My company is in the process of upgrading from InRoads SS4 to OpenRoads and I'm currently at a point in the process where I'm troubleshooting creating cross sections and have a few questions.
When creating cross sections using InRoads the Create Cross Section menu would appear allowing you to customize the look of your drawing sheets in any number of ways from one menu. You were able to adjust spacing, create custom sta. ranges, manipulate your axes and so forth. All very helpful in one nice menu that also allowed you to save preferences. OpenRoads appears, from what I have gathered in my limited use, to lack such a menu and what items you can adjust are somewhat spread out.
For instance, some of the cross section variables are set when you create the Cross Section Sheet Definitions.dgnlib file for a particular scale factor. The scale factor along with things like offsets, vertical exaggeration and clearances can be changed later when you open the Place Named Boundary Civil Cross Section menu but other variables like axes and spacing can not be.
In InRoads you could also adjust RT to LF and TOP to BOT spacing as well as TOP and SIDE margins in the same aforementioned menu. In OpenRoads you appear to have to add the following lines of text with your desire values to the config file located in your Organization-Civil folder.
# Cross Section Spacing ValuesCIVIL_CROSSSECTION_RT_TO_LT_SPACING = .083CIVIL_CROSSSECTION_TOP_TO_BOT_SPACING = .083CIVIL_CROSSSECTION_SIDE_MARGIN = .083CIVIL_CROSSSECTION_TOP_MARGIN = .083
Am I correct in my observations? It seems InRoads had a much cleaner workflow where all variables could be adjusted in one menu and a preference saved for future use. OpenRoads requires you to make some variable changes in the Place Boundary menu while others require you to go in to your config file and some don't seem to be adjustable at all. Instead of saving a preference in OpenRoads does the user just need to created multiple cross section sheet definition dgnlib files?
I just want to make sure I'm utilizing OpenRoads correctly and that there isn't a simpler workflow available.
Thanks.
Hi Chris,
Your assumptions are correct. Attributes that are not accessible on the place boundary menu should be set in config files and the Cross Section Sheet Definitions.dgnlib.
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Why is there not one location where all those things can be controlled together? And why are some of them configuration variables? And what do I do if I need a special, "one-off" sheet that varies from a standard plan sheet?
MaryB
Power GeoPak 08.11.09.918Power InRoads 08.11.09.918OpenRoads Designer 2021 R2
What Mary mentioned is one of my fundamental problems with ORD using Config Variables. InRoads users are VERY accustom to having many Preferences with all sorts of minor (or major) tweaks to these settings ...and then just loading the Preference that they wanted on the fly ...on demand. These Config Variables make some things way too rigid when they are not always that way.
I agree completely with MaryB regarding creating "one-off" sheets as well as sheets in general. If you have to go in to your config file to adjust a margin or spacing you didn't just change it for yourself for that one sheet. You changed margins and spacing for all users on any cross sections they may create until you or someone else goes in and changes the config file settings to something else. It makes me a little nervous that any users in the company can go in and start altering the config file in general. It seems like it's asking for trouble. Something other than the desire values could be changed or deleted by mistake.
Are there any future plans to simply the workflow (similar to InRoads) that also allows the use of Preferences?
Chris,
I've filed an enhancement with development per your request: #865422
Answer Verified By: Chris Booth