Datasheet

CHAPTER 1 GETTING DIRTY: THE BASICS OF CIVIL 3D

Object Styles

Beyond the styles used to label objects, Civil 3D also depends on styles to control the display of the

native objects, including points, surface, alignments, and so on. Just as in label styles, certain com-

ponents of the object styles are common to almost all of the objects, so let’s create a new alignment

style to introduce these common elements.

1. Expand the Alignment branch on the Settings tab, and then right-click on the Alignment

Styles folder. Select New, as shown in Figure 1.21.

2. Type a new name for your style on the Information tab and enter a description if desired.

3. Switch to the Display tab. While the other two tabs are unique for alignment objects, the

Display tab is part of every Civil 3D object style.

4. Turn off the Arrow component by clicking the lightbulb in the column next to it.

5. Near the top of the dialog, change the View Direction setting in the dropdown menu to 3D

and notice the change.

6. Click OK to dismiss the dialog. Your new alignment style will appear under the Alignment

Styles branch in the Settings tab.

Objects can have distinctly different appearances when being viewed in a plan view versus a

3D view. For example, surfaces are often represented by contours in plan view, but triangular faces

or a grid in 3D.

Object styles are a major component of efficient Civil 3D object modeling. Objects appear differ-

ently in varying plans. Having a full set of object styles to handle all of these use cases will make

plan production as painless as possible.

A good way to start creating object styles is to pull out a set of existing plans that represent your

firm’s standards accurately. Pick an object, such as alignments or surfaces, and then begin working

your way through the plan set, creating a new object style for all of the various use cases in your

plan set. Once you complete one object, pick another, and repeat the exercise.

Figure 1.21

Creating a new

alignment style

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