Launch Civil 3D 2020 Imperial (or the version installed on your machine). Civil 3D will automatically open with a default template drawing titled “Drawing 1” or a pre-set template.
Switch to Model Space
Click the Model tab at the screen's bottom-left corner to enter model space.
Check Insertion Units
- To ensure proper scaling, insertion units should be set to Unitless.
- Type
units
in the command line and press Enter or the spacebar. - Verify that the Insertion scale is set to Unitless in the Drawing Units dialog box.
Assign a Coordinate System
- Type
mapcsassign
and press Enter. - Enter the EPSG code of your desired coordinate system (available near the bottom-right corner of the Propeller Platform).
- Select the coordinate system and click Assign.
- Save the drawing to your desired location.
Insert the Orthophoto
- Type
mapiinsert
and press Enter. - Select the file type dropdown at the bottom in the Insert Image dialog box. Keep it as All Images or choose Tagged Image Format to filter for .TIF and .TIFF files.
- Navigate to the .TIFF file you wish to import. Ensure the image has a coordinate system assigned that matches the one in your Civil 3D drawing.
Disable Correlation Modifications:
- Navigate to the .TIFF image you want to import into Civil 3D. This image should already have the coordinate system assigned and should match the coordinate system assigned to your Civil 3D drawing.
- Uncheck the Modify Correlation box to avoid unnecessary transformations, as the ortho image is already georeferenced.
Note: If you download the JPEG orthophoto, a .WLD and .JGW file will be included. These will need to remain in the same folder as the JPEG so Civil 3D can correctly insert the orthophoto. Check the Modify Correlation box from the Insert Image dialog box so Civil 3D can read the .WLD file.
For JPEG orthophotos
- Ensure the accompanying .WLD or .JGW file is in the same folder as the JPEG image.
- Check the Modify Correlation box to allow Civil 3D to read the world file.
- In the Coordinate System - Assign dialog box, verify the Correlation Source is set to World File and click OK.
Note: Civil 3D will not read world files if the combined file name and directory path exceed 128 characters, including spaces.
Note: If the file name combined with the file directory name exceeds 128-characters (including spaces), Civil 3D will not read the World File.
Zoom to the Image
- Type
ze
(Zoom Extents) in the command line and press Enter to fit the image to the viewport.
Verify Insertion Coordinates
- Select the orthophoto and open the Properties pane, or type
MO
to view the insertion coordinates.
Assign Layers (Optional):
- Assigning the orthophoto to a designated layer rather than leaving it on Layer 0 is best practice.
Save Your Drawing
Save your work to finalize the setup.
Note: Assigning the orthophoto to a designated layer is common practice rather than keeping it on layer 0.
I still can't do it!
We wrote these articles to equip you with everything you need to get the job done on your own, but we understand that sometimes this isn't sufficient.
If you're stuck, you can connect with our support team by clicking the support button on the top right corner of your user portal.
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