There will just be dumb text beside the block (case 2). Sometimes the custom blocks will not have attribute elevations, making a custom program your only option to make those points usable with Civil 3D. Then you simply import the point data from the text file to create Civil 3D points. An alternate solution is to use attribute extraction to output elevation data as a text file. Then one just needs to use Civil 3D to create Civil 3D points from the AutoCAD points.

The AutoLISP program I wrote prompts the user to select the blocks, and it will create AutoCAD points at the elevation given by the elevation attribute. I found AutoLISP to be a quick solution to this problem. Without an existing surface, we can't do any of our proposed grading work. The custom blocks are totally useless in Civil 3D. At the select points prompt, Civil 3D will respond at the command line, '0 found'! The problem: The existing conditions plan has spot elevation points as custom blocks with attributes (case 1). You select points from a survey drawing for Civil 3D surface creation. Nothing is more frustrating than receiving hundreds of unusable points. Make Unusable Survey Drawings Workable in Civil 3D I've found AutoLISP to be invaluable for doing things that supposedly can't be done with out-of-the-box AutoCAD and Civil 3D. You can also query and label object data in plain AutoCAD. You can extract elevation data from a plain AutoCAD profile. With AutoLISP, you can make unusable survey drawings workable in AutoCAD Civil 3D.

If you want to push your software beyond its limits, you should consider customized programming using AutoLISP.

AutoLISP: A Civil Designer's Helpmate 17 Mar, 2009 Use this powerful programming tool to query and label GIS object data, convert unusable points, and much more.ĪutoLISP can assist civil designers in many ways.

Autocad drawing for civil