Datasheet
WINDOWS ON THE MODEL
3
Prospector
Prospector is the main window into the Civil 3D object model. This palette or tab is where you
“go mining” for data and also shows points, alignments, parcels, corridors, and other objects as one
concise, expandable list. In addition, in a project environment this window is where you will con-
trol access to your project data, create references to shared project data, and observe the check-in/
check-out status of a drawing. Finally, you can also use Prospector to create a new drawing from
the templates defined in the Drawing Templates branch in your AutoCAD Options dialog. Pros-
pector has the following branches:
◆
Open Drawings
◆
Projects
◆
Drawing Templates
In addition to the branches, Prospector has a series of icons across the top that toggle various
settings on and off:
Project State Toggle
Turns on and off the display of project item state icons in the Prospector
palette—very important when you’re working with a team of designers so that you know when
others have made changes to project-related data. Leave this one on!
Drawing State Toggle
Turns on and off the display of the drawing item state icons in the
Drawings collection. This is how you know that an object is in use, has been modified, or has
dependent objects—profiles that depend on alignments. This same button on the Settings tab of
Toolspace will turn on the icons that indicate a style is in use or has dependencies that keep it
from being deleted. Another one to usually leave on.
Modifier Toggle
Turns on and off the display of the drawing item modifier icons at the indi-
vidual object level. For example, these icons will inform you when a surface is out of date or
when a corridor needs to be rebuilt. This information is important when working with project
data that has been referenced to your current drawing.
Item Preview Toggle
Turns on and off the display of the Toolspace item preview within Pros-
pector. These previews can be helpful when you’re navigating drawings in projects (you can
select one to check out) or when you’re attempting to locate a parcel on the basis of its visual
shape. In general, however, this one can be turned off—it’s purely a user preference.
Panorama Display Toggle
Turns on and off the display of the Panorama window (which
we’ll talk about in a bit). To be honest, there does not seem to be a point to this button, but it’s
here nonetheless.
Help
This should be obvious, but it’s amazing how many people overlook it.
Master and Active Drawing Views
If you can’t see the Projects or Drawing Templates branch in Figure 1.1, look at the top of the Prospector
pane. There is a dropdown menu for operating in Active Drawing Only or Master View mode. Selecting
Active Drawing Only only displays open drawings. The Master View mode, however, displays the
Projects and Drawing Templates branches, as well as the branches of any other drawings you might
have open.
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