MX Add-In Index

MX Macro Index

The minimum required data includes:

• Reference model.
• Proposed master alignment reference string. By default, this string is also used for displaying proposed elevations.
• Geometry string - All annotation comes from the GEOMETRY String that is associated with the specified proposed master alignment reference string.
• Old ground profile string. This string has an OCxx string label that corresponds to the master alignment reference string (MCxx).  For historical compatibility, the program will also allow LCxx strings to be used for existing ground elevations.  However, string labels beginning with LC should not be used for new projects to avoid conflicts with MX's design wizards.  Refer to Generating Old Ground Strings for more detail. 

MX must be running before starting this program.  From the Add-Ins menu, select Personal Add-Ins => NHProfile.  If necessary, add the program to your MX add-in list.  If you need help doing this, refer to the documentation.

• When you begin the program, the panel below will be displayed.  If it has been run before, it may populate many of the fields with previously used data.  If the previously used data no longer exists in the model file, the program will fail.  In this case, delete the NHPROFILE.INI from the MXDATA folder under the project's PRJ folder.  The next run will have all fields blank, just like the first time.
  
  
• Select the Reference Model and String. This is the master alignment string that will define the stationing for the profile drawing. The Proposed Profile field will update to contain the same string as the Reference String field.
• The Existing Ground Profile pulldown will include any strings in the reference model beginning with "MC", "OC", or "LC" followed by the last two characters of the reference string label.  Once a string is selected for this field there will be a delay while it is checked for null elevations.
• Changing the Horiz. Scale field will cause the Vert. Scale and grid spacing fields to update.
• By default, the NHDOT Highway Design standard 5:1 ratio between horizontal and vertical scales is assumed.  This can be modified to use a 1:1 ratio or select Other to manually set both horizontal and vertical scales.
• A DPF Name can be specified.  If this field is left blank the program will use "pro_" followed by the reference string label.  In this example, the dpf file will be called pro_mc1m.dpf.
• A title can be added to the profile.  The first line is typically the project name & number.  The second line is typically the route number or road name.
• Start and end stations can be adjusted if the entire profile is not needed.
• The vertical datum is the lowest point of the profile grid. It defaults to a point below the lowest point on the profile.  This value can be modified if desired.
• Stations and elevations will typically be shown to 3 decimal places on metric profiles and 2 for Imperial.  These values can be adjusted if necessary.
• The Format area can be used to select a profile better suited for Preliminary design (with a full grid) or Final design construction plans (limited amount of grid lines).
• The Black & White Drawing option is only to be used if the drawing is to be plotted from MX and not transferred to MicroStation.  This will force all colors to black or gray to create better black and white plots.
• Click the Draw button to draw the profile.  An input file will be generated so the drawing can be recreated later without running the program again.  In this example, the input file will be called pro_mc1m.drw.  Although this  file should be stored in the project directory, this function seems to only work sporadically.  The file may end up on the users C:\ drive and should be moved into the project directory.
• Review Transferring MX profiles to MicroStation or Transferring MX profiles to MicroStation/J  if the profile is to be brought into MicroStation.

• MX must be running before starting the program.  
• When selecting the model name and reference string, select them from the pull-down list.  Attempting to key-in the first character doesn't always work properly.
• If a long alignment is selected, it will take a few moments to process the data after the Draw button is pressed.  Please be patient.

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