You can create grading criteria, or parameters, to define how grading is created from the footprint, and apply the criteria to other gradings.
Grading criteria are settings that specify the grading method. The settings are consolidated in named criteria to eliminate repetitive prompting when you are creating gradings.
There are many standard grading situations. For example, you may frequently need to create grading with a slope of 3:1 and a target of a relative elevation. By defining a set of grading criteria with these values and saving it, you can easily apply these same values to any grading that you create.
The grading method settings include the following:
- Target. Choices include surface, elevation, relative elevation, or distance.
- Projection type. Choices include cut/fill slope, cut slope, fill slope, and distance.
- Interior corner overlap resolution. Choices include averaging the slopes and increasing or decreasing one of the slopes. For more information and illustrations of the options, see Criteria Tab (Grading Criteria Dialog Box).
- Associated values. Depending on the target and projection type, you can specify default elevations, distances, and cut/fill slopes to use.
Organize and access the criteria in the Settings tree, using the Grading Criteria Sets folders.
When setting up new criteria, it is recommended you use a descriptive naming convention. For example, the standard AutoCAD Civil 3D drawing templates include several different criteria with names like “Surface @ 2-1 Slope.” By using a clear naming convention, you do not need to review the criteria properties to know how it was defined.
About Criteria Locking
Click the icon to lock or unlock a criteria value. This criteria locking affects the prompts you receive and the values you can enter when creating or editing grading.
Lock criteria values to prevent them from being changed when you create or edit gradings.
For example, consider the different lock conditions for a criteria that is defined to grade at a slope of 3:1 to a relative elevation of 1.50:
Both values are unlocked
- When creating a grading, you are prompted for both values. The prompts default to 3:1 and 1.50, but can be changed.
- Either value can be edited.
- If the criteria definition is edited to change either value, it affects only the default prompt value for grading creation; existing grading objects do not change.
- If the criteria definition is edited and one of the values is changed from unlocked to locked, that locked value is applied to all gradings that use the criteria.
Slope value is locked, relative elevation is unlocked
- When creating grading, you are prompted only for the relative elevation value. Grading objects that use this criteria always have a 3:1 slope.
- If the criteria definition is edited to change the locked slope value to 2:1, the change applies to all grading objects that use that criteria. If the criteria definition is edited to unlock the slope value, it does not change existing gradings, but allows you to edit the slope value for existing grading objects.
- If the criteria definition is edited to change the unlocked relative elevation value, it affects only the default prompt value for new grading objects created with the criteria. If the criteria definition is edited to lock the relative elevation, all grading objects using that criteria are set to the locked relative elevation value.
Both values are locked
- When creating grading, you do not receive prompts for the criteria values.
- If the criteria definition is edited to change either value, the change applies to all grading objects that use the criteria.
- If the criteria definition is changed to unlock either value, it does not change the grading objects but allows you to edit the value for existing grading objects that use the criteria.
