A. There is no direct printing out of the 3D viewer itself. However you can take a snapshot (using the camera icon), which saves the image as a .jpg. These snapshots are automatically numbered and saved as jpg files in a Snapshots folder on your hard disk.

Open the Snapshot Manager in the 2D program. The Snapshot Manager toolbox (found in the 2D diagram program) displays thumbnails of all the snapshots you take in the 3D Viewer. From there any snapshot can be viewed and placed back into the 2D drawing. Because the snapshots are jpg images they can easily be inserted into reports, Power Point presentations, or included as an attachment in an email. You can also bring the JPG into any other program that supports JPG images, such as Paint, Word, etc.

Refer to your 3D user's manual for the actual steps for this procedure. You can also give us a call for Tech Support at (800) 641-9077.

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Q. How can I adjust the height of a fence in 3D?

A. First, draw the fence using the 10' line type. After it is drawn in, and you are still in 2D mode, click on the fence to select it. Open the 3D builder toolbox and assign it a negative elevation of -6 feet. Since the fence is 10' tall and we are giving it a minus elevation of 6', only 4' will appear above the ground plane. Another thing that you can do is draw in the fence line using the normal line type and assign a 4-foot elevation to it. Experiment with painting or un-painting the 4' "wall" for different effects.

Q. Can I import AutoCAD 3D items into the Diagram Program?

A. The program does recognize ACAD 3D faces, but that's about it. All of our symbols were created in ACAD, but the program doesn't really support ALL of  the 3D attributes that are offered in ACAD. For additional help with this issue refer to our Training Movies CD-ROM. There are a couple of movies that address this issue. You may also call our resident AutoCAD expert, Todd White, at (503) 641-9077 ext 103 for additional help.

Q. Can I show a 3D car in mid-flip?

A. Yes, but it can take a little work. First you will need to use the Point command and place three points on the screen. (Three Points because we are going to use a 3D TIN process to tilt the vehicle.)

Next place a vehicle symbol in the diagram.

Select one of the Points and open the 3D Builder tool from the Speedbar. Assign a height to the Point. Use this process to assign height to the other two points. This is where the main work of this process takes place. You need to figure out how to manipulate the points so they create the amount of flip the car will take on.

Once the 3D values are assigned to the points, select the 3D Symbol Align (Free) commands from the 3D pull-down menu. Click on the car to select it and following the command prompts on the Yellow Message bar click the 3D Points that you placed on the screen.

This matched the 3D Plane of the car to that of the points placed on the screen. (If you had wanted the car to match the elevation or slope of a hill or ramp you would have used the 3D align to Plane command.)

Next, you may have to adjust the elevation of the vehicle as tilting it may have dropped it below the ground plane. Just select the symbol and choose the 3D builder tool again. Adjust the Symbol Height value in the toolbox until the vehicle is placed correctly.

Q. How do I add hills and inclines to my diagrams? I need to add an incline to the road, so that it goes up hill.

A. The number one item to be used is Points. Think of them as Dot-to Dots from the old color books. Place the points or markers at exact distances and angles using the Easy Lines feature.

One the points are placed, use the 3D Builder to add the desired elevation to the points.

Now you have two choices:

1) Use any of the Draw commands to snap a line, curve, arc, etc, to the points. The draw commands will follow the 3D value of the points and take on the x,y and z values. This is a neat feature as you can change the line type to a guardrail barrier and have it follow the slope of the points placed.

2) Use the Easy Surface command and following the commands prompts, snap to three consecutive 3D points (the TIN process again) to build a 3D surface that follows the 3D values of the points you are snapping to. (Then you could go back and place the special line types mentioned above so you create an object on top of a sloped roadway.)

Next, use the 3D Align to Plane command to place vehicles and other symbols that match the angle and elevation of the 3D surface section.