compute materials volume report confusing format in excel

[granite07]

I am using C3D 2012 and have 3D model divided into many small workzones as a test of location-based planning with C3D. everything is good but the compute material reports (there are 80 report xml files) when imported to excel has 300+ line items for the 25 items listed in the xml report. The xml reports at this scope are useless and when imported to excel are essentially corrupted.

The 80 xml reports explode into 60,000 line items and this is for a small test project. It looks like the stations are the unique identifier in the xml report so I assume I can filter duplicates out to find the correct quantity summed for the report? There is also columns named 'number' and 'name31', can these help?

What is column 'area33'?

Has anyone found a solution without writing a custom application to clean the redundant entries from the file?

[CivilFF]

You can easily import your data from the XML file to Microsoft Excel.

You can import only the nodes which you want and which are useful for your computations and analyses.

The fast forward solution which illustrates how to do it you can see below:

1. Set the File Tab and choose Options,

2. Next choose the Customize Ribbon and switch on the Developer Tab,

3. From the Developer Tab you need the XML functions called Source and Import,

4. Choose XML Maps and Add a new map from the XML file,

5. Select your XML file and Open it,

6. Find the nodes to import,

7. Drag your XML nodes to the Spreadsheet.

You can also watch a short movie (duration 6 minutes) where these steps are shown and

you will see how similarly the XML data from Earthworks report are imported. http://goo.gl/ZnKxf

[granite07]

yes, the process you describe is what I used, but I had to repeat the process 80x; my question is how can this repetitive process be automated.

[CivilFF]

You can import the data from these XML files at a time in a few simple steps:

1. Import the data as mentioned before,

2. Leave the first column empty before dragging one more additional node for identification and sorting purposes,

3. Drag that one more node e.g. Alignment name,

4. Select all the files which you want to Import using “CTRL + click” or  “SHIFT + click “ and Import them to your spreadsheet,

5. Now you have all your data and you can easily identify, analyze, and sort your data thanks to this additional XML node,

You also don’t have to add any additional node but then you will not be able to identify and control your data.

If you want you can add additional XML node as the last column instead of the first one.

[granite07]

That looks like an improved workflow - but 1)  I still must create the xml files one at a time, 2) rename each before creating the next file, and 3) cannot designate a location for the files other than the %temp% folder.

[CivilFF]

You can save your XML file with your favorite name and save it wherever you want to save by doing the following:

1. In Autodesk Civil 3D choose the Display XML report option,

2. Choose File and select the Save As function,

3. Choose your favorite location, type the name of your file and click Save,

Now you can completely enjoy your well-formed XML data.

[granite07]

Yes, but the xml files must be named and saved one at a time...

So the 80 files requires processing one at a time. Your workflow saves a few steps, adds a select view file step and makes use of the XML to excel integration, but overall it is still a repetitive process. Do you think a macro can automate the process?