GEOPAK ANCILLARY FEATURES
WORKSHOP
Florida Local Users Group Conference
Tampa, FL
December 6-7, 2012
Presented by: Denise J. Broom
FDOT/ECSO
[email protected]
Table of Contents
Introduction ................................................................................................................................ 1
Accessing Draw Ancillary Features ..................................................................................... 1
Draw Ancillary Features Dialog Options ............................................................................ 2
File Options ............................................................................................................................. 2
Update Options ....................................................................................................................... 3
Project Information .............................................................................................................. 3
List Box .................................................................................................................................... 4
Intersecting Elements .......................................................................................................... 4
Horizontal Parameters ..................................................................................................... 5
Vertical Parameters .......................................................................................................... 6
Display Settings ................................................................................................................. 6
Exercise 1................................................................................................................................... 9
Exercise 2..................................................................................................................................19
Exercise 3..................................................................................................................................23
Exercise 4..................................................................................................................................26
Exercise 5..................................................................................................................................28
Ancillary Features
Introduction
The placement of existing underground utilities onto cross sections has been
simplified by the use of the Draw Ancillary Features tool. This dialog interacts
with a selected utility design file that contains elements with the correct
symbology or features that represent various types of utilities. It will search
for specific utilities, measure the horizontal distance from a controlling
baseline and plot a user defined symbol, cell or text at a specified depth of
cover, based on a tin file. If the existing underground utility design file
contained chains and related profiles for those chains, the exact elevations
could be plotted.
Accessing Draw Ancillary Features
From MicroStation, select Applications > ROAD > Cross Sections > Draw
Ancillary Features – or – From the Road toolbox pick the Draw Ancillary
Features button.
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Draw Ancillary Features Dialog Options
File Options
Load
Loads a previously saved setting file (.afd).
Save
Saves the dialog settings in a settings file (.afd)
Save As
Saves the dialog settings into a new settings file (.afd)
Exit
Closes the dialog.
Hint At the time of this writing, the Edit menu does not function and is
ghosted out. It has been added by developers as a placeholder for future
enhancements.
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Update Options
These options tell the tool what actions to take when drawing the features onto
the cross sections. The Delete Existing Elements and Redraw option deletes all
previously drawn elements (modified and non-modified) and redraws the
elements. The Delete Non-Modified Elements and Redraw deletes only the nonmodified elements and redraws the elements. Draw on Top of Existing Elements
does not delete any existing elements and draws the elements into the file. The
Query option pops up a dialog box to choose the desired option each time the
Draw button is clicked.
Project Information
Job
Identifies the Coordinate Geometry (COGO) database wherein
the chain for generating the desired offsets of the utility
is stored.
Chain
Alignment used to generate the cross sections or profile
cell. The subsequent specifications of station ranges and
offsets are computed relative to this chain when Pattern by
Station is utilized. If Pattern by Design is utilized, the
intersection of each pattern line with the baseline
determines the station of the cross section.
View
Defines the type of view that the utilities will be plotted to,
Profile or Cross Section.
Label Scale
Utilized when the By Features display settings option is
used. The specified Label Scale is compared to the scale
within the Design & Computation (D&C) Manager Item and the
text is adjusted based on the ratio between these two
scales. Note: This option is only utilized if the text
setting in the D&C Manager is set to scale, not fixed.
Station Limits When the Chain field at the top of the dialog is
populated, its beginning and ending station are displayed
in the Station Limits group box. The defaults may be
utilized if the entire profile is drawn. However, manually
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entering stations or clicking Set Station and graphically
identifying a location is supported. In the case of cross
sections, the stations are determined by the pattern lines
and the correct stations are not necessarily displayed.
Draw
Draws / updates the ancillary data.
List Box
Each ancillary feature to be drawn must be added to the list box. This is
accomplished by the action icons on the right side of the dialog. Required
information is the definition of offset, elevation, and display settings.
Add Element Set Adds the ancillary information to the list box.
Modify Element Set
Modifies the currently selected ancillary item in
the list box.
Delete Element Set
Deletes the currently selected ancillary item in
the list box.
Draw
Disables / Enables the drawing of the elements.
Intersecting Elements
The Intersecting Elements section of the dialog is where the user defines
how the horizontal (offset) and vertical (elevation) parameters for the
ancillary feature will be computed.
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Horizontal Parameters
A variety of data sources exist to define the horizontal location of the
desired ancillary feature.
Chain
COGO chain stored in the GPK file defined at the top
of the dialog. The location of the chain is used to
determine the horizontal location of the ancillary
feature.
Survey Chain
Survey chain stored in the GPK file defined at the
top of the dialog. The location of the chain is used to
determine the horizontal location of the ancillary
feature.
Level Symbology
Scans the specified design file and uses any element
of the specified symbology if it crosses the profile
or cross section cell. The location of the element is
used to determine the horizontal location of the
ancillary feature.
Feature
Scans the specified design file and uses any element
of the specified D&C feature symbology if it crosses
the profile or cross section cell. The location of the
element is used to determine the horizontal location
of the ancillary feature.
