Data Shortcuts in a Nutshell

In my humble opinion, Data Shortcuts are a better alternative for smaller companies than Vault. Therefore, I'm creating this little "crash course" for Data Shortcuts.



Working With Data Shortcuts in Civil 3D 2008
What are Data Shortcuts?

Data Shortcuts are external files which allow multiple users to access data from a Civil 3D project without needing to access the drawing file.

What are the advantages of using Data Shortcuts?

When using Data Shortcuts, a project can be split up into several drawing files that all reference the same data. Therefore, multiple users can collaborate on a Civil 3D project at the same time.

Having data shared through several drawings is advantageous because it cuts down on the file sizes of the DWGs.

What types of data can be shared using Data Shortcuts?

• Surfaces
• Alignments
• Pipes
• Profiles
• View Frames

How do I use Data Shortcuts?

Say you have a source drawing from which you’d like to share data. This “source drawing” contains an existing ground surface and a horizontal alignment.

In the source drawing:

1. Go to General > Data Shortcuts > Edit Data Shortcuts…

Now you will see the window where Data Shortcuts are created.

2. Click the Create Data Shortcut by Selection button.
Select the entity (or entities) you’d like to add as a reference.
Click the Export Data Shortcuts to File button.
You will be prompted to save an XML file.

The source drawing as well as the XML file should be on a network location. The files do not need to be in the same directory, but they should be able to be “seen” by all users who will collaborate on the project.

Note: It is good practice to separate types of data in their own XML file, as shown at left.

There is no limit to the number of shortcuts you can make per drawing. For instance, if you’d like to have an XML file for each separate alignment, that’s good too!


Once the XML file is created, you no longer need the shortcuts listed in the Panorama view. You can control what items are listed in the Data Shortcut Window by deleting them using the Delete Shortcut button.

Now, let’s say that you would like to work with a surface in a new drawing. You don’t need to edit the surface, but you want to reference it when designing parcels, for instance.

In the second drawing:

1. Go to General > Data Shortcuts > Edit Data Shortcuts…
2. Click on the Import Data Shortcuts from File button.
3. Browse to the location of the recently created XML file. Select the file and click Open. You should now see a list of your shortcuts.
4. Right-click on the item you’d like to work with, and select Create Reference…

You will be prompted with a dialog box that allows you to change the name and style of the object if you wish.

From here on out you can see the information and work with it. (You are not able to edit the data.)

What Happens When Updates are Made to the Source Drawing?

As soon as the user working in the source file saves his or her changes, the underlying XML file is automatically updated. There is no need to re-create the XML shortcut.

The person who is using your Data Shortcut will need to synchronize the object. The user will see a symbol with an exclamation point indicating that the object is out of date with the XML file. Right-click on the object and select Synchronize.