Quantm Getting Started Guide v8

GETTING STARTED GUIDE
Quantm Software
Version 8.0
Revision A
December 2014
Corporate Office
Trimble Planning Solutions Pty Ltd.
Level 4, 333 Flinders Lane
Melbourne VIC 3000
Australia
+61 3 8680 7200 Phone
+61 3 9620 3446 Fax
www.trimble.com/alignment/
Copyright and Trademarks

20072014, Trimble Navigation Limited. All rights reserved.
Trimble, the Globe & Triangle logo and SketchUp are trademarks
of Trimble Navigation Limited, registered in the United States and
in other countries. Quantm is a trademark of Trimble Navigation
Limited.
Microsoft, Windows, and DirectX are either registered trademarks
or trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States
and/or other countries.
All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
Release Notice
This is the December 2014 release (Revision A) of the Quantm
Software Getting Started Guide. It applies to version 8.0 of the
Quantm software.
QUANTM SOFTWARE GETTING STARTED GUIDE 2

Contents
1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Quantm software . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6
Quantm tutorial . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6
Related documents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7
Technical Support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7
2 Installation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Installation procedure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8
Hardware and software requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8
Installing the software. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9
Language settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Setting the operating system locale . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Quantm products . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Getting the best performance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
3 Creating a Project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .19

Tutorial tasks Lesson 1. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Starting the Quantm software . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Creating a project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
4 Quantm User Interface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .24

Project view . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
Project Explorer window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Menus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
Scenario view. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Menus and toolbars . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Plan View window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Legend window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Status bar. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
Layer View tab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
Scenario Notes tab. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
Feature Properties window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
View Finder window. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
Saving and closing a project. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
5 Data Entry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .45

Tutorial tasks Lesson 2. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
Tutorial tasks Data entry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
Opening a project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
Duplicating a scenario . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
Loading a scenario . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
Creating templates. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
Opening the Template Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
Creating a new template library . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
Create a template . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
Create a dual-lane road template . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
Entering geometry data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
Entering cost parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
Global costs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62

CONTENTS
Material costs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
Geology costs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
Template Materials costs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
Bridge costs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
Tunnel costs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
Wall costs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
Culvert costs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70
Area costs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70
Linear costs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
Fixed costs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72
Saving data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
Entering object data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
Moving end points. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74
Inserting satellite imagery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76
Adding linear features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
Adding zones . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84
Closing the scenario . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93
6 Corridor and Route Identification . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .94

Tutorial tasks Corridor and route identification. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94
Opening a scenario . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95
Creating a Free to Roam submission . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95
Reviewing results . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98
Setting preference settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99
Loading the results . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100
Viewing the results in the Plan View window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102
Viewing the cross sections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108
Viewing the alignment profile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109
Saving a subset of results . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112
Ending alignment review . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112
7 Refining an Alignment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113

Tutorial tasks Refining an alignment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113
Seeded optimizations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114
Exploration optimization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114
Loading exploration optimization results . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116
Viewing the results in the Plan View window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116
Viewing the alignment in Profile View window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117
Reviewing results . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118
Refinement optimization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119
Reviewing results . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120
Vertical refinement optimization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120
Viewing the vertical refinement optimization results . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121
Mass haul. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122
Reporting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123
Saving the alignment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124
8 Editing, Visualizing, and Exporting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125

Tutorial tasks Editing and exporting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125
Editable alignments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126
Duplicating and editing a geometric alignment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126
Saving the alignment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129
Duplicating an imported curvilinear alignment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129
Customizable structures. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130

CONTENTS
Saving the alignment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130

Visualising alignments. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131
Importing Vehicles and Models into the Visualiser . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134
Exporting the alignment to LandXML . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137
Exporting the alignment to i-model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137
Closing the Quantm software . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 138

CHAPTER
1
Introduction 1
Welcome to the Trimble Quantm Getting Started Guide which describes how to install and use the
Trimble Quantm software.
The Quantm system is a strategic planning tool for corridor and route alignment optimization.
This document uses a tutorial to guide you through a typical workflow.
The tutorial includes instructions on:
Creating a project
Familiarization with the user interface
Data entry
Corridor and route identification
Refining a route
Editing and exporting into CAD software
The tutorial in this document is designed for engineers, planners and construction contractors who
are familiar with road design concepts.
It will take you approximately 4 to 5 hours to work through this Getting Started Guide.
Quantm software
Quantm software generates and costs alignments that satisfy user-defined design constraints. The
Quantm system considers road geometry, environmental and social requirements, geology, and costs
associated with the project. The information on potential alignments aids the project team in making
decisions about the most optimal alignment for the project.
Quantm tutorial
The Quantm tutorial is divided into two lessons. The first lesson gets you started with the software
and shows you how to:
start the software.
create projects.
get familiar with the user interface.
Lesson 1 begins in Chapter 3, Creating a Project.

1 INTRODUCTION
The second lesson shows you how to use the software to generate alignments between two points
and choose a suitable alignment that will serve as the starting point for design in a CAD package.
Lesson 2 will show you how to:
create and open a project.
enter project constraints.
generate alignments.
identify corridors and preferred alignments.
refine preferred alignments.
generate reports.
edit alignments.
export alignments.
Lesson 2 begins in Chapter 5, Data Entry.
Related documents
This document makes reference to the Quantm User Guide. Refer to the User guide to find out
additional information on features introduced in this document.
To view the Quantm User Guide, click Start / All Programs / Trimble Office / Alignment Planning /
Quantm User Guide.
Sources of related information include the following:
Help the software has a help system that lets you quickly find the information you need. Access
it from the Help menu.
Release notes the release notes describe new features of the product, information not included
in the manuals, and any changes to the manuals. They are provided as a .pdf file on the
installation CD.
Technical Support
If you have a problem and cannot find the information you need in the product documentation,
contact your local dealer. Else, go to the Support area of the Trimble website
(www.trimble.com/support.shtml). Select the product you need information on. Product updates,
documentation, and any support issues are available for download.

CHAPTER
2
Installation 2
In this chapter:
Installation procedure
Quantm products
Getting the best performance
Installation procedure
Hardware and software requirements
For the Quantm Desktop software

The minimum requirements for running the software are:
1.7 GHz multi-core processor
Windows 7 or Windows 8.1 64-bit operating systems
4 GB of RAM or greater
Graphics 1440 x 900, 24-bit color or higher
Internet Explorer, version 8 or later
For Quantm Professional and Enterprise Software

The minimum requirements for running the software are:
1.7 GHz multi-core processor

2 INSTALLATION
Windows 7 or Windows 8.1 64-bit operating systems

6 GB of RAM or greater
Graphics 1440 x 900, 24-bit color or higher
Internet Explorer, version 8 or later
Internet connection (for Quantm Professional)
Alignment Visualisation
For Full 3D rendering, Trimble recommends graphics cards with 512 MB or more of memory and
DirectX 9 or later compatibility.
For Quantm Enterprise Pathfinder Server

The recommended requirements for running the Quantm Enterprise Pathfinder Server software are:
Dell Power Edge R620 server, 2 x Intel Xeon E5-2620 processor [2.1 GHz, 6 cores, 7.2GT/s QPI,
Hyper Threading (HT)] (or equivalent)
Windows Server 2008 R2 or Windows Server 2012 R2, 64-bit operating system
32 GB RAM
Optical drive
500 GB HDD
Installing the software

This section covers how to install the Quantm software (see page 9) and how to install the Quantm
Pathfinder for Enterprise software (see page 15).
Installing the Quantm software

Before installing the Quantm software, ensure that you have administrator privileges on your
computer.
By default, the Quantm software is installed in the following location:
C:\Program Files\Trimble\Alignment Planning

2 INSTALLATION
When you load the Quantm Software CD, the Trimble Quantm dialog appears:
B Tip If you do not see this screen, launch the startup screen manually. To do this, use Windows
Explorer to browse to the CD directory. Double-click .
To install the Quantm software:
1. Select the Install tab.
2. Select Quantm Desktop from the Install list:
The Quantm software requires version 4.0 or later of the Microsoft .NET framework and DirectX
version 9 or later. The Microsoft components are included on the installation CD and are
automatically installed if required.
Note If you want to view the .NET system messages for a language other than English, install
the Microsoft .NET Framework 4.0 SP1 Language Pack available from the Microsoft website.

2 INSTALLATION
Note The installation of the Windows system components of .NET and DirectX may take several
minutes to install. You will be able to see the progress of the installation on the install screen.
Once these components have been installed, the Quantm installation process will begin.
The DirectX Setup dialog appears:
3. Click Yes when you have read the license agreement and are ready to accept the terms.
The installation wizard will now review your system and if DirectX 9 or the .NET 4 framework is
required, they will be installed.
Note For installations on computers and servers that are non-Western European language, the
regional settings for non-Unicode programs must be set to the support Unicode characters (that
is, Chinese and Cyrillic characters).
After the installation, the Quantm Setup screen appears. The wizard will guide you through the
installation process:

2 INSTALLATION
4. Click Next. The Quantm License Agreement dialog appears:
5. When you have read the License Agreement and are ready to accept the terms, select the I
accept the terms in the License Agreement option. Click Next. The Choose Setup type screen
appears:
The default installation path for the Quantm software is C:\Program Files\Trimble\Alignment
Planning. The default installation path for the sample data and the Quantm projects directory is:
C:\Users\Public\Public Documents\Quantm Projects\Sample Data\.
Note The default installation path may be different depending on the operating system. If it is
different then please refer to the different location throughout this tutorial when prompted.
Use this data to familiarize yourself with the Quantm system. The data should be used in
conjunction with the Quantm Getting Started Guide for the greatest benefits.
Note Trimble recommends saving the sample data to a location that is publicly accessible to all
users.

2 INSTALLATION
6. Select the type of installation you want to use (Typical or Custom). To use the default settings,
click Typical and proceed to Step 7.
Note The Typical option will install all program features identically to the Complete option.
To alter either of these directories, or the components installed on your computer, click Custom.
The Custom Setup screen appears:
a. To change the location of the Quantm software, in the list select the Quantm folder. The
default location is written in the Location field. Click Browse. Navigate to the new directory.
Click OK.
b. To change the location of the Quantm projects and sample data, in the list select the Samples
folder. The default location is written in the location field. Click Browse. Navigate to the new
directory. Click OK.
Note Install the sample data in a directory that is accessible to all users.
c. If you do not want to install any of the following, expand the Executable list, click and
then select Entire feature will be unavailable.
Submitters
Exporters
Importers
Visualiser
Manuals
Note If you require additional Chinese export formats, these can be installed from the Custom
setup option. See Chinese export formats, page 14.
7. Click Next.
8. Continue through the installation wizard.

2 INSTALLATION
Note During installation, a User Account Control message may appear asking you if you
want to allow the Quantm install to make changes to your computer. Click Yes. If appears in
the taskbar, the User Account Control dialog is waiting for you to confirm that you want the
Trimble software installed.
When the installation is complete, the following screen appears:
9. Click Finish to complete the installation.
Chinese export formats

Additional Chinese export formats are available. To install these formats:
1. When installing, in the Choose Setup Type screen, click Custom.
2. In the Custom Setup dialog, click in the feature tree to expand the Executable feature.
3. Click to expand Exporters.
By default, the Chinese exporter is marked as Entire Feature will be unavailable.
4. Click and then select Will be installed on local hard drive.
5. Continue with the installation.
6. For Windows 7 operating systems, perform the following additional steps:
a. Select Control Panel.
b. If in Category view select Clock, Language and Region, and then select Region and Language.
Or, if in Large or Small icons view select Region and Language. The Region and Language
dialog appears.
c. Select the Administrative tab.
d. In the Language for non-Unicode programs group, click change system locale The Region and
language settings dialog appears.
e. In the Current system locale list, select Chinese (Simplified, PRC).
7. For Windows 8.1 operating systems, perform the following additional steps:

2 INSTALLATION
a. Select Control Panel.

b. If in Category view select Clock, Language and Region, then select Region. Or, if in Large or
Small icons view select Region. The Region dialog appears.
c. Select the Administrative tab.
d. In the Language for non-Unicode programs group, click change system locale. The Region
Settings dialog appears.
e. In the Current system locale list, select Chinese (Simplified, PRC).
The Chinese export formats, HintCAD and TSDI will be available in the Quantm software.
Installing the Quantm Enterprise Pathfinder software

Installation of the Quantm Enterprise Pathfinder server software is overseen by a Trimble Planning
Solution Technician.
By default, the Quantm Pathfinder software is installed in C:\Program Files\Trimble\Alignment
Planning\Pathfinder.
C CAUTION For users that install HASP Network keys for the Pathfinder software they should not be
installed on to laptops.
Language settings
The format selected in the region and language settings in the Control Panel determines the
language displayed during the installation of the Quantm software and also in the Quantm software.
Windows 7 operating system

To select the language to display:
1. Select Control Panel / Clock, Language and Region.
2. If in Category view select Clock, Language and Region, then select Region and Language. Or, if in
Large or Small icons view select Region and Language. The Region and Language dialog appears.
3. Select the Formats tab.
4. In the Format field, select the language to display in Quantm.
The language displayed in the Quantm Pathfinder software is determined by:
The format selected in the Clock, Region and Language settings at the time of installation.
The locale selected in the Clock, Region and Language settings at the time of installation.

2 INSTALLATION
W indows 8.1 operating system

To select the language to display:
1. Select Control Panel
2. If in Category view select Clock, Language and Region, then select Region. Or, if in Large or Small
icons view select Region. The Region dialog appears.
3. Select the Formats tab.
4. In the Format field, select the language to display in Quantm.
The language displayed in the Quantm Pathfinder software is determined by:
The format selected in the Clock, Region and Language settings at the time of installation.
The locale selected in the Clock, Region and Language settings at the time of installation.
Setting the operating system locale

If you are using a language that requires Chinese or Russian characters, ensure that the locale is also
set to the language you are installing.
Windows 7 operating system

1. Select Control Panel.
2. If in Category view select Clock, Language and Region, then select Region and Language. Or, if in
Large or Small icons view select Region and Language. The Region and Language dialog appears.
3. Select the Administrative tab.
4. In the Language for non-Unicode programs group, select the language to display.
5. Click OK.
Windows 8.1 operating system

1. Select Control Panel.
2. If in Category view select Clock, Language and Region, then select Region. Or, if in Large or Small
icons view select Region. The Region dialog appears.
3. Select the Administrative tab.
4. In the Language for non-Unicode programs group, select the language to display.
5. Click OK.
Note For installations on computers that are non-Western European language, you must set the
regional settings for non-Unicode programs to support Unicode characters (that is, Chinese and
Cyrillic characters) before installing the software.
Selecting a font for the Quantm software

If languages characters are not displayed correctly, ensure that you have selected a suitable TrueType
font for the Quantm Pathfinder software.

2 INSTALLATION
To select a TrueType font:

1. Right-click the Quantm Pathfinder shortcut to access the shortcut menu and then select
Properties.
2. Select the Fonts tab.
3. In the Font list, select a suitable TrueType font for your language.
Quantm products
The Quantm software requires a software key to operate. To view a list of the available features and
to manage the licensing information, open the License Manager:
1. Click Help / About Quantm. The About Quantm dialog appears.
2. Click Products on Key. The License Manager dialog appears:
B manager
Tip To view the License Manager dialog from the Quantm Pathfinder software, use the License
switch. For more information on switches, refer to Appendix D, Quantm Pathfinder in
the Quantm Software User Guide.
Use the License Manager to:
select the search type used to find your license.
view both licensed and unlicensed features, and the status of licensed features.
view your warranty expiration date.
upgrade/extend a license installed on your hardware key.
For other Trimble products, you can also use the License Manager dialog to:
Enter the location of your license on the network.
Upgrade a single-user software license installed on your computer.

2 INSTALLATION
If you attempt to open the Quantm software without a security key, the following message appears:
Insert the software key into the USB port and click Retry.
For information on resolving security issues, refer to Appendix F, Resolving Security Issues and
Renewing or Upgrading Licenses in the Quantm Software User Guide.
Getting the best performance

To understand how to get the best results from the Quantm System, refer to Appendix A, Best
Performance in the Quantm Software User Guide.

