both03.indd4:8:6:PM/07/14/2014Page 1Bonus chaptor3Map Tools: A
Transformativo BxporioncoAutodesk AutoCAD Civil 3D 2015 software
contains most of the functionality that can be found in Autodesk
AutoCAD Map 3D 2015 software. As survey technology advances and
sources for accurate data become more varied, the ability to
transform between units and coor-dinate systems will become
increasingly more important. For the solutions to many
interoper-ability questions, you will look to the Map functionality
to help you along.In this chapter, you will learn to Transform
coordinates between drawingsAttaching Rastor ImagosFrequently, when
using AutoCAD Civil 3D, youll need to show an aerial image as it
relates to your design. The coordinate system of the photo will not
always use the same units or coordi-nate system as your
drawing.Standard image attachment tools will not automatically
transform the image. Even if both your drawing and the image are
assigned coordinate systems, Civil 3D software will not pre-sume to
move one into the other. Youll need to use the Map portion of the
software to force the coordinate transformation.Here are the
general steps you will need to follow in order to transform an
image from its original coordinate system to the coordinate system
of your Civil 3D drawing:1.Start a new drawing and set it to the
same coordinate system as the image.In this chapter, this will be
referred to as the source coordinate system.2.Switch to the
Planning And Analysis workspace to access the Map 3D tools.3.Insert
the image into the new, empty drawing by clicking the Insert An
Image button found under the Data panel of the Home tab.4.Save and
close the initial drawing.5.Open your project drawing and make sure
it is set to the correct coordinate system.In this chapter, this
will be referred to as the destination coordinate system.2 | B0N0S
cHAPTBR 3MAP TOOLS: A TRANSFORMATIVE
EXPERIENCEboth03.indd4:8:6:PM/07/14/2014Page 26.Attach the source
drawing using the features found under the Map Explorer tab of the
Task pane or by using the Attach feature found under the Data panel
of the Home tab.7.Use the ADEQUERY command to pull the image across
to the destination coordinate system.In the following sections, you
will work through these steps in greater detail.Finding Your Map
ToolsAutoCAD Map 3D software bridges the gap between GIS and CAD.
Because infrastructure designers often dip their toes into the GIS
waters, Civil 3D software contains all the tools that come with Map
3D software. To access the tools you will work with, you will need
to change your active workspace.In the following exercise, you will
change workspaces:1.Start a new drawing based on the _Autocad Civil
3D (Metric)NCS.dwt fle.Even if your preferred working units are
feet, the frst step in the process will be work-ing with the JP2
image in its native coordinate system. The JP2 you will be working
with was obtained from the United States Department of Agriculture,
Natural Conservation Service (USDA) website
(http://datagateway.nrcs.usda.gov/GDGOrder.aspx). Like most of the
data from USDA, the fle is in UTM NAD83 and is in metric units. You
could also get data from the National Map Viewer
(http://viewer.nationalmap.gov/viewer/) hosted by USGS. Dont forget
to check your local city or county GIS resource for even better
resolution imagery, before proceeding to one of these
alternatives.2.Save the fle in your example fle folder as
Source.dwg.3.From the Settings tab of Toolspace, right-click the
name of the drawing, and select Edit Drawing Settings.4.On the
Units And Zone tab, enter UTM83-14 in the Selected Coordinate
System Code feld.This will set the drawings coordinate system to
UTM with NAD83 datum, Zone 14, Meter; Central Meridian 99d
W.5.Click OK to dismiss the Drawing Settings dialog.6.Click the
Workspaces drop-down in the upper-left corner of the screen and
select Planning And Analysis, as shown in Figure B3.1. Ftouas
B3.1Switching to the Planning And Analysis workspace7.Save the
drawing and keep it open for the next exercise.TRANSFORMING TO
LOCAL COORDINATES |3both03.indd4:8:6:PM/07/14/2014Page 3Insorting
tho ImagoNow that you have set your source drawing, it is time to
