Smart Slope Generator v2.0.0Free

Draws engineering slope hatching — the tick-mark pattern used on embankments, cuttings, ponds and pads — between a Crest (top) line and a Toe (bottom) line. Pick two curves, and the plugin fills the band between them with alternating long and short strokes at the spacing you choose, with optional tapered strokes, end symbols, cut/fill colouring and a background mask.

The tool lives on the Add-ins ribbon tab as the Smart Slope button on the Slope Tools panel, and as the typed command GR_DRAWSLOPE (or its shorter alias DRAWSLOPE). In ZWCAD the button is on the GR Tools ribbon tab. In GstarCAD, run the tool by typing GR_DRAWSLOPE. Press F1 while hovering the ribbon button, or click the ? in the settings window's title bar, to open this help.

Typical workflow: run GR_DRAWSLOPE → set your options in the window and click Draw Slope → pick the TOP line, then the BOTTOM line → the remembered Entire or Segment mode runs (Segment lets you drag just a portion) → optionally fine-tune the mapping by dragging, then press ENTER → the slope is drawn and the prompts repeat for the next slope → press ESC at the first prompt to return to the window.

Which line do I pick first? Always the TOP line first, then the BOTTOM line. One of the two acts as the alignment — the line the tick spacing is measured along — and it is shown with a thick highlight so you always know which one it is. See Draw Slopes for how the “Perpendicular to” setting decides this.

What's New in 2.0

A major release: better corners, better closed shapes, a clearer workflow.

Slope lines now gather correctly into inner corners — the converging fan a corner needs is drawn instead of being thinned away.
Closed shapes (a pond, a pad, a rectangle) draw all the way round in Entire mode instead of producing a single line at the joint.
The background hatch boundary follows the real vertices of your geometry between strokes, so corners stay sharp and curves stay curved instead of being cut across at stroke spacing.
Colours: ByLayer is now available (and the default), and a per-row Override option lets you restyle an existing layer deliberately instead of silently inheriting its colour.
The alignment (the line the spacing is measured along) is now named at each prompt and carries a thick highlight on screen, so you always know which pick drives the spacing.
Entire / Segment no longer needs a separate confirmation — the remembered mode just runs, and you can switch it as a keyword at any prompt.
The command now loops until ESC, drawing slope after slope, with a per-slope Undo keyword and the Settings window reachable mid-loop.
The ribbon button now appears reliably in AutoCAD 2024, 2025 and 2026 as well as 2027.
The preview is the real engine output — pattern, taper, endings, colours and mask show exactly what will be drawn.
Numbers are read the same way on every Windows language setting, settings are stored robustly per user, and jittery survey polylines are cleaned up in memory (never in your drawing) so strokes aim steadily.

Supported Versions

AutoCAD 2024 through 2027, including Civil 3D and other AutoCAD verticals.

One installation package covers every supported release; AutoCAD picks the right build automatically when it starts. Windows 64-bit only.

AutoCAD / Civil 3D release	Technology used
AutoCAD 2024 (and Civil 3D 2024)	.NET Framework 4.8 build
AutoCAD 2025 and 2026 (and Civil 3D)	.NET 8 build
AutoCAD 2027 and newer (and Civil 3D)	.NET 10 build

AutoCAD / Civil 3D release

Technology used

AutoCAD 2024 (and Civil 3D 2024)

.NET Framework 4.8 build

AutoCAD 2025 and 2026 (and Civil 3D)

.NET 8 build

AutoCAD 2027 and newer (and Civil 3D)

.NET 10 build

AutoCAD 2021–2023 are not supported. The plugin is built against the AutoCAD 2024 programming libraries, and Autodesk only guarantees compatibility forwards, not backwards. Support for older releases would need a separate build and real testing on those versions.

It Is Free

Smart Slope Generator is free, and will always remain free.

No license. No key. No activation. There is nothing to purchase, register or unlock — install it and every feature works. If someone charges you for this plugin, they are not us.

