Map 3D Drawing Status Bar in Civil 3D

Civil 3D users – did you know that Map 3D has a specialized drawing status bar?

It seems the typical Civil 3D user knows little to nothing about the abilities of Map 3D. As those who do use it know, Map 3D is an incredibly powerful geospatial tool. Autodesk did publish their “GIS Skills for Engineers” document with the release of AutoCAD Civil 3D 2008 and AutoCAD Map 3D 2008. For anyone who has to use GIS data in an engineering environment, the document is a must read.

In reading through the document one thing I noticed was its use of a drawing status bar I had never seen before. That got me to thinking, and in true CAD Geek fashion, on a quest for the answer for this little riddle. Finally after fiddling around for some time I was finally able to uncover the answer to unlocking this super top secret drawing status bar. I say super top secret because (to my knowledge) the Map 3D Status Bar cannot be enabled from within AutoCAD. So how does one enable it?

  1. Close AutoCAD
  2. Go to Start > Run, and type REGEDIT

    Map 3D Drawing Status Bar in Civil 3D 080207 0513 map3ddrawin1

  3. Browse to: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Autodesk\AutoCAD\R17.1\ACAD-6000:409\Applications\AcMap

    Map 3D Drawing Status Bar in Civil 3D 080207 0513 map3ddrawin2

    Note the above registry key is for AutoCAD Civil 3D 2008. Land Desktop Companion 2008 happens to be ACAD-6018-409. Other vertical products, including the 2007 releases, will have different values.

  4. One of the registry entries is titled “Statusbar”. By default its value is set to “0”. Changing it to “1” will enable the top secret Map 3D Drawing Status Bar.

Upon restarting CAD

This:

Map 3D Drawing Status Bar in Civil 3D 080207 0513 map3ddrawin3

IS NOW THIS:

Map 3D Drawing Status Bar in Civil 3D 080207 0513 map3ddrawin4

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Donnie Gladfelter
Donnie Gladfelter

Donnie is author of the book and Autodesk Official Press, AutoCAD and AutoCAD LT: No Experience Required, a columnist for AUGIWorld Magazine, Autodesk University speaker, and former member of the AUGI Board of Directors.

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10 Comments

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  9. Thanks. I always enjoy your blog. It’s a great resource. Can you lead me to some systematic instructions on rendering a 3D layout of a civil gradinging projecta?

  10. Thanks. I always enjoy your blog. It’s a great resource. Can you lead me to some systematic instructions on rendering a 3D layout of a civil gradinging projecta?

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