Civil 3D Surface Disappears When Data Shortcut is Refreshed

June 4, 2025 Nick Turner

Title:

Surface Disappears When Data Shortcut is Refreshed

 

Applies to:
Civil 3D

 

Issue:
After updating or refreshing a Data Shortcut for a surface, the surface disappears from the drawing or shows as unresolved.

 

Causes:
The data shortcut may have been broken due to file relocation, renaming, or workspace misalignment. If the source drawing was saved in a newer version or outside the current working folder, the reference fails to resolve.

 

Solution:

1 – Open Toolspace > Prospector and check for the red “X” on the surface
2 – Right-click the surface and select Repair Broken Reference
3 – Browse to the correct source file or resynchronize the working folder using Manage Data Shortcuts > Set Working Folder
4 – Use Manage Data Shortcuts > Synchronize to update changes
5 – If the issue persists, recreate the shortcut from the source drawing and reattach it

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