Using Map Tools within Autodesk Land Desktop to Maximize Productivity Mike Carris

Transcription

1 December 2-5, 2003 MGM Grand Hotel Las Vegas Using Map Tools within Autodesk Land Desktop to Maximize Productivity Mike Carris CV11-2 Autodesk civil engineering solutions include very powerful tools for generating maps and data while utilizing numerous different data formats. Have you ever received site contour drawings where the contours are individual lines instead of polylines? Have you ever tried to find crossing breaklines? What about turning contour data from ESRI shape files format into elevated polylines to build a surface in Autodesk Land Desktop? In this session you will examine the map cleanup tools and the map import/export features that will quickly remedy these problems and others. This course will also cover a basic introduction and discussion on the Map Query features within Land Development Desktop, and how to use these features on small to larger projects in a multiuser environment. About the Speaker: Mike is an Autodesk Authorized Consultant and Autodesk Certified Instructor. He has more than 13 years of experience in civil/survey software, engineering design, and surveying. Mike provides consulting, training, and technical support to public and private engineering and surveying firms across the country. He is known for his expertise in design visualization, GIS, mapping, civil engineering, and land surveying software applications. Mike is also a faculty member at John Tyler Community College in Richmond, Virginia. mike.carris@timmons.com

2 Autodesk Map Tools Introduction AutoCAD Land Development Desktop includes some very powerful tools for generating Maps utilizing many different data formats. In this session, you are going to examine the Map Cleanup Tools, and importing other Data Types into a Land Development Project. The ability to use this data inside of Land Development will aid in many facets of the design process. Understanding Autodesk Map Overview Land Development is built on top of Autodesk Map. Not only do you have all your AutoCAD Functions and Tools, and your Land Development tools, you also have the full functionality of a GIS/Mapping Product. Although Map is made for mapping and GIS, it has some powerful tools the Engineers can utilize to accomplish tedious tasks rapidly. Also, the ability to utilize digital data from other GIS/mapping formats is a huge time saver. Project Workspace The Project Workspace displays all the data you need to work with: attached source drawings, queries, databases, and topologies, as well as the links you have set up between objects in the attached drawings and records in the attached external databases The Project A Map Project is your current drawing. You know that in Land Development every drawing is associated with a project. Think of your Drawing as a Project within a project. Inside our Map Project you attach our source drawings. These source drawings contain either information you need in our current drawing or information you may need to edit in the source drawings. Each project team member will have their own project drawing and all will have the source files attached. This will allow each user to view and edit any of the information on the source files at the same time. 2

3 Drive Alias Autodesk Map provides a drive alias feature that allows different users working with the same projects and drawing sets to locate drawings. If you plan to share drawings with other users, use aliases to locate attached source drawings rather than hard-coded drive letters. For example, if source drawings are stored in server:\acadmap\ drawings, you might connect to that location as drive J, and another user might connect as drive K. This could make it difficult to share projects, since your projects would specify J: as the location for the source files whereas another user might connect as drive G: or X: However, if you all assign the same alias to the location, you can share projects regardless of location. Autodesk Map provides a default alias called C. You can attach drawings quickly if you store them on drive C. If you store drawings in a location other than drive C, you must create aliases for the path to your source drawings before you attach them. Procedure 1. Right click on the Drawings folder in the Project Workspace Click Attach A new dialog box will appear where you need to create an alias to the drawing location. 2. Select the Create/Edit Alias Icon 3. Enter an alias Name in the Drive Alias. (Typically this would be the project number or name) 4. In the Actual Path either enter or browse for the location the DWG s are stored When entering Drive Aliases no spaces are allowed. 5. Click Add 6. Click Close 7. From Look in Dropdown list select the new drive alias 8. Select to Drawing you would like to add and Click ADD 9. Click Okay 3

