2011

of available coordinate systems. You can also search for coordinate systems
by code or description using the Search box. Click Properties to view the
properties of the selected coordinate system.
3 Click OK.
Quick Reference
ADESETCRDSYS
Assigns a global coordinate system code for the current drawing or attached
drawings
Setup menu ➤ Assign Global Coordinate System
Menu
Assign Coordinate System
Icon
ADESETCRDSYSCommand Line
In Map Explorer, right-click Current
Drawing ➤ Coordinate System
Task Pane
Assign Global Coordinate System dialog boxDialog Box
Using a Geodetic Coordinate System
All geographic data is created in some coordinate system, and in the context
of some
datum (page 2059). A datum includes ellipsoid (page 2062) information
and a datum definition. For example, the Gauss-Kruger Conformal projection
system used in Germany uses the Bessel ellipsoid and Potsdam datum
definition. Some coordinate systems only specify the ellipsoid; these are
non-geodetic. Coordinate systems that specify the complete datum are
geodetic.
Most of the coordinate systems supplied with AutoCAD Map 3D are geodetic,
but about ten percent are non-geodetic. Therefore, you should determine
whether the coordinate systems you use are geodetic or non-geodetic before
you assign a coordinate system to a drawing. If you have data in a drawing
that uses a non-geodetic coordinate system, but do not know what datum the
data came from, you might introduce errors if you convert the drawing to a
geodetic coordinate system.
148 | Chapter 2 Setting Up