Offset Surface
COMMAND LICENSING AND DEFAULT MENU LOCATIONS
- The Offset Surface command is part of the RPS Modeling Toolbox.
- The command is located on the Modeling macros menu ribbon.
- The command is located in the Surface / Volumes menu group.
COMMAND DESCRIPTION
Provides the ability to offset an entire surface or an area of a surface within a clipping boundary to create a new surface model. This is a quick and easy tool for creating, e.g., Topsoil Strip surfaces from an Existing Ground surface model. You can offset the same surface using different boundary lines to create multiple offset surfaces during a single command execution.
VIDEO DEMONSTRATION
The following video shows how to utilize the Offset Surface command:
COMMAND HISTORY
Update Information
November 30, 2022
We updated the command so that you can run it multiple times in a single execution to offset a surface using different boundaries and vertical offsets. We also optimized the dialog looping to make it easy to run repeated operations on a single surface, e.g., to create different stripping areas with different depths from the Existing Ground surface.
The latest changes moved the original Offset Surface command to a keyboard-only command available from the Command Pane (F12). The updated command is now RPS Offset Surface, which is a licensed command because of the added functionality and workflow improvements.
The RPS Settings, Create Boundary, Offset Line, and Combine Surfaces commands have also been added to the header row of the command dialog for easy access when running this command.
SETUP AND CONFIGURATION
Command Interface Description
The Offset Surface command dialog looks as follows:
Reference surface:
Select the surface to which you wish to apply the surface offsets. Typically, this would be the Existing Ground surface if, for example, you are applying Topsoil Strip depths or unsuitable soils removal.
EXECUTE
New surface name:
Enter the name for the adjusted surface that you are creating, e.g., Topsoil Strip.
Vertical offset:
Enter the vertical offset that you wish to use for your adjustment. Enter a negative value to adjust the source surface downward (soil removal) and a positive value if you wish to raise the surface.
Clipping boundary:
If you wish to adjust only an area of the source surface, or if you have different areas with different offsets, select the limit boundary that you wish to apply.
Note:
If you create different soil strip depth area surfaces and wish to combine them into a single surface made up of separate “islands,” use the Combine Surfaces command.
COMMAND TIPS
HEADER BAR COMMANDS
The following commands are available from the header row of the command dialog. These are commands that we believe are often needed or useful when running this command:
- Help - this document access
- RPS Settings
- Takeoff Lines
- Smart Edit
- Adjust Linestring Elevation
- Create Boundary
- Offset Line
- Combine Surfaces
- Create Surface
- Add/Remove Surface Memebers
- Create Surface Edge Breakline
- Add/Remove Surface Boundaries
- Create Composite Surface
APPLY BUTTON
Click Apply to execute the command and prepare it for another operation using a different boundary and vertical offset.
OK BUTTON
Executes the command, creates the offset surface, and closes upon completion.
CANCEL BUTTON
Closes the command without further execution.
USE CASE VIDEOS
The following videos show the use of the Offset Surface command in a workflow context:
FEEDBACK AND ENHANCEMENT REQUESTS
If you would like to provide feedback on the use of the Offset Surface command or to request enhancements or improvements to the command, please click Reply below.