1. GS5102: AutoCAD® Map 3D Functionality in AutoCAD Civil 3D®: How to Use Geospatial Data in Civil 3D
Seth Cohen
CAD Management Resources Inc.
CAD Applications Specialist
Autodesk Civil 3D Implementation Expert,
Level 5 Geospatial Applications Engineer

2. About Me Work for CADmanage Presenter
Worked for a consulting engineering firm in New Hampshire…
Surveying – Topo, boundary, as-built, landfill closure, GPS, etc. In field and in office.
Design Technician – Worked on STP, bridge (roadway approach work), highway design and Bypass study projects for VTrans, MDOT (Maine) and NHDOT (New Hampshire)
CAD Manager – Managed, trained and supported users in 3 offices, on company and DOT workflows.
Software used - AutoCAD, Softdesk, LDT, MicroStation and InRoads
Work for CADmanage
CAD Applications Specialist
Provide Training, Consulting, Support, and courseware development for Civil 3D, AutoCAD, Map 3D, MicroStation, InRoads.
Train engineers at Ford Motor Company with their use of AutoCAD.
Developed CAD and Design standards for ITD (Idaho DOT), and ALDOT (Alabama DOT).
Worked with Devens Municipality of Massachusetts in the development of their GIS
Worked extensively with FDOT (Florida DOT) in helping them develop an AutoCAD drawing template for utility companies to use for better coordination of CAD files.
Work with FDOT, providing documentation related to their implementation of Civil 3D.
Presenter
National AUGI CAD Camps, Presented at AU

3. Class Summary
You may be aware that AutoCAD Map 3D functionality is included with AutoCAD Civil 3D, but how do you use it, and why would you need to? In this class, we will examine the basics of using Map 3D and how civil engineers can leverage Map 3D functionality for land planning, topo map creation, etc. One of the great things about geospatial data is that it can be downloaded for free. In this class, we will discuss where this data can be obtained, and how it can be brought into Civil 3D using Map 3D functionality.

4. Learning Objectives At the end of this class, you will be able to:
Leverage geospatial information for use in preliminary design and land planning
Use AutoCAD Map 3D functionality for general daily processes in AutoCAD
Create surfaces for preliminary use in AutoCAD Civil 3D
Find freely available geospatial information and use it in AutoCAD Civil 3D

5. Agenda Introduction User Interface Map 3D Tools
Map 3D Introduction
Terminology
User Interface
Workspaces
Task Pane
Map 3D Status Bar
Map 3D Tools
Drawing Cleanup Tools
Additional Tools
Downloading Geospatial Data
Finding Geospatial Data
Working with Geospatial data
DWG files
Create a Civil 3D Surface from Geospatial Data
Connecting to geospatial data
Importing Geospatial Data
Exporting Civil 3D Data for Geospatial Use
Export to SDF
Map 3D Rendering

6. Introduction
Map 3D Introduction
Terminology

7. Introduction
Map 3D Introduction

8. Introduction Terminology
Data Store – Consists of an integrated set of objects that are modeled by classes or feature classes defined within one or more schemas. Data stores can be either file based, such as SHP, or a database, such as Oracle®.
Drawing Objects – Objects that exist in a drawing file (DWG) or an attached drawing.
Feature(s) – An abstraction of natural or man-made, real-world object. A spatial feature has one or more geometric properties. For example, a road feature might be represented by a line, and a hydrant might be represented by a point. In Autodesk Map 3D, features are accessed and added to maps using FDO via the Data Connect window.
Feature Class – A schema element that describes a type of real-world object. It includes a class name and property definitions. Commonly used to refer to a set of features of a particular class. For example, the feature class “roads” or the feature class “hydrants.”
FDO Data Access Technology (FDO) – An Autodesk® software standard and general-purpose API for accessing features and geospatial data, regardless of the underlying data store.
FDO Provider – An implementation of the FDO API (application programming interface) that provides access to data in a particular data store, such as an Oracle or ArcSDE database, or to a file-based data store, such as SDF or SHP.
Feature Layer – A layer in Autodesk Map 3D software’s Display Manager containing features from a feature source such as SDF, ESRI SHP, or ArcSDE.
Feature Source – In Autodesk Map 3D, a feature source is any source of feature data that has been connected by means of FDO.
SDF – spatial database format. The current version of the SDF format. Each SDF file can contain multiple feature classes or types of data stored in tables with attributes and geometry.

