Civil 3D release comparison 2018 through 2022

Previously, Autodesk AutoCAD-based product updates were often referred to as service packs and focused mainly on product fixes. The object code base remained relatively unchanged between yearly releases. If different machines had the same yearly release installed, it didn't always matter what updates were installed in order to create compatible objects. Presently, this is not the case.

While yearly major Civil 3D releases (coinciding with the release cycle for AutoCAD) still remain the focus for the introduction of new features, some intermediate software Updates now include new features and new functionality, along with the service pack type product fixes. The new features and new functionality sometimes introduce changes to the AutoCAD or Civil 3D object code base that result in interoperability issues if a drawing is shared between two users that do not have the same update releases installed. Autodesk documents these issues and sometimes provides workarounds built into the products, but best practice is to be aware of and install update releases as soon as they become available. (See the "Interoperability issues:" section of this document for more information.)

Info: Civil 3D 2022 is the initial release of Civil 3D 2022. Civil 3D 2022.1 is the first update release for Civil 3D 2022. Autodesk issues AutoCAD-based product update releases with the product name appended by "dot" release numbers. (Civil 3D 2022.x). The "dot" releases should be considered separate product versions than the initial release.

Requirement: WisDOT often implements new AutoCAD and Civil 3D features and functionality as soon as it becomes available. WisDOT computers will have the most current Civil 3D 2022 Update release installed. Consultants and contractors will experience interoperability issues when working with WisDOT drawings if they do not have the most current Civil 3D 2022 Update release installed.

DWG file format

The AutoCAD DWG file format (AC1032 - DWG AutoCAD 2018/2019/2020/2021/2022) has been used from the initial Civil 3D 2018 release through the most current Civil 3D 2022 release. Drawings saved by a Civil 3D 2022 release are mostly backward compatible with other AC1032 - DWG drawings and can be directly opened by any 2018-2022 AutoCAD-based software release. However, specific Civil 3D objects are not always backward compatible when opened in a prior release. Objects that are incompatible may cease to function, disappear, be converted to something else, or be displayed as proxy graphics.

Proxy graphics

Proxy graphics are visual placeholders that represent drawing objects that are incompatible with a specific AutoCAD-based software release. AutoCAD stores the last viewed image of objects and can use an image as a replacement for an incompatible object when the drawing is opened. When opening a drawing with incompatible objects, the Proxy Information dialog box may appear. After one of the options is chosen and the dialog box is closed, the setting will be saved in the drawing and the dialog box will no longer appear when the drawing is re-opened. To change the proxy graphics setting without the dialog box: PROXYGRAPHICS

Backward compatibility between Civil 3D 2022 and Civil 3D 2018-2021 releases

• Drawings saved in Civil 3D 2022 can be directly opened by Civil 3D 2018-2021 releases.
• Civil 3D 2022 objects are backward compatible with Civil 3D 2018-2021releases with exceptions.
• Certain Civil 3D objects are not editable if they are opened in a release prior to the release the object type was first introduced in. (For example, if an object is created using Civil 3D 2020.6 and the object type was first introduced in Civil 3D 2020.3, the object is displayed as proxy graphics if the drawing is opened with Civil 3D 2020.2 or prior release.)

Backward compatibility between Civil 3D 2022 and Civil 3D 2017 and prior releases

• To open a drawing saved in Civil 3D 2022 in Civil 3D 2017 or prior release, it must first be saved as a drawing in a DWG file format compatible with the prior release.
• Civil 3D 2022 objects are not backward compatible with Civil 3D 2017 or prior releases at all.
• Civil 3D 2017 and prior releases display Civil 3D 2022 objects as proxy graphics that cannot be edited.
• To use a Civil 3D 2022 object with Civil 3D 2017 or prior release, export a LandXML file from Civil 3D 2022 and use the prior release to import the LandXML into a compatible drawing. (This can only be done with Civil 3D object types that exist in the code base of the prior release.)

