Exercise 3: Copying a Profile and Offsetting it Vertically

In this exercise, you will copy part of a centerline layout profile. You will use the copy to create a starting line for a ditch profile that is a specified distance below the centerline.

This exercise continues from Exercise 2: Editing a Layout Profile.

Copy the layout profile

1. Open Profile-3B.dwg, which is located in the tutorials drawings folder.
2. In profile view PV-1, select the red layout profile. Right-click. Click Edit Profile Geometry.
3. In the Profile Layout Tools toolbar, click .Copy Profile
4. In the Copy Profile Data dialog box, specify the following parameters:

   To use more advanced features of the product, you will make the profile copy shorter than the original.

   Note:

   The station values recommended in this step have been chosen because in the drawing Profile-3B.dwg, they include the two center tangents of the Layout (1) profile. If you are using another drawing with a much different profile, you may have to enter different station values. To be included in the profile copy, a complete tangent must be within the copied range. If part of a tangent extends beyond the range, the whole tangent is excluded from the selection set.

   • PVI Range: Station Range
   • Start: 300
   • End: 1700
   • Destination Profile Options: Create New Profile
5. Click OK.

   The new profile is drawn on top of the old one.

6. In Toolspace, on the Prospector tab, expand the AlignmentsCenterline AlignmentsRidge RoadProfiles collection under the alignment.

   Your profile copy is displayed with the layout profile icon and name.

7. Press Esc.

Offset the profile

1. In the drawing, click the profile view. Right-click. Click Profile View Properties.
2. On the Profiles tab, clear the Draw check box for the original layout profile, Layout (1).

   Clearing the check box removes the original profile from the profile view. Later, you can restore this profile to the profile view if you wish.

   Tip:

   Instead of removing a profile from the profile view, you can try selecting a profile to move it. However, the process described here is more reliable with overlapping profiles.

3. Click OK.

   The Profile View Properties dialog box closes and the profile view is redrawn, showing the copy of part of the layout profile.

4. Click the layout profile.

   The name of the selected profile is displayed in the Profile Layout Tools toolbar. In the next few steps, you will lower the profile copy by 5 feet to represent the elevation of the ditch.

5. On the Profile Layout Tools toolbar, click Raise/Lower PVIs.
6. In the Raise/Lower PVI Elevation dialog box, specify the following parameters:
   • Elevation Change: -5
   • PVI Range: All
7. Click OK.

   In both profile views, the line moves to its new position.

   This profile copy is a full-featured object that can be edited in the same way as the original layout profile.

8. Press Esc to deselect the profile.
9. In the drawing, click the profile view. Right-click. Click Profile View Properties.
10. On the Profiles tab, set the Draw check boxes to the following states:
    • Layout (1): Selected
    • Layout (1) [Copy]: Cleared
11. Click OK.

    Clearing the check box removes the copy of the profile from the profile view. Notice that the copy is still displayed in the profile view PV-(2).

    

To continue to the next tutorial, go to Designing a Profile that Refers to Local Standards.