At one point or another, we are all faced with the tedious prospect of breaking or trimming a large number of drawing objects on different layers. There are two great commands for automating this that are hidden away in AutoCAD Map 3D. Now that AutoCAD Map 3D is included for free with AutoCAD to anyone …
You are most likely familiar with the OFFSET command in AutoCAD and have probably used it thousands of times or more. It is a great way to create parallel copies of an object. But when you need a true buffer this may not be the best solution. This is where the OFFSETGAPTYPE system variable comes to …
PDF files are commonly used to share information. If a PDF file was created with vector data and you want more than just an underlay, give the PDF Import command a try. The PDF Import command is located at Ribbon: Insert >> Import >> PDF Import. Next the Import PDF dialog box is displayed. This dialog …
You can right-click on an object in Civil 3D and pick Select Similar to select all the objects in a drawing with shared, or similar, properties. It’s not obvious, however, there are two different versions of the Select Similar command in Civil 3D. If you watch the command line closely you will notice that the …
You can right-click on an object in AutoCAD and pick Select Similar to select all the objects in a drawing with shared, or similar, properties. You can also enter SELECTSIMILAR at the command line. However, you might be wondering what AutoCAD considers “similar”. This is controlled in the command settings. Enter SELECTSIMILAR at the command …
“Add Selected” is an often overlooked tool that can save you time in AutoCAD. How often have you needed to create a new object that is just like one you already have in the drawing (same object type, color, layer and so on), but with new geometry? How did you do that? How many steps …
I’ve heard the question many times, and I’ve heard a lot of answers. “ESRI’s products make inaccurate maps”, claim some AutoCAD users, while some ArcGIS users feel that “AutoCAD ruins our coverages”. In reality, BOTH families of products are excellent for certain tasks, and not so good for others, but the gap is closing and …
Which Mapping Products Are “Better”, ESRI’s Or Autodesk’s? Read More »
If you are using Civil 3D or Land Desktop, it includes a version of Autodesk MAP, which provides a number of methods for dealing with digital maps from multiple coordinate systems. In addition to a wide variety of advanced import and export features, MAP 3D also provides the ability to convert coordinate systems through queries, automatically converting …
Autodesk MAP includes the ability to properly insert a georeferenced image into a drawing. A georeferenced image is one that has been scaled, rotated and (when necessary) “rubber-sheeted” into position to correlate to projected map features at a given scale. It may be an aerial photograph, a satellite image or even a scan of an …
With the introduction of the Display Manager in Autodesk MAP 3D 2005, you now have a better way to create thematic maps from your AutoCAD drawings. A thematic map uses properties like color and line width to display objects by data classifications. An example of this is a map of pipelines where you use different …
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