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Access and use a few common features to carry out basic drawing functions in Autodesk Civil 3D.
Type:
Tutorial
Length:
4 min.
Tutorial resources
These downloadable resources will be used to complete this tutorial:
Transcript
00:03
To carry out basic drawing functions in Autodesk Civil 3D,
00:08
it is important to know how to access and use a few of the common features.
00:13
From the Home or View tab, in the Palettes panel, click Toolspace.
00:20
The Toolspace window is an integral component for accessing commands, styles, and data.
00:26
Use it to access the Prospector, Settings, Survey, and Toolbox tabs.
00:33
Click to display the Prospector tab.
00:36
From this tab, you can manage project and drawing objects.
00:41
In the Prospector tree, right-click on a civil object, such as an alignment or pipe.
00:48
Select Zoom To from the options to zoom to the object location in the model.
00:55
Since Civil 3D is built on AutoCAD, the same navigation commands—such as pan, zoom, and orbit—apply
01:04
and can be used in the same manner.
01:06
The Navigation Bar can also be turned on from the View tab, in the Viewport Tools panel.
01:13
Object selection can be achieved by clicking on objects, or by drawing a window or box to highlight objects.
01:22
A window selects everything that completely falls within the window, whereas a box selects anything it touches.
01:30
Window selection works from left to right.
01:34
Draw a window at the top left corner of the surface.
01:38
Note that nothing is selected, as the object is not completely within the window extent.
01:45
Box selection works from right to left.
01:49
Draw a box at the top right corner of the surface.
01:53
The surface is selected, despite not being completely within the box extent.
01:58
Holding the left mouse button while moving the cursor creates a lasso effect.
02:04
The lasso can be applied from left to right, or from right to left, to achieve the same effect of a window or box selection.
02:13
Object snaps are used to select points that may be difficult to pick, such as the end point of a line, midpoints, or intersections.
02:23
To specify an object snap at a prompt for a point, do one of the following:
02:30
Press and hold SHIFT as you right-click to display the Object Snap shortcut menu.
02:37
While drawing, right-click and from the Snap Overrides submenu, choose an object snap.
02:44
On the Object Snap toolbar, click an object snap option.
02:50
Object snaps can be toggled on or off by pressing F3 on your keyboard,
02:57
or by clicking the Object Snap button on the status bar of the application window.
03:03
If several running object snaps are turned on, more than one object snap may be eligible at a given location.
03:11
Press TAB to cycle through the possibilities before you specify the point.
03:17
Other basic drawing commands can be accessed from the ribbon, on the Home tab,
03:22
in the Draw, Modify, Layers, and Clipboard panels.
03:28
AutoCAD keyboard shortcuts also work with these commands.
Video transcript
00:03
To carry out basic drawing functions in Autodesk Civil 3D,
00:08
it is important to know how to access and use a few of the common features.
00:13
From the Home or View tab, in the Palettes panel, click Toolspace.
00:20
The Toolspace window is an integral component for accessing commands, styles, and data.
00:26
Use it to access the Prospector, Settings, Survey, and Toolbox tabs.
00:33
Click to display the Prospector tab.
00:36
From this tab, you can manage project and drawing objects.
00:41
In the Prospector tree, right-click on a civil object, such as an alignment or pipe.
00:48
Select Zoom To from the options to zoom to the object location in the model.
00:55
Since Civil 3D is built on AutoCAD, the same navigation commands—such as pan, zoom, and orbit—apply
01:04
and can be used in the same manner.
01:06
The Navigation Bar can also be turned on from the View tab, in the Viewport Tools panel.
01:13
Object selection can be achieved by clicking on objects, or by drawing a window or box to highlight objects.
01:22
A window selects everything that completely falls within the window, whereas a box selects anything it touches.
01:30
Window selection works from left to right.
01:34
Draw a window at the top left corner of the surface.
01:38
Note that nothing is selected, as the object is not completely within the window extent.
01:45
Box selection works from right to left.
01:49
Draw a box at the top right corner of the surface.
01:53
The surface is selected, despite not being completely within the box extent.
01:58
Holding the left mouse button while moving the cursor creates a lasso effect.
02:04
The lasso can be applied from left to right, or from right to left, to achieve the same effect of a window or box selection.
02:13
Object snaps are used to select points that may be difficult to pick, such as the end point of a line, midpoints, or intersections.
02:23
To specify an object snap at a prompt for a point, do one of the following:
02:30
Press and hold SHIFT as you right-click to display the Object Snap shortcut menu.
02:37
While drawing, right-click and from the Snap Overrides submenu, choose an object snap.
02:44
On the Object Snap toolbar, click an object snap option.
02:50
Object snaps can be toggled on or off by pressing F3 on your keyboard,
02:57
or by clicking the Object Snap button on the status bar of the application window.
03:03
If several running object snaps are turned on, more than one object snap may be eligible at a given location.
03:11
Press TAB to cycle through the possibilities before you specify the point.
03:17
Other basic drawing commands can be accessed from the ribbon, on the Home tab,
03:22
in the Draw, Modify, Layers, and Clipboard panels.
03:28
AutoCAD keyboard shortcuts also work with these commands.
Industry:
Civil / Site development contractors, Site Development (General civil engineering), Secondary education, Vocational education, Colleges and universities
Role:
Civil engineer (Geotechnical), Civil engineer (Land and site design), Civil engineer (Roads and highways), Civil engineer (Tunnels and bridges), Student (18 plus), Teacher/faculty
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