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Lines

Tools for drawing and editing polylines and splines: lines at a grade, outlines of closed areas, offsets, joining, closing, smoothing, vertex editing, and putting lines on an elevation or on a surface. Most commands work on the lines you have selected; lines on locked layers are left alone.

Line at a grade

Draws a polyline that climbs or falls at a set grade, such as a haul road or a ramp. The first point keeps its height; each next point is placed at the grade from the one before, over the distance in plan.

Where to find it

Draw tab → Draw group (the Linear drop-down) or the Frequent group (the Lines drop-down) → Line at a grade.

How to

1. Click Line at a grade. The Line at a grade window opens.
2. Set Grade (in %) and Direction (Up or Down), then click Draw.
3. In the 3D view click where the line starts. The preview shows the height of the point under the cursor as Z = ... (...%).
4. Click the next points. Each one is placed at the grade from the previous point.
5. Press Enter to create the polyline. A second click on the last point does the same. Backspace takes the last point back. Esc ends the tool without creating a line.

Parameters

The line is created on the active layer with the current colour and line style, as one undo step. At least two points are needed.

What next

Offset · Densify · Drape on surface

Boundary

Click inside an area that lines close off, and a closed polyline is drawn round it.

Where to find it

Draw tab → Draw group (the Linear drop-down) or the Frequent group (the Lines drop-down) → Boundary.

How to

1. Click Boundary.
2. Click inside a closed area. The hint reads "Click inside a closed area (Enter to finish)".
3. Click inside other areas to outline them too. Each click is one undo step.
4. Press Enter or Esc to finish.

The smallest area round the click is taken, in plan, from all shown lines, curves and outlines. Lines that only cross the area are cut where they meet. Islands inside the area are not cut out. The polyline is created on the active layer at the height of your click.

If something goes wrong

Offset

Makes copies of the selected lines a set distance to one side, in plan.

Where to find it

Line tab → Build group → Offset.

Before you start

Select one or more polylines or splines. Otherwise the button is disabled with the hint "Select the lines to offset first."

How to

1. Click Offset.
2. Optionally type a distance and press Enter. It is kept for the next time. Until you type one, the copies pass through the point you click.
3. Move the cursor: the preview shows the copies on the side of each line where the cursor is. The hint reads "Click the side to offset to (... m) - or type another distance" or "Click a point the copies go through - or type a distance".
4. Click to create the copies. This is one undo step, and the tool ends.

To go back to copies through a clicked point, right-click and choose Through point (available once a distance has been typed). Esc ends the tool.

Every line gets its own side, so a closed outline grows or shrinks as a whole. Without a typed distance, the distance is that of the nearest selected line to the clicked point. The originals stay.

Set elevation

Puts the selected objects at one elevation: every vertex of a line, and the placement points of shapes, texts and points.

Where to find it

Line, Point and Shape tabs → Elevation group, and Text tab → Edit group → Set elevation.

Before you start

Select lines, shapes, texts or points on unlocked layers. Meshes and solids are left alone. The button is disabled with "Select the objects to level first." when nothing fits.

How to

1. Click Set elevation.
2. In the window enter Elevation (m, from -10000000 to 10000000). The first time, the height of the first selected object is offered; afterwards the last value is kept.
3. Click Set elevation.

The window summary shows how many objects will be changed. A line keeps the values of its vertices. The activity log tells how many objects actually moved ("Objects put at elevation ...: ..."); objects already at that height are not touched. One undo step.

Drape on surface

Lays the selected lines and points on the surface under them: each vertex takes the height of the surface there.

Where to find it

Line and Point tabs → Elevation group → Drape on surface.

Before you start

• Select polylines, splines or points on unlocked layers.
• The surface is the mesh (or solid) you select together with the lines. If you select none, every shown mesh is used.

How to

1. Click Drape on surface.
2. Set the parameters and click Drape.

Parameters

The window summary shows "Objects: ... Surfaces: ...". Vertices that no surface lies under keep their height; the activity log reports how many. One undo step.

If something goes wrong

Join

Joins the selected lines that meet end to end into one line.

Where to find it

Line tab → Shape group → Join.

Before you start

Select two lines or more. Otherwise the button reads "Select the lines to join first."

How to

Click Join. Lines whose ends are within 1 mm of each other are chained. A chain that comes back to its start becomes a closed line. The joined line takes the layer, colour and line style of its first piece, and is a spline only if every piece was one. Vertex values come along. The joined lines are selected. One undo step.

If nothing meets, the log reads "No two of the selected lines meet end to end."

Close

Joins the last vertex of each selected open line back to its first, making it a closed line.

Where to find it

Line tab → Shape group → Close.

How to

Select open polylines or splines with three vertices or more and click Close. If the end is already on the start (within a micron), it is moved exactly there instead of adding a vertex. One undo step.

If nothing fits the log reads "None of the selected lines is open with three vertices or more."

Open

Removes the closing leg of each selected closed line.

Where to find it

Line tab → Shape group → Open.

How to

Select closed lines and click Open. The closing vertex is removed, so the last leg is gone. If no selected line is closed, the log reads "None of the selected lines is closed." One undo step.

Smooth

Turns the selected polylines into splines through the same vertices.

Where to find it

Line tab → Shape group → Smooth.

How to

Select polylines and click Smooth. Each becomes a spline keeping its layer, colour, line style and vertex values. The new splines are selected. One undo step. If no selected line is a polyline, the log reads "None of the selected lines is a polyline."

Add vertex

Puts a vertex on a line where you click it.

Where to find it

Line tab → Vertices group → Add vertex.

How to

1. Click Add vertex.
2. Hover a polyline or spline: the leg under the cursor is highlighted and a handle shows where the vertex would go.
3. Click to add the vertex, at the leg's own height there. Repeat as needed; each click is one undo step.
4. Press Enter or Esc to finish.

A click on an existing vertex adds nothing. Lines on locked layers are not offered.

Densify

Adds vertices along the selected polylines so that no leg is longer than a step.

Where to find it

Line tab → Vertices group → Densify.

How to

1. Select polylines (splines are left alone) and click Densify.
2. In the window enter Longest leg (m, 0.000001 to 1000000000; default 1, then the last value is kept) and click Densify.

Legs longer than the step are cut into equal parts. Every vertex stays where it is, with its value. The log reports the number of lines and the vertex count before and after. One undo step.

If something goes wrong

Delete point

Deletes the vertex of a polyline or spline that you click.

Where to find it

Line tab → Vertices group, and Home tab → Modify group → Delete point.

How to

1. Click Delete point.
2. Hover a vertex: it is highlighted together with the leg that will join its neighbours.
3. Click to delete it. Each click is one undo step.
4. Press Enter or Esc to finish.

An open line keeps two vertices at least, a closed line three. When the hint reads "The line has too few vertices to delete one" the click does nothing. On a closed line, the first vertex goes together with the closing one, and the next vertex becomes both.

Split at point

Splits a polyline or spline into two objects at the vertex you click.

Where to find it

Line tab → Vertices group, and Home tab → Modify group → Split at point.

How to

1. Click Split at point.
2. Hover an inner vertex: the part before it is highlighted, the part after it is dashed.
3. Click to split. The line is replaced by two lines of the same kind and look that meet at that vertex; both are selected. Each click is one undo step.
4. Press Enter or Esc to finish.

If something goes wrong