Draw Slopes GR_DRAWSLOPE

The main command: settings window, two picks, and a drawing loop.

Type GR_DRAWSLOPE (or the alias DRAWSLOPE), or click Smart Slope on the Add-ins ribbon tab. The settings window opens first; Draw Slope starts the picking sequence, Cancel ends the command, and Delete is a quick helper that lets you select and erase objects without leaving the command.

Set your options in the window (see the Window sections below) and click Draw Slope.
At Select TOP line, pick the upper curve (the crest / shoulder). Lines, polylines, 3D polylines, arcs, circles, ellipses and splines are all accepted.
At Select BOTTOM line, pick the lower curve (the toe). It must be a different object than the TOP line — the same object is rejected with a re-prompt.
The remembered draw mode runs: Entire hatches the whole length immediately; Segment first asks Select Start Point on the highlighted alignment and then lets you drag the extent along it, so only that portion is hatched.
A live preview of every stroke appears, and you may fine-tune the mapping by dragging (see Manual Adjustment). Press ENTER to accept and draw.
The strokes (plus the optional group and background mask) are created, and the prompts return to step 2 for the next slope. Press ESC or ENTER at the first prompt to go back to the window.

The alignment — and how “Perpendicular to” decides it. One of your two picks is the alignment: the line the tick spacing (Step) is measured along, like chainage along a road. The other line simply receives the far end of each stroke, square-on. The Perpendicular to setting in the window decides which is which — and it works on the line the strokes aim at, so it reads “backwards” at first glance:

• Perpendicular to: Bottom line (Toe) — the strokes land square to the BOTTOM line, so the TOP line is the alignment and spacing is even along the top. This is the default, best for cut slopes.
• Perpendicular to: Top line (Crest / Shoulder) — the strokes land square to the TOP line, so the BOTTOM line is the alignment and spacing is even along the bottom. Best for fill slopes.

You never have to remember this: each pick prompt names its role (ALIGNMENT (stationing) or target), after both picks one line confirms it (e.g. Alignment: TOP line (Perpendicular to Bottom line).), and the alignment carries a thick highlight overlay on screen for the whole operation while the target keeps the ordinary dashed highlight.

Tip: make the shorter of your two lines the alignment. If the alignment runs far past the other line's end, the strokes near the overrun bunch onto the other line's endpoint (the “Skip overlaps” option cleans this up).

Keywords & the Loop

Entire, Segment, Settings and Undo ride on the prompts — you never leave the command.

The first prompt reads Select TOP line — ALIGNMENT (stationing) [Entire/Segment/Settings/Undo] <Entire>: — the word in < > is the current draw mode. Type a keyword (or click it on the command line) instead of picking; the same prompt is then re-issued, so a keyword never costs you a pick you already made.

Keyword What it does

Entire Hatch the alignment's whole length. Remembered between runs and sessions.

Segment Hatch only a dragged range along the alignment. Remembered too. A bare S always means Segment.

Settings (type SET) Reopens the settings window mid-loop. Draw Slope adopts the new values for the following slopes; Cancel discards them and the loop continues unchanged.

Undo Removes the most recently drawn slope of this command run — strokes, group and mask together. Repeat to step further back.

Keyword	What it does
Entire	Hatch the alignment's whole length. Remembered between runs and sessions.
Segment	Hatch only a dragged range along the alignment. Remembered too. A bare `S` always means Segment.
Settings (type `SET`)	Reopens the settings window mid-loop. Draw Slope adopts the new values for the following slopes; Cancel discards them and the loop continues unchanged.
Undo	Removes the most recently drawn slope of this command run — strokes, group and mask together. Repeat to step further back.

ESC at the first prompt (or ENTER) returns to the window; ESC at any later prompt cancels only the current slope and returns to the first prompt. Each completed slope is one AutoCAD undo step, so your own Ctrl+Z also steps back one slope at a time. Your last-used window options and draw mode are saved automatically and restored next session.

Manual Adjustment

Drag any range of preview strokes to re-aim where they land — your drag always wins.

