Using Inspection Layers

Using the Photo Inspector tool, you can create inspection feature layers in which you mark and measure areas in your 3D model or on photos in the Photo Inspector. You can create a new layer for this purpose or designate any polyline or polygon feature layer created or loaded into the project as an inspection layer.

The model or photo can be marked with inspection points, polylines, or polygons. An HTML or PDF inspection report can then be generated with information about the project and all inspection markings and measurements.

Creating and Selecting Inspection Layers

Either select an inspection layer already loaded to your TerraExplorer project or create a new layer.

To select an inspection layer, do either of the following:

§  Select the inspection layer from the initial Photo Inspector dialog.

§  In Settings, select a layer from the Inspection Layer list. The Inspection layer field is automatically populated with all polyline and polygon feature layers in the project, whether created in the project or loaded into it.

 

To create a new inspection layer:

1.     In the Photo Inspector Settings, Create inspection layer field, click Create. The New Inspection Layer dialog is displayed.

2.     Type a name for the layer and define custom attributes, that can be used to characterize and categorize the inspection area polygons.

3.     Click Create. The inspection layer with its lines and annotations is stored as a GeoPackage file.

Adding Markings and Measurements

To add markings and measurements to an inspection layer, do any of the following:

§  Add an inspection line or polygon:
On the Photo Inspector toolbar, click Draw inspection line on model or photo . The inspection line is drawn according to the Draw Mode style selected in the Photo Inspector settings. In all modes you can draw the lines on the 3D model or on the photos:

§  Polyline - Place the polyline points by clicking in the desired locations. Finish the polyline creation by right-clicking.

§  Freehand Line – Click and hold the left mouse button and draw the freehand line on the 3D model or on a Photo. Release the left mouse button to complete the drawing.

§  Polygon - Place the polygon points by clicking in the desired locations. Finish the polygon creation by right-clicking.

§  Add an inspection point:
On the Photo Inspector toolbar, click Draw inspection point on model or photo . Then click anywhere on the model or on a photo.

§  Measure distance:
On the Photo Inspector toolbar, click Start distance measurement . Click any point on the model or on a photo to define the start point of the measurement. A yellow line extends from the start point. Click again to add additional measurement points. Right-click to finish the measurement.

Note:        You can choose between U.S measurement units (feet and inches) and imperial unit (meters) by setting the Measurement Units in the Settings dialog.

Setting Inspection Layer Styling

The color of the inspection layer markings and annotations (e.g., ) is based on its severity setting (OK=green, Minor=yellow, Major = orange, Severe = red, Critical = purple). The inspection layer default styling can be modified in the layer's property sheet.

Note:    The annotation number is a unique feature index. Markings may sometimes not be consecutively numbered (e.g., in the case of deleted markings or another user working on the same inspection layer).

To modify layer styling:

1.     On the Photo Inspector toolbar, click Settings . The Settings dialog is displayed.

2.     In the Inspection Layer section, click Edit Style. The inspection layer's property sheet is displayed.

3.     Modify the properties as required (e.g., line color, annotation color).

4.     To reset the inspection layer's properties to the default, in the Settings dialog, in the Inspection Layer section, click Reset Style.

 

Setting Inspection Attributes and Editing Inspection Markings

Using the Inspection Properties dialog, you can set and edit inspection marking attributes and perform several editing operations.

To set inspection attributes:

1.     Open the Inspection Properties dialog. The Inspection Properties dialog is displayed after you add an inspection marking or measurement. The Inspection Properties dialog is also displayed when doing either of the following:

§  On the Photo Inspector toolbar, click Select inspection drawing on model or photo  and select an inspection feature from the 3D Window. Note that you cannot select an inspection feature from a photo.

§  From the Inspections List, select the Edit option.

2.     Enter/edit the inspection attributes:

§  Title – Free text describing the inspection marking subject. For distance measurements, the title includes the distance calculation

§  Severity level – Select the severity from the selection box (only for markings, not measurements).

§  Author – Author of the inspection. The name entered last is used as the default value for new inspection features.

§  Optional attributes (only for markings, not measurements). 

3.     Perform any of the following operations in the Inspection Properties dialog:

§  Click Delete   to delete the inspection drawing.

§  Click Redraw  to redraw the inspection drawing.

§  Click Zoom in  to zoom in to the inspection drawing.

§  Click Show Photos  to open the Photo Viewer and show photos looking at the area marked by your inspection feature.

§  Click Select Attribute Values from BIM Model  to select a BIM element on the BIM model and open its sheet with its attribute values. If you want to include some of the BIM attribute information in your inspections list, you can copy attribute values from the property sheet to the inspection attributes. See "Viewing an Inspections List" in this chapter for more information.

Viewing an Inspections List

To view a list of markings and measurements to an inspection layer:

1.     In Photo Inspector Settings, select an Inspection layer from the dropdown list.

2.     On the Photo Inspector toolbar, click Show list of inspection drawings . The Inspections List is displayed, showing a table of all the inspections markings and measurements in the layer.

3.     Do any of the following:

§  Click View  to zoom in the model in the 3D Window to the selected inspection marking or measurement.

§  Click Edit  to open the Inspection Properties dialog for the selected inspection marking or measurement. See "Adding Markings and Measurements" in this chapter for more information.

§  Click View Photos  to open the Photo Viewer and show photos looking at the area marked by your inspection feature.

§  Click the column headers to sort the inspections.

§  Enter search keywords in the Search box to filter the Inspections List.

§  Click Generate Report to generate an inspection report from the Inspections List.

§  Click Open Attribute Table to open the TerraExplorer attribute table showing all the inspections markings and measurements in the layer.