Civil 3D reference templates: 8 Qs you never thought to ask
Recently, a client asked me a few questions regarding the use of Civil 3D reference templates. While he liked the overall idea and process, he raised some interesting questions. I took some time to get to the bottom of all his questions. Here are some of the answers to questions you may have never thought to ask, researched, and verified by me.
QUESTION 1
If Civil 3D reference templates are moved, renamed, etc., What Happens to the styles from the templates?
The styles from the template are still available in the drawing. These styles, however, will not receive any updates from the source until the pathing error is resolved.
QUESTION 2
If a Civil 3D reference a template is deleted, what happens to those styles in the drawing?
The styles from the template will remain in the drawing as though they were imported.
QUESTION 3
If multiple templates referenced contain styles with the same name, what happens to those styles?
The reference template dialog box allows you to change the order of preference of your templates to designate which should be given higher priority.
QUESTION 4
IF REFERENCE TEMPLATES ARE DETACHED, WHAT HAPPENS TO THE REFERENCED STYLES?
The referenced styles are “promoted” into the drawing.
QUESTION 5
WHAT HAPPENS IF A USER ATTEMPTS TO EDIT A STYLE FROM THE REFERENCE TEMPLATE?
If a user attempts to edit a style from the reference template, they get a dialog box and have to choose one of these options:
- Cancel
- Make a local copy with unique name
- Apply edits for this drawing session only
QUESTION 6
WHAT HAPPENS IF TEMPLATE STYLES HAVE THE SAME NAMES AS STYLES ALREADY IN THE DRAWING?
If template styles have the same name as styles already in the drawing, duplicates are NOT created. All existing styles in the drawing will instead show the reference symbol in front of them.
QUESTION 7
WHAT HAPPENS IF AN OBJECT, SUCH AS A SURFACE, IS USING A REFERENCED STYLE THAT IS DELETED FROM THE SOURCE TEMPLATE?
If an object such as a surface is using a referenced style, and that style is deleted from the source template, that style will then be promoted into the drawing and will not be referenced anymore.
QUESTION 8
WHAT HAPPENS IF AN OBJECT SUCH AS A SURFACE IS USING A REFERENCED STYLE AND THAT STYLE IS RENAMED IN THE SOURCE TEMPLATE?
If an object, such as a surface, is using a referenced style that is renamed in the source template, the original style will be promoted into the drawing with the original name. The newly named style will come in as a referenced style. The surface will retain the original style.
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