Contour Line

Menu: Civil / Start / Surfaces / Stockpile / Contour Line

The Contour Line Creation interface in VisionLidar’s Civil Module enables users to generate contour lines that represent surface elevations. Users can define altitude ranges, contour intervals, annotation methods, and smoothing options to create detailed, accurate topographic representations.

1. Key Features of Contour Line Generation

✔ Set Altitude Ranges – Define minimum and maximum contour altitudes.
✔ Adjust Contour Intervals – Specify primary and secondary contour spacing.
✔ Choose Line Types – Generate contours using Polylines, Segments, Splines, or Smoothed Polylines.
✔ Select Creation Method – Generate contours by triangulation or nearest neighbor interpolation.
✔ Apply Annotations – Display altitude values at intervals or along specific lines.

2. Contour Line Settings

Function	Description
Altitude	Sets the minimum and maximum altitude for the contour generation. The [Update] button retrieves the altitude range of the loaded surface.
Interval	Defines horizontal distances between primary and secondary contours. Set one to zero if only one type is required.
Minimal Length of Contour	Eliminates short contours below the specified length.
Contours Type	Polyline – Continuous line made of straight segments. Segment – Two-point straight lines forming discrete segments. Spline – Smooth curve passing through contour points (higher tolerance increases line crossing risk). Smoothing – Smoothed 3D polyline with a smoothing factor from 0% (none) to 100% (maximum smoothing).
Creation Method	By Triangulation – Uses triangulated irregular networks (TIN) for contour creation. By Nearest Neighbor – Uses a grid-based interpolation method.
Annotation by Line	Displays altitude labels along a defined polyline.
Annotation by Interval	Places altitude annotations at set intervals along contour lines.

3. Customizing Annotations & Selecting Contour Heights

✔ Placing Annotations Along a Defined Path

The software creates a virtual line connecting points from the table to position altitude values along contours.
If annotations do not appear, save the surface and retry.

✔ Generating a Specific Contour Line at a Given Height

Enter the desired height in both Min. Altitude and Max. Altitude fields.
Ensure the secondary contour interval is small enough for accuracy.
Example: To display a contour at 62.55, set the interval to 0.001.

4. Table Functions – Managing Contour Annotations

Function	Description
	Selects all table elements.
	Adds a new 0.0 entry at the end of the table.
	Removes checked points from the table.
	Zooms into the last selected point.
	Selects a point from the database.
	Includes all vertices of a selected line or polyline.
Search Table	Finds specific elements in the table based on column selection.
Select Column for Search	Chooses the column to search within.

5. Best Practices for Generating Contours

✔ Use Spline or Smoothed Polylines for cleaner, more natural contour lines.
✔ Set precise intervals for detailed contour representation.
✔ Apply Annotation by Line for labeling contours along custom paths.
✔ Check and refine altitude settings before finalizing the contour model.
✔ Generate specific height contours by adjusting altitude range and interval precision.

🚀 Create High-Precision Contour Maps with VisionLidar!

With customizable contour generation tools, VisionLidar allows you to visualize elevation changes, analyze terrain, and enhance topographic modeling with ease. Optimize your workflow and improve accuracy with smart contour line settings! 🌍📏🏔️

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