RPS Settings
QA Points Settings
The QA Points Settings function within RPS Settings, controls the creation of the Styles required to execute the QA Points command.
The QA Points command creates drawing labels for point deviations that indicate the direction and error along grid lines defined by the project. The grid lines can be orthogonal, rotated orthogonal, skewed or alignment based.
In addition the Style defines the tables of results that can also be generated that list all of the point and or mid point errors (point to point distances along the grid lines).
QA Points Settings
The QA Points Settings dialog looks as follows
Defined Styles
Here you can create, rename, copy, save and delete QA Points Styles.
Once you have defined a style that you like, you can simply copy the style and modify it to create additional styles that meet your drawing creation requirements.
To modify an existing style
To modify an existing style select it from the pull down list of already defined styles.
Once selected, change the settings as required and then save an updated version of the style using the Save button.
To create a copy of an existing style
To create a copy of an existing style, select the style you wish to copy from the pull down list of already defined styles.
Once selected, click the copy button, enter a name for the new style in the pop up dialog that appears and press OK to create the copy.
Edit the settings in the copy that you wish to change and click the Save button to update the settings file.
To edit the name of an existing style
To edit the name of an existing style, select the style that you wish to rename from the pull down list of already defined styles.
Once selected, click the rename / edit button, change the name of the style in the pop up dialog that appears and click OK to complete the name change.
To save a new or updated style
To save a new or updated style, click the save button. Note updates and changes that are made will be automatically saved on exiting the RPS Settings command.
To delete a style
To delete a style that is no longer required, select the style that you wish to delete from the pull down list of already defined styles and click the Delete button.
Description
Each style has a name and an optional description to aid understanding the style use case and or content. Enter the description that you require here.
Settings
Coordinate mode:
Select the type of grid that this style will be used for. The options are as follows
Grid
This is an orthogonal grid where the X and Y axes are aligned W-E and S-N in the plan view.
Rotated Grid
This is an orthogonal grid where the X and Y axes are rotated in the plan view by a defined rotation angle. The grid axes are at 90 degrees to each other.
Skewed Grid
This is a non orthogonal grid where the X and Y axes are not at 90 degrees to each other, the Y axis is at an angle of something other than 90 degrees to the X Axis.
Alignment Grid
This is an alignment based grid where the X-Axis is defined by a line or alignment and the Y-Axis is defined perpendicular to the alignment.
Search tolerance
The analysis matches As built points to design points using a proximity search tolerance that is defined here. The value entered is the radius of a circle centered on the Design point in which the processor will search for an As Built point to match up to the Design Point for the analysis.
If e.g. the tolerance is set to 1’, provided each As built point is within 1’ of it’s Design point they will be treated as a matched pair. The tolerance defined needs to ensure that there is no ambiguity in point matching, i.e. if your design points are 5’ apart, then you cannot have a tolerance of >2.49’ because then points could be mismatched. Use a tolerance that is loose enough to match all point pairs accurately, but tight enough to avoid introducing ambiguity into the point matching.
If there is a Design Point but no As built Point at a location, the point errors and all mid point errors connected to that design point will not be reported.
If there is an As built Point and no Design Point at a location, the As built point will be ignored.
If more than one As built point is found within the search area, each as built point will generate its own set of point delta errors and mid point errors. Note that the drawing elements will overlap and you will need to clean those up manually if this situation arises.
Unmatched design points will be listed at the top of the results pane after processing has been completed - each point listed is a hyperlink to that point in the model, click the point in the results table to center the graphics on the point for review as needed.
Label deltas
In this section you will define the labeling for the point checks i.e. the comparison of the as built points to the design points. For each point, a delta (error or correction) will be determined in the directions of the 2 axes of the grid. Those errors or corrections can be drawn in the TBC plan view using a block (e.g. an Arrow indicating the error or correction direction (away from design point is an error and towards the design point is a correction) combined with a text item displaying the error or correction values. The values that you want to display are defined in a template that structures the text labels. The blocks and labels can be placed at offsets along the axes to generate the desired graphical result.
For example
- We have a block called Error Arrow 1 that defines an arrow that is 3.0’ long.
- We want to place the block so that it is offset from the design point by 0.5’ along each axis.
- We want the text label to appear 0.5’ from the tip of the arrow i.e. 4.0’ (0.5 + 3.0 + 0.5) from the design point
- We want to place the block and text items on a layer called QA - Point Errors
- We want the text to be drawn in text style RPS - Label - Points (0.05)
- We want the text to show the error value in the X and Y axis only
The end result we are looking for is this
These are the settings that are required to achieve the desired result
Label Deltas checkbox
Check this checkbox if you want to label the points with a Delta Label.
Deltas represent
Select either Errors or Corrections.