CHAPTER
3
Creating a Project 3
In this chapter: This chapter shows you how to start Quantm

software and create a project. This chapter uses
Tutorial tasks Lesson 1 the sample data installed with the software.
Starting the Quantm software
Creating a project
Tutorial tasks Lesson 1

Task Approximate time
1. Starting the Quantm software 1 min
2. Creating a project 5 min
3. Get familiar with the user interface 25 min
Total 31 min
Starting the Quantm software

To start the Quantm software:
1. Enter the security key into a USB port on your computer.
2. Double-click the Quantm icon .
Alternatively, click Start / All Programs / Trimble Office / Alignment Planning / Quantm.
The Quantm window appears.

3 CREATING A PROJECT
Creating a project
Note Quantm Professional does not let you create projects. If you are running Quantm Professional,
please read Chapter 4, Quantm User Interface through Chapter 5, Data Entry to familiarise yourself
with elements of the Quantm interface; start at Chapter 5.
In this section you will learn how to create a Quantm project. When you are finished this example
you will be familiar with:
creating a project
assigning a DTM to the project
project preference settings
project scenarios
To create a new project:
1. Select File / Create Project. The Create New Project dialog appears:
2. In the Project Name field, enter Example.

3. Click Browse next to the DTM File field.
4. To find the DTM data, go to C:\Users\Public\Public Documents\Quantm Projects\Sample
Data\Quantm Example Dataset\DTM.
Note This is the default directory for the sample data. If you installed the sample data in a
different directory navigate to the sample data directory you specified.
5. Select Example DTM.asc.
6. Click Open.
The Project location is the directory where the Quantm Projects will be stored.
7. In the Project Location field, ensure that the Quantm Projects directory is selected.
8. In the Route type list, ensure that Road is selected.
9. Click OK. The Importing DTM File dialog appears.

For DTMs in ASC format, the ESRI Importer Options dialog appears:
Note The dialog that appears here depends on the format of the DTM file.
10. In the Source Data Horizontal Units list, ensure that Meters(m) is selected.
11. In the Source Data Vertical Units list, ensure that Meters(m) is selected.
12. Click OK.
The DTM defines the study area for the project. For more information on supported DTM files
and importing DTM surfaces, refer to Chapter 3, Get Familar with the Interface, of the Quantm
Software User Guide.
The terrain image is generated and the Scenario view appears:
A project can have many scenarios. Scenarios are used to explore the affect of different data on
the generated alignments. When a project is created an initial scenario is created with the name
New. The project name, Example and the scenario name, New appear in the title bar of the
Scenario view window. You will get familiar with the Scenario view later in this tutorial.
Each project is automatically given a unique numeric identifier known as the project ID. A new
project directory has been created in the Quantm Projects directory called Example-project ID.
Example is the name you entered for the project and project ID is the unique numeric identifier
given to your project. For example: If the ID generated for your project is 9999, the project
directory will be named Example-9999.

13. Click File / Preference Settings. The Preference Settings dialog appears. To view the settings, click
the tabs. Maintain the default settings for this example.
14. Click OK.

For more information on the Preference Settings dialog, refer to Appendix E, Preference Settings,
of the Quantm Software User Guide.
15. To close the scenario, click . The following message appears:
This message displays whenever you close a scenario and have not saved changes to the
scenario.
16. Click Yes to save the DTM data in the scenario.

The scenario closes however the project Example remains open and the Project view displays.
The Quantm software has two major views, the Project view and the Scenario view. Please keep this
window open to learn about the Quantm views in the next chapter.

CHAPTER
4
Quantm User Interface 4
In this chapter: This chapter gives you a tour of the Quantm

User Interface, helping you get familiar with the
Project view Quantm views, windows, menus and toolbars.
Scenario view
Saving and closing a project
Project view
The Project view displays when you have opened a project and you have not loaded any scenarios.
You are currently viewing the Project view. The user interface for the Project view includes:
Project Explorer
Menus
When you have completed this section, you will be familiar with the:
Project view
Project Explorer
Menus available in the Project view

4 QUANTM USER INTERFACE
Project Explorer window

The Project Explorer window displays in the Project view when a project is open. It displays all the
scenarios for the project divided into user defined groups. Currently you have one scenario called
New in a group that has been named New Group_1. A project can have many groups and each group
can have many scenarios. The project is displayed in a tree structure. Each scenario is represented as
a folder.
In the Project Explorer window:
a closed yellow folder indicates that the scenario is unlocked and can be edited:
a closed gray folder indicates that the scenario is locked and cannot be edited.
an open gray folder indicates that the scenario is locked and cannot be edited, however there are
results that have not yet been viewed. The name of the scenario will also be shown in bold text
when there are results that have not been viewed.
A scenario is locked when you generate alignments for the scenario. You can not add new data to a
locked scenario. The scenario New is unlocked and displayed as a closed yellow folder because you
have not generated alignments for this scenario.
The scenario New has four data files: DTM file , Geometry data , Cost data and
Objects data . These data files can be viewed, renamed, replaced, and duplicated. The DTM data
file shows that the Example DTM is specified for the scenario New. The geometry data files and the
cost data files contain the default settings as you have not edited this data yet. The objects data
includes existing roads, waterways and other linear features as well as defined areas that have
special requirements (zones). You have not entered any objects data for the New scenario.
The Project Explorer window is used to:
create projects.
set project preferences.
manage scenarios and data files.
load scenarios.
load results.
For more information on the Project Explorer window, refer to Chapter 3, Get Familiar with the
Interface, of the Quantm Software User Guide.

Menus
The following menus are available from the Project view:
File
View
Help
The different menus and their functions are described below.
File menu
Item Function
Create Project... Create a new project and specify a DTM
Open Project... Open an existing project
Close Project Close a project
Preference Settings... Set or change preference settings for the project
Exit Exit Quantm software
View menu
Item Function
Status Bar View or hide the Status Bar
Help menu
Item Function
Contents Open the Quantm help
How to Use Help
Technical Tips... Open the Tip of the day dialog
Technical Support Send an email to Technical support
Quantm Online Link to the Trimble website
EULA View the End User License Agreement
About Quantm View the version number of the Quantm software

Scenario view
In this section you will continue to learn about the Quantm User Interface. When you have
completed this section, you will be familiar with the:
Scenario view.
Plan View window.
menus and toolbars available in the Scenario view.
Scenario Explorer window.
Feature Properties window.
View Finder window.
status bar.
Legend window.
The Scenario view appears after you load a scenario.
To load a scenario:
1. Right-click the scenario New in the Project Explorer window to access the shortcut menu.
2. Select Load Scenario. The Scenario view appears:
The user interface for the Scenario view includes the following:
The Menu gives you access to available commands.
The toolbars give you quick access to the most commonly used commands using icons.
The Plan View window shows a plan view of the study area.
The Scenario Explorer contains tabs for the scenario notes and layer views. The Scenario Notes tab
lists the data files used in the currently loaded scenario, as well as the notes for the scenario,
while the Layer View tab lists the objects used within the scenario.

The View Finder is a small graphical representation of the study area which displays a box
reflecting the current zoom and display level of the Plan View window. This allows for easy
navigation of the Plan View window when zooming in on small areas.
The Feature Properties window displays the features (such as crossing constraints) for a selected
object.
The Legend window describes the colors and patterns used to display features of the study area.
The Status Bar displays a variety of information and is located at the bottom of the application
window.
The Submission window appears when an alignment is being optimized.
These menus, views and windows are explained below.
When you view alignments the following windows are also available:
The Alignment Properties window displays the parameters of the selected alignment.
The Profile View window displays the profile for the alignment. Mass haul can also be viewed
from this window.
The Cross Section window displays a cross section of the alignment.
These windows are explained later in the tutorial.

Menus and toolbars

The following menus are available in the Scenario view:
File
View
Zoom
Data
Optimization
Evaluation
Alignments
Utilities
Help
The different menus and their functions are described below. Toolbar buttons for the menu options
are shown if applicable.
File menu
Item Button Function
Create Project... Create a new project and specify a DTM.
Open Project... Open an existing project.
Close Project Close a project.
Close Scenario Close a scenario and revert to Project view.
Save Scenario Save a scenario and all its data sets.
Preference Settings... Set or change preference settings for the project.

Exit Exit the Quantm software.

View menu
DTM Info... Display the dimensions and number of points in the DTM.
Scenario History... Display the current data files for the scenario and any notes
associated with these files.
Labels View object labels in the Plan View window.
Grid Show or hide a Grid in the Plan View for coordinate reference.
Standard Toolbar Show or hide the Standard toolbar.

Data Toolbar Show or hide the Data toolbar.
Utility Toolbar Show or hide the Utility toolbar.
Zoom Toolbar Show or hide the Zoom toolbar.
Alignment Toolbar Show or hide the Alignment toolbar.
Warnings Toolbar Show or hide the Warnings toolbar.
Scenario Notes Open or close Scenario Notes tab.
Layer View Open or close the Layer View tab.
Property Box Open or close the Property window.
Status Bar View or hide the Status Bar.

Legend View or hide the legend window, showing how data is represented
graphically in the Plan View window.
View Finder Open or close the View Finder window.
Submissions Open or close the Submissions window.
Zoom menu
Zoom Full Extent Zoom full extent of the Plan View window.
Zoom In Zoom in in the Plan or Profile View window. Click the image, to
increase the magnification by a factor of 1.414.
Zoom Out Zoom out in the Plan or Profile View window. Click the image to
reduce the magnification by a factor of 0.707.
Zoom Selected Objects Zoom to fit the selected objects in the Plan View window.
Pan Pan around the display by drag and drop. An alternative to using the
scroll bars.
Previous Zoom Step back through Previous zoom.
Next Zoom Step forward again to the Next zoom.

Data menu
Template Editor... Edit Templates.
Cost Parameters... Edit Cost parameters.
Geometric Parameters... Edit Geometric parameters.
New Layer
Image Layer Create a new image layer.
Object Layer Create a new object layer.
New Object
Point Add a waystation, rail station (for rail scenarios) or fixed section (for
road scenarios) or symbol to the scenario.
Feature Add a line feature to the scenario. Linear features include road, rail,
river, other, power, cable and pipe.
Zone Add a zone to the scenario. Zones include avoid, crossing, water, local
defaults, earthwork limits, area cost, linear cost, cadastral and study
area.
Global Zone Add a zone that will apply to the entire study area.
Global Crossing Zone Add a crossing zone that will apply to the entire study area.
Global Earthwork Add a global earthwork limit zone that will apply to the entire study
Limits Zone area.
Global Area Cost Zone Add a global area cost zone that will apply to the entire study area.
Global Linear Cost Add a global linear cost zone that will apply to the entire study area.
Zone
Multiple Feature Selection A dropdown list appears beside the cursor when there is a left mouse
click in the Plan View area. The list displays all the features occurring
at that location and the user can select from that list which item to
select. Non-visible features are listed but greyed out.
Lock Feature Points Lock data and prevent editing.
Break Linear Feature Split a feature into two. Use this to change the width or crossing
requirements of a feature part way along its length.
Join Linear Feature Combine two features together.
Clip to Area Delete all feature data except data that is overlapping or contained
within a defined area.
Undo Undo last change (can be repeated indefinitely to last save).
Redo Redo last undo.
Query... Select specific data in the scenario.
Data Validation Check to see if there are any errors in the data.

Optimization menu
Create Alignment Manually create a geometric alignment.
Corridor Identification... Free to Roam Optimization that produces a sample of alignments

exploring the available land surface.
Seeded Submission Produces alignments that are similar to a defined seed alignment.
Realignment Submission Produces alignments that attempt to reuse an existing alignment.
Evaluation menu
Item Button, if Function
present
Alignment Review... Review alignments generated for the scenario.
Previous Alignment Display the previous alignment in the list.
Next Alignment Display the next alignment in the list.
Selected Alignment(s) Display the selected alignments in the Plan View window.
Profile View Open the Profile View window.
Cross Section Open the Cross section view window.
Mass Haul Display the mass haul in the Profile window for the selected
alignment.
Link Bar Link the Plan View, Profile View, and Cross section view windows.
Chainage Display chainage markers on the alignment in the Plan view

window.
Horizontal IPs Show or hide the horizontal IP points of an alignment in the Plan
View and Profile View.
Vertical IPs Show or hide the vertical IP points of an alignment in the Profile
View.
Alignment Report... Create a report on the selected alignments.
Alignment Summary Open or close the Alignment Summary window.
Alignment Properties Open or close the Alignment Properties window.


present
Alignment Comparison Open or close the Alignment Comparison window.
Customized Structures Open or close the Customized Structures window.
Warnings
present
Horizontal Radius Display Horizontal Radius warnings in the Plan View window and
Profile View window.
Vertical Curve Display Vertical Curve warnings in the Plan View window and
Horizontal Straight Display Horizontal Straight warnings in the Plan View window and
Vertical Straight Display Vertical Straight warnings in the Plan View window and
Horizontal Transition Display Horizontal Transition warnings in the Plan View window
and Profile View window.
Design Grade Display Design Grade warnings in the Plan View window and Profile
View window.
Sustained Grade Display Sustained grade warnings in the Plan View window and
Horizontal Crossing Display Horizontal Crossing warnings in the Plan View window and
Vertical Crossing Display Vertical Crossing clearance warnings in the Plan View
window and Profile View window.
Bridge Height Display Bridge Height warnings in the Plan View
Bridge Length Display Bridge Length warnings in the Plan View
Tunnel Depth Display Tunnel Depth warnings in the Plan View
Tunnel Length Display Tunnel Length warnings in the Plan View
Off DTM Display Off DTM warnings in the Plan View window and Profile
View window.
Bearing Mismatch Display Bearing Mismatch warnings in the Plan View window and
Grade Mismatch Display Grade Mismatch warnings in the Plan View window and
Drainage Display Drainage warnings in the Plan View window and Profile
View window.


present
Coordination Display Horizontal and Vertical Coordination warnings in the Plan
View window and Profile View window.
Land mismatch Rail only: Display warnings where imported reference alignment
differs to Quantm.
End Review Close Alignment Review.
Alignments menu
View Alignment View the properties of the alignment.
Properties
Re-cost Route Re-cost a route after editing the alignment.
Duplicate as Editable Creates a new alignment with geometric parameters. This new
Alignment alignment can be edited.
Duplicate with Creates a new alignment with editable bridges, tunnels, and walls.
Customizable Structures
Save as... Save the selected alignments and specify a new file name.
Save Save the selected alignments.
Append to.... Add an alignment to list of currently viewed alignments.
Export Selected Export the selected alignments in a supported format.
Alignments
Merge Selected Merge selected alignments to a single alignment.
Alignments
Visualiser Display DTM and alignment in 3D.

Utilities menu
Import GIS/CAD Data... Import GIS/CAD Data from external sources.
Import Alignment... Import an alignment from an external source.
Import Reference Import a reference alignment from an external source. (For rail
Alignment... scenarios only.)
Generate Corridor... Generate a corridor zone.
Capture Plan View... Capture view of the Plan view window.

Capture Profile View... Capture view of the Profile View window.
Measure Distance Activate the measuring tool to measure a distance.
Help menu
Contents Open the Quantm help.
How to Use Help
Technical Tips... Open the Tip of the day dialog.
Technical Support Send an email to Technical support.
Quantm Online Link to the Trimble website.
EULA Displays the End User License Agreement.
About Quantm Displays the version number of the Quantm software.

Toolbars
The following toolbars are available:
Standard
Data
Utility
Zoom
Alignment (only available when you are viewing an alignment)
Warnings (only available when you are viewing an alignment)
Toolbar and Function
File and windows operations.
Select, add or edit scenario data.
Data entry, screen capture and measure tool.
Navigate the Plan and Profile View window.
View alignment details.
View alignment warning details.

