Settings and Styles

AutoCAD Civil 3D 2010
Education Curriculum Student Workbook

Unit 1: Civil 3D Environment
Lesson
Settings and Styles

Overview
This lesson describes various settings and styles that are used in AutoCAD Civil 3D. A strong
understanding of these basics leads to more efficient use of the software and more consistency
in the creation of design and production drawings.
Objectives
After completing this lesson, you will be able to:
Describe the types of Civil 3D objects and their interactions.

Create styles that control the display of Civil 3D objects.
Create styles to annotate Civil 3D objects.
Make modifications to object and label styles.
Copy styles from one drawing to another drawing.
Change drawing level, parent level, and child level styles and settings.
Use drawing settings and viewport scaling to control text size.
Use command settings to set default styles and object naming templates.
Create a drawing template (DWT) file with customized styles and settings.
Exercises
The following exercises are provided in a step-by-step format in this lesson:
1. Examine Existing Object Display Styles
2. Create Object Display Styles
3. Create Object Annotation (Label) Styles
4. Modify Object and Label Styles
5. Use Styles Hierarchy to Modify Styles and Settings
6. Modify Drawing Settings, Viewport Scaling, and Text Size
7. Use Command Settings to Set Default Styles, Naming Templates, and Parameters
8. Create a Custom Drawing Template (DWT) File
About Objects
Civil 3D is an object-oriented design environment that makes use of objects to display design
components such as points, surfaces, alignments, profiles, pipe networks, and corridor models.
Objects are used to represent the survey, design, and construction elements you need to
complete your site design or transportation design project. Objects have inherent properties
that are used to control how the object is displayed and labeled, and how it functions.
Objects have relationships that enable them to react to each other. These dynamic relationships
are referred to as object reactivity. A few of these object relationships are highlighted in the
following table.
Objects
Points and Surfaces
Alignments and Surface
Profiles
Surfaces and Surface
Profiles
Assemblies and Corridors
Parcels and Parcel

Segments
Grading Object and
Surfaces
Functional relationship
Changing the elevation of point objects results in automatic
updates to surface objects that reference the point objects.
Changing the position or geometry of an alignment results in an
automatic update to the surface profile objects.
Changing a surface results in an automatic update to surface
profile objects that reference that surface.
Changing the geometry of the assembly object (typical section)
results in an automatic update to the corridor (road model)
object.
Bisecting an existing parcel object with another parcel segment or
alignment object subdivides the original parcel object into two
parcel objects.
Moving a grading object or changing a target surface results in
automatic updates to the daylight line.
Unit 1 Lesson 3: Settings & Styles
Civil 3D 2010 Student Workbook
You can automatically assign a name to objects when they are created. You can use object
naming templates to facilitate the assignment of meaningful names to objects. You can override
the name assigned with the object naming template. Object naming templates are defined and
saved in a drawing template file.
For some objects, you can assign default input parameters. For example, you can specify default
elevations and descriptions for points, maximum triangle length for a surface, or an assembly
insertion frequency for corridor models.
Objects are used to address all aspects of the planning, survey, and detailed design phases of
site development and transportation projects.
About Settings and Styles

AutoCAD Civil 3D is an object-oriented design environment with defined interactions between
civil design objects. When you modify object and label styles associated with an object, the
display of the object automatically updates.
Whether you work for yourself, a small company, a large engineering firm, or a government
agency, drawing settings and styles are among the most important elements for creating design
files. Proper settings and styles can greatly aid in the efficiency and sharing of data. Significant
time can be wasted creating layers in files and inserting common blocks, when the same tasks
can be handled automatically with template drawing files.
You create and modify object and label styles in the Settings tab of Toolspace. Object styles are
assigned to objects and control the display of objects. Every object in Civil 3D is displayed with
an object style.
Label styles define the behavior, appearance, and content of labels. Label styles control the
settings for the annotation and labeling of these objects.
Object and label styles can assign the display properties (color, linetype, and lineweight) from
directly within the style. This is referred to as By Style. Object and label styles can also assign
the display properties (color, linetype, and lineweight) from a layer. This is referred to as By
Layer.
All Civil 3D label styles have a dragged state display property. This property controls the display
of the label when it is dragged away from the object it is labeling.
All Civil 3D labels scale with the drawing setup scale. This means that you do not need to create
multiple sets of text to suit different scale requirements.
All Civil 3D labels can be oriented to the object, view, or the world coordinate system.
Types of Label Styles