insert the fle. In this example, youll use a .jp2 fle, but the
process is the same regardless of the type of image fle with which
you are working. Note that some imagery has the coordinate data
already embedded into the fle, while others need a world fle to
defne their projection and image position within that coordinate
system. So if your image does not show up in the right place, make
sure that the world fle is not missing from the directory where
your image is located. Note that when you insert an image using the
map tools, you are given the options to choose among world fle,
image fle, and image defaults for Correlation Source. 1.Continue
working in the Source.dwg fle that you created in the previous
exercise. Remain in the Planning And Analysis workspace.2.From the
Home tab Data panel, click the Insert An Image button. Note that
you can type MAPIINSERT and press Enter at the command line from
any workspace to invoke this command. 3.In the Insert Image dialog,
set Files Of Type to All Images.4.Browse to the fles you downloaded
for this chapter, select Texas_State_Capitol.jp2, and click
Open.5.In the Image Correlation dialog, verify that that
Correlation Source is set to Image File; then click OK.The
insertion point and units are already embedded in the image, so no
world fle is necessary and you dont need to worry about changing
anything. 6.Zoom Extents to see the image in your fle.7.Remain in
the Planning And Analysis workspace, and save and close
Source.dwg.If you happen to receive a georeferenced image that is
in the same coordinate system as the rest of your project, you can
use the MAPIINSERT command directly in the project. A coordinate
system match may happen periodically, but more often than not you
will need to continue the process as outlined in the next
section.Transforming to Iocal coordinatosThe frst thing you should
do in any project drawing is set your coordinate system, as shown
in Figure B3.2. Be sure a coordinate system is set before you
import your survey and create Civil 3D data. If you change
coordinate systems or units partway through a project, any existing
information will not be adjustedand changing coordinate systems in
the middle of a project is generally a bad idea.The technique
outlined in this section works on images and any base AutoCAD
object. If you have AutoCAD objects (lines, arc, circles, etc.) in
a fle that has a coordinate system assigned to it, you can attach
the fle and use a query on the graphic data to perform an exact
transformation.4 | B0N0S cHAPTBR 3MAP TOOLS: A TRANSFORMATIVE
EXPERIENCEboth03.indd4:8:6:PM/07/14/2014Page 4Ftouas B3.2Set units
and zone before you begin importing data.IocATs 0stNo usooaAratc
DATAFor XRefs and block insertion, you will see an option called
Locate Using Geographic Data. Note that this option will be
available only if both the drawings have a coordinate system set
and if the GEOMARKERVISIBILITY option is set to 1.TRANSFORMING TO
LOCAL COORDINATES |5both03.indd4:8:6:PM/07/14/2014Page 5Be wary of
the Locate Using Geographic Data option for Civil 3D and Map
applications. It is intended for base AutoCAD users who simply want
to line up drawings; it does not perform a true coordinate
transformation. In other words, it will scale and move the XRef or
block, but it will not re-project elements to the destination
drawings coordinate system.1.Open the drawing Destination.dwg
(Destination_METRIC.dwg), which you can down-load from
www.sybex.com/go/masteringcivil3d2015. For this example, make sure
you have saved the fle Source.dwg to your local C drive.These fles
have been set to a Texas State Plane, Central Zone coordinate
system.2.In the Planning And Analysis workspace, select the Home
tab Data panel, and click Attach.3.Use the Select Drawings To
Attach dialog to browse to your fle.For this exercise, you saved
Source.dwg to the C drive in order to avoid the need to defne an
alias. If the fle you work with in real life is on a network
location, you will need to click the Create/Edit Aliases button and
set up a shortcut to additional drives.4.Highlight Source.dwg, and
click Add. Click OK.The fle will appear at the bottom of the dialog
