Integrated BIM tools, including Revit, AutoCAD, and Civil 3D
Professional CAD/CAM tools built on Inventor and AutoCAD
Any referenced datasets can be downloaded from "Module downloads" in the module overview.
Transcript
00:05
So now that we've created our data references, what we're going to go ahead do in this blank file is that,
00:10
we're going to take those data references and bring them into this drawing file to work with.
00:16
So in order to do that, what you need to do is you need to navigate to the Prospector tab of the Toolspace,
00:21
go down to your Data Shortcuts and expand out the objects that you want to bring into the drawing.
00:27
So for the beginning, what I'm going to go ahead and do is I'm going to bring in my EG surface,
00:33
I'm going to right click on it and I'm going to create a reference.
00:38
There is also an option for opening the source drawing, which will open the drawing that this file is based out of which you can see here,
00:46
the source file name is 034, or I can promote it.
00:51
If you promote this data reference into your drawing, you are effectively bringing that data into the drawing,
00:58
and so you're not creating a link, you're actually bringing all that data into this drawing so it can be modified and deleted.
01:05
If you create a reference, you are only linked to the reference in the file and so you're not editing that surface, you're just using that surface.
01:16
So I'm going to go ahead and create a reference.
01:19
I'm going to leave the name as EG, and the description the same, and the style the same because if we wanted to, we could change these later.
01:27
So I'm going to click "OK".
01:28
As you can see, I have this surface here that I can select.
01:33
And if you notice, I can look at the surfaces, I can edit the surface style.
01:39
I can check the surface properties.
01:43
I can do conversions to a DREF status.
01:46
I can do analysis on it, but there's no option in this contextual ribbon bar for me to edit this surface.
01:52
If I was to right click on that surface and click Promote, now when I selected surface, I have all the options for adding data, editing the surface.
02:02
And so I have effectively brought this data into the drawing rather than just referenced this data into the drawing.
02:08
So I'm going to go ahead and delete this.
02:10
I'm going to right click and create another reference.
02:13
And you can do the same thing with anything else you've created a data shortcut for.
02:20
So I can go ahead and go to my Dev-Align.
02:23
I can right click on that and I can click Create Reference.
02:27
And then I can leave all of this as the default options, click "OK", and you'll notice that my alignment comes in.
02:36
If I wanted to bring in my corridor, I could scroll down to my Corridor here, expand out, go to my Dev-Cor, right click, Create Reference.
02:46
Leave all these options the same, click "OK".
02:49
And so what Civil 3D is telling me, it says that the corridor is out of date, please make sure to rebuild it to keep the data consistent.
02:57
I've brought in the data and so now what I have here is I have the corridor here.
03:04
The warning that I got was a warning that this corridor may have been out of date in the source drawing.
03:09
And so this might not be the most reliable data that is being brought in here.
03:14
But as you can see, all of this data is in the drawing, it's not editable, but it is usable for creating new objects off of.
Video transcript
00:05
So now that we've created our data references, what we're going to go ahead do in this blank file is that,
00:10
we're going to take those data references and bring them into this drawing file to work with.
00:16
So in order to do that, what you need to do is you need to navigate to the Prospector tab of the Toolspace,
00:21
go down to your Data Shortcuts and expand out the objects that you want to bring into the drawing.
00:27
So for the beginning, what I'm going to go ahead and do is I'm going to bring in my EG surface,
00:33
I'm going to right click on it and I'm going to create a reference.
00:38
There is also an option for opening the source drawing, which will open the drawing that this file is based out of which you can see here,
00:46
the source file name is 034, or I can promote it.
00:51
If you promote this data reference into your drawing, you are effectively bringing that data into the drawing,
00:58
and so you're not creating a link, you're actually bringing all that data into this drawing so it can be modified and deleted.
01:05
If you create a reference, you are only linked to the reference in the file and so you're not editing that surface, you're just using that surface.
01:16
So I'm going to go ahead and create a reference.
01:19
I'm going to leave the name as EG, and the description the same, and the style the same because if we wanted to, we could change these later.
01:27
So I'm going to click "OK".
01:28
As you can see, I have this surface here that I can select.
01:33
And if you notice, I can look at the surfaces, I can edit the surface style.
01:39
I can check the surface properties.
01:43
I can do conversions to a DREF status.
01:46
I can do analysis on it, but there's no option in this contextual ribbon bar for me to edit this surface.
01:52
If I was to right click on that surface and click Promote, now when I selected surface, I have all the options for adding data, editing the surface.
02:02
And so I have effectively brought this data into the drawing rather than just referenced this data into the drawing.
02:08
So I'm going to go ahead and delete this.
02:10
I'm going to right click and create another reference.
02:13
And you can do the same thing with anything else you've created a data shortcut for.
02:20
So I can go ahead and go to my Dev-Align.
02:23
I can right click on that and I can click Create Reference.
02:27
And then I can leave all of this as the default options, click "OK", and you'll notice that my alignment comes in.
02:36
If I wanted to bring in my corridor, I could scroll down to my Corridor here, expand out, go to my Dev-Cor, right click, Create Reference.
02:46
Leave all these options the same, click "OK".
02:49
And so what Civil 3D is telling me, it says that the corridor is out of date, please make sure to rebuild it to keep the data consistent.
02:57
I've brought in the data and so now what I have here is I have the corridor here.
03:04
The warning that I got was a warning that this corridor may have been out of date in the source drawing.
03:09
And so this might not be the most reliable data that is being brought in here.
03:14
But as you can see, all of this data is in the drawing, it's not editable, but it is usable for creating new objects off of.
Step-by-step guide
How to buy
Privacy | Do not sell or share my personal information | Cookie preferences | Report noncompliance | Terms of use | Legal | © 2025 Autodesk Inc. All rights reserved
Sign in to start learning
Sign in for unlimited free access to all learning content.Save your progress
Take assessments
Receive personalized recommendations
May we collect and use your data?
Learn more about the Third Party Services we use and our Privacy Statement. May we collect and use your data to tailor your experience?
Explore the benefits of a customized experience by managing your privacy settings for this site or visit our Privacy Statement to learn more about your options.