Selecting Traverse Lines in Drawing View

This topic discusses how you can create a traverse in the Drawing View and select lines, arcs and polylines from the drawing to create the traverse. This method allows you to check electoric files of plats. Using the option to repeat the command automatically creates new traverses and increments the lot labels for you.

Checking CAD Drawings

You would typically use this command with an imported drawing file (DWG, DXF, DGN) to select the lot lines for each lot. Windowing the lines in Drawing View is a great way to select just the lines you want with two mouse clicks. TPC will arrange the lines, arcs and polylines sequentially to form the lot, boundary, centerline, right-of-way or whatever the figure is and display them in the Traverse View.

This process of arranging the drawing objects end to end is what helps you identify errors in the drawing.

CAD drawings don't insure that one line starts where another line ends, causing gaps or overlaps. TPC identifies these and eliminates gaps and overlaps that are within the tolerance you define.
CAD drawings don't limit the number of lines that can be drawn over the top of each other, creating duplicates. As TPC sorts through the selected drawig objects, it creates just ONE line between any two points - just what you want.
CAD lines, arcs and polylines may not begin and end at lot corners or angle points. TPC will identify these for you when you select them in the drawing.
CAD lines, arcs and polylines can have a greater precision than their respective annotations. I CAD line that is labeled as 100 feet may actually be 100.12 feet. The label does not have to be strictly associated with the object, so descrepencies may exist. TPC will help identify these.

Interacting with the Traverse View

The inverses shown in the Traverse View are generated by the lines, arcs and polylines you just selected and should match the line labels in the drawing - if they don't, you have a potential error in the drawing and can use the data in TPC to track it down. The resulting data in the Traverse View also displays the precision of the lines and will help you identify any gaps, overlaps or rounding issues.

Running the Command

From the Drawings Manager, open the drawing you want to add the traverse to or create a new drawing.
Choose Tools | Add Points to Traverse to display the Add Points to Traverse dialog.
Enter the name of the new traverse you want to create. To add points to an existing traverse, select it from the pull-down list.
Select the Format for the new traverse. TPC uses the edit sequence of the format to prompt you for data. TPC remembers the format you select and uses it automatically the next time you run this command.
For the Method, choose - Select lines, arcs, plylines, etc. from the drawing.\nTPC arranges them in proper sequence to create the traverse for you.
Choose the Traverse Settings to draw the traverse as you enter the data. You might want to use a contrasting color with point labels. We recommend you set the Distance and Direction options to None to reduce the amount of text on the drawing. This will make it easier to select starting points for subsequent traverses.
If you plan on entering more than one lot, turn on the Repeat the Command option.
Choose OK.

Use the selection options like Window or Cross to select the lines, arcs and polylines that will define the traverse. You can select or unselect objects as needed, then right click to let TPC know you are finished selecting objects.

TPC will arrange the drawing objects sequentially, so that they are end-to-end with each other. TPC also creates survey points and survey lines from the objects you selected.

TPC will active the Traverse View and display the traverse you just created. Left click anywhere on the Drawing View to reactivate it.

Selecting Objects

The Window and Cross options make it easy to select just the objects you want. See Selecting Objects.

Ignoring Layers

TPC lets you Ignore layers. Objects on an Ignored layer can not be selected because the cursor does not react to them (called a hit test), even though they are still visible in the drawing. This option is not available in CAD programs, but is very useful when selecting drawing objects. You can Ignore any layer by right clicking any object on that layer and choosing Layer Tools, Ignore. When you Window an area, TPC does not select the objects on the Ignored layer.

Breaking Lines

If the lines, arcs and polylines in the drawing extend beyond a lot corner, you will need to break them at the corner. See Breaking Objects.

Editions

Personal, Premium, Professional