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Locations in InfraField: How to set up

In this article, we will guide you through the process of creating the Locations module structure in an InfraField project. We will cover map settings for the coordinate system, map layers, GIS, and alignments. Additionally, we will explain how to add structures and areas to the project so that the users can utilize models and drawings.

Table of contents

  1. Video
  2. Main components of an InfraField project
  3. How to set up the map
  4. Structures
  5. Areas

Video

This video demonstrates setting up the Locations module using CAD data with predefined project coordinates. It covers adding areas, custom map layers, GIS data, and alignment files.

 User rights

To set up and edit Locations, you must be the project administrator, the project planning manager, or part of a custom user group with 'edit' permissions for Locations.

An InfraField project consists of the following components:

  • Map
  • Structures
  • Areas

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This article does not cover point clouds, read about setting them up in this article: Point clouds.

Map

The map controls where this project is located (Projected coordinate system) and which map layers, GIS, and alignment files can be displayed under Locations.

  • Map layers are links to public platforms that use the WMTS format.
  • GIS (Geographic Information System) or LandXML files can be uploaded to the project from your PC to add a layer to the map view.
  • Alignments are used to divide the areas into smaller segments according to station increments and follow the path of the alignment files.

Structures

Structures are used to display vertical components that are aligned with the linear areas. A structure contains levels.

An auto-generated top view of the topography or building footprint can be displayed on the map, but drawings attached to a structure cannot.

A structure containing CAD/BIM files is placed according to the coordinates of these files and cannot be placed manually.

The maximum size per structure is 2 km.

Areas

Areas display model/drawing data that belong to a linear project. An area does not contain levels but can be divided into smaller segments using alignments.

Models and drawings attached to an area can be shown on the map.

An area containing CAD/BIM files is placed according to the coordinates of these files and cannot be placed manually.

An area containing only PDF or image files cannot be placed on the map. At least one CAD/BIM file with coordinates must be uploaded to an area before they can be placed on the map.

The maximum size per area is 50 km.

How to set up the map

Go to Settings Locations Map.

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The map menu displays the elements of the map view and the options available to the end user under Locations. To change between a list view and the menu, click /  in the top right corner.

The list view allows you to search, filter, and multi-edit the map layers, GIS files, and alignments uploaded to the project.

Coordinate system

The coordinate system locates the project in the real world and aligns all areas and structures to the map view. Once you set the coordinate system, it applies to all areas and structures in the project.

Note

Before you can place the project using the coordinate system, you must have at least one area with a drawing or model with coordinates.

To place the project in the correct coordinate system, click on the 'Not set' button to the right of the coordinate system.

 WARNING

Make sure to select the correct coordinate system from the start to avoid affecting your entire project.

Predefined System To set up the coordinates for the project using a predefined system, select an area and a drawing, then click on ‘Predefined system’.

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From the list search and choose the correct system projection.

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Click ‘OK’ to save the selection and return to the previous screen.

If you need to make adjustments to the selected system projection, click 'Advanced’. This allows you to adjust the system projection to match your project.

Click 'Reset' to return to the default projection values.

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The 'Place all locations in relation to the map' window will display the drawing data for the area and show where it is located on the map.

If you are using the predefined system, CAD/BIM files are automatically mapped according to the coordinates, and they cannot be manually adjusted.

Click on the 'Coordinate system code', in this case, 'EPSG:4095', to select another projection.

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Click 'Save' to save the coordinate system.

Manual placement

To place all locations in relation to the map manually, select an area and a drawing. Then select points A and B on the drawing and the corresponding A and B on the map.

Adjust the points until they match up in the combined display, then click 'Save'.

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You can manipulate the A-B line by entering values in the X/Y and latitude/longitude fields.

Click 'Reset' to remove the current A-B line and start over for either the location or the map.

Click 'Delete' to clear the location match, a warning will appear before the setting is deleted.

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Map layers

The default map layers are the standard and satellite views.

To add a new map layer, go to:

Settings Locations Map Add Map layer:

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A new window will appear, where you must type in a name and link for the map layer. The link must come from a public platform that uses the WMTS or WMS format, such as https://www.mapbox.com/.

If you check the 'Set as default map' box, it will be the default map view for all users in Locations.

