Setting Spiral Length

[Chip]

Hi,

I am a new user as of this week. This seems to be quite a remarkable program. In regard to the 'Setting Spiral Length', I think I understand the buttons for choosing a short, medium, or long spiral located in the 'Custom Spiral Lengths' window. Getting confused on the fixed spiral. I'm not sure what the two buttons(1.5 button, PI button) due located just under the words "Length max at radius times:" In the manual on page 29 there is mention of the setting 'User shorter easements for broader curves' , but can't seem to locate this button.

Any advice would be very appreciative.


Thank You,

Chip

[Randy]

Re: Setting Spiral Length

Hi Chip,

Good questions. The first setting derives from earlier versions, in which the program limited the length of a spiral easement to 1.5 times the radius of the circle that defined it. In version 8, the use of Clothoids to compute the easements allows easement lengths that are PI (3.14159) times the radius. They can now be much longer, which can make designs better in some cases. The Short, Medium and Long settings use a percentage of this maximum length.

The second option doesn't exist any more, and should have removed from the manual.