4 Zooming and Viewing the Source Drawings You can review the contents of one or more active source drawings by using Quick View. You can then decide which objects you want to query. Using Quick View is much faster than opening each drawing in Autodesk Map, because it only displays the contents of attached, active drawings. Procedure 1. Right Click on any active Drawing in the Project Workspace and Select the Quick View 2. If nothing is displayed right Click again and select Zoom extents This will display the information in the source drawings. The view will remain until you perform a redraw or regen. If the view disappears repeat steps 1-2. Query Information from Source Files A query is the way you retrieve the objects you need from source drawings. Use queries to define a subset of objects from the active source drawings and to display that subset in the project drawing. Defining Queries specify which objects to retrieve from source drawings. Altering the Properties of Queried Objects modify the objects that you query in from source objects to create a thematic map that displays data visually. Executing Queries decide whether to preview the objects, copy them into the project, or run a report on the objects. Using the Query Library Save a query for use later or share queries with other users. Improving Query Performance Create indexes to speed up queries. Setting Query Options specify how to query objects into the project and how to save them. A query searches the active source drawings, selects the objects that match the conditions you specify, and places the retrieved objects in the project. Only objects in the Model Tab (model space) are queried. Objects from the Layout Tab (paper space) are ignored. You can view and edit the objects, then save them to a new file or save them back to their original file. 4

5 Procedure 1. Right Click on Current Query 2. Select Define Use this dialog box to define, modify, save, load, or execute queries. The dialog box settings reflect the properties of the current query. If you change a setting, you modify the current query. If you load a query from the query library or from a file, you replace the current query. Note the difference between pressing Execute Query and pressing OK. Execute Query Saves dialog box settings and executes the current query. OK Saves dialog box settings without executing. 3. Click the Location button. In the Location Condition dialog box, select a boundary to determine the type of area to query. Polyline lets you retrieve objects within an existing polyline rather than one you create when you build the query. If the polyline you select contains arcs, Autodesk Map connects the ends of the arcs with straight lines. If you select the Polyline boundary, specify a polyline mode. 4. Select a selection type: Inside includes only objects that are completely inside the boundary. Crossing includes all objects that are inside the boundary or crossing the boundary. To define the coordinates of the boundary, click Define<. Use any Autodesk Map selection method to define the boundary. 5. In the Define Query dialog box, select a query mode. 6. Click Execute Query. If your Query Method was set to Draw the entities will be copied into your current Drawing (Project) and will now be selectable. If any of these entities are modified you will have the option to save these changes back to the source file. 5

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8 Drawing Cleanup Tools Drawing Cleanup Tools are Map Tools to reduce unnecessary detail, correct digitizing and scanning errors, and correct inaccuracies due to poor drafting. These tools can also prepare maps for topology creation. In this section you will show some unique uses for these tools. First you will briefly cover the Drawing Cleanup Dialogs and Cleanup Operations. Drawing Cleanup Dialog Use this dialog to identify and fix-drawing errors such as undershoots or clustered nodes. The cleanup operations will make inaccurately drawn or digitized data complete and suitable for creating topology. You can also convert objects to polylines and simplify complex lines by removing unnecessary points. The Drawing Cleanup dialog box in Autodesk Land Development Desktop 2004 will step you through the process with a series of dialog boxes. This first Dialog is where you will select the object you wish to modify (or cleanup) as well as the objects you want to anchor (or not be modified) After selecting the Objects to be corrected and selecting Next you will be provided with the Select Actions Dialog. This dialog is where you will select the actions you wish to perform on the objects 8

