Technical data

Creating Contours and Surface Data from a Grading Object

Creating Contours and Surface Data

from a Grading Object

If you want to use the grading object’s 3D information in a terrain

model surface, you have several options. You can create a new surface

from the grading object, you can create contours, or you can create

breakline data from the grading object for any new or existing surface.

Surfaces are created using 3D information from the grading object

footprint, daylight lines, and projection lines. The footprint and

projection lines are treated as breaklines. The daylight line is treated

as a boundary. After you have created the surface it has the same

functions as other surfaces, and you can manage the surface from

within the Terrain Model Explorer.

Using the Create Contours command, you can directly create contours

from a grading object without having to first create a terrain model

surface. When you use the Create Contours command a temporary

surface is created using the daylight line as the surface boundary. The

contours are generated from this temporary surface and then the

surface is discarded.

Breaklines can be created from a grading object and added to the

current surface, to a new surface, or to any existing surface. When you

create breaklines from a grading object, the breakline information is

determined from the grading object footprint, daylight lines, and

projection lines.

To create a surface from a grading object

Steps

Use

to look up

1 Create a grading object.

For more information, see “Creating a Grading

Object” in this chapter.

2 From the Grading menu, choose Slope

Grading ➤ Create Surface to display the New

Surface dialog box.

Create a Surface from a

Grading Object

3 Type a name and an optional description for

the surface and click OK. The surface is created

and built.