Technical News & Information for Australian Data Systems Customers
27 August 2001

How to "flatten" all 3D data in a design file to one elevation

There are two ways to do this. First, you can use the Align By Edge tool in MicroStation SE and MicroStation/J. Alternatively; you can use the Scale tool in MicroStation. This is how it works:

- Enter a 3D design file - Go to a Top View and click Fit View (if you wish to "flatten" the entire design)
- Set your active Z for the top view - Choose Fence From View (by choosing Place Fence and setting Fence Type to "From View")

- Select the Top View
- Start the Scale tool

- Make sure you disable the scale lock in the tool settings (this is very important)
- Enable the Use Fence toggle (and set the mode to Inside)
- Set the X- and Y-scales to 1.0000
- Set the Z-scale to 0.00001 (the result in the Z-scale text item will be 0.0000)
- Optional: Appropriately enable or disable the Make Copy toggle in the tool settings
- Click a data button in the Top View 
- Reset once complete

Everything should then "flatten" to an elevation of the active Z. This should also work for selection sets and individual objects selected. This could also be *customized* through some MicroStation BASIC code so that the active Z could be set before the data is "flattened" -- that way, the user could determine at what specific elevation the data should be "flattened."

 

 Australian Data Systems  Phone: +618 9479 1338  Fax: +618 9479 1353
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