This section will cover how Civil 3d (C3d) works outside of ProjectWise. Having a good understanding of what a data shortcut is and how it works will help when you are setting up, maintaining or troubleshooting Civil 3d projects.
1.1 What is a Data Shortcut?
The key concept to grasp is the difference between an external reference (Xref) and a Data shortcut reference. (Dref)
A Xref references the entire content of a file. The horizontal line above indicates the boundary between two surfaces, if this were a data shortcut only the select object would highlight.
A data shortcut references a Civil 3d object. Notice that the dref is only part of the Xref file. The same data but just one object.
Here is an analogy to help visualize the difference. If an Xref was a loaf of bread, a Dref would be a slice of bread.
1.2 How are Data Shortcuts defined?
Data shortcuts are limited to specific types of Civil 3d data.
- Surfaces
- Alignments
- Pipe Networks
- Pressure Networks
- Corridors
- View Frame Groups
In Civil 3d the data shortcuts are accessed on the Prospector Tab of the Toolspace.
The Arrow at the top of the picture points at the section that shows the data shortcuts in the active file.
The arrow in the middle of the picture shows where the data shortcut project information begins. Below that you can see all the data shortcuts that are available in the project.