Opening a Civil 3D 2022 drawing in a Civil 3D 2017 or prior release

1. In Civil 3D 2022: OPEN
2. PROXYGRAPHICS1Enter (This will save the graphics with the drawing.)
3. C3D Application menu > Save As > Drawing and save the drawing to a prior DWG file format.
4. In Civil 3D 2017 or prior release: OPEN
5. When the drawing is opened, the Civil 3D 2022 objects will be displayed as proxy graphics.

Importing a Civil 3D 2022 object into a Civil 3D 2017 or prior release

1. In Civil 3D 2022: OPEN
2. Ribbon > Output tab > Export panel > Export to LandXML
3. Unselect all objects in the Export to LandXML dialog box.
4. Select specific object(s) to export. OK
5. Name and save to a *.xml file.
6. In Civil 3D 2017 or prior release: OPEN (to open an existing drawing) or NEW (to create a new drawing).
7. Ribbon > Insert tab > Import panel > LandXML
8. Browse and select a LandXML file. Open
9. Unselect all objects in the Import dialog box.
10. Select the specific object(s) to import. OK

Warning: If the Civil 3D object being imported and a similar object that exists in the drawing have the same name, the import will fail.

There have been specific Civil 3D object changes introduced between releases Civil 3D 2018 and Civil 3D 2022 that affect drawing interoperability. The sections below describe some of the interoperability issues that may relate to WisDOT projects.

Warning: Editing a WisDOT Civil 3D drawing in a prior release may cause misinterpretation of design intents or result in loss of data. Please carefully consider Civil 3D interoperability issues before editing a drawing in a prior release.

Drawing changes (2020)

Reference Templates

• A host drawing will reference all the components in a reference template by default if the host drawing is opened in a release prior to Civil 3D 2020.1 and the reference template path is found. When the host drawing is reopened in Civil 3D 2020.1 or later, the reference template defaults that were specified using the Set Reference Template Defaults command in Civil 3D 2020.1 or later will be restored.

• The reference template priority settings are preserved if a host drawing is opened in a release prior to Civil 3D 2020.1. For example, if you specify that a style will be referenced from a lower priority template in Civil 3D 2020.1, that specification will be preserved if you open the host drawing in a release prior to Civil 3D 2020.1.

Object changes (2018-2022)

Alignments and Profiles

• New alignment curve group types created in Civil 3D 2022 must be converted to fixed entities in order to edit them in prior releases. A new command named Convert to Fixed has been added which converts an alignment with a curve group to fixed geometry. Use this command on an alignment with a new Civil 3D 2022 curve group type so that it can be edited in a previous release of the application.

• Crossing objects and their labels in profile view that were created in release Civil 3D 2019.2 or newer will be displayed as proxy graphics in prior releases, but if you make changes to the source objects in a prior release and then save and reopen the drawing in Civil 3D 2019.2 or newer, the crossing objects and their labels will be updated.

• Vertical tangents created with the Float Tangent (Grade, Length) command are automatically converted to floating tangents which use a through point as their constraint type when you open a Civil 3D 2019.1 or newer drawing in Civil 3D 2019 or Civil 3D 2018. When the drawing is re-opened in Civil 3D 2019.1 or newer, the vertical tangents are restored to their previous constraint type of grade and length.

• Fixed vertical curves created with the Fixed Vertical Curve (Parabolic, High/Low Point, Parameter, Length) and Fixed Vertical Curve (Circular, High/Low Point, Parameter, Length) commands in Civil 3D 2019 are not backward compatible with Civil 3D 2018. The Convert Curves command can be used to convert the fixed parabolic curves so they are compatible with Civil 3D 2018, but the fixed circular curves cannot be converted and will be missing when the drawing is opened in Civil 3D 2018. If you do not convert the parabolic curves, those curves will also be missing when the drawing is opened in Civil 3D 2018. After the curves are converted, they cannot be converted back to their original constraint type.

