Choosing a grading or design elevation method

Use this overview when you need to decide which tool to use for grading, slope tie-ins, or design heights. Use DTM > Slope Intercept when Pythagoras must create a new calculated slope line. Use Calculation > Design when the line, polyline, or path already exists and you only need to calculate or update its heights.

Use DTM > Slope Intercept when the position of the slope line is not yet known. This is typical for earthworks, platforms, embankments, cut/fill edges, road shoulders, ditches, and terrain connections.

Use Calculation > Design when the line position is already known and you only need to calculate or update heights. These tools do not replace slope intercepts; they solve a different problem.

Use DTM > Slope Intercept for slope tie-ins

Pythagoras starts from a selected reference line and generates a new slope line.

Design a slope line with a fixed slope percentage.

Use this method when you know the slope percentage and need Pythagoras to calculate where the slope reaches a terrain model or fixed elevation.

• Use DTM > Slope Intercept > Fixed Slope....
• Choose one of these targets:

A terrain model 

A fixed elevation  --> How to calculate a slope with a fixed gradient

Design a slope line at a fixed distance

Use this method when you know the horizontal distance from the reference line and need Pythagoras to calculate the resulting slope line.

• Use DTM > Slope Intercept > Fixed Distance....
• Choose one of these targets:

A terrain model --> Slope with Fixed Distance to Existing Terrain Model

A fixed elevation

Use Calculation > Design for design heights on existing lines

Use Calculation > Design when the line position is already known. These tools calculate or update Z-values on existing geometry.

• Calculate heights and slope for the selected polyline or path.

Use this method when you have one existing polyline or path and you know the slope and at least one height. Pythagoras calculates the missing height values along the selected polyline or path.

• Calculation > Design > Polyline/Path Elevations > Slope based... 
  --> Design Tools: Polyline/Path Elevations

• Calculate heights along the selected polyline or path.

Use this method when you know the start and end elevations and want Pythagoras to calculate the slope and height difference.

• Calculation > Design > Polyline/Path Elevations > Elevation based... 

• Calculate heights relative to a reference path

Use this method when you have a reference path with valid heights and one or more target polylines that must follow it.

• Use Calculation > Design > Polyline relative to Path....
• Choose one of these methods:

Fixed slope from the reference path

Fixed height difference from the reference path

--> Calculate polyline elevations automatically from a reference path