Plan View window

The Plan View window is at the top right of the screen and is always open when a scenario is loaded.
The Plan View window graphically displays data. In the Plan View window you can:
Select data
Graphically edit data
Display background graphics. Background graphics can be terrain models or geospatial imagery.
Display contour lines
Display grids
Zoom and pan
View Alignments
Lesson 2 explores the Plan View window in detail. For more information, refer to Chapter 3, Get
Familiar with the Interface, of the Quantm Software User Guide.
Legend window
The Legend Window describes how data is represented graphically in the Plan View window and the
To view the Legend window:
Click View / Legend. The Legend window appears. The items in the Legend window will depend
on the data in your scenario. Currently you have only entered DTM data in your scenario, so your
Legend window only displays the elevation ranges for your DTM. When you have entered more
data and you are viewing an alignment, your legend window will look similar to the Legend
window below:
You can move the Legend window anywhere in the Scenario view. The Legend window is sized
automatically to fit the data it is displaying.

Status bar
The status bar is at the bottom of the application window:
It is used to display information, including:

the DTM coordinates of the cursor.
the number of objects selected.
error flags indicating there are errors in the data.
the distance measured by the measure tool.
the name and directory of the current project.
the alignment type.
alignment information. To display details of the alignment, hold the cursor over the alignment
type icon.
Re-costing flag indicating an alignment has been edited and needs re-costing. (Only appears if
Automatically re-cost on edit is not selected in the Preference Settings.)
Layer View tab

The Quantm software arranges all spatially-referenced data in layers. A layer can contain image data
or object data.
There are four different layer types:
Layer Tool Description

DTM Contains the digital terrain information for the scenario.
Object Contains feature information.
End Points Contain the start and finish points of the alignment to be optimized.
Imagery Can contain geo-referenced aerial/satellite imagery of the study area.
Contours... Contains the generated contours based on the digital terrain model.
Note The DTM layer and End Points layer can currently be seen in the Layer View tab. The DTM and
End Points layer cannot be deleted or have additional features attached to them.
The layers in a scenario are drawn in the order in which they appear in the Layer View.
To help you become familiar with the Layer View tab, this section will show you how to create a new
layer and add an environmentally sensitive area to the layer. When you have completed this section,
you will know how to:
create a new layer
rename a layer
modify the appearance of data from the Layer View tab

To add an environmentally sensitive area:

1. Ensure that the Layer View tab is selected in the Scenario Explorer window.
2. Select Data / New Layer / Object Layer. A new object layer appears called New Object Layer.
3. Click the new layer. The New Object Layer layer is selected.
4. Click the new layer again to enter edit mode:
5. Change the name of the layer; enter Environmental Zone.

6. On the Data toolbar, click to start creating the zone.
7. Select Avoid from the list. The Avoid dialog appears:
8. In the Name field, enter Protected species habitat.

9. Select Environmental Zone from the Layer list.
10. Click OK. The Enter zone cursor appears in the Plan View window.
11. Enter a zone around the mountain range in the bottom left corner of the Plan View window. Click
to position each vertex and double click to enter the last vertex and close the zone.
12. On the Data toolbar, click to return to select mode.

The new zone can be viewed in the Layer View tab, in the Environmental Zone layer.
Title Bar
The check box in the Active column shows the zone is active and a generated alignment will attempt
to avoid this area. The check box in the Visible column shows the zone is visible in the Plan View
window. Properties of a layer or objects in the layer can be modified in the Layer View tab.
In the next step, you will deactivate the Protected species habitat zone in the Layer View tab. You will
then turn off the label for the zone.
To deactivate the Protected species habitat zone, clear the Active check box for the Protected Species
habitat zone. The Active check box is in the column A...
C CAUTION An active layer can influence the positions of alignments during the optimization process.
Invisible layers may still be active.
To turn off the zones label:

1. Right-click the Title Bar in the Layer View Tab to access the shortcut menu.
2. Select Hide Labels.
3. A column Hide labels (H..), appears in the Layer View window.
Labels can only be turned off by layer.
4. Select the Hide labels check box for the Environmental Zone layer.
5. Click in the Plan View window. The label for the new zone is turned off in the Plan View window.
For more information on the Layer View tab, refer to Chapter 3, Get Familiar with the Interface, of

Scenario Notes tab

The Scenario Notes tab is currently displayed in the bottom left corner of the Scenario view.
B Tip To hide the Layer view and the Scenario Notes tab, toggle the menu options on and off
from the View menu.
By default, the Scenario Notes tab is docked with the Layer view tab. To separate them, drag the tab
away from the docked position.
Click the Scenario Notes tab in the Scenario Explorer window. The upper view window lists the names
of the:
scenario
terrain model (DTM)
geometry data
cost data
object data (geographic features)
When alignments are generated, the Scenario Notes tab also displays the alignment results
generated for the scenario.
The lower view window contains notes that you enter manually. These notes provide a coherent
record of what was done, when, and why.

Viewing and editing notes

Notes can be created for the scenario, as well as the data files that make up the scenario (DTM,
geometric parameters, cost parameters and objects). The following example adds a note to the
object data indicating that you have added an environmental zone to your scenario. Maintaining the
notes in your scenario helps you to determine differences between scenarios at a later date.
To add a note to the object data:
1. Click the Scenario Notes tab in the Scenario Explorer window.
2. Click the Data file New .
3. Click Note.
4. Enter Added Environmental zone for protected species.
5. Click OK.
The notes display in the Scenario Notes window when the data icon is selected. The note is stamped
with the time and date.
Feature Properties window

You can use the Feature Properties window to view or edit data in the scenario. Currently, the
Feature Properties window is on the left side of the Scenario view.
If the Feature Properties window is not displayed, on the Standard toolbar, click .
To view the environmental zone in the properties window, click the Protected Species habitat zone in
the Layer View tab or the Plan View window.
The Feature Properties window displays all of the zones attributes.
To make the zone active again:
1. In the Feature Properties dialog, select the Activity field.
2. Click to expand the list.
3. Select On.

View Finder window

The View Finder window is a small graphical representation of the study area which assists the user
in determining which section of the study area is being viewed when zoomed in at a very small scale.
A black rectangle highlights the current zoom extents of the Plan View window.
The View Finder window is currently displayed in the bottom left corner of the Scenario view.
If the View Finder window is not displayed, select View Finder from the View menu.
With the View Finder window, you can:
determine the area being viewed in the Plan View window.
move the black rectangle in the View Finder window to view a different area in the Plan View
window.
The following section shows you how to use the View Finder window to determine the area being
viewed in the Plan View window.
1. On the Zoom toolbar, click .
2. Click on the environmental zone in the Plan View window:
View Finder
Window
The zone displays at a larger scale in the Plan View window. The black rectangle in the View
Finder window shows the extent of the area displayed in the Plan View window.
3. On the Data toolbar, click to return to select mode.
4. Drag the black box in the View Finder window to view a different area in the Plan View window
at the same scale.

Saving and closing a project

The next lesson uses a different project. To save this scenario and close the project:
1. On the Standard toolbar, click to save the scenario.
2. Click File / Close Project.
This is the end of lesson 1.
For a more detailed explanation of the User Interface, refer to Chapter 3, Get Familiar with the
Interface, of the Quantm Software User Guide.

CHAPTER
5
Data Entry 5
In this chapter: The second lesson shows you how to use the
software to generate alignments between two
Tutorial tasks Lesson 2 points and choose a suitable alignment that will
Tutorial tasks Data entry serve as the starting point for design in a CAD
package.
Opening a project
Duplicating a scenario
Planning is an iterative process. The first plans
are usually conceptual and based on coarse data
Loading a scenario and assumed parameters and constraints. At the
Creating templates pre feasibility stage, the Quantm software can
be used as a tool to aid decision making
Entering geometry data
determining the viability of road or rail corridor
Entering cost parameters options.
Entering object data When a preferred corridor is identified, planning
becomes more focused and requires more
detailed and accurate information. The Quantm
software identifies new alignments using this
detailed data. Throughout the planning process
new constraints can be added and alignments
refined. The tutorial takes you through one
iteration of data entry.
This chapter shows how to enter different types
of data into your scenario.

5 DATA ENTRY
Tutorial tasks Lesson 2

Lesson 2 is divided into four sections:
Section Approximate time

1. Data Entry 90 min
2. Corridor and Route Identification 50 min
3. Refining an Alignment 50 min
4. Editing, Visualizing, and Exporting 50 min
Total 4 hours
Tutorial tasks Data entry

The data entry section in lesson 2 includes the following tasks:

1. Opening a project 3 min
2. Duplicating a scenario 4 min
3. Loading a scenario 2 min
4. Creating cross section templates 6 min
5. Entering geometry data 5 min
6. Entering cost data 20 min
7. Entering object data 50 min
Total 1.5 hours

5 DATA ENTRY
Opening a project
To open the project for Lesson 2:
1. Click File / Open Project.
2. The Open Project dialog displays. The Example Project created in the previous chapter is in the
Project Name list. You can add as many projects to the list providing they have a unique project
ID.
3. Click Add to add the tutorial project to the list.
To find the tutorial project, go to:
C:\Users\Public\Public Documents\Quantm Projects\Sample Data\Quantm Example Dataset
4. Click Project_147440081.mdb.
5. Click Open. Quantm Example Dataset is added to the Project Name list.
6. Click the Quantm Example Dataset project.
7. Click OK. The Quantm Example Dataset project opens in the Project view.
The project has four groups; Training, Road, Freight Rail, and High Speed Rail.
This tutorial uses a scenario in the Training group. The Training group has two scenarios, Training
and Example 02. This section uses a duplicate of the Training scenario.
Duplicating a scenario
To duplicate the Training scenario:
1. In the Project Explorer window, right-click the Training scenario to access the shortcut menu.
2. Select Duplicate. The Duplicate scenario dialog appears:
3. In the Scenario field, enter Example 01.

4. Click OK. The Training scenario is duplicated and stored as Example 01 in the Training group.
5. In the Scenario Explorer expand the Example 01 scenario.
The data files for the scenario display. The Training scenario was duplicated, however, the new
Example 01 scenario continues to reference the data files from the Training scenario. This means
changes to data in the Example 01 scenario will also be made in the Training scenario. Since in

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this case, the Training scenario was duplicated to preserve the original state of the scenario, you
do not want the data sets to be synchronized. In addition to duplicating the scenario, you need to
duplicate the data files.
To duplicate the scenarios data files:
1. In the Example 01 scenario, right-click Training to access the shortcut menu. This is the
geometry data file.
2. Select Duplicate as. The Duplicate Dataset As dialog appears.
3. Enter Example 01 Geometry data in the Geometry field.
4. Click OK.
5. Repeat the process for the Costs data file and the Objects data file , entering the
filenames Example 01 Costs data and Example 01 Objects data respectively.
Note You can replace the DTM data file for a scenario but you can not duplicate this type of
data file.
Loading a scenario
To load the Example 01 scenario:
1. Right-click the Example 01 scenario to access the shortcut menu.
2. Select Load Scenario. The Scenario view appears. You will now enter some data into the scenario.
Creating templates
A default template file is created when you create a project. This template file can be edited in the
Template Editor. When you have completed this section, you will be familiar with:
opening the Template Editor
creating a new library
creating a road template
creating a dual-road template

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Opening the Template Editor

To open the Template Editor, on the Data toolbar, click . The Template Editor dialog appears:
Creating a new template library

Templates are arranged in libraries indicated by .
To create a new library:
1. Select the existing library, Training generated defaults.
2. Click Insert.
3. Select New Library.
4. Right-click Library_1 to access the shortcut menu.
5. Select Rename.
6. Enter Example_Road for the name of the library.

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Create a template
To create a template:
1. Make sure the Example_Road library is selected.
2. Click Insert...
3. Select New Templates... / Road.
A template is created in the Example_Road library with the name Road_1.
When you create a road template, you can enter any combination or multiples of the following
elements:
Safety Berm
Ditch
Median
Pavement
Shoulder
Subgrade
4. Click on the Road_1 template.
5. Click Insert.
6. Select Pavement.

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The Pavement tab appears:
7. In the Pavement group, enter the following values:
Width m 6
Thickness m 0.4
Slope % -2
Super Elevate Select to apply superelevation to the pavement

9. Click Insert.
10. Select Shoulder.

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The Shoulder tab appears:
Cut Parameters are used when the shoulder is in cut and fill parameters are used when the
shoulder is in fill.
11. Enter the following values for the shoulder:
Width (cut) m 2.0

Slope (cut) % -2
Superelevate Make sure this check box is clear so superelevation is not applied to the
(cut) shoulder.
Width (fill) m 2.5
Slope (fill) % .2
Superelevate (fill) Make sure this check box is clear so superelevation is not applied to the
shoulder.

13. Click Insert.
14. Select Subgrade.

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The Subgrade tab appears:
Specify the following for the subgrade layer:
Drop m 0.5
Slope (%) 2
Back Slope (%) 55
Super Elevate Make sure this check box is clear so superelevation is not applied to the
subgrade.
Note Multiple subgrade elements can be used in a project however they are layered on top of
one another rather than allowing for specific sections to have a subgrade.
15. Insert a second subgrade layer with the same values as above.
17. Click Insert.
18. Select Ditch.

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The Ditch tab appears:
Specify the following for the ditch:
Depth m 0.5
Slope (%) 100
Base Width m 0.5
Note Ditches are only applied when the alignment is in cut.

20. Click Insert.

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21. Select Shoulder.
Specify the following for the shoulder:
Width (cut) m 0.5

Slope (cut) % 2
Super Elevate (cut) Make sure this check box is clear so superelevation is not applied to the
shoulder.
Width (fill) m 0
Slope (fill) % 0
Super Elevate (fill) Make sure this check box is clear so superelevation is not applied to the
shoulder.
Note The order of the elements in the list under the template name in the template view is the
order they will be used, with the top item the closest to the centre and the bottom item the last
element drawn.
22. The right side of the template is displayed in the view window. Click Left in the Flip View group to
view the left side of the template, or Both to view the complete template.
23. Slide the slider bar on the right of the view window to view an exaggerated effect of
superelevation on the road surface.
24. Zoom in and out using the scroll button on the mouse or click and drag to pan.

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Create a dual-lane road template

To duplicate a template:
1. Right-click on Road_1 template to be duplicated.
2. Select Duplicate.
To rename the template:
1. Right-click on Road_1_1 that you created above and then select Rename.
2. Rename to Dual Road_1.
To insert median:
1. Select Dual Road_1.
2. Click Insert.
3. Select median. The Median tab appears.
The median element is added to the bottom of the list in the 'Dual Road_1' template and
connected to the final shoulder element. To be drawn correctly the median element needs to be
at the top of the list. To do so simply click on the median element and drag it to the top of the list,
correctly connecting it to the pavement element.
Enable Median Override for Structures allows a different set of median values to be used for
structures.

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Enter the following values in the Median group:
Option Description
Width 5
Depth 0.5
Base Width 1
Note The 'Width' value is the length required to drop down the 'Depth' value. In this example
we're saying over 5 metres drop 0.5 metres. The 'Base Width' value is then added in addition to
the 'Width' value, so in this example we have an overall median width of 6 metres.
4. Enable median override for structures will remain unchecked and then click OK.
The template is saved, but will not be used for a generated alignment until you have specified it in
the scenarios geometry settings. You will do this in the next section.
For more information on the Template Editor, refer to Chapter 5, Managing Data, of the Quantm
Entering geometry data

One scenario can contain several geometry types, each applied to a different part of the study area.
For example, different geometry types may be used when an alignment passes through varying
terrain.
A geometry type includes:
Geometry for the Horizontal alignment
Geometry for the Vertical alignment
Grades for the Vertical alignment
Cross Section template
In this section you will create one geometry type.

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To enter geometry data:

1. On the Data toolbar, click . The Geometric Parameters dialog appears:
2. Make sure that the Horizontal tab is selected.

The Geometry type list lists the names of the Geometry types in the scenario. Currently there is
only one geometry type called Standard geometry. The blue tick indicates this is the default
geometry for the scenario.
3. To rename the geometry type, in the Geometry type list, click Standard geometry.
4. Click Standard geometry a second time to enter edit mode.
5. Enter 80km/hr Design Speed.
6. Press [Enter].
To create a new set of geometry parameters:
7. Right-click on one of the Geometry Type fields
8. Select New.
9. Rename the New Geometry Type to 4 lane 100km/hr.
10. Right-click on the 4 lane 100km/hr geometry type and select Default Setting to make it the
default geometry to be used in the scenario.

