Yes, you heard right, you can now open an InfraWorks model directly into Civil 3D! Did you do all that preliminary layout in InfraWorks and now it’s time to start doing that detailed work? Well, simply open it up. There are a few caveats that you need to be aware of before you’ll be able to do this so just keep on reading.
Prerequisites
So, can anyone do this? Nope, sorry, you have to be on the latest version of everything (at least at the time that I’m writing this which is December of 2014).
Update Civil 3D 2015
If you haven’t done so, you’ll need to install the latest Service Pack 2 for Civil 3D 2015. It can be found HERE. Once that’s installed, you’ll need to install the…
Civil 3D 2015 Productivity Pack 1
This is the tool that will actually allow you open up that InfraWorks model. Without it, you can’t do it. In order to install this productivity pack, you must have Service Pack 2 installed. Don’t know where to get it? I didn’t either and spent quite a bit of time looking for it and then I remembered, there’s the Autodesk Applications Manager. Just go to your Windows Start Menu and search for “Autodesk Application Manager” and you should find it.
Autodesk Application Manager
Once you launch it, you should see the update for Civil 3D 2015.
Download and Install Update
InfraWorks 2015 R3
I’m not actually sure this is required for the tool to work but, if you have InfraWorks, just go get it. I did a write up on my other blog HERE about it’s tools. I’ve updated InfraWorks and the models I’ve been playing around with have been updated so if you can’t get this to work, you might have to update your models too.
How does it work?
It’s actually pretty straight forward, once you can find the tools. After installing the productivity pack, the tools will be found in the Toolbox of your Toolspace.
Tool Location
The first thing you’ll want to do is to configure the exchange settings. Double click on the second item in the list and this will bring up the dialog box. Basically, this allows you set the styles, layers, and labels that will be used for the different objects brought into Civil 3D.
Configure Exchange Settings
Now that we are all set up, double click the first icon to import your model. You’ll get a dialog box that first asks you for the model you want to import. Simply browse to the .sqlite file you want to import.
Select Model to Import
As you can see, there is a warning here. The drawing you import into must have a coordinate system that is compatible with the data from the model. You can set the coordinate system right here if it isn’t already set. You’ll get the options to choose one you want or you can use the same coordinate system of the model.
Set Coordinate System
Next thing you’ll need to choose is the area of interest. You can bring the entire model in if you want but, remember, InfraWorks can handle way more data then Civil 3D can so be careful bringing in the entire model. If you decide to choose a portion of the model, Civil 3D will zoom in on the area of the model, show you the limits of the model (using a white rectangle), and then, if you have it set up, it will show you the Bing imagery for the area. You can then choose the area you are interested in.
Choose Area of Interest
Select Area in Civil 3D
After choosing the area of interest, you choose your configuration settings. Didn’t set your settings? Go back and read the first part of this post to see how to do that. And now, finally, you can choose which objects you want to bring into the model by clicking on the Refine Selection Set button. This will then show you all the objects that are going to be brought into your drawing. You can pick and choose which ones you want and don’t want.
Refine Selection Set
Enjoy the new functionality and let me know what you think of it. Does this work for you? Did Autodesk miss an important piece? Let me know in the comments!
Civil 3D Plus 
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