9. User Interface
Workspaces
Task Pane
Map 3D Status Bar

10. Workspaces Planning and Analysis Workspace
Civil 3D is delivered with a default workspace that can be used to modify the interface to accommodate the current workflow. The Planning and Analysis workspace displays only those interface components specifically used for working with geospatial data

11. Task Pane
The Panes
The Map Task Pane provides a centralized location for many of the tasks and tools needed to work with geospatial data. The following is a brief description of the tabs included in the Map Task Pane.
Map Explorer – This pane is used to work primarily with AutoCAD drawing objects. It is used to setup coordinate systems, attach additional DWG files, and connect to drawing objects along with databases using link templates.
Display Manager – The Display Manager pane is commonly used to connect and query geospatial data. This is also where connected geospatial data is stylized.
Map Book – Use the Map Book pane to publish and manage map books.
Survey– Use the Survey pane to add survey data to a .SDF file. NOTE: This is not related to any survey functionality in Civil 3D, and is strictly used in the geospatial realm as a means by which to view, stylize and add properties to survey data.

12. Map 3D Status Bar Status Bar
The Map 3D status bar, when enabled, provides live feedback when working with geospatial data. To enable the Map 3D status bar, you must edit the following registry key:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Autodesk\AutoCAD\R18.2\ACAD-A000:409\Applications\AcMap
Locate the Statusbar DWORD key, and then set it to 1
To turn on the Drawing Status Bar, right-click on the Status Bar, and toggle on Drawing Status Bar
If you need to change the status bar between Civil 3D and Map 3D, create two registry files (.REG) and execute the appropriate file prior to opening the software application.
Warning
Using Registry Editor incorrectly can cause serious, system-wide errors, which may require Windows to be reinstalled in order to correct the problem. Edit the registry at your own risk.

13. Map 3D Tools
Drawing Cleanup Tools
Additional Tools

14. Drawing Cleanup Tools Cleaning Up Drawings
Although many of the Map 3D tools listed in this section were developed for cleaning up drawing data prior to using it for processing by Map 3D functionality, they are also very useful when working with regular AutoCAD graphics.
The drawing cleanup tools that are available in Map 3D are listed in the following table

15. Additional Tools Cleaning Up Drawings
There are additional tools that aid in daily drafting processes

16. Downloading Geospatial Data
Finding Geospatial Data

17. Finding Geospatial Data
A lot of geospatial data is free for download or connecting to as it is in the public domain realm.
The following websites provide free downloadable geospatial data.
GeoCommunity
EPA Geospatial Data Download Service
Utah GIS Portal
WMS NASA DTED and SRTM data
WFS Virginia, USA Census tracts, Congressional districts, counties, interstates and other layers
The National Map Seamless Server

18. Working with Geospatial data
DWG files
Create a Civil 3D Surface from Geospatial Data
Connecting To Geospatial Data
Importing Geospatial Data

19. DWG files Attaching Drawings
Map 3D gives you the ability to access DWG files through querying (searching). Querying provides a more controlled method of bringing in DWG data, as opposed to referencing, as it allows you to bring in data based on object data or properties, along with defined data constraints, such as a specific location
To work with objects that exist in other drawings, you must attach them first. Drawing are attached through the Map Explorer tab of the Map 3D Task Pane

20. DWG files Querying Drawings
Once you have attached drawings, you can specify four types of querying criteria, location, property, data, and SQL. Querying is processed in the Define Query dialog box. Once the objects are in the drawing, they can be edited, annotated, etc.

21. Create a Civil 3D Surface from Geospatial Data
Create Surface from Geospatial Data
AutoCAD Civil 3D allows you to connect to a geospatial datastore (i.e. .SHP, ArcSDE, Oracle) and will import the geospatial data, such as contours and point collections, without any intermediate file conversion

22. Available FDO Providers in Civil 3D 2012
Connecting To Geospatial Data
FDO (Feature Data Object)
When accessing data through FDO (Feature Data Object), an FDO provider is used to connect directly to a data source, such as SDF, SHP, Oracle, SQL Server, or ArcSDE, and work in its native format
Using FDO allows you to access data directly without having to translate the data or create duplicate information. If you must edit an ESRI SHP file or data in a relational database such as Oracle, FDO is the tool of choice as it allows you to check out individual features, edit them, and then check them back into the file in its’ native format.
A feature is the spatial description of a real-world entity, such as a road, utility pole, or river. Features are organized into collections, called feature classes, and are stored in a spatial database or file. The spatial database or file is sometimes referred to as a feature source.
Available FDO Providers in Civil 3D 2012

