UI. Layers/Overlays panel
The Layers/Overlays panel is common to all Alastri software. Panel name Overlays is used only in Haul Infinity, in other programs it’s named Layers.
Overview and location
The Layers/Overlays panel is present in the sections of all Alastri applications where you work with solids, surfaces, haul networks, animations, reserves and dumps databases.
To use this panel, open the Layers or Overlays tab (in Haul Infinity only), which can be docked in the viewing area, or minimized and hidden in the sidebar.
Use the pin icon to dock and auto hide the panel.
Use the rectangle icon to maximize the panel area, or restore to the default/previous view.
Surfaces and solid triangulations can be imported into the software for display through this panel. Points files may also be imported and triangulated.
Layers/Overlays panel items description
Icon | Description |
|---|---|
Blue Plus icon to import files into the software. | |
Create folder to organise files in the panel. | |
Delete file/folder. Highlight files to be deleted and select delete button. Using the <CTRL> or <SHIFT> keys multiple files may be selected. Only one folder can be deleted at one time to prevent deleting lots of data at one time. | |
Show/Hide. | |
Lock or unlocked for editing. | |
Show triangle edges. | |
Triangulated file (Surface/Solid). | |
Points file. | |
Click on color dropdown to select triangulation colour and level of transparency, as well as drape images over triangulations. More details see here. | |
Select options for sorting layers
|
Supported Layers
The following file types are supported:
Vulcan v7-v10 (“.00t”)
Vulcan Arch_d File (“.arch_d”)
Surpac STR File (“.str”)
Surpac DTM File (“.dtm”)
AutoCAD 2010-2013 DXF (“.dxf”): Modern AutoCAD 2013 DXF and Legacy AutoCAD 2010 DXF.
CSV Points File (“.csv”)
MineSight MSR (“.msr”)
Wavefront OBJ (“.obj”)
It is also possible to import and export Shapefiles (".shp”, “.shx”, “.dbf”) across all the Layers/Overlays panels.
Creating Layers and Folders
In the Layers panel, you can import layers into a project and organize them into folders.
You can create several custom folders with subfolders (if desired), and rename them as needed to make working with layers easier.
Moving Items
You can change the order in which folders and their items are displayed by dragging and dropping them. The place of insertion is pointed by blue arrows.
Import Files
To add layers to the created folders or separately in the Layers panel use the blue plus icon. In the import window that opens select the applicable files in supported formats.
After you have confirmed the files to be imported, a dialog box will appear asking you to specify the triangle count (Triangle Count column) and the decimation method (Decimation column).
The loaded layers will be now listed in the Layers panel, select them holding <SHIFT> or <CTRL> keys and move them to the appropriate folder.
To add layers you can also select files in the source folder and drag them directly to the Layers panel.
Decimation
Some files, such as topographic survey files, are much larger files and may take longer to import. That is why it is recommended to "downsample" the number of triangles in such files using the decimation feature.
Decimation is a reduction of image size by decimal subsampling, which is used to minimize the image quality and loading time. When the triangle count is low, the default setting is zero decimation (<None>). When loading larger layers with more triangles, you may need to select another option of low (“Mild”), medium (“Moderate”) or strong (“Extensive”) decimation to reduce the uploading and scheduling time. Depending on the choice of the decimation level, the time of importing layers may increase.
Working with import results
After the function has been run you will be shown the results.
In this example you see:
Name of the imported layer (the Name column) - here “End of Month Survey”.
Triangle count: original (Triangle Count (Original) column) and reduced (Triangle Count (Decimated) column).
Volumetric difference between these two surfaces in cubic meters (which is, in this example, relatively speaking is very small) in the Volume Difference column.
You can also display both surfaces or only toggle Original or Decimated.
Enable or disable Use Decimation flag to determine which file you wish to use (Original or Decimated).
It’s recommended to rename a decimated file to make it easier identifiable. This decimated file size will be much smaller so when performing solid operations the speed with which the functions perform should be much improved due to the reduced number of triangles in this surface. This can be demonstrated by exporting the decimated layer and comparing its size with original file size. To do this, press the Tools button and select “Export Layer” option.
You will see that the exported file will be five times smaller than the original one, which significantly improves processing time, reduces the size of the final file, and makes the planning process more efficient.
Additional Information
For more information on functionality available on the Layers/Overlay panel see the following links:
How To Video
Watch the video instruction below. All the functions and items of the Layers panel are visually demonstrated there, using the Solid Lab tab of the Spatial Conformetrics application as an example..