How to Use S20 Tools

The information in this Wiki Page applies to Surveyor 2.0 (S20) as found in Trainz Plus.

This document is  still being written 

In Summary:

The Tools Palette

Notes: Palettes If the Tools Palette is not shown on the screen, then:- 1. open the Window Menu from the menu icons at the top of the screen   visible palettes with have ticks next to their names 2. Left click on the item Tools Palette   this will add a tick and make the Tools Palette visible 3. make sure that the Tool Options Palette is also visible

The Brush Tool

Keyboard Shortcut:  W  The Brush Tool is used for painting the route. It can:- adjust the height of the terrain add ground textures add Effect Layers add Scrapbook scenes When selected, the Brush Tool will show two drop down menu lists.

The first drop down menu will set the Brush Target, the type of brush. The Targets are:-
Ground Height Ground Texture Scrapbook Data <List of Effect Layers> Edit Effect Layers		If you have any Effect Layers then they will appear as Targets in this drop down list. Select an Effect Layer to use the brush to paint with that effect.

Ground Height

This brush tool uses the Tool Options Palette. If this palette is not visible on the screen then refer to  Notes: Palettes at the top of this document.

When the Ground Height Target is selected, the second drop down box will give a choice of several Ground Height tools.

The choices are:-
Height Up Height Down Set Height Grade

The available brush tool options are shown in the Tool Options Palette with a  Gold  coloured icon next to their names. Those options that have their icon greyed out will be ignored, but they can still be edited.
Height Up/Height Down	Set Height	Grade	Radius  the brush radius (metres) - see Notes: below Range:  5m and above  Height  the brush height (metres) Range:  -3000m to 3000m  Sensitivity  the rate at which the height changes Range:  1% (very slowly) to 100% (very fast)  Grade  slope gradient - see Notes: below Range:  0% = flat ("Plateau" in Classic) to   ±100% = steep (but not vertical)  Angle  grade direction (compass degrees) Range:  0° (North) to ±359° a negative value reverses the grade

Notes: Unlike Surveyor Classic, there appears to be no upper limit to the brush  Radius . Brushes of hundreds of metres (even kilometres) in size are possible. However, if you are using the brush to set an entire baseboard, or many baseboards, to a specific height then the Marquee Tool may be a better choice. The  Grade  may cause some confusion. It is defined as height (vertical) over distance (horizontal) converted to a percentage figure. So a grade of 100% (the maximum allowed) would mean a slope formed by the height and distance both being the same value (e.g. a height increase of 50m over a distance of 50m). A vertical slope (a cliff) would have an infinite grade which is currently impossible in Surveyor.

Ground Texture

This brush tool uses the Tool Options Palette. If this palette is not visible on the screen then refer to  Notes: Palettes at the top of this document.

When the Ground Texture Target is selected, the second drop down box will be disabled - there are no brush texture tool choices.

The available brush tool options are shown in the Tool Options Palette with a  Gold  coloured icon next to their names. Those options that have their icon greyed out will be ignored, but they can still be edited.

Radius  the brush radius (metres) - see Notes: below Range:  5m and above  Sensitivity  texture transparency Range:  1% = almost transparent to   100% = solid (opaque)  Rotation  initial rotation angle - see Notes: below Range:  0° to ±360° (larger angles can be entered)  Scale  the texture pattern scaling factor Range:  0.01% = smallest to 100% = full size

Notes: Unlike Surveyor Classic, there appears to be no upper limit to the brush  Radius . Brushes of hundreds of metres (even kilometres) in size are possible. If you are using the brush to paint an entire baseboard, or many baseboards, then the Marquee Tool will be quicker but it will not give the options of changing the scale and rotation. The  Rotation  controls the starting angle for the texture when painting and is often used to avoid pattern repetition. As in Surveyor Classic, holding down the  [  or  ]  keys while painting will continuously change the rotation angle. Warning: Changing the rotation angle during painting is not recommended for PBR Textures as this will significantly increase the memory useage (each rotation will load in another copy of the PBR texture).

Scrapbook Data

The scrapbook contents can be Pasted into a route from the Context Menu of a scenery asset.

This brush tool uses both the Tool Options Palette and the Scrapbook Palette. If these palettes are not visible on the screen then refer to  Notes: Palettes at the top of this document.

