Polyline Context Menu
Commands available when right-clicking a Polyline in the Interpretation Tree. Polylines are sequences of connected line segments used for 2D/3D geological interpretation, including stratigraphic boundaries, contacts, traces, and structural features.
Navigation
Navigate To
Menu name: Navigate To
Tooltip Move the 3D view to frame the selected polyline.
What it does See Navigate To in Shared Commands for complete documentation. Centres and zooms the 3D view on the selected polyline, positioning the camera to provide a clear view of the entire line geometry.
When to use it
- Quickly locating a specific polyline in large datasets
- Inspecting polyline geometry after creation or modification
- Reviewing interpretation features across the model
Notes Useful for navigating between interpretation features in complex models with many polylines.
Selection & Clipboard
Copy
Menu name: Copy
Tooltip Copy polyline to clipboard.
What it does Copies the selected polyline object to the system clipboard. The polyline can then be pasted into the same project, a different group, or even a different VRGS project. All polyline properties (vertices, orientation, attributes) are copied.
When to use it
- Duplicating polylines for modification whilst preserving originals
- Transferring interpretation features between project sections
- Creating template polylines for repetitive interpretation
Notes Copied polylines retain their spatial coordinates. When pasting into a different project, ensure coordinate systems are compatible.
Copy Orientation
Menu name: Copy Orientation
Tooltip Copy polyline orientation to clipboard.
What it does Copies the calculated best-fit plane orientation (dip and azimuth) of the polyline to the clipboard. If the polyline doesn't have a calculated orientation, computes it from the 3D geometry. The orientation can be pasted to other polylines or structural measurements.
When to use it
- Propagating consistent orientations across related features
- Transferring orientation from one geological feature to another
- Applying regional dip to multiple interpretation elements
Notes Requires polyline to have 3D geometry (not purely 2D). For complex polylines, orientation is calculated from best-fit plane through all vertices.
Paste Orientation
Menu name: Paste Orientation
Tooltip Paste orientation from clipboard to polyline.
What it does Applies a previously copied orientation (dip and azimuth) to the selected polyline. This updates the polyline's stored orientation property, which can affect operations like "Remove Dip" and display symbology.
When to use it
- Applying consistent regional dip to multiple polylines
- Transferring orientation from measured data to interpreted features
- Standardising orientation values across related geological surfaces
Notes Does not modify polyline geometry, only updates the orientation property. Use with "Remove Dip" to actually transform coordinates based on orientation.
Quality & Refinement
Adaptive Refine
Menu name: Adaptive Refine
Tooltip Add vertices where polyline curvature is high.
What it does Opens a dialogue to specify an angle tolerance (in degrees). Analyses polyline segments and adds vertices at locations where the angle between adjacent segments exceeds the threshold. This creates denser vertex spacing in curved regions whilst maintaining sparse spacing in straight sections.
When to use it
- Improving representation of curved geological contacts
- Preparing polylines for mesh generation or surface interpolation
- Increasing detail in structurally complex regions
Notes Lower angle thresholds create more vertices. Typical values: 5-20 degrees. Excessive refinement can create unnecessarily large datasets. Original vertex positions are preserved; new vertices are inserted between existing ones.
Refine by Spacing
Menu name: Refine by Spacing
Tooltip Add vertices at regular distance intervals.
What it does Opens a dialogue to specify maximum spacing distance (in project units, typically metres). Subdivides all polyline segments longer than this distance by adding evenly-spaced vertices. This creates uniform vertex distribution regardless of curvature.
When to use it
- Creating consistent sampling density for analysis
- Preparing polylines for operations requiring uniform vertex spacing
- Standardising polyline resolution across a dataset
Notes Spacing is measured in 3D distance. Shorter spacing values dramatically increase vertex count. Original vertices are preserved. Useful for ensuring consistent resolution before gridding or interpolation operations.