In the Toolspace Settings tree, the Label Styles collections contain one or more types of label
styles that represent unique aspects of specific objects. You can create label styles for all
objects, including points, surfaces, parcels, and alignments.
Points: You can create label styles for point objects to indicate information such as number,
elevation, and description.
Surfaces: You can define label styles for surface objects such as slopes, spot elevations,
watersheds, and contours.
Parcels: You can create label styles for parcel objects such as areas, lines, and curves.
Alignments: You can create label styles for alignment objects such as stations, station
offsets, lines, curves, spirals, and tangent intersections.
The following illustration shows a point style of an X with a point label style of point number,
elevation, and description, all using different colors.
Style Hierarchy
Civil 3D is designed to handle individual objects, and at a higher level, collections of objects.
Settings or styles that are set for a collection of objects are referred to as parent, or higher level
settings. Individual objects, or child, settings can be altered to override a parent setting. The
drawing level is the highest level, and settings altered at this level set the values for settings in
the entire drawing.
Drawing Settings
Drawing Settings are important to check for a variety of reasons. You can set the units, the
coordinate system, the model space scale, and a number of other parameters. These settings
can be saved in a template file for future use.
Changing the drawing units from feet to meters or vice versa in the Drawing Settings dialog box
does not result in a rescale of the drawing from feet to meters. In civil engineering design, you
typically keep in mind whether an AutoCAD drawing unit refers to one foot or one meter. The
value in this dialog box changes the AutoCAD units variable, which affects the length values
generated for object label styles and also controls the optional scaling of objects inserted from
other drawings with different units. It is a good idea to try and work at a model space scale that
is similar to your final output scale.
The settings in the Zone section of this dialog box affect which datum, projection, and
coordinate system are being used in the drawing. If the coordinates do not align with any larger
coordinate system and are strictly local coordinates, this should be set to No Datum, No
Projection.
Viewport Scaling and Text Size

Most plotting is done from a layout (paper space) and not model space. The scale of the
viewport(s) in the layout tab defines the scale on the printed paper. The text height settings in
the Settings tab refer to the plotted height on paper, not the height of the text in model space.
Text in model space can appear to be very large or small depending on the model space scale
setting. It is good practice to set the model space scale the same, or close to, the final plotted
scale.
About Command Settings

Every feature category has command settings that can be found by expanding the Commands
tree for the feature in the Settings tab of the Toolspace window.
Command settings exist for every feature command. You modify command settings to assign
default parameters such as styles, naming conventions, and algorithm parameters for objects.
For example, the following illustration shows some of the command settings for the Create
Profile From Surface command.
About Template Files

Drawing templates are among the most important elements to understand when creating and
producing engineering and construction drawings. Configuring drawing templates based on
your corporate or client's standards results in greater efficiency when creating drawings and
sharing data. Standardized components are essential for consistency in engineering and
construction drawings. Hence, all new drawings are created from drawing templates.
Standards for such items as layer names, block symbols, label conventions, and profile plots
help organizations manage drawings that are shared between different groups or individuals.
Clients for civil engineering firms have requirements for standards to fit their particular needs,
and companies must submit design drawings using these standards. Frequently, companies do
not pay sufficient attention to standardization or to analyzing drawing content. Without
standardization, sharing data, copying objects, or inserting objects from one drawing to another
is more difficult.
The buildingSMART alliance (www.buildingsmartalliance.org) is a consortium that promotes the
use of common standards and open interoperability throughout the architecture, engineering,
and construction (AEC) industry. The alliance supports the United States National CAD Standard
(NCS) (www.buildingsmartalliance.org/ncs/), a consensus standard for organizing facility
drawing information. AutoCAD Civil 3D contains several template drawing files created to
conform to the NCS standards.
There are several template settings you can configure, both for AutoCAD elements and for Civil
3D elements. Some of the AutoCAD standardized elements in a drawing template include:
Layer names and visibility settings (color, linetype, lineweight, and so on).
Block definitions.
Text and dimension styles.
Page setup definitions with viewports and title blocks.
Miscellaneous system variables.
Some of the Civil 3D standardized elements in a drawing template include:
Object and label styles.
Drawing settings.
Command and feature settings.
Drawing templates are preconfigured by a corporate CAD manager (or team) and should be
centrally located on a network for all users to access. It is the role of the CAD manager to
maintain the drawing templates, not that of the individual users.
Key Terms
Object Styles
Object styles control the display of Civil 3D objects. Every object has an
assigned object style. Different object styles serve different purposes
during the design process.
Label Styles
Label styles control the display of the annotation assigned to objects.