 The Scrapbook Brush 

When the Scrapbook Data Target is selected, the second drop down box will give a choice of two Scrapbook Data tools.

The choices are:-
Scrapbook Brush Scrapbook Clone

Scrapbook Brush  will resize the scrapbook contents to fit the selected brush shape and size. If the brush is small then the scrapbook contents will be compressed closer together If the brush is large then the contents will be spaced further apart Every Left Click will paste another complete scrapbook copy The Scale control in the Tool Options Palette is ignored.  Scrapbook Clone  will paste the scrapbook at its original size - subject to the Scale setting. If the brush is the same size as the original scrapbook then a single exact copy will be pasted If the brush is smaller than the original scrapbook size then only the central part of the scrapbook will be revealed and more will be added when the brush is moved around until the "painted" area reaches the size of the original. Further painting will clone or tile the scrapbook contents If the brush is larger than the original scrapbook size then the contents will be cloned or tiled to fill the set brush size The Scale control is not ignored but selecting extremes (e.g. a very large brush and a very small scale value) can cause problems (e.g. system "lockup" while it attempts to scale and clone the scrapbook contents)

The available brush tool options are shown in the Tool Options Palette with a  Gold  coloured icon next to their names. Those options that have their icon greyed out will be ignored, but they can still be edited.
Scrapbook Brush	Scrapbook Clone	Radius  the brush radius (metres) - see Notes: below Range:  5m and above  Rotation  initial rotation angle (degrees) - see Notes: below Range:  0° to ±360° (larger angles can be entered)  Scale  the scrapbook scaling factor Range:  0.01% = smallest to 100% = full size  Shape  brush shape Options:  Circle and Square will set the brush to the selected shape   Natural will set the brush to the same shape as the Marquee that created the scrapbook, which may be rectangular. The Radius setting will set the relative brush dimensions

Notes: Unlike Surveyor Classic, there appears to be no upper limit to the brush  Radius . Brushes of hundreds of metres (even kilometres) in size are possible. The  Rotation  controls the starting angle for pasting the scrapbook objects. In Surveyor Classic you could only rotate and paste in 90° increments. In S20 you can rotate and paste at any angle.

The Scrapbook Palette

Scrapbook Pasting Options   What Features to Paste      Ground Height  terrain height(s) used in the scrapbook     Texture  textures used in the scrapbook     Meshes  scenery objects (e.g. trees, buildings) used in the scrapbook     Splines  spline objects used in the scrapbook     Effect Layers  effect layers (TurfFX, Clutter) used in the scrapbook  How to Paste Each Feature     None  do not paste this feature     Add  add this feature to those already present     Overwrite  use this feature to replace those already present For the Ground Height feature:-     Absolute  use the ground heights in the scrapbook to replace the existing ground heights     Relative  modify the existing ground heights according to those used in the scrapbook (to ignore the scrapbook ground heights completely select the option None)

Edit Effect Layers...

When this Target is selected, the Edit Effect Layers options will appear. This is the same as selecting Edit Effect Layers ... from the Trainz Edit Menu.

If no Effect Layers are present then you can create a new one

If Effect Layers are present then select one to edit

More information on creating and editing Effect Layers can be found on the Trainz Wiki at:- TurfFX_Effect_Layer Clutter_Effect_Layer Water_Effect_Layer