Each custom map layer is shown below the standard ones and can be edited and removed by clicking the -icon.

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GIS

To upload GIS and LandXML files to the project, go to

Settings Locations Add 'GIS and LandXML' Select the file from your computer or Dalux Box.

Supported formats are: GML, KML, KMZ, LandXML, and SHP (zipped).

Fill in the metadata for the file and click 'Process and save'.

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Name: This is displayed to the end user under Locations.

Coordinate system: If the file contains a coordinate system, it will be displayed here, if no coordinate system is displayed, the file will use the default one from the project.

Note

Do not change this value, if the coordinate system is different from the one used in the project, Dalux will convert the coordinates when uploading the file.

Color: This will color the points, lines, and areas in the selected color.

Group : This will display the file in the selected group here and in Locations.

Subgroup : This will display the file in the selected subgroup here and in Locations.

The GIS and LandXML files will be listed below the GIS folder, where you can view the overlay on the map to the right.

The files must be processed before it is displayed to the end user in Locations.

Use the -icon to Edit, Download, or Remove the file.

When you remove the files, they are deleted from the project and you cannot retrieve them. Be sure to download any data before removing it.

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The option 'From file' allows you to generate GIS data from a text or CSV file.

You can either enter data directly in the window or download the template locally, fill it with information, and import the data. This allows you to create point data directly in Dalux that is treated like all other GIS files.

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Alignments

Alignments are used to divide the map data into smaller sections according to station increments and follow the path of the alignment file. The supported format is LandXML.

To add a new alignment file, go to:

Settings Locations Map Add Alignments.

Then select a file from a folder in Dalux Box or your computer.

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The files will be listed and you can add metadata as required, click 'Upload' when done.

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The files are displayed in the Alignments folder, and each center line from the drawing is shown below.

Use the -icon to Edit, Download, or Remove the file.

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Click 'Edit' to divide the areas into smaller segments following this line.

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Station increments: Enter a number in m (minimum 5) to draw in an annotation for each increment for this alignment file.

Activate: Check this box to activate these alignments and make them visible to the end user under Locations.

Click 'Save' when done. Alignments are only available on the desktop app.

Structures

To set up structures, go to:

Settings Locations Structures.

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From here, you can add structures to your projects, but please note that the map view only shows an automatically generated top view of the topography or building footprint of a model, not drawings.

Since InfraField structures behave the same as buildings, please see this article for how to add models and drawings: Upload IFC model files and 2D drawings.

Structures are placed on the map according to the coordinates in the CAD/BIM file and cannot be manually mapped.

A terrain type option for models makes it possible to differentiate between regular models and Terrain models. This allows you to separate terrain and model information in the top-down view, where both would otherwise be visible, potentially leaving the model obscured by the terrain.

The terrain models are available via the Surroundings button and can be converted from regular to terrain models in Settings.

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Areas

To set up areas, go to:

Settings Locations Areas.

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This window displays the current areas, if the area contains a model, a thumbnail of that model is displayed, otherwise, areas display a placeholder thumbnail.

  • Unpublished areas: Areas that are not available to the end user because they are being processed or are empty.
  • Published areas: Areas that are visible to the end user in Locations. Note: Any changes to models and/or drawings must be processed before the end user can see the result in Locations.

The toolbar at the top contains the following tools:

  • Add: Adds a new area for models and/or drawings
  • Rename: Renames the selected Area.
  • Delete: Delete the selected Area, note that the area must be empty before it can be deleted.
  • Edit: Select an Area and click 'Edit' to open the area window or double-click an area.
  • More: You can download the plugin tools here.

Read more about the plugins here: Downloads.

Add area

To add a new area, click Add, type in a name, and then click 'Add area'.

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The area window appears:

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Add files: To upload drawings or models to the area, click Add and then select the files from either your computer or Dalux Box.

Review each file you upload to make sure the metadata matches the content, then click 'Upload' when you are finished.