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11. While the 4 lane 100km/hr geometry type is selected, enter the values that appear in the
Curve Limits and Superelevation groups below:
Note A desired value does not need to be entered. However, if it is defined the system will try to
stick to that value when calculating the best radius to use.
B Tip Make sure that the horizontal curve will fit in the study area.
12. Enter the values that appear in the Transition and Straights groups below.
Note A desired and/or maximum value does not need to be entered. However if it is defined the
system will meet those constraints rather than just the minimum.
Once the horizontal parameters are defined, select the vertical tab and enter the vertical
parameters:
1. Enter the values that appear in the Curves group below:
Note A desired value does not need to be entered. However, if it is defined the system will try to
stick to that value when calculating the best radius to use.

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2. Enter the values that appear in the Straights and Coordination groups below:
Note A desired and/or maximum value does not need to be entered. However if it is defined the
system will meet those constraints rather than just the minimum.
Note For Rail projects coordination will change to compensation values.
The final set of values required to define the geometry are the grades:
3. Enter the values in the Downhill and Uphill fields:
Note Multiple grade ranges can be defined here if desired. If more than one is defined the
maximum desired value is used to define the maximum desired grade, with the maximum
number of exceptions used to define how many times the system will exceed this value.

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Once all the geometry is defined, apply the templates to the geometry:
1. Click the Template tab. The Template tab appears:
This is where the cross section template created in the previous section is specified.
2. In the Left list, expand the Example_Road library.
3. Select the Dual Road_1 template.
4. In the Right list, expand the Example_Road library.
5. Select the DualRoad_1 template.
6. Click OK.
WARNING Edits are saved to the geometry type selected in the Geometry type list. If you have more
C than one geometry type, make sure you have selected the geometry type you want to edit.
For more information on Geometric Parameters, refer to Chapter 5, Managing Data, of the Quantm

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Entering cost parameters

The Cost Parameters are used to define the cost of constructing an alignment. Costs are managed as
five main data groups:
Global costs
Geotechnical costs (Material and Geology tabs)
Template materials (Template Materials tab)
Structural costs (Bridge, Tunnel, Wall and Culvert tabs)
Other costs (Area, Linear and Fixed tabs)
In this section you will edit the default cost parameters for the scenario. For information on the cost
parameters in each tab, refer to Chapter 5, Managing Data, of the Quantm Software User Guide.
Unlike the Geometry parameters where different geometry types exist, only one cost parameter
definition is defined to be used in the scenario.
To enter cost data, on the Data toolbar, click . The Cost Parameters dialog appears with the
Global tab selected.
Global costs
Global costs are applied everywhere in the study area, and include:
Earth movement costs
Fill costs
Note Global costs cannot be varied locally.
Make sure your Global costs match the Cost Parameters dialog below:
When the alignment is in fill the embankment slope will be 55 %. For every 6 meters in height, a
2 meter step will be inserted.
For more information on the global cost fields, refer to Chapter 5, Managing Data, of the Quantm

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Material costs
1. Click the Material tab.
In the Material tab you can define the different geological material types that are to be
encountered within the study area. There are currently three material types defined for the
scenario. The Broken rock material type indicates:
the material can be left in place under fill and if excavated, some or all can be used as fill.
the cost to excavate the material is $7.00 per m3
the side slope required when cutting into this material is 100%
100% of the material that is excavated can be reused as fill
the volume of the material when used as fill is 10% larger than the original volume
2. For the Broken rock material type, click the Compaction field.
3. Change the compaction to 1.0. This indicates that the rock can be compacted to the same
volume when used as fill.
4. Press [Enter].
5. Make sure the values in the Material tab match the dialog below:
For more information on the Materials tab, refer to Chapter 5, Managing Data, of the Quantm

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Geology costs
1. Click the Geology tab.
The Geology type defines the actual layers of material (type and thickness) within the study area
and the vertical separation and width of benches when cutting into the specified geology.
Currently there is one geology type called Default geology. This geology type has three layers:
0.15 m of Top soil
7.00 m Soil
Broken rock
B Tip To use a material in the geology type you must first define it in the Materials tab.
When cutting into ground with this geology type a step height of 6 and a step width of 2 is
required.
2. Click the name Default geology to change the name of the Geology type.
3. Enter Valley floor.
4. Make sure the values in the Geology tab match the values in the dialog below:
For more information on the Geology tab, refer to Chapter 5, Managing Data, of the Quantm
Template Materials costs

1. Click the Template Materials tab.
The Template Materials tab is where the elements that are defined in the Template Editor are
individually costed. For road and rail templates these elements are Pavement, Ballast, Rail and
Subgrade layers.
2. The Name field lists the template elements and their associated costs. This project already has
both road and rail templates defined as well as two subgrade layers in the template editor, so the
elements Ballast, Pavement, Rail, Subgrade1 and Subgrade2 are already listed.
Note To add new template materials simply right-click anywhere in the Name or $ fields and
select New, similarly to remove a material right-click and select Delete.

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Make sure the costs in the $ field match the dialog below:
The Template field is automatically populated with the elements defined in the Template Editor,
i.e. each pavement, ballast, rail or subgrade layer/s. The Material and Unit of Measure fields are
not editable and simply define the element type. The Type field is where the template element is
mapped to a specific cost. In this exercise the previously defined Road_1 and Dual Road_1
templates have Undefined types, simply click in the corresponding type field to activate a drop
down menu of the template materials and select the appropriate material. Make sure the
materials in the Type field match the dialog below:

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Bridge costs
1. Click the Bridge tab.
2. Click the Name Default_bridge to change the name of the bridge type. Enter Concrete deck.
3. Press [Enter].
4. Click the Abutment slope (%) field.
5. Enter 50.00.
6. Press [Enter].
Note The slope entered in the Abutment slope field affects the amount of pavement required at
either end of the bridge.
The Quantm software enables you to define a varying cost per unit area of deck depending on
the height of the bridge to be constructed. For example, a 10 m high concrete deck bridge will
cost less to construct than a 20 m high concrete deck of the same span. The list on the right of
the Bridge tab shows the varying costs for bridge construction at the defined vertical heights.
Currently, there is only one cost for the construction of the concrete bridge regardless of height.
The Deck option here is to specify if the median is considered or not in the construction of the
bridge:
Single The median is constructed and a single deck bridge is constructed.
Dual The median is not constructed and two separate decks are constructed.
For this example we will use single. Next, you will add varying bridge costs depending on
construction height.
7. Click in the varying height cost cell in the Max height (m) column.
8. Enter 5.00.
9. Press [Enter].
10. Click the Max Length cell and then enter 100.
11. Press [Enter].
12. Click the Area cost cell and then enter 2500.
With this current definition, bridges can be constructed up to a height of 5 m, have a maximum
length of 100 m, and will cost $2,500 per square meter to construct.
13. Press [Enter].
B Tip To insert new rows into the table, right-click in the Max height column to access the
shortcut menu and then select New. A new varying height cost is added to the list.

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14. Repeat Step 9 to Step 12 entering three more varying height costs, matching the values shown:
For more information on the Bridge tab, refer to Chapter 5, Managing Data, of the Quantm Software
User Guide.
Note The largest maximum height value will define the maximum length a bridge can be
constructed.
Note Both the maximum length and the maximum height needs to be larger than the values in the
previous row.
Tunnel costs
1. Click the Tunnel tab.
To cost tunnels, the Quantm software assumes a varying cost per unit distance. The varying cost
enables you to increase the construction costs for longer tunnels as opposed to shorter ones. In
addition, a fixed cost for portals is included which also covers setup costs. Currently the Tunnel
tab defines one tunnel type for the scenario called Default tunnel, with a portal cost of $320,000
and a portal area of 50 m2. A tunnel of 500m in length or less costs $50,000 per meter and a
tunnel between 5,000 and 10,000 meters in length costs $100,000 per meter. Currently, the
maximum depth is set to 9999 allowing each type to be constructed to any depth however this
can be changed to stop a certain tunnel type to be constructed too deeply.
Note As with bridges, a maximum tunnel length can be defined to stop long tunnels from being
constructed.
2. Click the Name Default tunnel to change the name of the Tunnel type.
3. Enter 2-lane soft rock.
4. Press [Enter].

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5. Make sure the values in the Tunnel tab match the following values:
For more information on the Tunnel tab, refer to Chapter 5, Managing Data, of the Quantm Software
User Guide.

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Wall costs
To enter or edit the costs associated with a retaining wall, select the Wall tab:
Retaining walls are defined as a name, cost $/m2 or $/ft2, slope (%), and height in m or ft.
Quantm will still put retaining walls in to reduce long sections of cut and fill when the cost of cut and
fill is greater than the cost of the construction of the retaining wall.
Note When retaining walls other than the default are defined, the lowest retaining wall may be
resized to a lower height if a retaining wall lower than its specified height is needed. In this case the
retaining wall will be placed all the way to the natural surface.
When a local default zone uses a retaining wall definition, the defined wall type will be the highest
wall that is used other than the one with the 9999 definition.
To edit an existing entry, click the cell that you want to change. To add or remove an item, or to
change the default, right-click the table and then make your selection.
1. Click the Wall tab.
A wall type has a cost per m2, a slope (%) and a height (m) defined. A sky blue check mark is used
to define the wall type that is used for any instance that the Quantm software needs to, such as:
a tunnel entrance
where the alignment abuts a high priority avoid zone, where the software tries to stop
materials from entering the zone
any place where it is cheaper to place a retaining wall than to insert cut or fill, and there is
no other retaining wall definition with a height that would fit instead.
This wall type must have a height definition of 9999 to allow it to be used at any height. At least
one retaining wall of this type must be defined for a scenario.
Retaining walls of other heights and cost can be defined however each height must be unique.
When retaining walls of different heights are defined and a retaining wall is used by the system to
stop long sections of cut and fill, the closest retaining wall below the height of cut and fill will be
used and the remainder will be benched using the geology definition.
In this exercise one retaining wall is defined.
2. Click the name Default wall to change the name of the Wall type.

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3. Enter Reinforced Concrete.

4. Press [Enter].
5. Click the slope 100000%.
6. Change the slope to 1000%.
7. Press [Enter].
8. Make sure the cost per m2 value is 1000.
For more information on the Wall tab, refer to Chapter 5, Managing Data, of the Quantm Software
User Guide.
Culvert costs
1. Click the Culvert tab.
2. Click the name Default Culvert to change the name of the culvert type. Enter 900mm Concrete.
3. In the Weighting field, enter 90%. The slide bar will adjust to show 90% when you click in another
field. This weighting means that the culvert will be close to a straight line between the two
portals. A lower weighting here would mean the culvert would have more bends but try and
follow the water course.
4. Make sure the Culvert costs match the Cost Parameters dialog below:
For more information on the Culvert tab, refer to Chapter 5, Managing Data, of the Quantm Software
User Guide.
Area costs
Area costs can reflect the cost of acquiring or clearing a particular class of land.
1. Click the Area tab.
2. Right-click to access the shortcut menu.
3. Select New.
4. Click the New... Area Cost type.

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5. Enter Forest clearing.

6. Click in the $/m2 column for the Area Cost type Forest Clearing.
7. Enter 2.00. (The cost of clearing the forest per square meter)
8. Click in the Margin column for the Area Cost type Forest Clearing.
9. Enter 15.00 (The margin that needs to be left around the extents of the area).
C CAUTION Area costs are only applied when Area cost types are specified in a Area cost zone.
For more information on the Area tab, refer to Chapter 5, Managing Data, of the Quantm Software
User Guide.
Linear costs
Linear costs increase the cost of construction to account for items that are proportional to the length
of the route.
1. Click the Linear tab.
2. Right-click to access the shortcut menu.
3. Select New.
4. Click the New... Linear Cost type.
5. Enter Line marking and roadside furniture.
6. Click in the $/m column for the Linear Cost type Line marking and roadside furniture.
7. Enter 100. (The cost per linear meter to mark the roads and place furniture.)
8. Right-click to access the shortcut menu, then select New.
9. Click the New... Linear Cost type.
10. Enter Lighting.
11. Click in the $/m column for the Linear Cost type Lighting.

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12. Enter 55.
C CAUTION Linear costs are only applied when they are specified in a Linear cost zone.
For more information on the Linear tab, refer to Chapter 5, Managing Data, of the Quantm Software
User Guide.
Fixed costs
Fixed costs do not affect the alignment optimization but are included to ensure that the final cost
estimates do not omit significant cost items.
1. Click the Fixed tab.
2. Right-click in the Fixed Cost list to access the shortcut menu. Select New.
3. Click the name New... in the Fixed Cost list.
4. Enter EIS consultants.
5. Click in the $ column for the fixed cost EIS consultants.
6. Enter 330000 (The fixed cost for the consultants).
7. Right-click to access the shortcut menu, select New.
8. Click the name New... in the Fixed Cost list.
9. Enter Traffic Control.
10. Click in the $ column for the fixed cost Traffic Control.
11. Enter 165000.

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12. Press [Enter].
For more information on the Fixed tab, refer to Chapter 5, Managing Data, of the Quantm Software
User Guide.
Saving data
You have completed entering geometry and cost data for the scenario.
1. Click OK.
The Cost Parameters dialog closes.
B Tip A message appears when you click OK in the Cost Parameters dialog if the Quantm
software detects any errors in the cost data. You should resolve these errors before continuing.
2. Click File / Save Scenario to save the geometry and cost data.
Entering object data

When you have completed this section, you will be familiar with:
moving the endpoints of the alignment.
entering satellite imagery for the area.
entering a road and a river.
specifying an area that you want the alignment to avoid.
specifying how an alignment will cross a specific area.
specifying a local area where different geometry parameters are used.
specifying an area that has costs associated with clearing the land.
specifying the maximum height of cut on an embankment before a wall is used.
B Tip Entering data in stages helps you view the effect of the data on the alignments.

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Moving end points

End Points define the start and finish point of an alignment. When a new project is created, the
endpoints are put into a default location within the view. In this tutorial a new road is being planned
from an existing road near the south of the DTM to the top of a mountain range near the North of
the DTM. This next section will show you how to edit the start and end points.
To move the end points:
1. To unlock the feature and allow editing, on the Data toolbar, click .
2. In the Scenario Explorer click the Layer View tab.
3. Expand the End Points Layer:
4. Select Start.
The Start Point is displayed in the Feature Properties window.
5. In the Feature Properties window, enter the X,Y, Z coordinates for the start point:
a. Enter 474390.630 in the X (m) field.
b. Enter 5950557.114, in the Y (m) field.
c. Enter 222.324 in the Z (m) field.
6. In the Feature Properties window, enter 346.5 degrees in the Bearing field. This determines the
initial direction of the alignment.
7. In the Feature Properties window, enter 0% in the Grade field. This determines the initial grade of
the alignment.
The grade is left as 0 here because the average terrain heading in a direction of 346.5 degrees
from the start point is flat. If the start point was on a hill you should enter a start grade that
reflects the terrain in the direction of the start bearing.
8. In the Layer View tab, select Finish.
The Finish point is displayed in the Feature Properties window.
9. In the Feature Properties window, enter the X,Y, Z coordinates for the finish point:

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a. Enter 476866.307 in the X (m) field.

b. Enter 5958291.559 in the Y (m) field.
c. Enter 370.828 in the Z (m) field.
10. In the Bearing field, enter 132.9 degrees. This determines the direction the alignment will be
heading at the end point.
11. In the Grade field, enter 5.00%.
B Tip You can also graphically edit the end points, refer to Chapter 5, Managing Data, of the
Quantm Software User Guide.
C CAUTION The endpoints arrows point in the direction the alignment is moving. When you edit the
position of the finish point the grade is computed automatically based on the terrain.

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Inserting satellite imagery

Georeferenced satellite images in ECW format can be inserted over the top of the terrain.
To insert satellite imagery:
1. In the Scenario Explorer, click the Layer View tab.
2. Right-click in the Layer window to access the shortcut menu.
3. Select New Image Layer.
A new layer called New Imagery Layer is created:
4. Select the layer called New Imagery Layer.

