CREATE THE GRIDS AND PLOT THE SHEETS

This application does not come with the Geopak software.   The application was written by Ted Wood, currently a Design Operations Engineer in our office in Vancouver.  This application requires IPLOT plotting software.

The file required to run this application is named IGEOXS.MA and resides on our server.

Open the cross-section file that has your sheets all laid out, (see Create Cross Section Sheets).   In the MicroStation command window . . . type MDL L IGEOXS.   This can be upper or lowercase.   The dialog box shown to the left will appear:

Click on the Select push button and select the input file you previously completed for laying out the sheets.   By doing this, the "Geopak Sheet Layout Info" is automatically filled in.

• Select the Page Orientation and Plotter units.



• Select the Iplot Queue and view # to plot from.

NOTE:   View characteristics used will be those setup just prior to the last time "Save Settings" was executed.   In other words . . . set up the view you plan to plot from and Save Settings, before invoking this dialog box.

• Adjust the toggles appropriately.   The "Sub-Title" field will be automatically filled in with the "Output X and Y" scales as shown at the top of the dialog box.   The date will be automatically filled in at the time that the file is plotted.




• Click on Create.   The grids will be placed as well as any instructions by the activated toggles.   The dialog box below will then appear:

 

 

• Click on OK.   Now...ALT TAB to File Manager and double click on the .bat file shown in your Alert window.   This may take awhile to plot all the sheets . . . so "smoke 'em if you got 'em and then go to the plotter and collect your sheets.

• The next time (if there is a next time), that you open the secondary cross-section file and again attempt to execute the IGEOXS mdl application . . . this Alert window will appear.   This version warns you that the grids and the plot files (shown in the Alert window) will be deleted if you continue.   If you want to continue, click on OK.

Special Note # 1:

When you edit the cross section layout input file (associate this file with Notepad or UltraEdit NOT Write). As with all input files.. there must be at least one blank line at the end of the file in order for it to work.

Special Note # 2:

After typing MDL L IGEOXS in the MicroStation command window . . . many DOS windows will cascade across your screen and eventually will disappear.   This is simply reading all of your IPLOT set files and attempting to find corresponding plotters that match. To make this run faster... simply remove any unnecessary set files.

Special Note # 3:

There are actually two ways to paginate the cross-section sheets file.   Both ways involve a special file named GEOXS.CFG (associate this file with notepad NOT write).   That file lives in the directory C:\Program Files\Common Files\InterPlot\config\.   There is one special command line in the .CFG file that controls which of the two ways the sheets are paginated.   By default the line appears as GEOXS_ADD_PAGE_NO = 0.   There are actually three ways that this line can be written.   Each is explained below:

• GEOXS_ADD_PAGE_NO = 0
  This is the typical setting and will produce pagination text on each cross-section sheet illustrating it's page number, the word of and the total number of sheets.   An example of the plotted results for the seventh sheet at this setting would be . . . 7 of 155.



• GEOXS_ADD_PAGE_NO = -20 (any number less than zero will work).
  This setting will produce only the sheet number on each of the sheets beginning with sheet number 1.   The word of and the total number of sheets will be omitted.   An example of the results for the seventh sheet at this setting would be . . . 7.



• GEOXS_ADD_PAGE_NO = 30 (any positive number will work).
  This setting will produce only the sheet number on each of the sheets except the first sheet number will be calculated and plotted using the formula, 1 plus the number following the = sign.   The word of and the total number of sheets will be omitted.   An example of the results for the first sheet at this setting would be . . . 31.

You may wonder . . . why would one want to do this!   Let's say that from your primary cross-section file, you want the first 50 cross-sections plotted on sheets in the "portrait" position.   The next 20 cross- sections in "landscape" position, and the remainder of the cross sections in "portrait" position.   Wouldn't it be nice to combine all three secondary cross-section sheet files in consecutive sheet numbered order?

1. Run the first 50 cross-sections with the setting at GEOXS_ADD_PAGE_NO = -20
2. Run the next 20 cross-sections with the setting at GEOXS_ADD_PAGE_NO = 30, replace the number 30 with the last sheet number from the first run.
3. Run the remainder of the cross-sections with the setting at GEOXS_ADD_PAGE_NO = 30, replace the number 30 with the last sheet number from the second run.

The following is an example of the GEOXS.CFG file:

###############################################################################
#
# geoxs.cfg - IPLOT Configuration File for Geopak XS Generator
#
#      All variable names must be in Caps.
#      These variables emulate the IPLOT variables except:
#         1.  Do not use any uStn or DOS variables in the directory path.
#         2.  Do not use more than one directory path.
#         3.  End directory path with a backslash.
#
#      Note:   .\  == Current working directory
###############################################################################
# Default variables

GEOXS_QUEUE = NPS_17@plt12c
GEOXS_TITLE = Western Federal Lands Highway Division
GEOXS_SUBTITLE = Scale: 
GEOXS_USERTITLE = Project, Engineer, Revision Date
GEOXS_ADD_PAGE_NO = 0
GEOXS_TEXT_SHAPE = 1
GEOXS_SCROLL = Federal Lands Highways -- Committed to Excellence

# DO NOT EDIT ANYTHING BELOW THIS LINE!!!!!!!

# Point to Iplot directories of queue and setting files

IP_QUEUE_DIR = c:\win32app\ingr\ipshare\ipclient\bin\
IPLOT_SETTINGS_PATH 		= H:\iplot\settings\

GEOXS_OUTPUT_DIR  = .

# Default variables for non-GeoPak (or GeoPak) applications
#     These defaults are set up for typical RDS x-sections

GEOXS_SCALE_X = 2.0
GEOXS_SCALE_Y = 2.0
GEOXS_SHEET_X = 11.0
GEOXS_SHEET_Y = 17.0
GEOXS_OFFSET_X = 0.171
GEOXS_OFFSET_Y = 3.2
GEOXS_MAJOR_GRID = 1.0
GEOXS_MINOR_GRID = 0.2

# End of data