Create Alignments

Create your own alignment in the Plan View

1. From the Optimization tab, click Create Alignment. The cursor appears in the Plan view.

2. Click the position of the alignments horizontal IP’s in the Plan view.

Tip: Check the start bearing and grade before you create an alignment. If needed the Quantm Desktop software will enter an additional IP at the start of your alignment to preserve the start bearing.

3. When entering the last IP, double-click. The last IP will be added and the alignment will close onto the finish point. The Create Geometric Alignment dialog appears.

4. Enter the Name of the alignment.

5. Enter the Number of Vertical Points. The value entered here will depend of the length of the alignment and the terrain. Start with one vertical IP per km and increase the number if the alignment does not follow the natural surface as well as you would expect or if there are unnecessary bridges or tunnels placed in the alignment.

Warning: The number entered for Number of Vertical Points has a significant effect on the alignment's cost.

Quantm Desktop will fit a horizontal alignment and vertical alignment to the traced path. The vertical alignment will roughly follow the natural surface. This alignment can be saved and used as a seed for optimization. You can view the alignment geometry in the alignment properties window.

Next topic: Rename, Delete, and Load an Alignment