Grid+ allows viewing elevation profiles of cross-sections, DEMs (Digital Elevation Model), and TIN (Triangulated Irregular Network). How to view elevation profiles for each type of data is described below.
View elevation profile of cross-sections
Suppose that there is a cross-section data file. We will import the data into Grid+. Click the Import button from the main toolbar, then select Import Cross-Sections as shown in Figure 1. After selecting that option, the Import Cross-Sections form will pop up, browse to the cross-sections file, then select Open button as shown in Figure 2. The Coordinate System form will display, we should define the correct projection for the cross-sections data file, then click the OK button as shown in Figure 3.
After importing the cross-section data, to locate in the cross-section location, RMC on the XS layer in the Layer Control, then select Zoom to Layer as shown in Figure 4.
Figure 1 Import cross-sections option.
Figure 2 Import Cross-Sections form.
Figure 3 Define Coordinate System.
Figure 4 Zoom to Layer.
Open the cross-section data file (e.g. by Notepad++ or Notepad), and we will see the last column ( the third one) is the elevation value, as shown in Figure 5. Based on these values, we will set a range for the elevation color ramp of the cross-section. From the keyboard, press Alt + C, and the Specify Elevation will pop up, enter Minimum and Maximum values in the form, then click the OK button as shown in Figure 6. The color ramp for cross-sections will be displayed as shown in Figure 7.
Figure 5 Elevation values in Cross-Section data file.
Figure 6 Enter elevation range.
Figure 7 Cross-sections color ramp.
Next, click the Add a New Polyline button from the toolbar as shown in Figure 8. Drawing a starting point of a polyline by LMC and an ending point by RMC. Note that the polyline must overlay a cross-section. Select the Selection mode by pressing the S key and then LMC on the polyline to select. Next, LMC to display options, select View Cross-section Profile as shown in Figure 9. The cross-section profile is shown as the plot in Figure 10.
Figure 8 Select add a polyline option.
Figure 9 View Cross-section Profile.
Figure 10 Enter elevation range.
There are three buttons on the Cross-section Elevation Profile allows saving the profile out as shown in Figure 11. They are described below.
| Option | Description |
|---|---|
| This option allows saving the profile to a file, which can be saved in *.txt or *.dat format. After saving the profile to an external file, open the file in Notepad++ or Notepad. We will see there are four columns. The first two columns are coordinates (X,Y), the third one is the elevation (Z), and the last one is the length (L) calculated from the starting point. |
| This is copy profile data button. Once this button is selected, the profile is copied to the clipboard, and then we can paste to Notepad or Excel. The data contains two columns, one is X values, and the other is Y values of the plot. |
| This option allows saving the profile image to a file, which can be saved in different formats such as *png, *jpg, etc as shown in Figure 12. |
Figure 10 Enter elevation range.
Figure 12 Export cross-section profile image.