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Each metadata field behaves as described below:
  • File type:
    • Model: The uploaded file contains model information such as 3D objects.
    • Drawing: The file contains 2D geometry on a single page (multi-page drawings are not allowed).
  • Version: This is a system field that counts the number of times this file has been uploaded to this location. Each time a file with the same name (including extension) is uploaded to the same location, this number is increased by one.
  • Drawing height: If this is a drawing, enter the height of the drawing to match the model data.
  • Scale: Select which scale the file will use.
  • Use colors: Check this box if you want the lines of the drawing to be in color, unchecked they will be black.
  • Box folder: Choose to upload this file to a folder in Dalux Box. If the file was added from Dalux Box, the folder is already selected.
  • Discipline/Subdiscipline: click on to add, rename, or delete the discipline/subdiscipline of this file. This will affect the grouping of drawings under Locations.
  • Content description: This is a text field where you can enter the description of the content, which can be used for sorting and filtering.
  • Number: This is a text field where you can enter the drawing number of this file. This is used to link to this drawing from other drawings that contain this number. You can read more about Hyperlinks here: Hyperlinks on PDF drawings.
  • Title: This is pre-populated with the file name and can be used for sorting and filtering.
When you click 'Upload' each drawing will start to be uploaded and a progress bar will be displayed to the left of each file. 

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When all the files are uploaded, the window will automatically close and the area window will be displayed. All files need to be processed before data can be manipulated or viewed in Locations.

If you have uploaded a PDF or image, please see the section: Map to 3D.

  • More Area log: This will give you a log of the various actions that have been performed on this area, such as adding or deleting models, and publishing the area.
  • More Preview: This will open a preview of the 3D model and you can see it from different fixed angles.

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Once the files are processed, they can be manipulated with the tools below the -icon that appears when you hover over the files.

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  • Edit: Open the file to edit the metadata, folder or upload a new version with a new name (see below).
  • Delete: Delete this file from Locations and Box.
  • Add to Box: If this file was uploaded from the computer, you can add this file to a folder in Dalux Box.
  • Discipline: Open the discipline/subdiscipline where you can add, delete, or rename entries, to change the grouping of drawings in the Area.
  • Locations: This lets you decide if the drawing should be visible to the end user in Locations or not when published.

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Edit

When you open a file with the Edit button, you can manipulate the file with the following tools.

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  • Download: Download the latest version of the drawing to your computer.
  • Versions: View and download previous versions of this file.
  • More Move to folder: Move this file to a folder in Dalux Box.
  • More Delete: Delete this file from Locations and Dalux Box.
  • More Upload new version: Upload a new version of this file, but in this case you can upload a file with a different name and still keep the versioning. The previous version(s) keep their name for traceability.
  • Show metadata: View and edit the metadata for this file.

List view The default view is the folder view, but you can change it by clicking on the -icon in the upper right corner. This will display the files in a standard list view where you can search and filter the contents.

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The tools for manipulating the files are located under the More menu and work in the same way as described under 'Edit' above.

3D

The 3D view on the right shows the current file. Use this to check the contents without leaving the Settings dialogue.

Use the left mouse button to pan. Use the middle mouse button to zoom in and out.

When you click , the window will change to the Locations view, where you can see the current area in the four different view modes: 3D, drawing, split, and 3D section.

If you select a single 3D model, you will be given the option to view it alone or all models together.

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If you choose to view the selected model, you will only see a 3D view of the model, without the four different view options mentioned above.

Map to 3D

If you upload a PDF or image, the file does not contain coordinates, so you will need to manually map it. Files that are not mapped are placed under the folder 'Unmapped drawings'.

Select the drawing you want to map Map to 3D.

This gives you two ways to map it to the 3D model, 'Top-down' like a site plan, or 'Vertical' like a section. The mapping process is the same, it just affects how these files are displayed.

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Select a drawing or top-down view to begin the mapping process, then select points A(1) and B(2) on the 'Current drawing' and the same location for A(3) and B(4) on the 'Match drawing'.

The points A and B should be as far apart as possible for the mapping to be accurate. Use the ‘Combined display’ (5) to verify the mapping.

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Manipulate the A and B points on either drawing to make the mapping accurate. Click 'OK' when you are satisfied with the mapping.

The mapped PDF or image will be moved to the 'Mapped drawings' folder and will be labeled 'Measured by measurable drawing', indicating that the scale is based on the drawing it is mapped to.

If you want to change the mapping, click on Update mapping.

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