Smooth
Menu name: Smooth
Tooltip Apply smoothing to reduce polyline irregularity.
What it does Opens a dialogue to specify smoothing iterations and strength. Applies iterative smoothing that repositions vertices towards the average position of their neighbours. This reduces high-frequency irregularities whilst preserving overall polyline shape.
When to use it
- Removing digitisation noise from manually drawn polylines
- Smoothing features extracted from noisy point clouds
- Creating more geologically plausible contact shapes
Notes
Excessive smoothing can alter polyline geometry and remove genuine geological features. Start with few iterations (1-3) and low strength (0.3-0.5).
End vertices are typically fixed to prevent line shrinkage.
Transform
Between Coordinate Systems (CRS)
Menu name: Between Coordinate Systems (CRS)
Tooltip Transform polyline coordinates between coordinate reference systems.
What it does See Transform Between CRS for complete documentation. Opens dialogue to transform polyline vertices from one coordinate reference system to another (e.g., local to UTM, WGS84 to projected).
When to use it
- Integrating polylines from different coordinate systems
- Converting interpretations to GIS-compatible coordinates
- Aligning field data with photogrammetry models
Notes Requires valid coordinate system definitions. Transformation accuracy depends on definition quality.
Translate
Menu name: Translate
Tooltip Move polyline by specified offset.
What it does See Translate in Shared Commands for complete documentation. Opens dialogue to move the polyline by specified X, Y, Z offsets.
When to use it
- Repositioning interpretation features
- Creating offset parallel features
- Correcting misplaced polylines
Notes Moves all vertices by the same offset vector. Original polyline shape is preserved.
Set Z Value
Menu name: Set Z Value
Tooltip Set all polyline vertices to a specified elevation.
What it does Opens a dialogue to specify a Z coordinate value. Sets all polyline vertices to this elevation, effectively projecting the polyline onto a horizontal plane at the specified height. X and Y coordinates remain unchanged.
When to use it
- Creating horizontal reference lines at known elevations
- Flattening 3D polylines to specific stratigraphic levels
- Generating elevation contours from arbitrary polylines
Notes
This operation discards original Z values. Consider duplicating the polyline first if you need to preserve 3D geometry.
Useful for creating datum lines or horizontal slices through 3D interpretations.
Attach to Visible Meshes
Menu name: Attach to Visible Meshes
Tooltip Snap polyline vertices to visible mesh surfaces.
What it does Adjusts polyline vertex Z coordinates to lie on visible mesh surfaces. For each vertex, casts a vertical ray and snaps to the closest visible mesh intersection. This drapes the polyline onto mesh topography whilst preserving X-Y positions.
When to use it
- Draping interpretations onto terrain or geological surfaces
- Ensuring polylines lie on reference mesh surfaces
- Correcting polylines that should follow surface topography
Notes Only affects vertices where mesh intersections are found. Vertices outside mesh extents or below/above all meshes remain unchanged. Uses vertical projection only - does not find closest 3D surface point.
Attributes
Calculate Best Fit Plane
Menu name: Calculate Best Fit Plane
Tooltip Calculate dip and azimuth from polyline geometry.
What it does Computes the best-fit plane through all polyline vertices using least-squares regression. Calculates and stores the plane's dip angle (0-90°) and azimuth (0-360°). Results are displayed in a dialogue and stored as polyline properties.
When to use it
- Determining orientation of planar geological features
- Calculating structural measurements from 3D digitised contacts
- Extracting dip/azimuth from photogrammetry interpretations
Notes Requires at least three non-collinear vertices. Accuracy improves with more vertices spanning the feature. Works best for polylines representing planar or near-planar surfaces. Use "Remove Dip" afterwards to remove regional orientation.
Remove Dip
Menu name: Remove Dip
Tooltip Remove regional dip from polyline coordinates.
