[IR SS2] Generate H & V geometry from point elements?

I have received several files from our surveyors that have any number of points drawn into them. These are not COGO points. They are spot elevation points shot along the centerline of a road. They are graphic cell elements, more or less in a line, that I need to generate horizontal and (corresponding) vertical geometry from.

i have no idea how to turn this collection of spots into an alignment, let alone how to get that alignment to read and generate its own vertical geometry from the spot point elevations.

Can this be done strictly from elements? Do I need to request the FWD file (If so, what do I do with it)?

I know I can import the symbols to be COGO points, but that isn't getting me any closer to a solution.
Chain Points looks promising, but that wants me to physically click from point to point to point to point...
Create Alignment from COGO points looks promising also, but it doesn't do what I think it does.
Curve fitting looks interesting, but that appears to be more for refining AFTER I've chained the points together.

Any suggestions or guidance?
Thank you.
MaryB
Power InRoads 08.11.07.615

Parents
  • MaryB ...

    1) Make sure that your graphics are just a single point. Use the MicroStation SelectBy tool to make sure you are only selecting a single location for each point, or replace those graphic cells with a single active point. Watch it, because some graphics will be imported with more than just the origin of the point (you only want one point representing each shot location).

    2) After you've selected them, just go to the Import Surface > From Graphics and pull them into a dummy surface. Use Single Element, Element Use Element Elevations, define a breakline style, and set the Point Type to Random. That will pull all of those points into this dummy surface under a single surface Feature.

    3) Go to Feature Properties and change the Point Type to Breakline. That will connect up all of those points into a line.

    4) View that Breakline in MicroStation

    5) Go to Import Geometry from Graphics and import that graphic to an H & V alignment

    6) Create a Profile with the Source set to Window Only / Alignment. Manually set the High / Low Elevation on the Controls

    7) View the Vertical Annotation  You don't need a surface ... the Vertical geometry IS the surface ... and Design ... same thing.

     
    Civilly yours,
    The Zen Dude (also known as "Mark")
    Civil Software Guru & Philosopher
    InRoads User since its birth in the 80's
    OpenRoads Documentation / Training / Support
    Zen Engineering, Owner
  • SurveyPoints.zip

    This is the sort of data they are giving me. I'm back on the projects for a while, at least. I tried Mark The Zen Dude's approach, but it did not produce a simple linear element that I could process any further. It gave me an idea or two, though, so I'm going to chase those down for a few.

    Mark Plum - your idea will work, but I have hundreds of roads that are all going to come to me like this. If I can find a way around having to chain each point individually, that's my preference.

    Thank you anyone and everyone for your continued support and advice.

    MaryB

    Power GeoPak 08.11.09.918
    Power InRoads 08.11.09.918
    OpenRoads Designer 2021 R2

        

  • Mary,

    After looking at your data, I wonder if it isn't easier to process the data in a text editor that can record and run macro's.
    That way you can strip all data except the northing, easting and elevation, creating a list of coordinates.
    You then import those as a single line / linestring. This only works if the points in the file are in the correct order.
    I used to do this in both autocad (paste to commandline) and MX (import genio). I'm not familiar with the software you're using, but most have some way to import a file with coordinates to a single line.

    Jan

    Answer Verified By: MaryB 

  • This only works if the points in the file are in the correct order.

    And isn't that the $1000 question...
    This might be a little simpler if there was a way to graphically select the points I want to work with, instead of having to select them by number or individually. That way I could exclude points I don't need in case the numbers aren't sequential or if there are other factors complicating a simple linestring (like how they may have shot divided highways).

    Horizontal regression appears to work, but the alignment generated is full of non-tangencies and "non-coincident" elements. The cleanup involved may be more time-prohibitive than manually chaining each and every point by hand.

    MaryB

    Power GeoPak 08.11.09.918
    Power InRoads 08.11.09.918
    OpenRoads Designer 2021 R2

        

  • Use Single Element Regression and just define the Linear. You can create a single tangent through all the points. But it's not going to connect each point like you originally mentioned, but regress a single tangent as a best fit through them all.

     
    Civilly yours,
    The Zen Dude (also known as "Mark")
    Civil Software Guru & Philosopher
    InRoads User since its birth in the 80's
    OpenRoads Documentation / Training / Support
    Zen Engineering, Owner
Reply Children