Civil 3D 2007: Finally- A Great Surface from Contour Data

So I had been avoiding learning the 2007 demo for a few weeks because I was working out this really great procedure for dealing with aerial topo. You know how it is so big and hard to manage and you are lucky if your contours are even close to theirs after you build the TIN?

So I thought I was really doing well. After about 10 pages of screen captures, drawing scurbs, Map tools and weed outs, I could get contours that we almost right.

So I sit down and learn the 2007 demo and the FIRST THING IT DOES it show you how there is a tool built in to MATCH CONTOURS THAT YOU ADD TO A SURFACE!

I almost had a heart attack. But it is truly amazing.

Just pick the contours you receive as data (Aerial topo, outside survey, your hand drawn extra contours, etc) and BANG- you've got a great TIN with contours to match.

Add up all the time you spent wrestling with aerial topo and that ALONE is worth installing 07.

It is, however, always best to build a surface from tight data such as points, breaklines, etc. but that is not always possible.