Hi Mike,
Concerning "We cannot allow the individual elements to inherit the complex profile as this could cause a circular type dependency ...”
While a circular dependency may be created by storing the appropriate portions of the real vertical geometry to the dropped horizontal elements, you could certainly stroke the vertical data and apply a series of point elevations along the dropped horizontal elements to ensure the vertical design is not completely lost.
This would need to occur at the time that the horizontal complex element is dropped and before the vertical design is deleted.
This would allow the User to see the elevations of the Horizontal elements in the profile window and, while real vertical geometry would need to be recreated across these elements, at least the original design would not be totally lost and could be used as a guide for the redesign.
Just a thought...
