•When you include a traverse in a drawing (by tagging it), TPC draws the traverse using the sequence of points in the traverse and its Traverse Drawing Settings.
•The traverse just appears in the drawing complete with drawing objects for all its lines, points and labels.
•Now you can modify the Traverse Drawing Settings or individual objects as needed to complete the drawing. See Traverse vs Object Settings.
•When you create traverses with Point Codes, TPC uses the Traverse Drawing Settings stored with each code to draw the traverses it creates.
Traverse Drawing Settings vs CAD
Using Traverse Drawing Settings is a fast, flexible and fun way to create your drawings, but it isn't at all like CAD. If you are already familiar or accustomed to CAD, you will need to 'take your CAD hat off' so to speak. If you don't, you won't be successful with TPC and Traverse Drawing Settings- it's that simple. See mores ways TPC differs from CAD.
This help topic will help you 'put on your TPC hat' by explaining how to use Traverse Drawing Settings. Of course, you can still snap lines to point, create offset, draw and hatch polylines like you would in CAD, but the real question is, "Why would you?" This is your opportunity to get away from all the work of CAD and let TPC do the work for you.
The Advantage of Traverse Drawing Settings
The advantage you get from using Traverse Drawing Settings is simple - they affect all the points in the traverse. So by making one change of color, point symbol, line type, etc. you affect every object drawn by that traverse. And as you work with your survey data, the Traverse Drawing Settings re-create the drawing based on the new survey data - automatically.
It doesn't take long to figure out that this is a VERY fast and VERY flexible way to draw your surveys.
Using Traverse Drawing Settings
The trick to using Traverse Settings is to let TPC do as much of the drawing as possible. If you find yourself drawing line and typing text in a TPC drawing, you're 'missing the boat', so to speak. Here is how Traverse Settings work.
1.Create new traverses with the Traverse Drawing Settings you want via the New Traverse dialog or Point Codes.
2.Change the Traverse Drawing Settings as needed, letting TPC do as much of the drawing as possible.
3.Change individual objects like lines, point symbols and text as needed to finish the drawing.
These three steps will maximize your drawing efficiency and fun with TPC. You will want to experiment with the Traverse Drawing Settings to see what they do and how the look in a drawing. There are lots of settings to choose from, so have fun.
Unique Traverse Drawing Settings provide even greater flexibility when a survey has multiple drawings. A drawing can store unique settings for any traverse. So you can make a traverse look one way in one drawing and look another way in another drawing.
Prioritizing Traverse Drawing Settings
By default, the first traverse to draw a point symbol, point label, line or line label, control how that object is created via its traverse drawing settings. So the traverse sequence is important in getting the drawing to look the way you want.
Beginning with TPC Desktop 2018 R1, you can also prioritize traverses, which tells TPC to draw or re-draw the objects in a traverse so that it controls how those objects look.
Changing Traverse Drawing Settings for Multiple Traverses
For example, if all you want to update are the lot labels of the selected traverses, select just the [x] Lot Labels option and choose OK. TPC will display just the lot labels dialog and apply the lot label settings you choose to the selected traverses without affecting any of the other Traverse Drawing Settings for those traverses.
Saving Traverse Drawing Settings
Traverse Drawing Settings can be saved and re-used as needed. If you typically draw your lot labels a certain size wth a certain font, save those settings and re-use them for any new traverses you create. You can always modify the Traverse Drawing Settings as needed, so saving and recalling Traverse Drawing Settings just gives you a place to start. See Drawing View Settings dialog.
Your traverse drawing settings are stored in the UserQvSettings.dat file in the program data folder.
Resetting Modified Attributes
Changes you make to an objects attributes, like size, color, line type, etc. are retained by that object, even if the Traverse Drawing Settings of the associated traverse are changed. However, those changes can be removed, resetting the attributes of that object back to those of it's traverse.
