Splined driveways & sidewalks won't curve

[DanatCV]

For some reason, I can no longer create splined driveways and sidewalks (I have successfully created them in the past - even on the drawing I attached.) I create two splined segments that connect but they remain straight and do not have control tabs for curvature adjustment. If I open the properties of the splined segment, the dialog box does include the spline angle setting so that tells me that it indeed is a splined segment, but it functions as a straight segment.

 

Thanks in advance for your assistance!!!!!

Small spec.zip

[DIG5050]

Draw several of the spline segments connected together to form what you desire. You'll see how the curved splines form.

Then adjust the splines to get the desired result.

Use undo as required.

[DanatCV]

Thanks for your post, DIG5050.  Nope, it still won't work. I connected three spline segments but they are acting like straight segments.  Opening the properties of each segments shows them to be spline segments but they act like straight segments... they only have tabs to widen/narrow and lengthen/shorten.  They end up being three straight connected segments angled to each other.  Perhaps I have inadvertently screwed something up in the settings.

[solver]

You might attach a plan file that demonstrates the problems.

[DanatCV]

Hi Eric.  I attached the plan file to the first post of this thread. Thanks.

[DIG5050]

Click-open the 1/4 radius on your front porch sidewalk. It’s dbx looks the same as a straight sidewalk segment. At least it does on my pc. 

 

Draw two connected sidewalk Spline segments at a 90 degree angle, and they should turn into  curved spline sidewalk you can adjust. 

 

 

[som1else]

This thread is old, but for me, this issue still exists. As far as I can tell, there is no difference between a straight sidewalk and spline sidewalk. The same goes for roads. All will produce straight sidewalks or roads with no spline tools. The only handles they have are length and width. This has been the case for several versions at least since I have been using HD since 2017 version, have upgraded several times, and have never seen this feature work. Perhaps I am missing something. The roads and sidewalks can be converted to a plain polyline which will give the spline tools, but it can't be converted back to a sidewalk or road and becomes no different than any other terrain feature. The benefit of the sidewalk and road is that the sides stay parallel when adjusting width which isn't the case for splined objects, at least I don't know an easy way to do it. I want the ability to create a curved sidewalk or road and manipulate it while keeping the opposing sides parallel. Is there a way to do this that I've yet to discover? 

[DavidJPotter]

I rarely use spline or straight driveway or sidewalk objects due to what you are complaining of (pre-programmed limitations). I use the polyline sidewalk or driveway polyline objects as they are more customizable using the "Break Line" tool and straight line to ARC tool to reshape them as I wish. When you find a tool with limited capabilities you keep looking until you find something that does what you need done.

 

DJP

[som1else]

13 minutes ago, DavidJPotter said:

I use the polyline sidewalk or driveway polyline objects as they are more customizable using the "Break Line" tool and straight line to ARC tool to reshape them as I wish.

What are you referring to? Is this polyline sidewalk something different than a spline sidewalk? Where can I find this? I'm assuming you mean creating another terrain feature and using the spline tools available on it to create a sidewalk. I am aware of this, but don't know of a specific "polyline sidewalk". What I gather is that I am correct and that the spline sidewalk and road tools do absolutely nothing and are identical in every way to the straight ones. This spline sidewalk/roads aren't pre-programmed limitations, they are flaws. To have a tool that is called "Spline Sidewalk" and has no splining capabilities is like mounting a switch on the wall, not connecting it to anything, and calling it a light switch. 

 

For the above reason, I don't use these tools either, but I would like to know an easy way to make both sides of a polyline feature parallel to each other. I'm sure there is a way, but I haven't figured it out yet. Any help pointing me in the right direction with that would be appreciated. 

 

Rob

[DavidJPotter]

In the latest version they changed the name of polyline driveways and sidewalks simply to "Driveway Area" (in older versions they were two types, quite similar called polyline driveway or polyline sidewalk. Now they are now consolidated as "Driveway Area" (same exact tool and outcome). Driveway Area can be used to create sidewalks or driveways or roads as you wish and edit them/shape them however you wish using the "Break Line Tool and the Straight line to ARC tool", check it out, please.

