Connection Detection

What it does:

The Enable Snapping feature allows GSA 2.0 to automatically detect and connect new survey profiles to existing lines if they start within a certain distance (20 ft by default) of an existing line. By toggling this option on, you can streamline the process of creating lateral drains that feed into a main drain, ensuring that new runs are properly recognized as connections without manually aligning them.

How it works:

• When you begin drawing a new survey profile with snapping enabled, GSA 2.0 checks the starting point of your new line.
• If the start point is within the snapping distance of an existing line, GSA 2.0 “snaps” the start of your new profile to that line.
• This sets up a connection, treating the existing line as a main line and the newly drawn line as a lateral line. This relationship is reflected on the profile graph of the main line, where a marker indicates the connection point.

How to use it:

1. Locate the Enable Snapping checkbox (found above the “Draw Survey Profile” button).
2. Check the box to turn snapping on (it is turned on by default).
3. Begin drawing your new survey profile starting near an existing line. If you start within the snapping tolerance, GSA 2.0 will automatically align and connect your new run.
4. After releasing the draw tool, the system establishes the main-lateral relationship (if applicable), and you can proceed with setting grade lines or performing best-fit calculations.

IMPORTANT: BOTH THE MAIN LINE AND ANY CONNECTED LATERALS MUST HAVE A BEST-FIT OR MANUAL GRADE LINE FOR THE CONNECTION TO BE VALIDATED. IF EITHER DOES NOT THEN THE CONNECTION WILL BE SHOWN IN BLACK TEXT AND AS A BLACK MARKER ON THE MAIN RUN’S PROFILE

Considerations and Tips:

• Offset Lines and Distance:
• When you create offset lines (such as parallel lines spaced out at defined intervals), some offset runs may end up too far from the main line to snap automatically. In such cases, you may need to start your line closer to the existing main or temporarily disable snapping if it interferes with your desired start point.
• Connection Validation:
• After snapping and drawing your lateral line, you can apply grade lines. If the lateral line’s connection point aligns well with the main line’s grade, GSA 2.0 displays a visual cue (green font in the Select Profile dropdown, and green dot on the main line’s ) indicating a successful connection. If the connection is too deep (shows red), consider adjusting offsets, re-running best-fit, or manually editing grades.
• Manual Overrides:
• If snapping doesn’t place your new line exactly where you’d like, simply uncheck Enable Snapping and redraw. You can always fine-tune your approach: start without snapping, then enable it again for the next run, depending on your design needs.

In Summary:

Enable Snapping helps you rapidly and accurately create lateral connections to existing mains, reducing manual alignment steps and streamlining the drainage planning process. Just remember to keep an eye on the distance to existing lines and use offset adjustments or disable snapping if it doesn’t suit a particular design scenario.

Also, please keep in mind that this is a very complex feature to be running in a web app like GSA 2.0, and while it generally works well, there may be certain situations that cause connections to not be recognized, or legacy connections to still appear after lines are trimmed or deleted. Some of this seems to be caused by data saved in the web browser, and some is a gremlin somewhere in the code. We continue work on fully optimizing this function.