9 Highlight the Actions in the left column and then select the Add button to move the action the right column. You may then modify the order the actions are performed by moving them up or down in the list. NOTE: It is not recommended to perform the Simplify Objects Action with other Cleanup Actions. If you run Simplify Object with other actions Map will perform this cleanup action first regardless the order the actions are specified. (The following Actions Description taken from Land Desktop Online Help) Delete Duplicates Locates objects that share the same start and end points as well as all other points within the tolerance distance and deletes one of the objects. Note that even if the two objects have different linear directions, they are considered duplicates. Specify the tolerance value in the Tolerance box, or click Pick to specify the value by choosing two points in the drawing. Erase Short Objects Locates objects shorter than the specified tolerance and erases them. If the object is connected to other objects at each end, select Snap Clustered Nodes to have these objects snapped together and joined into one object. Specify the tolerance value in the Tolerance box, or click Pick to specify the value by choosing two points in the drawing. Break Crossing Objects Locates objects that cross each other with no node at the crossing. Breaks the crossing objects and creates a node at the crossing. Note that when you use this option on multiple layers at the same time, it may create intersections for linear objects on separate layers that do not actually intersect. To avoid this problem, you can use the option on one layer at a time. Autodesk Map does not refer to a tolerance value when identifying crossing objects. Extend Undershoots Locates objects that come within the specified tolerance radius of each other, but do not meet. If one object can be extended to cross the other, it will be snapped to an existing node that is within the specified tolerance. If no node exists, one will be created at the intersection. If two objects pass within the specified tolerance, they will be snapped at their closest point. If a node exists on either object within the specified tolerance of this point, the objects will be snapped to that node. If no node exists, one will be created at the point. Specify the tolerance value in the Tolerance box, or click Pick to specify the value by choosing two points in the drawing. If you want to break target linear objects at the intersections, select the Break Target check box. 9

10 Snap Clustered Nodes Locates nodes within the specified tolerance radius distance of each other and snap them to the centermost node. Nodes include nodes at the ends of lines or polylines. To exclude nodes, you can anchor those objects. Specify the tolerance value in the Tolerance box, or click Pick to specify the value by choosing two points in the drawing. Dissolve Pseudo Nodes Locates any node shared by only two objects, dissolves the node, and joins the two objects. Autodesk Map does not refer to a tolerance value when dissolving pseudo nodes. Erase Dangling Objects Locates objects with at least one end point that is not shared by another object, and erases the object. Set the tolerance value slightly greater than the longest dangle you want to erase. Dangling objects do not include closed polylines. Note that it is often a good idea to use the Break Crossing Objects action before you erase dangling objects. Simplify Objects Simplifies complex polylines by removing all interior nodes that fall within the specified corridor tolerance. Reducing the number of points in a detailed pline reduces file size and improves performance, but it also reduces the resolution of the data. Polyline segments falling within the same corridor are generalized into a single polyline. However, branching points, dead ends, and endpoints of polylines are not generalized. Note that if your objects are lines, not plines, use the Dissolve Pseudo Nodes option to create a single pline. In the Tolerance box, enter the width of the corridor, or click Pick to specify the value by choosing two points in the drawing. Zero Length Objects Finds polylines with start and end points but zero length, as well as polylines with only a start vertex and removes them. Autodesk Map does not refer to a tolerance value when identifying zero length objects. After selecting the actions and pressing the next button the Cleanup Methods Dialog is displayed. This Dialog you direct Map how to handle cleanup process. You can modify the Original Object or have Map Create New Object. You can even have the new objects created on a different or new layer. The following Step by Step lesson will walk you through running a few of the cleanup options. The procedures for the other cleanup actions will the same 10

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12 Dissolving Pseudo Nodes The dissolving pseudo nodes cleanup option is a handy tool for easily turning individual lines and arcs into polylines. Using the drawing cleanup tools, you need to be in the drawing that contains the entities. Procedure 1. Map Tools Drawing Cleanup, 2. Select the Layer or object you wish to edit, 3. Select the Layers or objects you wish not to edit, 4. Select the Next Button, You can use wildcards for layer selection as well as select each object individually. 5. Select Dissolve Pseudo Nodes in the Cleanup Actions column, 6. Select Add button, 7. Select the Next Button, You could perform a Delete Duplicate before you perform the Dissolve Pseudo Nodes to make sure you don t have extra entities. 8. On the Cleanup Method Dialog, Select Modify Original Object. For the cleanup method. Notice you could create new objects on a different or new layer if the data was on separate layers. 9. Select the Finish button. The command will start to process the entities, and when finished the command line will display a result similar to the figure to the right. 12 Review the entities and you will notice they are now polylines.

