kirra-docs

Offset KAD

Draws copies of a line or polygon at a set distance — outwards or inwards — optionally rising or falling as it goes. Use it for offset crests, toes, buffer lines and stand-off boundaries.

Offset dialog

Offset a line or polygon

  1. Click Offset KAD on the Modify toolbar. The status line reads “Offset Tool: click a line or polygon to offset (right-click to exit)”.
  2. Click a line or polygon. Offset LINE: … or Offset POLY: … opens, and a dashed preview shows the result.
  3. Set the distance and options, then click Offset.
  4. The tool stays on — click the next line, or right-click the canvas to finish.

Points cannot be offset. A click on empty space reads “Offset: click on a line or polygon”.

The fields

Field Default What it does
Offset (m) +ve = expand, -ve = contract 1.0 Distance. Positive goes out, negative in — for lines and polygons alike (−100 to 100)
Projection (+ve = up, -ve = dn) 0 Rise or fall as the offset moves out
Projection Unit Degrees (°) Degrees (°), Slope (%) or Ratio (1:N). Changing it converts the value
Number of Offsets 1 Up to 10 copies, each a further step out
Priority Mode Distance Priority (total distance) Or Vertical Priority (vertical distance)
Offset Color Red Colour of the new lines
Handle Crossovers On Cleans up where the offset folds over itself
Keep Elevations (interpolate) On New points take heights interpolated from the original
Limit to Elevation Off Stop the offset at an elevation
Elevation Limit (m) 0.0 The elevation used by Limit to Elevation

From the dialog: “Direction comes from the drawn shape, not the point order.” The cyan dot marks the original start point; green dots mark the preview start points.

The dialog remembers your settings for the session.

What you get

New lines named after the original and the distance, for example Crest_Offset_5m_ab12, on the Design / Offsets layer — or your active layer. Kirra reports “Created … offset(s) successfully”. Several offsets are one undo step.

With a section plane active in 3D, the offset is made in that plane.

Other ways to use it

Method Result
Stays on after each offset Offset one line after another
Right-click the canvas Ends the tool
Cancel in the dialog Closes the dialog and ends the tool
Number of Offsets A set of evenly spaced copies in one go