Exporting DWG after styling vector data causes elevation and attribute data loss

[NaeemL117]

Good Day to anyone reading. Disclaimer: I'm very new to Autocad so forgive me if I say anything stupid.

I drafted a topographic map and styled it Arcgis Pro, as I'm proficient in it.

While the exported pdf maps were excepted by the client an additional requirement, that was only communicated after completion, is that the map needs to be in DWG format. Naturally, I used the export to cad tool in arcgis to create a dwg.

A necessary requirement of the DWG is that the contours and spot-shot points retain their height data as they will use this for planning on their side and it has specific styles.

Unfortunately, I could not achieve the same styling using the exported dwg (from Arcgis) so I decided to style the vector directly data in Map 3d.

My workflow is as follows:

1. I connect to my shp files using the connect to file-based vector data method. I make sure to add the attribute data as Object data.

2. Then after watching many tutorials and doing a quick online course I proceed to style as required by the client.

3. I then export to a dwg and follow the wizard that prompts.

This is where my problems start as my exported DWG does not have any of the elevation and z-position data for the contours and spot-shots, this is a serious problem. 

Is there any way to export as a DWG to ensure that the elevation data is not removed from the DWG layers?

Thank You to anyone who helps.

[Pointdump]

Hi Naeem,
Welcome to the Autodesk Forums.
You'll need to do an Attach>>Query>>Alter Properties. Read >>>This<<< while I dig up a really good cut-to-the-chase video from @ChicagoLooper that I've got saved somewhere.
Dave

[ChicagoLooper · Accepted solution]

You’ll need to perform two operations:

1. MapImport
2. A query with Alter Properties

You’ll need two separate dwg files, one for MapImport and another to run the query. 

Here’s a video that demonstrates how its done. The coordinate system is Arizona State Plane, USA. The shapefile’s name is Elev_Contour.shp and the elevation attribute is called CONTOURELE. During the MapImport procedure the imported line work, or the contours, is placed on a layer named Elev_Contour. By default the layer name adopts the same name as the shapefile. Your specific coordinate system and shapefile name/attributes may vary so make adjustments accordingly. 

 

You can watch the video >>HERE<<.

[АлексЮстасу]

If use the Map 3D import tools (MAPIMPORT command), the elevations of objects would be assigned automatically if there is an "Elevation" attribute.

... But I'm not sure it's about the attributes.
Maybe need the shp to have three dimensional geometry. That is, to have an Elevation parameter in the geometry of the objects.

[NaeemL117]

Thank You for the help it is much appreciated I'll try this and post the results after.

[NaeemL117]

Thank you for your time and help, I'll try this and post my results after. Again your help is much appreciated.

[NaeemL117]

@АлексЮстасу Thanks for the help. My SHP files already have an elevation attribute, however, you make a good point I might convert my 2D SHP files to 3D ones.

[NaeemL117]

I'd like to thank everyone who has helped me in this post, with special thanks to @ChicagoLooper. It is much appreciated.

Additionally, I also found another solution to my problem but this took much experimentation and is not done in Autocad Map 3d but in Arcgis. The alternative solution is to use the Feature to 3D By Attribute Tool in the 3D Analyst Toolkit in Arcgis to create a 3D shapefile. This will create an SHP that 'internally' stores a z-value (elevation) in its geometry and not as an attribute field.