In this exercise you will import the file provided directly to the current drawing file. You will not use the Services application to copy it to the user folder beforehand. The file is a user-defined ASCII-format file. As this is not a standardized format, you need to find out first which data (X, Y, Z,...) is displayed in which column of the file. Import the file just to run a test and have the contents of the file displayed.
To import the file and check the format
1 Click Open on a Project-Specific Basis (Default toolbar), make drawing file 31 current and close all the others.
2 Set the reference scale to 1:1000.
3 Click Import, Export Point File (Advanced Draft flyout).
4 Set the following parameters on the context toolbar:
F Type: Coor F (coordinate file) F Ext: ".asc" (free ASCII format) Imp/Ex: Import (import file) Show: View
Set the other parameters as shown.
5 Click Apply to confirm the settings.
In the open dialog box, the file type is set to Point file (*.asc) and the path is still set to the user exchange folder
(...\Nemetschek\Allplan\2014\Usr\Local\I_O), which you used in exercise 5.
Tip: If a point file with free ASCII format does not have the filename extension asc, you have to rename the file before you import it.
Geodesy Unit 4: importing files 109 6 Select the folder with the data you imported in unit 3 (e.g.
C:\data\allgeo), or, if you use this step-by-step guide as a PDF file on CD, select the appropriate drive,
<CD drive letter e.g. E>:\DATA\ALLGEO.
7 Select the offset.asc file and click Open to confirm the dialog box.
The file is imported to the current drawing file.
8 As you have set the Show parameter to View, the contents of the file are displayed.
Tip: You can have the contents of the file also displayed in any ASCII editor (e.g. notepad).
9 The column numbers are displayed in the title line. You can see that
• the point number starts in column 12 and has eight digits.
• the X value (in country coordinates; it is the Y value in Allplan 2014) begins in column 20 and has seven leading digits and three decimal places.
• the Y value (in country coordinates; it is the X value in Allplan 2014) begins in column 32 and has seven leading digits and three decimal places.
• the Z value begins in column 50 and has one leading digit and three decimal places (in this example, the Z value of all points is set to 0).
• the code assignment begins in column 61 (in this example, the code of all points is set to 0).
You will use this information to set this format on the Terrain page in the Options at a later stage.
10 Close the dialog box and click Undo (Default toolbar).
The imported points are deleted.
You can define the format of the file to be imported in the Import/
export using point file area on the Terrain page of the Options In detail, you can specify the columns where the point number and the X, Y and Z coordinates start and set the number of leading digits and decimal places for the coordinates.
As in the national coordinate system, the X axis points up and the Y axis to the right (in contrast to the mathematical coordinate system which is used in Allplan 2014), you need to interchange the X and Y axes.
To define the format of the file to be imported
1 Click Options (Default toolbar).
The Terrain page is still open. If it isn’t, select it now.
2 In the Import/export using point file area, click the Configure button to the right of Point coordinates.
Geodesy Unit 4: importing files 111 3 Another dialog box opens in which you can define the format of
the point file. Enter the values as shown below:
Bear in mind that the column numbers for the X and Y coordinates are interchanged.
4 Click OK to confirm the settings and to close the Options dialog box.
To set an offset
1 On the Default toolbar, click New Project, Open Project, click the project name with the right mouse button and, on the shortcut menu, select Properties….
2 In the Settings area, select the Offset coordinates check box and define the offset as shown below.
It is best to enter the same offset values for all the points. By doing so, all the points are imported to the same quadrant.
As the X and Y axes are interchanged, set the offset in X direction to 1510000.000 and in Y direction to 1300000.000.
3 Click OK to confirm the Project Settings dialog box and the New Project, Open Project dialog box.
Tip: When data is imported, the offset values are subtracted; when data is exported, they are added.
When you measure the coordinates of a point, the offset values are also taken into account.
Geodesy Unit 4: importing files 113
To import the file
1 To import the point file, click Import, Export Point File (Repeat menu).
2 Set the parameters as shown:
3 Click Apply to confirm the settings.
4 Double-click the offset.asc file with the left mouse button in the open dialog box.
The file is imported to the current drawing file.
5 Press ESC to quit the Import, Export Point File tool.
6 In the lower border of the viewport, click Zoom All to display all the points.
Your drawing should now look like this:
7 To check whether the coordinates have been imported correctly, move the crosshairs to the points. The coordinates are displayed on the Coordinate Tracking toolbar.
It is a good idea to clear the Offset coordinates check box in the Project Settings. As a result, the X coordinates range between approximately 1,000 and 2,900 and the Y coordinates between approximately 550 and 2,400.
Make sure that you select the Offset coordinates check box again before you export the data.
Note: Take advantage of the Optimize working with large
coordinates option in the General area on the Desktop environment page in the Options. This option produces more detailed results when you work with elements that are far from the global point (origin).
Tip: You can activate the Coordinate Tracking toolbar on the View menu under Toolbars.
Geodesy Appendix 115
Appendix
This appendix includes an example showing you how to create a bridge construction based on a road you have already designed.
You will use the Bridge and Civil Engineering
Component tool in the 3D Modeling module to
match the existing route and define the cross-sections at
the relevant station points. Allplan 2014 will then create
a 3D object from this data.
Bridge construction
A linear path and at least one cross-section must exist before you can create a 3D object.
You can create or import this path, which is defined by individual stationing points, using the Bridge and Civil Engineering
Component tool.
The required cross-sections can also be defined in this tool or you can retrieve them from symbol catalogs. All cross-sections must have the same number of points. You do not need to enter a cross-section for each stationing point. Allplan automatically uses the existing stationing to determine the missing cross-sections by interpolation.
Bridge cross-section
Geodesy Appendix 117