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Display Shading

Updated August 25, 2020


This article applies to:
  • RoadEng Civil
  • RoadEng Forestry
  • Softree Optimal

Display shading is a new feature in RoadEng Version 9.  It allows the user to hatch portions of their road design in the plan view. 

It has several functions including:

  • the display of areas in cut/fill,
  • displaying surfaces (SG, Srf 1, Srf 2, etc.),
  • displaying areas between code pairs, and
  • graphically illustrate attribute values in the plan view.

The feature can be accessed from the Plan Window Display Options dialogue box. 

To toggle the feature on/off, simply check the Shading option.  To configure the shading settings, press the “+” symbol next to Shading to open the Plan Shading Options dialogue box as shown in the figure below.

Display shade 1.png

Figure 1 - Accessing the Plan Shading Options dialogue box through the Plan Window Display Options dialogue box.

In the Plan Shading Options dialogue box (Figure 2) the user can select what type of shading they would like, configure what options are displayed, and select the desired color and hatch pattern.

display shade 2.png

Figure 2 -  The Plan Shading Option dialogue box were shading options can be configured to display desired results.
 

By using this feature, design and construction considerations can be communicated more efficiently in the plan view.  This can reduce the designer's time required to add labels, reduce clutter, draw attention to important details, and reduce the attention the designer/reviewer/builder must pay to other views.

The option to display areas in cut and fill (Figure 3) is useful for both streamlining the design process and improving communication to builders.  By using this feature in the preliminary stages of design in hilly terrain the user can quickly set the elevation of control points and adjust their horizontal alignment to achieve a desired balance of cut and fill without having to look between several design views.  From a construction standpoint, the feature can be beneficial to show builders where they should transition between cut and fill.

display shade 3.png

Figure 3.  An example design that illustrates areas in cut and fill using the cut and fill shading feature.
 

The remaining features can be used to:

  • Delineate areas where different materials are required, for example, subgrade vs subbase (Figure 4)
  • Draw attention to important areas using point codes (Figure 5),
  • Delineate areas of interest based on attribute values and/or customize how attributes are displayed by their value (Figure 6).
display shade 4.png
Figure 4 - Surfacing and subgrade layers delineated using the surface shading tool.
 
display shade 5.png
Figure 5 - An example design that utilizes shading between point codes to indicate fill slopes where berms are required for a mine haul road.

display shade 6.png

Figure 6-  Road gradient illustrated in the plan view using the attribute shading feature.