n4ce Graphics Displays and Importing/Exporting Options
The graphics options of n4ce are accessed by selecting the camera Icon. Clearly, before you are able to see detail you must have processed you survey and recorded coordinates. The image you see below was processed from a series of instrument setups, containing a traverse.
The data was coded so that detail appears in accordance to this projects Code Table. Layers are all Active and no CAD Backcloth is present. A Survey Grid has been turned on.
A Query Icon bar provides tools for Point, Line, Distance and Area interrogations. In Point mode this becomes a mini editor allowing changes to Code, Point Number, Coordinates and Point Attributes, like Comma Codes and Dimensions. A Ruler bar gives indication of sizes and a live coordinate window on the right of the Status bar, is updated as the mouse moves around. Standard Zooming options can also be found on an Icon bar.
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Whilst data can be manually typed into any of the spreadsheet displays, it's more likely that an Import option is used with one of the standard or user defined Filter Masks. These include LOG files from all popular Total Stations and GPS receivers.
A separate download program called nLogger is provided for Downloading & Uploading from/to all popular loggers and Total Stations.
The nLogger program can be taken out into the field, without a dongle, for safe downloading. |
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A very useful feature provided with the Survey edition is the conversion of CAD data for Setting Out. Here CAD data is imported in DXF file format and used as a Backcloth to a Coordinate folder.
CAD elements contained in layers of interest are isolated by turning Off layers of extraneous detail. Detail can then be selected either by Elements or by Rectangle. |
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If you are trying to recreate 3D data from a 2D CAD drawing, the points from CAD option also recognises text items and uses the value of the text item to generate both a point and a text.
The XYZ coordinates of items selected will then be added to the Coordinate Grid, as shown opposite. The export option is then used to create a log file in a format compatible with your survey instrument. |
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Limited tools are provided with the Survey edition for creating finished Drawings. It is expected that users will be exporting data into another package for completion. Of course, if the Lite, Professional or Designer editions were available this would not be necessary.
Exports are available in n4ce for generating various file formats in practically any part of the project. Printed files, either in tabular form or graphics is also possible using the standard Windows printer drivers. A PDF driver is particularly useful here. |
Two proprietary data formats predominate within our industry, namely AutoCAD DXF for CAD and Bentley MX GENIO for model (xyz) data. Both are fully supported here with various settings as shown above with DXF exports. |
