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June tenth, 2019

Using Templates and Drawing Settings for Civil 3D Implementation

Introduction

AutoCAD® Civil 3D® is complex software with many different and connecting parts working together to provide solutions to civil design projects. In this commodity we are going to explore how to use template files to capture characteristic and object settings that you tin utilise to starting time your new drawing or reference into an existing drawing. For a successful implementation, the CAD manager or designer can create, update, and distribute template files to all users to ensure a standard and compatible approach to design work.

Templates

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

Standard Template Procedure

When you create a new drawing based on a cartoon template, the new drawing gets a copy of the styles in the template, simply it is a i-time copy. The connection is not maintained; therefore, if y'all update the template it volition not update your drawing file. For example, if y'all update the surface styles in your template and you wanted your drawings to get those same updates, yous needed to manually copy or import those inverse styles into your drawings.  Yous tin do this past dragging and dropping or selecting the import tab on the Ribbon equally shown in Figure 1.

Figure 1: Import styles

Templates are also listed under the Drawing Templates collection in the Prospector tree Principal View every bit shown in Effigy 2.  Discover the two Civil 3D templates supplied from Autodesk.

Figure 2:  Templates under the Principal View in Prospector

Two templates are provided when yous install Ceremonious 3D.  The path for these templates can be found within the options dialog box under 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 Ceremonious 3D (Royal) NCS
• _AutoCAD Civil 3D (Metric) NCS

These templates contain an extended set up of styles and settings. When you start a new drawing with the New command on the Application menu, y'all can cull which template you want to use.

The QNEW command, 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 now going to change the settings of our template file (Effigy 4). Open the template file y'all created named C3D_Standard.dwt on the Home tab of the Ribbon > Palettes console > Open Toolspace.

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

Note: If you move up and downwards on this palette there are hundreds of dissimilar settings that can be applied to all types of Civil 3D object data.

Figure 4: Drawing settings

C3D Drawing Settings

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

1. Drawing settings: Establish values for the whole drawing.
2. Feature settings: Control behavior for a feature, such equally Surfaces or Parcels.
3. Command settings: Apply to private commands within a feature, such as the AddParcelAreaLabel control inside the Parcels feature.

Yous alter each level of settings at a different location in the Settings tree, every bit shown in Figure 5.

Effigy 5: Setting tree

Let's focus on the main drawing Drawing-Level Settings and Feature Level Settings. To access cartoon-level settings, right-click the cartoon proper noun C3D_Standard in the settings tree and click Edit Cartoon Settings as shown in Figure 6.

Figure 6:  Edit Drawing settings

At the drawing level, the Edit Settings dialog box contains full general tabs for the drawing (or template) as shown in Figure 7.  We do not want to alter whatsoever of these settings except for the Object Layers. Ambient Settings can exist altered, but will be overridden by the drawing and feature settings.

Figure 7: Drawing settings

To illustrate how this works, nosotros will edit one of these settings in the Object Layers section.  Move to the Object Layers tab on the dialog box and scroll down to Tin Surface equally shown in Figure eight. We are going to add a suffix to the default characterization using a wildcard to ensure that our surface is ever on the C-Topo- layer with a suffix of the surface name (i.due east., C-Topo-EG).

Figure 8: Object layers

1. Movement to the C-TOPO layer.
2. Change the value to Suffix.
3. Add a -* to the value field.  The hyphen volition exist added to C-TOPO and the surface proper noun will be appended to the cease of the layer (i.e., C-TOPO-EG).

You have at present created a standard for Tin Surface layers in Civil 3D and tin can implement this process. Explore other options at the drawing settings level to ensure your template is ready to become.

Figure 9: Object Layer modifications

Feature-Level Settings

Utilize the object drove 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 example, nosotros are going to select the Point Collection.

Effigy x: Point Feature settings

At the object level, this dialog box also contains object-specific settings, such as default point styles. In this department we tin control how our betoken characterization styles are in our drawing as default. If we want all the points to exist brought in as a item style or maker, we tin can edit these values as our default inside our template file. Figure 11 shows the Point Label Style and the dialog box to change the value inside the object characteristic settings.

