ASCII files are text files that contain point information, usually a point number, coordinates and a description. A typical ASCII coordinate file might look like this.
100, 1000.00, 1000.00, 1350.00, Hub & Nail
101, 1035.12, 1018.97, 1347.01, Hub & Nail
102, 1167.74, 1018.88, 1342.55, Hub & Nail
103, 1203.14, 1018.14, 1338.19, Hub & Nail
TPC can import ASCII coordinate files created by digitizers, data collectors and other computer programs. The files can have any combination of point number (alpha or numeric), northing, easting, elevation and description. The following rules apply to all files imported by TPC:
Steps:
Before importing a file, it is important to determine the file’s format.
If you do not know the file format, Choose Preview File. Examine the file format, looking for the pattern or format of the data.
If the format of the file is point label, northing, easting, elevation, description, type P,Y,X,Z,D\ or p,y,x,z,d\ for the Format. The backslash ( \ ) at the end of the data line is for a “line break.” You must enter the correct delimiters (commas, spaces, +, -, or quotation marks). So entering P Y X Z D\ for the format is not the same as entering P,Y,X,Z,D\.
TPC will import the file and put all the imported points into a traverse.
If you specify a format that doesn’t match the format of the imported ASCII file, TPC will still try to read the file. It will do the best job it can with the format you tell it to use. The file will come in with errors though, such as zeroes for coordinates and almost anything for field notes. If the imported data is wrong or unusable, you can specify the correct format, and go through the above steps again.
Once the data is in TPC, you can reconstruct a survey, print the field data, balance coordinates, plot the traverses, inverse points, or whatever else you want to do.
When you are finished, you can export the same coordinate points to any other generic file format, or save all your work as a TPC file.
Most of the time you work with ASCII files, you are working with a file that has already been created. However, you can also transfer ASCII coordinate files to and from data collectors.
When you import geodetic positions, you can turn on the '[X] Store Point in Traverse' and the program will save the geodetic position as raw data as if you had entered it in the Traverse View. Now you can modify the grid parameters and recompute grid coordinates for the points based on their Latitude and Longitude.
If you are importing both coordinates and latitude/longitude in the same file, the program ignores the latitude/longitude and retains the coordinates.
TPC can export generic data files for use with data collectors and other computer programs. The steps for exporting a file are similar to the steps for importing a file, with the exception that you may need to include file delimiters and quotation marks when you specify the format of the export file. The following rules apply to all files exported by TPC:
TPC exports alpha/numeric point labels.
All coordinates are in standard decimal notation (i.e. 12786.3545) in a 12-digit field with 5 decimal places.
Each line in the export file has the same format. TPC does not export header or footer lines.
To create a file that looks like this:
1,12000.3450,55320.3000,1370.0000,SW corner of fndn
2,12050.3500,55320.3000,1370.0050,NW corner of fndn
Specify the format as P,Y,X,Z,D\. The backslash (\) at the end of the format line tells TPC to do a line break so that each point label starts on a new line.
You must specify delimiters such as commas, spaces, (+), (-) and quotation marks where the export file expects to find them.
You can export geodetic positions via ASCII files. Just include the letters T=Latitude and G=Longitude in the Export format.
When you export geodetic positions, the program exports them in the same format it uses to display them as in the following example.
2,0.000,284.880,0.00,,39°30'23.062449"N,150°05'24.514832"W
3,149.996,349.945,0.00,,39°30'24.669415"N,150°05'24.425526"W
3:1,149.997,349.939,0.00,,39°30'24.669401"N,150°05'24.425596"W
Personal, Premium, Professional
Microsoft Excel CSV
Importing Data
EExporting Data
Generic Raw Data Import / Export
Windows CE data collectors
Direct Connection