The question has been asked (quite frequently) about the “Line from End of Object” that was in Land Desktop in the past. How can we do that in Civil 3D? Today, once again, it was posted in the Wishes Discussion Group. Dana had a GREAT idea about creating an alignment and then exploding it, but Peter Funk of Autodesk won the “Techy Geek Hot Tip Of The Day” award with his suggestion, and I’m posting this here with his permission. Try it – you might like it.

1) Draw a line. Any line. Now, you want a curve tangent to that line? OK, go to step 2.

2) Hit the button to start an arc. Now, hit ENTER before you start to draw the curve – HEY! The curve is tangent to the line, you just select the endpoint.

But wait – I need ANOTHER line on the end of this curve, tangent to the curve. Here’s the cool – go to step 3.

3) Start the Line command. Before you do anything, hit ENTER again. HEY! A line tangent to your curve.

I’ve been drawing for a number of years, and never knew this little shortcut. I don’t know when Autodesk added it, but it makes certain drawing scenarios much easier.

Have fun!