Civil 3D Tips and Tricks

CIVIL 3D (2016) **REMEMBER TO SAVE OFTEN** Page 1 of 14
Civil 3D Tips and Tricks
To Add The Toolspace Toolbar:
• Type TOOLSPACE at the Command Line or select the Show Toolspace icon in the upper left corner of the
screen.
To Save Your Workspace Settings:
• After finalizing the look of your workspace, click the Gear icon in the lower right corner of the screen.
 Click Workspace Settings

 Click the Automatically Save Workspace Settings button  Click OK
To Restore Missing Dialog Boxes:
• The issue: When trying to open or save a drawing the Command Line asks you to type the name of the file rather
than searching for it in a dialog box.
• The solution: Type FILEDIA at the command line and change the value to <1> and tap Enter on the keyboard
To Restore a Missing Command Line:
• The issue: The Command Line is missing.

• The solution: Type COMMANDLINE with your cursor anywhere on the screen –or- press CTRL+9
To Restore Missing Layout Tabs:
• Right click in Model Space and select Options –or- Type OPTIONS at the Command Line
• Select the Display Tab
• Check the box in front of Display Layout and Model Tabs
• Click Apply
• Click OK
Civil 3D Tips and Tricks 07/2018 WI- NRCS
To Restore The Multiline Text Toolbar:
• The issue: The Multiline Text toolbar is missing making it difficult to edit text.
• The Solution: Type MTEXTTOOLBAR at the command Line
• Set the value to <1>
• Tap Enter on the keyboard
Can’t Delete Anything?
• Type PICKFIRST at the Command Line

• Reset the value to <1>
• Tap ENTER on the keyboard
Need To Divide An Object Into Equal Segments?
• The following will work on Lines, Polylines, Splines, Arcs, Rectangles, Polygons, Feature Lines, & More!
• Type DDPTYPE at the command line to set a division point style and set the point size
o When the Point Style dialog box pops up, choose whatever style you want for the dividing point and set
the point size to something you will be able to see (I choose 5).
• Click OK
• Type DIVIDE on the Command Line
• Select the object to divide
• Enter the number of segments
• Click ENTER – Your object is now divided into equal segments
• The dividing points can then be deleted by clicking on them and tapping the delete key when they are no longer
needed.

Want to Add a PDF to Your CAD Drawing?
• While in either model or paper space type PDFATTACH at the Command Line
• Map to the PDF file you wish to add to your drawing  Click OPEN  Click OK if a warning box pops up
• In the Attach PDF Underlay dialog box select the page you wish to attach by clicking on it
• Click OK
• Click the location and set the scale of the PDF on the screen and move it to the desired location on the page.
Did You Know You Can Insert a Block From the Command Line?
• If your current drawing has block definitions you can simply type the name of the block you want to insert at the
Command Line. You can view a preview of the block and insert it from the Suggestion List.
For example: With the Wisconsin template.
o Type BENCHMARK at the Command Line
o The Suggestion List shows there is a block named BENCHMARK associated with this drawing
o Hover over the Suggestion List for a preview of the block
o Click the Suggestion List to insert the block into the drawing
Want to Change the Speed of the Mouse Wheel?
• If your mouse wheel is zooming either too fast or too slow, type ZOOMFACTOR at the command line and
change the value. The available range is 3-100, with a default value of 60. A higher value will increase the zoom
speed and a lower value will decrease the zoom speed.

Want to Change the Direction of the Mouse Wheel Zoom?
• Type ZOOMWHEEL at the command line and change the value to your desired direction:
o ZOOMWHEEL value of <0>: Wheel forward zooms in. Wheel backwards zooms out.
o ZOOMWHEEL value of <1>: Wheel forward zooms out. Wheel backwards zooms in.
You Can Change the Grip Mode by Tapping the Spacebar
• When selecting an object on your screen and clicking on a grip, the STRETCH command is automatically
activated. Tap the spacebar on your keyboard and you are changed to the MOVE command. Tap the spacebar
again and the ROTATE command is activated. Tap the spacebar again and the SCALE command is activated, one
more tap of the spacebar activates the MIRROR command.
Dialog Box Floating Somewhere Off Screen?
Have you activated a command or function and it appears as if it wants to work but just won’t, and you cannot see the
corresponding dialog box for the command? Odds are (in our multi-monitor world) the dialog box is floating somewhere
you can’t see it. To fix this:
• With a command started, such as Create Feature Line, and the dialog box is missing, or things seem frozen:
o Tap the ALT key  Tap the SPACEBAR  Tap the M key (TAP the keys individually, DO NOT
hold them down)
o Tap any of the direction arrows on the keyboard until the dialog box moves back into view.
Need to Label an Angle Larger Than 180°?
• Type DIMANG at the Command Line

