Description Key Basics in Civil 3D

Jump Kit

The Framework for Civil 3D
Get More

Templates Only

See The Framework Work
Get More

Become a Member

Master Civil 3D
Get More

Autodesk Civil Videos

Free Civil 3D Training
Get More

Framework Videos

Free Civil 3D Videos
Get More

Description Key Basics in Civil 3D

7/18/2026

 

A decent explanation of how Description Keys work in Civil 3D to symbolize and label Point locations.
Sadly, it is not mentioned in the video that Decription Key Sets have priority in Civil 3D and that it really helps to keep Point data in a Survey Db(s) so the location and label data can be shared in a Project.
Visit the Civil 3D Fix YouTube Channel page.

Comments

Recognize that Description Keys are resolved letter by letter while Survey Figures are resolved as entire words.
All the classic AutoCAD Wildcard characters can be employed in a DescKey. That includes a sorted range of Not Keys. What does not match.
That means far more is possible from a collection of Description Keys and Key Sets than we usually expect.
Hope that helps.