5. Click New Imagery Layer again to enter edit mode.
6. Enter Satellite Imagery as the new layer name.
7. Right-click the Satellite Imagery layer to access the shortcut menu.
8. Select Insert Image. The Open dialog appears.
9. To find the satellite image, go to:
C:\Users\Public\Public Documents\Quantm Projects\Sample Data\Quantm Example
Dataset\Satellite Imagery\.
10. Select Example Dataset Satellite Imagery.ecw.
11. Click Open.
12. Click in the Plan View window. The satellite image displays in the Plan View window.
Objects are drawn in the order they appear in the Layer View tab.
13. Click and drag the Satellite Imagery layer icon so it is second in the list. (Underneath DTM).
14. Right-click the Satellite Imagery layer to access the shortcut menu.
15. Select Transparency. A slider appears:
16. Drag the slider to the center of the bar.

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You can see the DTM behind the satellite image.

Note ECW files need to be in meters.
Adding linear features

Linear features are any features that are defined by an unclosed shape, for example a road or a river.
Linear features can be created graphically in the Plan View window or imported from a file. In this
section, you will:
enter a road graphically
import a file with a river
enter the width of the linear feature
specify how you want the feature to be crossed
To create a road graphically:
1. On the Data toolbar, click .
2. Select Road. The Road Feature dialog appears:
3. Enter Eucalypt Road in the Name field.

4. Enter 15 in the Width field.
If any of the generated alignments cross Eucalypt Road we want them to cross at the existing
grade. This means the generated alignment needs to be at the level of the natural surface when it
crosses Eucalypt Road. To specify the crossing requirements:

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5. Click next to the Clearance field. The Crossing Clearance dialog appears:
6. In the Reference group, select At Grade.

7. Click OK.
8. Click OK.
The cursor displays in the Plan View window.
9. To add the first vertex, click the screen coordinates 470100, 5956820.
Note For the purpose of the tutorial the vertex positions only need to be approximate. In the
next section you will load a different scenario with the correct road positions. You can see the
road you are entering on the satellite image.
10. To add the next vertex, click the screen coordinates 470950, 5957080.
11. To add the final vertex, double-click the screen coordinates 471860, 5957575.
12. To exit the create feature mode, press [Esc].

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The road displays in the Plan View window:
To import a river from a file:

1. Click Utilities / Import GIS/CAD data. The Import GIS/CAD Data dialog appears:
2. Select ESRI Shapefile from the Data format list.

3. Click next to the Dataset field. The Open Source Data File dialog appears.
4. To find the river data, go to:
Dataset\Feature Data\
5. Select Rivers.shp.
6. Click Open.

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7. Click OK. The ESRI Shapefile Settings dialog appears:
8. Click OK. The Feature Importer Layer Selector dialog appears:
9. In the Feature Type list, select River.

Since the river is a linear feature, make sure the Treat as zone check box is clear.
10. Click OK. The message Data has been successfully imported appears.
11. Click OK.

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When feature data is imported it is disabled. To enable one of the rivers:

1. In the Scenario Explorer window, click the Layer View tab.
2. Expand the River layer.
3. Select the Availability check box for Oak Creek.
Oak Creek is enabled and displays in blue in the Plan View window.

5 DATA ENTRY
To edit the properties of Oak Creek:

1. In the Plan View window click Oak Creek.
Oak Creek displays in the Feature Properties window:
2. Enlarge the Feature Properties window to view all features of Oak Creek.
3. In the Width field, enter 15.0.
To specify that the river should be crossed using a bridge 6m above the river edit the crossing
features.
4. Make sure Natural Surface is selected in the Ref. alt. (Reference Altitude) list. The 6m clearance
will be measured from the natural surface.

5 DATA ENTRY
5. In the Crossing Type field, select Bridge from the list to specify that you want the river crossed
using a bridge. The Crossing Type dialog appears:
6. Select Concrete deck from the Bridge Type list.

7. Click the Clearance field.
8. Select , next to the Clearance field. The Crossing Clearance dialog appears:
9. In the Reference: Natural surface group, select the Above option.

10. Enter 6.
11. Click OK.
12. Click OK.
13. Click File / Save Scenario.

5 DATA ENTRY
Adding zones
Zones are defined as any closed shape, where the important aspect is the area within the enclosed
shape. In this section you will learn how to add the following zones:
Avoid zones - specify where the alignments shouldnt pass
Crossing zones - specify how an alignment crosses an area
Local default zones - define a localized area where the geometry values are different to the
system defaults.
Global Earthwork limits - define the max height of fill and depth of cut before structures are
added. This limits the scars in the landscape.
Cost zones - define an extra cost for passing through the area
Zones can be imported from a file or created graphically in the Plan View window.
The first zone you will enter will define the Blackwood township. This is an area that you want the
generated alignments to avoid.
To create an avoid zone:
2. Select Avoid. The Avoid dialog appears:
3. In the Name field, enter Blackwood Township.

4. In the Layer list ensure that Avoid is selected.
5. in the Priority list, ensure that High is selected.
B Tip The priority indicates how important it is for an alignment to avoid the area. If you wanted
to determine the cost of avoiding an area, you could create two scenarios; one with a high
priority avoid zone and another with a low priority avoid. You would then compare the cost of
the alignments generated for both scenarios.
6. Click OK.
The create zone cursor displays in the Plan View window.
7. In the Plan View window find the town in the satellite imagery. The approximate coordinates are
475460 E 5954600 N.
8. Click on one corner of the town to start the zone and trace around the edge of the town area,
clicking to position each vertex.
9. To close the zone double click on the last point. This will join the last point and the first point.
10. Press [Esc].

5 DATA ENTRY
WARNING If one or multiple High Priority avoid zone(s) block the ability for alignments to run
C between the start and finish point on a DTM, the scenario will not process.
There is an environmentally sensitive area on the left of the DTM. Ideally this area should be avoided
either by entering an avoid zone or crossing the area so that the area remains untouched. In this
section you will enter a Crossing Zone specifying that the road needs to tunnel underneath it.
To create a Crossing Zone:
1. On the Data toolbar, select . The Import GIS/CAD Data dialog appears.
2. In the Data format list, select Autodesk DWG, DXF.
3. Click next to the Dataset field.
The Open Source Data File dialog appears.
4. To find the zone data, go to:
5. Select Crossing zone.dxf.
6. Click Open.
7. Click OK. The DWG/DXF Import Settings dialog appears.
8. Make sure Meters (m) is selected in the Select units field.
9. Select OK.
The Feature Importer Layer Selector dialog appears. The Crossing zone you are importing is called
EPA Zone. It is important that a zone is imported as a closed area.
10. In the Closed loop features list, select the Treat as zone check box.
11. Make sure Crossing is selected in the Zone Type list.
12. Click OK. The message Data has been successfully imported appears.
13. Click OK. A layer is created called Crossing zone - EPA Zone.
14. In the Layer View tab, click the Crossing zone - EPA Zone layer.
15. Click the Crossing zone - EPA Zone layer a second time to enter edit mode.
16. Enter Crossing Zone and then press [Enter].
17. In the Layer View tab, expand the Crossing Zone layer.
18. Click the Crossing zone_21 zone.
19. Click the Crossing zone_21 zone a second time to enter edit mode.
20. Enter EPA zone and then press [Enter].
21. Select the Availability check box for the EPA zone.
The properties of the EPA zone are displayed in the Feature Properties window.
22. In the Feature Properties window, click the Crossing type field.
23. Click to expand the list.

5 DATA ENTRY
In this case, tunnel will be chosen to preserve the natural environment.
B Tip If you are entering a zone that could be crossed by either a tunnel or a bridge you would
select Structure (zone) from the Crossing type list. If you just want to define a height that the
road crosses a zone (for example, a flood zone) and you are not concerned with how the zone is
crossed you would select Unspecified. The alignment will find the cheapest way to cross the
zone at the specified height.
24. Select Tunnel from the Crossing type list. The Crossing Type dialog appears:
25. In the Reference altitude list, ensure that the Natural Surface option is selected.
26. Click next to the Clearance (m) field. The Crossing Clearance dialog appears:
For this EPA zone, the tunnel needs to 6 meters below the Natural surface.
27. In the Reference: Natural surface (m) group, select the Below option. This is the fourth option
from the top.
28. Enter -8 in the Below field. This means the tunnel will be 8 meters below the natural surface.

5 DATA ENTRY
29. Click OK.

30. In the Tunnel type list, select 2 lane soft rock.
31. Click OK.
If information exists for a feature you are editing, for example a picture, a list of protected species
living in the area, or flood records for the area, you can link this information to the feature in the
Quantm software. A picture exists of Wattle River. In this section, you will link the picture to the EPA
zone you have just created.
To link a file to a zone:
1. In the Scenario Explorer, make sure the Layer View tab is selected.
2. In the Crossing Zone layer, right-click the EPA zone to access the shortcut menu.
3. Select Link File. The Open dialog appears.
4. To find the picture, go to:
5. Select Wattle River.jpg
6. Click Open.
An icon displays in the Plan View window in the EPA zone area. You can view the picture by
clicking this icon.
In the Entering geometry data section, you created a new Geometry type called 4 lane 100 km/h.
While these parameters are sufficient for the flat terrain they are unrealistic for the steeper terrain in
the mountains. To get the most from the Quantm software, make sure the geometry parameters are
suitable for the area. In this section you will learn how to create a local default zone that specifies
geometry to be used in steeper terrain.

5 DATA ENTRY
To create a Local Default zone:

1. On the Data toolbar, select and then select Local Defaults. The Local Defaults dialog
appears:
2. In the Name field, enter Mountain Geometry.

3. In the Layer field, enter Geometry.
A new layer called Geometry will be created.
In the Local Defaults dialog, you can define defaults for:
Bridge
Tunnel
Wall
Geology
Geometry
The types you define will depend on the local default zone you are creating. If you leave a type as
unspecified, then the default setting will be used. Since you are creating a default zone for
mountain geometry, you will edit the Geometry type list.

5 DATA ENTRY
4. In the Geometry type list, select New... The Geometric Parameters dialog appears:
5. In the Geometry type list, right-click to access the shortcut menu.

6. Select New.
7. In the Geometry type list, select New...
8. Make sure the Horizontal tab is selected.
9. In the H Rad (m) field, enter 150.
10. In the Super (%) field, enter 4.
11. Click the Vertical tab.
12. In the Curves group, click in the Min Radii (m) field for Crest.
13. Enter 600.
14. In the Curves group, click in the Min Radii (m) field for Sag.
15. Enter 200.

5 DATA ENTRY
These values allow the road to have smaller radius and steeper grades, which are more suitable
for the terrain.
16. Click the Grade tab.
17. In the Downhill section, enter -10 for Grade (%) and 800 for Max Length (m).
18. In the Uphill section, enter 8 for Grade (%) and 600 for Max Length (m)
19. Select the Templates tab.
20. In the left list, expand the Example_Road Library.
21. Select the Road_1 template.
22. In the right list, expand the Example_Road Library.
23. Select the Road_1 template.
24. In the Geometry type list, select New.
25. Enter 2 lane 60km/h and then click OK. The Local Defaults dialog appears.
26. Back in the Geometry type list, select the new geometry type; 2 lane 60 km/h.
27. Click OK.
The create zone cursor appears in the Plan View window.
28. Trace a path around the mountain range at the top of the DTM. Click to add a vertex, double-click
on the last vertex to close the shape.
B Tip To change the shape of the zone, refer to Chapter 5, Managing Data in the Quantm
29. Press [Esc] to exit the create zone mode.
30. Select File / Save scenario.

5 DATA ENTRY
Sometimes there are costs associated with particular tasks that need to be performed within a
specific area or the entire study area. In this section, you will create:
an area cost zone that defines an area where there are forest clearing costs.
a global area cost zone that includes the costs of acquiring and clearing land.
To create an Area Cost zone:
1. On the Data toolbar, click and then select Area Cost. The Area Cost Zone dialog appears:
2. In the Name field, enter Mt Green Forest.

3. In the Layer list, make sure Area cost is selected. A layer will be created called Area cost.
4. Select Forest clearing from the Area cost type list. You defined this cost earlier in the section Area
costs, page 70.
5. Click OK.
The cursor displays in the Plan View window.
6. In the Plan View window trace a path around the mountain range at the top of the DTM. This is
the same area you created the mountain geometry zone. Click to add a vertex.
7. Double-click on the last vertex to close the zone.
If the alignment passes through this area additional costs are incurred due to forest clearing.
8. Press [Esc] to exit the create zone mode.
9. Click File / Save scenario.
B Tip If there are errors in data that you enter or edit the data error flag will appear in the status
bar. To view the errors associated with the data click the flag or select Data / Data validation.
For more information on data errors, see Appendix C, Error Messages in the Quantm Software
User Guide.

5 DATA ENTRY
A Global Area Cost is applied across the entire study area.

To create a Global Area Cost zone:
1. On the Data toolbar, click and then select Global Area Cost Zone. The Area Cost Zone dialog
appears:
2. In the Name field, enter Land resumption and clearing.

3. Make sure Area cost is selected in the Layer list.
An area cost has not been created for acquiring land so you will create it now.
4. In the Area cost type list, select New. The Cost Parameter dialog appears with the Area tab
selected.
5. In the Area cost type list, right-click to access the shortcut menu.
6. Select New.
7. In the Area cost type list, click New...
8. Click New... again to edit the name of the new area cost type.
9. Enter Land resumption and clearing.
10. In the $/m2 list, enter 1.10.
11. In the Margin(m) list, enter 10.
12. Click OK. The Area Cost Zone dialog appears and the new area cost type is in the Area cost type
list.
13. In the Area cost type list, select Land resumption and clearing.
14. Click OK.
15. Select File / Save scenario.
Since a Global zone covers the entire study area you do not need to enter a zone in the Plan View
window. The Global Area cost type is shown in the Area cost layer. To view this make sure the Layer
View tab is selected in the Scenario Explorer window. Expand the Area cost layer. The area cost zone
and the global area cost zone that you just created are in the Area cost layer.
The final zone you will enter is a Global earthworks limits zone. You will use this zone to specify the
maximum height or depth of earthworks before walls, bridges and tunnels are used. This will limit
the scars of cut or fill on the landscape.

5 DATA ENTRY
To create a Global earthworks limits zone:

2. Select Global Earthworks Limits Zone from the list. The Earthwork Limits dialog appears:
3. In the Limits group, select the Max Fill check box.

4. Enter 30 in the Max Fill field.
If an embankment exceeds 30 meters of fill a retaining wall is inserted. If the centerline exceeds
30 meters of fill a bridge is inserted.
5. In the Limits group, select the Max Cut check box.
6. Enter 40 in the Max Cut field.
If an embankment exceeds 40 meters of cut a retaining wall is inserted. If the centerline exceeds
40 meters of cut a tunnel is inserted.
7. Click OK.
8. Click File / Save scenario.
For more information on earthworks limits, refer to Chapter 5, Managing Data in the Quantm
For more information on the different types of zones you can enter, refer to Chapter 5, Managing
Data in the Quantm Software User Guide.
Closing the scenario

When you have finished entering data you are ready to perform a Free to Roam optimization.
In the next chapter you will use the Example 02 scenario. This scenario has the data you have
entered and some additional data.
To close the scenario, click File / Close Scenario. The Project view appears.

CHAPTER
6
Corridor and Route
Identification 6
In this chapter: When all available data has been entered into
your scenario you are ready to perform free to
Tutorial tasks Corridor and route identification roam optimization. A Free to Roam
Opening a scenario optimization searches the entire study area.
Results from the optimization help you to
Creating a Free to Roam submission
identify corridors and suitable alignments.
Reviewing results
This chapter shows you how to submit a
scenario, perform a free to roam optimization
and determine alignments that may be suitable
for your study area.
Tutorial tasks Corridor and route

identification
The corridor and route identification section in lesson 2 includes the following tasks:

1. Submitting a job and generating optimized alignments 9 min
2. Reviewing results and determining suitable alignments to 40 min
investigate
3. Saving alignments 1 min
Total 50 minutes

6 CORRIDOR AND ROUTE IDENTIFICATION
Opening a scenario
Scenario Example 02 has data similar to what you created in the last chapter and some additional
zones and features. You will use this scenario in this chapter. Make sure the Quantm Example Dataset
project is open and the Project view is displayed.
To open the Example 02 scenario:
1. In the Training group, right-click the Example 02 scenario to access the shortcut menu.
2. Select Load Scenario. The Scenario view appears.
Creating a Free to Roam submission

A free to roam submission will provide a selection of alignments between the start and finish point in
the scenario. The Quantm Optimizer explores different routes taking into consideration the terrain,
geometry, cost and feature data you have entered for the scenario. Some of the free to roam
alignments returned may not satisfy all of the user requirements. The Free to Roam optimization
type aims to give a wide variety of options that assist you in deciding the best corridors to
investigate.
To create a free to roam submission:
1. On the Standard toolbar, click . The Corridor Identification dialog appears:
2. Make sure the Free to Roam optimization option is selected.

