Managing Custom Files

R3Survey stores your custom settings and configuration files in Windows AppData folders. These files persist across sessions and are updated automatically when you change settings through the R3Survey interface.

You do not normally need to access these files directly.

Where settings are stored

R3Survey uses two folders in your Windows user profile:

Folder	Contents
%AppData%\Roaming\R3Survey	Survey plan settings, swing data, and other drawing-level configuration
%AppData%\Roaming\SpatialViz	Smart Strings configurations, code lists, style files, unit settings

These folders contain your configurations, custom units, survey components, colours, and all other user settings.

Do not manually edit files in these folders

Incorrect changes may cause errors or unexpected behaviour. Use the R3Survey commands (R3UNITS, R3MANAGECONFIGS, R3PLANLAYERSETTINGS) to modify settings.

Backing up your settings

To back up all R3Survey customisations:

1. Open File Explorer
2. Type %AppData%\Roaming in the address bar and press Enter
3. Copy the R3Survey and SpatialViz folders
4. Store the copies in a safe location (cloud storage or an external drive)

Restoring a backup

1. Close AutoCAD / Civil 3D
2. Copy your backed-up R3Survey and SpatialViz folders back into %AppData%\Roaming, replacing the existing folders
3. Restart AutoCAD / Civil 3D

This preserves all your custom configurations when moving between computers or reinstalling R3Survey.

Sharing configurations

Smart Strings configurations can be shared between users. Copy the SpatialViz folder (or individual configuration files from its subfolders) to another machine's %AppData%\Roaming\SpatialViz folder. See Configuration (R3MANAGECONFIGS) for the file structure.