• Fixed vertical curves created with the Fixed Vertical Curve (Parabolic, High/Low Point, Parameter, Length) command in Civil 3D 2019.1 or newer are automatically converted to use two points and a parameter as their constraint type when you open the drawing in Civil 3D 2018. If you do not edit the curves in Civil 3D 2018, they are restored to use the constraint type of Parabolic, High/Low Point, Parameter, Length when the drawing is re-opened in Civil 3D 2019.1 or newer. If you edit the curves and save the drawing in Civil 3D 2018, the changes are preserved when the drawing is re-opened in Civil 3D 2019.1 and newer and the curves will use two points and a parameter as their constraint type. If you edit the curves and save the drawing in Civil 3D 2018, the changes are not preserved if the drawing is re-opened in Civil 3D 2019, but the version of the curve that was saved in Civil 3D 2019.1 and newer is restored when the drawing is re-opened in Civil 3D 2019.1 or newer.

Pipe Networks

• Pipe networks that use the Default Connection Point or Closest Connection Point options for connecting the pipes to structures in release Civil 3D 2019.1 or newer can be viewed in releases Civil 3D 2019 and Civil 3D 2018. However, if you edit the pipe network in Civil 3D 2019 or Civil 3D 2018, the pipes will adjust and will be reset to the structure insertion points.

Sample Line Data Shortcut References

• Sample line data shortcut references and the section views created from them are displayed when you open an Civil 3D 2019.1 or newer drawing in Civil 3D 2019 or Civil 3D 2018. If you remove a sample line from the sample line group using Civil 3D 2019 or Civil 3D 2018, the edit will be preserved when you reopen the drawing in Civil 3D 2019.1 or newer. Other edits made in Civil 3D 2019 or Civil 3D 2018, such as adding sample lines to the sample line group or editing a sample line, will not be preserved when you reopen the drawing in Civil 3D 2019.1 or newer.

Subassemblies

• Subassemblies developed with Civil 3D 2020.3 and newer releases are not backward compatible with any release prior to the release they were created with. Subassembly backward compatibility behavior is expected to change with the Civil 3D 2022.2 Update release.

Autodesk Vehicle Tracking objects or third-party add-ons

• Autodesk Vehicle Tracking objects or other add-on objects might only be compatible as proxy graphics with no ability to edit and limited options to show and hide the objects if they are from different releases.

Survey Database Format Change (2020)

• The survey database format was updated from Microsoft SQL Server Compact (SQL CE) format to SQLite in Civil 3D 2020. To use survey databases created with releases prior to Civil 3D 2020 with Civil 3D 2020 and newer releases, the databases must first be migrated to SQLite.

Warning: Migrated databases are not compatible with earlier releases of Civil 3D. However, the SQL CE (.sdbx) databases are not overwritten or deleted during the migration process and can be used in earlier releases of Civil 3D. Contact your Survey Data Coordinator before migrating any survey databases.

A partial list of general AutoCAD updates that may relate to WisDOT projects.

User Interface (2020)

• The Dark color scheme and the application ribbon icons have been updated.
• The Dark color scheme that controls the appearance of the application window, ribbon, and other user interface elements has been updated with new colors.
• Ribbon icons for both the Light and Dark color schemes have been updated for style and clarity, optimized to work with the background colors, and updated to scale with high-resolution monitors.

Floating drawing windows (2022)

• Multiple drawing files can be visible at the same time without switching between tabs.
• One or more drawing files can be moved onto another monitor.
• Drag a drawing file tab off of the AutoCAD application window to make it a floating window.

DWG Compare (2019 and 2020)

• The DWG Compare feature highlights the differences in model space between two revisions of the same drawing or two different drawings.
  • Use colors, to differentiate between the objects that are unique to each drawing and the objects that are in common.
  • Exclude objects from being compared by turning off their layers.
  • The current drawing can be edited together with a specified drawing while in the compare state. The comparison takes place in the current drawing. Any changes you make in either the current drawing or the compared drawing are dynamically compared and highlighted.

