How to add terrain changes to a measure from a DXF file

Measures are a powerful means of setting up a future situation. Because they can encompass a large amount of individual features, importing them from pre-made Geo Data files will save a lot of time. However, such plans can sometimes contain a water component, which will require a bit more attention to import properly.

How to import a measure with water features:

1. Open the geo import wizard.
2. Opt to import a measure via a DXF file. See How to import a DXF as a measure.
3. Select the desired datatype and precise datasource, and continue through the wizard.
4. Finalize and close the wizard. A Measure is now added to the Project.
5. Go to Future Design, and then Measures, to open the list of Measures. A new Measure named "Measure" will be available.
6. Select the newly created Measure, and change the name to an appropriate name for the plan.
7. Click on "Add Terrain" to add a terrain element to the Measure.
8. Select the Terrain effect, and opt to draw the outer area of the Terrain effect.
9. Use the "Blueprint" drawing option, and then opt to use the wizard to set a selection. This will reopen the geo import wizard.
10. Select "an AutoCAD DXF file". Choose file locally or from the GeoShare.
11. Choose layer that the outer water contour has been drawn in
12. Continue through the wizard and finish it. The water features from the plan will be added as a pending selection to the current drawing action for the Water Terrain effect.
13. Click on "Apply selection" to confirm the outer edge of the Water Terrain.
14. Opt to draw the inner area of the terrain.
15. Use the "Blueprint" drawing option again and repeat process but this time choose the inner water layer.
16. Set the relative height change of the terrain to a sensible water depth.
17. The Measure now consists of both the imported Buildings and the water feature(s).

How to add a FLATTEN Terrain to your measure:

1. Go to Future Design, and then Measures, to open the list of Measures. Select the Measure you want to add the FLATTEN terrain effect to.
2. Click on "Add Terrain" to add a Terrain element to the Measure.
3. In the right panel choose FLATTEN from the Type dropdown menu instead of water.
4. Click on "Draw Outer Area" at the bottom of the panel.
5. Use the "Blueprint" drawing option in the bottom menu, and then opt to use the wizard to set a selection. This will reopen the geo import wizard.
6. Select "an AutoCAD DXF file". Choose file locally or from the GeoShare.
7. Choose layer that the Flatten contour has been drawn in.
8. Continue through the wizard and finish it.
9. Click on "Apply selection" to confirm the outer edge of the Flatten Terrain.
10. Set the relative height change of the terrain to the height you want the FLATTEN to be.
11. The Measure now consists of both the imported Buildings and a FLATTEN terrain.
12. When the Measure is activated the FLATTEN will delete all feature covered by the terrain area and raise or lower the terrain to the specified height.

Notes

• Due to the generally large number of features, it is advised to use a Geo Plugin to match functions to features in the Assign Function step of the Geo Data Wizard. This is especially useful when the DXF's layers and blocks use standardized names and attributes, such that you can reuse the GeoPlugin in multiple projects.

How-to's

• How to import a DXF
• How to export a DXF reference file for a project
• How to set the geo-location of a AutoCAD DXF
• How to set the unit of measurement for a DXF
• How to create a Geo Plugin to import Buildings from a DXF
• How to deal with a long processing DXF import