Envelopes

An envelope is a geometric object that defines a 3D limit or volume. Depending on the type, an envelope may represent a closed triangulated solid, a surface with volume above or below it, a seam between two surfaces, a boolean combination of other envelopes, or a block-based volume.

Envelope Dialog List

In practice, the most commonly used envelope types are:

Faces envelopes
Surface envelopes
Planar envelopes

General concepts

What an envelope represents

An envelope is used to describe spatial limits for interpretation, reporting, clipping, boolean operations, or model preparation.

Depending on the envelope type, it may represent:

a fully enclosed 3D volume
the volume below a surface
the volume above a surface
the space between two surfaces
a logical combination of existing envelopes
a block-grid based volume

How Genesis evaluates envelope volume

For triangulated envelopes, Genesis interprets the volume from intersections between lines and the envelope facets.

In a valid closed volume:

an infinite line should intersect the envelope an even number of times
alternating line segments are outside and inside the envelope

Env Cross

In practice, Genesis can work with both exact and estimated volume calculations depending on the envelope condition and workflow. If the mesh is damaged or contradictory, the resulting volume may be invalid or unreliable.

Typical sources of invalid geometry

Common mesh problems include:

missing triangles
large gaps between triangles
overlapping or superposed triangles
intersecting triangles
poorly oriented or non-manifold geometry

Genesis is tolerant of imperfect geometry, but cleaner input usually gives more reliable results for boolean operations, reporting, and export.

Face conversion and rasterization

Most envelope types can be converted into a faces envelope, which is the standard triangular mesh representation used by most 3D modeling tools.

The envelope system also supports rasterized or block-based representations for some operations, especially boolean or block-model workflows.

Main envelope types

Faces envelopes

A faces envelope is a triangulated 3D volume built from triangular faces. This is the standard envelope type for closed solids.

Typical uses:

importing or exporting triangulated solids
boolean operations on meshes
meshing, smoothing, and remeshing workflows
clipping, reporting, and geometry exchange with other 3D tools
creating block model

Practical notes:

Faces envelopes are commonly imported from DXF files containing 3D faces.
Other volume mesh formats are also supported for import and export.
Faces envelopes work best when they are closed and well formed.
When needed, they can be transformed into surfaces if the geometry is actually a single surface rather than a closed volume.

Surface envelopes

A surface envelope is a triangulated surface that represents the volume either below the surface or above it.

Typical uses:

topography
geological horizons
clipping or constraining other geometry
surface-based sections, reports, and derived volumes

Behavior:

Surfaces can be imported from XYZ/DAT/CSV point files or from DXF 3D-face surfaces.
Point-based surfaces are triangulated after import.
A surface can be switched between volume below and volume above using Swap Surface.
Surfaces can be gridded, clipped, expanded, retriangulated, merged, and enriched with additional points.
Surfaces can also carry an associated image, which can later be removed or exported.

Surface legend and coloring

A surface can be colored by elevation using a surface legend. In practice, this is useful for showing elevation variations directly on the surface. Surface Legend2 Search colors and image mapping can be used together when needed.

Planar envelopes

A planar envelope is a specialized envelope used in modeling workflows. It is built automatically from mineralized intervals and can be updated from its controlling data and constraints.

See the planar envelope page for more detail on the planar modeling workflow.

Fault envelopes

A fault envelope is a special surface envelope used to represent fault. It is related to surface envelope, but it can represent vertical or steep structures more naturally than a standard surface.

Behavior:

Fault envelopes can be created from point data or from a surface-derived geometry.
They carry a direction, and that direction matters for how the envelope volume is interpreted.
Fault-style geometry is compatible with the main mesh boolean workflows.

Seam envelopes

A seam envelope represents the volume between two surfaces: a top surface and a bottom surface.

Typical uses:

ore or seam intervals bounded by two surfaces
zone creation between interpreted surface
generation of derived faces geometry from top and bottom limits

Behavior:

Seam creation is available directly from the envelope list dialog.
The command asks for a top and bottom surface and builds a new seam envelope from them.
Seam geometry only makes sense when the two surfaces define a coherent gap and do not cross each other unexpectedly.

Boolean envelopes

A boolean envelope is derived from one or more existing envelopes using logical operations.

