Contour Lines in Autocad Civil 3d 2011

[rjwilson]

I am trying to generate contour lines but I can't figure out how to do it. I looked in the help, but it shows this task pane thing that I have no idea what to do with.  I have been drafting for thousands of years, and this is the first I've seen of this. I can't find what it is or what it does anywhere. We are on a network here, and if there were tutorials, nobody in the IS department knows about it. We don't have access to the software, because we are untrustworthy and don't know how to take care of things. SO, is there any other way to put these contours in?

Thanks

[Murph_Map]

Generate contours from what? A point files, a autocad surface or draw them yourself?

Conutour lines in AutoCAD Civil3D are based on a surface and the display style for that surface.

http://www.amazon.com/Mastering-AutoCAD-Civil-3D-2011/dp/0470884185/ref=pd_sim_b_7

Well worth the price.

[rjwilson]

I entered the point information manually, then I created a surface. I have a tin there, I exported it to a DEM file, added it back in, but am stuck as to what to do now. Is there something I neglected to do when I created the surface?

Thanks

[Murph_Map]

You need to assign a style for the surface to use contour lines. If you started the dwg from the Civil3D NCS dwt you have a style in there just assign it to the surface from the Surface Properties dialog. Also the tutorials should be in the folder with the Help files. C:\Program Files\Autodesk\AutoCAD Civil 3D 2011\Help\Civil Tutorials on my install. See attached for style.

[rjwilson]

Found the tutorials, thank you very much. I didn't start with that template, what I believe I'll do, after carefully viewing the tutorials, is start over- Thanks for your help!

[wengle]

If you have the contour lines in plan view, I have a progrm that will elevate them according to each elevation of line. If you're interested, email me wengleattitaniumnetworksdotnet.

[ericcollins6932]

You can also copy the style with contours from another drawing - just create a new drawing using the NCS template.