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Vertical Parameters
A variety of data sources exist to define the vertical location of the desired
ancillary feature. If a chain or survey chain is used to set the horizontal
parameters, the elevation can be extracted from a stored profile.
Extract Elevation Enable this toggle and then select on of the following
data sources:
TIN Elevation will be determined from the tin file at
the horizontal location of the ancillary feature.
Level Symbology Scans the limits of the profile or
cross section cell and uses any element of the
specified symbology. The elevation is then determined
from this element at the horizontal location of the
ancillary feature.
Feature
Scans the limits of the profile or cross
section cell and uses any element of the specified
D&C feature symbology. The elevation is then
determined from this element at the horizontal
location of the ancillary feature.
Adhoc Attribute
Scans the limits of the cross section
or profile cell and uses any element with the specified
adhoc attribute. To use a depth of cover, set the
Vertical Offset field.
Vertical Offset
This offset is applied to the elevation after it is
determined from one of the sources detailed above.
Display Settings
Three options are supported for displaying the ancillary features.
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Cell
Cell Name
Cell drawn to represent the ancillary feature.
Symbology
Activating this toggle and specifying the symbology
will override the graphical symbology of the given
cell.
Scale
Scale used for cell placement.
Apply Vertical Exaggeration Activating this toggle and setting the scale
will distort the cell.
Justification
A variety of standard justifications are supported.
Symbol
Symbol
Set the desired symbol from a standard pictorial list.
Symbology
Specifying the symbology will set the graphical
symbology of the symbol.
Justification
A variety of standard justifications are supported.
Width
Defines the width of the symbol. If no height is given
then this value will be used for both the height and
the width.
Height
Enable the toggle and specify the height of the
symbol. Setting a value different from the width will
result in distortion of the symbol.
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Text
Symbology
Double-clicking on the sample graphic will access the
Text Symbology dialog. This dialog allows the user to
set the symbology of the text to be placed as well as
any desired offsets.
Angle
Text can be rotated by setting the angle.
Picking this icon will display several intrinsic
variables that can be used in the creation of the
label. These intrinsic variables (e.g. Station, Offset,
Elevation, etc.) must be encompassed by brackets {}.
Label
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Any desired text string can be inserted and used.
Exercises
Exercise 1
Objective: In this exercise, existing utilities will be drawn onto the cross
sections using the Draw Ancillary Features tool using the level symbology option
with a depth of cover.
1. Open the MicroStation design file
C:\e\projects\Ancillary_Features\utils\UTEXRD01.dgn.
2. From the ROAD toolbox, open Draw Ancillary Features by clicking on the icon.
Draw Ancillary Features dialog opens.
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3. Fill out the Project Information section of the dialog as shown below.
4. Select the Level Symbology option in the Intersecting Elements section of the
dialog.
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5. Select the Intersecting Elements Symbolgy button.
Intersecting Element Symbology dialog opens.
6. Fill out the dialog as shown below:
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7. Close the Intersecting Elements Symbolgy dialog.
8. Type in or select the design file
C:\e\projects\Ancillary_Features\utils\UTEXRD01.dgn.
9. Enable the toggle for Extract Elevation.
10. Type in or select the TIN file
C:\e\projects\Ancillary_Features\roadway\site.tin.
11. Key-in a Vertical Offset of -2.00.
12. Set Display Settings to Cell.
13. Under Display Settings, key-in the cell name XPIPE.
14. Under Display Settings, key-in 2 for the Scale.
15. Under Display Settings, set Justification to Center Top.
16. Under Display Settings, enable the Apply Vertical Exaggeration toggle.
17. Enable the Cell Symbology toggle.
18. Double-click on the Cell Symbology graphic to open the Cell Symbology dialog.
Set as shown in the figure below and click OK.
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The dialog should appear as shown below.
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19. Click on the Add Element Set icon to add the utility to the list box.
20. Set the Display Settings to Text.
21. Double-click on the Text Symbology box.
22. Fill out the dialog as shown in the figure below and click OK.
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23. In the label box, key-in a label for the utility (e.g. Water).
24. Pick the Add Element Set icon to add the utility to the list box.
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25. Repeat steps 5 through 24 for each of the following utilities using the
specified vertical offset for each.
Hint
A couple of things to remember. First, make sure that when you set the
symbology for each subsequent utility that you clear out the existing
symbology in the dialog by using the Reset button. If you do not, then
you may end up appending additional symbology instead of replacing what
is already in the dialog. Second, as you add each additional utility do
not forget that each utility requires 2 entries in the list box; one entry
to be displayed for the cell and a 2nd entry to be displayed for the text.
For Buried Telephone, use a Vertical Offset = -4.00.
For Sanitary Sewer, use a Vertical Offset = -6.00.
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For Buried Cable TV, use a Vertical Offset = -2.00.
For Buried Conduit, use a Vertical Offset = -3.00.
For Buried Gas, use a Vertical Offset = -5.00.
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26. Without closing Draw Ancillary Features, open the design file
C:\e\projects\Ancillary_Features\roadway\RDXSRD01.dgn.
27. Change the View option to Cross Section on the Draw Ancillary Features
dialog.
