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June tenth, 2019

Using Templates and Cartoon Settings for Civil 3D Implementation

Introduction

AutoCAD® Civil 3D® is complex software with many unlike and connecting parts working together to provide solutions to civil pattern projects. In this article we are going to explore how to use template files to capture feature and object settings that you tin utilize to start your new cartoon or reference into an existing cartoon. For a successful implementation, the CAD managing director or designer can create, update, and distribute template files to all users to ensure a standard and uniform approach to blueprint work.

Templates

Any new drawing in Civil 3D starts with a default drawing template or a custom template you can create. Cartoon template files are drawings that store styles, settings, layers, and layouts in a drawing including championship blocks.

Standard Template Process

When you create a new cartoon based on a cartoon template, the new drawing gets a copy of the styles in the template, but it is a ane-time copy. The connexion is not maintained; therefore, if you lot update the template it volition not update your drawing file. For example, if you update the surface styles in your template and you wanted your drawings to get those same updates, you needed to manually copy or import those changed styles into your drawings.  You lot can do this past dragging and dropping or selecting the import tab on the Ribbon as shown in Effigy 1.

Effigy 1: Import styles

Templates are also listed under the Drawing Templates collection in the Prospector tree Master View as shown in Effigy ii.  Notice the 2 Civil 3D templates supplied from Autodesk.

Figure two:  Templates under the Primary View in Prospector

Two templates are provided when you install Civil 3D.  The path for these templates can be found within the options dialog box nether the Files > Templates binder.  We are going to open the _Autodesk Civil 3D (Royal) NCS.dwt and relieve this to C3D_Standard.dwt. The ii AutoCAD Civil 3D drawing templates are based on the United states of america National CAD Standard®.

• _AutoCAD Civil 3D (Imperial) NCS
• _AutoCAD Civil 3D (Metric) NCS

These templates contain an extended ready of styles and settings. When you kickoff a new drawing with the New command on the Application carte, you tin can cull which template you want to utilise.

The QNEW control, which is available on the Quick Access toolbar, automatically uses the template specified in the AutoCAD Options dialog box.

Figure 3: The main templates provided

We are at present going to modify the settings of our template file (Figure 4). Open the template file you created named C3D_Standard.dwt on the Home tab of the Ribbon > Palettes panel > Open Toolspace.

1. On the palette, move to the Settings tab.
2. Make sure you are in the Active Drawing Settings View and correct-click C3D Standard as shown.
3. Select Edit Drawing Settings.

Notation: If you movement up and down on this palette in that location are hundreds of different settings that can be applied to all types of Civil 3D object data.

Figure 4: Cartoon settings

C3D Drawing Settings

Settings in Ceremonious 3D control many preset values, such as cartoon units, calibration, and coordinate system. Civil 3D has drawing, feature, and command settings. All three levels of settings in AutoCAD Civil 3D are saved with the drawing, and they can be saved to a drawing template.

1. Drawing settings: Establish values for the whole cartoon.
2. Feature settings: Control beliefs for a feature, such as Surfaces or Parcels.
3. Control settings: Apply to individual commands within a feature, such as the AddParcelAreaLabel command within the Parcels feature.

You modify each level of settings at a unlike location in the Settings tree, as shown in Effigy 5.

Effigy v: Setting tree

Permit'south focus on the main drawing Cartoon-Level Settings and Feature Level Settings. To access cartoon-level settings, correct-click the drawing name C3D_Standard in the settings tree and click Edit Cartoon Settings as shown in Effigy 6.

Effigy half-dozen:  Edit Drawing settings

At the drawing level, the Edit Settings dialog box contains general tabs for the drawing (or template) equally shown in Figure 7.  We exercise not want to change whatsoever of these settings except for the Object Layers. Ambient Settings tin be altered, simply volition be overridden past the cartoon and characteristic settings.

Figure 7: Drawing settings

To illustrate how this works, we will edit one of these settings in the Object Layers section.  Movement to the Object Layers tab on the dialog box and scroll down to Tin Surface as shown in Figure 8. Nosotros are going to add together a suffix to the default characterization using a wildcard to ensure that our surface is always on the C-Topo- layer with a suffix of the surface name (i.e., C-Topo-EG).

Effigy 8: Object layers

1. Move to the C-TOPO layer.
2. Change the value to Suffix.
3. Add a -* to the value field.  The hyphen volition be added to C-TOPO and the surface name will exist appended to the end of the layer (i.due east., C-TOPO-EG).

Y'all have now created a standard for Tin can Surface layers in Civil 3D and can implement this process. Explore other options at the drawing settings level to ensure your template is gear up to go.

Figure 9: Object Layer modifications

Feature-Level Settings

Use the object collection level in the Settings tree to control all settings that pertain to the object type. Access the object or characteristic-level settings by right-clicking the object collection in the Settings tree and clicking Edit Feature Settings.  For this case, we are going to select the Signal Collection.

