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Projects and Lots

drtwrk organizes work into a four-level hierarchy: projects, blocks, lots, and zones. Understanding this structure helps you navigate the web dashboard and configure the Civil 3D plugin correctly.

Projects​

A project is the top-level container for a land development site. All lots, blocks, zones, and grading jobs for a site live under one project. When you submit linework from Civil 3D, you submit it to a specific project.

Projects are created automatically the first time you run 2D Checks on a new drawing in Civil 3D.

Blocks​

A block is a group of lots that share common boundaries and are treated together during grading. Blocks map directly to the site organization you define in Civil 3D. The plugin extracts block membership from the drawing and sends it to drtwrk when you submit a grading job.

Lots​

A lot is a single parcel of land within a block. Each lot has:

  • Boundary lines — the outer perimeter of the parcel
  • Interior lot lines — lines that separate the lot from adjacent lots within the same block, such as side yard and rear yard lines

Lots are created automatically when you submit a grading job. The plugin extracts lot identifiers from your linework (polyline labels or layer names) and registers each one in the project.

Lot statuses​

StatusMeaning
pendingLot submitted but grading not yet run
processingGrading engine is actively processing this lot
completeGraded surface is available
failedGrading failed — see error details
revisedManual edits have been applied
approvedLot approved for export

Every lot keeps a full history of grading runs. You can compare surface results across runs, see which preset was used, and revert to a previous result if needed.

Zones​

A zone is a grading area processed independently of individual lots — for example, a park, pond buffer, drainage easement, or open space corridor. You can grade a zone without touching the lots that surround it.

Lot lines and feature lines​

Two line types carry data through the grading workflow:

  • Lot lines are the 2D lines in your Civil 3D drawing that define lot boundaries and interior divisions. They live on specific CAD layers — the ones you assign in the Layer Review modal to types such as LotLine, Curb, RoadCenterLine, EdgeOfPavement, EdgeOfSwale, and RightOfWay.
  • Feature lines are the 3D Civil 3D objects that carry elevation data along lot lines. The 3DLINEWORK command converts your 2D lot lines into feature lines by projecting them onto existing surfaces and assigning elevations to each vertex. The grading engine reads these feature lines to determine starting elevations for grading.

How the data flows​

Project
 └── Block A
 │    └── Lot A1
 │    │    ├── Job #1 (run 1)
 │    │    └── Job #2 (run 2, after edits)
 │    └── Lot A2
 │         └── Job #1
 └── Zone 1
      └── Job #1
  1. Your Civil 3D drawing contains lot lines on configured layers and (optionally) existing surface data.
  2. Running 2DLINEWORK validates the 2D geometry and exports a connectivity graph.
  3. Running 3DLINEWORK creates permanent feature lines with elevation data derived from the existing surface.
  4. Running LOTZONEGRADING opens the grading modal — configure parameters and submit the job. The plugin packages the lots and blocks and sends them to your drtwrk project.
  5. The grading engine processes the geometry and returns a grading solution.
  6. Results are written back to your Civil 3D drawing as a TIN surface, updated feature lines, and slope and spot elevation labels.

The plugin uses a persistent file ID stored inside the drawing to associate it with its drtwrk project data. This ID is preserved even if you rename or move the drawing file.