Placing Grading Objects

You place grading objects by assigning them to Civil 3D drawing elements. Once assigned, the grading object information is saved as Property Sets in the drawing.

1. Open your drawing.

2. Click Analyse tab > Grading Optimization panel > Grading Object Tools to open the Grading Object Tools Palette.

   This tool palette is similar to others in Civil 3D. You can right-click a tool to cut/copy, paste and rename to create your own preconfigured tools. Right-click and select Properties to set the default settings for the tool in the appropriate Grading Object Tool Properties Dialog.

3. To place a grading object in your drawing, use the following table to reference the steps and criteria for the object geometry.

   New Grading Object	Select in the Drawing	Select in the Tool Palette	Press Enter	Adjust Settings in Dialog
   Building Pad	Must be closed geometry: polyline, 2D polyline, 3D polyline, feature line, hatch or parcel.	Building Pad	Press Enter	Building Pad Properties Panel
   Reveal	Reveals are placed on the edges of building pads. Refer to the Reveals topic for the placement procedure.	Reveal	Press Enter	Reveal Properties Panel
   Pathway	line, polyline, 2D polyline, 3D polyline or feature line.	Pathway	Press Enter	Pathway Properties Panel
   Pond	Must be closed geometry: polyline, 2D polyline, 3D polyline, feature line, hatch or parcel.	Pond	Press Enter	Pond Properties Panel
   Retaining Wall	Can be open or closed geometry: polyline, 2D polyline, 3D polyline, feature line, hatch or parcel.	Retaining Wall	Press Enter	Retaining Wall Properties Panel
   Kerb	Can be open or closed geometry: polyline, 2D polyline, 3D polyline, feature line, hatch or parcel. Open geometry creates kerbs and closed geometry creates islands.	Kerb	Press Enter	Kerb Properties Panel
   Car Park	Must be closed geometry: polyline, 2D polyline, 3D polyline, feature line, hatch or parcel.	Car Park	Press Enter	Zone Properties Panel
   Zone	Must be closed geometry: polyline, 2D polyline, 3D polyline, feature line, hatch or parcel.	Zone	Press Enter	Zone Properties Panel
   Exclusion Zone	Must be closed geometry: polyline, 2D polyline, 3D polyline, feature line, hatch or parcel.	Exclusion Zone	Press Enter	Exclusion Zone Properties Panel
   Grading Limit	Must be closed geometry: polyline, 2D polyline, 3D polyline, feature line, hatch or parcel.	Grading Limit	Press Enter	Grading Limit Properties Panel
   Aligned Edge	line, polyline, 2D polyline, 3D polyline or feature line	Aligned Edge	Press Enter	Aligned Edge Properties Panel
   Bend Line	line, polyline, 2D polyline, 3D polyline or feature line	Bend Line	Press Enter	Bend Line Properties Panel
   Drain Line	line, polyline, 2D polyline, 3D polyline or feature line. Note: Drain lines cannot be a closed loop to work correctly.	Drain Line	Press Enter	Drain Line Properties Panel
   Ridge Line	line, polyline, 2D polyline, 3D polyline or feature line. Note: Ridge Lines cannot be a closed loop to work correctly.	Ridge Line	Press Enter	Ridge Line Properties Panel
   Low Point	COGO point, AutoCAD point	Low Point	Press Enter	Low Point Properties Panel
   Bounded Point	COGO point, AutoCAD point	Bounded Point	Press Enter	Bounded Point Properties Panel
   Offset Points	line, polyline, 2D polyline, 3D polyline or feature line. Note: As sketched, the start of the line will be the higher elevation and the end of the line will be the lower elevation.	Offset Points	Press Enter	Offset Points Properties Panel

   Note: Geometry cannot intersect with itself to be an eligible Grading Object.

4. Continue adding grading objects in your drawing.

   Tip: If you need to go back and change constraints on an object that you created, select it in the Grading Objects Browser. You can press and hold Ctrl while selecting multiple objects of the same category. Use the Grading Object Properties panel to edit their properties.

5. To reference all the grading objects as you refine your drawing, use the Grading Objects Browser. Click Analyse tab > Grading Optimization panel > Grading Objects Browser.

   Tip: You can click Analyse tab > Grading Optimization panel > Grading Objects to display both the Grading Object Tools Palette and the Grading Objects Browser.

6. Make sure that you save your drawing periodically.