Distribute Vertices Command

The vertices define the geometry of the polyline. Generally, vertex spacing has no strategic importance. However, vertex spacing is important when the polylines are used for automatic mesh generation. In this situation, the vertex spacing defines the mesh density, and each mesh element is defined by a pair of adjacent vertices. The mesh gradation is controlled by the vertex spacing. In areas where a finer mesh is required, the vertices need to be closer together. By contrast, the vertices need to be farther apart in areas where a coarse mesh is required.

In CivilGEO’s software, the Distribute Vertices command can be used to control the vertex spacing and their distributions to define the polyline geometry.

Follow the steps below to use the Distribute Vertices command:

From the Map Edit ribbon menu, select the Distribute Vertices command.
The Distribute Vertices dialog box will be displayed.

The following sections describe the Distribute Vertices command and how to interact with the above dialog box.

Selecting Polylines

If one or more polylines have been selected before running the Distribute Vertices command, the selected polyline(s) data will be displayed in the dialog box. Alternatively, the user can click the [Pick] button to select the polyline from the Map View. The dialog box will temporarily disappear, and a prompt will be displayed on the status bar instructing the user to select the polyline(s).

Note that the user can also select polyline edges that are arranged in a polygon shape.

After selecting the polyline(s) from the Map View, either right-click and select Done from the context menu or press the [Enter] key to complete the selection. The user will be returned to the dialog box, and the Pick polylines read-only field will display the number of the selected polyline(s).
Pick polylines read-only field - number of the selected polyline(s)

The following Polyline Data will be displayed for the selected polyline(s):

Number of polyline segments
This field displays the number of segment(s) of the selected polyline(s).
Total length of polylines
This field displays the combined (total) length of the selected polyline(s).
Maximum segment length
This field displays the length of the longest segment of the selected polyline(s).
Average segment length
This field displays the average length of the segment(s) of the selected polyline(s).
Minimum segment length
This field displays the length of the minimum segment of the selected polyline(s).

Vertex Redistribution

This section is used to control the redistribution of the existing vertices in the polyline(s). The following options are available:

Maximum segment length
This radio button option allows the user to specify the maximum segment length (defined by the two vertices that bound that segment) that will be used to redefine the polyline geometry. The user can enter the maximum segment length manually or measure it from the Map View using the [Pick] button. By default, this field displays the maximum segment length of the selected polyline(s).

Note that when this radio button option is not selected, it acts as a read-only field showing the maximum segment length of the selected polyline(s).
Number of segments
This radio button option allows the user to specify the number of segments that will be used for redefining the polyline geometry of selected polyline(s). By default, this field displays the number of segments present in the selected polyline.

Note that when this radio button option is not selected, it acts as a read-only field showing the number of segments for the currently selected polyline.
Weighted spacing
This option is enabled if the Number of segments radio button option is selected. The Weighted spacing slider bar allows the user to adjust the vertex spacing along the selected polyline. By default, the Weighted spacing field value is set to 0, which means the software will uniformly distribute the vertices.

The values range from –50% (leftmost side of the slider) to +50% (rightmost side of the slider). Moving the slider to the left or right changes the distribution of the vertices along the selected polyline. For the specified weighted spacing, the corresponding distribution of the vertices can be seen in the Preview pane.

After defining the vertex distribution parameters, click the [OK] button, and the software will redistribute the vertices of the selected polyline(s) as per the user-defined parameters.