reducing number of nodes in a spline

[Anonymous]

we're creating a site mesh from splines (created by magic wanding a referenced autocad file).

there are WAAAAY too many nodes in these lines, and i was wondering if there was a command or process to simplify these lines with out having to remove each node by "hand"....

any suggestions?

thanks!

[Dwight]

You could convert the splines into polylines of fixed lengths [linear segments, not best match] using the magic wand settings. Put them on a new layer and turn off the spline layer. Trace the polylines to establish new contours.

You might adjust the interval to quite long lengths depending on steepness....

[Anonymous]

just to check, are these the settings i should be adjusting to reduce the number of nodes? i've never messed with the magic wand settings before...

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[Link]

Yes. Keep in mind that you don't have to use polylines. These settings will work with splines too.

Cheers,
Link.

[Anonymous]

i've attached the image..

[Anonymous]

here's an example of the spline (the grid is set to 4'x4' to give scale)
many of those segments do not need more than one node, is there a way to reduce the number?

thanks for the help so far! i had no idea there were magic wand settings...it makes sense, but i never thought about that...

[Dwight]

Link:
Please show an example tracing splines with magic wand tracing splines to reduce node numbers.

In my experience, a magic wand traced spline almost always matches the number of underlying nodes.

[Link]

Ahh yes.

AFAIK The Magic Wand 'Linear Segments' does not work with splines, presumably because splines by their very nature cannot contain straight segments (lines). So you still need to magic wand the original spline with a polyline, using linear segments as you described, to get the number of nodes down. And then you need to retrace it with another spline typically using the same settings as the polyline.

Sorry for any confusion or dashed hopes.

Cheers,
Link.

[Dwight]

But wait.

He's already got the splines. They stand in quite nicely for the fakery of contour lines. [Themselves, interpolations of grid data]

All we want to do is find a pseudo-automatic way of making plausible nodes for our mesh.

One we use the polyline trick to reduce the nodes, we can throw the jagged polylines away and return to the sensuous splines....

[Link]

Well in that case, he doesn't even need the polylines, right?

Cheers,
Link.