A new release of an earthwork estimating tool should make tracing contours on most site plans obsolete. Replacing tracing, the software allows a user to click on the end of a line to extract vector data from CAD files and—remarkably—many commonly distributed PDFs.
InSite Software released SiteWork 11 on Jan. 24. The product's new automated, vector-based contour-tracing function is quite different from the contrast-based automated tracers available in previous versions, which are easily fooled by intersecting lines. By importing a CAD file or first-generation, vector-based PDF and clicking a button called "Get Vectors," the user can click on the end of a contour line—even a dotted one—and select the whole line at once. This greatly speeds the process of making cut-and-fill calculations and estimating, thanks to the automation of a process that usually takes up to 80% of an end user's time.