How to Export a Clipped GEOMAP Aerial Image

In this tutorial, I’ll demonstrate how to export a clipped GEOMAP image from Civil 3D 2015/2016 for use in other drawings and older versions of AutoCAD, MAP and Civil 3D.

1.   Create a new drawing containing Civil 3D surface styles.
2.   Zoom to the project location.
3.   Set the project coordinate system. For this example, my project is located in Virginia so I’m using VA83-SF for a coordinate system code.
4.   Turn on Map Aerial from the Geolocation tools on the Ribbon.

5.   Draw a box with even sides. To cover the project area, the box will be 10,000’x10,000’.

6.   Using the Geolocation tools, capture the area and snap to the adjacent corners of the box.

7.   Turn off the Map Aerial from the Geolocation tools on the Ribbon.

8.   Select the clipped aerial image and change the Resolution to Very Fine.

9.   Plot the drawing.
10.   Select a raster virtual printer. For this exercise, I’m going to select File-PNG.pc3.
11.   Click the printer properties button.

12.   Click the Add button.

13.   Click the Next button.

14.   Type 5000 in both width and height fields then click next.

15.   Name the new paper size then click Next. I’m going to leave the default name.

 

16.   Click Finish.

17.   Click OK to close the printer properties dialog box.
18.   Select the new Paper Size.
19.   Select Window from the Plot Area, What to plot: pull down.
20.   Snap to the adjacent corners of the 10,000’x10,000’ box.
21.   Click Apply to Layout and then OK.

22.   Save the image file to the project folder. (It may take a few minutes to plot the image.)
23.   Delete the GEOMAP aerial image.
24.   Reference the new aerial image into the drawing.
25.   Snap it to the lower corner of the 10,000’x10,000’ box.
26.   Scale the image to the same size as the box.
27.   Use Raster Tools to create a geo-referenced World File if needed.

If you have any questions, let me know.

Plotting GEOMAP Aerial Imagery in Civil 3D 2015

Autodesk has made it easier to import and print aerial imagery in Civil 3D 2015. The GEOMAP tool was introduced in Civil 3D 2014 with aerial imagery provided by Bing. GEOMAP allows the user to display the aerial imagery but the user was unable to plot it. Civil 3D 2015 is available for download and the GEOMAP tool has been improved. The user is allowed the plot the aerial imagery. Below are the steps to import the aerial imagery into a drawing using the new GEOMAP tools. In order to use the aerial imagery, you are required to sign in to an Autodesk 360 account.

 

To sign up for an Autodesk 360 account, go to www.360.autodesk.com.

I’m using local GIS parcel data for a reference location of this exercise.

1.   Sign in to Autodesk 360.

2.   Click Yes to use Online Map Data.

3.   Make sure the project is in the correct location.

4.   Set the correct Coordinate System for the project. I usually set the Coordinate System in the Toolspace Settings Tab.
     a.   Click the Toolspace button on the Home tab of the ribbon.
     b.   Click the Settings tab on the Toolspace.
     c.   Right click the drawing name on the top of the view.
     d.   Click Edit Drawing Settings….
     e.   In the Units and Zone tab, select the Zone Categories.
     f.   Select the Available Coordinate System. (This project is located in central Virginia, USA so the coordinate system is NAD83
Virginia State Planes, South Zone, US Foot, VA83-SF)

 

 

5.   Once the coordinate system is set, a Geolocation tab will appear on the Ribbon.

 

6.   In the Geolocation tab, you can change the coordinate location, add position markers, turn the aerial map on and off and capture
aerial imagery for plotting.

7.   Click the down arrow under the Map Off button on the Online Map panel of the ribbon.
     a.   Map Aerial - This will turn on the aerial imagery.
     b.   Map Road – This will turn on the road map without the aerial imagery.
     c.   Map Hybrid – This will turn on the aerial imagery along with the road map.
     d.   Map Off – This will turn off the map imagery.

8.   Click Map Aerial to turn on the aerial imagery.

 

9.   The Capture Area button will activate after the aerial imagery is turned on.

10.  Pan and zoom to the project area.

11.  Click the down arrow under the Capture Area on the Online Map panel of the ribbon.
     a.   Capture Area – This will allow the user to specify the captured area.
     b.   Capture Viewport – This will capture an area of the current model space extents.

12.  Click the Capture Area button and select an area around the project limits.

 

13.  Click Map Off to turn off the aerial imagery.
     a.   You will now see the captured area. This image is now printable.
     b.   The captured area is reading Bing data and does not save a local copy of the image.

 

14.  The captured aerial imagery can be adjusted within the properties palette.
     a.   Select the captured aerial image.
     b.   Open the properties palette.
     c.   The Map Type can be adjusted to Aerial, Road and Hybrid.
     d.   The Resolution can be adjusted to Coarse, Optimal, Fine and Very Fine.

 

15.  If additional aerial imagery is need for the project, delete the captured area and repeat the steps selecting a larger area.
16.  Enjoy plotting the aerial imagery.