Genesis supports two boolean approaches:

Raster bool

Raster bool evaluates the formula on the rasterized or needled representation of the envelopes. Raster bool are not actually creating a triangulated mesh result.

Characteristics:

very reliable for internal calculations
useful in block-model style workflows
displayed and exported only as rasterized geometry
can still be used like other envelopes for many operations

Real bool

Real bool performs the operation directly on the mesh geometry and produces a new mesh result.

Characteristics:

useful when you need an actual mesh result
more sensitive to poor source geometry
can be slower than raster methods
supports union, subtraction, and intersection workflows from the list dialog

Boolean operation modes

The current boolean settings expose three operation modes:

Manifold - creates manifold results, but requires well-oriented manifold source meshes
Robust - works on a broader range of valid meshes, but the result is generally non-manifold
Ultra-Robust - very slow, but intended for more difficult or partially degenerated geometry

Blocks envelopes

A blocks envelope is defined on a block grid rather than by direct triangulated surfaces. This is a legacy type of envelope and usually not needed in modern workflow

Typical uses:

grid-based or raster-style envelope workflows
importing BLK, L3D, or similar block-derived limits
converting envelope occupancy into block-compatible form

Current behavior:

Block envelopes depend on a grid definition.
They can be loaded from block-style files and converted to faces when needed.

Implicit envelopes

An implicit envelope is generated from an interval set and optional tag filters using an implicit model.

Typical uses:

building a smoothed geological or mineralized envelope from interval data
using empty-hole handling and remeshing as part of the creation workflow

Current behavior:

Implicit envelopes are created from an interval set key and optional tag.
They support update workflows.
They include options for removing empty holes, using mid-distance, and remeshing behavior.

Polygon envelopes

A polygon envelope stores polygon-based slices instead of a single triangulated mesh.

Typical uses:

legacy polygonal workflows
exchange with DIG-style polygon envelope formats
conversion from sliced or prism-derived geometry

These envelopes are still supported, but they are legacy compared with the more common faces and surface workflows.

The envelope list dialog

Open the envelope list dialog to manage imported and generated envelopes.

The list can display fields such as:

Show
Display
Color
Shading
Type
Size
Date
Density
Transparency
Tag
Comments

Important note:

Menu availability depends on the current selection and envelope type.
Some commands are available only for surfaces, only for faces, only for boolean envelopes, or only for planar envelopes.

Envelope list menus

File

Import - imports envelopes from supported files. Depending on the file type, this can create surfaces, faces envelopes, faults, blocks envelopes, seams, or other supported envelope forms.
Import Folder - imports DXF envelopes from a folder tree and keeps the folder structure in the envelope paths.
Reimport - reloads the source file for the selected envelope while keeping its display settings.
Export - exports the selected envelope using the standard envelope export workflow.
Export DXF - exports the selected envelope to DXF.
Export+ - saves one or more selected envelopes using the extended export workflow. This is especially useful when exporting multiple envelopes.

Edit

Copy - duplicates the selected envelope or envelopes.
Remove - deletes the selected envelope or envelopes from the project.
Edit CSG… - edits the transformation or constructive setup of a constructed envelope.
New Bool… - starts creation of a new boolean envelope and lets you choose raster bool or real bool.
Edit Bool… - edits the boolean formula of the selected boolean envelope.
Swap Bool Type - switches a boolean envelope between raster and real bool behavior.
Set Tag… - assigns a tag to the selected envelopes.
Set Comment… - updates the comment field of the selected envelopes.
Set Prefix… - adds or changes a naming prefix for the selected envelopes.
Find And Replace… - updates matching text in envelope properties.
Set Random Color - assigns random colors to the selected envelopes.
Set Color From Dictionary - colors envelopes using a dictionary-based color rule.
Set Quick Toggle - marks envelopes for quick display toggling.

Tools

Simplify… - simplifies selected Surface.
Mesh Smoothing… - smooths the selected mesh or surface geometry.
Convex Hull 3D - creates a convex hull around the selected geometry.

