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Generally the polyline tool works well, using the curved b?zier setting. Just get it down, close but don't worry about precision yet. After completing the curve double click on it and use the 2D reshape tool to drag vertexes, add vertexes, etc. to fine tune your shape.

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I was taught to create informal curves using circles and joining them with lines at a tangent. Moving this technique to VW, you get...

Create the curves with circles and mark the centre point (so you can set it out for real later) - set the circle as a construction line. Then join the circles using a straight line tool and using tangent constraints. This will lock you on to the tangent of the circle. Move to another circle and you know when you are at the tangent because smart points will list tangent/tangent. Next, use the arc tool to trace over the parts of the circles from end point to end point. When complete, select lines and arcs and compose them into a polygon/polyline.

If you then need to go back and build the informal bed for real, you can give the landscaper the setting out plan based on the construction circles and lines at a tangent.

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If you use the polyline tool and use the line tool to close the shapes, you can use compose to create an item you can use with hardscape etc.

Alternatively you can start with the polygon tool to create the object and use 2d reshape to get your finished object

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Why isn't the polyline tool with arc vertexes acceptable? The additional benefit of polylines is they can be converted to objects such as roads, hardscapes, walls, linear materials, property line, etc.

I use coordinates of the vertex & the arc radius to set out all points & stations for roads, curbs, sidewalks, drainage, planting beds, etc. After the laying out the project, I import the surveyed points as stake objects to check that the layout is correct.

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Why isn't the polyline tool with arc vertexes acceptable? The additional benefit of polylines is they can be converted to objects such as roads, hardscapes, walls, linear materials, property line, etc.

I guess its all down to scale and the importance of the underlying geometry in the design. In garden design (at least how I have been taught), curves will be aligned and/or sized based upon hints within the overall design and adjacent features. So you wouldn't simply draw an irregular line without locking it to some underlying geometry. This also aids setting out when, in garden design, everything is on a much smaller scale and a pole and piece of string usually suffices!

Arcs and lines can also be composed into polylines so your additional benefits also hold true for this method.

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IanH

"Create informal curves using circles and joining them with lines at a tangent" again not sure what you want to accomplish. Are you creating round planting beds & joining them with tangents or are you creating circular beds that may have tangents between the arcs? If the second case, why not use the polyline tool as you start with the tangents & place a symmetrical simple curve between the intersecting tangents.

"Locking it to some underlaying geometry", the underlying geometry in my case is the point of intersection. For 15 years I have been requesting an additional vertex method that would insert a symmetrical curve between two intersecting lines that is not constrained by an artificial mid-point. The current problem is if the tangent distance of 1 curve is greater than 1/2 the distance between the intersection points , VW moves that vertex (disaster)!

My geometry is quite precise because in my case the layout of curbs requires a greater precision than planting beds, therefore, a robotic total station is used which probably is more precise than a piece of string.

If you are using a pole & string to set out the arc radius, how do you establish the centre point for the radius & the point of tangency?

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