in the Selected Drawings section, as shown in Figure B3.3.Ftouas
B3.3Select the Source le, click Add, and click OK.6 | B0N0S cHAPTBR
3MAP TOOLS: A TRANSFORMATIVE
EXPERIENCEboth03.indd4:8:6:PM/07/14/2014Page 65.From the Home tab
Data panel, click Defne Query.If the dialog does not appear, make
sure that within your options for the current Civil 3D profle the
path mentioned here is included in your Support File Search Path:
C:\program files\autodesk\autocad 2015\map\support\en-us For more
information on this option, see the knowledge article at
http://knowledge.autodesk.com/support/autocad-civil-3d/troubleshooting/caas/sfdcarticles/sfdcarticles/No-dialog-box-pops-up-when-you-do-a-Map-Query-in-Civil-3D-2015.html6.Click
the Location button.7.Set the boundary type to All, and click
OK.8.Set Query Mode to Draw. Leave all other options at their
defaults.9.When your dialog resembles Figure B3.4, click Execute
Query. Ftouas B3.4Setting query propertiesClick OK if you receive
any warning messages. You should now see the image translated to
the correct coordinate system. If the image is not within your
current display, use the Zoom Extents command.10.Select the image,
right-click, and select Display Order Send To Back, as shown in
Figure B3.5.TRANSFORMING TO LOCAL COORDINATES
|7both03.indd4:8:6:PM/07/14/2014Page 711.Save the drawing. You will
receive a reminder saying The association between queried objects
in the current and attached drawings will not be retained once the
current draw-ing fle is closed. Click OK to acknowledge this
message. Ftouas B3.5Change the dis-play order to be able to see the
existing objects.12.At the command line type mapwspace and hit
Enter. Select the On option and hit Enter to enable the Task
pane.13.Switch to the Map Explorer tab, and from the Drawings
category select the source draw-ing. Right-click the menu that
appears and select the Detach option.Dont forget to switch your
workspace back to Civil 3D to resume working in the rest of the
book.You can compare your completed fle against the fnished fle
Destination_FINISHED.dwg (Destination_METRIC_FINISHED.dwg).AN
AtTsaNATtvs MsTaooTo insert and transform a georeferenced image
into Civil 3D software, you could also use the Map Data Connect
tool from the Planning And Analysis workspace in the Home Data
panel (or type MAPCONNECT at the command line). Tis method works
for various data types, including raster images.Continues8 | B0N0S
cHAPTBR 3MAP TOOLS: A TRANSFORMATIVE
EXPERIENCEboth03.indd4:8:6:PM/07/14/2014Page 8Te advantage of this
method is that it involves fewer steps.We made you do it the hard
way for several reasons: If an image is inserted via the attach and
query method, as you did in the previous exercise, the image can be
manipulated in all the same ways as an image attached via base
AutoCADthat is, you can crop it, make it transparent, and adjust
it. Images brought in through the MAPCONNECT command can be color
adjusted, but thats it. Tese images are present only in the drawing
they were inserted into and are not available when that drawing is
used as a reference into another drawing. If you use the attach and
query method, you can transform anythingimages and entire CAD les,
if necessary.0stNo Itvs MArsIn the 2014 release of AutoCAD vertical
products, a new feature was introduced that allows you to overlay
imagery using Microsoft imagery services. Te downside is that this
imagery was provided as an overlay only and is not available for
printing. ContinuedTRANSFORMING TO LOCAL COORDINATES
|9both03.indd4:8:6:PM/07/14/2014Page 9In the 2015 release, this
feature enables the user to save a capture of the image embedded
within the drawing le. Lets look at using Live Maps with the
exercise you just completed. 1.Open the Destination_FINISHED.dwg
(Destination_METRIC_FINISHED.dwg) le. 2.From the top right of the
screen select to sign in to Autodesk 360 with your Autodesk
account.In order to use Live Maps, you have to have or create an
Autodesk account, since the delivery of the content using this
feature cannot be done without you being connected to the Autodesk
360 servers. Also, you will be prompted to accept an EULA and
select to use or not use Live Maps upon logging in to Autodesk 360.