 

DJP

[solver]

I've never understood the Spline Sidewalk in Home Designer. In Chief when you create a Spline Sidewalk, you can select Advanced Splines and get additional control much like you are wanting, but this does not seem to be the case in Pro.

 

I'd contact support and ask. The documentation is really poor in describing this feature.

 

[som1else]

Thanks David, I am very aware of the driveway area tool and how to use it along with the other polyline tools. It's the same as all the other spline objects which all should really be consolidated into one tool in my opinion. The only difference between Driveway tool, Feature tool, Garden Bed, and the other similar tools is the default texture as far as I can see. Although all of these will work to create sidewalks, none have the ability to keep the sides parallel as you manipulate it once you've added splines to it. The ability to maintain parallel is what I imagine the sidewalk tool was intended to do, but obviously doesn't. That being said, I have used HD for several years and although I am not expert, I am quite familiar with most of the tools and how to manipulate them to create desired results. What I haven't figured out, is an easy way to keep splines parallel without extensive tweaking. 

[som1else]

2 minutes ago, solver said:

I've never understood the Spline Sidewalk in Home Designer. In Chief when you create a Spline Sidewalk, you can select Advanced Splines and get additional control much like you are wanting, but this does not seem to be the case in Pro.

 

I'd contact support and ask. The documentation is really poor in describing this feature.

 

Eric, I agree. Although not a huge issue for me, I will submit a ticket and see what they have to say.

[som1else]

Okay, I just discovered something and found out I was mistaken. Straight Roads/Sidewalks and Spline Roads/Sidewalks are actually different and splining them is possible. The problem is they are labeled backwards. Straight ones can be splined and Splined ones cannot. 

[solver]

23 minutes ago, som1else said:

Okay, I just discovered something and found out I was mistaken. Straight Roads/Sidewalks and Spline Roads/Sidewalks are actually different and splining them is possible. The problem is they are labeled backwards. Straight ones can be splined and Splined ones cannot. 

 

How do you spline them? You can Change Line to Arc on the straight ones, but that's not splines -- or maybe it is?

[som1else]

Maybe I am conflating my terms. What I am considering splining is the ability to arc, add breaks, turns, or other poly lines. Perhaps that is erroneous. Anyway, I figured out what I was trying to accomplish which is to create a sidewalk shape and be able to widen the whole thing without having to manipulate individual segments. The tools work the way I was expecting, they are just labeled backwards.

 

One note however, unlike similar tools, you can't add multiple arcs to a single sidewalk. You will need to add additional sections, connect them together, and then arc the individual sections even though they will look like one long section.

 

[som1else]

On 7/15/2022 at 12:05 PM, solver said:

You can Change Line to Arc on the straight ones, but that's not splines -- or maybe it is?

Well it turns out I was incorrect all around. Eric, you are correct arcs do not splines make. And the Spline Roads/Sidewalks do curve. The trick is you must connect at least two of them together when you first draw them. The tool works just as I would have thought it should. I just had to get past operator error. Dig5050 had it correct earlier in this thread and I must have tried it with straight roads or something as I didn't get his explanation to work when I tried. David and Eric, thanks for your help/suggestions. To clear this up for anyone searching in the future, here is the explanation support was so helpful to offer: 

 

"The edit tools  - Change Line/Arc, Intersect/Join Two Lines, Fillet, and Chamfer are only available for regular line and polyline based objects - they are not available for splines.

Extend/Trim Object(s) are also line and polyline edit tools; however, they are not available in Home Designer Pro. They are only found in our Chief Architect Premier and Interiors titles.

Splines behave totally differently from regular polylines. To see what I mean, draw a single segment of a Spine, Spline Road, or Spline Sidewalk. It looks like a straight line. Now, draw a second segment snapped to the end of the first, but going in a different direction. When you release the mouse button, you won't get two straight segments: you will get a curve. The curve of a spline can be edited by clicking and dragging its end edit handles or the Reshape handles located along its length (or in the case of roads/sidewalks, along its centerline). You can add more breaks using the Add Break edit tool."

[solver]

5 minutes ago, som1else said:

Dig5050 had it correct earlier in this thread

 

And this is why I always try to suggest people start a new thread and reference the older one. People rarely look at what's above when someone adds on to an existing thread.

 

Thanks for the update.