Custom linetype to use in 3d visualisation

[magnusar]

Hello

I am trying to create a linetype with a 3d shape included to represent road markings, i.e. central lines and edges etc.

For this I need a .shx file and I don't know how to create this as I am not allowed to select 3d objects when using the MKSHAPE command.

How can I best create a linetype with 3d objects?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

[Anonymous]

Can you attach a picture of the shp you want to create?

[magnusar]

Thanks for taking interest Dave, see attached sketch

[Anonymous]

Please note this is all to the best of my knowledge and expierience:

I dont believe shp files can be 3d in regards to linte types. However you could draw a rectangle and hatch it with a dense ansi131 and then explode the hatch. use the make shp file in express tools to create the shape file. I believe they have to be lines for this to work thats why you explode the hatch. then attache this shape in a linetype. Note it will not handle curves very well. I have never had much luck with any linetypes with big shp files looking like i want.

My suggestion for the linetype you want is to create a regular line typ with the required dimentions and add the width by adding a width to the polyline. If you would like additional details on creating linetypes or shapes i wil gladly help.

[magnusar]

Thanks for the reply.

Yes creating a custom linetype only works with the simplest of shapes.

What do you mean by width of the polyline?

Thanks again

[Anonymous]

if you enter the Polyline edit command, "PE" you have the option to assign a width. If you were going to make a Polyline a half a foot for example you could......

PE enter, select PL, W Enter, .5 Enter

[AllenJessup]

---

@magnusar wrote:

What do you mean by width of the polyline?

---

Width is one of the properties of a polyline. It can be a global width or vary from segment to segment.
 

You can assign width to the polyline as you create it or you can select the polyline and change the width in the Properties palette.

Allen Jessup

[magnusar]

Thanks, but I think this option is excluded for 3d polylines unfortunately.

[AllenJessup]

If you are running 2013+ you can convert the polyline in to a Featureline. 2013 and above will support linetypes for featurelines. I'm only running 2012 at the moment so I haven't tested that myself.

Allen

[magnusar]

Thanks for the suggestion, but feature lines have no option to vary linewidth.

[sboon]

Featurelines cannot have linewidth, but they can use a linetype which includes shape objects that have a width.

I spent some time in 2014, creating a shape made up of five parallel lines 0.5m long, with an overall width of 0.1m  I then made copies of this shape and used them to define two linetypes.  One has 3m dashes with 3m gaps, and the other has 5m dashes with 8m gaps.  Both of these linetypes are visible as polylines in the screenshot below.  I have also converted one of the polylines into a featureline, using a ByLayer style

If I zoom in close to a curved segment of one of the polylines the individual shapes are visible.

I then converted the rest of the polylines to feature lines, draped them onto my surface and rotated the viewpoint to show how they can be visualized in 3D.

[magnusar]

Nice work, I will try something like this. Thanks