Errors
Errors are determined from the Design to the As Built Point.
An error is the amount that the As Built Point is off from the Design Point.
Corrections
Corrections are determined from the As Built point to the Design Point.
A correction is the amount required to move the As Built location to get it to the Design Location.
A correction is the opposite direction to the error at a design location.
Text template
The text template defines the text that will be created for the error or correction text that is placed on each axis at each design point after the analysis. The text template can include user defined text plus defined text items that are derived from the analysis. The text values can be displayed in Decimal or Architectural units i.e. 0.03’ or 1/8". To edit / create a text template click the Edit button to open the template editor.
The text that will be created is shown in the left hand pane of the editor. The available codes that can be used to construct the text are displayed in the right hand pane of the editor. To add a text code into the Label text, simply select the code on the right and click the Insert selected code button.
You can add user defined text as a prefix or suffix to any text item, for example if you want to add the text Error: in front of the value you can use the following string Error: {DELTA_XY}. If you want to display the error in Architectural units then user the text string Error: {DELTA_XY,ARCH}.
You can define as many label items as required i.e. if you need to report decimal and architectural units for all values, simply define two lines of text in the label text etc.
The available code selected and inserted is placed at the last clicked cursor position in the label text field. If you get the text in the wrong place you can use CTRL X and CTRL V to cut and paste text elements to restructure the label in the label text fields. The label values will always be defined inside the pair of { }.
Label layer
Select the layer on which you want to place the text labels. You can create new layers using the new layer control or select a layer from those that are already available in the TBC project. If your style defines a layer that does not exist in the project, the layer and layer group will be created when you execute the command.
Label offset
Enter the distance required between the label insertion point (defined by the text style) and the design point location along each axis of the grid. Remember that this offset needs to allow for the gap between the block insertion point and the design point, the length of the block itself and the gap between the block end and the text insertion point. i.e. If the block is 3.0’ long and it is offset by 0.5’ and you want a 0.5’ gap between the block and the text then you need an offset value of 4.0’ here.
Text style
Select the text style that you want to use for the text labels. The text style defines the height of the text in sheet or ground units, the justification of the text, the text font to use and other text properties like whiteout, auto flip, italic, width factor etc. The text styles are defined using the TBC or RPS Text Style manager commands.
Notes:
The justification of the text is auto defined by the command - arrows that point North or South or East or West along the grid axes require auto text justification so the command overrides the default values of the text style.
Text height, if defined in Sheet units is computed at the time of command execution based on the plot scale that is currently in use. You can change the plot scale in the command dialog prior to running the analysis and drawing creation, and again prior to placing the tables on the drawings.
Block
Select the block that you want to use as the direction indicator for the point errors or corrections. The block should be drawn north up i.e. if an error arrow, the base of the arrow should be at the South end of the arrow and the tip of the arrow at the North end. The arrow will be auto rotated by the command to align with the axes and error / correction direction. Draw the block on either Layer 0 or the Layer on which you want the block to be displayed on (see below). If drawn on Layer 0 it will appear when the Block Layer is turned on. If you draw on the Block layer it will appear when the Block Layer is turned on. If you draw the block on any other layer(s) then those layers will need to be turned on in order to see the Block or print it.
For a correction arrow draw it the opposite way around with the Tip of the arrow head at the South / insertion point and the tail of the arrow to the North.
Block offset
Enter the offset that you require between the Design point and the block insertion point.
Block layer
Select the layer on which you want to place the block. You can create new layers using the new layer control or select a layer from those that are already available in the TBC project. If your style defines a layer that does not exist in the project, the layer and layer group will be created when you execute the command.
Label mid points
In this section you will define the labeling for the mid point checks i.e. the comparison of the as built distances between pairs of points along each grid axis to the design point distances. For each pair of points, a Design distance and an As Built distance is determined from which the distance delta can be computed. Those distances can be drawn in the TBC plan view using a text item displaying the values. The values that you want to display are defined in a template that structures the text labels.
For example
- We want to place the text items on a layer called QA - Mid Point Errors
- We want the text to be drawn in text style RPS - Label - Lines (0.05)
- We want the text to show the Design distance, As Built Distance and Delta Distance in decimal units
The end result we are looking for is this
These are the settings that are required to achieve the desired result
Label mid-points checkbox
Check this checkbox if you want to label the mid points with a Mid Points Label.
Text template
In the same way that we defined the point error text template above, we can define the mid point text template here using the Edit function.
The text can include user defined prefix and suffix values along with prescribed codes for different values extracted from the Available codes list on the right side of the dialog. The text item that will be created is displayed on the left side of the dialog. To add a code, select it from the list on the right and click the Insert selected code button.
The text required to create the label shown above including the Design distance, As built distance and Delta distance is as follows - these values are all in decimal units.
