Both of these files are separate from the Microstation dgn file. surfaces and alignments both have a separate file types that are loaded into Inroads. It in a sense creates a path to data from another drawing for purposes of displaying.Ĭonversely, data for Inroads is contained in multiple files. Data Shortcuts are XML files that act as a pointer to the file that has the needed data. Civil 3D objects are shared amongst drawings through Data Shortcuts. You can create separate design files instead of having everything in one file and share that data. That would create a huge and slow file that could crash the software. Of course, you are not going to want all of your data in one drawing, even if it’s possible. In Civil 3D, the drawing itself is a database which contains all of the Civil 3D objects. This leads me to another main difference: data management. This is why you can’t edit Inroads objects using Microstation. Essentially, all of Inroads data is contained in one of the many Inroads files, which are separate from the CAD file that you may be using. In order to edit an Inroads entity, you need to use Inroads commands. You need to open Microstation and Inroads in order to work with Inroads. Inroads, however, feels like a separate software from Microstation. All of Inroads functions are contained on the Inroads window, which is separate from Microstation. Civil 3D objects can be edited using the common AutoCAD commands.

All of the Civil 3D commands are placed amongst the AutoCAD commands. Civil 3D’s integration into the user interface makes transitioning from AutoCAD to Civil 3D easy. This highlights the first main difference: integration with the CAD platform. Civil 3D is seamlessly built into the AutoCAD interface while Inroads is a separate window. Inroads works with Microstation while Civil 3D works with AutoCAD. They are both vertical design software built on a CAD platform. What is more interesting is the difference in their architecture. I am not going to get into the ins and outs of what they offer. They both create civil design objects such as roads, utilities, surfaces, etc. Now that I have as much experience with Civil 3D as Inroads, I’d like to illuminate for you some high level difference between these two competing software, specifically integration with the CAD platform and data management.Īt a glance, Inroads and Civil 3D are seemingly the same software.

Recently, it got me thinking back to my design days as an Inroads master. Over the past year, through Ideate, I have been training Civil 3D to Caltrans employees. Posted on OctoAuthor: Kate Ming AutoCAD Civil 3D, AutoCAD

Power inroads vs inroads