M.3.2 Plan and Profile Sheets
Description
This module instructs users how to create plan and profile sheets from an Alignment. Users will learn:
- How to create Named Boundaries that will be used to generate plan and profile sheets.
- The difference between drawing models and sheet models that are used during the sheet creation process.
- How to create plan and profile sheets – ready for printing.
Objectives
- Create plan sheets
- Create profile sheets
- Review named boundaries
- Adjust sheet layout
- Annotate
Quick Steps
Review Plan and Profile Sheets
Label – Profile (Vertical Alignment)
Label the Beginning of Project, End of Project, and Limit of Construction
Create Plan Sheet
All files for contract plans, profiles and cross sections will reside in the Contract_Plans folder under the disciplines folder; example: project folder/Highways/Contract_Plans.
1. Create a design model that will be used to create the plan and profile sheets for the project.Browse to the Contract_Plans folder to create a new 2D design file using the file naming convention as described in the CTDOT-CONNECT-DDE Volume-016 Appendix/Section File-Naming (example: HW_CP_5678_5678_PlanPro_SR_14.dgn) and using the correct seed file: …CT_Configuration\Organization\Seed\Road\Seed2D - CT RoadDesign.dgn.
2. Reference in the Master Model file, it resides in the Highways/Base_Models folder within the project folder, example: HW_CB_5678_5678_Master_Model.dgn. See the CTDOT CONNECT DDE Volume 3 - ORD Roadway Modeling - Module 1 - Creating Base Model Files.
3. The Master Model is referenced using Live Nesting and a Nesting Depth of 1 and will attach all other files: alignments, roadway design models, surveys, and terrains as well.
4. Set up the display views to show Default view and profile view. Set the terrain to active and save settings.
5. Select Drawing Production > Named Boundaries > Named Boundary > Place Named Boundary. A named boundary is a closed element that has a name associated with it. Previously you could create named fences from fences, clip volumes and clipped masks.
6. Select the Civil Plan mode. Set Drawing Seed to 40 Scale Contract Plan Sheet. Set the Detail Scale to 1"=40'. The Set Name will be set to Plan 1.
TIP: Including the number 1 at the end of the name keeps the names of the named boundaries and sheets more uniform because the number is included in the first name. Otherwise, the incremented numbering begins with the second name, example: Plan, Plan 1, Plan 2.
7. Set the Group to (New). Set the Group Name to match alignment name, usually the Route Number or Street name (This is the lower name field which defines the name of the named boundary group.) Example: SR 14 (for State Route 14). Length (length of alignment on one sheet), Left Offset and Right Offset (offset from the alignment), Overlap should be set to 0 (a sheet overlaps the other), and Boundary Chords have preset values.
8. Enable the Create Drawing option so that the sheets are created as soon as the named boundaries are created. Enable the Show Dialog option. This dialog is used to override settings defined by the Drawing Seed if needed.
9. In the 2D view (default plan view), select the alignment along which the plan named boundaries will be created. The command line (lower left corner) will read: Place Named Boundary Civil Plan > Identify Path Element. With the cursor select the alignment.
10. Select the desired Start Location. Follow the prompts.C ommand Line: Place Named Boundary Civil Plan > Accept/Reject. Identify Path start point to place boundary. Follow the prompts.
TIP: Add extra to the left of the start of your Stationing, example: Beginning Station is 100+00, at Start Location type in 99+00, this will move the named boundary to the left of the start of alignment. Bring your cursor back into the dialog box, enter the Start Station, click the Tab button, back in the view left click to Accept.
11. Next select the Stop Location. Command Line: Place Named Boundary Civil Plan > Identify Path end point to place boundary. The named boundaries are displayed interactively as the cursor moves. Accept the endpoint location for the named boundary. Command Line: Place Named Boundary Civil Plan > Accept/Reject. Datapoint point in Plan View to place boundary. Identify Path end point to place boundary.
12. The Create Drawing dialog box will appear. Ensure the Mode: is set to Plan, Name: should be populated with the Plan 1 from Place Named Boundary Civil Plan tool. In the Drawing Model portion of the dialog set the annotation scale to 1” = 40’. In Sheet Model portion of the dialog, set the Detail Scale to 1” = 40’.
13. Enable the Add to Sheet Index option. This option will be discussed later in this module. Enable the Open Model option.
14. Click OK to create the sheets. Follow the prompts in the lower left corner left click to define the named boundaries. Multiple left clicks may be required.
In the view group dialog, you can now see the newly created drawing models and sheet models.
Create Profile Sheet
1. Open the Plan and Profile Design Model and display the profile view. If not already open.
TIP: If you saved settings after setting up your views (step 2 from create plan sheet section) change the active view group to Multi-Model Views.
