Working With Line Strings
Working With Line Strings
Working With Line Strings
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About this tutorial
We will show you the power and flexibility of Trimble Business Center (TBC) by guiding you
through a simple exercise for creating, editing, and exploring linestrings.
Prerequisites:
You must have a TBC license for Field Data. On the TBC ribbon, select Support > License
Manager to see if you are licensed for this feature set. If you are not, contact your dealer for
help.
Tip:
Unless you have two, side-by-side monitors, you may find it easier to print this tutorial so that
you can maximize the program on your monitor. Working from a printed copy also prevents
focus issues caused by switching back and forth between the tutorial PDF and the program.
Time:
This tutorial should take you 1 - 2 hours to complete.
Understanding Linestrings
For more exercises and conceptual information on linestrings, see the paper called
Understanding and Using Linestrings in the downloaded folder or posted on the TBC
Community.
Step 1. Deleting and Breaking Lines
As you begin any project, you should confirm the measurement units and specify any other
settings that your specific data or workflow might require.
1. On the ribbon, select File > Open and navigate to the folder you downloaded.
2. Open the project file called WorkingWithLinestrings.vce. The project opens, looking like
this (without the red numbers):
Note: For a white background in the Plan View, click the Toggle Background Color icon
on the Status Bar. Alternately, you can select File > Options > General > Display, and set
the Background color to White.
Notice that there are a few excess lines (in black) that you need to remove.
3. To avoid overwriting the original file, select File > Save Project As on ribbon.
4. Type a new name for your project, and click Save.
5. In the Plan View, pick the line labeled 1 in the image above.
6. Right-click and select Delete from the context menu.
7. Now pick the line labeled 2 in the image.
You want to delete this line, but only where it extends past the lines parallel to it.
8. On the ribbon, select CAD > Delete Line Segment. The line you picked is converted into a
linestring (noted in the Line box), and a "rubber-band" line appears between your cursor and
the linestring.
Note: This command and others used on lines, such as Join, Edit, and Delete Line
Segment, convert CAD lines into linestrings. Linestrings are generic lines which offer more
editable properties than the original CAD lines or polylines.
9. Move the cursor along the line to see that there are two segments from which to choose.
Tip: You may have to narrow the command pane or right-click-and-drag to pan the view to
see the segments.
10. Using the rubber-band line, move the cursor so the segment on the right is selected, and
click. The segment is deleted.
11. Click back in the Line box, pick the line labeled 3 in the image above.
12. Move your cursor back and forth, and notice that the right segment of this line extends past
the ends of the two lines parallel to it. You need to break the segment at that point so that
you do not delete more of the line than you intend.
13. With the Delete Line Segment command still open, select CAD > Break Line from the
Lines group. The Break Line command opens on top of the previous command (this is
referred to as the ‘command stack’).
In this instance, you will find the End Point Snap useful. This 'running' snap is a mode that is
on by default; it will use the coordinate of any segment's end point that is within the pick
aperture (the box on the cursor) when you click.
Note: To see which running snaps are on, click Snap on the status bar at the bottom of the
application window.
Tip: Roll your mouse wheel forward to zoom in so you can pick the end point more
accurately.
The selected line's segment is broken at the point perpendicular to the parallel segment's
end point, splitting it into two separate linestrings. The linestrings remain coincident at the
break point, but they are now two separate objects which can be edited separately.
3. Before you fix the lines, review the line markers that are displayed to make the end points of
the lines easier to see.
Line marking (markers and labels) shows horizontal and vertical values along linestrings in
2D views to make viewing and editing them easier.
Markers are symbols that distinguish between horizontal segment end points, vertical
control points, and the overall line's end points.In the image above, the filled circles
denote line start points. Hollow circles denote lines end points.
Labels are annotations that indicate the elevation of vertical control points. None are
shown above; the labels are from spot elevations.
In the future, you can control which markers are shown by clicking the Project Settings on
the Quick Access toolbar at the top of the application window.
Then select View > Display Options, and review the Marking settings. Smaller round dots
denote segment end points; smaller square dots denote "point on curve" mid points on arcs.
Note: Some ribbon buttons have two parts: an upper half that launches the command shown,
and a lower part that opens a sub-menu of related commands.
9. For the Elevation, click the 178.40 text. The spot elevation text carries the elevation value,
which is then applied to the new line's start point.
10. Move your cursor up the end point of the leader line for the elevation annotation 178.00, and
pick the end point of the leader line to draw the linestring.
11. For the Elevation, click the 178.00 text. The first segment is saved.
Now add the next segment.
12. In the Segment group's Type list, select Deflection to add a segment at a 90° angle from
the bearing of the last segment.
13. For the Deflection angle option, select Perpendicular right.
14. Click in the Length box, and (again using the running end point snap) pick the end point of
the parallel segment below the one you are adding.
15. You do not know the interpolated elevation at this point, so press [Enter] or click Save to
skip it.
16. To add the final missing curved segment, in the Segment > Type list, select Best Fit Arc.
17. Click in the Coordinate box to specify an intermediate point along the curve, and pick the
end on the leader line for spot elevation 177.54.
21. Click any blank space in the view to deselect the linestring.
Notice that there are three methods you can use for joining lines. You will start with the
simplest method and later use the most comprehensive.
