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Thank you for the hot tips. Tracing the contours with polylines and copying and pasting into a new document is working. You are all what makes this such a valuable forum. Ed

Thanks Peter, I trace the contour lines with the Polyline tool. Convert to polygons. Choose AEC/SURVEY INPUT/2d POLY'S to 3d CONTOURS and then an Interval of 12" with Create 3D Polygons selected. Click OK. When the set elevation window comes up the only first contour line is supposed to be active and I have a choice to select Up or Down and then a choice of Done or Next. That should happen for each line. At the point the set elevation window comes up I lose it. The survey map gets really big and all the lines are deselected. That is as far as I can get with my DWG file.

I followed Peter Cipes' excelent description of how to create a site model in his answer to Edward Williams query. In the exercise he gave it worked perfectly. When I tried to apply the same procedure to a DWG file it did not work. The first indication I had it wasn't working was in step 5. 5) Run the menu command AEC/SURVEY INPUT/2d POLY'S to 3d CONTOURS. You will be given some choices in the dialog. Set the contour interval at 24" (2ft) then click NEXT at each highlighted Polygon. When finished you will be asked if you want to keep the originals. In this case (for demonstration) choose NO. I set the contour interval in the dialog box and click next and it takes me back to the contour map with the contours deselected. The elevation never shows up in the Object Info pallet. How do I fix this? Thank you, Ed

Thanks. It is fun! Great suggestion. I have Jonathan's Essential Tutorial Manual for VectorWorks version 12.5. It has been invaluable and lives next to the keyboard.

I wound up just drawing the building on the Topo Survey. It works for just the placement. I still have to learn about making it all 3D though.

Ray, I can open my Topographic Survey in VectorWorks as a DWG file. I am trying to place my house on the DWG file. Right now I am working on understanding islandmon's response. He is way ahead of me on the curve. Is there a way I can crop the Survey Map? It is of a two acre parcel and I only need a small part of it. Thank you both! Ed

How do I import a floor plan to a DWG file to see how it looks on my survey map? Then, how can I change my DWG file to a 3D view and place my house on it? I have a steep lot and will have to either put footings into the side of the hill, or put in a foundation. I am building a small cabin, so there is not a lot of weight to it. Thank you. This is a leap for me in this process. Ed

Thanks Ray. I knew it would be something simple, and most likely obvious.

I am using VectorWorks2008 with a Mac OS X 10.4.11 I have lost access to symbols in the Resource Browser and only get a list of items when I go to Resource Browser>Resources>Show Object Types>Symbols/Plug-In Objects. For easy things like doors and windows I can manage with the list. With things like foundations I need the symbols. Can you tell me how to access the symbols? I will deeply appreciate any help you can give me. Ed

I hope it worked this time.

Thank you michaelk. Thanks Ray. I just did.

How do I get the little blue handles back on an object? Thanks.

Thank you Jonathan. What a relief.

Thanks. Double hitting the A key worked.

I'm using VW2008 and in the Smart Points I get neither the dotted lines nor the Align boxes. The Point boxes do not appear either. In the dialog box I have only the Horizontal/Vertical Extensions checked, but I get the same results no matter what I have turned on or off in the dialog box. How can I change this so that it works the way it is supposed to?

I have VectorWorks 2008. Somehow I have lost my grid. How can I return the grid to the workspace?