Label styles are chosen when objects are created. You can change the
labels assigned to an object anytime. You choose different label styles to
annotate different types of information.
AutoCAD Standard
Settings and Styles
For example; layer names and visibility settings, text styles, dimension
styles, paper space layout definitions, and symbol definitions.
Civil 3D Standard
Settings and Styles
Drawing settings, object styles, label styles, predefined point groups, and
predefined surfaces.
Style Hierarchy
Settings and styles are saved in a descending hierarchy. Drawing settings

and styles are the top level, followed by collection settings, and then
individual settings. Lower level settings and styles can override a higher
level default value.
Viewport
A layout (paper space) object that allows a view into model space for
plotting purposes. A viewports scale determines the final plotted scale
on paper. A layout can have multiple viewports with different shapes and
scales.
Command Settings
Command settings are available for each feature object in the Settings
tab of Toolspace. These settings assign default parameters such as styles,
naming conventions, and algorithm settings for the objects.
Template Files
Template files can contain standard AutoCAD settings, layers, linetypes,

and text style definitions. In addition, template files can include any Civil
3D drawing information in either the Settings tree (including Civil 3D
settings, styles, label styles, tables, description keys, and point
import/export formats) or the Prospector tree (including any Civil 3D
object, such as point groups). Template files have a .dwt extension and
should be located on a network drive for all users to share.
Exercise 1: Examine Existing

Object Display Styles
In this exercise, you examine the existing
styles for objects and labels.
2. Right-click any point in the Toolspace

Item View area. Select Zoom To to
navigate to the selected point.
No visible changes will be made to the

drawing during this exercise.
For this exercise, open
\I_SettingsAndStyles-EX1.dwg
1. In Prospector, click Points to view the
points in the drawing in the Item View
area.
The point uses a point style showing an X

and a point label showing the point
number, elevation, and description with
three different colors. The description spot
indicates that this is a spot elevation.
3. Expand the Point Groups tree.
4. Right-click _All Points. Click Properties.
8. Click the down arrow again to close the

list without making a change.
9. Click Cancel to close the Point Group
Properties dialog box.
You can assign a point style and point label
style to each point group.
Notice that the _All Points Point Group has
no point style or point label style.
5. Click Cancel to close the Point Group
Properties dialog box.
Examine the point settings for the Existing
Topo point group.
6. Right-click Existing Topo. Click
Properties.
All points are a member of the _All Points

point group. Therefore, if a point is a
member of another point group, such as
Existing Topo, it is a member of two groups,
each of which can have its own point and
point label styles. It is common practice to
set the styles for the _All Points point group
to None, but there is a priority order for the
point group styles. This is called point group
sort order.
10. Right-click the Point Groups tree. Click
Properties.
Notice that this group uses the Basic point

style and the Point#-Elevation-Description
point label style. In the Properties dialog
box, you can change the point and point
label styles that are assigned to the point
groups.
7. Click the down arrow for the point style
to view the point style selection options.
The list of point groups appears in the top

to bottom priority order. The arrow keys on
the right enable you to alter the Point
Group sort order.
11. Click _All Points and click the up arrow.
Click OK.
The points are no longer visible because the
point style and label style assigned to the
_All Points point group takes priority.
12. Repeat step 11 and move the Existing
Topo point group to the top of the list.
The points are visible again.
13. In Toolspace, click the Settings tab.
Civil 3D 2010 Student Workbook 10
14. Expand the Point and the Point Styles

trees.
You see the same point styles that were
available in the Point Group Properties
dialog box.
The orange triangle marker to the left of the

Basic style indicates that it is in use, either
for a point group or for a description key.
15. Click the minus sign (-) to close the Point
Styles tree.
16. Expand the Label Styles tree.
Notice the Point#-Elevation-Description
label style is active, which you saw in the
properties for the Existing Topo point
group.
17. Close the drawing and do not save the
changes.
Exercise 2: Create Object

Display Styles
In this exercise, you create new styles to
control object display.
When you complete this exercise, your
screen should resemble the following
illustration.
Your client prefers a different symbol to

indicate a spot elevation.
6. Click the Box option in the custom
marker section of the dialog box.
This creates a compound marker made of a
box and an X. Notice the preview window
area.
7. Click the 3D Geometry tab.
For this exercise open

\I_SettingsAndStyles-EX2.dwg.
8. To the right of the Point Display Mode

Property, click in the Value box to view
the down arrow.
9. Click the down arrow.
1. In the Toolspace Settings tab, expand

the Point and Point Styles trees.
2. Right-click Point Styles. Click New.
3. On the Information tab, for name, enter
Topo.
4. For Description, enter Ground Shots.
When the graphic display is in 3D mode, the

point style can use the three options
displayed in the list as shown.
10. Click the down arrow again to leave the
Use Point Elevation option unchanged.
11. Click the Display tab.
5. Click the Marker Tab.

You have three options for the type of
marker:
1) The AutoCAD Point marker
Notice the View Direction box is set to Plan;

both the Marker and the Label are set to be
visible, on layer 0, and the color is by block.
12. Click the View Direction down arrow.
Select Model.
2) A custom marker
3) An AutoCAD Block symbol
A custom marker X is the current choice and
a preview of the point and point label style
is shown on the right.
Notice that the marker and the label do not

display when viewing in Model (3D) view.
13. Click the Summary tab. Expand the
various Property trees.
Notice that the points are displayed using

the new point style.
changes.
These properties can be modified on this

tab by clicking in the Value fields.
14. Click OK.
The new Topo point style is created and
appears in the Point Styles list.
15. Click the Prospector Tab.

