Importing Survey Data into Civil 3d

under the home tab, in the top left there is an "import survey data" button. Next you need to create a survey database (i just use a project number), next you can choose to import a field book file, a csv file, xml file or points from a drawing. You can specify for point format here as well.

The import part of using C3D for survey data is having a template set up that will process your feature codes and create the linework for you. It takes some time to set up, but the field to finish process is very useful.

Brad Luken, LS

Search for posts by davidgstoll. Dave's made some really good posts about using the survey tools in Civil 3D.

Make sure to select between US survey foot and international. Ours seems to default to int. feet.

There are several ways to import the survey data.

1)Pull in a straight .txt PNEZD type file.

or

2)Pull in points into a survey data base.

As a few above have identified a couple of the many options for importing data you will need to make sure ALL of your templates and everything associated with your survey database default settings are setup before you even begin to import data. If you don't, you'll have issues ranging from minor to beyond major. Once setup it runs just fine....it's all in the setup and how your company intends to use or not use the survey database. I recommend using it but you don't have to.

> My organization recently switched me over to.. Civil 3D with Surveyor's Companion
I suspect that importing data to Civil 3D with Surveyor's Companion is different from importing data to Civil 3D without Surveyor's Companion. How is Eagle Point's support and training?

If you're needing to run before you crawl, make sure you set your point options to come in on 'zero'.

I don't have time to walk through it, but somewhere in the prospector (c3d nomenclature) you can set the points to be at elevation but treat the point-object at z=0.

Key (for me) if drafting ex-conditions. Else, you're going to snap in varying 'z' and end up with funk'd up distances or not be able to 'trim' at all (items not being co-planar).

I haven't finalized my template and whenever I choose to start 'cold', default puts point objects at elevation. ALWAYS check.

Cost me a lot of time, once. Don't get fooled.

Based on the videos posted to their (Eagle Point) website, the Surveyors Companion is a set of applications that allow the operator to create Civil points through a nice COGO user interface.

Basically, I'm sure every single one of those COGO operations are available directly through the Civil3D interface, they are just different from what an Eagle Point user would be used to.

Nothing wrong with that.

The Eagle Point site has a matrix of all the things the "Companion" does that Civil3D out of the box does not do. I absolutely disagree whole heartedly with that particular matrix.

The ONE THING I can not glean from the Eagle Point website is how they import field data In fact, one of their "selling points" is "working without an external database."

Looks like I'd rather spend the $600 that the Companion costs in sending an office Civi3D operator to a hands-on training on how to work the Civil3D Survey toolspace.