After the picks, the strokes appear as a live preview and the prompt Select Start preview line for adjustment or press ENTER appears. The automatic rule sends each stroke to the nearest point on the other line, which is right most of the time — but on sharp corners or uneven geometry you may want a range of strokes spread differently. That is what adjustment is for.

Click the preview stroke where your adjustment should start.
Click the preview stroke where it should end.
Drag along the bottom line: the strokes in that range spread evenly between your start stroke's landing point and the point you are dragging — the preview follows live. Click to accept.
Repeat for other ranges as needed, then press ENTER to draw.

Rules of adjustment. A manually adjusted range always wins over the automatic nearest-point rule. Where two adjustments overlap, the newest drag wins — the older one is trimmed back so exactly one rule owns each stroke. Adjustments apply to the slope being drawn now; the next slope starts fresh.

Open-ended lines and gaps. You cannot drag an adjustment across the open end (the gap) of a line that is not closed — the command warns (You crossed the gap of an OPEN Bottom (Toe) line) and cancels that drag. Edit up to the gap in two separate adjustments, or close the polyline.

Settings Panel

Spacing, offset, short-stroke length and the long/short pattern.

Hatch Pattern Step (m) The distance between neighbouring strokes, measured along the alignment, in the drawing's own units — the label shows the unit taken from the drawing ((m), (ft)…). First-run default: 2 m (or the equivalent scale for your unit). Must be greater than zero; use a dot as the decimal separator (e.g. 2.5).

Offset from Toe (m) Shortens every stroke by this distance at its far (toe) end, leaving a clear strip along the bottom line. Default 0 = strokes run the full width.

Short stroke length Slider, 0–100 % in 5 % steps (default 50 %): the length of a short stroke as a percentage of the full crest-to-toe stroke at that position. Only matters when the Pattern Style below has short strokes.

Pattern Style Fixed — every stroke full length; Long / 1 Short (default) — long and short alternate; Long / 2 Shorts — one long, then two shorts (the common European drafting convention).

Hatch Pattern Step (m)	The distance between neighbouring strokes, measured along the alignment, in the drawing's own units — the label shows the unit taken from the drawing (`(m)`, `(ft)`…). First-run default: 2 m (or the equivalent scale for your unit). Must be greater than zero; use a dot as the decimal separator (e.g. `2.5`).
Offset from Toe (m)	Shortens every stroke by this distance at its far (toe) end, leaving a clear strip along the bottom line. Default 0 = strokes run the full width.
Short stroke length	Slider, 0–100 % in 5 % steps (default 50 %): the length of a short stroke as a percentage of the full crest-to-toe stroke at that position. Only matters when the Pattern Style below has short strokes.
Pattern Style	Fixed — every stroke full length; Long / 1 Short (default) — long and short alternate; Long / 2 Shorts — one long, then two shorts (the common European drafting convention).

Appearance Panel

Which layer and colour each kind of stroke is drawn with.

A three-row table: Cut, Fill and Generic. With Cut/Fill Auto Orient ON (Options panel) the Cut and Fill rows are active and strokes are split by whether the ground is being cut into or built up; with it OFF everything is drawn with the single Generic row. Inactive rows grey out but stay visible.

Layer Editable dropdown per row: pick an existing layer from the list, or type a new name and it is created when you draw. Defaults: C-TOPO-SLOPE-CUT, C-TOPO-SLOPE-FILL, C-TOPO-SLOPE. Names are checked as you type (AutoCAD's forbidden characters are rejected with a message). If a chosen layer is frozen, off or locked, a one-line warning appears under the table — you can still draw, but the strokes may be invisible or uneditable.

Colour ByLayer (first entry, the default) or one of the seven standard AutoCAD colours. ByLayer means the strokes carry no colour of their own — they follow whatever colour the layer has, now and whenever you restyle the layer later (the normal CAD-standards way). Picking a specific colour stamps it on the strokes of this run only. Need a custom colour? Create the layer with that colour first and choose ByLayer.