{DDIST}
{ADIST}
{DELTA_2D}
If you want to prefix each value with a label then you can do the following
DSN: {DDIST}
AB: {ADIST}
DELTA: {DELTA_2D}
For architectural unit text displayed e.g. as 1/8" use the following text
{DDIST,ARCH}
{ADIST,ARCH}
{DELTA_XY,ARCH}
Label layer
Select the layer on which you want to place the Mid Point labels. You can create a New layer using the New Layer control.
Text style
Select the text style that you want to use for the Mid Point labels.
Label points
In addition to the point errors and mid point distances you can also optionally label the points themselves with their properties e.g. Point ID, Feature Code, Description 1 and 2, Northing, Easting, Elevation, Delta Elevation (Design to As Built) etc.
Label points checkbox
Check this checkbox if you want to label the points with a point label.
Text template
In the same way that we defined the point error and mid points text template above, we can define the Label points text template here using the Edit function.
The text can include user defined prefix and suffix values along with prescribed codes for different values extracted from the Available codes list on the right side of the dialog. The text item that will be created is displayed on the left side of the dialog. To add a code, select it from the list on the right and click the Insert selected code button.
If you want to label each Design Point with it’s Point ID then the text string below will cover that need
{D,ID}
Label offset
Enter the offset that you want the label to be at in relation to the design point. The offsets are applied to the opposite quadrant to the errors / corrections i.e. if the As Built errors are to the North and West then this label will appear in the SE quadrant. Enter the value as a coordinate offset pair i.e. 3,3 will be 3’ North / South and 3’ West / East.
Label layer
Select the layer on which you want to place the Point labels. You can create a New layer using the New Layer control.
Text style
Select the text style that you want to use for the Point labels.
Report
In this section you will define the structure and style for the Point Delta and Mid Point reports and tables that you can place on the drawings.
Table header
This is the header line for the Point Delta Tables and Reports. In this field enter the header names that you want to see in the Table / report separated by the | character i.e. If you are going to have 4 columns of data including the As Built Point ID, the Design Point ID, the DX and DY values you would enter the string
As Built ID | Design ID | dX | dY
You can type in your text as you want to see it or use the editor to construct the header record.
Table
This is the definition for each data line in the table. In the above example the table will have 4 values as shown. You can create the definition using the Edit function. The following text string will generate the desired output in Decimal units. Note that each value is separated using the | which indicates a column break.
{A,ID} | {D,ID} | {DELTA,X} | {DELTA,Y}
In the same way as explained above for the other template editors, do the same here - select the codes on the right and insert them into the Label text on the left side of the editor. Add the | column break character between the data items.
You do not need to put a column break at the start or end of the text string definition.
Mid point table header
This is the definition of the header line for the Mid Point Table and Report. In this field enter the header names that you want to see in the Table / report separated by the | character i.e. If you are going to have 5 columns of data including the two design point IDs (either end of the distance), the Design Distance, As Built Distance and Delta Distance values you would enter the text string
Pt1 | Pt2 | Design | As Built | Error
Mid point table
This is the definition for each data line in the table. In the above example the table will have 5 values as shown. You can create the definition using the Edit function. The following text string will generate the desired output in Decimal units. Note that each value is separated using the | which indicates a column break.
{D1,ID} | {D2,ID} | {DDIST} | {ADIST} | {DELTA_2D}
Table layer
Select the layer on which you want to place the table data. You can create a New layer using the New Layer control.
Table settings
All RPS commands that generate drawing Tables utilize the same settings. Those settings are defined using RPS Settings - Table Settings. These define a Text Style for the Titles, Header Rows and Table Data Content.
For more details - Click Here
Notes:
You will need to create at least one QA Points Style for each of the Grid Styles that you have to work with i.e. Grid, Rotated Grid, Skewed Grid, Alignment Grid. If you require a style for Decimal and a style for Architectural units then you will need two styles for each grid type that you use.
The settings for the QA Points command are stored in your RPS Settings folder and the file will be called
RPSQAPointsSettings.rps
Below is an example QA Points Settings file that you can use as a starter
RPSQAPointsSettings.rps (10.6 KB)
The block that is used here to define the point errors can be imported from this DWG file
Error Arrow 1.dwg (378.5 KB)
If you need an arrow block for Corrections vs Errors this block can be imported from this DWG file
Correction Arrow 1.dwg (378.7 KB)
Here are some additional Arrow type blocks that you may find helpful
QA Arrows.dwg (378.1 KB)
Video Demonstration
The following video shows how to utilize the RPS Settings - QA Point Settings functions
Feedback and Enhancement Requests
If you would like to provide feedback on the use of the QA Points Settings or to request enhancements or improvements to the command please click Reply below.