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CAD tip # 9302:

Question CAD
% platform category

How to change elevation units in a map or GIS source?

You got GIS data in a SHP format or another data source - also in AutoCAD, where the geometry (e.g. 3D lines representing edges of a river) is stored in meters for X,Y and in millimeters for Z elevations (e.g. 254567). For further processing, you need to convert the Z-elevations of the lines to meters, i.e. scale them down by 1000.

You cannot use map queries to easily modify geometry in this way but you can elegantly solve this problem using import (the MAPIMPORT command) to AutoCAD entities. Select all imported entities, make a block of them - with a non-uniform scale in XYZ axes, and set scale 0.001 for the Z-axis. Finally explode the block and use the MAPEXPORT command to export the exploded geometry back to the 3D SHP format.

It is simple and quick.

MapCivil

* CAD

19.6.2013 4218×

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Civil 3D

AutoCAD Map 3D

AEC Collection

applies to: AutoCAD Map 3D · Civil 3D ·

See also:
Tip 9698:	Data formats supported in Autodesk InfraWorks 360.
Tip 8348:	How to load a SHP file and display its attribute data in AutoCAD?
Tip 7396:	How to convert block attributes to object data?
Tip 7070:	How to export 3D versions of SHP files?
Tip 5968:	Commandline version of -MAPIMPORT does not offer DGN format.

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