Sections from Points

This command creates an .SCT file from Carlson points in the drawing. An .MXS file is needed to define the centerline and the stations of the cross sections. The offsets for the cross section points are derived from the perpendicular distance between the centerline and the Carlson points. The cross section elevations come directly from the elevations of the points. In order to be included in a cross section, a Carlson point must be within the offset tolerance distance of the cross section line.

The order that the points within the Offset Tolerance at each station are used will of course determine the shape of the cross section. There are three ways for the collected points to be sorted.  The Offsets Left to Right option sorts by the distance of each point from the CL.  The Point Numbers option ignores that data, and instead sorts the points by their numbers.  The Nearest Found option ignores both distance from the CL and point numbers and instead checks the horizontal and vertical proximity of the points to each other and sorts them based on this data.  A powerful application of this method would be a survey of a tunnel where the points collected at each station were collected in a random order.

Prompts

Choose MXS File to Process select file
Choose SCT file to Append/Write select file
Enter the maximum offset tolerance <1.0>: press Enter
Ignore Zero Elevations (<Yes>/No)? press Enter This option filters out all Carlson points that have a zero elevation.
Select points along the sections.
Select objects: pick the Carlson points

Pulldown Menu Location: Sections
Keyboard Command: sctpts
Prerequisite: Carlson points and an .MXS file