Override Only relevant when the layer already exists and you picked a specific colour different from the layer's. Unticked (default): the existing layer is never restyled — your strokes get the picked colour, the layer keeps its own. Ticked: the layer itself is repainted to the picked colour for you, and the change is reported on the command line. The tick resets each time the window opens, so a one-off choice never becomes a permanent rule.

Layer	Editable dropdown per row: pick an existing layer from the list, or type a new name and it is created when you draw. Defaults: `C-TOPO-SLOPE-CUT`, `C-TOPO-SLOPE-FILL`, `C-TOPO-SLOPE`. Names are checked as you type (AutoCAD's forbidden characters are rejected with a message). If a chosen layer is frozen, off or locked, a one-line warning appears under the table — you can still draw, but the strokes may be invisible or uneditable.
Colour	ByLayer (first entry, the default) or one of the seven standard AutoCAD colours. ByLayer means the strokes carry no colour of their own — they follow whatever colour the layer has, now and whenever you restyle the layer later (the normal CAD-standards way). Picking a specific colour stamps it on the strokes of this run only. Need a custom colour? Create the layer with that colour first and choose ByLayer.
Override	Only relevant when the layer already exists and you picked a specific colour different from the layer's. Unticked (default): the existing layer is never restyled — your strokes get the picked colour, the layer keeps its own. Ticked: the layer itself is repainted to the picked colour for you, and the change is reported on the command line. The tick resets each time the window opens, so a one-off choice never becomes a permanent rule.

Options Panel

Output shape, symbols, orientation, mask, and which line the strokes stand square to.

3D Slope Lines	ON (default): strokes carry the real elevations of the lines you picked — correct for surfaces and 3D models. OFF: everything is drawn flat at elevation 0.
Group Objects	ON (default): each slope's strokes (and mask) become one AutoCAD group, so one click selects the whole slope.
Cut/Fill Auto Orient	Compares the two lines' elevations at every stroke and points the tick downhill automatically; strokes are also split onto the Cut / Fill layers of the Appearance table. Works in 2D output too (elevations are compared before flattening). Default OFF.
Background hatch (+ colour)	Draws a solid, semi-transparent mask behind the strokes, filling the band between the two lines — its boundary follows your lines' real corners and curves, not just the stroke ends. The swatch beside it picks the mask colour (default green). The mask is sent to the bottom of the draw order so it never covers your linework. Default OFF.
Triangle (Tapered) Base	Draws each long stroke as a filled, tapering wedge (Civil 3D style) instead of a plain line. The Tapered base width slider (5–100 % of Step, default 25 %) sets how wide the wedge is at its base. Default OFF.
Skip overlaps	ON (default): removes strokes that would draw as the same line — duplicates bunched onto one point, zero-length strokes, and runs where the alignment continues past the other line's end. It does not remove the fan of strokes converging into an inside corner: that gathered fan is correct, intended output on corners. OFF reproduces the raw pattern exactly.
Short Line Ending	A symbol at the free end of each short stroke: None (default), Circle, or Tick (T-Shape).
Perpendicular to	Bottom line (Toe) (default) or Top line (Crest / Shoulder) — the line the strokes stand square to. This is also what decides which pick is the alignment; see Draw Slopes.

3D Slope Lines

ON (default): strokes carry the real elevations of the lines you picked — correct for surfaces and 3D models. OFF: everything is drawn flat at elevation 0.

Group Objects

ON (default): each slope's strokes (and mask) become one AutoCAD group, so one click selects the whole slope.

Cut/Fill Auto Orient

Compares the two lines' elevations at every stroke and points the tick downhill automatically; strokes are also split onto the Cut / Fill layers of the Appearance table. Works in 2D output too (elevations are compared before flattening). Default OFF.

Background hatch (+ colour)

Draws a solid, semi-transparent mask behind the strokes, filling the band between the two lines — its boundary follows your lines' real corners and curves, not just the stroke ends. The swatch beside it picks the mask colour (default green). The mask is sent to the bottom of the draw order so it never covers your linework. Default OFF.

