Hello -
We are currently using Power GEOPAK V8i SS3, version 08.11.09.674
When exporting triangles as DGN Graphics, the only way I've found is to right-click on the field book and select Export then DGN Graphics. First we turn off all of the survey data by unchecking the field book in the Survey Tab of Project Explorer. By doing that, only the triangles and exterior clip boundary are visible, and exporting the DGN graphics works fine.
We have found a couple of situations where this workflow fails. First, if there are multiple field books, it doesn't seem to matter which field book you right-click on. The triangles reflect that they came from the "all fieldbooks" terrain element. The problem is, that it doesn't make sense that you can't right-click on the actual terrain model in the Civil Model tab. With multiple field books, having the menu under any fieldbook is redundant and misleading; it is a terrain feature that is being exported, after all.
The second issue we've found relates to the features exported. When you click on export DGN Graphics, the dialog box that opens has this text in the title bar: "Save visible survey data to". The idea of "visible survey data" relates to whether you have unchecked the field book in survey data. Once you uncheck it, all that is visible are the triangles. However, if your DGN file contains elements that are NOT in a field book, there is no way to turn these features off. Turning off the relevant levels has no effect on the exported data; the levels which are turned off are exported along with the triangles. Those levels in the resulting file are turned off, but the data is still there. Yes, we can easily turn off the terrain triangles and clip boundary and delete the unwanted features, but we shouldn't have to go through that extra step.
Perhaps there could be a simpler way to export triangles, which is not dependent on turning off survey data.
Thanks,
Frank Boston
Michigan DOT Survey Support
When working with Terrain Models, the best way to generate graphics from the terrain is to export it to the native product, and use the drawing/annotation tools there to display what you need. In your case, export the Terrain to a TIN file, then run the Load DTM Features command in the DTM tools:
then
You are correct that the Export to DGN Graphics command exports ALL visible data (including Terrains, geometry, text, etc...) so maybe the dialog title needs to be changed. One of the most useful features of this command is the ability to turn ON/OFF different features and export only specific portions of the survey. For example, I can turn ON only my CL features and export a DGN that contains my surveyed centerlines, or I turn ON my BLDG features and export a DGN with buildings.