Understanding the Content Browser

The Content Browser is a library of tool catalogs containing tools, tool palettes, and tool packages. You can publish catalogs so that multiple users have access to standard tools for projects.

Tool Catalogs and Websites

Autodesk Civil 3D tools and content are shared in the Content Browser using tool catalogs and websites. A tool catalog can contain one or more of the following items:

• Tools. A variety of drawing features are available as tools. For example, you might want to use subassembly objects, such as curbs, lanes, and sidewalks, that can be used throughout a corridor modeling project.
• Tool palettes. These contain tools used to support a particular workflow or task. For example, a tool palette may contain a set of annotation tools used in a project, or a set of tools to draw each type of assembly used in a project. A tool palette is treated as a single object.
• Tool packages. These are collections of tools that users can select and use. For example, a tool package may contain a set of productivity tools and utilities.

Users on your local area network can share a single copy of a tool catalog. If tools in the catalog are updated, you have immediate access to the latest version of the tools.

Several tool catalogs are provided with Autodesk Civil 3D. You can also create additional catalogs of your own.

Catalog Libraries

Tool catalogs are organized into catalog libraries, and each Autodesk Civil 3D user has a personal catalog library. A catalog library is a collection of tool catalogs displayed in the Content Browser.

Tool catalog data is not stored in the catalog library. Rather, the catalog library contains pointers to the physical tool catalogs. It is like the card catalog in a real library—it tells you where to find a book, but it does not contain the book itself.

You can sort the catalogs in the library by Last Used, Publisher, Title, or Type. You can filter the list of catalogs by Type.

You cannot create additional catalog libraries, and there is only one catalog per user, but you can open catalog libraries created by other users if you are authorized to do so.

Tool Catalogs Supplied with Autodesk Civil 3D

The following tool catalogs are supplied with your personal catalog library:

Catalog Name	Contents
Corridor Modeling Catalogs - Imperial	A variety of tools in imperial units for designing corridors, such as lanes, curbs, slopes, and barriers.
Corridor Modeling Catalogs - Metric	A variety of tools in metric units for designing corridors, such as lanes, curbs, slopes, and barriers.

You cannot add or remove items from the Autodesk-supplied tool catalogs, but you can create your own tool catalogs. You can also copy other tool catalogs and website links into your catalog library using the Publish Catalog feature.