• Tap Enter on the keyboard to activate <specify vertex>
• Select the vertex of your angle
• Select the endpoint of the first line of the angle
• Select the endpoint of the second line of the angle
• Drag the angle measurement to the desired location and click in place

Hold the SHIFT Key to “Unselect” Items
• If you have selected numerous items in your drawing, but need to “unselect” an item or two, simply hold the
SHIFT key down and click on the item(s) you wish to “unselect”.
Function Key Shortcuts
F1 Displays Help
F2 Displays the Text Window
F3 Toggles OSNAPs On and Off
F4 Toggles 3D OSNAPs On and Off
F5 Cycles Through Isometric View Planes
F6 Switches the DUCS (Coordinate Display)
F7 Toggles the Grid Display On and Off
F8 Toggles Ortho Mode On and Off
F9 Toggles Snap On and Off
F10 Toggles Polar Tracking On and Off
F11 Toggles Object Tracking On and Off
F12 Toggles Dynamic input On and Off
Are Your UCS Crosshairs Suddenly Rotated?
• If the crosshairs in the workspace have somehow rotated, and changed colors, it means the User Coordinate
System (UCS) of the drawing has been reset. The default setting for the UCS has the x axis pointing to the right
on the monitor and the y axis pointing to the top of the monitor as it does in the World Coordinate System (WCS)
we are all used to. (Just a side note here… The z axis points out from the monitor).
• To fix this issue: Type UCS at the Command Line and tap ENTER twice. Your crosshairs will return to the
default position.

Easy Ways to Instantly Repeat a Command
• Complete the command of your choice (i.e. drawing a shape) tap the SPACEBAR to instantly repeat the
command.
• Tap the ENTER key after completing a command to instantly repeat the command.
• You can set the User Preferences to repeat a command with a right click of the mouse. To do this:
o Type OPTIONS at the command line (Alternatively you can right click and select OPTIONS from the
shortcut Menu that pops up)
o Select the User Preferences Tab
o Click Right-Click Customization
o Under “Default Mode If no objects are selected, right-click means” select Repeat Last Command
o Click Apply and Close

o Click Apply
o Click Ok
Need to Quickly Select Objects of the Same Type and Properties?
• Click on one of the objects you wish to change/alter

• Type SELECTSIMILAR at the Command Line
• Objects of the same type and properties are automatically selected and highlighted on the screen
• Apply the changes
• Tap ESC to end the command
Move an Object One Pixel at a Time!
• Select the object you want to move

• While holding the CTRL key tap the arrow key representing the direction you want to nudge the object
Click and Move an Object Without the “Move” command
• Select the object  Click on the object again, (not on a grip) and while holding down the mouse button, drag the
object
Missing Ribbon?
• Type RIBBON at the Command Line

Reverse the Direction of an Alignment
• If the alignment you drew is going in the opposite direction it needs to, DON’T PANIC. It’s a simple fix!
o Click the alignment
o On the Alignment Contextual Ribbon click MODIFY
o Click Reverse Direction

o Click OK when the warning message pops up
o Your alignment direction is now reversed
Did You Know You Can Spell Check Your Plan?
• Click the Annotate Tab on the ribbon

• Click the Check Spelling icon
Draw a Polyline at a Specific Angle
• Start the PLINE command and click the starting location of the poly line
• Tap the TAB key on the keyboard
• Input the desired angle
• Tap the TAB key again and draw the polyline
Quickly Convert a Polyline into an Arc
• Click on the polyline you wish to convert to an arc

• Hover over a vertex on the line
• Click Convert to Arc
• Drag arc to the desired depth
*Note: This process only works on the vertex between two endpoints on a polyline. Not on the endpoints
themselves.

