Bringing the ground model into ArcGIS Pro

Video chapters: 0:00 Setting up a Local Scene | 0:30 Adding the Civil 3D drawing | 0:49 Loading the 3D model (MultiPatch) | 1:15 Adding ground & DEM elevation | 1:52 Navigating underground | 2:26 Adding borehole layer data (TextPoint) | 2:48 Exporting features | 3:11 Styling annotations | 4:19 Labeling boreholes | 4:52 Label placement

This tutorial walks you through opening a Civil 3D drawing that contains GeoDin® Ground boreholes and 3D ground model geometry directly in ArcGIS Pro - bringing the full model, not just point features, into a 3D GIS scene with underground navigation and readable borehole annotations.

Requirements

• A saved Civil 3D drawing with imported boreholes (Importing boreholes) and, optionally, generated surfaces and volumes (Creating surfaces and volumes).
• The drawing georeferenced (Georeferencing the drawing) - a CRS mismatch surfaces here as a misplaced model.
• ArcGIS Pro with a project geodatabase.

Step 1: Start a Local Scene

• In ArcGIS Pro, create a project using the Local Scene template.
• In the Catalog pane, confirm the project geodatabase under Databases - exported layers will be stored there later.

Step 2: Connect the drawing folder

• In the Catalog pane, go to Folders and choose Add Folder Connection.
• Browse to the folder where the Civil 3D drawing was saved and click OK.
• Expand the connection to confirm the drawing (.dwg) is available - the GeoDin® Ground documents folder created on import sits alongside it.

The connected drawing folder with the DWG and the GeoDin® Ground documents folder

Step 3: Add the 3D model geometry

• Expand the drawing to see its feature classes.
• Find the MultiPatch feature class - this holds the 3D ground model and borehole solids.
• Right-click it and choose Add to Current Map, then confirm the model and boreholes are visible in the scene.

The MultiPatch feature class added to the Local Scene

Step 4: Set up elevation

• In the Contents pane, expand Elevation Surfaces > Ground.
• Keep the default WorldElevation3D surface, or remove it and add your own DEM (for example, a 1 m resolution dataset) for accurate alignment between the model and the terrain.

DEM source: the elevation data shown in the video is U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) 1 Meter DEM, obtained from The National Map Downloader. It is publicly available, so you can download the same dataset to follow along.

Step 5: Enable underground navigation

• Select Ground, then open Elevation Surface Layer in the ribbon.
• Check Navigate Underground so the camera can move below the surface.
• Tilt the view to inspect the boreholes and model from underneath.

Navigate Underground enabled - borehole columns visible below the surface

Step 6: Add the borehole annotation data

• The borehole layer text (heights, depths, materials) lives in a separate TextPoint feature class in the drawing.
• Add TextPoint to the map. At this stage it renders as plain points, not readable text.

The TextPoint dataset added - annotation as raw points

Step 7: Export the annotation to the geodatabase

• To make the data easier to edit and share, run Export Features on the TextPoint layer and save the output into the project geodatabase (for example, as BH_Annotation).
• Remove the raw TextPoint layer afterwards and continue with the exported layer.

The exported BH_Annotation layer selected for styling

Step 8: Style the annotation markers

• Open Symbology for the annotation layer and choose Single Symbol.
• Change the symbol to a thin line marker, set a distinct color (for example, red), and set the angle to 90° so markers read as elevation ticks along the borehole.
• Click Apply.

Format Point Symbol - line marker rotated 90°

Step 9: Label with the layer text

• On the Labeling tab, set the Label Class Field to RefName and enable Label.
• The height, depth, and material descriptions now display along each borehole.
• Refine placement (for example, Right of points) and set a visibility distance in the Feature Layer ribbon to keep the scene readable.

Layer descriptions rendered as labels along the boreholes

Optional settings

• Elevation source - the default WorldElevation3D surface works at global resolution; a project DEM (for example, 1 m) aligns the model precisely with the terrain.
• Label visibility distance - set a farthest distance on the Feature Layer ribbon so labels stay readable instead of stacking at wide zooms.

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Working with the imported model

The drawing arrives as two datasets that behave differently: the MultiPatch carries all geometry (boreholes and model volumes together), while TextPoint carries every annotation as plain points. Exporting TextPoint into the geodatabase before styling keeps the original drawing untouched and gives you an editable, shareable annotation layer - the same layer the later tutorials attach reports to and publish.

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Next steps:

• Extract boreholes, the model, and soil types into separate feature classes.
• Attach geotechnical reports to the borehole annotations so each document annotation carries its PDF.
• Publish and review the model as a web scene for browser-based stakeholder review.