ABC Pro for Civil: Civil 3D Data Shortcuts

The Autodesk BIM Collaborate (ABC) Pro for Civil  has been tuned to work with Autodesk Civil 3D.  One of the base Civil 3D collaboration workflows supported is: Data Shortcuts.

The purpose of this post is not to train you on how use Civil 3D or set up files on the ABC, but to show that collaboration is possible across multiple users working with Data Shortcuts.

Civil 3D Workflow - creating and using data shortcuts:

USER1 will start by working Surface drawing saved in the ABC.  First, set the Working Folder to the needed location on the ABC, and creating or set the Data Shortcut Project Folder:
 
Once the paths are set, the brackets “[   ]”, will fill in and show the location.  Then, from a drawing using the Create Data Shortcut command is used.  Civil 3D will recognize all ABC objects that can be shared.  Here the surface is selected (Existing-Site) to added to project:

Next, USER2 will be working an Alignments drawing saved in the ABC.  Ensure that the appropriate path to the Project is set to the Project folder on the ABC created by USER1.  Then from the Data Shortcuts directory > browse to the Surfaces category > right click Create Reference... > select the shared Existing-Site:

With the Surface shared by USER1, it can be sampled the and a Profile created by USER2:

Civil 3D objects that are used as data shortcuts provide users their full range of functionality, the only limitation is editing the referenced object cannot be edited:

Viewing Drawings with Data Shortcuts on the Web via ABC:

Drawings with Civil 3D object behave as expected when accessing them via the web, showing the all the linework in them.  Regardless of if it’s the originator (USER1) or consumer (USER2) of the drawings.

See below how the drawing created by USER1 shows points and surface by any user that access the drawing.

Also, the drawing created by USER2 will show reference data by any user who access it too.

Data Shortcuts are an advanced Civil 3D workflow, that is clearly supported by the ABC for collaboration of drawing across the team on the AutoCAD platform and web viewing access.  

Please visit our other posts testing functionality on the Autodesk BIM Collaborate (ABC) Pro for Civil :
     •    Using External References on ABC
     •    Using AutoCAD Live Maps Service (geolocation) on ABC
     •    Sharing Reusable AutoCAD on ABC
     •    Map 3D: Connecting to FDO files on ABC
     •    Map 3D: working with Images on ABC
     •    Map 3D: using Web Source Connections
     •    Civil 3D: sharing Pipe Catalogs on ABC
     •    Civil 3D: sharing Survey Database Settings on ABC
     •    Civil 3D: working with Reference Templates on ABC

About the Author

Civil Applications Expert<br><br>As an Applications Expert, Leo is responsible for supporting, training and implementation of software for survey and civil engineering professionals. He has more than 19 years of experience helping large and small, public and private clients in the eastern United States.

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