What it does Opens dialogue to specify dip angle and azimuth. Rotates polyline coordinates to remove the specified orientation, effectively flattening the feature as if viewing it perpendicular to bedding. This is a 3D coordinate rotation that can reveal deformation patterns invisible in dipping strata.
When to use it
- Removing regional tilt to study local features
- Restoring sedimentary features to depositional orientation
- Analysing structures in a bedding-perpendicular reference frame
Notes Rotation is applied about the polyline's centroid. To use calculated orientation, run "Calculate Best Fit Plane" first. This is a pure geometric operation - consider geological validity before applying.
Interpolate
Menu name: Interpolate
Tooltip Interpolate polyline between two surfaces.
What it does Opens dialogue to select top and bottom surfaces. Creates interpolated polyline positions between the two surfaces based on stratigraphic proportions or geometric interpolation schemes. Useful for creating intra-formational contacts or layer boundaries.
When to use it
- Creating layer boundaries within formations
- Interpolating contacts between known surfaces
- Generating intermediate stratigraphic levels
Notes Requires two bounding surfaces (meshes or geosurfaces) to be selected. Interpolation can use geometric (equal spacing) or proportional (stratigraphic thickness) methods.
Convert To
Orientation
Menu name: Orientation
Tooltip Convert polyline to structural measurement.
What it does Converts the polyline to a Structural Measurement object by calculating the best-fit plane orientation. The polyline's spatial position and calculated dip/azimuth are used to create a structural measurement (bed attitude) located at the polyline's centroid.
When to use it
- Converting interpreted planar features to orientation measurements
- Creating structural data from digitised geological contacts
- Populating stereonets from 3D interpretations
Notes Original polyline is preserved (not deleted). Requires polyline to represent a planar feature for meaningful results. Non-planar polylines will have orientation calculated from best-fit plane, which may not be geologically meaningful.
Apply
Active Horizon
Menu name: Active Horizon
Tooltip Assign polyline to the active geological horizon.
What it does Assigns the selected polyline to the currently active geological horizon (stratigraphic surface). This associates the polyline with a named stratigraphic level, allowing filtering, display control, and analysis by horizon. The active horizon is set elsewhere in the interface.
When to use it
- Organising polylines by stratigraphic level
- Tagging interpretation features with geological context
- Enabling horizon-based filtering and display
Notes Requires an active horizon to be set. Polyline can be reassigned to different horizons. Horizon assignment affects display colour schemes and filtering in some visualisation modes.
Group & Organisation
Group
Menu name: Group
Tooltip Create group containing selected polylines.
What it does See Group in Shared Commands for complete documentation. Creates a new group (folder) containing all selected polylines.
When to use it
- Organising related polylines by feature type or stratigraphy
- Creating logical groupings for batch operations
- Simplifying project tree structure
Notes Selected polylines must be at the same tree level. See Shared Commands for detailed usage.
Ungroup
Menu name: Ungroup
Tooltip Dissolve selected group.
What it does See Ungroup in Shared Commands for complete documentation. Dissolves the group container and moves child polylines up one level.
When to use it
- Flattening project tree structure
- Breaking up temporary groupings
- Reorganising interpretation hierarchy
Notes Only works on group containers. Polylines are preserved.
Object Operations
Export
Menu name: Export
Tooltip Export polyline to external file.
What it does See Export in Shared Commands for complete documentation. Opens export dialogue to save polyline to various file formats (DXF, Shapefile, CSV, KML, etc.).
When to use it
- Sharing interpretations with external applications
- Creating deliverables for GIS analysis
- Archiving interpretation work
Notes Format options vary. Consider coordinate system compatibility for GIS formats.
Delete
Menu name: Delete
Tooltip Permanently remove polyline from project.
What it does See Delete in Shared Commands for complete documentation. Permanently removes the polyline from the project database.
When to use it
- Removing incorrect or obsolete interpretations
- Cleaning up test or trial polylines
- Simplifying projects with redundant features
Notes
Operation is permanent. Ensure you have backups if needed.