Carlson GIS CAD Mapping and Geospatial Data Management Software

Carlson GIS for CAD based mapping and geospatial data management

Carlson GIS combines professional CAD drawing tools with GIS data management for surveyors, civil engineers, GIS technicians, utility companies and infrastructure professionals. It is designed for projects where knowing the position of an object is only part of the job and each point, line or polygon also needs to carry useful descriptive information.

Instead of maintaining a CAD drawing and a separate set of asset records, Carlson GIS can associate GIS attributes directly with drawing entities. Users can capture and edit data, inspect attributes, create labels, run queries and prepare reports while continuing to work in the familiar Carlson CAD environment.

Combine accurate CAD geometry with GIS attributes

A CAD entity normally describes the location and geometry of an object. GIS adds information about what that object represents. With Carlson GIS, a surveyed point representing a hydrant can carry information about the asset, a polyline representing a utility can contain descriptive fields, and a polygon can represent an area together with its associated database information.

This is useful for projects involving utilities, municipal assets, property information, environmental features, infrastructure inventories and other mapped objects where coordinates alone are not enough. Fields can be structured around the information required by the project or client, helping create a dataset that can continue into asset management or wider GIS workflows.

Capture and edit GIS data directly in CAD

Carlson GIS includes tools for entering and editing attribute information associated with drawing entities. This allows a survey or engineering team to work with both the physical geometry and the database information without constantly switching between separate CAD and GIS applications.

The GIS Inspector provides a practical way to review attributes attached to selected features. For a drawing containing hundreds or thousands of assets, this makes it easier to identify what a particular point or line represents and inspect the information stored with it.

Existing information can also be updated as a project develops. This is useful for as-built surveys, asset inspections and infrastructure projects where field measurements may confirm a position while office staff complete or verify the associated records.

Query and report geospatial information

When a project contains structured GIS attributes, users need more than a graphical view of the drawing. Carlson GIS includes query and reporting functions that help identify features based on the information associated with them.

This can make large asset drawings easier to work with. Rather than manually searching a drawing for every feature of a particular type, users can work with the GIS information to find and review the relevant entities. Reporting tools can then present selected database information in a more useful form for project documentation or quality control.

Create labels from stored GIS data

Carlson GIS can use associated attribute information to create labels in the CAD drawing. This reduces the need to type separate text manually beside every object and helps keep labels consistent with the actual information stored in the GIS dataset.

For utility and infrastructure mapping, this can be used to display selected information about points, open polylines or closed areas. If the underlying data is updated, the GIS workflow provides a clearer relationship between the mapped object and the information used to describe it.

Import and export SHP files

Esri Shapefile data remains widely used for exchanging geographic information between surveying companies, engineering consultants, authorities and GIS departments. Carlson GIS supports SHP import and export together with GIS attributes, allowing information to move between the CAD drawing and other geospatial systems.

A surveyor may receive an SHP dataset containing existing utilities, parcels or infrastructure before starting fieldwork. That information can be brought into the project and combined with new GNSS or total station measurements. When the project is complete, relevant geometry and attributes can be delivered back into a GIS-compatible workflow.

This is particularly useful when the field and engineering teams work primarily with CAD but the final client maintains its information in GIS.

Work with Esri geodatabase and ArcGIS services

Carlson GIS also provides workflows for Esri geospatial information beyond traditional SHP files. Carlson’s GIS editor supports geodatabase import and export, while ArcGIS service tools provide access to Feature, Image and Map Services.

This helps organisations connect CAD-based surveying and engineering work with information maintained in an Esri environment. Existing GIS layers can provide project context, while updated or newly surveyed information can be prepared for use by the client’s GIS team.

Current Carlson 2026 GIS tools also support OAuth 2.0 authentication for private ArcGIS Feature, Image and Map Services. This is relevant to organisations whose online GIS information is protected rather than openly accessible.

Use Web Feature Service data

Web Feature Service, or WFS, can be used to obtain geographic features from compatible online services. Unlike a simple background image, feature-service data can provide actual mapped geometry together with associated GIS information.

For surveyors and engineers this can provide useful project context when authorities, utilities or other organisations publish suitable geographic datasets. Carlson has also expanded support for Esri REST services, providing another method for accessing modern online GIS sources where traditional WFS services are not available.

Add WMS and georeferenced imagery to CAD drawings

Carlson GIS includes tools for bringing georeferenced imagery into a project. Web Map Service, or WMS, support allows imagery from compatible servers to be placed within the CAD drawing using the project’s coordinate system.

Aerial photography and map imagery can help users understand how measured or designed geometry relates to roads, buildings, vegetation and surrounding land. This can be useful during project preparation, drawing checks and preliminary engineering work.