Effigy 10: Point Feature settings

At the object level, this dialog box also contains object-specific settings, such as default point styles. In this department we can control how our indicate label styles are in our drawing as default. If we want all the points to be brought in as a item fashion or maker, we can edit these values as our default within our template file. Effigy eleven shows the Bespeak Characterization Way and the dialog box to change the value inside the object feature settings.

Figure eleven: Edit Feature settings

Command-Level Settings

Use the Commands collection level in the Settings tree to override both the object-level settings and drawing ambience settings on a command-by-control ground. You can also specify command-specific settings. Access the control-level settings by expanding the Commands collection for an object type in the Settings tree, right-clicking the command, and clicking Edit Control Settings. Figure 12 shows us editing the command level settings for a surface.

Effigy 12: Control-level setting

Layer Standards in Templates

Maintaining a standard for the use of layers in your drawing is easier if you take a drawing template with predefined layers, and styles that reference those layers when objects are created.

For consistency, save your template equally an AutoCAD® standards file (.dws format). Then, in the template, enter the STANDARDS command and in the Configure Standards dialog box, link the standards file to the template. If y'all desire to enforce the standards, you lot can click the Settings button and activate notifications of standards violations or override such violations. For additional data on the CAD Standards Manager meet CSI: CAD Standards Implementation at Autodesk Academy 2017. https://autode.sk/2T0ozBa

The layers created in the AutoCAD Civil 3D 2018 templates follow the National CAD Standard (NCS) rules. For more data about the National CAD Standard layering settings, see http://world wide web.nationalcadstandard.org.

Now that you have many of your standards in place for your template, we need to ensure that the template is used on new drawings.  From the awarding menu, select New and your open up dialog box will exist displayed as shown (Effigy 13). Select the C3D_Standard.dwt and all your settings will exist inside the new drawing.

Effigy thirteen: New template

Note: To control the location of template files and QNEW, review the options under the FILES menu > template settings.

Reference Templates

New to Civil 3D 2022 is a process called reference templates. The command can be institute on the Manage tab of the Ribbon > Styles palette > Reference, every bit shown in Effigy 14

Figure xiv: Import styles

When you attach a reference template to a cartoon, the AutoCAD Civil 3D styles that are in that reference template are copied into the drawing, and the connexion between the drawing and the reference templates is maintained. Drawings tin can be updated on an ongoing footing either automatically or manually with changes to the styles in the templates.  Nosotros are going to add together a reference to our current drawing file (Figure xv).

Figure fifteen: Attach Reference Template

As we work on our project, changes to the reference templates are pushed to the drawing and so it is kept upward to engagement:

• New or changed styles in reference templates are copied to the drawing.
• Styles that are deleted from reference templates are removed from the drawing if the styles are not in use. If a style is in use, a local re-create of the style is made in the drawing.

Select the update button for the template to be added to the cartoon. In the Toolspace Settings tree, styles that accept been referenced into the cartoon are marked with a paper prune icon as shown in Figure 16.  Find how the surface styles are now being controlled by the reference template and not the drawing settings.

Figure xvi: The Newspaper Clip

As you go on to update and/or add new styles to the project standards template, those changes are pushed to the drawings that reference that template.

The following AutoCAD Civil 3D components can be imported and referenced by a reference template.

• AutoCAD Layers
• AutoCAD blocks, text styles, and linetypes
• Settings
• Cartoon Settings
• Abbreviations
• Ambient Settings
• Object Layers
• Feature Settings
• Characterization Mode Defaults
• Styles
• Characterization Styles
• Object Styles
• Table Styles
• Piping and Construction Rules
• Pressure Network Parts lists
• Quantity Takeoff Criteria

If you try to edit a surface style (i.e., rename a layer color) y'all will get the following error indicating that your style is being controlled by a referenced template or a company standard. You exercise have options to override the setting as shown in Figure 17, but this is a good reminder to all of us while we work on drawings and maintain our company standards.

Figure 17: The alert

Conclusion

In a perfect earth, your drawing templates and settings will accept the perfect fix of styles for your projects. This typically takes fourth dimension to grow and can be considered a living template. Consider designing styles to reflect the information requirements at different times in the project.  The templates are there as a guide to provide y'all with the basic information needed to begin your design project efficiently. You can create styles and templates for many different disciplines and still follow your visitor standard. Keep the implementation process going and create your template to help guide your users and your company to a ameliorate, more standard approach to design work.

Sam Lucido is a CAD Services Manager with Haley & Aldrich, Inc. He has more than 25 years of experience involving design, user back up, and customization. Sam is an Autodesk certified professional person and an Skilful Elite Member. He uses his vast knowledge about AutoCAD and Ceremonious 3D to assist provide support to applied science and design teams by holding hands on workshops and online preparation. Sam is a tiptop-rated Autodesk Academy and Midwest University Speaker as well as being an AUGI Board Fellow member. You tin can reach Sam at CADProTips.com or by email
at lucido1373@gmail.com.

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