Surface Level of Detail Updates in Civil 3D 2025

Working with large LiDAR surfaces, DEMs, GeoTIFFs, etc. in Civil 3D benefitted from the command LEVELOFDETAIL and its corresponding disabler, LEVELOFDETAILOFF. This allows users to minimize surface data, like contours, that are shown at the various zoom levels. 

Now, as of version 2025, the command has been split into four levels:

SurfaceLODLow

SurfaceLODHigh

AllSurfaceLODLow

AllSurfaceLODHigh

The usefulness may be lost on some, but for those who have multiple surfaces in the same drawing can now selectively choose to which surface(s) an LOD setting applies. Below is a general behavior for each command:

SurfaceLODLow/SurfaceLODHigh

You are prompted to select a surface to which the setting will be applied. You may also choose from a list in a dialog box by pressing ENTER. Depending on the command specific to a single surface (SurfaceLODLow or SurfaceLODHigh) the resulting surface view will show the corresponding amount of surface data (high-to-low shown in this example).

Note: If there is only one surface in the drawing, you are not prompted to select a surface, as the command applies to the only one present.

AllSurfaceLODLow/AllSurfaceLODHigh

This was the behavior of the retired commands LEVELOFDETAIL and LEVELOFDETAILOFF, as it applied to all surfaces in the drawing, whether they benefitted from it or not.

There you have it! Another useful setting/command made more functional for our large dataset usage.

About the Author

Civil Solutions Applications Expert<br><br>Working with clients to implement various technologies and techniques within civil engineering disciplines. With my travels, I teach/train, troubleshoot, solve, configure, and implement solutions based on client needs. Drawing on many years of experience across various types of projects, I continue to enjoy doing this type of work.

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