Used to create a civil cell.

You can access this tool from the following:

Ribbon: Model Detailing > Civil Cells

To create a civil cell, use the Create Civil Cell tool, and follow the prompts, noted in bold below:

Civil Cell Name

Type in a name for the civil cell. It is a good idea to make this meaningful, so that it helps you recognise what the civil cell is when you place it. The name of the civil cell can be changed in Element Information once the cell is created.

Locate Reference Element

Select the first reference element. A reference element is a 'parent' of the elements that you want the civil cell to contain - an edge of road, for example. You will be prompted to select the corresponding reference elements when you place the civil cell. Note that in the Create Civil Cell dialog you can type in a name for the reference element, and you should do this before you select the reference element. This name will be used in the prompts to place the civil cell, so it is a good idea to make this meaningful. This name can be changed after the civil cell has been created, in Element Information.

When you locate a reference element, any dependent elements - that is elements whose definition completely relies on the reference element - are shown with a solid line. This means that the element is fully defined, and the Create Civil Cell tool has enough information to recreate that element when the civil cell is placed. An example of this is an element created using the Offset Transition tool in the Horizontal Geometry toolset, if you select the element it was created from as a reference in a civil cell.

Any dependent elements whose definition partly relies on the reference element, but also relies on another element which has not been selected as a reference element yet, are shown with a dashed line. An example of this is an element created using the Arc Between Elements tool in the Horizontal Geometry toolset. This element requires two reference elements when you create it, so picking one of them as a reference in a civil cell will only partly define it, so it will be displayed in a dashed line and not become part of the civil cell until you pick the second reference.

Locate Next Reference Element - Reset to Complete

Select the second and subsequent reference elements, if needed, then reset to complete. Using the Arc Between Elements example above, selecting the second reference element that the arc was created from will be needed to ensure that the arc is fully defined. When this is achieved the element will be shown with a solid line.

Locate Optional Reference - Reset To Complete

Once you have pressed reset to finish selecting reference elements, you have the option of selecting optional references. These are reference elements that may, or may not, exist when you place the civil cell. If they exist, you can select them and the supplied geometry will be used. If they do not exist, the civil cell will create them using the predefined geometric rules captured during creation.

An example of this might be a side road where you want to create an intersection. If the length of the side road is significant, you might have already designed the full road corridor, including the road edges. If the side road is less significant, you may have only designed the centreline for it. The civil cell of the intersection could be created so that the side road centreline is a reference element, because it exists in both cases, and the road edges for the side road could be optional references. When you place this civil cell on the full side road corridor you would select the optional side road references, because you have already designed them so you will want to use them. When you place the civil cell on the side road centreline you will press reset when you asked to select the optional references, and they will be created by the civil cell.

Accept Civil Cell

This prompt is where you confirm that the civil cell contains the elements you expect. By this point you have selected all of the references and optional references, so every element, including geometry, templates, and terrain models, will be shown with a solid line. Data point to accept.

If there are any elements which are shown with a dashed line, it means that the Create Civil Cell tool does not have enough information to recreate that element when the civil cell is placed. In this case you should not accept the civil cell, but cancel instead (by clicking the Element Selection tool). You should then review the elements which are not fully defined to see why. One way to do this is to select the element and look at it in Element Information, because this shows its dependencies.