3.From the Geolocation tab, Online Map panel, click the Map O
drop-down button and select Map Hybrid.Te screen will be updated
with a live connection to the Hybrid overlay of imagery and street
data. You will notice that the online service takes into account
the coordinate system dened for the drawing and the online image
map is aligned with the imagery data you referenced in the previous
exercise. If a coordinate system is not set for the drawing, this
feature will request you to set it before using the online map
data. You can go ahead and switch between the options for imagery
alone or street data overlay. Sometimes the imagery content
available through the service is better than imagery downloaded
from other sources, but as we mentioned before, check also the
local city and county GIS resources. 4.Change the Online Map to Map
Aerial. 5.Select the referenced image, and from the contextual tab,
Options panel, click the Show Image button to hide the image. Click
Esc to deselect the
image.YoucouldalsohaveunloadedtheimagebyusingtheoptionsfoundundertheExternal
References palette that can be launched by typing xref or
externalreferences at the command line.Continues10 | B0N0S cHAPTBR
3MAP TOOLS: A TRANSFORMATIVE
EXPERIENCEboth03.indd4:8:6:PM/07/14/2014Page 10 6.In the
Geolocation tab, Online Map panel, click the Capture Area button to
access the drop-down menu and choose Capture Viewport. 7.In the
Geolocation tab, Online Map panel, click the Map Aerial button and
choose Map O.You will notice that even if the online service was
set to Off, the captured image is still visible. If you select it
and access its properties through the AutoCAD Properties palette,
you will notice that this object is a Geomap image and is saved and
embedded within your draw-ing. Also on selection, you will notice a
dierent contextual tab named Map Image that allows you to do the
following: Swap the type of the overlay from the drop-down for the
current captured area. Set the resolution of the captured image to
dierent levels. By default the resolution is set to Optimal, but by
selecting Very Fine, you will get the best resolution. Control the
way the captured image is displayed with the property sliders.
Update the representation of the image with the Reload Image button
found under the Update panel. 8.Since you only needed to see the
functionality of the feature, you dont need to save your drawing.
Terefore, you can close the drawing.To Bottom IinoTransform
coordinates between drawings.Most project locations have the
ability to use several coordinate systems or units. Being able to
correctly manipulate a drawings coordinate system is extremely
important.Master ItThe TransformThis.dwg fle is in Universal
Transverse Mercator (UTM) North American Datum (NAD) 83, Zone 10,
in meters. Start a new drawing based on _Autocad Civil 3D
(Imperial) NCS.dwt or _Autocad Civil 3D (Metric) NCS.dwt. Set the
new drawings coordinates to NAD 83 California State Plane Zone III
(US Foot or Meters, depending on which template you
used).ContinuedSOLUTION TO THE BOTTOM LINE
|11both03.indd4:8:6:PM/07/14/2014Page 11Solution to tho Bottom
IinoTransform coordinates between drawings.Most project locations
have the ability to use several coordinate systems or units. Being
able to correctly manipulate a drawings coordi-nate system is
extremely important.Solution1.Start a new drawing based on _Autocad
Civil 3D (Imperial) NCS.dwt or _Autocad Civil 3D (Metric)
NCS.dwt.2.From the Settings tab of Toolspace, right-click the name
of the drawing and select Edit Drawing Settings. 3.On the Units And
Zone tab, set the category to USA, California.4.Set the available
coordinate system to NAD83, California State Planes, Zone III US,
Foot (NAD83, California State Planes, Zone III Meter), and click
OK.5.Using the flename CA_StatePlane.dwg, save the drawing to the
same location as the rest of your chapter fles.6.Switch to the
Planning And Analysis workspace. In the Home tab Data panel, click
Attach.7.Browse to and select the fle TransformThis.dwg. Click Add
and then click OK. 8.Click Defne Query, set the radio button to
Location, set the location to All, and set Query Mode to
Draw.9.Click Execute Query. Zoom Extents to see the data.10.Check
your result against the fnished drawing CA_StatePlane_FINISHED.dwg
(CA_StatePlane_METRIC_FINISHED.dwg), which can be downloaded from
the books web pa ge.