The Job name field is automatically filled with:
the Scenario Name, Example 02.
a FR to indicate the results are Free to Roam.

a 1 to indicate this is the first Free to Roam submission for the scenario.
Note When further free to roam optimizations are performed in the same scenario the number
automatically increments. You can change the naming convention by entering in your preferred
name in the Job name field. For this example you will use the default.
3. In the Notes field, enter Free to Roam - initial investigation.
It is good practise to use the Notes section to describe what you are investigating with the
submission. This is particularly useful when you are re-optimizing after slight changes to the
data. For example, you have entered an avoid zone or changed the minimum radius.
4. Make sure Local Processor is selected in the Submit By list.
The local processor comes with the Quantm Desktop software and processes results up to a
certain length on the computer that the Quantm software is installed on. The other form of
processing is manual, which comes with Quantm Professional and Quantm Enterprise and
creates files to be processed on Enterprise servers or by Trimble Planning Solutions.
5. Click Submit. The Notes Information dialog appears:
This dialog shows the notes entered for the scenario, the four data files and the job. Use this
window to make sure you are submitting the correct scenario for optimization.
6. Click OK.
Note Once a submission is created the scenario becomes locked. Any changes to the project
data at this stage would need to be made in a new scenario and alignments would need to be
regenerated.

7. The Submissions window appears after you submit a scenario for optimization. To view the
Submissions window, click View / Submissions.
It will be empty because a scenario has not been submitted. The submission window will be
discussed later in the tutorial. For more information on the Submission window, refer to Chapter
3, Get Familiar with the Interface, of the Quantm Software User Guide.
The Submissions window is project specific. It shows the status of the job that is processing, jobs
waiting to be processed and any jobs processed in the same session. The percentage complete
value is displayed under Job.
The larger the distance and more complex the submission, the longer the processing will take.
Expect this free to roam optimization to take up to an hour to process. For the tutorial you can:
stop processing and use alignments already processed for this scenario. Go to Step 8.
continue processing. Wait until the New alignment file message appears. Go to Step 10.
8. To stop processing click . The current job will stop processing and any alignments returned will
be recorded in a results file.
9. Go to Reviewing results, page 98.
WARNING Jobs cannot be restarted or continued if processing stops, a new submission needs to be
C made to process again.
When the job is finished processing, the following message appears:

New alignment file: Example M 02_FR_1.
10. Click OK.

The Submissions window indicates the optimization is completed and displays the name of the
results file.
Reviewing results
In this section you will become familiar with the Quantm tools that you can use to view and analyze
the optimized alignments.

Setting preference settings

Settings made in the Preference Settings dialog affect how the alignments are displayed in the Plan
View window and when warnings are displayed. In this section you will change the critical tolerance
values so that only significant errors are reported.
1. To filter out minor errors go to the File menu, and select Preference Settings. The Preference
Settings dialog appears.
2. Click the Warnings tab:
3. In the Warning level list, ensure that Critical is selected.

4. In the Critical tolerance group, enter 0.2 in the Vertical clearance field.
5. In the Critical tolerance group, enter 0.1% in the Grade field. This means if the design grade is
10%, only design grade errors larger than 10.1% will be reported.
6. In the Critical tolerance group, enter 5% in the Curve field. This means if the minimum radius is
100 m, only curves less than 95 m will be reported.
7. Click OK.
Note The values entered in the Critical tolerance group need to be appropriate for the job. You may
use larger tolerances when you are identifying corridors and reduce these when you are examining
results from a Seeded optimization.
For more information on the Preference Settings dialog, refer to Appendix E, Earthmoving, of the
Quantm Software User Guide.

Loading the results

1. In the Scenario Explorer window, select the Scenario Notes tab:
The Example 02 folder icon is now gray indicating the scenario is locked.
2. Make sure the scenario folder is expanded.
The data files associated with the scenario are also locked (gray).
When the scenario name is bold it indicates there are results to view for the scenario. The results
file is shown in the Example 02 folder. If you cancelled the processing before
any alignments were generated in Creating a Free to Roam submission, page 95, the results file
icon will look like . This indicates the job has been submitted but there are no results yet.
Due to the nature of the Quantm optimizer, results from two free to roam optimizations will
never be identical however the potential corridors you identify from the results will be similar.
For this reason, in this tutorial you will load a set of results previously processed for the scenario
Example 02.
C CAUTION It is good practice to always load results from the Scenario Notes tab in the Scenario view or
the Jobs/Results folder in the Project view. This ensures that the results were processed with the
current data constraints. To load results from the Scenario Notes tab, right-click on the result file to
access the shortcut menu and then select Review Result. To load results from the Project view, right-
click on the results file in the Jobs/Results folder to access the shortcut menu and then select Load.
For this tutorial you will load data stored in the Results folder created in your sample project
directory.
3. On the Standard toolbar, click . The Open alignment file dialog appears.
4. To find the Results folder, go to: C:\Users\Public\Public Documents\Quantm Projects\Sample
Data\Quantm Example Dataset\Results.
5. Select Example 02_FR_1.
6. Click Open.

The alignment results are loaded and the Alignment Review dialog appears:
The number of alignments returned is based on the user-defined number in the optimization
dialogs. The system suggests a number by default and this is based on the straight line distance
between the start and finish points. The breakdown is the following:
Under 10 km
5 Seeded and 25 free to roam alignments are returned
10-100 km
100-300 km
300-500 km
Over 500 km
Results are originally displayed in order of cheapest to most expensive. Alignments are named
with the result file name (Example 02_FR_1) and then the number of the alignment. For
example, Example 02_FR_1_01.
7. Make sure all the alignments are selected in the Select column.
For more information on the Alignment Review dialog, refer to Chapter 7, Reviewing Results, of

8. Click View to display the selected alignments in the Plan View window.
Viewing the results in the Plan View window

In this section you will use the Plan View window to:
identify corridors
view the placement of bridges
view where constraints are violated due to the horizontal alignment
When you view alignments in the Plan View window, the Alignment toolbar, Warnings toolbar and
the Profile View window displays.
Click View / Submissions to close the Submission window.

Identifying corridors
Initially all alignments are displayed. Look at the spread of alignments. In this situation the
alignments are well spread over the flat terrain but the majority of the alignments converge and
follow a common corridor up the mountain. The dominant corridors are represented by the dark and
light blue alignments.
Tip To change the color of alignments, select the alignment in the Alignment Comparison
B dialog, click on the color and select a new color from the color palette.
In addition to the dark and light blue corridors, there are a few other corridors between the start and
end point. All corridors should be investigated as the cheapest alignment is not necessarily the
optimal solution. Longer more expensive alignments may meet the criteria of the project while less
expensive alignments may violate some of the projects criteria.
To determine the most optimal alignment in each corridor you should create a corridor and
reoptimize. Creating a corridor and completing another free to roam optimization allows you to look
at all potential alignments in that corridor.
Corridors can be entered as avoid zones or you can use the Create Corridor tool with a single
alignment selected and edit the generated corridor. For more information on the Create Corridor
tool, refer to the Chapter 9, Utility Tools, in the Quantm Software User Guide.
C CAUTION The minimum width corridor required for a Free to Roam Submission is 100 m or 325 ft.
Anything less than this significantly increases the chances of the submission failing to process.

Figure 6.1 shows how a corridor for the dark blue alignments would look.
Figure 6.1 Corridor for the dark blue alignments
Reoptimizing with this corridor would force the alignments to take the dark blue route up the
mountain but would help you identify the best route to take on the flat terrain. Repeating this
process for all corridors would give you a selection of alignments in each corridor.
In this tutorial you will not create a corridor. You will investigate some of the alignments from the
free to roam results and select one alignment to use as a seed for a more refined optimization.

Comparing alignments
If the Alignment Comparison dialog is not displayed, on the Alignment toolbar, click . The
Alignment Comparison dialog appears:
The Alignment Comparison dialog lists the alignments selected in the Alignment Review dialog. In the
Alignment Comparison dialog, you can:
alter the color of the alignment.
sort the alignments by cost, length, alignment name, color or warnings.
select an alignment. The selected alignment is displayed in the Profile View window and the
Alignment Summary dialog.
compare costs, lengths and warnings on the alignments.
remove alignments from the Plan View window.
set an alignment as a benchmark and view other alignments in relation to the benchmark
alignment.
export alignments.
For more information on the Alignment Comparison window, refer to Chapter 7, Reviewing Results in
Currently the alignments are color coded with respect to cost. Alignment Example 02_FR_1_01 is the
cheapest alignment and alignment Example 02_FR_1_25 is the most expensive. The length of the
alignments range from 9,316 m - 12,305 m.
In the next section, you will use the Alignment Comparison dialog to:
view the placement of bridges in an alignment.
view warnings on alignments.

Viewing the placement of bridges

1. In the Alignment Comparison dialog, select alignment Example 02_FR_1_05.
2. On the Alignment toolbar, click . The Alignment Summary dialog appears:
The Alignment Summary dialog displays the details of the selected alignment.
3. In the Alignment Summary dialog, click Bridge (m) in the Item list to view the bridge report. The
Bridge Report dialog appears:
B Tip In the Alignment Summary dialog, you can click on any of the hypertext headings in the
Item list to review reports on these items.
4. There is a large bridge at a chainage of 9,620.
5. On the Alignment toolbar, click . Only the selected alignment is displayed in the Plan View
window.

6. On the Alignment toolbar, click . Chainage (station) markers display in the Plan View
window.
7. Use the zoom tools to zoom in on the alignment at a chainage of 9,620.
While this bridge is long it is clear from the DTM that a valley is being crossed. This bridge is
considered acceptable for the terrain and constraints of the project. The global earthworks limits
set for the project requests that a bridge is used when fill exceeds 20 meters.
Viewing warnings
In this section you will investigate some warnings on the generated alignment.
1. In the Alignment Summary dialog click Warnings. The Warning Report window appears:
The Warning Report lists when the alignment does not comply with the project constraints. The
warnings mean that the particular characteristic under scrutiny needs to be investigated at the
nominated location. Warnings are not the definitive answer as to whether the route is
acceptable or unacceptable. Alignment Example M 02_U_1_05 has one minor horizontal straight
warning where the horizontal straight is inappropriate for the geometry. It also has two minor
horizontal transition warnings where the length is too short and one vertical crossing warning.
You should expect some warning however if there are large errors in all alignments it can be a
sign that you have unrealistic constraints on the project. You may need to adjust the geometric
inputs or relax the feature constraints to reduce or eliminate the warnings. Alternatively it may
be other constraints in your project that are restricting the available corridors for the alignment.
If the errors are not excessive familiarize yourself with the area where the errors are occurring,
and continue with the optimization process.
For more information on the warnings in the warning report, refer to Chapter 7, Reviewing
Results, of the Quantm Software User Guide.
The Warning Report dialog shows you that the transition warnings are between chainages 260 m
and 340 m and 7,900 m and 9,080 m.
2. On the Alignment toolbar, click .
The error is displayed in red in the Plan View window at the specified position on the alignment.
3. Use the Zoom tools if you cannot see the error.
4. On the Zoom toolbar, click , then click in the Plan View window to zoom to the extents of
the project area.
5. To compare the cheapest alignment with an alignment without errors, in the Alignment
Comparison dialog click Example 02_FR_1_01. Press and hold [Ctrl] and select Example
02_FR_1_07. Release [Ctrl].

This displays both alignments in the Plan View window.

While the alignments are slightlyspread in the flat terrain the alignments follow a similar path up
the mountain.
In this tutorial you will look closely at Example 02_FR_1_07.
Balignments
Tip To obtain the most optimal alignment for the project you would also investigate
in the other corridors.
Viewing the cross sections

In this section you will view the alignments cross sections to check:
for large amounts of earthworks.
that steps have been placed as expected.
the correct slopes have been used for the geology.
the templates are applied as expected.
1. In the Alignment Comparison dialog, click Example 02_FR_1_07.
The earthworks footprint for the selected alignment is displayed in the Plan View window when
'Earthworks' is selected in the Evaulation menu. Earthworks can also be viewed in the Cross
Section window.
The Cross Section window appears:

This links the Cross section window and the Profile View window to the Plan View window. The
linkbar on the Plan View window shows the position on the alignment of the cross section you
are viewing.

4. In the Cross Section window, click to increase the number in the Factor field. This increases
the scale that the cross sections are drawn at.
B Tip You can increase the Factor field to 16.

5. Move the link bar along the alignment in the Plan View window to view the different cross
sections in the Cross Section window. Alternatively use the slider at the bottom of the Cross
Section window or the right and left arrows at either side of the slider to scroll through every
created cross section for the selected alignment.
6. Check for any unusual earthworks that may be caused by incorrect material data, incorrect slope
or step data or the alignment crossing a difficult section of terrain.
The cross sections for alignment Example 02_FR_1_07 are acceptable, with bridges crossing
rivers and steps in large cuts and fills.
Note Earthworks could be reduced by editing the earthworks limits and reoptimizing. This
would likely increase the amount of infrastructure and as a result increase the cost of the
alignments.
B window
Tip You can freeze the link bar to closely investigate a cross section. Right-click in the Plan View
to access the shortcut menu. Select Freeze link bar.
Viewing the alignment profile

The Profile View window displays when alignments are viewed. In this section you will view the
Profile View window to:
view the alignment in profile.
view the earthworks and crossings in more detail.
1. Make sure Example 02_FR_1_07 is selected in the Alignment Comparison dialog.
2. Make sure the link bar is displayed in the Plan View and Profile View window.
3. In the Profile View window move the link bar along the alignment checking crossings and
earthworks are acceptable. The link bar in the Plan View window shows the corresponding
position on the horizontal alignment.
4. Click View / Legend to see what sections are in cut and what are in fill. The Legend window
displays.
Earthworks on the left bank are cross-hatched diagonally down to the right, and on the right
bank they are cross-hatched diagonally up to the right. Cut is displayed in brown, and fill is
displayed in green.

6. In the Profile View window click and drag a box around the alignment at chainage 7,000 meters.
earthworks limits (right)
earthworks limits (left)
centerline elevation

Earthworks at chainage 7,000 meters shows the alignment is in cut on both the left and right side
of the alignment. The limits of the earthworks indicate the altitude at which the design meets the
natural land surface. On the left of the alignment the cut meets the natural surface at an altitude
of approximately 309 meters. On the right of the alignment the cut meets the natural surface at
an altitude of approximately 320 meters. The alignment centerline is at an altitude of
approximately 305 meters.
This corresponds to the cross section in the Cross Section window at the same point on the
alignment.

9. Click in the Profile View window to zoom extents.
10. On the Standard toolbar, make sure is on. The features will be labeled in the Profile View
window.
12. In the Profile View window click near where the alignment crosses Hawthorn Highway2 and
Upper Wattle River to zoom in on this area. Use the scroll bars to navigate around the window.
At the moment the crossing requirements for Hawthorn Highway2 are to cross with a structure
type, bridge or underpass, at a clearance of greater than 4 m or less than -5 m. You can see in the
Profile View window that this requirement is satisfied as well as meeting the crossing constraint
for Upper Wattle River. There is a large amount of earthworks required for the alignment to
satisfy this requirement. You could create a new scenario and change the crossing requirements

for Hawthorn Highway2 road to at grade or unspecified. You would then perform another free to
roam optimization and investigate if the alignment is able to cross this road at grade or if the
geometry parameters prevent it from doing this. (The vertical curve may be too tight and the
alignment may not be able to reach grade in the given distance). You would then make a decision
on the best way to cross Hawthorn Highway2. For the tutorial, we will continue to cross
Hawthorn Highway2 with a clearance of greater than 4 m or less than -5 m.
B Tip Minor rivers and roads should be unspecified for the first free to roam optimization. You
can then see the optimal method of crossing these features and enter the crossing details
accordingly. Make sure you do another free to roam optimization after any data changes.