13 Simplify Linear Using this option, you can simplify complex linear objects by removing all interior nodes that fall within the specified tolerance width. Procedure 1. Map Tools Drawing Cleanup, 2. Select the Layer or object you wish to edit, 3. Select the Layers or objects you wish not to edit, 4. Select the Next Button, Depending on if you performed a cleanup operation previously you may need to remove the cleanup actions listed in the Selected Actions Column. 5. Select Simplify Objects in the Cleanup Actions column, 6. Select Add button, 7. Enter a suitable tolerance factor. By either entering a value or selecting the value by picking two points on the screen, 8. Now select the Next Button 10. On the Cleanup Method Dialog, Select Modify Original Object. For the cleanup method. Notice you could create new objects on a different or new layer if the data was on separate layers. 11. Select the Finish button. 13

14 The command will start to process the entities, and when finished the command line will display a result similar to the figure to the right. Conclusion: This lesson covered cleaning up Map Data using some very handy tools provided by Autodesk Map. These tools are also available while running Land Development Desktop. There are many uses for these tools, once you learn the process it is just a matter of applying them to your task at hand. 14

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16 Converting Shape Files into LDDT Contours Introduction The ability to utilize Arc Info Topo Data (or other GIS Data) inside of AutoCAD Land Development Desktop has tremendous capabilities. Being able to use this data effectively includes a few simple steps. When requesting GIS data, be sure to get the attribute information as well whether it is ARCView, ARC/Info, Map Info, etc. Without the attribute data your contours will only come into LDDT as polylines on and elevation of 0. On large areas it would be a huge task to manually modify every contour to have a correct Z value. This Technical Document assumes you are familiar with the working of Autodesk Map. If you re not refer to TD106-Map Tools for further instruction. Importing Data using Autodesk Map Procedure 1. Create a new drawing. 2. From the Map Pull down Select Tools Click Import The Import Location dialog box will appear and allow you to choose the Import Type and path of the data location. 3. Select the Correct Import Type and Navigate to the data path. 4. Click Ok 5. The Import dialog box will open. In this dialog box you can select the data input layers you wish to bring into your drawing and also create an object data table to assign the attribute data associated with the layer. 6. Select the desired Input Layers. 16

17 7. Click on the Drawing Layer Column and create or choose a layer the data is to be placed on. (This can be left alone if the input and drawing layer are to be the same). If the Layer does not already exist select the New Layer Button to open the Layer Mapping dialog. On this dialog you can select the Method of Layer Mapping or create a new Layer. 8. Click the Data cell for the layer you are importing, then click on the button to open the Attribute Data dialog box. 9. Select the Create Object Data radio button, and click the Select Fields button. 10. On the Object Mapping dialog Check the desired fields. Since you are only interested in the Elevation of the contours that is all you will select. 11. Select the OK Button, three times to start the Import Process. You should now have contours lines (polylines with no Z value) 12. From the Map Pull down Select Object Data>Edit Object Data. 17

18 13. Select a contour and it should have object data associated, specifically the contour s elevation. You will now elevate the Contours by using the Object s Data Value. To do this you have to create a new drawing and Attach the Previously created drawing, then perform a query altering the Object Elevation Property. 14. Save this Drawing and create a new Drawing. 15. From your Project Workspace attach the drawing created in the previous steps. 16. From Look in Dropdown list select the new drive alias if needed. 17. Select to Drawing you created and Click ADD. 18. Click Okay. 19. Right Click on Current Query 20. Select Define Use this dialog box to define, modify, save, load, or execute queries. The dialog box settings reflect the properties of the current query. If you change a setting, you modify the current query. If you load a query from the query library or from a file, you replace the current query. Note the difference between pressing Execute Query and pressing OK. Execute Query Saves dialog box settings and executes the current query. OK Saves dialog box settings without executing the current query Click the Location button. In the Location Condition dialog box, select a boundary to determine the type of area to query. Polyline lets you retrieve objects within an existing polyline rather than one you create when you build the query. If the polyline you select contains arcs, Autodesk Map connects the ends of the arcs with straight lines. If you select the Polyline boundary, specify a polyline selection mode: 18