Do You Have Blocks or Symbols You Like to Use Often? Create Your Own Tool Palette.
• Open Tool Palettes by either clicking the Tool Palette icon in the upper left corner of your screen or typing
TOOLPALETTES at the command line
• When the Tool Palette pops up, right-click on the title bar (the left side near the Tool Palette title)
• Click NEW PALETTE
• Name your new palette (in this case Blocks)
• Open Design Center by typing DC on the command line
• Map to where your blocks or symbols are saved and double click on the file name
• The blocks in the file will populate the right window of Design Center
• Click, drag, and drop the desired block(s) into your new tool palette
• Your new tool palette is now available in every drawing
Import Outside Source Text into Civil 3D While Keeping the MTEXT Style
Often, we need to import text from outside sources (Brochures, Standards, Product Specifications) into a Civil 3D
drawing. If we simply copy/paste the text, the style and size will not match the rest of the drawing file. Here is a simple
way to bring outside source text into your Civil 3D drawing and have it match the style and size used in the rest of the
project.
• Copy the desired text from the source document

• Paste the text into a Microsoft Word document
• Save the document in the Plain Text Format
-OR-
• Paste the text into a Notepad document and save it as a .TXT file
• In Civil 3D start the Multiline text command by clicking the Annotate Tab  Click Multiline Text (or type MT
at the command line) Select the location of the text in your drawing like usual
• Right click in the Multiline Text box
• Click Import Text

• Map to the text file you saved

• Select the file
• Click OPEN
• Your text is copied into Civil 3D in the correct style and size as the rest of your drawing
Print PDF to Actual Size for Scaling
Printing to a PDF from Civil 3D often results in scaling issues. To check this, measure a bar-scale printed directly from
Civil 3D versus a bar scale printed from Civil 3D to a PDF. The bar-scale printed from the PDF is probably a little off.
To solve this:
• Save your drawing sheet(s) in Civil 3D to a PDF

• With the newly created PDF open in Adobe Acrobat start the print command
• In the Print Options box, under “Page Sizing & Handling”, check the button in front of “Actual Size”
• Print the PDF and check your scale
Quickly Check the Composite Volume of Two Surfaces
To quickly analyze the volume of a newly created surface without working your way through the Volumes Dashboard,
simply type REPORTSURFACEVOLUME at the command line. A panorama box will pop up:
• Click the Create New Volume Entry icon on the far left of the panorama box
• Click the field under the Base Surface heading and select your surface (Typically EG)
• Click the field under the Comparison Surface and select your surface (The surface you just created)
• The Cuts and fills are populated in the table

Quickly Copy a Layout Sheet

To quickly copy a layout sheet without going to Design Center, do the following:
• Click and hold on the sheet you want to copy

• Start dragging the sheet to the right or left
• Press and hold the CTRL key (You will see a page with a plus symbol next to your cursor)
• Drag and drop the copied sheet in the desired location
Temporary Ortho Mode (To Draw a Straight Horizontal or Vertical Line)
• While drawing a polyline hold the SHIFT key down. This temporarily enables ORTHO mode, allowing you to
only draw a straight line in either the horizontal or vertical direction
• Release the SHIFT key and you can draw at an angle
Type COLOR at the Command Line
• To override the color setting of By Layer without changing it in Properties before drafting each item, simply type
COLOR at the command line
• The Select Color box pops up
• Select your color of choice  Click OK
• Everything you draft will now be the color you chose
• To change the color back to the default By Layer, type COLOR at the command line and choose By Layer.
Everything will now be drafted in white/black
Edit the Location of Text in a Dimension
• The issue: You have dimensioned an object, but would like to move the text or change the angle of the text
• The solution: Use the DIMTED command. To do this:
• After dimensioning the object type DIMTED at the command line
• You are prompted to select the dimension
• Move your cursor left or right and the text will follow. Click again when the text is in the desired location
• To change the angle of the text, after typing DIMTED at the command line and after selecting the dimension, type
A at the command line
• Enter the desired angle for the dimension text -OR- delineate the angle by clicking two points (near the dimension
text) representing the desired angle for the dimension text
TCIRCLE Command
• The issue: You want to frame your text quickly and easily
• The solution: Use the TCIRCLE command. To do this:
• After creating your text type TCIRCLE at the command line
• Select the text object(s) you want to frame  Click ENTER
• You are given three options for framing: circle, slot, or rectangle
o Circle will create a circle of constant or variable diameter
o Slot will create a rectangle with convex sides of constant or variable size
o Rectangle will create a rectangle of constant or variable size

