Radial Points
Command Licensing and Default Menu Location
- The Radial Points command is part of the RPS Data Prep Toolbox
- The command is located on the Data Prep macros menu ribbon
- The command is located in the Create / Edit menu group
Command Description
Creates points along radius lines and at intervals using polar coordinate geometry calculations.
Command Interface Description
The Radial Points command dialog looks as follows
Layer:
Select the layer on which you want to place the computed radial points.
Note: Each of the settings below has a “sticky button” which automatically sets the values of each parameter. If all of the sticky buttons are enabled, clicking on the origin point will automatically create the array of points.
Center point:
Select or enter the coordinate point for the origin of the array. This is effectively the center of the circle around which the points will be computed.
Start bearing:
Select or enter the start bearing that you wish to use for the pattern. All angular values will be computed from this value. The range of values is 0 to 360 degrees, however you can enter negative values if required (-5 degrees = 355 degrees). If you have decimal degrees on the plans, enter them in the format 123.4D where D indicates decimal values. If you have values in Degrees, Minutes and Seconds enter in the form 5 25 32 for 5 degrees, 25 minutes and 32 seconds.
Angular interval:
Enter the angular interval for the computation of the points. This is the radial angle between the points subtended at the origin location.
Radius:
Enter the radius of the circular array measured from the origin point. If you are provided the values in feet and inches, enter the data as 6’3" for 6.25’.
Elevation:
Enter the elevation for the points being created. Leave blank if you do not have an elevation.
Point ID:
Enter the point number for the first point of the array. All subsequent points will be incremented by 1 from the value entered here. If you are building an array in several steps using different array interval values, use the point numbering to your advantage so that the first point at the start bearing is easy to identify. Number each step in a different way, and place each step on separate CAD layers to make it easier to delete the unwanted points afterwards.
Feature Code:
Enter the feature code for the points being created. Again use the code to your advantage so that you can see which points were computed from each step of the overall process.
Create radial lines checkbox:
Check this box if you wish to create lines that start at the origin point and end at each computed point location. These lines will currently be drawn on Layer 0.
Connect radial points with a continuous line checkbox:
Check this check box if you wish to draw a line between the computed points in sequence. The line will be a segmented line made up of straight segments.
Note: The video demonstration shows how to use this command for simple radial arrays as well as for more complex arrays by repeating the process as several steps using different parameters. This approach can also be carried out using the Radial Points Script command, which provides the ability to define complex scripts to compute complex multi-ring and variable interval arrays.
Apply
When you tap apply, the radial points will be created and the command will ready itself for another parameter set and repeat process execution. If you do not want to create a second array tap Close to finish the process.
Close
Closes the command without further execution.
Video Demonstration
The following video shows how to utilize the Radial Points command
Use Case Videos
The following videos show the use of the Radial Points command in a work process context
Feedback and Enhancement Requests
If you would like to provide feedback on the use of the Radial Points command or to request enhancements or improvements to the command please Click Here