SMS:Scatter Breakline Options

Scatter Breakline Options

When importing a Scatter Set using the File Import Wizard, selecting "Breaklines" as a field will open the Scatter Breakline Options dialog. Breaklines are useful for maintaining the correct triangulation in a TIN.

Breakline Delimeters

The available breakline delimeter options and samples of the associated file formats are:

• Names – Breaklines are identified using a unique name or ID
• Tags – Breaklines are identified using "start" and optionally "continue" and "end" values

No vertex can be in more than one breakline, and the breakline must be defined sequentially in the data file.

Named Breaklines

The breakline column of the data file includes the name of the breakline this vertex belongs to. If the breakline column is empty, the associated vertex is not included in any breaklines.

Example Files

Example of a tab delimited file using breakline names:

xcoord        ycoord       zcoord   name
215962.9      85203.098    1.483    Breakline1
215957.638    85193.069    1.483    Breakline1
215963.278    85184.35     1.483    Breakline1
215979.111    85179.328    1.483    Breakline1
216056.51     85209.371    1.483    Breakline1
215992.462    85201.477    7.034    Breakline2
216127.386    85264.681    7.034    Breakline2
216267.187    85327.936    7.034    Breakline2
216371.217    85381.431    7.034    Breakline2
219261.939    90247.944    8.763    
219461.211    90220.556    9.167    
219678.994    90179.064    9.468    

Tagged Breaklines

The breakline column of the data file includes a tag or string defining when a breakline starts and stops. There are three types of tags including:

• Start – Identifies the start of a new breakline
• Continue – Indicates the vertex should be included in the current breakline
• End – Identifies the end of the current breakline

These tags may be used in a number of configurations:

• Start, Continue, End – When all three tags are used, each line of the data file is searched to indicate the initiation of a breakline. That is triggered when the Start tag is found. Every line thereafter should have a Continue tag until the line with the End tag. Lines with no entry in the Breakline column between breaklines are read as vertices not belonging to any breakline.
• Start, End – When the start and end tags are used, each line of the data file is searched to indicate the initiation of a breakline. That is triggered when the Start tag is found. Every line thereafter is searched for an End tag. All intervening lines are assumed to belong sequentially to a breakline. If two Start tags are encountered without an intervening End tag, the break line is terminated and another started.
• Start, Continue – When the start and continue tags are used, each line of the data file is searched to indicate the initiation of a breakline. That is triggered when the Start tag is found. Every line thereafter is searched for a Continue tag. If any line is encountered without a Continue tag, the breakline is terminated and the vertex associated with that line is not included in a breakline.

Example of a tab delimited file using the following breakline tags:

• Start: 1
• Continue: 2
• End: 4
• Not in breakline: 5

xcoord        ycoord       zcoord   breakline_tag
215962.9      85203.098    1.483    1
215957.638    85193.069    1.483    2
215963.278    85184.35     1.483    2
215979.111    85179.328    1.483    2
216056.51     85209.371    1.483    4
215992.462    85201.477    7.034    1
216127.386    85264.681    7.034    2
216267.187    85327.936    7.034    2
216371.217    85381.431    7.034    4
219261.939    90247.944    8.763    5
219461.211    90220.556    9.167    5
219678.994    90179.064    9.468    5

Related Topics

• File Import Wizard
• Breaklines