Saving a subset of results

To save a subset of alignments in a separate file:
1. In the Alignment Comparison dialog, select Example 02_FR_1_01.
2. Press and hold [Ctrl] and select Example 02_FR_1_07. Release [Ctrl].
3. Right-click in the Plan View window to access the shortcut menu. Select Save as. The Save
Alignment As dialog appears:
4. In the Please enter alignment file name field, enter Example 02_FR_1_Corridor.
5. Click OK.
The results file is displayed in the Scenario Notes tab in the Scenario Explorer window.
Ending alignment review

To finish viewing the alignments, in the Alignment toolbar, click .

CHAPTER
7
Refining an Alignment 7
In this chapter: Quantm software uses Seeded submissions to

refine alignments: An existing alignment is
Tutorial tasks Refining an alignment modified to identify the optimal number of IP's
Seeded optimizations and the optimal location for placing the
alignment along a corridor.
Exploration optimization
Refinement optimization
This chapter also introduces the Mass Haul
diagram that explains how earthworks are
Vertical refinement optimization managed.
Mass haul Finally, this chapter shows you how to generate
Reporting a report for the alignment.
Saving the alignment
Tutorial tasks Refining an alignment

The refining an alignment section in lesson 2 includes the following tasks:

1. Using an exploration optimization to refine an alignment 5 min
2. Reviewing exploration optimization results 10 min
3. Using a refinement optimization to refine an alignment 5 min
4. Reviewing refinement optimization results 10 min
5. Using a vertical refinement optimization to refine an alignment 4 min
6. Reviewing vertical refinement optimization results 15 min
7. Mass Haul 4 min
8. Reporting 2 min
Total 55 minutes

7 REFINING AN ALIGNMENT
Seeded optimizations
Seeded optimizations take an existing alignment, either processed in Quantm software, or an
imported alignment or imported feature, and uses it as the starting location for which results are
based around. By default seeded submissions have horizontal and vertical movement along the
entire seed. There are options however, that allow the restriction of movement to vertical
movement only and/or limit movement within a certain area along the alignment holding the rest of
the alignment constant.
This is done in a two-step process: First is an exploration optimization (see Exploration optimization
below) to identify the optimal number of IPs for a corridor; second is a refinement optimization (see
Refinement optimization, page 119) which uses those IPs to identify the best location within that
corridor for an alignment to be placed.
Exploration optimization
An exploration optimization helps investigate the optimal number of horizontal and vertical IPs for
an alignment through a corridor. Quantm software has several options in the exploration
optimization that can help construct an alignment with the desired number of IPs.
There are three options that help define the number of IPs that are returned in results.
Unspecified gives a range of horizontal and vertical IP options in the results.
Specified allows a specified number of horizontal and vertical IPs.
Modify allows the number of IPs in the seed to be increased or decreased via a slider.
The movement in results can then be restricted to be within a certain range and or vertical
movement only.
1. In the Example 02 scenario, select the Scenario Notes tab in the Scenario Explorer window.
2. Right-click the results file Example 02_FR_1 to access the shortcut menu. Select Review Result.
The Alignment Review dialog then appears with the alignments listed.
3. Select View.
4. In the Alignment Comparison dialog, select Example 02_FR_1_01.
Note In this tutorial we will investigate one alignment however any number of alignments can be
investigated in this manner.

To create an exploration optimization submission:

1. On the Standard toolbar, select . The Seeded Submission dialog appears:
2. Make sure the Exploration option is selected in optimization type.

Note As we want horizontal and vertical movement along the entire alignment we want to
make sure that Vertical Only and Local in Seed Type are left unselected.
3. In Number of IP make sure Unspecified is selected.
4. In the spread field move the slider all the way to the right to Loose
Note This setting defines how far alignments will move away from the seed.
5. The Job name will be created by default to match the submission type, however this can be
edited if desired.
6. The number of alignments returned should be the default of 5 to match the system
recommendation, however we will change this field to 10.
7. In the Notes field, enter Investigating alignment Example 02_FR_1_01.
8. Make sure that Local Processor is selected in the Submit By list.
9. Click Submit. The Notes Information dialog appears.
10. Click OK. The Submission window appears.
A seeded submission does not take as long to process as a free to roam submission as there is
already a starting point for results to be processed against, meaning that the automated seeding
process that is done in a free to roam submission is not needed. Expect this submission to only take
a couple of minutes to process. As a result the tutorial will use a preprocessed results file to
continue.

Loading exploration optimization results

For the tutorial you will load a set of results that have been previously processed for this scenario.
1. On the Standard toolbar, select . The Alignment Review dialog displays with the alignments
currently being viewed.
B Tip You can continue viewing the alignments and select the Append option to view more than
one result file at a time.
2. Click Open. The Open alignment file dialog appears.
3. To find the results file for the Seeded Exploration optimization, go to:
Dataset\Results
4. Select Example 02_Ex_Training.
5. Click Open.
C CAUTION If you see the message This alignment file was generated using a
different scenario when you load results make sure the results file was processed using exactly
the same constraints as the existing scenario. Always loading results from the Scenario Notes tab in the
Scenario view or the Jobs/Results folder in the Project view will make sure results were processed with
the current data constraints.
The Alignment Review dialog appears and lists the five new results from the Seeded Exploration
optimization and the seed alignment.
6. Click View.
7. The new alignments display in the Plan View window.
Viewing the results in the Plan View window

In this section you will use the Quantm software review tools to investigate the results from the
alignment seed optimization.
1. On the Alignment toolbar, make sure is not selected so all alignments are able to be viewed
at the same time.
2. Use the zoom tools to view the alignments in the Plan View window.
All the alignments are displayed in the Plan View window. You can see that the alignments spread
reasonably far from the original seed because a Loose spread was defined in the Exploration
optimization and the cost of the alignment has reduced by up to $3,000,000. Another thing to
note here is that the number of HIP and VIP differ from the seed. This is because undefined was
used when the submission was processed.
3. In the Alignment Comparison dialog, select the cheapest alignment Example
02_Ex_Training_01.
4. Click to show only the selected alignment.
5. Click to view the Alignment Summary window.
6. Select Warnings from the bottom of this dialog.

This shows the warnings that are associated with this alignment, where results have had to
exceed the parameters set in the scenario for some reason. When looking at the warnings it is
good to compare the Actual value of the warning which is where the alignment is located to the
Limit value which is where the parameters of the scenario have tried to limit the alignment to.
7. On the Alignment toolbar, click to display the position of the horizontal transition error in the
Plan View window.
This highlights in red, where the alignment exceeds the parameters set in the scenario. This can
be fixed by possibly reprocessing or manually editing via a duplicated editable alignment, or it
may be determined that the actual geometric constraints in the scenario may need to be
changed in order to allow this sized straight.
As this is an Exploration submission we wont worry too much about the warnings in this
scenario at this stage.
Viewing earthworks in the Plan View window

1. Make sure earthworks are displayed in the Plan View window. To display earthworks, select
Earthworks from the Evaluation menu .
2. Make sure that the chainage markers are displayed in the Plan View window. To display chainage
markers, on the Alignment toolbar, click .
3. In the Alignment Comparison dialog, select alignment Example 02_Ex_Training_01.
The earthworks footprint is shown either side of the road pavement. Cut displays in orange and
fill displays in green. Steps are shown in a lighter shade of the cut and fill colors.
5. In the Plan View window zoom in at chainage 8,360 meters.
6. On the Utility toolbar, click .
7. To measure the earthworks footprint at chainage 8,360 meters, click on the edge of the left
shoulder and then click on the extents of the earthworks to the left of the alignment.
The footprint is approximately 40 meters wide. If this was too large for the project you could
investigate an alternative alignment or corridor. Alternatively you may want to enter a crossing
constraint in the area.
8. Click [Esc] to exit measure mode.
Viewing the alignment in Profile View window

1. In the Profile View window right-click to access the shortcut menu. Select VH Ratio/Auto.
The alignment will fit to the width of the Profile View window.
Tip When VH Ratio is set to Auto you will not be able to use the zoom tools in the Profile View
B window.
There are no warnings related to the vertical alignment indicating vertical curve and crossing
constraints have not been violated.
2. View the alignment profile in conjunction with the Cross Section window and the Plan View
window to make sure earthworks are justified given the terrain and constraints of the project.

In the next section you will perform a refinement and a vertical optimization on this alignment.
Do not end the alignment review.
Reviewing results
The Quantm software does not choose the best alignment for your project. Instead it provides you
with objective data to make your decision. You need to examine the results and decide on the best
alignment for your project. You may decide the curve in alignment Example 02_Ex_Training_01 is
satisfactory but you should explore other alternatives before making this decision. You may decide
another alignment is best for your project based on your own preference.
Alternatively, you may decide on a totally different corridor. As the project evolves the importance of
avoiding a zone may decrease in which case you would remove the zone or down grade the priority
of the zone and re-optimize with free to roam optimization. This may in turn produce alternative
corridors to investigate.
The least expensive alignment is not always the best. An alignment may be the least expensive and
comply with project constraints however it may be more practical to build a more expensive
alignment that has more bridges but less earthworks. The most optimal result will be achieved when
all corridors have been explored and all factors affecting the project are considered.

Refinement optimization
Once the desired number of IPs have been identified in an exploration optimization, a refinement
optimization should be done to get the most out the IP location along the alignment. The options to
process within a certain area and/or to have vertical movement only are available here as well.
1. Make sure the Example 02_Ex_Training results are loaded.
2. In the Alignment Comparison dialog, select Example 02_Ex_Training_01.
We will use this alignment as it has the optimal number of IPs and falls in a desired location.
To create a refinement optimization submission:
4. Make sure the Refinement option is selected in optimization type.

Note As we want horizontal and vertical movement along the entire alignment we want to
make sure that Vertical Only and Local in Seed Type are left unselected.
Note The number of IPs are no longer able to be changed as a refinement optimization will only
use the IPs that are in the seed.
5. In the spread field move the slider all the way to the left to Tight this time.
edited if desired.
recommendation, however again we will change this field to 10.
8. In the Notes field, enter Investigating alignment Example 02_Ex_Training_01.


11. Click OK and the Submission window will appear:
Reviewing results
3. To find the results file for the Refinement optimization, go to:
Dataset\Results
4. Select Example 02_Rf_Training.
5. Click Open.
The Alignment Review dialog appears and lists the five new results from the Refinement
6. Click View.
7. The new alignments display in the Plan View window.
The Refinement results are different to the Exploration results as they all have the same number of
IPs as the seed. Another thing to note here is that as Tight was selected as the spread the results are
not moving far away from the seed.
Three of the results have come in cheaper than the seed and have either improved or are similar
with respect to the intensity of the warnings.
Vertical refinement optimization

A vertical optimization is generally used in the final stages of the project when you want to refine the
alignment or improve earthworks management. During this optimization the horizontal alignment is
not moved at all.
While vertical optimizations can be done on Exploration optimization, they will have more effect on a
Refinement optimization as there is less chance of the horizontal needing to move before the final
result is achieved.
1. Make sure the Example 02_Rf_Training results are loaded.
2. In the Alignment Comparison dialog, select Example 02_Rf_Training_01.
To submit an alignment for vertical Refinement optimization:

4. Make sure the Refinement option is selected in Optimization type.

5. Under Seed Type select the Vertical Only checkbox to lock the horizontal into place for the
optimization.
6. In the spread field move the slider back to the middle to allow some movement vertically away
from the seed.
edited if desired.
recommendation, however again we will change this field to 10.
9. In the Notes field, enter Investigating alignment Example 02_Rf_Training_01 as
a Vertical optimization.
12. Click OK. The Submission window appears.
Viewing the vertical refinement optimization results


3. To find the results file for the Vertical optimization, go to the following:
Dataset\Results
4. Select Example 02_RfV_Training.
5. Click Open.
6. Click OK. The Alignment Review dialog appears and lists the five new results from the Vertical
7. Click View. The new alignments display in the Plan View window.
As can be seen with the previous Refinement optimization the results have the same number of VIP
and HIP as the seed. In this optimization however there is no horizontal movement and there is only
one alignment shown in plan view.
Selecting each of the alignments in the Alignment Comparison window however shows that there is
a vertical movement which has resulted in the cost differences. In this case we have seen a further
$700,000 in savings from the seed. In order to achieve these savings the alignment was unable to
improve on the warning in the seed. This warning can be manually edited later to get rid of it without
changing the whole alignment.
Viewing the cross sections

1. Make sure the Alignment Summary window is displayed. This will show the amount of
earthworks for each alignment. To view the Alignment Summary window, on the Alignment
toolbar, click .
2. On the Alignment toolbar, click to view the Cross Section window.
3. On the Alignment toolbar, click to display the link bar.
To view the cross section at any point along the alignment, in the Plan View window or the
Profile View, position the cursor on the section of the alignment, this will place the link bar at the
corresponding location.
You can freeze the link bar to investigate a particular cross section closely:
4. Right-click in the Plan View window or the Profile View to access the shortcut menu. Select
Freeze link bar. This will prevent mouse movements moving the linkbar along the alignment and
changing the cross section viewed.
5. When you have finished viewing the cross section, right-click in the Plan View window to access
the shortcut menu. Clear Freeze link bar.
In the next section you will look at how materials are handled for one of the vertical alignments.
Mass haul
This section introduces you to the mass haul diagram and earthworks management in the Quantm
software. For a detailed explanation on managing earthworks in the system, refer to Appendix F,
Earth Moving, of the Quantm Software User Guide.

1. In the Alignment Comparison dialog, select Example 02_RfV_Training_01.

2. In the Alignment toolbar, click to display mass haul details.
The Mass Haul diagram appears in the Profile View window.
The Mass Haul diagram is used to graphically represent the amount of material that will be cut
and used for fill. It is also useful in determining the most economical distribution of material.
The Quantm system aims to deliver alignments that have balanced cut and fill and minimize the
importing and exporting of usable material.
When the green line is above the black line the alignment is in surplus. When the green line is
below the black line the alignment is in deficit. The Mass Haul diagram for alignment Example
02_RfV_Training_01 shows the alignment swaps between surplus and deficit for most of the
alignment. Close to the finish point the alignment climbs the mountain and begins to cut into the
natural surface and the deficit is reduced. At the end of the alignment the usable earthworks is
zero, showing that all usable earthworks has been used to build the alignment.
Note In the Quantm software you can enter barriers, import and export sites and borrow and
dump pits.
3. In the Alignment toolbar, click to hide mass haul details.
Reporting
To create a summary report:
1. In the Alignment Comparison dialog, select alignment Example 02_RfV_Training_01.
2. Make sure that the Alignment Summary window is open.
3. At the top of the Alignment Summary window select .
4. In the File name field, the name is automatically set to the alignment name followed by Alignment
Summary Report.
5. Click Save. A summary report opens in Excel that shows the breakdown of earthworks and costs
on each of the tabs of the spreadsheet.

For information on creating reports, refer to Chapter 7, Reviewing Results, of the Quantm Software
User Guide.

At this stage you would investigate other alignments, different corridors and different data. When all
constraints have been considered a final alignment is chosen. The next step is to edit an alignment
that you can export into a CAD package to complete the design process.
To save the alignment:
1. In the Alignment Comparison dialog, right-click alignment Example 02_RfV_Training_01 to access
the shortcut menu. Select Save As.... The Save Alignment As dialog appears.
2. Enter Final Alignment in the Please enter alignment file name field.
3. Click OK. The Final Alignment result is added to the Scenario Notes tab in the Scenario Explorer
window.
4. Keep the scenario open for the next section of the tutorial.