23. Available FDO Providers in Civil 3D 2012
Connecting To Geospatial Data
Data Connect
Geospatial data is connected through the Data Connect palette. To access the Data Connect window, click the Data button in the Map Task Pane, and then select Connect to Data from the context menu that appears. The Data Connect window appears where you can select the FDO provider to which you wish to connect to, and then click the source file or folder button to navigate to the source data.
It is important to understand that the actual data that to which you are connected with FDO is not stored in the DWG file, rather, the DWG file is really a project file where data is represented. This concept is similar to referencing.
Available FDO Providers in Civil 3D 2012

24. Connecting To Geospatial Data
Stylizing Data
In addition to natively accessing geospatial data, Map 3D enables you to create informative, visually compelling maps using style functionality
To stylize geospatial layers, select the layer you want to stylize, and then click the Style button in the Display Manager window. In the Style Editor window that appears, click the Style pull- down to open the Style Polygon dialog box. You can then define the different settings for the polygon. Again, this does not affect the geospatial data at all, it simply “stylizes” the data

25. Connecting To Geospatial Data
Data Tables
One of the benefits of Map 3D when connecting to geospatial data is the ability to navigate through the data within any geospatial file or database through the Data Table
To access the data, select it, and then click the Table button on the Task Pan. The Data Table window appears
Within the Data Table window you can search for data with the Filter by option. Click the Options button to zoom into the data or export the data to a geospatial file (Comma Separated View), which can then be opened in Excel

26. Connecting To Geospatial Data
Importing Geospatial Data
Map 3D can import data from a variety of sources. This functionality allows you to edit and use the geometry in Civil 3D, while maintaining the attribute data that may have been created in a different software application. Without the attribute data, the file will only come into the drawing as drawing objects without any of the attribute data.
The following types of data can be imported by Map 3D:
Autodesk SDF
ESRI ArcInfo Coverage
ESRI ArcInfo Export (E00)
ESRI Shape file (SHP file)
GML (Geography Markup Language)
MapInfo MIF/MID
MapInfo TAB
MicroStation Design (DGN)
OS (GB) MasterMap (GML 2)
Spatial Data Transfer Standard (SDTS)
SQLite Spatial (SQLITE)
Vector Product Format Coverage (VPF)

27. Exporting Civil 3D Data for Geospatial Use
Export to SDF

28. Export to SDF Spatial Data File (SDF)
In 2007, Autodesk introduced the ability to export Civil 3D objects to the SDF file format. SDF is a file based database that is used for storing large classified data. The SDF file is the native file format for FDO and leverages all of its strengths including, performance, and database-like table architecture.
To move Civil 3D design data to a geospatial, you can use the Map 3D tools to populate another data store such as an RDBMS including Oracle, Microsoft SQL Server, Myself, as well as, an ESRI ArcSDE managed database. To do this, first export your Civil 3D alignment, point, parcel, and pipe network data to an SDF file. Once the data is in the SDF format, you can use Map 3D’s Bulk Copy tools to copy the data to the desired data store.
The following lists the Civil 3D objects and corresponding attributes that are stored in the SDF file.
Civil 3D Object
Exported Attributes
Alignment
Alignment Name
Length
Design Speed
Starting Station
Ending Station
Pipe
Network Name
Slope
Inside Diameter
Outside Diameter
Shape
Elevation at Start
Elevation at End
Structure Start
Structure End
Point
Point Number
Point Name
Elevation
Description
Raw Description
Latitude
Longitude
Structure
Rim Elevation
Structure Name
Parcel
Parcel Name
Parcel Number
Area
Perimeter

29. Map 3D Rendering
Rendering in Map 3D

30. Rendering in Map 3D Cool Stuff
Map 3D provides the unique ability to drape geospatial data onto a geospatial surface such as a DEM file. This includes aerial photographs as well as vector data. This capability is enabled by using FDO to access both the surface and vector data. Standard drawing objects can be placed on the surface, however, you must match the elevation of the drawing object with the elevation of the surface. To visualize the geospatial data, you must use the Map 3D task bar previously mentioned in this session.
Note: The resolution or scale of the surface data, as well as the aerial photography, will have a direct effect on the quality of the 3D rendering.

31. GS5102: AutoCAD® Map 3D Functionality in AutoCAD Civil 3D®: How to Use Geospatial Data in Civil 3D
Thank You!
Seth Cohen