Lines connections

Background

CivilCAD software allows for the definition of survey lines as breaklines. In this article, we will explain how to define these lines in various ways. This section refers to survey lines of the existing topography; however, all the actions described here are also applicable to survey lines of the planned design.

Defining Breaklines

As mentioned, there are several ways to mark a line as a breakline and add it to the Lines list:

Locate: After clicking on Locate, switch to the drawing window and click on points already defined in the project and present in the drawing. After clicking on each point, the software will add the point's name to the Topography lines list. These points represent the current line (highlighted in blue) in the Lines list.

Select: Define a line by selecting a drawn polyline in the drawing. After clicking on Select, choose a polyline (preferably defined with elevations) from the drawing and press ENTER. Based on the segments of the line, the software will create new points starting with the name DIS and add them to the coordinates list. You can also filter several lines from multiple layers in one action; see the section on Filtering from layer.

Typing point names: You can also manually type point names (if they exist in the coordinates list) by clicking under the Name column and typing the name. After typing each name and pressing ENTER, the software will draw the line on the drawing according to the points. If there are consecutive points (with sequential names) like 1000, 1001, 1002, 1003, you can type 1000-1003 and press ENTER. The software will insert all the points in order into the points list and create the line.

Find: This option is used to locate a line in the drawing and display it in the list. Click and go to the drawing area. Select the line you want to locate and press ENTER. The software will locate the selected line in the list and highlight it in the Lines list.

Defining Radius

You can define radii for each line in two methods:

1. Define radius by entering its value between two points: Enter the radius value under the 2Points+R column in the row of the second point.

2. Define radius by three points on the line: Check the box in the 3Points column by double-clicking in this field in the row of the middle point.

After defining the line, click the Set points list button to finalize the line. To define additional lines, click the New line button. After defining the lines, refresh the drawing by clicking the button to add the new points and lines to the drawing. Update the contour lines by clicking Update surface on the relevant surface.

Line Display Settings (Options)

Each line defined in the Lines list can have its display settings and influence on contour lines. To set these options, select the desired line or lines in the Lines list and click the Options button. In the right section under Lines, you will find various options:

• Type: Line display style on the drawing

• Continuous: Solid line (default).

• Dashed: Dashed line (not useful in ACAD as you can use ACAD's Linetype setting).

• Fence: Fence symbol.

• Left/Right cliff: Cliff symbol. The direction of the cliff teeth will be based on the Left/Right selection.

• Left/Right slope: Slope symbol. The direction of the slope teeth will be based on the Left/Right selection.

• Distances: Marking intermediate distances along the line segments. The text size is determined by the Width.

• Layer: The layer where the lines will be created. By default, all lines are created in one layer. Selecting a different layer for a specific line will create it in the chosen layer.

• Width: Line width. This parameter determines the size of the line, affecting various types: Fence - wider fence, Distances - larger distance text, etc.

• Closed: Closed/Open line. Checking this box will create a closed breakline. Contours inside this line will not be calculated, and no 3D model will be created. This can be used to define buildings or other closed shapes where contour lines are not desired.

• Breakline: Default use of lines. Throughout this section, we have seen the use of the Lines option for breakline creation. However, many other drawing options are available. To use the Lines window for drawing non-breakline lines, uncheck the Breakline box. Continue using the same options, and the line will remain in the drawing without affecting contour creation.

Actions in the Lines Window

We will review all the options available in the breaklines window.

Top Section

1. Filter lines from the drawing: See the section on Filtering from layer.

2. Options window: Here, you can set line display and other settings.

3. Delete point from the points list: Select the point to delete and click the button. After making changes, click Set.

4. Set: Finalize the current line. Until you click Set, new line settings (adding/removing points, line type, etc.) will not take effect.

5. Set line elevation by existing topography: Click this button to match the line's elevations to the latest existing contour lines created by the software. The software will also update the elevations in the coordinates list for relevant points.

6. Set line elevation by planned design: Click this button to match the line's elevations to the latest planned contour lines created by the software. The software will also update the elevations in the coordinates list for relevant points.

Bottom Section

1. Create new line.

2. Save and export lines to Dis files: After defining breaklines, you can export them to a Dis format file. Click the button to open the file dialog, choose the location, and enter the file name. CivilCAD allows saving breakline definitions in a file including their settings (.Break/Closed/Type etc.). Note: Saving a breakline as a *.Dis file and loading it into a new project does not preserve the closed or open line properties.

3. Delete line or group of lines: Clicking this button opens a window with the following options:

   Only selected lines: Delete selected lines in the Lines list.

   - All lines: Delete all lines from the list.

   - Lines above height factor: Delete all lines with elevations above the specified height factor.

   - Lines below height factor: Delete all lines with elevations below the specified height factor.

4. Import Dis files: Clicking this button opens a file dialog. Select the file to import. The file will be read into the project as breaklines. If necessary, discontinuity points will be added to the coordinates list (in the bottom window, Topography Coordinates) and the line definitions (line points) will be added to the breaklines list. The imported Dis file is divided into several columns according to: line name, h, x, y, point name/number. In different files, column arrangement may vary. By default, the software reads the columns in a specific order. This can be controlled by arranging the columns to match the file structure (for details see the General Settings section).

5. Highlight the current line: In large and complex work areas with many breaklines, identifying the defined lines can be challenging. This option highlights lines for identification. Select the line to identify in the list (see Lines list) and click the button. The line will be highlighted in yellow. Click Refresh to cancel this highlight.

6. Raise/Lower line by a constant value: Select the desired line(s) in the Lines List and click the button. In the window that opens, enter a positive value (in meters) to raise or a negative value to lower the line and click 'OK' to apply the action. Click Update surface to refresh the drawing.