Marissa GagnéApril 3rd, 2024
It’s that time of the year again! Autodesk has released new versions of its products, including Civil 3D. Version 2025 is here, so let’s take a look at some of the key things you need to know! While most of these items are new in 2025, some of the updates were actually added in Civil 3D 2024.1 and Civil 3D 2024.3 and then incorporated into the Civil 3D 2025 release.
1. Still the Same DWG Format
Believer it or not, I am writing the same thing this year that I have for many years before: We are still working with the same, AutoCAD 2018 DWG format. This is the 8th release in a row to make use of this DWG format, which makes backwards compatibility a lot easier to manage. As before though, it is important to be careful when moving drawings between versions. Drawings can lose their ability to work fully with older versions if they are opened and saved in newer versions.
2. Corridor Enhancements (Civil 3D 2024.1 and 2024.3)
The incremental releases of Civil 3D 2024.1 and Civil 3D 2024.3 introduced some great updates to Corridors regarding initial creation of the model and working with Transitions.
Initial Creation
The Corridor Creation dialog has been greatly expanded to allow for new capabilities during initial creation of a Corridor. Here is what it looks like now:
• Now when a user initiates the “Create Corridor” command, they are given the ability to add multiple baselines at the same time, even if those baselines are not the same kind (Alignment/Profile vs. Feature Line). In the screen shot above, notice that there are now two sections on the right side of the expanded dialog allowing for the selection of multiple Alignment/Profile baselines, multiple Feature Line baselines, or both!
• When a Feature Line is desired for baseline, new filters are available to assist the user in locating the right Feature Line (location outlined in green on the screen shot above).
• The new Corridor creation dialog also now allows the user to assign the desired Code Set Style instead of having to edit the setting after the Corridor is created (location outlined in green on the screen shot above).
Transitions
Transitions can now be applied across a corridor even when there is a gap between regions. This is accomplished through a new “Transition Gap Tolerance” variable that can be established by the user in the Feature Command level settings from the “Settings” tab of the Toolspace.
• Transition sets can now be copied and pasted to different regions and baselines either in the same Corridor or even to other Corridors in the drawing!
• Transition areas can now be highlighted in the drawing by right-clicking on the Corridor in the Prospector tab of the Toolspace.
Surface Level of Detail Improvements
One of the best improvements of 2025 (in my opinion) is the change in how the Level of Detail for Surfaces is applied. Level of Detail is now applied at the object level, not the program level. This means that the user can pick and choose which Surfaces should use the setting and which do not. This setting can be accessed from the Prospector tab of the Toolspace and the contextual “Surface” Ribbon tab. The default for the setting can be established in the Feature Settings of the Surfaces in the “Settings” tab of the Toolspace.
To help the user know which Surfaces are using the setting and which are not, the Surface will display a different icon in the Prospector tab.
4. Performance Improvements
Autodesk worked hard this time around to improve the performance of Civil 3D in many aspects of the program. Lots of changes were made to help reduce the time needed for processes such as opening large drawings, creating Surfaces from large Corridors (now 3-4 times faster!), Surface regeneration when Level of Detail is turned on, contour regeneration, Corridor editing, and more. Some of these improvements are the result of the program no longer regenerating Corridors and Surfaces if no geometric changes have been made.
5. Autodesk Assistant
This item was actually added to the AutoCAD 2024.1 update, but many people were not aware of it. The Autodesk Assistant is chat support platform that is AI driven. A user can access this functionality to ask questions and obtain tailored support. Depending on the type of account they have, some users can even get direct access to Autodesk support, allowing them to chat with a product support agent, request a callback, or create a support case.
The Autodesk Assistant can be launched from the Help menu (as show in the screen shot. However, if the user is logged into their Autodesk Account, a button will appear next to the Help drop-down that will also open the Autodesk Assistant
In Conclusion
The combination of AutoCAD 2024.1, Civil 3D 2024.1, Civil 3D 2024.3 and now Civil 3D 2025 provides a number of great performance and efficiency improvements along with easy access to support. Take a look at this latest addition to see how upgrading can help you!