Operation

Generate Polygon Envelope (Slicing)… - creates polygon envelopes by slicing the selected envelope geometry.
Generate Face Envelope - converts the selected envelope into a faces envelope. For example, it can create mesh geometry from surfaces, seams, blocks envelopes, polygon envelopes, faults, or boolean envelopes.
Transform To Surface - converts a faces envelope into a surface when the geometry represents a single surface rather than a closed volume.
Generate Union - creates the union of two or more selected envelopes.
Generate Substraction - subtracts one envelope from another and creates a new result envelope.
Generate Intersection - creates the common volume shared by two selected envelopes.
Generate Addition - merges the face geometry of multiple envelopes into a combined faces result.
Create Seam Substractions… - builds subtraction results related to indexed seam workflows.
Remove Empty Holes… - removes empty-hole artifacts from selected envelopes.
Boolean Settings… - selects the boolean algorithm mode: Manifold, Robust, or Ultra-Robust.
Generate Seam… - creates a seam envelope from a selected top surface and bottom surface.
Explode Envelope - splits a multi-volume faces or surface envelope into separate envelopes.
Apply Transformation… - applies a geometric transformation to the selected envelopes.
Slice On Section… - slices the envelope using one or more sections.
Remeshing Envelope - creates a remeshed version of the selected mesh using Mesh Concavity and Mesh Offset settings.
Generate BestFit Sections - creates or updates best-fit sections from the selected envelopes.

Surface

These commands are intended for surface envelopes.

Swap Surface… - switches the interpreted volume from below-surface to above-surface, or the reverse.
Grid Surface… - resamples or grids the surface against a grid definition so it can be simplified or regularized.
Extract From Grid… - extracts a portion of the surface using grid-based limits.
Generate Pit Face Envelope… - creates a pit-style faces envelope from a surface.
Rectangular Clip… - clips a surface to a user-defined rectangular XY extent.
Remove Vertical Walls - creates a new surface with vertical walls removed.
Add Surfaces - creates a new surface by adding two selected surfaces together.
Merge Down - merges two selected surfaces while favoring the lower result.
Merge Up - merges two selected surfaces while favoring the upper result.
Simplify - legacy surface simplification entry in the surface menu.
Expand… - expands the selected surface outward by a specified distance and creates a new surface.
Add Points… - creates a new surface by adding points from geolines or a points table, then retriangulating.
Retriangulate… - reruns triangulation on the selected surface envelopes without creating a separate copy.
Create Contour Prism - creates contour-prism geometry from a surface.
Remove Image… - removes the image associated with a surface.
Export Image… - exports the image associated with a surface.

Planar

These commands are intended for planar envelopes.

Properties… - edits planar envelope properties.
Update - rebuilds the selected planar envelope from its current inputs and constraints.
Planars To Faces - converts planar envelopes to faces envelopes.
Select Out Of Date - selects planar envelopes that need updating.
Update Out Of Date - updates all planar envelopes that are flagged as out of date.
Modify Intervals Set… - changes the interval set associated with the planar workflow.

Planar workflows are intentionally only summarized here. See the dedicated planar documentation chapter for details.

Report

Generate Report… - creates a full envelope report for the selected envelopes and opens the result.
Volume… - reports volume-related information for the selection.
Thickness - reports thickness-related information for the selection when applicable.
Planar Properties - reports planar-specific properties.
Planar Ressource… - creates a planar resource report.
Planar Pairs Validation… - validates planar envelope pairs.
Planar BM Validation… - validates planar envelopes against the block model.

Log

View Log - opens the log associated with the selected envelope when available.

Common workflows

Import a surface from points

Open the envelope list dialog.
Choose File > Import.
Select a CSV point file.
Map the required fields if prompted.
Let Genesis triangulate the imported points.

Create a seam from two surfaces

Open the envelope list dialog.
Choose Operation > Generate Seam….
Select the top surface and the bottom surface.
Create the seam envelope.

Create a mesh boolean result

Select the source envelopes.
Set the desired mode in Operation > Boolean Settings….
Run Generate Union, Generate Substraction, or Generate Intersection.
Review the result, especially if the source meshes are complex, imperfect, or not manifold.

