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Distance and Area

Yaniv Navon
  • Updated

In this article:

  • Measure distance
  • Measure area on an arbitrary plane or the terrain

Measure distance

dmpic.png

  1. On the side toolbar > > Tools tab > Distance.
  2. Click any point on the terrain or on an object to define the start point of the measurement, and then click to set the second point. If Multiline is switched off in Settings settingsicon.png, the measurement will automatically complete after two points. If Multiline is switched on, you can click to add additional segments, and then right-click to finish. If you want to delete the last point drawn, click Undo undoicon.png . By default, the aerial distance is displayed in the distance measurement panel as well as in the 3D Window. Use the switches in the Distance Settings panel to turn on/off the display of aerial, horizontal, and vertical distance measurements in the 3D Window. Aerial distances are marked as solid yellow lines, while horizontal and vertical distances are displayed as dashed white lines. 
    Note:  While a measurement is in progress, you can stop it and start a new one by clicking Abort.
  3. If you want to calculate a terrain profile for the path defined by the line you drew, in the Distance Measurement panel, click Terrain Profile tpicon.png. When calculation is complete, a terrain profile graph is displayed, showing the terrain elevation profile. Turn on the information you want indicated on the graph: polyline waypoints, min/max altitude and max slope.

Distance measurement settings are set in the Distance Measurement Settings panel. These settings are saved on the machine the project is running on.

To set distance measurement settings:

On the side toolbar >  > Tools tab > Distance >settingsicon.png :

Units Select either Kilometers/Meters or Miles/Feet. The units will automatically switch to kilometers if the number of meters exceeds 2,000, or to miles if the number of feet exceeds 10,000.
Save Measurement Select one of the following:
  • Delete on Exit – Delete the measurement after the Distance tool is closed.
  • Save in Project – Save the measurement results in the project.
Multiline Switch Multiline on to allow measurements of more than two points. When Multiline is switched off, distance measurements automatically complete after the second point is added, eliminating the need to right-click to finish the measurement.
Snap Waypoints Switch on to enable snapping to object edges or vertices. TerraExplorer Fusion automatically detects all edges, i.e., intersections of two plane faces, and vertices, i.e., intersections of two polylines.
Show.. Use the switches to turn on/off the display of aerial, horizontal, and vertical distance measurements in the 3D Window.

 

Measure area on an arbitrary plane or the terrain

ampic.png

  1. On the side toolbar >  > Tools tab >  Area.
  2. Click any point on the terrain/plane to define the start point of the measurement, and then click to set the second point and again for each additional point. Right-click to finish. If you want to delete the last point drawn, click Undo undoicon.png . The calculated area and perimeter area are displayed in the area measurement panel and in the 3D Window.

Area measurement settings are set in the Area Measurement Settings panel. These settings are saved on the machine the project is running on.

To set area measurement settings:

On the side toolbar >   > Tools tab > Area > settingsicon.png .

Measurement Type Select one of the following:
  • Automatic – Automatically determines the projection type based on the normal of the plane formed by the first three points drawn. If the normal's angle is less than 25 degrees (where 0 degrees represents a horizontal surface with a vertically aligned normal), the projection will be horizontal. Otherwise, the tool will create a 3D plane projection based on these three points.
  • Horizontal Projection – Always calculate area on terrain. The area measured is the horizontal projection of the area you have outlined, even if some or all your selected area encompasses mountainous terrain.
  • 3D Plane – Always calculate area on an arbitrary plane. The polygon’s orientation is determined by the first three points drawn.
Units Select either Kilometers/Meters or Miles/Feet. The units will automatically switch to kilometers if the number of meters exceeds 2,000, or to miles if the number of feet exceeds 10,000.
Save Measurement Select one of the following:
  • Delete on Exit – Delete the measurement after the Distance tool is closed.
  • Save in Project – Save the measurement in the project.
Snap waypoints Switch on to enable snapping to object edges or vertices. TerraExplorer automatically detects all edges, i.e., intersections of two plane faces, and vertices, i.e., intersections of two polylines.

 

 

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