XREF Compare (2021)

• Compare the changes made to a drawing file attached as an external reference (xref) in the current drawing. Any changes to the referenced drawing or a compared drawing are highlighted using revision clouds.
• If a referenced drawing has changed, a balloon message is displayed in the lower-right corner of the application window (the status bar tray). Click the link in the balloon message to reload the modified xref or compare the changes. Changes can also be compared in the External References palette.

Blocks palette (2020 and 2021)

• The INSERT command now displays the Blocks palette, except in scripts, which opens the legacy INSERT command for script compatibility.
  • -INSERTCONTENT - Inserts a drawing or block into the current drawing.
  • CLASSICINSERT - Opens the classic Insert dialog box.

Trace (2022)

• Trace provides a space to collaborate on drawing changes without altering the existing drawing. The analogy of trace is a virtual, collaborative tracing paper that's laid over the drawing, allowing collaborators to add feedback right in the drawing. Create traces in the web and mobile apps, then send or share the drawing to collaborators so they can view the trace and its contents.

A partial list of design efficiency updates that may relate to WisDOT projects.

Alignment and profile enhancements (2019.1)

• Create a fixed circular or fixed parabolic vertical curve by specifying a high or a low point.
  • Note: These curves are not backward compatible with Civil 3D 2018. You can use the Convert Curves command to convert the fixed parabolic curves so they are compatible with Civil 3D 2018, but the fixed circular curves cannot be converted.
• Create and label best fit alignments and profiles using new options.
  • Specify the spiral type to create when creating a best fit alignment.
  • Create best fit profiles that are at or above the elevations of the selected input data. Use new options to control whether the resulting best fit profile elevations will be above the input data, or whether the elevations can be above and below the input data.
  • Add labels to best fit alignments and profiles. Options are now available when creating best fit alignments and profiles to insert labels in the drawing to show the offset between the source data and the resulting best fit alignment or profile.
  • Specify the maximum rate of change for superelevation cross slope for an alignment.
  • Create a floating vertical tangent in a profile by specifying a grade and a length. The specified grade is held if you grip edit the length of this type of tangent

Connected alignment enhancements (2022)

• The connected alignment functionality has been enhanced in Civil 3D 2022 to better handle complex geometry for ramps and interchanges. The following enhancements have been made to the connected alignment functionality:
  • Several new alignment curve group combinations have been added, supporting combinations of spirals, curves, and reverse spirals.
  • Support has been added for creating curves greater than 180 degrees.
  • Connected alignments can now be created at offsets from parent alignments to support slip lane and off-ramp scenarios.
  • A preview option is now included so that you can preview the solution in the drawing before creating the connected alignment.
  • If a solution cannot be found using the parameters that you input, you can create an auto-fit connected alignment.

• The following new Civil 3D 2022 curve group types are now available when creating alignments with the Alignment Layout toolbar:
  • Free Reverse Spiral-Curve-Spiral-Spiral (From entity, end curve)
  • Free Reverse Spiral-Spiral-Curve-Spiral (From curve, end entity)
  • Free Reverse Spiral-Spiral-Curve-Spiral-Spiral (Between two curves)

Pipe network enhancements (2019.1)

• Specify the type of connection points on structures to use when laying out pipe networks. When you lay out a pipe network, you can select which type of connection point to use: the structure insertion point, the default connection point (the first connection point that is defined for a structure), or the closest connection point to the cursor. You can also reset the connection points after laying out the pipe network.

Corridor updates (2020.4)

• The Automatic Corner Cleanup Options for corridors are now separated into inner and outer corner options. These options can be used to independently control whether the inner and outer corners of fixed width corridors are cleaned up at tangent-tangent intersections and at tangent-arc intersections.
• Automatic corner cleanup is now supported for outer corners of fixed width corridors at tangent-arc intersections where the line is not tangent to the curve.

Analyze gravity network updates (2020.4 & 2021.3)

• The Results page in the Analyze Gravity Network dialog box has been updated to include a Pipe Flow column.
• Gravity network analysis has a new setting called Pipe Length Type which you can use to specify the pipe length type to use for the analysis calculations.

