When I was given the task of creating styles for Features and Components at a previous employer, I made two families of styles. The features styles were created for 3D/Plan display as well as cross section and profile display.
Here is how I set linear features:
- 3D/Plan
- Display Lines
- Annotationed
- Cross Section
- Projected Lines
- Crossing Points
- Annotation
- Profile
- Projected Lines
- Crossing Points
- Annotation
Here is how I set point features
- 3D/Plan
- Display Points
- Annotation
- Cross Section
- Projected Points
- Annotation
- Profile
- Projected Points
- Annotation
A separate set of component styles were created primarily for cross section display and annotation, but I quickly realized that display of certain components in 3D/Plan view offered some quick rendering possibilities. So, components were initially set with no 3D/Plan Display if they were created from closed components and represented design elements with thickness. Some open components and end conditions were needed for regular use, but extra open components were created for all of the top/finish grade elements to allow their use for 3D and 2D renderings. This meant that curb & gutters, sidewalks and pavement components had a top, open component and a normal closed component. At the time, these lower components were not needed for rendering which is whys they had no settings toggled on for 3D/Plan display. The open, top surface components did offer the potential for renderings, so they were given these surface settings:
- 3D/Plan
- Display Lines
- Annotation
- Cross Section
- Component
- Annotation
In later versions of InRoads, there was more control available for component display, so I might have revised these so both open and closed components used the above settings.
With OpenRoads, I need Element Templates for these components. But I am finding, in some of our Client DOT XIN files, they are mixing features and components, often using the same feature styles for both the features and the components.
For example, they are using the feature RD_Cut and RD_Fill for the breakline features where the end conditions find the target surface. At the same time, they also assign those feature styles to the components of the end conditions.
With more and more of the design needing to be stored in the DGN files, I cannot help but feel like this is not desirable and possibly a worst practice.
Can someone who has done more with Open Roads shed some light on this topic. My gut feeling is that component styles need to be used for components and feature styles need to be used for features and that you should not try and make a dual use style for both.