Spans connect the poles in a project. qPole needs them to know which wires run between which poles, and to lead you from one pole to the next. The easiest time to connect a pole is while you're on it in the Poles step, straight after you accept its geometry.
Accepting a pole's geometry, letting qPole connect the next pole in the run, then Done and Next pole.
Connect spans in the Poles step
After you accept a pole's geometry, the panel opens 2 Connect spans. It lists the poles this pole is connected to.
After Accept geometry: the pole's geometry is complete, and qPole has connected the pole the run continues to.
Connect spans: DetectedPole015, 47 m SW, connected automatically and marked To.
Auto connections. When a pole has no connection onward, qPole connects the pole the run continues to and marks it ✦ Auto. Hover over the badge to see why it chose that pole, for example because it continues the run straight on. If it's wrong, change it in the dropdown, or remove it with ✕.
Add a connection. Choose a pole in Connect a pole… or Connect another pole…. The list shows the poles within 120 m, nearest first, with their distance and direction, for example 38 m NE. Hovering over a pole in the list highlights it in 3D.
To. Mark the connection the run goes on to with To. Next pole takes you there. At a pole with a branch, connect both poles and mark the one you want to do next.
From. The pole you came from is marked From. Previous goes back to it.
Connect another pole lists the poles within 120 m, nearest first.
Press OK to fold the section away. Connecting spans is optional in the Poles step, but doing it here is the quickest way through the job.
A pole with three connections: where you came from, the run, and a branch.
If a span already has wires, removing or changing the connection asks first, because it deletes those wires.
Walk the run
Once you get going, each pole takes a few clicks:
Go to the pole. Check or adjust the geometry and press Accept geometry.
Check the name, class, and length.
Check the connection qPole made to the next pole, or fix it.
Press Done, then Next pole.
The 2D map follows you along, and the spans build up on it as you go.
The 2D map after the first pass: accepted poles in green and spans as orange lines. Two spans are missing, between P12346 and P12347 and between P12348 and P12349.
Check connections on the 2D map
The 2D map shows every pole that passes the strip's filter, coloured by status, and every span as an orange line between two poles. Use it to check the whole job before you start on components:
Every pole on the line is green (Accepted).
Every span you expect is there, with no gaps and no spans between poles on different lines.
Duplicates (violet rings) are resolved.
Expand the map with the arrows at its top right, or press M to switch between expanded and minimized. Close it with ✕ and open it again from the viewer's toolbar.
The expanded 2D map over a whole job. The expansion and closing buttons are circled in red.
Draw a missed connection on the map
If a span is missing, draw it on the map:
Press Connect poles (the blue ↔ button at the top left of the map).
Click the first pole, then the second. A dashed line follows the cursor until you click the second pole.
Draw more spans the same way. Press Connect poles again to stop.
Drawing the two missing spans on the 2D map with Connect poles.
You can also Shift-click two poles, on the map or in 3D, and press Create span on the card that appears.
To remove a wrong span, go to one of its poles and remove the connection under Connect spans.
Spans drawn on the map don't set which pole is next in the run. Mark To on the pole if you want Next pole to follow them.