As you may know, Autodesk Civil 3D is built on AutoCAD Map 3D, which is Autodesk’s solution for working with or producing GIS data and analysis. Most of the tools within AutoCAD Map 3D are available through the Planning and Analysis workspace of Civil 3D.
There are some features and commands within the standalone version of AutoCAD Map 3D that are not available through the Planning and Analysis workspace. For the most part, this is because Civil 3D has a more elegant or powerful feature or command than the Map 3D counterpart. Also, the Industry Templates and specialized Maintenance workspaces are only available in the standalone version of Map 3D.
However, Map 3D has a very nice Status Bar, which reveals the current coordinate system, the view scale level, the 2D or 3D viewing capabilities, or even the vertical exaggeration of some Map 3D features.
Coordinates Display
The coordinates display is not an OOTB (Out of the Box) setting within AutoCAD or Civil 3D, as seen above on the left. In order to get the coordinates to display on the Status Bar, one needs to select the Coordinates option from the Customize menu on the far right of the Status Bar, as shown below.
Clicking the Customize button will expand the list of all the features one can display, or hide, on the Status Bar by either selecting or deselecting the option in the list. The checkmark next to the choice means it is displayed.
The Map Status Bar
In order to get the additional Map data to show, as displayed above, simply type MAPSTATUSBAR at the command line and pick the Show option. This will display additional information such as:
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If the drawing is in 2D or 3D display
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The vertical exaggeration of the drawing (for 3D views only)
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The coordinate system the drawing is in
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The current zoom factor for the drawing
To disable the feature, type MAPSTATUSBAR at the command line again and pick the Hide option.
Conclusion
Coordinates in Civil 3D are very important. They can be enabled so they are displayed on the Status Bar. Even though most of the AutoCAD Map 3D features are built in and available in Civil 3D, there are a few tricks and tips available to get these features to show up in Civil 3D. One is the MAPSTATUSBAR command, which is used to display or hide the special Map 3D portions on the Status Bar.
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