I wanted to start this portion of the web site as sort of tips and tricks or "what not to do" kind of information source. I expect it will grow as time goes on. For now, I wanted to mention a couple of very important issues that seem to be misunderstood regarding the redefinable variables syntax.
When creating Proposed Cross Sections using Project Manger, you eventually will encounter the Redefinable Variables Editor dialog of the Project Manager run. Each of the redefinable variables included in the Federal Lands criteria have a brief explanation of what the variable does and default syntax for each. An example is shown below:
In the example above the redefinable variable is for the left ditch foreslope value and it is set (in this example) to always be a 1:4 slope. The reason it will always be a 1:4 slope is because of the statement "if (Sta >= 0+00 R 1) then". Since stations will always be greater than 0+00 R1, the ditch foreslope statement and it's value will always be true.
A common mistake is for a user's baseline chain to start somewhere down the line at say... station 12+50. The common mistake is to edit this default syntax to read as follows:
The advice given to me (by Bentley Civil) is to never remove the default station of 0+00 . The correct way to make the modification is as follows:
Another example of correct syntax is shown below:
In the example above the left ditch foreslope will be drawn at:
In a nutshell, it's OK to change the default value of the redefinable variable, but leave the station 0+00 as it is. Additional station ranges and values can be added below the default syntax.
