Contour Line Overlay
See terrain form instantly — toggle live contour lines and dial in the exact interval for your site's relief.
Contour Line OverlayThe contour line overlay draws lines of equal elevation directly on the terrain surface. Contours update in real time as the terrain is edited — sculpt the surface and watch the contours shift immediately. The contour interval is adjustable per terrain entity and is saved with the entity.
Contour lines are available in both the terrain workspace and in the 3D editor — any heightfield entity in the 3D editor has contour lines available from the View tab in the heightfield HUD.
Enable contour lines
In the terrain workspace, click the View tab in the terrain HUD. Click the Contours toggle button to enable contour lines. The contour lines appear immediately on the terrain surface.
A Contour Interval slider appears below the toggle — drag to set the vertical distance between contour lines:
- 0.1 m — very fine interval, suitable for gentle garden slopes with under 1 m of total relief
- 0.25 m — fine interval, good for most garden-scale terrain work
- 0.5 m — standard interval for residential garden sites
- 1.0 m — standard interval for larger landscape sites
- 2.0 m or 5.0 m — coarse intervals for large sites or significant topography
The slider range is 0.1 m to 5.0 m. Type an exact value in the field next to the slider for any value within this range.
Contour lines in the 3D editor
Contour lines are also available on any heightfield entity in the 3D editor — not just in the terrain workspace. To enable them:
1. Select the heightfield entity in the 3D editor 2. In the HUD that appears, click the View tab 3. Click the Contours toggle 4. Adjust the interval slider
This lets you see contour lines on sculpted mounds, raised beds, and other 3D heightfield shapes without switching to the terrain workspace.
Export contour lines
Contour lines can be exported as drawing elements:
In the terrain workspace: 1. With contour lines enabled, click Export Contours in the terrain HUD menu (three-dot icon) 2. Choose the export format: - As drawing annotations — places the contour lines as vector line objects on the current drawing page, labelled with elevation values at regular intervals. These are standard drawing objects that can be styled, grouped, and included in PDF exports. - DXF export — downloads a DXF file containing the contour lines as polylines, suitable for importing into CAD software. 3. The interval setting at the time of export determines the contour spacing in the exported file.
Set the contour interval
Drag the Interval slider to choose the vertical spacing between lines. The value is shown in your project's current unit system (meters or feet). For gentle residential gardens with little relief, use a fine interval such as 0.1 m (or 4 in) so subtle grade changes show up. For larger sites with significant elevation change, a coarser interval keeps the display uncluttered.
A practical starting point: set the interval to roughly one-tenth of the site's total relief. A 1 m total rise displays cleanly at 0.1 m intervals with around ten readable contour lines.
Sculpt with contours live
Leave Contours toggled on while you shape the ground using the sculpt, grade, or volume-point tools. Contours redraw in real time with every stroke, making it immediately obvious whether a gradient is smooth and whether a slope is within tolerance for the design brief.
Major contours (drawn heavier) appear at every fifth minor interval by default. Elevation labels are placed on selected major contours so the drawing stays legible. The label unit (m or ft) follows the project unit system automatically.
Enable contours on a 3D heightfield shape
Contours are not limited to the Terrain workspace. In the 3D editor, select a heightfield entity such as a sculpted mound or raised bed. A floating tools panel appears for that entity; open its View tab and toggle Contours to read the shape's form without switching to the Terrain workspace. The interval slider appears beneath the toggle when contours are on.
Export contour lines as DXF
Open the terrain Export dialog and choose DXF contour lines (.dxf) from the format list. The exported file contains contour polylines on separate major and minor layers, with elevation labels, ready to open in any DXF-compatible CAD application. The export uses the interval you set in the dialog's contour options.
The DXF export reflects the contour interval you set in the Export dialog. If you need a finer or coarser interval in CAD, set it before exporting — you cannot change the interval after the file has been generated.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do contour lines update automatically when I edit the terrain?
Yes. The overlay is live — contours redraw with every sculpt stroke, grade operation, or volume-point move so they always reflect the current ground. You do not need to refresh or recalculate manually.
What is the difference between minor and major contours?
Minor contours are drawn at every interval. Major contours appear at every fifth interval (five times the minor interval) and are drawn with a heavier line weight. Elevation labels are placed on selected major contours so the drawing remains readable without crowding every line with text.
Can I change the visual style of the contour lines?
The on-surface overlay uses a fixed display style with automatic major/minor distinction. To apply custom line weights, colors, or layer assignments, export the contours as DXF and restyle them in your CAD application.
Are contours available on all entity types?
Contours are available on heightfield entities — the main terrain surface and any 3D heightfield shapes (sculpted mounds, raised beds). Plain extruded shapes, parametric structures, and 2D drawing entities do not carry the overlay because they don't store a height grid.
Why does expanding the slider not turn off my contours?
Expanding and toggling are intentionally separate actions. The chevron on the Contours chip only reveals or hides the interval slider. Clicking the chip itself is the only action that toggles contours on or off. This lets you adjust the interval mid-session without losing the overlay.