2. Select Drawing Production > Named Boundaries > Named Boundary > Place Named Boundary.
3. Select the Civil Profile mode. Set the dialog fields as follows:
- Drawing Seed > 40 Scale Contract Profile Sheet
- Detail Scale > 1"=40'
- Name > Profile 1 (This is the top name field which defines the name of the named boundary)
- Method > From Plan Group
The From Plan Group method matches the profile named boundaries to the plan named boundaries. The Station Limits method is used to defined profile named boundaries that are not matched to plan boundaries such as for profile only sheets, example: profile sheet for a local road.
- Plan Group > Choose the desired Plan Group if there are multiples in this file. This is the name of the plan group that contains the plan named boundaries that will also define the profile named boundary locations, example: as named Plan sheets: SR 14 or State Route 14.
- Group > (New)
- Name > Route Number or Street name, example: SR 14 or State Route 14.
This is the lower name field which defines the name of the named boundary group for profiles. This is the same group name we used for the plan portion, but they are two different groups, one associated with Plan, the other associated with Profile. More on this later in this module.
- Vertical Exaggeration > 10
- Available Profile Height, Top Clearance (toggled on), Bottom Clearance (toggled on), Elevation Datum Spacing, Station Datum Spacing and Profile Shifts are set by the drawing seed.
4. Make sure all are toggled on.
- Use Terrains
- Use Active Vertical
- Create Drawing
- Show Dialog Box
5. Follow the prompts in the lower left corner left, Command Line: Place Named Boundary Civil Profile > Identify Profile View click in the Profile View to define the named boundaries. More than one click is required.
6. The Create Drawing dialog box will appear. Change the Mode to Profile and the Name to Profile 1 (or short Pro 1). Everything else is preset for you.
7. Toggle on: Add To Sheet Index and Open Model.
8.Click OK to create the sheets. Follow the prompts in the lower left corner left click to define the named boundaries. Multiple left clicks may be required.
Review Plan and Profile Sheets
There are several ways to review individual sheets. Click on the View Tab > Within the View Groups tools set you can select any of the sheets. The same tool is also available in the Manage View Groups toolbox if docked on the bottom (it usually is).
1. Select the View Group tool to view the sheets. Each sheet has a Drawing Model and a Sheet Model.
The Drawing Model is always 2D, is a subset of a 2D or 3D design model and is a direct reference of the named boundary area, it is geospatially correct. The Drawing Model is used to apply annotations, dimensions and callouts to a design, examples: call outs for items such as slope limits and catch basins or dimensions for guiderail offsets. The Drawing Model is then referenced into the Sheet Model. To learn more, see MicroStation CONNECT Edition Help.
The Sheet Model is always 2D, serves as an electronic drawing sheet (printed sheet), typically has drawing and design model references that are scaled and positioned to create a printable drawing. To learn more, see MicroStation CONNECT Edition Help.
2. Open and review the Sheet Model for Plan 1 by selecting Plan 1 [Sheet] Views and then select Apply.
TIP: You can also double-click on any model in the list to open it as well.
The Sheet Model for Plan 1 will open. Notice the border cell is placed at 0,0 axis, the named boundary shape and all design models are referenced. The project number, description and town name(s) will be automatically populated from the CONNECTED Project, the Drawing Title will be populated with the text entered in the Model Description Field. For more detailed information see Section 1 – Introduction - THE CONTRACT BORDER TITLE BLOCK INTERGRATION.
3. Open and review the Drawing Model for Plan 1 by selecting Plan 1 Views from the list and then selecting Apply.
The Drawing Model for Plan 1 will open. Notice the Named Boundary shape is referenced, the Match Mark line and call out has been added to the Drawing Model as well and the model is geospatially correct. Plan view annotation should be done in the drawing model.
4. Review the remaining Sheet Models by using the same steps described above.Become familiar how to navigate between the various drawing and sheet models.
Review Named Boundaries
1. Select the Multi-Model view again.
2. Open the Drawing Production > Named Boundaries > Named Boundaries dialog.
3. In the Named Boundaries box, expand Plan Groups.There is a plan group for the Plan Sheets named during creation, example: SR 14. The name of the group and the individual named boundaries come from the values defined on the Place Named Boundary dialog. Expanding the Linked Profile Groups, shows a linkage to the profile group: example SR 14, that is also named as the plan group.
4. By clicking on the individual plan, the named boundary is highlighted in view 1.
5. Expand Profile Groups.There is a profile group to see the individual profile named boundaries for the Profile Sheets named during creation, example: SR 14.
