RPS Settings - 3D Edit Settings

RPS Command Library (Info Only) RPS Core Tools
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D_RPSsettings_600ppi   RPS Settings - 3D Edit Settings

Video Demonstration

The following video shows how to utilize the RPS Settings - 3D Edit Settings command

Command Licensing and Default Menu Location

  • The RPS Settings command is part of the RPS Core Tools Toolbox
  • The command is located on the Tool Shed macros menu ribbon
  • The command is located in the Core menu group
  • The command can also be found in the header bar commands of all RPS commands

Return to Smart Edit Help Document - Click Here

3D Edit Settings

The 3D Edit Settings control how the RPS Smart Edit command handles 3D editing scenarios, and give the user control over how elevations are computed and applied to lines being edited by the command.

Command Interface

The 3D Edit Settings command interface looks as follows

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3D Edit rules:

You can select, Add / Create, Copy, Save and Delete 3D edit rulesets.

Click the image button to create a new ruleset.

Click the image button to create a copy of the currently selected ruleset.

Click the image button to Save the current ruleset

Click the image button to Delete the currently selected ruleset

Description:

Provide a description for the 3D rule set that you are creating

Lines with Vertical Curves (and Vertical Arcs):

When a line that is being edited with Smart Edit contains Vertical Arcs or Vertical Curves, this rule provides the control over how that curve is handled when you break the line somewhere between the start and end of the vertical curve. The options are as follows

  • Break the line and the vertical curve at the break point - this will create two vertical curves if the break point is anywhere after the start and before the end point of the vertical curve. The curve geometry for the new curves is computed so that they closely align with the original vertical arc or curve.
  • Do not break the vertical curve - this will stop a break being created if you try to select somewhere in the vertical curve / vertical arc element of the line.
  • Break at the start of the vertical curve - this will break at the VPC point for the vertical curve, and results in the entire vertical curve being placed into the second line segment resulting from the break.
  • Break at the end of the vertical curve - this will break at the VPT point for the vertical curve, and results in the entire vertical curve being placed into the first segment resulting from the break.

Lines with VPIs:

Linestrings can have their vertical locations defined as either 3D nodes (in the horizontal tab of the linestring editor) or VPIs (in the vertical tab of the linestring editor).

VPIs can include

  1. Elevation points (defined by distance along the line and elevation)
  2. Locations that have their elevations defined by an incoming slope (from the prior 3D location on the line)
  3. Locations that have their elevations defined by an outgoing slope (to the subsequent 3D location on the line)
  4. Locations that have their elevations defined by two slopes (from the prior and subsequent 3D locations on the line) that intersect at a computed location. The VPI marker is placed where the user decides to place it, the actual station and elevation of the intersecting slopes is then computed and located along the line.
  5. Locations that have their elevations defined by a crossing 3D line
  6. Locations that have their elevations defined by a cross slope from a reference line

This 3D edit rule applies to all of those defined above and excludes vertical curve (parabolic) and vertical arc VPIs.

There are two options that can be selected in this 3D edit rule

  1. Convert all VPIs to 3D nodes - when this mode is selected, all the above VPI types that are covered by this rule will be converted from VPIs to 3D nodes. Be aware that if a VPI falls in the middle of a 2D arc, that the arc will be split into two separate arcs of equal radius.
  2. Maintain VPIs position - this leaves the VPIs as VPIs after the command has been executed.

Note that VPIs are defined using distance along the line and elevation / slope. If the line length prior to the VPI changes e.g. as a result of a grip edit, the nodes original location will change so that it retains it’s original distance along the line. This may / may not be desirable behavior. Converting VPIs to 3D nodes mitigate this issue, however 3D nodes e.g. in horizontal arcs make editing arcs harder because you now have two back to back arcs. If you do not plan to grip edit or modify a lines location or path, then leaving nodes as VPIs is the safest bet.

Z options in 3D Join:

When two 3D lines are selected, intersected and joined there will normally be several possible outcomes for how the elevations through the intersection point can be computed and handled. There is no single answer that is always the correct answer, so we give you options as to how you want to compute the Z at the intersection point.

Take a simple example where line 1 is at elevation 100 and line 2 is at elevation 102.4.

  1. Take the Slope / Elevation from Line 1 (result in example = 100.0)
  2. Take the Slope / Elevation from Line 2 (result in example = 102.4)
  3. Take the Mean of the Slopes / Elevations from Line 1 and 2 (result in example = 101.2)
  4. Take the Highest Elevation from the two lines (result in example = 102.4)
  5. Take the Lowest Elevation from the two lines (result in example = 100)
  6. Use a user defined value or select from computed values (result in example would be a pop up dialog that looks as follows and allows you to either enter a value of your choice or to select one of the presented values).

