Soil Layers
Build accurate cross-section drawings by defining site strata with custom depths, colors, and names.
Soil Layers appear in section cut views only. You must have at least one Section Cut active in the project to see soil layers.
Open Soil Layers settings
Go to Presentation > Soil Layers in the menu. The Soil Layers panel opens, showing the current layer stack (empty on a new project).
Add layers
Click Add Layer. For each layer, set:
- Name — e.g. Topsoil, Subsoil, Drainage Aggregate, Bedrock
- Depth — the thickness of this layer (in the project's active unit system)
- Color or material — choose a solid color or a material swatch to visually represent this layer in the section cut
Set layer order
Drag layers in the panel to reorder them. The top layer in the list is the uppermost layer (closest to the surface). Layers are stacked downward from the ground surface.
View layers in section cut
Activate a Section Cut to see the soil layers rendered as horizontal bands beneath the design. Each layer is shown at its configured depth and color behind the cut plane.
Add a custom layer
Click Add Layer at the bottom of the panel to append a new stratum below the existing stack. Give it a name (for example, "Made Ground" or "Compacted Hardcore"), set its color and depth, then toggle it on. The new layer appears in all section cuts that have Show Soil Layers enabled.
Show layers in a section cut
Draw or select an existing section cut line on the canvas. In the section cut's style panel, turn on Show Soil Layers. The strata render as horizontal colored bands across the cut face, each labeled with the layer name and depth, producing a construction-standard cross-section diagram.
Reset to defaults if needed
If you want to restore the original layer stack after experimenting, click Reset to defaults at the bottom of the Site Soil Profile panel. This replaces any custom layers with the standard Topsoil / Subsoil / Clay / Aggregate / Bedrock sequence. Any section cuts already open will update automatically.
Clicking Reset to defaults permanently removes any custom layers you have added or renamed. There is no undo for this action — if your custom profile matters, note the layer names and depths before resetting.
The Site Soil Profile is project-wide. Every section cut in the project shares the same layer definitions. If a specific section needs a different soil profile, adjust the enabled/disabled toggles for that section directly in the section cut's Soil Layers panel, rather than in the Terrain module.
For planting bed construction details, add a layer called "Imported Topsoil" at 400–600 mm depth and a "Drainage Gravel" layer below it. Shown in a section cut, this communicates the planting bed buildup to contractors without needing a separate detail drawing.
Frequently Asked Questions
I can't edit the layer colors or depths from inside the section cut panel.
The section cut's Soil Layers panel lets you toggle layers on or off per-section, but names, colors, and depths are managed project-wide in the Site Soil Profile inside the Terrain module. Open the Terrain workspace, expand Site Soil Profile, and make your changes there — section cuts update instantly.
My soil layers are not showing in the section cut view.
Check two things: first, confirm the section cut has Show Soil Layers turned on in its style panel. Second, open the Site Soil Profile in the Terrain module and verify that the relevant layers have their visibility toggle enabled. Both switches must be on for a layer to appear.
Can I have different soil profiles for different parts of the site?
The Site Soil Profile is shared across all section cuts, but you can toggle individual layers on or off per section cut in that section's Soil Layers panel. For fully different profiles in different areas, add all required layers to the global stack and then hide the irrelevant ones in each individual section.
How many layers can I add?
There is no enforced limit on the number of soil layers. In practice, 5–8 layers cover the vast majority of site investigation reports. More layers are supported if your specification requires them.
Does the Topsoil layer depth affect the terrain surface height?
No. The soil layer depths are purely for documentation and section cut display. They do not affect the 3D terrain model, entity elevations, or any computed heights in the project.