Adjust Sheet Layout
Final adjustments to sheet layouts can be made in the reference attachments.
1. Use the View Group tool to select a Plan [Sheet] Views model, example: Plan 2 [Sheet] Views.
2. Select Home > Primary > Attach Tools > References.In the References dialog, select the first attachment, this is the Plan Drawing Model, example: (Logical) Plan 2-1, HW_CP_5678_5678_PlanPro_SR_14.
3. Click on the ‘Move Reference’ command to activate, then click on the Named Boundary, this will activate the named boundary with all references (should be highlighted) and are “attached” to the cursor, move all for a better fit within the sheet outline.
4. Left click to accept the new reference location.
Remember, sheets are references of the respective plan, profile, or cross section space. Any elements that are visible in the source drawing will automatically appear on the sheets.
Adjusting Profile Named Boundaries
If necessary, the vertical position of a profile named boundary can be adjusted.Open the Multi-Model Views.
1. Select Drawing Production > Named Boundaries > Named Boundary > Adjust Profile Named Boundary.
2. Left click in the profile view (example: View 2).
3. Left click on one of the profile named boundaries. The name boundary moves vertically with the cursor allowing you to adjust the exact position of the boundary. Notice that the boundary moves in increments defined by the Elevation; Datum Spacing, in this example 10’. The Elevation Datum Spacing was one of the parameters that could be set when the named boundaries were created.
Deleting Sheets
Sometimes it is necessary to delete sheets. There are multiple parts to a sheet.
- The named boundary that defines the boundaries of what is shown in the plan or profile.
- The Drawing Models for annotation and dimensioning.
- The Sheet Models with the electronic drawing sheets.
To completely delete the sheet these all need to be deleted.
TIP: When it becomes necessary to delete sheets depending on the number of sheets for your project, it may be easier to create a new design model and start over and only delete from the sheet index. This is because usually the plan named boundary is linked to the profile named boundary and profiles will need to be deleted also.
3. Select Home > Primary > Models. Select all of the Drawing and Sheet models for the plan and profile views; example Plan 1 and 2 [Sheet] views and Plan 1 and 2, Profile 1 and 2 [Sheet] views and Profile 1 and 2. Click Delete Model(s). NOTICE: The sheet models are also deleted from the sheet index if necessary. Close the Models dialog.
4. Delete the Named Boundaries for the Plan Sheets and Profile Sheets. Open the Drawing Production > Named Boundaries Named Boundaries dialog.
5. Expand the Plan and Profile Groups sections.Select the Plan Group, example SR 14.
6. An Alert appears confirming the Named Boundaries and their associated saved views will be deleted.Click on Yes.Every boundary is deleted.
Create Blown Up Detail
This video demonstrates how to place a 20 Scale Detail on an existing 40 Scale Sheet.
Place Labels (Annotation)
The OpenRoads Designer includes the MicroStation Place Label tool which can read civil object data such as curve information for arcs, alignment names, bearings, stations, northing and easting, and offsets. Labels are associated with elements and can update and move as the reference element changes. Reference elements can be located in the active file or in a reference. The Place Label tool is also used for call outs of roadway items.
There are four terms you should become familiar with when placing and editing labels.
- Text Style = format of text such as font, font size, spacing, justification etc.
- Dimension Style = format of dimensions such as terminator arrow, leader lines, text orientation, symbology (color, line style and weight of dimension & extension lines and terminators).
- Text Favorite = Intelligent reusable label that can be made up of text and fields.
- Field = A link or pointer to object information. This could be civil object information such as the delta of a curve, coordinates of a curve PI, name of an alignment, station values or general MicroStation information such as level name, color, weight.
Labels can be placed for plan, profile, and cross-sections objects.
- Plan view labels can be placed in Design or Drawing models, but not Sheet models.
- Labels that need to be rotated to the sheet, should be created in the Drawing model.
- General labels that are not sheet specific and whose rotation does not matter can be placed in a Design model and referenced to all sheets, example: horizontal alignment stationing and curve data.
- Profile and cross section labels must be placed in Drawing models.
There are three icons along the bottom of the Place Note or Place Label toolbox that define how the label behaves when the drawing scale is changed or when the referenced element changes.
- Annotation Lock - Labels created with this option enabled will scale when the Annotation Scale is adjusted.
- Association to Element - Labels created with this option enabled but with the Relative Association to Element option disabled will remain at their placement location when the reference element changes. Only the leader line moves.
- Relative Association to Element - Labels created with this option enabled will remain at their relative location to the reference element when that reference element changes.
Labels created in OpenRoads have three parts (Leader, Text, and Anchor Point). Labels created in MicroStation only have the first two parts.
