And here it is – back the way you want it, although I can’t grasp why. Yes, Civil 3D 2007 has the ability to do quick profiles. What’s a quick profile, you ask? Well, it’s a profile, and it’s created pretty quick. No need for a defined alignment, just a profile of a line, polyline, etc. Wait, maybe I do get it now. It really IS quick. Hmph, now I understand.

So what’s it like? Why do I need it? What’s it for? Well, if you’re asking yourself these questions, then you’re in the right place.

Say I’ve got a surface. Go ahead, you can say it. “I’ve got a surface”. OK, I have a polyline across this surface, and I want to see that the surface looks like along that polyline. Well, in the old days (ok, last week when we were just using Civil 3D 2006), we’d have to define an alignment out of that polyline and then create a profile and a profile view. It’s a little easy now. Here’s my surface, along with the polyline that I want to quickly sample:

Now, click on Profiles, then click on Quick Profile. Select the polyline (or line, or whatever) that you want to profile, and then you get the following dialog box:

This lets you do two things – sample any and all surfaces in your drawing, and apply a profile view style to your quick profile. A quick click on OK and here’s what you get:

Two things to remember – first, there’s no station information. That’s no problem, really. Second, there’s no way to save these views. They delete when you close the drawing. If you want a saved profile view, you’re going to have to define an alignment and profile it as you would any other alignment.

Have fun!