The Placement Tool

Keyboard Shortcut:  E  The Placement Tool is used to add objects to the route. This tool uses the Assets Palette. If this palette is not visible on the screen then refer to  Notes: Palettes at the top of this document. The first step is to identify and select the particular object that you want to add to the route. Placing a Scenery Mesh Object Individual "non-spline" scenery objects that are not attached to track are often referred to in Trainz terminology as Scenery Mesh Objects. In the Asset Palette either:- Left click on an object selection icon all ground textures all non-spline scenery objects all spline scenery objects all track spline objects all track objects (signals, etc) all rolling stock all Effect Layer presets OR Left click the Content Drop-down Box Then select Scenery Objects  Shortcut  If you already have the same object placed in your route then:- select the Eyedropper Tool in the Tools Palette (or press the  R  key) Left click on the existing object object This will instantly select that particular object in the filter list. Jump to Step below. To narrow down the filter list type part of the object name into the Search Text Box. For example if you have selected Scenery Objects and want to find "barns", then type "barn" (UPPER/lower case does not matter). This will list all the Scenery Objects containing the text "barn" in the filter list. Select (left click) on the required item in the list (e.g. "Wooden Barn"). When selected the object will be highlighted on a blue background and its name will appear in the Assets Palette title bar. If you are not sure about an object then Dbl-Left click on the name to bring up its image and description. Selecting an object in the Assets Palette filter list will automatically select the Placement Tool so the next Left click in the route will place that object in the route. The final step is to place the selected object into the route. If the Placement Tool is not selected then Left click it or press the  E  key Click on the spot where you want to place the object The Placement Tool will remain on and active until another tool has been selected. So everytime you click another copy of the object (or another object if you change your selection) will be added to the route. Placing a Scenery or Track Spline To start the process of laying a track or spline, follow the steps listed above for placing a Scenery Mesh Object. "Click on the spot" as shown in Step above to place the start or first endpoint of the spline. Move the mouse in the direction you want to lay the spline or track. The spline will follow the mouse wherever you move it. When you have the pointer in the final position for the first spline segment, Left click the mouse. This will anchor the second spline endpoint. The spline between the two endpoints is the first spline segment. The spline segment will now have three Context Icons, one for each endpoint and one for the spline segment. Left click on the new endpoint and move the mouse in the direction you want to continue laying the spline or track. The spline will follow the mouse wherever you move it. When you have the pointer in the final position for the second spline segment, Left click the mouse. This will anchor the third spline endpoint and produce new Context Icons for the second segment. Repeat Steps and above to continue laying the spline. Placement Tool Options  Mesh Object Tool Options  The Placement Tool settings for Scenery Mesh Objects in the Tool Options Palette do not show gold coloured icons to reveal which ones are active but the  Height  setting is active. After placing the mesh object in the route, enter a value in the Tool Options Palette  Height  setting Press the  Enter  key The object will be moved to the set height above (or below) the terrain. The vertical yellow line shown in the second image on the left indicates the height change. The small yellow dot at the base of the line is the terrain anchor point for the object. The height in the Tool Options Palette can also be applied using the  Set Height  option in the objects Context Menu.  Spline Tool Options  Splines have two Placement Tool settings in the Tool Options Palette.  Grade  spline gradient (see Notes: below). The finishing endpoint of each spline segment will be set higher (for a positive grade) or lower (for a negative grade) than the starting endpoint Range:  0% (flat) to ±100% (steep but not vertical)  Condition  this applies to Track Spline objects and sets the track condition (or "ride comfort") for each segment Range:  1% (terrible track condition) to 100% (perfect track condition) The Track Condition can also be set for each track segment in its Context Menu  Edit Properties  option Notes:   The  Grade  may cause some confusion. It is defined as vertical rise divided by horizontal distance converted to a percentage figure. So a grade of 100% (the maximum allowed) would mean a gradient formed by both measurements having the same value (e.g. a rise of 50m over a distance of 50m). A vertical grade (such as up a cliff face) would have an infinite grade which is currently impossible in Surveyor. Deleting Placed Objects To delete objects either:- Select the object or a group of objects using either the:- Free Move Tool (or press  S ) OR Fine Adjustment Tool (or press  D ) Multiple object can be selected by holding down the  Shift  key when using these tools Either:- Press the  Delete  key, OR Open the Context Menu of the object (or object group) and select the  Delete  option OR Use the Marquee Tool to select the object or a group