Digitize a Line Using a Stylus and a Digitizer

  1. Open a job in the Manage Earthwork Estimates screen.
    Note: To open a job in the Manage Earthwork Estimates screen, click Estimating > Earthwork > Manage Earthwork Estimates in the All Tasks pane. Click Open Existing Job. Then select the job you want to open, and click OK.
  2. Select the Takeoff tab, if it is not already active.
  3. In the Active Layer field on the toolbar, click to select the layer for which you want to digitize a line.
  4. In the Elevation field on the toolbar, enter the elevation for the starting point of the line you want to digitize.
  5. In the Interval field on the toolbar, enter the number of feet or meters by which to increase or decrease the elevation for each subsequent line you digitize or click in the Elevation field.
  6. Do one following to digitize the line segment:
    • To digitize a segment of the line by clicking points on the line, click Point on the speedbar and press the stylus on the first point you want to digitize. Then lift the stylus and press it on the next point of the line.
    • To digitize a segment of the line by tracing the line, click Trace on the speedbar and press the stylus to the first point of the line, and trace the line with the stylus.
      Tip: You can digitize a straight segment with the Trace tool by pressing the stylus on the first point you want to digitize and then lifting the stylus and pressing it on the next point on the line.
  7. Do one following to set the slope of the segment:
    • If the line is not sloped, or the segment is part of a larger sloped line, do nothing.
    • If you want the line to be sloped from the last hard point, enter the next elevation in the Elevation field on the toolbar and click on the end point of the sloped segment.
      Note: You can enter elevations from the keyboard or menu pad without clicking in the Elevation field. Just enter the new elevation and the application automatically updates the Elevation field.
    • If the current segment is not sloped, but you want the next segment to be sloped, click Hard Pt on the speedbar.
  8. Repeat steps 6 - 7 until you are satisfied with the digitized line.
  9. Click Finished on the speedbar.