16. Right-click the Existing Topo Point
Group. Click Properties.
17. Click the Point style down arrow. Click
Topo to make this the active style for
this Point Group.
18. Click OK.

19. Right-click a point in the Item View.
Select Zoom To.
Exercise 3: Create Object

Annotation (Label) Styles
In this exercise, you create label styles for
point objects.
Notice the preview window changes by

showing only the point marker with no
label. All three label components are not
visible. Also notice the layer on which the
labels will be placed is V-NODE-TEXT.

illustration:

This setting does not work because you

want the elevation label component to be
visible.
8. Return the value to True.
9. Click the Layout tab.
2. Expand the Point tree, and then expand

the Label Styles tree.
10. At the top of the tab, click the down

arrow under Component name.
Notice that the Point#-Elevation-Description

label style is active.
Notice that the properties in the box below

can be modified for the selected
component.
3. Right-click the Point#-ElevationDescription label style. Click Copy.

You will make a new style similar to this
one, so using the Copy command is
efficient.
4. Click the Information tab.
5. For Name, enter Elevation Only Green.
11. Select the Point Description component.

Change the General Visibility value to
False.
12. Select the Point Number component.
Change the General Visibility value to
False.
13. Select the Point Elev component.
6. Click the General tab.

7. Under Label, click the Value for Label
Visibility. Click the down arrow and
select False.
14. Click the Text-Text Height value cell.

Enter 0.08.
15. Click the Text- Color Value cell. Click the
small color palette icon on the right of
the cell.
16. Click green (color 3) in the Select Color

dialog box. Click OK.
The preview box should show only a green
elevation property.
28. Right-click the top choice (_AutoCAD

Civil 3D (Imperial) NCS). Click Create
New Drawing.
The new drawing is now the active drawing.
17. Click the Summary tab to view the

properties for the components.
18. Click OK to create the new label style.
Notice that the new style appears in the list
of available label styles.
19. In Toolspace, click the Prospector tab.
20. Expand the Point Groups tree.
21. Right-click the Existing Topo Point
Group. Click Properties.
22. In the Default styles section of the
dialog box, click the down arrow below
Point label style.
23. Select the Elevation Only Green style.
24. Click OK to make this the current label
style for the Existing Topo point group.
29. Click the Settings tab.

30. Switch to Master View to see the styles
for both open drawings.
31. In Settings, expand Points and Label
Styles for I_SettingsAndStyles-EX3.
32. Drag the Elevation Only Green style and
drop it into the graphic window of the
new drawing.
33. In the Settings tab, expand Points and
Label Styles for the new drawing.
The style has been added to the new
drawing.
25. Zoom into a point to view the new style.
34. Click the Prospector tab. Right-click the

new drawing name and click Close. Click
No to the save drawing query.
You can create a style and copy it to
another drawing.
35. Close both drawings and do not save the

changes.
26. Click the Prospector tab. Switch to

Master View.
27. Expand the Drawing Templates and

AutoCAD trees.
Exercise 4: Modify Object

and Label Styles
In this exercise, you modify existing styles
for parcel objects and labels.
illustration:
5. Expand the Parcels tree. Click SingleFamily: 8.

Notice the preview of Parcel 8 in the Item
view below.

1. In Toolspace, click the Prospector tab.
2. Expand the Sites tree, and then expand
the Block Parcels site.
3. Click Block Parcels.
Notice the preview of the Block Parcels in
the Item View below. There are two settings
required to activate the preview. First,
ensure that the magnifying glass icon at the
top of Toolspace is turned on. Second, rightclick Parcels in the Block Parcels site and
select Show Preview.
6. Right-click Single-Family: 8. Select Zoom

To.
Parcel 8 appears to have two separate
colors bounding it. There are actually two
separate parcel boundary styles being used;
one for the overall Parcels collection and
another for the individual parcels.
7. In Prospector, right-click Single Family:
Parcel 8. Click Properties.
8. Click the Information tab.
Notice that the Object Style for Parcel 8 is
Single-Family.
9. Click Cancel.
10. Right-click the Parcels tree. Click
Properties.
4. Click in the preview and drag to rotate it
in 3D.
Notice that the Site parcel style is Property

and the Site area label style is Parcel
Number. In the Parcel style display order,
note the two parcel styles and the up and

down arrows on the right.
18. Right-click the Single-Family Parcel style.

