Combine Blocks

Use the Combine Blocks option to combine two or more adjacent blocks into one for scheduling purposes. The blocks must touch or intersect.

Figure 1 : Original Blocks

Figure 2 : Blocks Selected for Combining (highlighted polygon)

Figure 3 : After Combining the Blocks

Tip:   The Clip Blocks option can be used to clip adjacent blocks, for example tidying up after combining working layers.


Instructions

On the Underground menu, point to Coal Development, and then click Combine Blocks.

Select the primary block. Once selected, the chosen block is highlighted.

(If a working layer was not defined prior to selecting this option, then the Set Working Layer panel is displayed first.)

Working name

Enter, or select from the drop-down list, the name of the working layer. The chosen layer will be set as the active working for underground coal operations. It does not affect the layer set through the Layer option (under the Design > Create submenu)

To create a new layer, enter the layer name. The layer name...

  • may contain up to 40 characters.
  • must begin with an alphanumeric character [0 - 9] or [a - z].
  • cannot include spaces.
  • can include hyphens [ - ], plus signs [ + ], underscores [ _ ], periods/dots [. ].
  • can include the special characters of ÁÂÃÀÇÉÊÍÓÔÕÚÜÑ that are used in the Spanish and Portuguese languages.

Description

Enter a description to further describe the contents of this layer. The description can be up to 80 alphanumeric characters and may include spaces. If a description is not entered, then a default description will be used instead. If the chosen layer already has an assigned description, the description will be displayed when the layer is selected. Existing layer descriptions can be overwritten.

To add to an existing working layer, the layer must be loaded onto the screen. If a working layer by the same name already exists in the currently open database, but has not been loaded, then you will be asked whether you want to select the layer or replace it.

Click OK.

Set Working Layer panel

Working name

Enter, or select from the drop-down list, the name of the working layer. The chosen layer will be set as the active working for underground coal operations. It does not affect the layer set through the Layer option (under the Design > Create submenu).

To create a new layer, enter the layer name. The layer name:

  • may contain up to 40 characters.
  • must begin with an alphanumeric character [0-9] or [a-z].
  • cannot include spaces.
  • can include hyphens [ - ], plus signs [ + ], underscores [ _ ], periods/dots [. ].
  • can include the special characters of ÁÂÃÀÇÉÊÍÓÔÕÚÜÑ that are used in the Spanish and Portuguese languages.

Description

Enter a description to further describe the contents of this layer. The description can be up to 80 alphanumeric characters and may include spaces. If a description is not entered, then a default description will be used instead. If the chosen layer already has an assigned description, the description will be displayed when the layer is selected. Existing layer descriptions can be overwritten.

To add to an existing working layer, the layer must be loaded onto the screen. If a working layer by the same name already exists in the currently open database, but has not been loaded, then you will be asked whether you want to select the layer or replace it.

Select OK.

Select block to combine. This block must be touching or intersecting the primary block. More than one block may be selected. A highlighted polygon will surround the selected block(s). The blocks themselves become invisible (see Diagram 2). Cancel when finished selecting blocks to combine.

You will then be asked whether or not to save the result. Save the result saves the newly generated block (that is, the shape of the combined area).

Do NOT save maintains the original blocks.