Using the Transparent Commands Toolbar

As you may already know, civil engineers and surveyors draw things a little differently than architects or mechanical engineers. They use things such as bearings, curve deltas, northings, and eastings to define geometry. The Transparent Commands toolbar enables Civil 3D users to draw things based on the special geometric concepts that are unique to civil engineers and surveyors.

For example, when drawing a line, you can use the Northing Easting transparent command to specify the first point and the Bearing Distance transparent command to specify the endpoint.

The Transparent Commands toolbar with red lines pointing to the Bearing Distance and Northing Easting transparent commands.

Tips :You can dock and undock the Transparent Commands toolbar by dragging the double line at the end of the toolbar to the appro-priate location.

To practice using the Transparent Commands toolbar, follow these steps (you should still have User Interface.dwg open from the previous exercise):

1. Click the Type a command prompt on the command line. Type LINE, and press Enter.
2. When prompted to specify the first point, click any point within the left viewport.
3. When prompted to specify the next point, click Bearing Distance on the Transparent Commands toolbar.
   Refer to Figure for the location of this command.
4. When prompted for a quadrant, either enter 1 or click in the upperright quadrant created by the crosshairs on the screen.
5. When prompted for the bearing, type 45 and press Enter.
6. When prompted for the distance, type 500 (150) and press Enter. Press Esc twice to exit the command. You have just drawn a line that is 500 feet (150 meters) long at a bearing of N 45° E.
7. Keep this drawing open for the next exercise.

Using Specialized Line and Curve Commands

Another Civil 3D feature that enables you to draw like a surveyor or civil engineer is a set of specialized line and curve commands. These commands are mixed in with the basic AutoCAD line and curve commands on the Draw panel of the ribbon. You can find specialized line commands by expanding the Line icon to reveal commands like Create Line By Bearing, Create Line By Point # Range, and so on. There is also a Curves icon that expands to reveal commands like Create Curve Through Point and Create Multiple Curves. Finally, there is also a Best Fit icon that expands to include commands for best fit lines and curves. The following image shows the expanded form of the Line, Curve, and Best Fit icons.