Click Edit.
19. Click the Display tab. Turn off Parcel
Area Fill. Click OK.
11. In the Parcel style display order box,
click Single-Family. Click the up arrow.
Click OK.
You should see the boundary of Parcel 8
change to magenta because the SingleFamily style is taking precedence. If not,
regenerate the drawing.
13. Expand the Parcel tree, and then expand
the Parcel Styles tree.
20. Zoom into Parcel 8 again.

21. On the Annotate tab, Labels & Tables
panel, click Add Labels.
The Add Labels dialog box opens.
22. Change the Feature type to Parcel.
Notice the Label style is Single Segment, so
one line segment is labeled. The Line Label
style is Bearing over Distance.
14. Right-click Single-Family. Click Edit.

15. Click the Display tab.
Notice that the Parcel Segments are visible,
but the Parcel Area Fill is not.
16. Click the Visible icon (lightbulb) to turn
on the Parcel Area Fill. Click OK.
17. Zoom out to see all the parcels on the
site.
Notice that all of the parcels are filled with a
magenta hatch.
23. Click Add.

24. Click each of the four boundary lines
surrounding Parcel 8. Press ENTER.
31. Click in Text Color. Click the color

palette.
32. Click red (color 1) and click OK.
33. Click OK to accept the changes to the

Bearing over Distance style.
Notice that the bearings on the Parcel 8 line
labels change to red. You may have to enter
REGEN and press ENTER to see these
changes.
25. Click Close.
26. In the Settings tab, expand the Parcel
tree.
27. Expand the Label Styles tree and expand
the Line tree.

changes.
Notice that the Bearing over Distance style

is in use.
28. Right-click the Bearing over Distance
style. Click Edit.
29. In the Label Style Composer dialog box,
click the Layout tab.
30. Change the Component name to
Bearing.
Exercise 5: Use Styles

Hierarchy to Modify Styles
and Settings
In this exercise, you modify drawing and
collection level settings, which can modify
multiple styles at once. You explore the
hierarchy of these settings and learn how
overrides work.
6. In the Preview window, roll your mouse

wheel to zoom in or out Click and drag
to modify the preview to a rotated
and/or 3D view.
7. Click OK.
You need to assign this point label style to
the Existing Topo point group in order to
see the changes.
For this exercise, open

8. Click the Prospector tab. Expand the

Point Groups tree.
9. Right-click Existing Topo. Click

Properties.
2. Expand the Point tree and the Label

Styles tree.
3. Right-click the Point#-ElevationDescription style. Click Edit.
10. Click the down arrow under Point Label

Style. Change the current style to
Point#-Elevation-Description.
4. Click the Layout tab.

5. Set the Component name to Point
Description. Change the Text Text
Height value to 0.4. Press ENTER.
11. Click OK.
Notice the change in the Point Description

size in the Preview window.
The point label style changes for point

group.
13. Right-click the Label Styles collection.

Click Edit Label Style Defaults.
Changing values for the defaults will affect

the entire collection.
14. Expand the Components tree.
Examine the values. Notice the Text Height
is set to 0.1. Also, in the Child Override
column, both Text Height and Color have an
arrow. This means that at a lower
(individual object style) level, different
values are currently set to override the
values for the collection. Remember that
you set the Text Height for one style to 0.4.
You can turn off the override, reversing the
style change you made previously.
19. Expand the Components collection.

Notice the empty check boxes in the
Override column. You can use these boxes
to override a higher level (drawing) default
value. You can also use the lock icons to
disallow override values.
20. Expand the other Property trees to
examine the other settings and style
that can be set at the Point Label Styles
level.
21. Click Cancel.
22. Right-click the Point collection. Click Edit
Label Style Defaults.
The setting and style defaults at this level

control all collections inside the Point
collection.
23. Click Cancel.
24. Again, right-click the Point tree. Click
Edit Feature Settings.
25. Expand the Default Styles tree.
15. Click the arrow for Text Height in the

Child Override column.
A red X appears on top of the arrow.
Notice the default Point and Point Label

Styles that are set. These are the styles that
are assigned to points when they are first
created.
16. Click OK.

17. If necessary, enter REGEN. At the
command line, press ENTER..
Notice on the graphic screen that the Point
Description component has reverted to the
0.1 default value, overriding the change
made earlier.
18. Under the Point tree, right-click the
Label Styles collection. Click Edit Label
Style Defaults.
26. Expand other Property trees to examine

the settings and styles that can be set at
the Point collection level.
27. Click Cancel.
28. Right-click the drawing name at the top
of the Settings View. Click Edit Label
Style Defaults.
29. Expand the Components tree.