19 Inside includes only objects that are completely inside the boundary. Crossing includes all objects that are inside the boundary or crossing the boundary. To define the coordinates of the boundary, click Define<. Use any Autodesk Map selection method to define the boundary. 22. In the Define Query dialog box, select a query mode. 23. Click Execute Query. If your Query Method was set to Draw the entities will be copied into your current Drawing (Project) and will now be editable. If any of these entities are edited you will have the option to save these changes back to the source file. It is recommended you preview your queried area to be sure you get the proper results. This will save you time on large data sets. Once you are happy with the results go onto the next step. 24. From the Define Query Dialog Box Click the Alter Properties Button. 25. Select the Elevation radio button from the Select Property area of the Set Property Alterations dialog box. 26. In the Expression area click the Expression Button 27. From the Property Alteration Expression dialog box expand the Object Data Folder, 28. Expand the Data Table associated with the contours. This is the table you created when you imported the Shape File. 29. Select the Attribute in the table, in our case the ELEV field. 30. Click Okay 31. Click ADD in the Expression area of the Set Property Alterations dialog box. Repeat Steps for additional Tables. 19

20 The completed alterations dialog box should look similar to the dialog box shown at the right. 32. Click Okay to close the Set Property Alterations dialog box. 32. At the Define Query dialog box, making sure the Query Mode is set to Draw, Click Execute Query. 33. Now you should have selectable and elevated polylines in your drawing. 34. Detach the source drawing and save the currents drawing. Now you can Convert these polylines into Contour Objects and create a Terrain Model. 20

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22 Importing and Using Soil Data Introduction There is a large amount of data on the internet available for you to use inside of LDDT. This white-paper will cover the procedure for downloading and inserting soils data into LDDT. Downloading the Data Procedure 1. Navigate to the following Web Site (you ll need to set up an account, there is no charge for this) 2. Click on Download SSURGO Data 3. Enter user Name 4. Enter password 5. Click Log In 6. Scroll to the County you are interested in and Click Download. 7. You want to download the Arc/Info Coverages > Click on Cov.zip 8. Save the cov.zip file to your project folder (place where you can find it) 9. Unzip the cov.zip file The procedure for importing the soils data is the same as the steps outlined in the previous lesson for importing contour data. 22

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24 Coordinate Systems and Conversions Introduction Most maps use some form of coordinate system to represent the curvature of the Earth's surface on a flat plane. The global coordinate system is a description of the origin of your map, the projection system used, and the units you are using; it describes how the sphere of the Earth is projected onto a sheet of paper and converted to the Cartesian coordinate system. State Plane Coordinate Systems Many of the states in the USA have established state plane coordinate systems. These coordinate systems are fixed by legislation and are used by surveyors, engineers, planners, and state and local governments. These systems ensure that all parts of a state are covered by a common coordinate system and have a projection distortion of less than one part in 10,000. To meet these criteria, larger states need several zones. All states, except California, base their choice of the Lambert Conformal Conic or Transverse Mercator Projections on the dominant shape of their states: wide states use the former; tall states, the latter. Although much larger in its north-south extent, California uses the Lambert Conformal Conic Projection to define seven zones. The Universal Transverse Mercator System In the 1940's, the U.S. Army developed the Universal Transverse Mercator System, a series of 120 coordinate system zones for the whole world. The systems are based on the Transverse Mercator Projection. Each zone is six degrees wide. Sixty zones cover the Northern Hemisphere and each zone has a projection distortion of less than one part in The table shows the definitions for two zones in the Northern Hemisphere. The Southern Hemisphere is covered in the same way, except you set the False Northing to 10,000,000 for positive Y coordinates. Zone 1 Zone 2 Longitude Start and End 180 W to 174 W 174 W to 168W Linear Unit Meter Meter False Easting 500, ,000 False Northing 0 0 Central Meridian 177 W 171 W Latitude of Origin Equator Equator Scale of Central Meridian

