RPS Settings
Slope Indicator Settings
For a full description of the Create Slope Indicators command Click Here
The slope indicator settings are used by the Create slope indicators command which creates slope lines or slope indicator blocks (tadpoles or hachures) between the top and toe of embankment lines.
Settings
The settings part of the command dialog for the slope line / indicator definition can be expanded or collapsed using the orange arrow in the dialog 
The settings control the sizing, placement patterns and symbols to use in the slope indicators. You can place lines only or blocks to indicate the slopes on a surface.
Spacing:
The slope indicators are either
- A combination of major indicator lines and optional minor indicator lines
- A series of block indicators
that are spaced equally along the selected lines and oriented parallel to the slope direction between the selected lines as shown in the pictures above.
Input the spacing in project units that you require between the major indicators (the long lines or block objects).
Adjust spacing to fit checkbox:
When checked, the spacing between the major and minor ticks will be adjusted to create an equal spacing between the indicators to accommodate the fact that the length of line being annotated is not an equal multiple of the spacings selected. This will result in a major slope indicator being placed at the selected start / end location or where the first indicators should be drawn based on the settings defined (min, max lengths etc.)
Use Case Note: If you have an embankment slope where it is split by benches (one or more), if you intend to create slope indicators on each embankment part and you want the slope indicators to line up, then you should uncheck the adjust spacing to fit checkbox.
Length %:
You can draw the major indicators for the full distance between the two lines at each slope indicator location, or you can specify a % of the distance between the two lines, which will reduce the length at the “tail” of the indicator (near the toe of slope). The length % is computed on the residual length after the gaps at head and tail have been accounted for.
Gap at head:
If you set this setting at 0 then the slope indicator lines will start at the top of the slope line exactly. If you wish to have a gap between the line and the start of the slope indicator, you can control that using this setting by entering a value other than 0 (in project units). A value of 0.0 will be treated as “no value” and will be ignored.
Gap at tail:
If you set this setting at 0 then the slope indicator lines will end at the toe of the slope line exactly. If you wish to have a gap between the line and the end of the slope indicator, you can control that using this setting by entering a value other than 0 (in project units). A value of 0.0 will be treated as “no value” and will be ignored.
Minimum length:
When the top and toe of slope lines taper out, there is a point at which you typically do not want to draw the slope indicators between the two lines. You can control this using the minimum length setting, below which the indicators will no longer be created. Minimum length is measured horizontally between the two lines. A value of 0.0 will be treated as “no value” and will be ignored.
Maximum length:
When the top and toe of slope get further and further apart, there is typically a point at which you want to limit the length of the indicator lines (especially if using block indicators that scale proportionately to the distance between the two lines), so that they no longer extend for the full length of the slope between the two selected lines. You can control this using the maximum length setting, above which the major indicator lines will be truncated to the maximum length. Maximum length is measured horizontally between the two lines. A value of 0.0 will be treated as “no value” and will be ignored.
Lines or Blocks Selection:
Select whether you want to place the line type or block type slope indicators. If you select Blocks the line settings are disabled and you can select the Block settings only. If you select Lines then the Block settings are disabled and you can enter the line settings only. The line method by default will always create 3D lines. The Block method will create either 2D or 3D block placements, depending on the block definition selected. The method to define 3D blocks is provided below along with some sample 3D blocks that you can use in the absence of your own definitions.
Line Method
Block Method
3D Blocks
Line settings:
How many small ticks:
Between the major indicators you can optionally place minor (shorter) indicators as shown in the above picture. You can define the number of minor indicators per major spacing to create the pattern that you require. The above image shows 2 minor indicators per major indicator spacing. A value of 0.0 will be treated as “no value” and will be treated as “no ticks”.
Small tick length (%):
Enter the % of the slope length that you want the minor indicators to be e.g. 25% of the distance between the primary and secondary lines
Block settings:
Block:
You can use the slope line method as displayed in the image above, or you can replace the slope lines with slope indicator blocks or what are more commonly known as “tadpoles” or “hachures” that have a head and a tail that indicate the slope between the two lines. You can select the block that you wish to use as the indicator here. The block should be defined using a length of 1 unit (meter or foot), and should have its insertion point at the tip of the head and should use the two point definition where point 2 is defined at the tip of the tail. If you wish the blocks to be drawn in 3D (so that they fall on the slope) vs 2D (horizontal at the elevation of the Top of the slope) you need to define the blocks for 3D use (see the Example Files section of the Create Slope Indicators help post).
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