TO CREATE THE HORIZONTAL ALIGNMENT (Classic 98):

To create the horizontal alignment interactively (point and shoot on the screen), here are a few tips.

Invoke the GEOPAK Alignment Startup Option:

APPLICATIONS > GEOPAK ROAD > GEOMETRY > LAYOUT ALIGNMENTS HORIZONTAL

Next select GEOPAK 98 (Graphic Element Based)

This brings up the little horizontal alignment palette. It has two "tear off" palettes:

Horizontal Alignment Place and Horizontal Alignment Modify

We typically use spirals in WFLHD, so for this example, we'll click on Place Spiral.
This brings up the Geopak Spiral Information palette:

There are 5 spiral / simple curve combinations available, SC, SCS, CS, SCSCS, and CSC. Once the curve combination has been selected, and the data fields have been filled in, you will be prompted to identify the beginning tangent and the ending tangent. Once the ending tangent has been identified and accepted, the curve combination will be displayed graphically. To accept this layout, data point the screen. To try another combination of lengths, press reset. Continue using this procedure for the remainder of the alignment. When finished, the elements must be stored into the GPK data base, by using Store Graphics.

Invoke the Store Graphics palette:
APPLICATIONS > GEOPAK ROAD > GEOMETRY > STORE GRAPHICS.

This brings up the "Store Graphics" dialog box, and after completing this step...automatically creates the mysterious .GPK file, if one doesn't already exist in your directory.

Key in the Job number and operator code. If you've inherited a .GPK file with your design project, and you've been instructed to continue to use that same file, you must key in the Job number and operator code for that existing .GPK file. If you're starting from scratch...use any naming convention that makes sense to you. The "Job number" should relate to your project number, usually 3 characters such as 123 and the operator code is usually your first and last initials such as SP. This would result in a new .GPK file named JOB123.GPK.

Under the options selector, select "chain" and key in a name for your alignment that makes sense to you.

Key in the beginning point number of your chain.   If this is a new chain be sure to use a point number not currently in use.
NOTE:   To see what point numbers are currently in use...activate the "coordinate geometry" dialog box: APPLICATIONS > GEOPAK ROAD > GEOMETRY > COORDINATE GEOMETRY.

Click on Tools > Navigator.   This invokes the COGO Navigator window as shown below.  Toggle the Element options to Point.   All currently used points will be displayed.   After doing this, collapse the "Coordinate Geometry" and Navigator windows.

After keying in the beginning point number, (in the Store Graphics dialog box), key in the beginning station and press ENTER.

Click on ID ELEMENT and DP on the first element of the chain. Move your cursor away from the chain and continue to DP the screen. If the entire chain is in view, you'll see each element highlight as you DP the screen and the chain is linked together. After the last element of the chain has been accepted, the STORE push button on the "store graphics" dialog box will no longer be grayed out.

Click on STORE. This brings up the "store graphics notification" window. Click on OK.

WHEN YOU PRESSED OK...TWO THINGS HAPPENED:
1. You created or added to the mysterious .GPK file and stored all those graphical elements together as a "chain" in the .GPK file that can now be displayed graphically and stationed using other GEOPAK tools.
2. You also created or added to, an "ASCII" input file whose name is based on the Job number and operator code that you keyed in when you filled out the "store graphics" dialog box.

If your JOB NUMBER is 123 and your OPERATOR CODE is SP, the input file created will be named J123OSP.INP.

As additional alignments are stored, they will be added (appended) into this input file. I guess this is a way of saving previously stored alignments. At some point, the outdated alignments stored in this input file will have to be deleted.

An output of the alignment can be reviewed/printed as well.

This is how...

TO VIEW THE OUTPUT LISTING:

There are two ways to do this. After the alignment is stored, activate the COORDINATE GEOMETRY dialog box.

At the top of the COGO dialog box type DES ALI [chain name].

This produces an output listing similar to the old RDS listing that many people are familiar with.

OR...

At the top of the COGO dialog box type DES CHA [chain name].
This produces the normal GEOPAK output listing.

NEXT...To actually print a hard copy of this alignment, at the top of the COGO dialog box, type CLEAR, press ENTER, type DES ALI [chain name], press ENTER, or DES CHA [chain name], press ENTER, and type OUT [filename], and press ENTER. These same commands are also available from the "Coordinate Geometry" dialog box "pull downs" located at the top of the dialog box.

This creates an output file that can be printed. If you typed OUT A the output file would be named A108.OSP. See VOL I, Part II, "File Commands," Page 4-9 for more information on OUTPUT files.

To display the alignment graphically, (for Final plans) see Display the Horizontal Alignment.

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