CHAPTER
8
Editing, Visualizing, and
Exporting 8
In this chapter: This chapter shows you how to geometrically

edit a Quantm alignment. You are then shown
Tutorial tasks Editing and exporting how to export the final alignment to a CAD
Editable alignments package to complete the design stage.
Visualising alignments
Exporting the alignment to LandXML
Closing the Quantm software
Tutorial tasks Editing and exporting

1. Duplicating an alignment 5 min
2. Editing the horizontal alignment 20 min
3. Editing the vertical alignment 20 min
4. Visualizing an alignment 20 min
5. Exporting an alignment 5 min
Total 70 min

8 EDITING, VISUALIZING, AND EXPORTING
Editable alignments
You can use the editable alignment function to move the horizontal and vertical alignment and to
edit structures in the alignment. You may want to investigate how small changes in the alignment
affects the cost of the alignment. This function can also convert an imported curvilinear alignment to
a geometric alignment so that the alignment can be exported to a CAD package and the design
process completed.
To continue with this section we will load a previously created set of results.
1. On the Standard toolbar, select . The Alignment Review dialog appears displaying the
alignments currently being viewed.
3. To find the results file for the final alignment, go to:
C:\Users\Public\Public Documents\Quantm Projects\Sample Data\Quantm Example Dataset\
4. Select "Final Alignment".
5. Click Open.
The Alignment Review dialog appears and lists the Final Alignment.
6. Click View. The new alignment is displayed in the Plan View window.
Duplicating and editing a geometric alignment

To duplicate a geometric alignment for manual editing:
1. On the Alignment toolbar, click A new geometric alignment appears that is a direct copy of
the original. Note the horizontal IPs of the new geometric alignment are red with a white outline
and the vertical IPs are blue with a white outline, this indicates that both the horizontal and
vertical IPs are unlocked and can be manually edited.

2. On the Alignment toolbar, click The Alignment Properties window appears:
3. Click in the Intersection Point field.

4. Use the arrows to toggle through the alignment IPs.
The geometric parameters for the selected intersection point are displayed. When Horizontal is
selected in the Orientation field the horizontal alignment is viewed. When Vertical is selected in
the Orientation field the vertical alignment is viewed.
5. The selected IP is displayed in white in the Plan View and the Profile View windows.
6. The alignment can be manipulated by moving the node along the alignment.
7. To change the horizontal aspect of the alignment, alter this in the Plan View window.

a. Click on a red node. The node will change to a white node with a gray handle and a green circle
attached.
b. The white node allows you to move the location of the IP of the current horizontal curve, while
the green handle allows you to increase or decrease the horizontal radius of the curve. Aspects
of the alignment will change immediately such as the items in the Alignment Summary and
the overall cost of the alignment.
8. To change the vertical aspect of the alignment, alter this in the Profile View window.
a. Click on a blue node. The node will change to a white node with a gray handle and a green
circle attached.
b. The white node allows you to move the location of the IP of the current vertical curve, while
the green handle allows you to increase or decrease the vertical radius of the curve. Aspects of
the alignment will change immediately such as the items in the Alignment Summary and the
overall cost of the alignment.
Note While moving the location of the selected IP (white node) you are only able to move the node
to locations which meet the overall geometric design constraints of the entire alignment.
B Tip If you wish to move the IP beyond the geometric design constraints press and hold [Shift],
then select the node and move it to the desired position. To delete an IP, press and hold [Ctrl], and
then move the mouse to the IP you want to delete. The delete cursor appears, left mouse click
to delete. Similarly if you want to insert an IP along the alignment, press and hold [Ctrl], and then
move the mouse to the point on the alignment you want to insert the IP. The insert cursor
appears, left mouse click to insert.
9. In the Alignment Comparison window, the new editable alignment is named E_Example
02_RfV_Training_01: E indicates that the alignment is editable; Example 02_RfV_Training_01 is
the name of the original alignment. The icon to the left of the alignment name indicates the
alignment is editable.
10. Go ahead and edit the editable alignment in the horizontal and vertical planes.


To save the edited alignment:
1. Make sure E_Example 02_RfV_Training_01 is selected.
Alignment As dialog appears.
3. In the Please enter alignment file name field, enter Edited Alignment.
4. Click OK.
The alignment is shown in the Scenario Notes tab in the Scenario Explorer window.
Note If you reload the geometric alignment you will need to unlock the alignment to continue
editing. To unlock the alignment: in the Alignment Properties dialog, select False in the Locked field.
Duplicating an imported curvilinear alignment

In this tutorial we're only working with geometric alignments, however within the Quantm software
you can import a curvilinear alignment and convert it to a geometric alignment.
For your reference to duplicate and convert an imported curvilinear alignment to a geometric
alignment for manual editing:
1. From the File menu, select Preference Settings.
2. Click the Alignment tab.
3. In the Accuracy for duplication list, select the desired value%.
This determines how accurately the alignment is duplicated. Setting this value to 5 for example
means the horizontal alignment can vary by 5% of the horizontal radius and the vertical
alignment can move by up to 5m. The higher the accuracy the more intersection points will be
created on the alignment.
Note 5% is a good starting value for alignment duplication. You may increase or decrease this
value when you have viewed the duplicated alignment.
4. Click OK.
A new geometric alignment then appears in the plan view. The Quantm software will convert the
curvilinear alignment into a geometric alignment based on the parameters specified in the
Geometric Parameters dialog. For more information on the Geometric Parameter settings, refer
to Chapter 5, Managing Data, of the Quantm Software User Guide.

Customizable structures
Duplicating an alignment with customizable structures lets you move, delete or insert any tunnels,
walls and bridges in the alignment. You should take care when editing structures not to violate
constraints. In this section you will increase the distance between the bridge abutments where the
alignment crosses Upper Wattle River.
To edit structures in the alignment:
1. Make sure the final edited alignment, E_Example 02_RfV_Training_01, is still selected from the
previous section.
An alignment is created called S_E_Example 02_RfV_Training_01 and structure labels display in
the Plan and Profile View window.
If labels do not display, on the Evaluation menu select Construction Labels.
4. In the Plan View window zoom in on Bridge 1.
6. In the Plan View window click Bridge 2.
Yellow nodes display at each end of the structure.
7. Click and drag a yellow node along the alignment to increase the size of the bridge.
Note Warnings will display when a structure is dragged into an adjoining structure.
B Tip You can also edit the bridge manually via editing the fields in the Customized Structures
dialog.
For more information on editing structures, refer to Chapter 8, Customized Alignments in the
Quantm Software Getting Started Guide.

To save the edited alignment:
1. Make sure S_E_Example 02_RfV_Training_01 is selected.
Alignment As dialog appears.
3. In the Please enter alignment file name field, enter Final Edited Alignment.
4. Click OK.
5. End review by clicking the button.
The alignment is shown in the Scenario Notes tab in the Scenario Explorer window.
Note If you reload the geometric alignment you will need to unlock the alignment to continue
editing. To unlock the alignment: in the Alignment Properties dialog, select False in the Locked field.

Visualising alignments
The Quantm software has a 3D Visualiser that enables the alignment to be displayed in 3D, cut into
the terrain. This tool allows free roam movement around the DTM and also fly-thrus along the
alignment. Along with this objects and vehicles from the SketchUp 3D modeling tool library can be
imported to make the scene more vibrant and relevant. Images of a particular location and video
capture of part or all of a drive through of the alignment can also be made from here.
Note To open the Quantm Visualiser, an alignment must be loaded.
1. Load the Final Edited Alignment result file, and then select Alignments / Visualiser, or click .
The Settings window of the Visualiser appears:
There are options to limit the amount of data being loaded into the Visualiser for viewing to
improve the handling of lone projects, dense and large DTMs, high-resolution imagery and
projects that contain a large amount of GIS data.
Option Description
Crop DTM Enables the DTM to be cut back to a set distance either side of the alignment
centerline.
Restrict Chainage Enables you to select a specific start chainage and finish chainage so you can
Range visualize only a section of the alignment.
Ignore GIS Data Does not load any GIS data into the Visualiser.
2. For this example, ensure that the Crop DTM option, the Restrict Chainage Range option, and the
Ignore GIS Data option are not selected. Click OK.

When the Visualiser loads it will be in free to roam mode to enable free movement around the
DTM. To control the camera:
To do this
pan the camera view. left-click drag
zoom in and out. scroll in and out
B Tip Hold [Shift] and scroll to speed the zoom. Hold [Ctrl] and scroll to
slow the zoom.
hold the pointer location on the DTM and rotate around it. scroll button, click drag
rotate the camera holding the camera position right-click drag
raise and lower the camera right and left-click drag
B Tip If the Visualiser is slow to load the DTM because of the size of the DTM, close the
Visualiser, and reopen it with the Crop DTM distance selected and a value of 2500 m set in the
crop distance.
B Tip If aerial imagery is loaded in your scenario before loading the Visualiser, then the imagery
will be draped on the Terrain model and visible in the Visualiser.
The Controls tab becomes active when the Visualiser loads.
3. Click the Draw Distance Terrain slider and drag it to the right to reduce the draw distance, then
back to the default position of 25 km.
Note The Features slider drops in relation to the Terrain slider and will need to be independently
returned to the default position.
4. Select the Drive-Thru tab.

Select the Enable drive thru check box to change into Drive Thru mode. This changes the view to
reference the alignment; the controls will change slightly:
To do this
shift the camera left and right of the current chainage. left-click drag
increase the speed and decrease the speed. Click in the Speed (kph) field and
scroll in and out
reset the view double-scroll button click
raise and lower the camera right and left-click drag
5. In the Height field, enter 8.

6. In the Speed field, enter 150.
7. Click the Green play button to start a drive-thru along the alignment.
8. Click Pause. Select the Vehicle Models tab. This tab enables vehicle models to be placed on the
road.
9. In the Cars field, enter 50.
10. Click Update. The road is now populated with the default vehicle models.
11. Select the Record tab.
12. In the Image option, select to file.
13. Click Snapshot to create a snapshot of the Visualiser in its current state, and save it to a file.

14. Click Record video. The record settings for the video recorder appears:
15. Click OK to capture a fly-thru video of the alignment from start to finish.
Note You must keep the Visualiser open to capture the video.
Once the visualiser has completed capturing the video proceed to the next chapter.
Importing Vehicles and Models into the

Visualiser
Now we know the basics of the visualiser it is time to try importing some vehicles and models from
the SketchUp 3D modeling tool library into the visualiser. For the purposes of this exercise we have
already downloaded some models to use.
1. Select the Feature Models tab in the visualiser.
2. Select Choose Models. This opens up the model configuration window and shows what models
have been loaded previously into this project.
3. To add a model select Browse for SketchUp Models.
4. In the Choose Sketchup model window select Autumn Tree and then click OK. The selected model
is loaded into the Model configuration window. The imported model doesn't look right in terms
of its orientation though.

5. Select the Attempt to auto resolve check box at the top of this window. Otherwise you can
manually shift the model around so that the center of the model is in the center of the axis plane
as shown below.
6. Once the model is in the correct location select Add Model to add the model to the list.
7. Select OK in the Model Configuration window. Now the model has been added to the Library we
can add it to the view.
8. Select Add Mapping. A model is added to the list.
9. In the Feature field there is a drop down list of all the features in the project that you can assign
the model to.
10. From the list select the Left XS Edge.
11. In the Model field make sure the Tree model is selected in the drop down list.
12. In the Distribution field select either Regular or Random.
13. In the Spacing (m) field leave the default at 100.
14. Click Update.

The trees are now populated along the left cross section edge of the alignment.
Note To add vehicle models, select the Vehicle Models tab and then follow Step 3 to Step 7 above.

Exporting the alignment to LandXML

You now have an alignment that considers all constraints. You are ready to export the alignment to
your design package for the final design stage of the project.
To export the alignment to CAD software:
1. Make sure the S_E_Example 02_RfV_Training_01 is selected.
2. Click Alignments / Export Selected Alignments. The Export Alignments dialog appears.
3. Select LandXML v1.0 from the Export format list.
4. Select OK. The Export Properties dialog appears.
5. Make sure the LandXML tab is selected.
6. In the Options group, clear the Export Zero Length Sections check box.
7. Click the Unit of Measure tab.
8. In the Units group, make sure the Metric option is selected.
9. Click the Cross Sections tab.
10. In the Cross Sections group, select the Export subbase check box.
11. In the Include group, select the Earthwork, Road template and Bridge and Tunnel check boxes.
12. Click the Earthworks tab.
13. Make sure the Footprint check box is clear. Only the centerline will be exported.
14. Click the DTM tab.
15. Make sure the DTM check box is clear.
16. Select OK. The Save As dialog appears.
17. Select the Results directory.
18. In the File name field, enter final alignment.xml.
19. Click Save.
For more information on exporting alignments, refer to Chapter 7, Reviewing Results, of the Quantm
User Guide.
C CAUTION All transition curves are exported as clothoid.
Exporting the alignment to i-model

Quantm can also export an alignment to an i-model to be used with Bentley OpenRoads products.

Closing the Quantm software

This section explains how to end review mode and close the Quantm software.
To finish viewing the alignments, on the Alignment toolbar, click .
To close the scenario, on the Standard toolbar, click .
To close the Quantm software, click File / Exit.
This completes the Quantm Tutorial.

Quantm Getting Started Guide v8

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GETTING STARTED GUIDE

Copyright and Trademarks

QUANTM SOFTWARE GETTING STARTED GUIDE 2

3 Creating a Project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .19

4 Quantm User Interface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .24

5 Data Entry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .45

QUANTM SOFTWARE GETTING STARTED GUIDE 3

6 Corridor and Route Identification . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .94

7 Refining an Alignment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113

8 Editing, Visualizing, and Exporting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125

QUANTM SOFTWARE GETTING STARTED GUIDE 4

Saving the alignment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130

QUANTM SOFTWARE GETTING STARTED GUIDE 5

QUANTM SOFTWARE GETTING STARTED GUIDE 6

QUANTM SOFTWARE GETTING STARTED GUIDE 7

For the Quantm Desktop software

For Quantm Professional and Enterprise Software

QUANTM SOFTWARE GETTING STARTED GUIDE 8

Windows 7 or Windows 8.1 64-bit operating systems

For Quantm Enterprise Pathfinder Server

Installing the software

Installing the Quantm software

QUANTM SOFTWARE GETTING STARTED GUIDE 9

QUANTM SOFTWARE GETTING STARTED GUIDE 10

QUANTM SOFTWARE GETTING STARTED GUIDE 11

4. Click Next. The Quantm License Agreement dialog appears:

QUANTM SOFTWARE GETTING STARTED GUIDE 12

QUANTM SOFTWARE GETTING STARTED GUIDE 13

9. Click Finish to complete the installation.

Chinese export formats

QUANTM SOFTWARE GETTING STARTED GUIDE 14

a. Select Control Panel.

Installing the Quantm Enterprise Pathfinder software

Windows 7 operating system

QUANTM SOFTWARE GETTING STARTED GUIDE 15

W indows 8.1 operating system

Setting the operating system locale

Windows 7 operating system

Windows 8.1 operating system

Selecting a font for the Quantm software

QUANTM SOFTWARE GETTING STARTED GUIDE 16

To select a TrueType font:

QUANTM SOFTWARE GETTING STARTED GUIDE 17

Getting the best performance

QUANTM SOFTWARE GETTING STARTED GUIDE 18

In this chapter: This chapter shows you how to start Quantm

Tutorial tasks Lesson 1

Starting the Quantm software

QUANTM SOFTWARE GETTING STARTED GUIDE 19

2. In the Project Name field, enter Example.

QUANTM SOFTWARE GETTING STARTED GUIDE 20

QUANTM SOFTWARE GETTING STARTED GUIDE 21

14. Click OK.

QUANTM SOFTWARE GETTING STARTED GUIDE 22

QUANTM SOFTWARE GETTING STARTED GUIDE 23

In this chapter: This chapter gives you a tour of the Quantm

QUANTM SOFTWARE GETTING STARTED GUIDE 24

Project Explorer window

QUANTM SOFTWARE GETTING STARTED GUIDE 25

QUANTM SOFTWARE GETTING STARTED GUIDE 26

QUANTM SOFTWARE GETTING STARTED GUIDE 27

QUANTM SOFTWARE GETTING STARTED GUIDE 28

Menus and toolbars

Save Scenario Save a scenario and all its data sets.