Feature line editing (2021.1)

• Use new commands to insert points on crossing feature lines, to edit the grade or slope on multiple feature lines, and to set the elevation of a point on a feature-line based corridor at a given grade or slope from a specified location.
  • Use the Insert Points at Crossing Locations command to insert PIs or elevation points on crossing feature lines in the same site.
  • Use the Set Grade/Slope Across Feature Lines command to edit the grade or slope between vertices on two or more intersecting feature lines.
  • Use the Set Corridor Baseline Elevation by Reference command to set the elevation of a point on a feature-line based corridor at a given grade or slope from a specified location. This command adjusts the elevation of the corresponding PI on the corridor baseline accordingly.

A partial list of production efficiency updates that may relate to WisDOT projects.

Autodesk Batch Save Utility (2019)

• Open and save multiple drawing and template files at once to a specified version of Civil 3D using the Autodesk Batch Save Utility. You can also run custom scripts as part of the batch operation.

Sample line group data references (2019.1)

• Reference sample line groups into drawings using data shortcuts.When you create a data shortcut for a sample line group, a data shortcut to the parent alignment is also created.
• When you create the data references, you can specify which sample lines in the sample line group to reference and which data sources to sample.
• Synchronization notifications are displayed for data references only if a data-referenced object is changed in the source drawing and the drawing is saved, and are not displayed if something unrelated to the object occurs in the drawing.

Profile view enhancements (2019.2)

• Add crossing objects to profile views to show where linear objects cross the profile relative to the parent alignment. You can show alignments, profiles, feature lines, survey figures, and 3D polylines as crossing objects in a profile view.

Data shortcut enhancements (2019.2 and 2019.3 and 2020)

• When creating a data shortcut reference to a sample line group, you can now automatically create references to the sampled sources if data shortcuts exist for those sources. When you select these data sources to sample and click OK, references to the sampled sources are created in the drawing if they do not already exist.
• Enter folder paths, including UNC paths, directly into the Folder field in dialog boxes that prompt for a folder location.
• The Manage Data Shortcuts command has been updated with the following features for specifying a different data shortcut project path when the current path is still valid:
  • If there is another valid path to a data shortcut project available, you can specify that path by browsing to the alternate data shortcut Source File or Path from the Data Shortcut Manager dialog box. After selecting the alternate Source File or Path, a dialog box is displayed which you can use to update the shortcuts. Drawing objects that reference the original path will be updated to reference the alternate path.
  • You can also specify an alternate valid path as the working folder, and then you can use the Link button in the Manage Data Shortcuts dialog box to change the links to the objects. Previously, if you attempted to use the Link button to change the link to a different valid path, the Event Viewer would display a message that the reference already existed.
• Use a new system variable named SyncDrefPsetToSource to control whether property sets are synchronized when you synchronize data shortcut references.
• Use a new system variable named PipeNetworkSyncMode to control the synchronization of data referenced pipe networks when you open a host drawing.
• Data shortcut synchronization related to superelevation has been enhanced. With this enhancement, changes to more types of superelevation parameters in a source alignment will prompt you to synchronize a data referenced alignment.

Autodesk Dynamo for Civil 3D (2022 and 2022.1)

• Dynamo for Civil 3D now supports Python 3 as the default version of Python.
• Python nodes now have a option to allow them to specify if they are created using Python 2.7 or 3.
• Added settings in Dynamo for Civil 3D to control whether binding data is stored and where to store it. New nodes have also been added in the AutoCAD > Document and AutoCAD > Object collections to work with binding data stored in a drawing.

Reference templates (2019 and 2020)

• Use enhanced reference template features to manage styles and settings.
  • You can set up a reference template in advance to control which components in the template will be referenced into a host drawing. When you have a drawing DWT file open, the new Set Reference Template Defaults command is available on the Styles panel. Use this command to set up a reference template. Only the items that are selected when you set up the reference template will be referenced into the host drawings by default.
  • When you attach an additional reference template to a drawing, you are alerted to duplicates with warning symbols and tooltips. To change which component is used, you can change template priority, or you can clear the selection in the higher priority template so that the component in the lower priority template is used.

