Profiles (longitudinal section)

A terrain profile shows a cross-section of the terrain along a chosen baseline. It is an essential tool for analysis and design, giving you insight into elevation changes and slope behavior.

To generate a terrain profile, you first need a baseline that defines where the section will be taken.

1. Draw the baseline

You need a baseline to determine where the profile will be cut. This can be drawn as:

• a line or polyline

• a path (click at least two points: start and endpoint. Hold CTRL when clicking the endpoint to finish the path)

The baseline can be straight, zigzag, or follow an arc.

Tip: Use a path instead of a simple line if you later want to attach reference objects to the profile.

Draw the baseline where you want to cut through the terrain. For a complete section, click on the extreme boundaries of the terrain model for both start and end points.

The direction in which you draw the baseline defines the orientation of the profile: the first point will appear on the left of the profile, the last point will appear on the right.

2. Generate the profile

To create the section from the terrain model:

1. Select the baseline.

2. From the menu, choose DTM > Length Profile...

The Cross Section window opens with three tabs:

3. Settings

Profile tab

• Reference elevation: enter a fixed value or enable Floating reference elevation to let the software determine it automatically.

• Scales: adjust the horizontal (X) and vertical (Z) scales (e.g. 1/200).

Records tab

• Add a record row:

  • Type: DTM

  • Sub Type: Height

  • Data 1: select the terrain model

• Optionally, add a second record row:

  • Type: DTM

  • Sub Type: Slope

  • Data 1: select the terrain model

• Optional: under Dimensioning, click the Settings icon to configure how the graph should be displayed.

Adjust the order of the record rows.

Layout tab (optional)

Decide where the profile will appear:

• By default, the profile opens in a new document.

• You can also place it in a specific layout view of the current drawing.

• Change the default behavior in the Layout tab.

4. Confirm

Click OK to generate the terrain profile.

Result

The terrain profile is displayed as a graph.

You see the elevation changes along your baseline.

Any reference elevations or additional records (like slope) are shown in the same graph.

The graph can be exported, printed, or linked to further analysis.