25 Virginia Coordinate Systems There are many different choices when it comes to working with Coordinate Zones with in Virginia. For purposes of more precisely defining the Virginia Coordinate System of 1927, the following definition by the National Ocean Survey/National Geodetic Survey is adopted: The Virginia Coordinate System of 1927, North Zone, is a Lambert conformal projection of the Clarke spheroid of 1896, having standard parallels at north latitudes 38-02' and 39-12', along which parallels the scale shall be exact. The origin of coordinates is at the intersection of the meridian 78-30' west of Greenwich with the parallel 37-40' north latitude, such origin being given the coordinates: x = 2,000,000', and y = 0'. The Virginia Coordinate System of 1927, South Zone, is a Lambert conformal projection of the Clarke spheroid of 1896, having standard parallels at north latitudes 36-46' and 37-58', along which parallels the scale shall be exact. The origin of coordinates is at the intersection of the meridian 78-30' west of Greenwich with the parallel 36-20' north latitude, such origin being given the coordinates: x = 2,000,000', and y = 0'. For purposes of more precisely defining the Virginia Coordinate System of 1983, the following definition by the National Ocean Survey/National Geodetic Survey is adopted: The Virginia Coordinate System of 1983, North Zone, is a Lambert conformal conic projection based on the North American Datum of 1983, having standard parallels at north latitudes 38-02' and 39-12', along which parallels the scale shall be exact. The origin of coordinates is at the intersection of the meridian 78-30' west of Greenwich and the parallel 37-40' north latitude. The origin being given the coordinates: x = 3,500,000 meters ( ft) and y = 2,000,000 ( ft) meters. 25

26 The Virginia Coordinate System of 1983, South Zone, is a Lambert conformal conic projection based on the North American Datum of 1983, having standard parallels at north latitudes 36-46' and 37-58', along which parallels the scale shall be exact. The origin of coordinates is at the intersection of the meridian 78-30' west of Greenwich and the parallel 36-20' north latitude. This origin is given the coordinates: x = 3,500,000 meters ( ft) and y = 1,000,000 meters ( ft). 26

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28 Coordinate Conversion Using Autodesk Map (Land Development Desktop) Introduction Through the use of assigned coordinate systems in Autodesk Map, you can combine and work with data from source maps using different coordinate systems. When you retrieve objects from source drawings, Autodesk Map automatically converts them to the global coordinate system of the project drawing. This operation is called coordinate transformation. When you save objects back to source drawings, Autodesk Map reverses the conversion. Procedure 1. Open Land Development Desktop. 2. Create a new drawing and assign the desired Coordinate Zone your project will be in, 3. Open the Project Workspace. (if it is not already open) From the Map pull-down>utilities> Project Workspace 4. Attach Source Drawing: The Source drawing is the drawing or drawings that contain the information you wish to convert. You must know the proper Datum of the source drawing before you can accomplish the Conversion. 5. In the Project Workspace, Right-Click on Drawings>Select Attach. Select the file names of drawings you want to attach, and click Add. You can change the drive or folder and continue to add files to the Selected Drawings list. When you have added all the drawings you want, click OK. If the drive or folder you want is not listed, click the Create/Edit Aliases button to display the Drive 28

29 Alias Administration dialog box where you define a new drive alias. To open a preview window that displays a preview of the selected drawing, click the Preview button. In some instances, such as if a drawing is locked, the Preview window is blank. 6. In the Select Drawings to Attach dialog box, select the drawings and click Add. 7. The drawing(s) are now attached and are ready to be converted. First you need to verify the coordinate systems of our Source Drawing and our Project drawing. 8. Right-click on Project in the Project Workspace and select Coordinate System. 9. In the Assign Global Coordinate System dialog box assign the coordinate system to your Active Project and the attached source drawings. Note: If you created your Active Project drawing in LDDT and assigned a Coordinate Zone in the Drawing Setup the Zone should be already set. 10. Click OK Now you will query the source drawing to convert the data to the Project Datum. 29

30 11. Right-click on the Current Query in the Project Workspace and select Define. Define a Location, All Query. 12. On the Define Query dialog box under Query Type select the Location Button. 13. For Boundary Type choose All. Click OK 14. Under Query Type select Draw. 15. Click Execute Query. This will copy the entities from the source drawing into the Active Project into the correct coordinate system. 16. Save the Drawing. 30

