necessary for each project

LCE TNBDR.DWT - This file is the template that is used to create the Master
Traffic Notes from. All 4 pages and their associated layouts are already set up
in this template. Modify as necessary for each project

164