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Import survey points

Open a CSV or text point file, check the column order in the Import points dialog, fix rows that cannot be read, and sort the points into groups.

Written for CivilCraft 0.3. The same help is inside the app: press F1.

A point file is a text file with one point per line: point number, northing, easting, elevation and description in some order, separated by commas, tabs, semicolons or spaces. CivilCraft reads it in the browser and builds a surface from it at once.

Before you start

  • Know the file's column order if you can (PNEZD and PENZD look the same to a computer).
  • Know its units. CivilCraft does not convert: set Units in the left panel to match the file (see Units, stations and number formats).
  • Coordinates can be large (state plane northings and eastings in the millions are fine).

Import the file

  1. Click Open in the toolbar, or press ⌘OCtrl+O, and choose the file. You can also drag it onto the plan. The Import points dialog opens with the file name, a Columns list set to Detect, a summary line and the first six points.
  2. Read the summary line. It says how many points were read, in which column order, how that order was found, and what separates the columns. The three ways the order is found:
    • "from the header row": the first line names its columns (Point, Northing, Easting, Elevation, Description, or X, Y, Z …). This is the safest.
    • "as chosen": you picked an order in Columns.
    • "guessed from the column count and your point row setting (PNEZD) — check that northing and easting are not swapped": there was no usable header. If your files are usually easting first, set Point rows to P, E, N, Z, D in CivilCraft settings.
  3. Check the preview table. Its columns are always Point, Northing, Easting, Elevation, Description, whatever order the file uses. Northings and eastings of a real site are usually clearly different sizes: if they look swapped, the guess was wrong.
  4. If the order is wrong, choose the right one in Columns (for example PENZD — point, easting, northing, elevation, description). The summary and preview update at once.
  5. Look under the preview for Rows not read. Each line names the file line number, the reason and the start of the row. See Rows that are not read.
  6. Click Import. The points appear on the plan, the view zooms to them and the surface is built. The status bar says, for example, "Imported 276 points from site.csv; surface: 546 triangles."

If the project had no name yet, it takes the file's name.

Check the groups

Every point belongs to a group named by the first word of its description, in capitals: "GRD", "FL 12" and "fl" are groups GRD, FL and FL. Points with no description go in "(no description)".

  1. Look at the table under Points in the left panel: group, number of points and a Surface choice.
  2. Every group starts as Points. Change flowlines, edges of pavement, tops and toes of slope, ridges and similar coded lines to Breakline. Set groups that should not shape the ground (control points, tree tops, utility poles shot at the top) to Left out.
  3. Click a point on the plan (with Select) to see its number, coordinates, elevation, description and group in the right panel.

Rows that are not read

Reason shownWhat it meansWhat to do
"northing or easting is not a number"A coordinate column holds textCheck the column order, or a stray text row in the middle of the file
"elevation is not a number"The elevation column holds textWrong column order, or a description in the elevation column
"no point number"The point column is emptyNumber the point, or choose an order without P (NEZD, NEZ …): points are then numbered 1, 2, 3 …
"point 12 appears twice (the first one is kept)"Two rows share a numberRenumber one of them in the file if both are real shots
"3 columns, expected 5 (PNEZD)"The row is shortA broken line, or the wrong column order

A point with an empty elevation is kept, but it is not used in the surface. The Points facts show how many points have an elevation.

Lines starting with #, ; or // are comments and are skipped. Blank lines are skipped.

Replace or add points

Importing again replaces all the points; it does not add to them. Your alignments, pads, pipes, drawn breaklines and boundary stay. The undo history is cleared, so save the project first if you may want the old points back. To combine two files, join them in a text editor or spreadsheet before importing (watch for repeated point numbers).

Points cannot be moved, edited or deleted inside CivilCraft yet. Fix them in the file and import again.