Creating and developing Civil Plans usually requires the inclusion of a location map. My preferred method of including a location map is to geographically position it in the world, when possible. When the map is accurately positioned geographically, my proposed linework can be overlaid onto it. You may be familiar with the align command, but did you know you can also enter another command within the align command? When provided, the latitude and longitude can be entered within the align command to better position your map. Continue reading to learn more!
Although I design projects within several states, many of my projects are located within the state of Pennsylvania. The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) has excellent vector pdfs available through their Maps & Publications webpage. For this example, I will be using the PennDOT Type 10 Map. Vector pdfs enable the ability to object snap to the linework, increasing the accuracy when referencing the pdf into Autodesk software. Raster pdfs will work with the following workflow, however, the object snaps will not, it will be a close enough click instead.
Upon acquiring the map to use on your project, utilize the External References palette to reference the pdf or image into the Model space of your drawing. Refer to the image below.
Once you have selected your pdf or image file, the following dialog window will appear. The Insertion Point or Scale can be modified to fit your preference, although, those settings will become irrelevant once the align command has been executed.
Now your pdf or image file should appear within your Model Space. Enter the align command into your command line. You will be prompted to select objects for the align command. I have selected the pdf map in the example. Refer to the image below.
After selecting your image or pdf map, the command prompt will request the first source point. Using the grid of latitude and longitude lines, I chose an intersection point where the latitude and longitude coordinates were readily available in the map text. Notice the object snap highlighted in green for the example project. The source point is at the bottom right corner of the map. Refer to the image below.
Next, you will be prompted to select the first destination point. Instead of choosing a point on the screen, type 'll [apostrophe-L-L] into the command line, then press enter or spacebar. This will transition the command into latitude and longitude inputs. Refer to the image below.
The command for latitude and longitude launches within the align command. You will see the command line now says LL>>Enter Latitude. To enter the degrees, minutes, seconds coordinate for the latitude, type the following without spaces:
## followed by the letter d for degrees
## followed by ' [apostrophe] for minutes
## followed by " [quotation] for seconds
Press Enter.
For the example project, I entered 41d35'0" into the command line. Refer to the image below for more clarity. Also, notice the N for North, if you are in the Southern Hemisphere add a (-) negative to the beginning before the degree entry. You will see how I add a negative to the longitude in the next step for the Western Hemisphere.
Upon entering the latitude, the command prompt will display LL>>Enter Longitude. The longitude will be input in the same way as the latitude, with the degrees, minutes, seconds coordinate without spaces:
## followed by the letter d for degrees
## followed by ' [apostrophe] for minutes
## followed by " [quotation] for seconds
Press Enter.
For the example project, I entered -75d15'0" into the command line. Notice the (-) negative in the example. Since the project is located in the Western Hemisphere, a negative is required to accurately place the map. The negative will switch the coordinate from E (Eastern) to W (Western). Refer to the image below for more clarity.
Once the longitude coordinate has been entered into the command line, you will notice the 'LL command cycles back to the beginning, prompting for latitude, instead of launching into the second source point of the align command. To exit the 'LL command and return to the align command, press the Esc [Escape] key one time. Refer to the image below.
Now that you have exited the 'LL command, the align command will be active again. The prompt will request the second source point. Using the grid of latitude and longitude lines, I chose an intersection point diagonally opposite the first source point in the top left corner of the map. Again, the intersection chosen has the latitude and longitude coordinates readily available in the map text. Notice the object snap highlighted in green for the example project. Refer to the image below.
Next, you will be prompted to select the second destination point. Again, instead of choosing a point on the screen, type 'll [apostrophe-L-L] into the command line, then press enter or spacebar. This will once again transition the command back into latitude and longitude inputs. Refer to the image below.
The command line now says LL>>Enter Latitude. To enter the degrees, minutes, seconds coordinate for the latitude, type the following without spaces:
## followed by the letter d for degrees
## followed by ' [apostrophe] for minutes
## followed by " [quotation] for seconds
Press Enter.
For the example project, I entered 42d0'0" into the command line. Refer to the image below.
The command line now says LL>>Enter Longitude. To enter the degrees, minutes, seconds coordinate for the longitude, type the following without spaces:
## followed by the letter d for degrees
## followed by ' [apostrophe] for minutes
## followed by " [quotation] for seconds
Press Enter.
For the example project, I entered -76d55'0" into the command line. Once again, I added the (-) negative for the Western Hemisphere. Refer to the image below.
After the longitude coordinate has been entered into the command line for the second point, the 'LL command cycles back to the beginning, prompting for latitude. To exit the 'LL command and return to the align command, press the Esc [Escape] key one time. Refer to the image below.
Upon exiting the 'LL command, the align command will resume. The prompt now will request a third point or to press Enter to continue. Press Enter to continue. Refer to the image below.
The command prompt will now give you the option to scale (and rotate) the objects based on the point data inputs. Choose Y for Yes. The map will then scale according to the latitude/longitude inputs and rotate based on those points. If the original pdf/image map is positioned with north directly to the top of the page, then the map should not have a rotation. Refer to the image below.
Some may argue that the map scaling should be set to the scale bar provided, and that is your choice to make. This is the workflow I use most often, and I find it quite accurate for my purposes. Try it both ways and see what works best for you.
Now that the align command has been completed, I referenced in my proposed linework. As expected, the linework flew into place on the pdf map. The example project is unusually small, so it is rather zoomed in. I will use the ncopy command to copy the property boundaries into my current working drawing. Then, I will hatch the area to show the project area on the location map for my plan set. Refer to the image below.
Although this workflow is lengthy and complicated to explain in detail, once you execute the align and 'll commands in conjunction with one another a few times, it becomes a breeze. I am confident that if you give it a try, you will grasp the hang of it in no time!
Bonus Material:
Perhaps your map is in color as the example, but you would prefer it to be in grayscale. In the Pdf ribbon, there is an option to convert the map to Monochrome. Refer to the image below.
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