Working with Design Bounds

A design's bounds are the map boundaries representing the area of the real-world job site. By defining the bounds of a design, you can see the job area more easily on the GIS map and on plots of your design. Design bounds are defined using the Design Assistant.

When the design is approved, the design bounds are posted to the main GIS database. At this time, the design bounds will be visible to other users so they will know that construction is planned in this area. Bentley OpenUtilities Designer automatically deletes a design's bounds from the GIS map when the work request is closed out.

Design bounds apply only to designs in the GIS format. If you convert a GIS design to an design in the Offline or Template formats, which do not support spatial data, the design bounds are not retained in the new format but stored for later retrieval.

In Bentley OpenUtilities Designer, the object Design Bounds is configurable as a standard feature type and displayed in the Features Catalog with the Miscellaneous group (Design page). Thus the Design Bounds can be configured to display work request attributes on the GIS map, for example.

Defining Design Bounds

Design bounds are defined using the Set Design Bounds command on the Actions menu of the Design Assistant. The boundary is drawn by placing trail points in the GIS window with the cursor in Geometry mode. The recommended procedure is to construct all the main paths for the design before defining the design bounds.

To define the bounds of a design

In the My Designs view, double-click the design to open it in the Design Assistant.
In the GIS map window, draw an enclosed box around the job site.
From the Actions menu of the Design Assistant window, choose Set Design Bounds.
Note: If you want to redraw the boundary, use the Undo command. Once the design's Work Request has been submitted, the boundary cannot be moved or manually deleted.

Modifying Design Bounds

You can redefine the boundary of a design by opening it in the Design Assistant, drawing a new boundary in the GIS window, and then reapplying the Set Design Bounds command. Bentley OpenUtilities Designer will remove the previous boundary and display the new one.

To modify the bounds of a design

In the My Designs view, double-click the design to open it in the Design Assistant.
In the GIS map window, draw an enclosed box around the job site.
From the Actions menu of the Design Assistant window, choose Set Design Bounds.

Viewing Design Bounds

If you have defined design bounds for a GIS design, this boundary will be displayed in the GIS window whenever you open the design in the Design Assistant and navigate to the design with the Go To command on the Actions menu. The graphic representation of the boundary will depend on the way graphic styles are configured in your GIS. Clicking anywhere within the boundary area (with the cursor in Select mode) will apply shading to the design area if a corresponding GIS style is available.

Deleting Design Bounds

Bentley OpenUtilities Designer automatically deletes a design's bounds from the GIS map when the job is complete. If the design is converted to the Offline or Template formats, which do not support spatial data, the design bounds are removed but stored for later retrieval in case the design is converted back to a GIS design.