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Valid user entries would be e.g.

? undefined (create a slope through the intersect point from the last known 3D location on line 1 to the last known 3D location on line 2).

Any value between the highest and lowest values presented.

Any value that the user sees as an acceptable solution for what they are trying to achieve with slopes and drainage etc.

Join 2D line and 3D line

When a 3D line is joined to a 2D line, the horizontal portion of the line is simple to compute, however the elevation of the intersection point needs to be defined and the extension of the 3D line can be determined by the “Extend Vertical” property of a linestring.

If the Extend Vertical property is set to Yes then the line can be fully determined in 3D by extending the last slope between the last 2 3D nodes of the 3D line to the end of the 2D line.

If the Extend Vertical property is set to No then the line will only be 3D for the portion of the line that is elevated. In the 3D view or Profile view of the line, the portion that is unelevated will not be visible. In the plan view the entire length of the line (both 2D and 3D portions) will be visible.

The elevation of the intersection point can be derived from the 3D line by projecting the slope between the last two 3D locations of the line to the intersection point, or the intersection point can be left undefined or set to a user defined value. If left undefined then the Extend Vertical property if Yes will determine the elevation at the intersection point.

There are three options available in this 3D edit rule

  1. Make joined line 2D - this sets the entire line back to undefined elevation
  2. Disable Extend Vertical - the 2D portion of the line will remain 2D until further edits are applied by the user
  3. Enable Extend Vertical - the 2D portion of the line will now be elevated using the slope between the last two 3D locations of the 3D line.

Corner Case

If the 3D line has its final node set to undefined, and the lines Extend Vertical property is set to No, the final slope of the 3D line is indeterminate. The user has to decide the elevation of the intersection point. Alternatively set the Extend Vertical property to Yes on the line and let that determine the elevation and slope at the end of the 3D line.

Remove unnecessary nodes

When you are working with 3D linework that have multiple 3D nodes along their length, it is quite possible that 2 or more 3D nodes fall on a straight grade. If nodes fall on a straight grade, the lines can be “cleaned” by the removal of the additional 3D nodes prior to computation of the intersection points or break points being calculated.

In most cases, removing additional 3D nodes provides little value to the calculations or the resulting linework, however in some cases e.g. trimming / extending 3D lines at their intersection with a surface model e.g. for piles, drill holes, wick drains etc. we only consider the first and last segments of a line, so if the source line being trimmed or extended has 4 or more nodes (3 line segments), the computation engine may not be able to calculate the trim or extend points being requested. In this case, enable this function with the Clean 3D nodes option. Typically leave this setting with the Maintain 3D nodes option.

Z options in trim/extend to bounding line:

When you trim / extend a line to a bounding line, the elevation of the line being trimmed or extended at the point at which it touches the bounding line can have a range of possible values. There is no single answer that is always the correct answer, so we give you options as to how you want to compute the Z at the point where the lines come together.

Take a simple example where the bounding line is at elevation 100 and line being trimmed / extended is at elevation 102.4. The elevation options are as follows.

  1. Take the Slope / Elevation from the bounding line (result in example = 100.0)
  2. Take the Slope / Elevation from the line being trimmed / extended (result in example = 102.4)
  3. Take the Mean of the Slopes / Elevations from the two lines (result in example = 101.2)
  4. Take the Highest Elevation from the two lines (result in example = 102.4)
  5. Take the Lowest Elevation from the two lines (result in example = 100)
  6. Use a user defined value or select from computed values (result in example would be a pop up dialog that looks as follows and allows you to either enter a value of your choice or to select one of the presented values).

image

Valid user entries would be e.g.

? undefined - leave the elevation at the touch location undefined

Any value between the highest and lowest values presented.

Any value that the user sees as an acceptable solution for what they are trying to achieve with slopes and drainage etc.

Note: Where the two lines come together, if both lines are going to be incorporated into the same surface model, if the elevation values of the two lines at the same location are different, they will trigger the creation of a surface flag in the surface model. Typically the line being extended should have the same elevation as the bounding line at the touch location e.g. a sidewalk meeting the top back of curb for example or a sidewalk line meeting a building pad.

OK

Click OK button to save the settings and return to the Smart Edit command

Cancel

Click Cancel to close the RPS Settings without saving the changes made since the last Save execution.

Feedback and Enhancement Requests

If you would like to provide feedback on the use of the RPS Settings - 3D Edit Settings command or to request enhancements or improvements to the command please click Reply below