I like to draw 3D features in using various elements - SmartLines, splines, whatever to produce a wiremodel of a surface that I know is correct. Then I can import them in to a surface using File>Import>Surface. I don't necessarily like to use Surface>Design Surface>Place Feature, because this adds the feature to the surface immediately without allowing me to tweak the feature to get it right before it is added to the definition.
So, the question is, are there elements, drawn in Microstation, that I should avoid, or that Inroads will not import to a surface? Anything I use should be based on actual points - like survey data, not control points where the software warps it in, not me and my points. I have to have total control of my wireframe. Further, I can't use commands like Copy Parallel that don't work in the Z plane - I have to control XY *&* Z. So if any splines or other elements are going to do strange things and spike in the Z direction, or give false values. I can't use them.
I do spin my model around in dynamically in a 3D view to make sure it is correct, but I want to know what are the best elements to use. It seems that there are a lot of them to choose from: 5 different kind of splines, stream line string, stream curve, ellipses, arcs, etc. Inroads writes linestrings (SmartLine, right?) as planimetrics, not sure how it does it. Maybe I should stick to these?
I hope this is the right forum. I select Inroads from the product list and this is where the website leads me, but my posts always get moved.