Corridor updates (2020.4)

• Use a new setting Add Labels to Points Interpolated from DREF Corridors to control whether to add labels to points that are interpolated from data referenced corridors. This setting is available in the Edit Feature Settings - Section View dialog box. When this setting is set to On, points that are interpolated from data referenced corridors are labeled and symbols are displayed on the points. When you move the cursor over these symbols, tooltips are displayed to inform you to confirm the actual value of the label in the source drawing.
• The CorridorSectionLabelsConv command has been enhanced to support converting code set labels to corridor point labels. A selection dialog box is displayed when you choose to convert the labels to corridor point style labels so you can select a section label set that contains a corridor points label style.
• Components for corridor point label styles have been updated to include an Anchor Corridor Point Extension option that can be selected when specifying the anchor points.

Section Views (2020.4)

• You can use the new DraftingBuffer command to turn the cross section view drafting buffers off and on. This setting controls whether annotation and drafting elements that are within drafting buffers, and are bound with the section views, are moved with the section views if they are moved.

A partial list of collaboration and data exchange updates that may relate to WisDOT projects.

InfraWorks component road to Civil 3D corridor (2019)

• Create an Civil 3D corridor from an InfraWorks component road. When you bring component roads into Civil 3D, assemblies are created using subassemblies in Civil 3D and corridors are created.

Civil 3D corridor to InfraWorks component road (2021)

• Create corridor component roads in InfraWorks from Civil 3D corridors. A corridor component road represents the designed corridor in Civil 3D and is read-only in InfraWorks. When you bring a Civil 3D corridor into InfraWorks as a corridor component road, geometry for the shapes and links is created in the InfraWorks model. You can use the Component Mapping dialog box in InfraWorks to specify how the shapes and links are mapped to materials.

New Civil 3D export command (2019 and 2019.2 and 2020)

• Use a new export command (AeccExportCivilDrawing) in an object-enabled AutoCAD application to export an Civil 3D drawing and explode all of the Civil 3D objects.
• Specify whether the Export Civil 3D Drawing command converts feature lines, parcel segments, and survey figures to 2D or 3D polylines.
• Labels with background masks are no longer exported with bowtie-shaped hatches.
• Xrefs are exploded appropriately on export.
• Proxy state messages are no longer displayed on export.

Updated LandXML import and export features (2019.1 and 2019.2 and 2020.1)

• Import breaklines as either feature lines or as 3D polylines when importing surface data from LandXML files. Use a new property in the LandXML Settings to control which type of object to create. Importing surface breaklines as feature lines has been enhanced to preserve the dynamic nature of the breaklines. After a LandXML file is imported into a drawing, you can edit the feature lines that were created from the breakline data and the corresponding surface will update.
• Specify whether property set definitions are created and applied when surface data is imported from a LandXML file.
• You can now export feature lines to LandXML files, including feature lines that are created from alignments and corridors.
• Exported feature lines created from an alignment remain dynamic to the parent alignment when the alignment is exported and imported along with the feature lines.You can now import feature lines on the site specified in the LandXML source file by selecting an option in the LandXML Settings dialog box.
• Update existing object data in a drawing and create property set data when importing LandXML files.
  • Update existing objects in a drawing when importing a LandXML file. In the LandXML Settings dialog box, on the Import tab, under Conflict Resolution Settings, select the Update option.In prior releases, when using the Update option, existing objects in a drawing were deleted and redrawn when the LandXML file was imported. Now the Update option updates most object types without first deleting them. This preserves labels that have been added to the objects as well as dependent objects such as alignment offsets. Note: This behavior does not apply to parcels. Parcels are deleted and redrawn when using the Update option.
  • Specify whether property set definitions are created and applied when objects are imported from a LandXML file. You can view this property set data in the AutoCAD Properties Palette and in tooltips. Note: Previously, this property set data was created for surfaces only.