Plan View / 3D Objects

By default the program starts in plan view, looking straight down at the mapped area. This is the principal view window for mapping and many of the 2D plotting features. Three-dimensional contouring and geologic modeling may also be performed within the plan views, by selecting one of the stock view-from angles or rotating the view. Typically, the horizontal distance across a study area is substantially greater than the vertical depth of interest. Therefore, the vertical distances must be exaggerated relative to the horizontal distances to better convey changing conditions in the vertical direction.

New plan view and 3D object windows may be created by selecting Plan View from the Create Windows panel of the Tasks Pane, which is on the right-hand side of the View window. View options can be defined in the View Options dialog box. Select either Plot> 2D Data or Plot> 3D Data from the main menu to access available plot objects. These plot objects are described in detail in separate help topics.

Note: Vertical exaggeration occurs automatically and is included when the data is exported to CAD (i.e., DWG and DXF formats). Users must manually change the Vertical Exaggeration value to 1 for the vertical data to be exported with the accurate elevation and depth data. The Vertical Exaggeration setting is configurable from within the Options tab of the View Options dialog, which can be accessed by selecting View > Options from the main menu.