Gemini Terrain Settings - General¶
Use this dialog to set settings that apply to the entire project in Gemini Terrain.
Where do I find this dialog?¶
On the toolbar, select the icon for Gemini Terrain Settings... - Project - General.
Info
In addition, you can also set settings that only apply to individual drawings. These can be found under Drawing Settings.
Coordinate System/Height System¶
In this field, we select the coordinate system and height system (reference system) that will apply to the project. Coordinate systems and height systems for all markets are available regardless of what is selected under Language and Market.
For standard application layers and surveying application layers, the coordinate system and height system will also be stored in the file. The layers will be marked red if there is a discrepancy between the project and the application layer settings.
When we have specified the height system, the program will also display information about the geoid model being used.
Tip
If we have selected a coordinate system in the Terrain project, an additional tab appears in the general dialog for measuring distances. This will also show distances corrected for height/map projection.
Origin for all terrain models¶
For earlier versions of the program, we had to set the project origin near the terrain model area to maintain accuracy in DDS-CAD's basic functions. This is no longer necessary as these functions now handle large coordinates. For Terrain projects created in version 10 and later, it is therefore natural to use origin 0,0.
Figure: N = North, E = East, A = Project origin, B (blue rectangle) = Terrain model area, C (green area) = Project data
What happens if I change the origin?¶
When we open Terrain projects created in earlier versions of the program, we will see that the origin is not 0,0. If we change the origin for these Terrain projects, this could affect the content of the drawings. DDS-CAD commands for primitives, inserted files and JavaScript, etc. refer to the origin. A change will therefore shift this content on the screen. Application layers, roads, intersections, and excavations are not affected by the origin.
Warning
Changing the origin in older projects may cause existing drawing elements to change position in the drawing.
Terrain Model Area¶
The terrain model area specifies where the program should calculate the grid for 3D visualization and other functions. It is common to set the terrain model area equal to the extent of our dataset. If this is not defined when we import data for the first time, the program will automatically create it.
Terrain Grid¶
Info
The user documentation describes application layers in detail.
As stated in the documentation, we can define an application layer as a stratum (terrain surface/layer in the ground). For these layers, the program will calculate a terrain grid. The basis for the calculation can be different types of elevation data such as:
- Contour lines
- triangle net
- Point clouds
The program uses the terrain grid for: * 3D visualization * Mass calculation between layers * Mass calculation of intersections and excavations * Generation of longitudinal and cross-sections in some cases
To ensure that the program always chooses a high density for these calculations, we have a specific setting, Grid size used in calculations, for this. If we do not check this, the program will use the general density under drawing settings.
Automatically adjust terrain model area during calculations¶
By checking this option, a separate terrain model area will be set around the objects being calculated during calculations. This way, we achieve the best possible accuracy, better performance, and avoid specifying too small a terrain model area for the calculation.
Note
For Terrain projects established in a program version older than 10, this option will by default be off. For Terrain projects established in 10 and newer, it will by default be on.
The maximum number of points for calculation and in drawing is also defined. If we have a large model, we can increase the size to get the desired density on the grid. Note that this will quickly require some resources from the PC.
Maximum distance between points for polygonization¶
This function specifies the limit for when two points are perceived as one, and is used in the functions for:
- Create polygon from lines in application layer
- Mass calculation
- Topology cleanup
- Remove duplicate points
In Create polygon from lines in application layer, the lines must coincide at the intersection points (node points).
With this option, we can set the criterion for when the program should perceive lines as coincident. If the distance between the endpoints of two adjacent lines is greater than the limit value, we cannot perform the polygonization.
Figure: Illustration of maximum distance between points for polygonization
Multi-user mode¶
We can run the program in single-user or multi-user mode. Single-user mode is the default setting for new local projects.
Rights to edit data in application layers and models (road/excavation/intersection) are automatically set when we open a drawing in single-user mode.
Figure: Illustration of application layer list in single-user mode
In multi-user mode, the application layers and models will be locked for editing, and users must open those they wish to change for editing themselves. When an object is opened for editing by a user, it will be locked for other users. They will also see the username and the symbol # in front of the name of the application layer/model. Application layers are opened for editing by right-clicking on the application layer in the vertical list field App layers and activating/deactivating Open for editing.
Figure: Multi-user mode where the application layer Terrengform45 is locked by Tord**
Similarly, models are opened for editing by right-clicking on the model in the vertical list field Models and activating/deactivating Open for editing. This can also be done via the Lock On/Off function, which is available on the Planning, design and execution toolset in terrain model drawing, and the standard tools in longitudinal/cross-section editing. The function is also available on right-click or shortcut key [Shift]+[E].
Procedure for opening an element for editing
- Right-click on the application layer or model in the vertical list field
- Select Open for editing
- Perform desired changes
- Right-click on the element again and deactivate Open for editing when you are finished
Note
Similar functionality is used in cloud projects.
To achieve quick opening of drawings, we do not want to load all data immediately. Application layers with display turned on are therefore not loaded. The exception is application layers used in strata. Application layers that are not loaded have a minus sign in front of the layer name as shown below.
Figure: Unloaded application layers marked with a minus sign
The data is loaded when we: * Set the application layer active * Turn on the display of the content * Open it for editing * Open the properties dialog (double-click on the application layer)
Info
You can read more about multi-user mode in the general user documentation.
Quick buffer¶
This option is relevant for multi-user projects with storage on network disks, for example in a Citrix/VDI environment. With this option, the data files gmi/sfi/efi/xfi are stored via a personal temp directory to increase speed.
Tip
How much performance improvement we get will depend on several factors such as network configuration, network disks, virus control, etc., but the potential for faster storage is significant.