Triangle (Tapered) Base

Draws each long stroke as a filled, tapering wedge (Civil 3D style) instead of a plain line. The Tapered base width slider (5–100 % of Step, default 25 %) sets how wide the wedge is at its base. Default OFF.

Skip overlaps

ON (default): removes strokes that would draw as the same line — duplicates bunched onto one point, zero-length strokes, and runs where the alignment continues past the other line's end. It does not remove the fan of strokes converging into an inside corner: that gathered fan is correct, intended output on corners. OFF reproduces the raw pattern exactly.

Short Line Ending

A symbol at the free end of each short stroke: None (default), Circle, or Tick (T-Shape).

Perpendicular to

Bottom line (Toe) (default) or Top line (Crest / Shoulder) — the line the strokes stand square to. This is also what decides which pick is the alignment; see Draw Slopes.

Preview Panel

What you see is what gets drawn — the preview runs the real engine.

The preview is not an illustration: every change in the window is fed through the same calculation that draws in AutoCAD, over a built-in sample terrain with a cut side and a fill side. Pattern, ratio, taper, endings, colours, mask and the Skip-overlaps behaviour all show exactly as they will draw. With 3D Slope Lines ON the scene tilts into a 3D view; with Auto Orient ON you see the cut/fill split and colours.

One deliberate exception: the preview clamps its own stroke spacing to a readable range (2–6 m on the sample terrain). A very small or very large Step would make the fixed-size picture an unreadable smear or two lonely lines — the value you typed is used unchanged in the actual drawing.

If Your CAD Program Will Not Start

Uninstall Smart Slope Generator, restart your CAD program, and tell us.

A plugin is loaded by your CAD program while it starts up. If your CAD program ever fails to start after installing this one — it closes immediately, or reports an abnormal exit — removing the plugin restores it. Your drawings are never affected.

Uninstall Smart Slope Generator the normal way: Windows Settings → Apps → Installed apps, find Smart Slope Generator, and choose Uninstall.
Start your CAD program again. It should open normally.
Tell us what happened before reinstalling — say which CAD program and version you use and what you saw on screen. Contact details are in About. We will confirm the fix before you install again.

This is our problem, not yours. You should never have to edit settings, folders or anything else to recover from a plugin fault — if uninstalling does not restore your CAD program, contact us and we will resolve it with you directly.

Ribbon Diagnostics SSG_RIBBONDIAG

Support tool: run it if the Smart Slope ribbon button never appears.

SSG_RIBBONDIAG is a typed-only support command — it deliberately has no ribbon button and is not listed anywhere in the interface, but it always works when typed. It prints a complete inventory to the command line: every ribbon tab, where (or whether) the Slope Tools panel sits, which CAD libraries actually loaded, and everything the plugin logged while building its ribbon. The same events are also written to a small log file that survives even a failure happening before any drawing is open — the command prints that file's full path for you.

Type SSG_RIBBONDIAG at the command line.
Copy everything it prints. One of the lines is “Diagnostic log” followed by the full path of the log file — copy that path into Windows Explorer's address bar to find the file.
Send both with your support request — they show exactly why the ribbon did not appear, without any back-and-forth.

Why the SSG_ prefix? Green Road Group plugins share one AutoCAD session, and command names are first-come-first-served across all loaded plugins. This command's original company-wide name collided with a sibling plugin's diagnostic command, so it now carries the plugin-specific SSG_ prefix.

Slope Dump GR_SLOPEDUMP

Support tool: capture the exact geometry of a slope that drew wrongly.

If a slope ever “draws the wrong thing”, this is the single most useful thing you can attach to a report. GR_SLOPEDUMP (typed-only, like Ribbon Diagnostics) writes a small file describing the last slopes drawn in the current drawing — up to the last ten — and prints its full path on the command line. We replay that file through the plugin's own calculation and see exactly what you saw, without needing your drawing.

