Project Objects FROM profile back TO plan/alignment?

[Postmaster_G]

Is there a way to easily add an object from a profile view to a plan view?

I have developed a pipeline profile that has high and low points and I would like to show these points on the plan views.

[sboon]

If this is a profile then you should be able to create an alignment label that includes a piece of Reference text, taking information from that profile.

Steve
Please use the Accept as Solution or Kudo buttons when appropriate

[troma]

A 'Profile Geometry Point' Alignment label is not reference text. This is a good thing IMHO, since getting a reference text label set to do its reference is a mega pain.

[Anonymous]

What I usually do is draw a polyline that I want as the pipe/road/channel grade in the profile view. Then I draw a feature line that matches the alignment in plan view. I project the feature line into the profile. I add elevation points to the feature line at the grade break points (really easy if you just add some vertical lines at each polyline node and then choose the distance option and pick between the start of the line and perpendicular to the vertical line) Then simply drag each elevation point of the feature line onto the polyline (consequently setting it to the correct elevations.)

Is it the easiest way? I'm not sure. But it definitely works and isn't that bad to do when you have a complicated profile going on.

[Postmaster_G]

Perhaps I am not asking this question properly.

What I want to be able to do, is something like this...

Click on a spot on a profile that I have either drawn in a profile view, or just an existing surface profile whatever, and create a label or point or something that will appear in the plan view along the proper alignment.

I am not even sure I am projecting objects to my profile properly either.

When I am drawing a pipeline, I ususally draw my alignment, create a surface profile and profile view, and then here is how i mark items in the profile view (such as where I am going under a dirt road and will need a casing or other appurtenance for example).

I create a block made up of a tiny little circle filled with a solid hatch.  Then I select the objects and then project to profile.  Sometimes I have a lot of items and this becomes an annoyance with layer managment/block naming/or selecting other items. 

Perhaps I need to be making these spots actual points with descriptions and in point groups or something.

Is there an easy way to quick select points by point group (it seems that quick select makes me remember the exact name of the primary point group instead of allowing me to choose?).

Cheers

[sboon]

It sounds like the Transparent Commands toolbar would be useful here.  You can use it to draw or place objects in a profile based on locations selected along an alignment.  I cannot think of a way to draw in plan using locations selected on a profile view, perhaps someone else has a solution for this one.

You can create cogo points in plan based on station and offset from an alignment, with elevations supplied by a profile if that helps.

Is there an easy way to quick select points by point group (it seems that quick select makes me remember the exact name of the primary point group instead of allowing me to choose?).

If you right click on a point group in the Prospector one of the options in the popup menu is Select.  This option will select all of the points in the group.

Steve
Please use the Accept as Solution or Kudo buttons when appropriate

[joantopo]

Civil 3D API has: ProfileView.FindStationAndElevationAtXY Method

Perhaps I could made some utility with this aim.

[MikeEvansUK]

What I normally do in this situation is create a Dummy profile on the profile view with pvi points attached to the detail / labels / etc.

If you just want 2D information you ccan then use the alignment labels , Profile geometry points to display in plan or using referance text project level information to the plan labels.

If you're after 3d points / polyline etc then create a corridor from a marked point, set the frequencies at about the same as the alignment length and deselect everything apart from profile geometry points. You can then export a featureline or 3d polyline in plan.

[troma]

You don't need a corridor to get a featureline linked from a profile.

[MikeEvansUK]

Good point so long as it is a profile you can just extract a featureline from alignment.

However. The OP wants particular points. This feature (in 2013) does not seem to export High Low Points or intermediate points on demand, only the profile geometry points?

Creating a temporary corridor and exporting the featureline would allow the creation of any of these points in plan as required.

[demus72]

I have wondered why this isn't possible for some time. I have used projected objects successfully on several projects now. It has worked great and saves a lot of time once the blocks, projection styles and label styles are set up. I have several wish list items regarding this process:

1. It would be nice if the Projections tab on the profile view properties had a column that listed the station the block is located at along the alignment.

2. It would be nice if the whole process could work backwards as well. i.e., it would be great if objects could be projected to plan from profile view.

3. It would be nice if projected objects in profile view could be used to manipulate their associated block in plan view. i.e., move horizontally.

4. It would also be nice if there were display check boxes for the blocks in plan view as there are on the Projection tab of the profile view properties that would allow the display of the individual blocks in plan view to be toggled on or off.

If anyone has any tips or has another work flow regarding projections I would appreciate hearing about them.

Thank you

[Postmaster_G]

I was wondering if anyone had come up with any ideas yet?!?

I want to place a station and elevation label on the profile and create a point along the alignment that represents the label point.

I know how to do it the cheaty way with a dummy profile, but there must be another way...

[paullinscott6473]

I just skimmed the message and replies, and so sorry if I missed something important... but if you just want cogo points placed along the alignment at a given station and elevation, then manually create a point and when it asks you to pick the location, then type: 'so  in the command line. this will start the "station offset" command. then it will ask you to pick an alignment, station, and offset value (0 if it is right on the alignment, otherwise it will be a + or - value, depending on which side of the alignment), finally it you can set the elevation, and description.

Hope that helps.