Here you can edit the label style defaults for
all labels in the drawing: point labels, parcel
labels, or any other kind of label.
30. Expand the other Property trees to
examine the other settings and style
that can be set at the drawing level.
31. Click Cancel.
changes.
Exercise 6: Modify Drawing

Settings, Viewport Scaling,
and Text Size
In this exercise, you learn how style settings
and Layout Viewport scales work together
to give correct text size on a final drawing
plot.
3. Click the Units and Zone tab.
Most plotting is done from a layout (paper

space) and not model space. The text height
settings in the Settings tab refer to the
plotted height on paper, not model space
height. Text in model space can appear to
be very large or small depending on the
model space scale setting. It is good
practice to set the model space scale the
same, or close to, the final plotted scale.
illustration:

2. Right-click the drawing name. Click Edit
Drawing Settings.
Changing the drawing units from feet to

meters or vice versa in this dialog box does
not result in a rescale of the drawing from
feet to meters. In civil engineering design,
you typically keep in mind whether an
AutoCAD unit refers to one foot or one
meter. The value in this dialog box changes
the AutoCAD units variable, which affects
the length values generated for object label
styles and also controls the optional scaling
of objects inserted from other drawings
with different units.
You can set the Angular units to Degrees,
Grads, or Radians. The settings in the Zone
section of this dialog box affect which
datum, projection, and coordinate system
are being used in the drawing. If the
coordinates do not align with any larger
coordinate system and are strictly local
coordinates, this should be set to No

Datum, No Projection.
4. Click the down arrow for Categories in
the Zone section of the dialog box.
IMPORTANT: The text labels and feature

symbol sizes controlled in the Toolspace
Settings tab are intended to set the final
plotted size on paper.
Notice the various coordinate systems

available for the drawing.
5. Click the down arrow again to leave the
value unchanged.
6. Click the down arrow under Scale at the
upper right of the dialog box.
Examine the various scales that are
available. The scale setting affects model
space annotation as well as the scale used if
plotting from model space. Plotting from
model space is not a common practice;
most users plot from paper space. This
setting does not affect paper space scaling.
Distances on the drawing measured by the
DIST command are not affected by the scale
setting. However, the relative size of the
features (alignments, parcels, and so on) to
the Point and Label Style sizes changes
depending on the model space setting. The
text changes size, not the objects.
7. Click 1 = 100.
9. Change the scale setting back to 1 =

40. Click Apply.
10. Click the Object Layers tab.
Here you can set all of the default layer

names for all of the objects in Civil 3D.
Notice several of the layer names:
alignments are set to C-ROAD; assemblies
are set to C-ROAD-ASSM.
11. In the Drawing Settings dialog box, click
Cancel.
12. On the Home tab, Layers panel, click the
down arrow for the Layer Properties
palette.
8. Click Apply.
Notice that the text labels and symbols
appear to be very large. You do not modify
the label and style settings to change this,
you need to change only the model space
scale.
Notice that the layer names in the drawings

match the Drawing Settings dialog box.
Layer names should be set up before
beginning a project either by creating your
own layer names, or preferably using a
template file with layers already defined.
This is the actual plotted height for the

point label text.
20. Click Cancel.
21. Click the Layout1 tab at the bottom of
the drawing area.
The text appears to be very large when
compared to the parcels.
13. Right-click the drawing name. Click Edit

Drawing Settings.
14. Click the Ambient Settings tab.
Expand and close trees to view the many
types of drawing settings that can be
modified.
The next section of this exercise discusses
the issues of plot scales and label sizes. You
should be familiar with the basics of layouts
and viewports. First, you verify the model
space scale setting.
You need to check the viewport scale.

22. Click the viewport border. Right-click
and click Properties.
23. Click the down arrow in the Standard
scale cell and select 1=40.
The scale setting should be 1= 40;

otherwise, change it. It is a good idea to try
and work at a model space scale that is
similar to your final output scale.
16. Click OK.
Next, you review the text height settings for
points. The text height setting reflects the
actual printed height of the text on paper
and does not change if the viewport scale is
changed.
17. In the Settings tab, expand the Point
tree and then expand the Label Styles
tree.
The drawing zooms to the 1= 40 scale, but

the text appears extremely large. You need
to regenerate the drawing while in model
space.
18. Right-click the Point#-DescriptionElevation style. Click Edit.

19. Click the Layout tab. Verify that the Text
Text height is set to 0.1.
24. Enter regenall. Press ENTER.

The text resizes to the 0.1 height setting.
Remember not to zoom while in model

space because you will change the viewport
scale. Try this process for other scale
settings.
changes.
Exercise 7: Use Command

Settings to Set Default
Styles, Name Templates, and
Parameters
Notice the default layer is 0, the default

point style is Basic, and the default Point
Label Style is Point#-Elevation-Description.
When new points are created, these styles
will be used unless you modify these
settings beforehand.
In this exercise, you use the command

settings to set default styles, object naming
templates, and default parameters for some
of the objects.
5. Under Default Styles, click the Value cell

for Point Style. Click the icon.
No visible changes will be made to the
drawing during this exercise.
2. Expand the Point tree. Expand the
Commands tree.
You can specify defaults for styles,
parameters, and naming conventions for
each command in the Objects collection.
6. Select the Topo style from the dropdown list. Click OK.
Notice the default point style has changed,
and a check mark has been placed in the
override box to the right because this
setting now overrides the settings at a
higher level.
7. Click OK in the Edit Command Settings

dialog box.
8. In the Settings tab, expand the Surface
and Commands trees.
9. Right-click the
AddContourLabelingSingle command.
Click Edit Command Settings.
3. Right-click the CreatePoints command.