of objects, then either:- Press the  Delete  key OR Open the Marquee Context Menu and select the  Delete  option The Eyedropper Tool Keyboard Shortcut:  R  The Eyedropper Tool is used to identify objects that are in the route. The objects can be textures, effect layers, scenery, rolling stock, track. track equipment, and splines. This tool uses the Assets Palette. If this palette is not visible on the screen then refer to  Notes: Palettes at the top of this document. Quick Steps With the Eyedropper Tool selected, move the mouse pointer (which will now be an eyedropper symbol) onto any object in view. The object will be identified by its object name appearing in a  ToolTip  below the mouse pointer (image shown left). Leave the mouse pointer in place for a few seconds and additional information about the object will be shown, its <kuid> code and Author (image shown below left). Left click on the object to select it in the Filter List. The type of object and its name will be automatically selected in all the Asset Palette filters as shown in the image left. The object is now ready for use by the Placement Tool Narrowing the Search Sometimes (or often) a scene will be too crowded with different scenery objects to be able to use the Eyedropper Tool to easily select a single object. In these cases additional options are available to help "remove the clutter". At the top of the Assets Palette is a drop down box which controls how the Eyedropper Tool works with the filters that you set. The drop down box will provide three options:- Filter List Filter Selection Filter Visibility These options work with the Asset Filters to help narrow the search for a specific object or type of object that is in the route.  Filter List  this option will have no effect on the operation of the Eyedropper Tool or on the objects displayed on the screen. It is the default setting and any selections made with the eyedropper will be shown in the Assets Palette as described in the section Quick Steps above.  Filter Selection  this option will restrict the Eyedropper Tool to only working on those objects that are in the filtered list. Objects that are not in the filtered list cannot be selected and will not have their details (name, <kuid>, author) displayed on the screen.  Filter Visibility  this option will hide all objects that are not in the filtered list. The only exceptions are Ground Textures and Effect Layers which will be visible but, unless they are also in the filtered list, cannot be selected. As an example the following images show the progressive application of a Visibility Filter. No filter has been applied. All the objects are visible on the Surveyor screen. ALL objects can be selected by the Eyedropper Tool The Visibility Filter option has been applied and the filtered list has been set to display only Scenery Splines. All objects except Scenery Splines, Ground Textures and Effect Layers are now hidden. Only Scenery Splines can be selected by the Eyedropper Tool. An additional filter has been applied. The word "fence" has been added to the search text box. All Scenery Splines that do not have the text "fence" in their names have now been hidden. Only the remaining visible Scenery Splines can be selected by the Eyedropper Tool. The Free Move Tool Keyboard Shortcut:  S  The Free Move Tool is used to move objects around the route in the XY (horizontal) directions only. This tool uses the Tool Options Palette and the Info Palette (to display data only). If these palettes are not visible on the screen then refer to  Notes: Palettes at the top of this document. For Scenery Mesh Objects Individual "non-spline" scenery objects that are not attached to track are often referred to in Trainz terminology as Scenery Mesh Objects.  Moving a Scenery Mesh Object  Select the Free Move Tool. Select (Left click on) the object. Use the mouse (Left button held down) to drag the object in any horizontal (XY) direction. When moving a scenery object, its height will be fixed to the terrain height.  Set the Height for a Scenery Mesh Object  When placed in a route by the Placement Tool a scenery object will take the height of the terrain as its set height. It will be fixed to the terrain so when you move it around it will always be at the same height as the terrain it is over. This can be changed to fix the object to a set height above or below the terrain. With the scenery object selected, enter a height value into the Tool Options  Height  text box Hit the  Enter  key The scenery object will now be fixed at the entered height above (or below) the terrain as it is moved around. The same height value can also be set using the  Apply Height  option in the objects Context Menu.  Mesh Object Context Menu  A selected scenery object, or a group of selected scenery objects, will have a Context Icon with a Context Menu. The icon design will vary between object types. Multiple objects can be selected by holding down the  Shift  key while Left clicking on each object. To open an objects Context menu either:- Left click the Context Icon, OR Press the  T  key  Cut  remove the selected object or objects and move them into the Scrapbook  Copy  copy the selected object or objects and place them into the Scrapbook  Paste  paste the contents of the current Scrapbook  Delete  delete the selected objects. It has the same effect as pressing the  Delete  key  Smooth Ground Under Selected  changes the height of the terrain under the object to match the set height of the object. If multiple objects at different heights have been selected then the terrain height