Create Terrain Surface

Defines and creates a Terrain Surface (TRNSUR) element in the Terrain hierarchy.

Create Surface

The Terrain Surface is the whole reference surface imported from a file and has no thickness.

Terrain World

Displays the currently selected Terrain World.

The Terrain World can be changed by selecting a different one in the hierarchy and clicking refresh .

A Terrain World must be selected. If a Terrain World is not selected in the hierarchy an error message is displayed.

Import File Name

The import file can be opened by clicking or typing the path manually. The Surface is named automatically from the file it is imported from.

The following file types can be imported:

• XYZ (.xyz)

• STEP (.stp)

• STL (.stl)

• IGES (.igs)

  Note:
  Large files may take several minutes to import.

A terrain model in XYZ format is defined by a large number of points. These points are triangulated and a triangulated surface is created, this is computationally costly and may take longer to import than other file formats.

After the file is selected, a graphical aid is displayed to show where in the Model the surface will be imported to. The position will be its raw coordinates from the file if the Datum Position is left at 0,0,0. If Datum Position is altered this allows the user to choose the position within the file that will be at the origin (0,0,0) in Model.

Angle from North

Rotates the surface.

Datum Position

Creates the datum position for the Surface element, using the coordinates manually entered, using an offset or picked from the 3D view. These coordinates can then be locked.

Refer to Create Terrain Definition, Create Terrain Model and Add Contours for further information.