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Facility fronts

A facility's front determines which side participates in PES → ES geometry — and a multi-face feature without a front cannot be analyzed. Bulk front assignment is the fastest way to clear front-related entries from the Requires Analysis list, and the right tool when an import or a bulk geometry change has left a layer of features without orientation.

Learning objectives

By the end of this lesson you should be able to:

  • Assign fronts to many features at once
  • Recognize the analysis errors that indicate a missing front
  • Verify front assignments are correct via the map

Why this is its own bulk tool​

Single-feature front assignment is fine for one or two features. For a freshly imported layer of fifty ECMs, single-feature assignment is a slog. The bulk tool exposes the same underlying operation across a selection — pick the orientation method, apply, done.

Front-assignment heuristics​

A few common methods for assigning fronts in bulk:

  • Toward a reference point — pick a point on the map (often a road, a parking lot, or an operating-line center), and every selected feature's front is set toward it
  • Toward a reference line — every selected feature's front is set toward the nearest point on a chosen line
  • By compass direction — every selected feature's front is set to a fixed compass direction (north, east, etc.)
  • Toward another feature — every selected feature's front is set toward a chosen target feature

[TODO: FILL IN — exact list of heuristics available in the current Siter UI and how each is invoked.]

The right heuristic depends on the geometry of your facilities. A row of ECMs with doors facing a parking lot is best handled with Toward a reference point (the parking lot). Magazines arranged along an operating line are usually best with Toward a reference line (the line itself).

Verifying after a bulk assign​

Always verify on the map after bulk-assigning fronts. The map typically displays the front direction as a small indicator (an arrow, a tick, or a colored side). Look for:

  • Fronts pointing the wrong direction (e.g., away from the door rather than toward it)
  • Outlier features whose orientation does not match the rest of the set
  • Features that were missed by the selection

If a feature's front looks wrong, it is wrong — front orientation is not a "trust the engine" situation.

After re-running analysis​

Bulk front assignment invalidates the analysis on every affected feature. Re-run analysis and:

  • Confirm the front-related entries are gone from Requires Analysis
  • Confirm the resulting arcs project from the expected sides
  • Confirm violations are now meaningful (or genuinely present) rather than artifacts of arbitrary front placement

Try it​

In a project where several ECMs are missing fronts:

  1. Open Requires Analysis and confirm the front-related entries are present
  2. Filter the features list to those ECMs and select all
  3. Open the bulk facility fronts dialog and pick a heuristic — start with Toward a reference point, picking the parking lot or other reasonable orienting feature
  4. Apply, verify on the map, re-run analysis
  5. Confirm Requires Analysis is empty for those features