2. Confirm that the Two lines option is selected.
3. With the focus in the Base line box, pick one of the lines indicated above. The line is
converted into a linestring and the name is noted in the Base line box.
4. Pick another of the adjacent lines indicated. The lines are joined as a single linestring.
5. Continue picking the other adjacent lines (indicated in the image above) to join them to the
base line.
When lines are joined, the resulting linestring's direction and properties are inherited from
the first (base) line that you chose.
Most of the lines in this data have elevations of 0.00 or no elevation at all. Using the spot
elevations, you can add elevations to the lines in several different ways. Where it is indicated
that a line has a constant elevation, you can add the elevation to the entire line. Where a line
has multiple elevations, you can add the elevation at each point or distance along the line
where it is indicated.
Before you add any elevations, however, simplify your data by joining the rest of the lines. To
make selecting only the lines easier, filter the Plan View by displaying data from only one of
the two imported files.
6. On the ribbon, select Home > View Filter Manager.
7. Click the drop-down arrow next to the selection set list (second from the top of the pane).
8. Then check the box for the imported file named Parking design, and click OK. Only data
that is in that selection set is now visible and selectable.
9. Back in the Join Lines command that you left open, select the All selected lines option.
10. Draw a window around all of your data to select all of the lines. The number of lines selected
is noted in the Lines to join box.
11. Click Join. The command searches from each selected line to each consecutive line, joining
them until it reaches a break in the lines or a branch to multiple lines, where it stops. The
number of lines that were successfully joined to the base line is reported at the bottom of
the pane.
12. Click Close, and click a blank area in the Plan View to deselect everything.
Notice that most of the lines were joined as linestrings. This makes your data simpler and
easier to work with.
2. Click the Display Options tab at the bottom right of the manager (fourth tab). You may
have to click the right arrow to get to the tab:
5. Click the icon at the top of the pane to close the View Filter Manager.
6. On the ribbon, select Home > New 3D View. Then right-click the 3D View tab and select
New Horizontal Tab Group so you can see both the Plan View and 3D View at the same
time.
7. In the 3D View, press Control, right-click-and-drag to rotate the view.
8. Notice that the line that you created using spot elevations is elevated above the other 2D
lines (with unknown elevations) in the view. Your graphic views should now look something
like this:
Back in the Plan View, notice how the center island (6 in the initial image) indicates the
same back of curb elevation "177.36" at two points. This line is a good candidate for applying
a constant elevation.
12. Pick either elevation annotation "177.36". The elevation is applied to the entire linestring. You
will see it elevate in the 3D View.
13. You do not know the elevations of the other concentric, island curb lines, so click Close.
14. Click a blank area of the view to deselect everything.
Notice that the exterior back of curb line around the parking lot has multiple elevations, so
you cannot set a constant elevation for it. You will have to specify the elevation at each of
the spot elevations.
15. In the Plan View, pick the section of curb line shown below (between the elevation
annotations "178.10" and "177.58")
Note: If a horizontal segment's end point and a vertical control point coincide at the same
location on a line, the elevation of the vertical control point overrides the elevation of the
end point.
18. Click the Vertical tab to see the options for specifying vertical control points.
Your data will determine whether you establish elevations at segment end points or at
distances along the linestring. For the simple example offered in this tutorial, you can
establish elevations at the horizontal segment end points.
19. Click back to the Horizontal tab.
20. In the Plan View, move your cursor to the end point of the segment shown (because it has a
spot elevation), and click to select it.
21. Back in the command pane, highlight the ? value in the Elevation box and then pick the
spot elevation text in the Plan View. The elevation value of the text (178.10) is applied to
end point, giving the linestring a slope.
22. Work along the outer back of curb lines using the same method (pick the end point of a
segment; pick the associated elevation label) to add elevations wherever possible. To switch
from line to line, you will have to click in the Line box at the top of the command pane and
pick the new line.
As you add elevations to each line, you will see it change color and rise in the 3D View.
Also notice that, when you are editing a linestring, elevation labels appear at each applicable
segment end point. This helps you to see where you have been and confirm that you have
applied the correct elevations. Confirm that the blue elevation label that appears matches
the spot elevation text at each node you elevate.
23. Deselect any lines and click Close when you are done.
3. Click any location along the line to report additional values in the command pane.
4. Click in the Object box and pick a different linestring to explore. If the linestring has no
elevation (it is a 2D line), the E:* label does not appear.
Note: If you have linestring end segments that have no elevations, there is an additional way to
specify interpolated elevations: use the Extend vertical property. For example, if a linestring
with three segments has elevations specified at only the two middle points, select the linestring,
right-click and select Properties from the context menu. Then set Extend vertical to Yes in the
Property group.
Linestring with the Extend vertical Linestring with the Extend vertical
property Off; there is no interpolated property On; there is an interpolated
elevation on the last segment (values elevation on the last segment.
shown using Explore Object).
Conclusion
Congratulations! You have worked some of the important functionality for creating and editing
the linear data in your project. This completes the tutorial.
Remember: For more exercises and conceptual information on linestrings, see the paper called
Understanding and Using Linestrings in the downloaded folder or posted on the TBC
Community.