Menu Options
N4ce Professional
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n4ce Professional CAD Options
Whilst CAD is introduced in the Lite edition of n4ce; it is with Professional that this is fully explored. Not only are CAD editing tools extended to include COGO Constructions, Hatching and Dimension but tools are available copying an pasting layers. CAD is very important in n4ce, as you will see from some of the example of its use shown below.
In the example shown here from a proposed housing estate, the engineer/surveyor has been provided with working drawing from AutoCAD and is expected to set this out. Independent CAD tools are available for creating these drawings and/or importing these from some extenrnal source, in DXF format.
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The CAD export options are identical to those provided in Lite, but the import options include an OS Landline and Superplan DXF filter.
With this option, it's possible to alter the layer name, colour, style and ignore layers. This is particularly useful when changing layer names like G80010001 to Building Layout, which is clearly more meaningful. |
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Apart from the CAD tools mentioned in the introduction above and shown opposite, two very useful options called Crop and Punch are provided.
These allow the cropping of CAD to a swept out rectangle and the punching of a hole in a similar manner. An outline box is provided in both cases, drawn on the current layer, with the current pen and line style.
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Construction
options are available for Points, Lines, Arcs and Circles. These are sometimes referred to as COGO options and can supplement the construction options in a Model if you are using a Dedicated CAD Backcloth. See below for more details. |
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 A Backcloth facility is provided to all models as a general feature within all editions, but it is only with the Professional and Designer editions that access is given to the Dedicated CAD Backcloth.
This is an extension to a Model folder that contains items not deemed to be linked directly to points, features or the DTM. Examples of this are Tables, Hatching and committed items such as curve fitted and annotated contours and Partition Key Plan as shown here. Many users will work here with their own CAD embellishments.
If both Model and CAD Windows are open at the same time, Synchronised Zooming applies, where both zoom windows are the same.
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The Tools menu in a model contains many functions that add detail to the Dedicated CAD Backcloth. Some of these are shown in the diagram below.
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A very useful feature introduced in the Survey edition is the conversion of CAD data into points for Setting Out.
This was introduced in the Survey edition and is further extended within the Professional edition with the addition of Generate tools in the Points menu. It's not only possible to isolate CAD elements using layers but also by element type.
There are always problems trying to create models using 2D CAD data. If for example you are provided with 2D CAD data, that contains level text, this text can be used to determine heights at points automatically.
Further along the same vein, if you have contours with contour annotation, you can indicate the contour polyline and determine its height from the contour annotation. |
As was indicated in the introduction, CAD is very important to n4ce. A further example of this is the plotting of sections. These are drawn in either CAD or a Drawing folder and have been covered in the Lite edition.
The Professional edition has additional tools for editing plotted sections, including special tools that flip, remove or bend drop lines and associated text. Further embellishment tools allow you to add additional profiles, level and chainage labels and slopes.
Even if your favourite CAD package is your preferred working environment, we strongly advise you to carry out editing in n4ce before exporting. It is a self-contained structured environment after all!
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