Delete sub-entity vs delete PI

[Ingrid91]

Is there a way to find out if a sub-entity in an alignment can be deleted while maintaining the continuity of the alignment at large?

As it stands I have ca 1 km long alignment. Everything was ready to be shipped off to delivery when I was told that further adjustments needed to be made. Meaning that small sections with "line-radius-line-radius-line" could the changed for a single "line". 

However, when I use the commands I sometimes end up with it not behaving as I would like. Since EVERYTHING is connected to this alignment I simply cannot afford for it to have a gap since the sample lines will disappear (already saw that happening) and I have too much information manually placed in the sections views to make it desirable to re-do.

Problem:

"Delete sub-entity" - sometimes the radius disappears leaving lines (preferable), sometimes it leaves a gap (not okay).

"Delete PI" - sometimes it leaves lines behind in its wake (preferable), sometimes it deletes a PI from a radius some 200 m away (not okay).

How can I know if it's safe to use "delete sub-entity" or "delete PI"? Is it connected to the way it was created (free radius between entities vs radius) or does it have to do with if the alignment parts are "fixed" or "free"?

[ecfernandez]

Hi @Ingrid91, I read your post and found it interesting. The continuity of the alignment is granted. However, you'll notice how labels disappear after the deleted entity. Once you join entities again with another kind of horizontal curve, the rest of your design will be affected in several ways.

Profiles: Depending on what you have in this window, your layout profile will behave differently when you erase a horizontal entity from the alignment. The first two options are the most invasive. The one selected in red will prevent your layout profile from changing. However, you will still need to make some changes since horizontal geometry changes affect the alignment's length. Therefore, a few manual adjustments are unavoidable.

Superelevation: You will have to design the superelevation again for this alignment portion.

Sample Lines: They will be affected. They'll adapt to the alignment depending on this property: 

See help related here

Corridor: Once you finish your adjustments in plan-profile elements, the corridor will adapt to your new geometry. However, you'll need to adjust it depending on how you built it. For instance, changing a curve radius may cause the road to go towards a slope, requiring a gutter where we probably were not planning to place it before the change was made.

I hope I have understood your question and my comments help you make a decision. Otherwise, can you post screenshots of the problem you describe? It would make it easy to understand.

Best regards!

[MMcCall402 · Accepted solution]

Try this:

1 Edit the alignment as needed, delete sub entities and PIs, fill gaps with new segments, etc.

2 Export this revised alignment to an XML file

3 Exit the drawing file without saving

4 Reopen the file and import the XML

Another option would be to XML it out and then import it into a new file. Edit it there and XML it back out and then back into your original file.

[lim.wendy]

Hi Ingrid,

Thanks for reaching out to the forum. Have you had a chance to look over the suggestions provided by our experts?

Let us know if you require further assistance.

If the suggestions helped you, please hit the "Accept Solution" button, as it helps make the solution easier to find for others who might have the same issue. Knowing which topics are solved or not can also help our many users find the questions that still need to be answered. It’s also a great way to say thank you and give recognition to whoever helped you. 

[chriscowgill7373]

If I'm reading your question correctly, ususally when this happens, the curved portion of the alignment was not created from a PI, it was created from a curve within a polyline.  This may or may not be tangent at the ends where it ties to the straight lines on either side.  Typically, when this is done, and you select the alignment, it will not show you a PI in that area, only the alignment itself.

deleting the sub-entity on the left will gap the profile, where the one on the right will not.

[Ingrid91]

Hi, 

Sorry for the long wait for a reply. 

I've read your entry several times and while it does describe how everything ties together, I don't really see how it helps my situation. I'm most likely missing something because I still don't see how

1) I find out whether I can delete a sub-entity without the alignment having a gap in it, or

2) The sample lines disappearing because of the gap created by aforementioned deleted sub-entity

[Ingrid91]

This was a very neat solution! Thank you!
Somewhere in the back of my mind, I'm reminded that, yes, xml import/export of alignments does exist.

[Ingrid91]

It makes sense that different was of creating the alignment will result in different ways in how you have to handle it.

The question left is rather: how do I delete a curve without a PI and make it so that it does not leave a gap? If I've understood you correctly.

Curve without a PI

Delete sub-entity: curve leaves a gap

Delete PI: not possible, a PI from another part of the alignment is deleted

Curve with a PI

Delete sub-entity: curve becomes lines

Delete PI: curve becomes lines

[Ingrid91]

A summary of possible ways to go about having to make changes of an alignment (in no particular order):

1. Export the alignment as an xml and make the changes needed before importing it again

2. Have a separate file for the sections that is making it to the drawing. When you've shared an alignment via a data shortcut the separate files sample lines does not disappear because of a temporary gap, but rather updates according to the new finished alignment. This does require that you make all the necessary changes in one go and doesn't leave it half-finished for a week.

2.1 Make a clear insertion point for the section views. If everything fails and you have to re-make them all, the manually placed data will at least not have to be copied to another place.

3. Create a separate alignment and profile alignment and then make it so that the corridor searches for it rather than the previously used one.

There are most likely several other ways of handling this issue. These are only some examples.