28. On Draw Ancillary Features dialog, select File > Save.
29. Key-in the file name UTILS.afd and click OK.
30. From the completed Draw Ancillary Features dialog, click the Draw button to
process the utilities and draw them onto the cross sections.
31. Select Delete Existing Elements and Redraw in the Update Option dialog and
click Apply.
32. Close Draw Ancillary Features dialog.
33. Review the cross sections and utilities using Cross Section Navigator.
34. From MicroStation, select Edit > Select All.
35. From MicroStation, select Edit > Lock.
36. Exit MicroStation.
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Exercise 2
Objective: In this exercise, existing utilities will be drawn onto the cross
sections using the Draw Ancillary Features tool using the Survey Chain option.
1. Open file c:\e\projects\AncillaryFeatures\roadway\RDXSRD01.DGN; model
Rdxsrd.
2. Fill out the project information as shown below.
3. Under Intersecting Elements, set up the dialog as shown below.
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4. Under Display Settings, set up the dialog as shown below.
5. Double click on the symbology box to set the Symbol Symbology settings
as shown below.
6. Click the Add button next to the List Box to add the settings in the list.
7. Change the Display Settings to Text. Double click the symbology box to
set the Text Symbology as shown below.
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8. Finish filling out the Display Settings as shown below.
9. Click Add to add the settings to the List Box.
10. Select File > Save As and save the settings as BL817UTILS_SC.AFD.
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11. Click Draw to process the cross sections. When prompted select the
option to Delete Existing Elements and Redraw and click Apply.
12. Review the sections.
85+00 to Sta. 92+00.
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Note: The survey chain will show up from Sta.
Exercise 3
Objective: In this exercise, existing utilities will be drawn onto the cross
sections using the Draw Ancillary Features tool using the 3D chain elements.
1. Continuing from Exercise 2, delete the items in the List Box. Note: We
are going to save this as a new AFD file.
2. Open the file C:\AncillaryFeatures\utils\UTVHUW01.DGN.
3. Under Intersecting Elements, set up the dialog as shown below.
4. Under Display Settings, set up the dialog as shown below.
5. Click the Add button next to the List Box to add the settings in the list.
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6. Change the Display Settings to Text. Double click the symbology box to
set the Text Symbology as shown below.
7. Finish filling out the Display Settings as shown below.
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8. Click Add to add the settings to the List Box.
9. Repeat this process to add the following utilities:
a. BE
b. CATV
c. CONDUIT
d. GAS
e. SANITARY SEWER
f. WATER
Note: Don’t forget to change the utility labels in the Text Display Settings.
10. Select File > Save As and save the settings as BL817UTILS_3D.AFD.
11. Open file c:\e\projects\AncillaryFeatures\roadway\RDXSRD01.DGN; model
Rdxsrd.
12. Click Draw to process the cross sections. When prompted select the
option to Delete Existing Elements and Redraw and click Apply.
13. Review the cross sections.
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Exercise 4
Objective: In this exercise, other settings will be used to draw in a symbol
representing the overhead electric service wire using a line drawn in cross
section to use to set the elevation instead of using a tin file.
1. Continuing from the Exercise 3, delete the items in the List Box. Note:
We are going to save this as a new AFD file.
2. Open the file C:\AncillaryFeatures\utils\UTEXRD01.DGN.
3. Under Intersecting Elements, set up the dialog as shown below.
4. Toggle on Extract Elevation and set up the dialog as shown below.
5. Under Display Settings, set up the dialog as shown below.
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6. Click the Add button next to the List Box to add the settings in the list.
7. Select File > Save As and save the settings as BL817UTILS_ESW.AFD.
8. Open file c:\e\projects\AncillaryFeatures\roadway\RDXSRD01.DGN; model
Rdxsrd.
9. Click Draw to process the cross sections. When prompted select the
option to Delete Existing Elements and Redraw and click Apply.
10. Review the cross sections.
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Exercise 5
Objective: In this exercise, the intrinsic text information will be used to create
a text label.
1. Continuing from the Exercise 4, delete the items in the List Box. Note:
We are going to save this as a new AFD file.
2. On the Draw Ancillary Features dialog select File > Load.
3. On the Select afd File dialog, select the file BL817UTILS.afd and click
Open.
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4. In the List Box select the item with the Display Settings for the Buried
Telephone Text.
5. Under Intersecting Elements, change the Vertical Offset to -6.00.
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6. Under Display Settings, double click the symbology box and set the Text
Symbology as shown below.
7. Delete the existing label and then click on the Insert Computed Text
button.
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8. Using these options, compose a text label as shown below.
9. Click the Modify button next to the List Box to save the changes to the
settings in the list.
10. Select File > Save As and save the settings as BL817UTILS_Adhocs.AFD.
11. Open file c:\e\projects\AncillaryFeatures\roadway\RDXSRD01.DGN; model
Rdxsrd.
12. Click Draw to process the cross sections. When prompted select the
option to Delete Existing Elements and Redraw and click Apply.
13. Review the cross sections.
14. Modify the label using other options and rerun, if desired.
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