It is sometimes necessary to provide contour data to other project team members who do not have Land Desktop, in which case contour objects may need to be converted to polylines. Use the AutoCAD EXPLODE command to do this.

Conversely, contours represented by polylines can be converted to contour objects.

In this exercise, you will convert a contour to a polyline, and then convert it back to a contour object.

1. On the command line, enter EXPLODE, select a contour, and then press ENTER.

2. Enter LIST and select the same contour.

   The contour is now a lightweight polyline.

3. Press ESC and then close the text window.

4. On the Terrain menu, click Contour Utilities, click Convert Polylines, and then select the contour polyline and press ENTER.

5. Enter LIST and select the same contour.

   The contour is now an AECC_CONTOUR.

6. Close the text window.

Labeled contours exist as a series of separate segments, and as such, may not be exploded and converted back to continuous contour objects. Delete contour labels from contours before conversion to avoid this problem.