Edit Alignments Manually

After an alignment has been converted to be editable, colored nodes will appear along the alignment in plan and profile. Dark red square nodes will appear in the Plan view highlighting the location of IPs for horizontal curves. Blue round nodes will appear in Profile view highlighting the location of IPs for vertical curves. The extent of a curve (where they start and stop) is displayed along the alignment by short gray lines running perpendicular to the alignment. The alignment can be manipulated by moving these red and blue nodes along the alignment.

To change the horizontal aspect of the alignment, alter this in the Plan view. Select a dark red node and click it with the mouse. The node will change to a white node with a gray handle with a green circle attached.

The white node allows you to move the location of the IP of the current horizontal curve, while the green handle allows you to increase or decrease the horizontal radius of the curve. Aspects of the alignment will change immediately such as the items in the Alignment Review Summary and the overall cost of the alignment. While moving the location of the IP of the current horizontal radius curve (white node) you are only able to move the node to locations that will still meet the overall geometric design constraints of the entire alignment (such as minimum horizontal radius of curvature). If you wish to move the IP beyond these limits hold down the [Shift] key, then select the node and move it to the desired position. To delete an IP, hold down the Ctrl key and move the mouse to the IP you want to delete. The delete cursor appears. Right-click to delete the IP.

To change the vertical aspect of the alignment, alter this in the Profile view. Select a dark blue node and click and drag the position of the node. Again, aspects of the alignment will change immediately such as the items in the Alignment Review Summary and the overall cost of the alignment. A selected node in the Profile view appears as a round white marker for the location of the IP of the vertical curve. A black marker with a green circular handle represents the vertical radius.

The vertical geometry can be modified similarly to the technique of adjusting the location of IPs and the radius of curvature values for horizontal curves. Again, if you wish to move a vertical curve IP beyond the scenario's geometric tolerances, hold down the [Shift] key then make your modifications.