Draw the misbehaving slope (the capture happens automatically as you draw).
Type GR_SLOPEDUMP in the same drawing session. It prints the full path of the file it just wrote — copy that path into Windows Explorer's address bar to find it. (Typing Dump at the command's first prompt does the same thing.)
Send the file with one sentence about what looked wrong.

What is in the file — and what is not. Only the geometry of the two curves you picked (their points), the settings used, the chosen range and your manual adjustments. No drawing content, no file paths, no personal data — it is safe to share and small enough to e-mail.

Messages Explained

The command-line notices you may meet, and what to do about them.

“This job would draw roughly N primitives, above the budget of 20000…” A safety refusal, not an error: the combination of a long line and a small Step would have produced so many strokes that AutoCAD would freeze for minutes. Increase the Step, or use Segment mode to hatch a shorter range. Nothing was drawn.

“Background mask: the detailed boundary would exceed 10000 points…” On extremely dense survey geometry, the background mask fell back to a simpler outline that connects the stroke ends instead of tracing every vertex. The strokes are unaffected; the mask is merely a little coarser. No action needed.

“Crest simplified X → Y vertices… your curves are untouched” Survey polylines often carry thousands of near-duplicate points and millimetre zigzags that make stroke aiming jittery. The plugin works on a cleaned-up in-memory copy; your actual drawing objects are never modified. Informational only.

“Layer '…' is frozen / off / locked…” The output layer you chose is not currently visible or editable, so the slope may seem to have “not drawn”. Thaw / switch on / unlock the layer.

“Segment selection failed… Nothing was drawn” The range pick could not be completed on this geometry. Nothing was drawn (the tool never silently falls back to hatching the whole line) — try the pick again.

“Smart Slope Warning: Operation aborted” The picked curves could not be processed — usually self-intersecting or zero-length segments. Clean the geometry (e.g. OVERKILL), or send a Slope Dump if it persists.

“This job would draw roughly N primitives, above the budget of 20000…”	A safety refusal, not an error: the combination of a long line and a small Step would have produced so many strokes that AutoCAD would freeze for minutes. Increase the Step, or use Segment mode to hatch a shorter range. Nothing was drawn.
“Background mask: the detailed boundary would exceed 10000 points…”	On extremely dense survey geometry, the background mask fell back to a simpler outline that connects the stroke ends instead of tracing every vertex. The strokes are unaffected; the mask is merely a little coarser. No action needed.
“Crest simplified X → Y vertices… your curves are untouched”	Survey polylines often carry thousands of near-duplicate points and millimetre zigzags that make stroke aiming jittery. The plugin works on a cleaned-up in-memory copy; your actual drawing objects are never modified. Informational only.
“Layer '…' is frozen / off / locked…”	The output layer you chose is not currently visible or editable, so the slope may seem to have “not drawn”. Thaw / switch on / unlock the layer.
“Segment selection failed… Nothing was drawn”	The range pick could not be completed on this geometry. Nothing was drawn (the tool never silently falls back to hatching the whole line) — try the pick again.
“Smart Slope Warning: Operation aborted”	The picked curves could not be processed — usually self-intersecting or zero-length segments. Clean the geometry (e.g. `OVERKILL`), or send a Slope Dump if it persists.

About

Version and contact.

Product Smart Slope Generator

Version 2.0.0

Publisher Green Road Group

Developer Beka Tchigladze — BIM Engineer | C#/.NET Automation Developer

Licence See LICENSE.txt in the installation folder.

Product	Smart Slope Generator
Version	2.0.0
Publisher	Green Road Group
Developer	Beka Tchigladze — BIM Engineer \| C#/.NET Automation Developer
Licence	See `LICENSE.txt` in the installation folder.

From the same author: Layout Pro (Batch Layout Generator Pro) — a Plan Production suite that batch-generates Paper Space layouts from Model Space frames.

Contact & LinkedIn. Open for B2B custom AutoCAD / Civil 3D add-in development and enterprise consulting. Connect on LinkedIn.