Problems with floodplain output from an AutoCAD surface

[mlee]

I was having problems extracting floodplain output from RiverCAD XP using a CAD surface. I was able to set up sections, run the model and extract cross section output, tables and profiles but I couldn't get the spatial output. Eventually I figured out that if I didn't have my toolspace bar open when I saved the drawing in AutoCAD 2008 (in AutoCAD itself, not RiverCAD), then Toolspace would not be there when I opened the drawing in RiverCAD and the program would not read my surface. This seems strange because as far as I know, Toolspace is just a toolbar and shouldn't affect the ability to pick up the surface. Does it have something to do with RiverCAD regenerating the ground surface when it generates the floodplain output? In any case, I am just wondering a) what is happening here and b) if there was an easier way to get around the problem, or if it is just a software issue.

Thanks!


Marisa

[Chris Maeder]

Generally the toolspace is visible when Civil 3D is loaded. The toolspace has no effect for being able to read the surfaces. Perhaps, you saved the drawing from within AutoCAD 2008 and not in AutoCAD Civil 3D 2008. This could cause the surface to become a proxy entity and lose it "intelligence" of a Civil 3D surface.

To get around this problem, you should make sure that you are are operating RiverCAD from within Civil 3D and the drawing file has the surface entity. The surface layer should be set in "Use" in the RiverCAD "Configure Elevation Layers" dialog. You can also try to regenerate the ground surface if the surface or the configured layers have changed, in between using the floodplain mapping command.

If you continue to run into issues, please contact our technical support engineers directly and they will be able to remotely jump onto your computer and troubleshoot the issue.

[mlee]

We only use Civil3D so I would have saved it in C3D. I got everything to work so I guess I'll just pay closer attention next time and see if I notice where the problem could have originated.
Thanks for your help!