Alignments are used in construction to define the path of a linear project or linear features within a project. When used with their respective stations (sometimes called chainages) and offsets, locations can be more simply referenced, facilitating communication and collaboration throughout a project.
With alignments in Propeller, you can use familiar and consistent communication to locate, measure, and markup while referencing position in your familiar station and offset language.
Getting started
You will need a suitable LandXML file to upload into the Platform to get started. If you don't have one, you can do one of the following:
- Request a LandXML file from your design team.
- Generate a LandXML file using tools like OpenRoads Designer or Trimble Business Centre. These solutions can be used to create a horizontal alignment and display stationing.
- If you use Autodesk Civil 3D, you can create alignments in many ways such as creating them from objects, and using the Alignment Layout Tools.
Alignments are available to use on your desktop and the Propeller mobile app.
How to upload LandXML files
Desktop
From the DESIGNS tab, click UPLOAD DESIGN.
Drag and drop or UPLOAD FILES directly into the platform.
You’ll see a notification that your LandXML file is processing, and you’ll see another one when it’s complete.
Once the file has been correctly imported, you’ll see a unique icon next to it.
Activate or deactivate the alignment on your desktop
You can access the alignment file in the DESIGNS tab. To visualize the alignment, click the eyeball icon next to the file.
To activate an alignment, simply click on it in the map view or right click on it and toggle on Activate alignment.
You’ll notice the active alignment will display the labels and turn yellow.
Once activated, you can reference the station and offset position of your cursor relative to that alignment.
To deactivate an alignment, right click on it and toggle on Deactivate alignment. If you have more than one alignment, you can click on another to deactivate your current selection and activate a new one.
Mobile app
Alignments on the Propeller Mobile app give in-field users the same station and offset reference functionality to locate positions and communicate while on-site. You can access alignment files in the app by tapping Layers and then Designs.
View Alignment
Toggle on the alignment by clicking the checkbox next to it.
Activate alignment
Like the desktop version, the alignment icon will be yellow once activated.
To activate the alignment, move the crosshairs on the map over the one you want to activate.
If you want to activate a different alignment, use the crosshair to move over the desired alignment and tap SWAP ALIGNMENT. This will turn off the one currently active.
Use Tools with alignments to help you identify areas of interest on your site. As you pan around the map, you'll notice the alignment and offset update.
Point measurements
Use a point tool to reference an alignment to view the station and offset at that point.
Select Custom Point from the measurement dropdown menu to create a new point.
Click on the map to drop the point where you want it. Select Location and any other items you would like from the Customize window and click SAVE.
Select the alignment to which you want to reference your custom point from the dropdown menu in the information panel.
Once assigned, it will calculate the station, offset value, and the Northing/Easting/Elevation of the point you created.
Click in the name box to rename the point. Once you're ready, click SAVE. The newly created point can be viewed in the MEASURE tab.
To edit an existing point, click on the measurement to open the information panel. Then, add the alignment from the dropdown menu.
Line measurements
Create cross sections in bulk
Creating many cross sections perpendicular to an alignment can save time and create a more efficient workflow for tracking progress.
Right click on the alignment and select Create cross sections along alignment.
A new box will open where you can customize how the cross sections will be made in bulk.
Add the station Start location and End location where you want your cross sections to be drawn between.
Assign the Left and Right offset.
Offset distances default to mirror the left and right values. However, you can customize the offset on each side by unlinking them and adding separate values to the left or right offset value field.
Set your desired Interval between cross section measurements.
As you edit the cross-section form, the map will update to give you a visual representation of the changes.
Click the ADD DESIGN/SURVEYbutton and choose a design file or survey to compare the new cross sections.
Click CREATEwhen finished.
The measurement batch is run within a few seconds, and you will get a notification with the number of cross sections generated based on the parameters you entered and the name of the folder created to organize those measurements.
You can access this folder of batch-made cross sections in the MEASURE tab.
Create a single cross section along an alignment
Single cross sections along alignments can be created the same way as creating bulk cross sections by simply making the Start location and End location the same station value.
As with other measurement folders, you can Promote to site, Copy to another dataset, Rename, Delete, and Duplicate your cross sections.
Click the three dots menu next to the folder and choose the appropriate action.
You can also Fly to Measurement, Share Measurement, Rename, Duplicate, Copy to another dataset, Export, and Delete individual cross sections. Click on the three dots menu and select the appropriate action.
You can also create and export reports to include cross sections along alignments.
FAQs
Vertical offsets are not supported yet.
How can I tell if a file in the DESIGNS tab is an alignment?
An icon next to the file will denote the file type.
Are there special considerations when using LandXML files?
LandXML alignment files can feature many specific geometry types that define their lines, curves, and spirals.
What are the supported types?
Clothoid.
What types are not supported?
Biquadratic, Bloss, Cosine, Cubic, Sinusoid, RevBiquadratic, RevBloss, RevCosine, RevSinusoid, SinettafWave, BiquadraticParabola, Cubic Parabola, JapaneseCubic, Radioid, ReinerBogen.
I still can't do it!
We wrote these articles to equip you with everything you need to get the job done on your own, but we understand that sometimes this isn't sufficient.
If you're stuck, you can connect with our support team by clicking the support button on the top right corner of your user portal.
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