Surface Labels

[caddjockey2000]

Description: I wish for the ability to have a elevation subtraction value for placing surface elevation labels. I have to place a lot of spot grades on my grading plans and they get very full when your working with elevations over 1000.

How Used: Enter a surface elevation subtraction label value in the label dialog before placing the labels. For example, if your site is over 2000 feet in elevation, you would enter a subtraction value of 2000 so that the label would be 74.54 rather than 2074.54.

Feature Affinity: Surface Labels

[MMccall.83699]

I'm pretty sure this can already be done by using an expression for the elevation. The expression would take the surface elevation (2074.54) and divide it by 100 (20.7454), then truncate the result (20), multiply by 100 (2000), and lastly, subtract it from the original surface elevation and return the resulting value. (74.54)

[caddjockey2000]

Could you give me the expression code to enter into the text contents. I'm not exactly sure how to make an expression since I have not yet done so in Autocad.

Thanks for the feedback

[MMccall.83699]

I was afraid you were going to ask that. It took a little diggin but I managed to find where I posted a similar expression another board. (as I'm not currently using 07, I only used it for a week or so)


Anywho, it would look something like this:

{Surface Elevation}-((TRUNC({Surface Elevation}/100)*100)

[caddjockey2000]

That didn't work. The code for the label in 2007 seems to be different from the one you posted and can not be modified by text editing. If you enter the code by typing it in rather than using the label tools to build the code, you just get exactly what you keyed in as the label not the elevation. Thank you for the effort though. I worked around it by lowering my site 2000 feet. This works for me on this project since my site stays below 2100. Maybe 2008 will have the ability to strip or subtract the 2000 from the elevation. Here's to hoping. Again, thank you for your help. I may not have gotten the results I wanted but I did learn something even if it is what you can't do with civil 3D.

[MMccall.83699]

Hold on, don't abandon the solution just yet. The code posted goes into an "expression", not directly into the label's text component editor. Expressions are a new thing added to C3D 07. Under your label style in prospector you should see "expressions". You want to make a new one. Give it whatever name you want. Use the code I posted as the expression. Save it. Then go to the label composer and you should now see the name of the expression as one of the properties you can add to your text component. Expressions are like being able to make your own properties. Expressions can access more object information that the standard set of properties and they can perform functions on the information they access. I only got to play with them for a week using a demo product but it was enough to get me hooked. Check out the help system for 'expressions'. It'll be worth your time to get to know how to make and use these.

[caddjockey2000]

OH MY GOODNESS!!! IT WORKED!!! Thank you so very much. You just saved me about 30% of my plan label space. I had completely forgotten about the expressions within the prospector. I guess it just did not click in my head with what and where to do that. FYI, the only thing that was wrong was a parse error and all I had to do was add ")" to the end of the expression making the expression:
{Surface Elevation}-((TRUNC({Surface Elevation}/100)*100))

Thank you again and have a wonderful weekend!

[BrenBren]

Moved from wish list per OP request.

[MHultgren]

I just wondered what Surface Labels they are talking about?
You can create any number of Label Styles that can pull a myriad of properties from a surface. Spot elevations, Grid Coords, Surface Name, Slope, you name it, you can create a label to place it. I haven't found anything that I need that can't be included in a label (so far!).

[MHultgren]

OH MY GOODNESS!!! IT WORKED!!! Thank you so very much. You just saved me about 30% of my plan label space. I had completely forgotten about the expressions within the prospector. I guess it just did not click in my head with what and where to do that. FYI, the only thing that was wrong was a parse error and all I had to do was add ")" to the end of the expression making the expression:
{Surface Elevation}-((TRUNC({Surface Elevation}/100)*100))

Thank you again and have a wonderful weekend!

You can actually erase the first ( and last ) and get the same result.