31 Finding Data Data Sources b Site Services Provided National Atlas of the USA USGS Geographic Data Download US Census Bureau The GIS Data Depot Kodak Earth Imaging Aerial Images, Inc. TerraServer State of Maine State of NH Granit Vermont Geographic Information System New York State GIS Clearinghouse Massachusetts MassGIS Rhode Island Geographic Information System UCONN Map and Geographic InformationCenter Pennsylvania Spatial Data Access New Jersey Spatial Data Clearinghouse University of Delaware Spatial Analysis Lab Maryland State Government Geographic Information Coordinating Committee University of Virginia Geospatial & Statistical Data Center West Virginia GIS Technical Center Virginia State Soils Information Virginia State DOQQ s NC GIS Data Loudon County City of Winston-Salem/Forsyth Co 31

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34 Feature Classes Introduction The latest version of Autodesk Map includes a feature that if implemented could help with the creation of maps and designs that adhere to your companies Standards. The tools are Feature Classes. Feature classification will organize objects in your drawing based on the features that they represent, for example, road centerlines or manholes. You create an object using feature classification and the object automatically has properties and values assigned to it based on its feature classification. You can also find or select all objects in a feature class Creating a Feature Class Procedure To define a feature class you must have administrative Privileges. 1. From the menu bar, choose Map->Utilities ->User Login. 2. In the Login Name box, enter the login name. 3. In the Password box, enter your password. The default superuser login name is SuperUser (case insensitive) and the password is SUPERUSER (case sensitive). If security is an issue, make sure you change the default superuser login and password. 4. Click OK. Before you can create a feature class you must have a sample object to use as an example. 5. Create a new Layer called C-ROAD-CNTR, with a centerline linetype and color Red, and set it current, 6. Draw a Polyline, 7. Right-Click on Feature Classes from the Map Workspace, 8. Select New Definition File from the context menu. 9. Navigate to the desired storage folder for the Definition file, A Network location would be an ideal spot to store the file. Notice the file is an xml file. 10. Enter a Name for the file 34

35 11. Right-Click on Undefined Classes, from the Feature Class object within the Map workspace, 12. Select Define Feature Class, from the context menu, 13. Select the Polyline drawn in step 6, 14. Right-Click to accept the objects. The Feature Classification dialog box will appear. 15. Enter Road for the Feature Name in the Define Feature Classification dialog box. 16. Enter Road Centerline for the Description 17. On the Applies To tab selec the AcDbpolyline check box, 18. Selec the Properties List tab, 19. Select Color, Layer, Linetype and Linetype generation check boxes in the Available properties panel, 20. Selec the Layer property, 21. In the Property attributes: Range, enter C- ROAD-CNTR for a value. You can set other values for color and Linetypes. You can also assign values for Object data information if an Object Data Table exists. 22. Selec the Save Definition button, You can create additional features with other types of objects and attributes. When you are finished you can save the current drawing as a drawing template so the feature classes are available without loading the Definition file. 23. Right-Click on the ROAD feature class and select Create Feature from the context menu, You can also select the features from this context menu. 24. Draw the centerline of the road. Once a Definition file has been created it will help with drawing automation and maintaining standards within your projects. 35

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37 Coordinate Geometry Introduction The COGO (coordinate Geometry) Commands are used to enter accurate information about geometry you are creating. These COGO Commands can be used with any of the standard AutoCAD commands prompting for point input. These commands are accessible by starting a command then selecting the desired COGO Command Command. COGO Setup angle and distance bearing and distance azimuth and distance deflection angle and distance `AD `BD `ZD `DD 1. Selec the Draw Line command, 2. Draw a line from 10,10 to 20,20 3. Press Enter, You may need to Zoom Extents. 4. Repeat the Draw Line command, 5. When prompted for a starting point select the cogo command Azimuth Distance, 6. Select (southerly) end point of Line 1, (Near 10,10) 7. Enter an azimuth of , 8. Enter a distance of 10, 9. Selec the transparent command Angle Distance, 10. Enter an angle of , 11. Enter a distance of 25, 12. Right-Click to exit the command. 37