CHAPTER 1

Navigating the Civil 3D User Interface

If you're new to AutoCAD Civil 3D, then your first experience has probably been a lot like staring at the instrument panel of a 747. Civil 3D can be quite intimidating, with lots of buttons, strange shapes, and strange icons—all packed into a relatively small area. In addition, you may be even more intimidated by the feeling that there is a lot of power under the hood. This leads us to our main objective for this chapter, which is to alleviate that feeling of intimidation and make you feel much more at ease within the Civil 3D environment. Let me start you down that path by saying that there's a big difference between a 747 and Civil 3D. In Civil 3D, if you really mess up, you can simply close ...

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