Figure 11: Edit Feature settings

Command-Level Settings

Use the Commands collection level in the Settings tree to override both the object-level settings and cartoon ambient settings on a command-by-command basis. Y'all tin also specify command-specific settings. Access the command-level settings by expanding the Commands collection for an object type in the Settings tree, correct-clicking the command, and clicking Edit Command Settings. Figure 12 shows us editing the command level settings for a surface.

Effigy 12: Command-level setting

Layer Standards in Templates

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

For consistency, relieve your template every bit an AutoCAD® standards file (.dws format). So, in the template, enter the STANDARDS command and in the Configure Standards dialog box, link the standards file to the template. If you want to enforce the standards, you tin can click the Settings button and activate notifications of standards violations or override such violations. For additional data on the CAD Standards Director see CSI: CAD Standards Implementation at Autodesk University 2017. https://autode.sk/2T0ozBa

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

At present that you have many of your standards in place for your template, nosotros need to ensure that the template is used on new drawings.  From the application menu, select New and your open dialog box will exist displayed as shown (Figure xiii). Select the C3D_Standard.dwt and all your settings will be inside the new drawing.

Effigy xiii: 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 procedure called reference templates. The command can be found on the Manage tab of the Ribbon > Styles palette > Reference, every bit shown in Figure fourteen

Figure 14: Import styles

When you adhere a reference template to a drawing, the AutoCAD Civil 3D styles that are in that reference template are copied into the drawing, and the connection between the drawing and the reference templates is maintained. Drawings tin exist updated on an ongoing ground either automatically or manually with changes to the styles in the templates.  We are going to add a reference to our current drawing file (Effigy fifteen).

Figure 15: Adhere Reference Template

As nosotros work on our project, changes to the reference templates are pushed to the drawing so it is kept up 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 utilise. If a style is in use, a local copy of the style is fabricated in the drawing.

Select the update button for the template to exist added to the cartoon. In the Toolspace Settings tree, styles that take been referenced into the drawing are marked with a paper clip icon equally shown in Figure 16.  Notice how the surface styles are now being controlled by the reference template and non the cartoon settings.

Effigy 16: The Paper Clip

Every bit you lot continue 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 tin exist imported and referenced by a reference template.

• AutoCAD Layers
• AutoCAD blocks, text styles, and linetypes
• Settings
• Drawing Settings
• Abbreviations
• Ambience Settings
• Object Layers
• Feature Settings
• Characterization Fashion Defaults
• Styles
• Characterization Styles
• Object Styles
• Table Styles
• Piping and Structure Rules
• Pressure Network Parts lists
• Quantity Takeoff Criteria

If you effort to edit a surface style (i.e., rename a layer color) yous will get the post-obit error indicating that your style is being controlled by a referenced template or a company standard. Y'all do have options to override the setting every bit shown in Figure 17, only this is a good reminder to all of u.s. while we work on drawings and maintain our company standards.

Figure 17: The warning

Decision

In a perfect world, your drawing templates and settings volition have the perfect set of styles for your projects. This typically takes time to grow and tin be considered a living template. Consider designing styles to reverberate the information requirements at different times in the project.  The templates are there as a guide to provide you with the basic data needed to brainstorm your design project efficiently. You lot tin create styles and templates for many dissimilar disciplines and notwithstanding follow your company standard. Continue the implementation process going and create your template to help guide your users and your visitor to a better, more standard approach to blueprint piece of work.

Sam Lucido is a CAD Services Manager with Haley & Aldrich, Inc. He has more than 25 years of experience involving pattern, user support, and customization. Sam is an Autodesk certified professional and an Practiced Elite Member. He uses his vast knowledge well-nigh AutoCAD and Ceremonious 3D to aid provide support to applied science and design teams by property easily on workshops and online training. Sam is a tiptop-rated Autodesk University and Midwest Academy Speaker likewise equally being an AUGI Lath Member. You can reach Sam at CADProTips.com or past e-mail
at lucido1373@gmail.com.

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