Lightning Tool Guides
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      1. Blue Sky Evo Helpdesk
      2. Lightning
      3. Lightning Tool Guides

      Creating a Profile/Surface in Lightning

      Basic

      1. Add a Surface
      2. Select ‘Draw Profile’
      3. Set Profile Options
      4. Adjust Graph Settings 

      Advanced

      1. Add a Surface

      1.  Click on "Add Surface…" to open the Elevation Data Source window.
      2.  Select the Graph Type:
        • Line Graph
        • Bar Graph
        • Point Graph
      3.  Select a Surface Name by using the pull-down bar to select from the list provided, or by typing in a unique name in the field provided.
      4.  Select a linear symbol for the surface to use when being drawn.

      2. Select a Value Source

      1. There are six source options for the surface data source:
        •  Scan Contours – Use contour elevations at the point of crossing of the alignment. Select the layer from the “Table of Contents,” and select the field containing the values from the “Attribute Table.”
        •  Values from Point Layer – Select a layer in the “Table of Contents” containing point data. Select a buffer of how far to each side of the alignment for points to be read. Select the attribute containing the requested values.
        •  Attach FT Table – Select from the Project Database an FT_Table and a value field from the table.
        •  Linear Z Value – Use the XYZ data from the selected alignment.
        •  Values from Elevation Table – Use an Elevation Table in the Table of Contents that contains a Station Field and a Value Field (Elevation).
        •  Scan Digital Elevation Model – Select a Raster layer in the Table of Contents that contains Value Data. Attributes (Elevations). DEMs require a query distance (how far the system will move down the alignment before recording the next value). If more than one value is collected per raster cell, the ‘Remove Duplicates within Query Distance’ will eliminate multiple values from the same cell.
      2.  The entirety of a dataset can be moved up or down with the ‘Offset Values By.’ Check the ‘Offset Values By’ Boolean button and supply a value to adjust the surface values up or down.

      3. Manage Surfaces
      Enables the viewing, manipulation, and adjustment of an existing surface

      1.  The grid space shows the existing surfaces and their current settings.
      2.  Label in Graph will show the surface name as annotation in the grid.
      3.  Include in Profile is a Boolean selection that tells Lightning this dataset draws on the sheets.
      4.  The next three Radio buttons shows the current graph option, as well as the other options available to change.
      5.  The Symbol Combo Box enables a different linear symbol to be selected for the layer.
      6.  The Name filed enables the adjustment of the surface name.
      7.  The Priority Combo Box sets the draw order of the selected surfaces.
      8.  When Label in Graph is selected you will need to select a Text Style for the Label.
      9.  Rename Selected saved changes made to the surface name.
      10.  Update Selected saves changes to the highlighted surface.
      11.  Delete Selected removes the highlighted surface from the project database.
      12.  Edit Selected opens the ‘Edit Surface <surface name>’ window, showing the data and the graph layout. If sheets are set for the alignment, start and stop locations for the sheets will be colored and labeled.
        •  Surface Data shows the Station/Value combinations. Rows selected in the spreadsheet view can be edited.
        •  Move Values Up/Down applies a bump to the entire dataset.
        •  Insert Row allows a new Station/Elevation Row to be entered either above or below the selected Row.
        •  Set Selected Values to be Null removes the selected Rows from the dataset, enabling the Surface to display no entries for the selected stations. Setting values to be null will break the surface, show nothing, at the selected station values.
        •  Delete Row removes the selected entry(ies) but continues the surface to the next recorded value.
        •  Horizontal Display allows the graph station range to be truncated for a better view of the specified portion of the surface.
        •  Save as enables surfaces, not generated by FT tables, to be saved under a different surface name.
        •  Save records the adjustments to a surface.
        •  Close shuts down the Edit Surface window. Unsaved data will be discarded.
      13.  Close shuts the Manage Surfaces window. Unsaved data will be discarded.

      4. Profile Options

      1.  Show Minor Horizontal Lines, when checked will include minor horizontal lines on the surface grid.
      2.  Show Minor Vertical Lines, when checked will include minor vertical lines on the surface grid.
      3.  Show Data Under Surface – Enables the identification of polygon data in reference to the surface. The polygon data is shown as hatching beneath the surface. (i.e. Soil data shown under profile information to help identify trench breaker locations)
      4.  Show Depth of Cover – Check Box turns on the Depth of Cover function. Moving your pointer away from the checked box and then returning shows the DOC dialog box:
        •  DOC Band – Select the location on your template, the band name, of where the DOC will draw.
        •  Natural Ground Surface – select the profile name that corresponds to the natural ground, or upper surface.
        •  Top of Pipe Surface – select the profile name that corresponds to the top of pipe, or lower surface.
        •  DOC Polygon Symbol Check Box – turns on the function to fill the area between the surfaces with a Polygon symbol.
        •  DOC Polygon Symbol Selection – Select the polygon symbol that will fill between the DOC layers.
        •  DOC Text Style – the text style that is used to display the number depth value.
        •  Word Wrap Check Box – sets whether Word Wrap will be used for the DOC values.
        •  Calculate Depth of Cover – Clicking will use the selected layers for the DOC to generate the result values in the SurfDef table in the project database.

      5. Graph Settings

      •  Override Vertical Scale Optimization Check Box – This function turns off the internal optimization of the vertical scale and lets the user manually set the vertical scale. With the optimizer turned off it is possible that user provided settings may cause the profile line to draw off of the grid.
      •  Constant Range: Bottom Value – By checking the box, the user is able to set a grid bottom value that will be used for every sheet. Otherwise, the grid-range-bottom-value may be different for each sheet.
      •  Vertical Scale - Shows the 1=X value of the vertical scale. This value can be increased by clicking on the UP arrow, but can only be lowered below the initial value by reducing the value for Spacing of Horizontal Lines.
      •  Min / Max – Read only values showing the combined surfaces minimum and maximum values.
      •  Offset Gap Percentage – a ratio value showing how much the grid will be compressed inside of the available space of the band. Higher values will stretch the grid to fill the space. Lower values will compress the grid and show more space between the top and bottom of the grid and the bounding box of the band area.
      •  Spacing of Horizontal Lines – adjusting the unit spacing (data range) of the horizontal lines in the grid. This value will modify the Vertical Scale of the grid.
      •  Minor Horizontal Lines – the number of minor horizontal lines being used between the Major Horizontal Lines. This value should always be odd so that the minor lines bisect the major lines.
      •  Spacing of Vertical Lines – adjusting the spacing of the stationing values lines in the grid.
      •  Minor Vertical Lines - the number of minor vertical lines being used between the Major Vertical Lines. This value should always be odd so that the minor lines bisect the major lines.