Question:

How do I display my horizontal and vertical alignments in a single 3D alignment in plan view?

Answer:

The command Geometry>View Geometry>3-D Alignment displays a polyline for an alignment (or a segment of the alignment if Station Limits is on). The polyline is constructed based upon whether or not the specified horizontal alignment has an active vertical alignment. If it does have an active vertical alignment, the resultant polyline will be created starting at the first station that appears in both the horizontal and vertical alignment. In like manner, the end station will be the last station that appears in both the horizontal and vertical alignment. In this case, the elevation will be computed from the active vertical alignment. If the horizontal alignment does not have an active vertical alignment, the elevation will be computed from the horizontal alignment. The coordinates are then displayed as a polyline. If you select a start station greater than those defined, the software will use that station.

When you use this command, only one 3-D polyline is displayed. If the offset parameters are set, the final grade line offset is displayed using positions calculated from the horizontal and vertical alignments. The start offset represents the distance between the final grade line and the start station. The stop offset represents the distance between the final grade line and the stop station. The offsets between the start and stop stations are linearly interpolated. This linear interpolation is done both horizontally and vertically.