Define viewing planes

You can use this function to view a narrow strip of data by defining the depth to, and width of, a pair of parallel planes that trim away data on either side of the planes.

You can use this function in conjunction with the VIEWING PLANES FORWARD and VIEWING PLANES BACKWARD functions to step through your data in slices of a convenient size, which can help your understanding of the data.

Note: You can achieve similar results using the SLICING PLANES and LIMIT VIEW functions. When you use SLICING PLANES, you use the mouse to describe a line which is projected into the screen and assigned a width to generate a pair of parallel clipping planes. When you use LIMIT VIEW, you select three points to define the orientation of the viewing planes.

To run this function: Choose View > Viewing planes > Define viewing planes, or...

• In the Function Chooser, type VIEWING PLANES, and press ENTER.

Fields on the Viewing planes form

Field	Description
Viewing planes orientation	Display only. The viewing planes are created perpendicular to the line of site of the current view in Graphics. Options are; Horizontal: The viewing planes are horizontal, and the depth is an exact elevation. This is the orientation when you are in Plan view. Vertical (east-west): The viewing planes are vertical and East-West, and the depth is an exact northing. This is the orientation when you are in Section view. Vertical (north-south): The viewing planes are vertical and North-South, and the depth is an exact easting. This is the orientation when you are in Long Section view. Oblique: The viewing planes are not parallel to any of the primary viewing planes. This is the orientation when you are rotated out of the Plan, Section, and Long Section views. The depth is a distance between the camera position and the target position.
Viewing planes depth	The depth of the section in terms of elevation, northing, easting, or distance from the camera to the target, depending on the orientation of the viewing planes.
Viewing planes width	The distance by which the parallel viewing planes created are separated. One plane is created half the width back of the position defined by the viewing plane depth. The other plane is created half the width forward of the position defined by the viewing plane depth.
Show viewing planes	Selected: The viewing planes are displayed in Graphics. Cleared: The viewing planes are not displayed in Graphics.

Output

Any existing viewing planes are deleted and the new viewing planes are inserted at the viewing depth defined. Only data that is between the viewing planes is visible.

Tip: Hold down the middle mouse button and move the mouse to move through planes in interactive mode. In interactive mode, you can move the viewing plane by small increments. This provides a way to instantly view a thin cross-section.

Note: This function does not modify the data; it changes the view of the data.