Imagery is normally best treated as contextual information rather than survey control. Where centimetre-level positioning or legal survey accuracy is required, measured GNSS, total station or other verified survey information remains the appropriate source.

Work with large areas of aerial imagery

Carlson’s GIS tools include routines for managing georeferenced images over larger project areas. Carlson also provides higher-resolution Google Earth image workflows using automatic tiling, with map options including aerial, road, terrain and hybrid views.

Automatic tiling helps avoid treating an entire large project as one oversized image. In practice, this can make background mapping more manageable while retaining enough visual detail for the area currently being reviewed.

Polygon topology for areas parcels and zones

Carlson GIS includes polygon topology creation and analysis for projects where closed areas need to be treated as meaningful geographic features rather than unrelated CAD lines.

This can be useful for parcels, land-use zones, environmental areas, service territories and other mapped regions. Structured polygons can carry their own GIS attributes and can be analysed or reported as areas within the larger dataset.

Practical software for asset mapping

Asset mapping is one of the strongest applications for Carlson GIS. A utility, municipality or infrastructure owner may need to manage large numbers of valves, chambers, pipes, poles, signs, street furniture or other physical assets. Each object requires an accurate position as well as information describing what it is.

A survey team can establish or update the position of these objects with GNSS or total station equipment and then use Carlson GIS to organise the related attributes. This creates a much more useful deliverable than a drawing containing anonymous points and lines.

For organisations carrying out repeat surveys or inspections, the same GIS structure can provide consistency between projects and make it easier to understand which information should be collected for each feature type.

Useful for GNSS and total station survey data

Carlson GIS fits naturally into workflows where geographic information begins with accurate field measurements. Survey points collected with RTK GNSS or a total station can form the positional basis of the map, while GIS attributes add the descriptive information required by the client.

This is useful for surveyors producing utility surveys, asset inventories, topographic datasets, environmental mapping or other projects where the final deliverable must contain both coordinates and structured feature information.

Because Carlson GIS is part of the wider Carlson software environment, teams can combine GIS functions with other Carlson survey and civil engineering modules when a project requires additional processing or design.

Useful for civil engineers and infrastructure teams

Civil engineering projects frequently depend on information maintained by several different organisations. Property boundaries, utilities, roads, environmental constraints and existing assets may all come from separate GIS datasets while the actual engineering design is produced in CAD.

Carlson GIS helps bring these two environments together. GIS layers can provide context for engineering work, while CAD entities created or edited during the project can carry the attributes needed for later GIS use.

This makes the software relevant to roads, utilities, land development, public infrastructure and other projects where technical drawings and geographic databases need to remain connected.

Use Carlson GIS as part of Civil Suite

Carlson GIS is available as an individual module and is also included in Carlson Civil Suite alongside Carlson Survey, Carlson Civil and Carlson Hydrology. This can be useful for businesses that require more than GIS data management.

Carlson Survey handles the wider survey-processing workflow, Carlson Civil provides road and site design tools, Carlson Hydrology covers drainage and hydraulic design, and Carlson GIS provides the geospatial data-management layer. These modules share Carlson’s CAD-based working environment, making it easier for project data to continue through different stages of surveying and engineering.

Current Carlson 2026 CAD environment

Carlson GIS remains included in the current Carlson 2026 desktop software installer. The current release can run with the supplied IntelliCAD environment or on a supported AutoCAD, AutoCAD Map or Civil 3D installation.

Carlson 2026 includes IntelliCAD 12.1 and 13.1 and supports AutoCAD-based products from 2019 through 2026. For a company that does not already own AutoCAD, the included IntelliCAD option provides a complete CAD platform for the Carlson workflow. Businesses already standardised on a supported AutoCAD version can instead add Carlson’s GIS functions to their existing environment.

Who is Carlson GIS for?

Carlson GIS is designed primarily for land surveyors, civil engineers, GIS technicians, utility mapping specialists, municipalities, infrastructure managers and consultants who work with both CAD geometry and geospatial databases.

For a surveyor, it can provide a way to deliver attribute-rich GIS data from accurate field measurements. For an engineering company, it can bring existing geographic information into the CAD design environment. For utility and asset-management teams, it provides tools for connecting mapped objects with the information required to identify and manage them.

Carlson GIS from Global GPS Systems

Global GPS Systems can help determine how Carlson GIS fits into your existing field and office workflow, including the GNSS or total station equipment used to collect coordinates and the formats required for final GIS delivery.

For users who also require survey calculations, civil design or drainage tools, Global GPS Systems can help determine whether the individual GIS module or a wider Carlson software configuration such as Civil Suite better matches the work your team performs.