Improve a surface before use

Depending on the problem, use one or more of the following:

Grid Surface to regularize the surface, remove or add points in a regular way
Retriangulate after importing an already triangulated surface, if the triangulation is not optimal or has problem
Remove Vertical Walls to clean problematic geometry. A surface by definition should never have to point vertically the same. so never two same x,y
Expand to extend the surface
Simplify to get a lighter surface. Useful for huge lidar datasets. The simplification process is done intelligently so you can still have an accurate surface but much lighter
- The simplification has 2 parameters: the grid distance and the Z tolerance.
  - grid cell size will add 1 single point to each cell if the Z elevation difference is under the tolerance, otherwise will add all points
  - z tolerance is the z difference accepted for each cell.

Envelope validation and repair

Common mesh problems

Envelopes may contain geometry issues that affect volume calculations, boolean operations, export, or display. The most common problems are:

Self-intersecting triangles - triangles crossing one another can create incorrect volumes or unstable boolean results.
Non-manifold geometry - Genesis can often still use it, but some external software cannot.
Holes - missing triangles create open mesh areas and should usually be repaired.

Validation

To validate an envelope, double-click it and use Validate from the info bubble.

Typical validation behavior:

Genesis reports the problems it finds.
Different validation methods may be available depending on the workflow.
Some validation methods can also highlight problematic triangles for review.

Repair

If an envelope contains problems, you can often attempt a repair from the info bubble.

Typical repair actions include:

repairing self-intersections
repairing non-manifold areas
repairing holes
closing holes directly when the issue is simple

Repair tools can improve a mesh, but success depends on how severe the geometry problems are.

Slicing meshed envelopes

You can slice an envelope into multiple divisions to create polygonal sections or plan-view style slices.

Use this workflow:

Open the envelope list dialog.
Select the envelope.
Choose Operation > Generate Polygon Envelope (Slicing)….
Set the slicing Axis (X, Y, or Z).
Set the slice Thickness.
Set the minimum and maximum values along the selected axis.

Envelopes Slice

This creates polygon-envelope style output derived from the selected mesh.

Merging surfaces

Surface merging is useful when combining two surfaces such as pit topography and original topography.

A practical workflow is:

Clip the larger surface with Rectangular Clip so the merge is limited to the area you actually need.
- This typically creates inside and outside results in addition to the original surface.
Merge the smaller surface with the extracted portion of the larger surface.
- Use Merge Down when the lower result should dominate.
- Use Merge Up when the upper result should dominate.
Add the merged result back to the larger surface using Add Surfaces when you need to rebuild the full surface coverage.

Merge Surface

Importing and exporting envelopes

Import

To import an envelope:

Open the envelope list dialog.
Choose File > Import.
Select the file type and source file.
Complete any required parameter mapping or format selection.

Genesis supports both surfaces and true volumes. For example, a DXF file containing 3D faces may be imported as a closed volume or as a surface, depending on the geometry and the selected workflow.

When importing DXF data with multiple AutoCAD layers, Genesis can separate the content according to the imported structure.

Export

To export an envelope:

Open the envelope list dialog.
Select the envelope or envelopes.
Choose File > Export, Export DXF, or Export+.

General guidance:

Export produces files intended for exchange with other software.
Export DXF is a quick DXF export workflow.
Export+ is useful when exporting multiple envelopes together or when using Genesis-specific envelope storage formats.

Envelope info bubble

Double-clicking an envelope opens its info bubble. Depending on the envelope type, it may provide commands such as:

Slice on current section - slices the envelope using the current section.
Slice on selected section - slices the envelope using a section chosen from the section list.
Cookie cutter - cuts the envelope using a user-drawn polygon and lets you keep the inside or the outside.
Validate - checks the mesh for geometry problems.
Repair - attempts to repair the envelope geometry.
Close hole - attempts to close holes in the mesh.

The exact commands available depend on the selected envelope type.

Surface-specific info bubble tools

Surface envelopes can expose extra tools beyond the standard envelope info bubble.

Common surface-specific actions include:

Create Hole - creates planned-hole style geometry from the surface workflow.
Map Surface - drapes an image onto the surface.
Add Points - adds control points to the surface, typically from geolines or a points table, and then retriangulates.
Slice on current section - slices the surface on the current section.
Slice on selected section - slices the surface on a chosen section.

Tip:

To work with these features, make sure you are in Select Envelope or Select All mode.
A surface is still an envelope, but it exposes additional tools specific to surface editing and display.