Select Edit Command Settings.
4. Expand the Default Layer and the
Default Styles trees.
Note: You can also double-click

AddContourLabelingSingle to edit the
command settings.
10. Expand the Labeling tree.
The Labeling Prompt Method is set to
Command Line.
11. Click Command Line to see the dropdown arrow. Click the drop-down arrow
to see the choices.
You can control how Civil 3D interacts
through these settings. Many of these
settings are the same within the Surface
Commands collection.
The Surface Name Template defines the

default name for a surface. It is currently set
to Surface<[Next Counter(CP)]>, which
means the default surface names will be
numbered sequentially: Surface1, Surface2,
and so on.
17. Click in the value cell. Click the
icon.
The Name Template dialog box opens as a

method to modify default names.
18. Highlight and delete Surface<[Next
Counter(CP)]> in the Name field.
12. Click Cancel to close the Edit Command
Settings dialog box.
19. Click the down arrow for Property fields.
14. Expand the Labeling tree to view the

Labeling Prompt Method.
The Name Template dialog box is common

to all types of objects. For Surfaces, only a
Next Counter property is available. Other
objects have multiple properties that can be
used for default names.
15. Expand the Build Options tree.
20. Click Insert.
These settings control various options used

in building a surface. Notice you can control
elevations above or below given values by
changing the No value to a Yes value, and
then entering an elevation in the following
value cell. Maximum Triangle Side Length
can be set the same way. You can allow or
disallow crossing breaklines. These settings
modify the algorithm to build surfaces.
21. Click in the Name field to the left of the

Next Counter.
13. Right-click the CreateSurface Command.

Click Edit Command Settings.
22. Enter Surface #.
Note that the settings for incremental

numbers can be modified in the lower
section of the dialog box.
23. Click Cancel.
24. Expand the Volume Property tree.
Examine the type of settings that can be
modified, such as the units, precision,
rounding method, and sign convention.
25. Click Cancel.
16. Close the Build Options tree. Expand the

Surface Creation tree.
26. Click File menu > Save to save the

changes made.
Many types of default styles, naming

conventions, and algorithm parameters can
be set using the Commands tree.

changes.
Exercise 8: Create a Custom

Drawing Template (DWT)
File
In this exercise, you customize styles and
settings and save them in a template file.
No visible changes are made to the drawing
during this exercise.
\I_SettingsAndStyles-EX8.dwg. Use
Windows Explorer to make a copy of the
drawing as a backup.
Setting up a template drawing that contains
all of the required settings, styles, layers,
blocks, and parameters that can be used
repetitively can save time and energy. If you
are working in a drawing in which you have
made the changes you want, you can save
these settings to a template file.
Modify any lower-level collection

or individual styles and settings,
including Command settings.
Save the file as a template (DWT)

file. All of these settings will be
used for any new drawing that is
created using this template file.
First, you erase all objects in the current

drawing and purge undesired blocks.
1. On the Home tab, Layers panel, click the
Layer Properties Manager button.
Ensure that all layers are on and thawed.
2. Click Auto-hide on the Layer Properties
Manager box.
3. Enter ZE. Press ENTER to zoom the
drawing to full extents.
4. Use a right-to-left crossing window to
select all objects in the drawing.
In general, the following is a good

procedure to create a template file from a
working drawing:
Make a copy of your working

drawing in case anything goes
wrong.
Erase all objects in the drawing

and purge any undesired blocks.
Ensure that you have a solid

layer standard setup per your
company or client requirements.
The US National CAD Standard
(NCS) is a good place to start.
Check the drawing settings and

be sure that the object layers are
set up to coincide with the layer
standards being used. Check the
rest of the drawing settings,
including units and ambient
settings.
5. Press DELETE.
All objects are erased.
6. Enter Purge.
Note that you can purge all of the items
shown in this box. If you do not purge the
drawing, the template file holds all of these
blocks, layers, linetypes, and so on. This
means a larger file size and perhaps a
confusing drawing.
The Purge dialog box opens.
7. Expand the Blocks tree.
19. Click OK.

21. Expand the Point and the Label Styles
trees.
22. Right-click the Point Number Only style.
Click Delete. Click Yes on the Confirm
deletion message.
8. Click the FireHydrant block. Click Purge.

