InRoads version 615
Triangles in a DTM were edited (flipping and deleting), the surface saved and a LandXML file generated from the surface. The DTM was then opened in Trimble Busines Center. The problem is the original triangles, NOT the edited triangles are displayed in Trimble. Is InRoads retirangulating as it exports to LandXML or do the triangles simply need to be locked before generating a LandXML file?
Please take a look at the wiki article below for a workaround to your issue:
communities.bentley.com/.../8327.aspx
The artical addresses triangles deleted from around the perimeter of the surface. I don't see how it will resolve the issue with triangles that are 'flipped' in the interior of the surface.
Yes, you are absolutely right about that. Unfortunately, I am not aware of any setting or toggle that can be changed to preserve the edits to the triangles. Since InRoads is feature-based, the triangles are going to be recalculated based on the features. Since the features haven't been edited, you go right back to your original triangles. One workaround would be to import the triangle legs as breaklines and then export the surface. This would retain those flipped triangles.
What we have learned:
1) InRoads retriangulates prior to exporting to LandXML
2) Trimble Business Center appears to retriangulate LandXML files that have features in them.
3) LandXML files containing only triangles will preserve some but not all of the triangle face edits as seen in Trimble Business Center.
4) Importing the triangles as features into a surface or saving the DGN file as a DXF file will preserve the triangle edits as seen in Trimble Business Center.
5) Using the Place Feature command in place of the triangle editing tools to control the faces of triangles is an alternative that works.
The conclusion I come to is that we need to redefine our requirements on how to produce LandXML files for surfaces that will be placed into our construction bid packages.
Answer Verified By: Paul-PennDOT
One final note. We have continued looking at this and it appears that the triangle editing tools in InRoads are only working on graphics. This means #1 above is probably incorrect and #3 is questionable.
We're having the same issue with PowerGEOPAK. We have a workaround to create an external boundary, using a "drape boundary" (see thread: communities.bentley.com/.../92188.aspx). This works fine for the boundary of the project, but as noted above, leaves all internal edits at risk of reverting. What I think we'll have to tell our users is to NOT edit triangles internally. Instead, they'll need to edit the source data to provide the desired result. In many cases, this is actually the proper way to address a problem with triangles anyway. However, this is a problem that Bentley needs to address directly. All of these "workarounds" don't solve the problem. A way for PowerGEOPAK or InROADS to keep track of triangle edits is needed.
Frank Boston, Michigan DOT Survey Support