will be set to match the height of the lowest object  Settle on Ground  sets the height of the objects to match the height of the terrain beneath them ("drops them back to earth")  Apply Height  sets the height of the objects to the value in the Tool Options  Height  text box  Reset Object Rotation  resets the rotation angle of the objects to their default values  Randomise Object Rotation  applies a random rotation angle to each object  Select in Assets Palette  identifies the selected object in the Asset Palette like the Eyedropper Tool  Edit Properties  opens the Properties window of the selected object For Spline Objects (Including Track) Scenery splines and track splines are defined by their endpoints. Splines are usually added to a route as a series of joined segments linked at the endpoints. Moving a spline can involve moving:- an endpoint, OR a segment, OR multiple segments including the whole length of the spline  Moving Spline Endpoints  To move an individual spline endpoint:- Select the Free Move Tool. Select (Left click on) the spline endpoint to be moved. This will be shown as green meaning active. Inactive spline endpoints are shown as black. Use the mouse (Left button held down) to drag the spline endpoint in any horizontal (XY) direction. The spline endpoint will be fixed at its original height.  Moving Spline Segments  Splines are frequently made of multiple segments joined together. You can easily move a spline by moving its segments, individually or as a group. To move an individual segment or multiple segments:- Select the Free Move Tool. Select (Left click on) the spline segment to be moved - click anywhere between the two spline endpoints on the segment. The selected segment will be highlighted in green. The segment that you clicked will have a Temporary Spline Point inserted at the location where you clicked. IF you are going to select and move more than one spline segment, then:- hold the  Shift  key down and individually Left click between the endpoints on each additional segment. The last segment that you click will have a Temporary Spline Point added. To select ALL the segments in a spline, Dbl-Left click on a segment The segment you double click will have a Temporary Spline Point added Use the mouse (Left button held down) to drag the Temporary Spline Point in any horizontal (XY) direction. If you had selected:- only a single spline segment then only that segment will be moved and the adjacent segments that were not selected will have their positions "adjusted" multiple spline segments then those segments will be moved and the adjacent segments that were not selected will have their positions "adjusted" all the segments then ALL the segments will be moved  Spline Object Context Menu  Splines have two separate Context Icons that lead to two slightly different Context Menus. One icon and menu is for each endpoint and another icon and menu for the spline segment. So a spline segment will have three Context Icons - one for each endpoint and one for the segment itself. Left click on an icon to open its Context Menu.  Endpoint Context Menu   Segment Context Menu   Cut  remove the segment or segments and move them into the Scrapbook  Copy  copy the segment or segments and place them into the Scrapbook  Paste  paste the contents of the current Scrapbook  Delete  delete the segment, segments or endpoint. It has the same effect as pressing the  Delete  key  Smooth Ground Under Selected  changes the height of the terrain under the segment or segments to match the set height of the spline (does not work on endpoints)  Settle on Ground  sets the height of the segment, segments or endpoint to match the height of the terrain beneath them ("drops them back to earth"). When used on segments the spline will follow the height changes of the terrain  Apply Height (to this Spline Endpoint)  sets the height of the segment, segments or endpoint to the value in the Tool Options  Height  text box  Apply Grade to this Spline Endpoint  sets the height of the endpoint to give a Grade to the surrounding segments that matches the value in the Tool Options  Grade  text box  Straignten Spline  forces a straight line (as far as possible) between the endpoints of a single segment. This option will be ticked if the segment has already been straightened  Separate Splines  breaks the spline into two separate splines at the endpoint  Merge Splines  unable to replicate a function for this option  Insert Spline Point Here  inserts a new endpoint in a segment at the point where it was clicked. This will create a new segment at the endpoint  Select in Assets Palette  identifies the selected spline in the Asset Palette like the Eyedropper Tool  Edit Properties  opens the Properties window of the selected spline The Fine Adjustment Tool Keyboard Shortcut:  D  The Fine Adjustment Tool is used to make fine adjustments (XYZ axis, rotation, tilt) to objects in the route. This tool uses the Info Palette. If this palette is not visible on the screen then refer to  Notes: Palettes at the top of this document. The Marquee Tool Keyboard Shortcut:  F  The Marquee Tool is used to select areas of the route. This tool uses the Scrapbook Palette. If this palette is not visible on the screen then refer to  Notes: Palettes at the top of this document. Trainz Wiki More Tutorials and Guides to Using Trainz How to Guides Driver Commands List Session Rules List (Alphabetical) with Parameters Session Rules List (Categories) With Parameters This page was created by Trainz user pware in January 2023 and was last updated as shown below.