9. Click to confirm the purge.
10. Examine the layers listed in the Layers
tree.
At this point, you can modify or delete a

collection or an individual style or setting as
desired.
23. Click the Application Menu button >Save
As > AutoCAD Drawing Template.
Here, you can purge any that you do not

want in the template file.
11. Click Close.
Next, you check the Drawing Settings.
12. In the Settings tab, right-click the
drawing name. Click Edit Drawing
Settings.
24. Enter City of Atlanta as the file name.
14. Change the Drawing Scale to 1 = 100.
The template drawing file can be used for

any new drawing used while working for the
city, meeting their settings and styles
standards.
15. Click the Object Layers tab.
25. Click Save and OK on the Save Drawing

As dialog box.
Examine the layer names that are

associated with the objects, ensuring that
this matches your conventions. You can
modify any object layer by clicking the layer
cell for that object.
26. Click OK on the Template Options dialog

box.
27. Click the Prospector tab. Select Master
View.
28. Expand the Drawing Templates tree.
If City of Atlanta.dwt does not appear on
the list, right-click Drawing Templates and
select Refresh to update the list of template
files. You see a new City category in the list.
16. Click the Ambient Settings tab.

17. Expand the Distance tree.
18. Modify the Precision setting from 3 to 2.
29. Right-click City of Atlanta.dwt. Click

Create New Drawing.
Check some of settings that were modified
above to inspect that this new drawing file
has the same styles and settings you
modified earlier.
changes.
Assessment
Challenge Exercise
Instructors can provide a challenge exercise for students based on this lesson.
Questions
1. What is a child override?
2. Which scale setting affects the plotted layout?
3. How does the text height value affect the drawing?
4. How do you modify the current point style marker to reference an AutoCAD block?
5. Why do you use the Purge command?
6. What is the major advantage of creating a custom template file?
7. Why is it important to create and work with standards?
Answers
1. A child override is an arrow in a high level style or setting that indicates that a lower
level collection or individual style or setting differs from and will override the higher
level style or setting.
2. The viewport scale setting determines the plot scale for the layout.
3. In any label style, the text height setting determines the plotted height on paper.
4. In the Settings tab, in the Point/Point Style, find the current point style. Right-click and
click Edit. Click the Marker tab. Click Block and select a block to use. Click OK.
5. Drawings hold a lot of information internally; for example, layers and blocks. Purging
unused blocks or layers creates a smaller, more organized drawing or template file.
6. A custom template file can hold all the settings, styles, and parameters that are
commonly used for similar projects. Creating a new drawing using this template file can
automatically create the layers and blocks and bring in the settings and styles that you
want to use.
7. Sharing data, increasing efficiency, and conforming to client submission standards are all
good reasons to use a consistent set of standards for your drawings. Standards can be
set up in template drawing files for easy use.
Lesson Summary
This lesson focused on how to set up and modify settings and styles as a consistent standard for
a company or a particular client. Object naming, layer naming, label and object styles, drawing
settings, and using the hierarchy of settings and styles are all covered to emphasize the
importance of standardization in design and production. Template drawing files should be set
up to reflect the standards required for internal and/or external (client) requirements.
AutoCAD, AutoCAD Civil 3D, Autodesk, and Civil 3D are registered trademarks or trademarks of
Autodesk, Inc., and/or its subsidiaries and/or affiliates in the USA and/or other countries. All other brand
names, product names, or trademarks belong to their respective holders. Except as otherwise permitted
by Autodesk, Inc., this publication, or parts thereof, may not be reproduced in any form, by any method,
for any purpose. Autodesk reserves the right to alter product offerings and specifications at any time
without notice, and is not responsible for typographical or graphical errors that may appear in this
document.
2009 Autodesk, Inc. All rights reserved.

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AutoCAD Civil 3D 2010

Education Curriculum Student Workbook

Describe the types of Civil 3D objects and their interactions.

Parcels and Parcel

Unit 1 Lesson 3: Settings & Styles

Civil 3D 2010 Student Workbook

About Settings and Styles

Unit 1 Lesson 3: Settings & Styles

Civil 3D 2010 Student Workbook

Types of Label Styles

Unit 1 Lesson 3: Settings & Styles

Civil 3D 2010 Student Workbook

Viewport Scaling and Text Size

Civil 3D 2010 Student Workbook

About Command Settings

Unit 1 Lesson 3: Settings & Styles

Civil 3D 2010 Student Workbook

About Template Files

Text and dimension styles.

Page setup definitions with viewports and title blocks.

Miscellaneous system variables.

Some of the Civil 3D standardized elements in a drawing template include:

Object and label styles.

Command and feature settings.

Unit 1 Lesson 3: Settings & Styles

Civil 3D 2010 Student Workbook

Label styles control the display of the annotation assigned to objects.