- Leader - Optional line and arrow connecting between the Text and the Anchor Point.
- Text - The label content which is made up of text, text fields, and graphics.
- Anchor Point - The point that is used to compute values in the fields.
This module will cover some of the labeling tools, but not all. For more detailed descriptions and instructions go to the Bentley ORD Help Menu
Label - Horizontal Alignment
The horizontal Alignment should have stationing, PC's, PI's, PT's, curve data and bearings. This has been automated, the labeling/annotation will be in the design file (alignment dgn-file) and is usually done after the alignment is created. Please see the CTDOT CONNECT DDE Volume 3 - ORD Roadway Modeling - Module 2 - Creating Alignments.
Label – Profile (Vertical Alignment)
The Profile (vertical alignment) annotation has been automated to show:
- Stationing and Elevations at the grid marks
- Stations and Elevations for PVC’s, PVI’s and PVT’s
- Length of vertical curves with K-factor and Stopping Sight Distance
- Slope of tangent sections
The annotation will be in the profile drawing models (example: Profile 1 views and Profile 2 views for the plan and profile design file HW_CP_5678_5678_PlanPro_SR_14.dgn).
CTDOT Annotation Tools
The CT_CONNECT_DDE workspace has been set-up to ease the annotation for plan sheets, adjustments and additions are added periodically.
Select the CTDOT workflow and click the CTDOT Tab. Here are tools set-up for each discipline and for various subject matters, here we will discuss the annotation tools.
These annotation tools have been set-up with appropriate attributes (level, color, line style, text style, dimension style) these should not be changed by the user.
Label the Beginning of Project, End of Project, and Limit of Construction
1. Select the Plan Views (example Plan 1 Views) – Drawing Model. Select the CTDOT workflow and the CTDOT tab.
2. Click on the Begin Project Limits tool. The Place Note toolbox opens, and the Text Editor box should open. In the editor type in the project number, F.A.P. number, centerline station, Northing and easting coordinates.
Example: BEGIN PROJECT NO. 5678-5678
F.A.P. NO. NH78(123)
CL STA. 100+40.00
N 671 403.048
E 993 511.112
3. Follow the prompts. Place Note > Define start point > snap to the beginning, associate point > snap to the next point, > Define NextPoint, or <Reset> to complete. Place the leader and text to fit within the sheet.
4. Select Profile Views (example: Profile 1 Views) and repeat the previous steps to label the beginning and end of the project.
Example: BEGIN PROJECT NO. 5678-5678
F.A.P. NO. NH78(123)
CL STA. 100+40.00
N 671 403.048
E 993 511.112
Label – Place Call Outs
1. Select the Plan Views (example Plan 1 Views) – Drawing Model.Select the CTDOT workflow and the CTDOT tab.Click on the Call Out tool.
2. Click on the Label (Weight 2) tool or anyone of the other Label tools: Label Small (Weight 2) Label (Weight 0) or Label Small (Weight 0). The Place Note toolbox opens, and the Text Editor box should open. In the editor type in the label for the item.
Example: “APPROX. SLOPE LIMITS”. The difference of the Weight 2 or 0 is the line weight of the leader line. The weight is chosen according to the complexity of the call outs.
3. Follow the prompts. Place Note > Define start point > snap to the beginning, associate point > snap to the next point, > Define NextPoint, or <Reset> to complete. Place the leader and text to fit within the sheet.
Notes
Notes should generally be placed in the sheet model. Notes are used to convey information such as right of way, general construction notes, drainage notes and construction sequencing. There are several Note tools available.
Title - used for the title of a detail blow up or as the label for construction sequences on one sheet.
General Notes, General Notes Small and General Notes Bold - are used for notes pertaining to the project, example: All highway markers to be protected during construction.
Existing Text - is for an existing item to be labeled, such as a mailbox to remain.
Match Mark Line and Match Mark - are used to mark and annotate the match mark between two sheets, this is automated when using the Plan and Profile Production tool.
Detail Blow Up - sets the attributes for the blow-up circle or box.
Place Table tool - is used to place a table for the General Notes. It is formatted and can be filled in; for a more detailed description using tables see Bentley Help - Place Table.
1. Select the Place Table command. In the Place Table toolbox select the first icon.
2. Click on Seed: find the table for General Notes, select how many rows and columns are needed (this can be edited later if needed). Now the table will be visible on the cursor, place the table on the sheet as needed.
3. To add/fill in the table select the Annotate tab and choose the Edit Text tool. NOTE: Avoid using the Element Selection tool to edit the table as this will lock up the file.
TIP: To better view the Text Editor, the User Preferences have been changed in the View Optionsthe Black Background -> White.