• Follow the prompts for accepting or changing offset distance, and constant or variable sizing to get the size frame
you desire
DIMFLIPARROW Command
• The issue: You want to move the arrows of a dimension

• The solution: Use the DIMFLIPARROW command
• Type DIMFLIPARROW at the command line  Select the dimension you want to change  Click ENTER
• The arrow closest to where you clicked is flipped
• Repeat the DIMFLIPARROW command  Select the dimension near the opposite arrow  Click ENTER
• The second arrow is flipped
From this: To this:
Draw a Leader Without the Landing
• The issue: You want to draw a leader (arrow) with no landing

• The solution: Type LEADER at the command line
• Specify the start point for the leader
• Specify the next point(s) for the leader
• Click ENTER to end the line
• Click ENTER again
• You are given the option to add MTEXT or NONE for no text
• Choose your option and complete the command
Too Many Station/Elevation or Grade Labels on Your Profile?
• Click and hold the CTRL key down

• Click on the label(s) you want to delete
• While still holding the CTRL key down, tap the DELETE key

Where Are All the Symbols in Civil 3D Located?
• Open Design Center by typing DC on the command line

• In the Folder List in the left window of Design Center, map to the following location:
o C:\ProgramData\Autodesk\C3D 2016\Enu\Data\Symbols
• There you will find numerous folders containing symbols
• Expand the folder of your choice by clicking the plus (+) symbol in front of the folder name
• Click BLOCKS
• The block symbols for the folder will populate the right window of Design Center
• You can either drag and drop the symbol of your choice into your drawing, double click and insert the symbol, or
right click on the symbol and click Insert Block
Flipping Contour Labels
• The issue: You have created a line of contour labels (Contour Multiple), and some of the contour labels are upside
down
• The solution: Change the Plan Readability setting for the label style. To do this:
• Click the Settings tab in Toolspace
• Expand SURFACES by clicking the plus (+) symbol
• Expand LABEL STYLES by clicking the plus (+) symbol
• Expand CONTOUR by clicking the plus (+) symbol
• Right click on the label style you wish to modify
• Click EDIT

• The Label Style Composer box pops up  Click the GENERAL tab
• Change the PLAN READABIITY  PLAN RADABLE value from True to False by clicking in the value field
• Click APPLY  Click OK
From This: To This:

Create Points Along a Contour for Laying Out Contour Strips
• On the Home tab  Click Points  Click Create Points – Surface (or select the Surface icon on the Create
Points toolbar )  Click Along Polyline/Contour

• Enter the desired distance between points
• Click on the desired polyline or contour
• Enter a point description
• Tap ENTER  Your point is added to the surface
• If the point description will be the same for every added point, continue to tap ENTER until all your points are
added to the surface (if the descriptions are different just change it before tapping ENTER for each point)
• You can now export your points to a data collector for staking in the field
Interpolate a Straight Line of Points Between Two Existing Points
• The issue: You need to stake a straight line between two known reference points in the field with a GPS unit
• The solution: Create a line of points in Civil 3D (with location and elevation), and export them to a data collector for
staking. To create the points:
• On the Home tab  Click Points  Click Create Points - Interpolate  Click Interpolate (or select the
Interpolation: Interpolate icon on the Create Points toolbar )

• Click the first reference point on your surface
• Click the second reference point on your surface
• Enter the desired number of staking points  Tap ENTER
• Enter the desired offset (from centerline) for the points you are creating  Tap ENTER
• Enter a point description for the first point if desired  Tap ENTER  The point is created
• Continue the process for each point until finished
• You now have a straight line of points between your two reference points
• You can now export them to a data collector for staking in the field
Hate the New “Lasso” Selection Tool? Turn it Off!

The new “lasso” selection tool creates a free form shape when clicking and dragging, instead of the rectangle we all know
and love. To turn the lasso off:
• Type OPTIONS at the command line or right click in Model Space and choose OPTIONS
• Click the Selection tab
• Under Selection Modes, check the Allow press and drag on object box
• Uncheck the Allow press and drag for lasso box
• Click APPLY
• Click OK
Questions or Comments on this Civil 3D Help Sheet?
Contact Steph Schultz at:
Stephanie.Schultz@wi.usda.gov

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CIVIL 3D (2016) **REMEMBER TO SAVE OFTEN** Page 1 of 14