Use this tab to specify default ambient (background) settings for a variety of settings, including units of measurement. These units and settings are used throughout AutoCAD Civil 3D, unless they are overridden at the feature or command level.
For information about working with this dialog box, including the use of the override columns, see Working with the Standard Settings Dialog Box Controls.
These settings specify a variety of features, some of which control how to display text, numbers, and units.
- Plotted Unit Display Type
- Save Command Changes To Settings
- Show Event Viewer
- Show Tooltips
-
Specifies whether to display tooltips in the drawing. This setting does not affect tooltips for toolbar icons.
For example, if you move your cursor near an alignment, you see a tooltip that shows the station and offset location of the cursor. Tooltips can also show surface elevation, point, profile, and section information.
- Imperial To Metric Conversion
- New Entity Tool Tip State
- Drawing Unit
- Drawing Scale
- Scale Inserted Objects
- Driving Direction
-
Determines how curb return alignments are drawn for intersection objects. Left Side of the Road is typically selected for projects where vehicles travel on the left side of the road; for example, in countries such as the United Kingdom. In this case, curb return alignments in intersection objects are drawn starting from the left side of the outgoing road, and ending on the left side of the merging road. Right Side of the Road is typically selected for projects where vehicles travel on the right side of the road; for example, in countries such as the United States. In this case, curb return alignments in intersection objects are drawn starting from the right side of the outgoing road, and ending on the right side of the merging road. For more information, see Setting Driving Direction.
- Independent Layer On
-
Has the same effect as the Immediate And Independent Layer On/Off Control Of Display Components setting on the Object Layers tab.
This setting specifies the default method for prompting for objects when inserting labels that contain Referenced Text components.
- Labeling Prompt Method
-
- Command Line: When inserting a label that contains Referenced Text, you are prompted at the command line to select the objects to refer to in the label.
- Dialog: When inserting a label that contains Referenced Text, the Label Properties dialog box is displayed.
- Suppress Prompts: When inserting a label that contains Referenced Text, all prompting for objects is suppressed.
These settings specify how to display numeric values that are not specifically defined by the unit type settings in this dialog box such as distance and coordinate.
- Precision
- Rounding
-
Specifies how numbers are rounded up or down to the number of decimal places specified in Precision:
- Round Normal: If the last displayable digit is even, and the next digit is exactly 5, the program rounds down. If the last displayable digit is odd, and the next digit is exactly 5, the program rounds up. An input value of 100.12345 with precision of 4 would be displayed as 100.1234.
If the next digit after the last displayable digit is greater than 5, the program rounds up. If the next digit after the last displayable digit is less than 5, the program rounds down.
- Round Up: Numbers are always rounded up. The value 100.12345 with precision of 4 would be 100.1235 and with precision 2 would be 100.13.
- Truncate: Numbers are limited to the specified number of decimal places without rounding. The value 100.12345 with precision of 4 would be 100.1234 and with precision 2 would be 100.12.
- Round Normal: If the last displayable digit is even, and the next digit is exactly 5, the program rounds down. If the last displayable digit is odd, and the next digit is exactly 5, the program rounds up. An input value of 100.12345 with precision of 4 would be displayed as 100.1234.
- Sign
-
Specifies how to mark numbers as positive or negative:
- Sign Negative: A sign is used only with negative values. Example: 100.00, -100.00
- Bracket Negative: Brackets enclose negative values. Example: 100.00, (100.00).
- Sign Always +/-: A sign is used with both positive and negative values. Example: +100.00, -100.00
These settings specify how to display latitude and longitude.
- Unit
- Precision
- Rounding
- Format
- Direction
-
Specifies the format of lat/long labels:
- Prefix Short Name (example: N 50° 45')
- Prefix Long Name (example: North 50° 45')
- Suffix Short Name (example: 50° 45' N)
- Suffix Long Name (example: 50° 45' North)
- Signed: Includes minus signs for negative values (example: -72° 45’ 35.45678”)
- Prefix Short Name Spaced
- Prefix Long Name Spaced
- Suffix Short Name Spaced
- Suffix Long Name Spaced
- Capitalization
- Sign
- Drop Decimal For Whole Numbers
- Drop Leading Zeros For Degrees
These settings specify how to display linear features that use station or chainage.
- Unit
- Format
-
Specifies the station format in labels, tooltips, and elsewhere:
- Station Format: Specifies that normal station formatting is used (example: 0+010.123).
- Station Index Format: Specifies that indexing is used and applies the Station Index Increment that is specified on the Labels tab of the Alignment Properties dialog box. For example, if the Station Index Increment is 200m, then the station at 200m will appear as 1+00 and the station at 400m will appear as 2+00, and so on. To view this format in labels, you must set up the station label style to use Station Index Format also.
- Decimal: Specifies that stations appear as decimal numbers (example: 0010.123).
- Precision
- Rounding
- Sign
- Station Delimiter Character
- Station Delimiter Position
- Drop Decimal For Whole Numbers
- Drop Leading Zeros Right of Station Character
- Minimum Display Width
These settings specify the prompting behavior of transparent commands across all features. The formats used to prompt for grade and slope values are set using the Grade and Slope ambient settings.