TLDR: My wish is for Civil 3D to use attributes to affect the properties of COGO points INSTEAD of requiring us to enter all those parameters in the raw description for each point.
Description Keys are currently used to assign various properties automatically to points upon insertion.
Given the surveyor's raw description TREEC 5.2 PINE:
The style is assigned based on the raw description TREEC. A coniferous tree style is assigned, for example.
The scale is assigned based on the 1st parameter 5.2. The point's XY scale is set to 5..2.
Format (Full Description) is assigned by the 2nd parameter PINE.
If this survey point is appropriate for inclusion in a surface, there are several methods for including this point in a SURFACE point group.
What if the surveyor picks up many different tree symbols and needs a different style for each type of tree. They need to define a raw description for each tree. 40 different species of trees means 4o different descriptors. This is not always desired by surveyors as it is inefficient.
Essentially, if can be awkward for the surveyor to enter TREEC 5.2 PINE as a raw description.
What if the surveyor picks up a new item that does not exist in their current feature code library and that point IS NOT appropriate to be included in a surface. Those various methods indicated above fail in tis scenario and that point WILL be included in a surface unless the surveyor communicates this to the Civil 3D tech.
Modern surveyors use attributes to reduce work in the field and to prompt them to enter appropriate values for certain points. For example: a surveyor shoots a tree. They select TREE as their raw description. Since they specified TREE as the descriptor, the data collector will then prompt them to choose from the following attributes:
- Type...they choose from a list of available types.. Oak, Cherry, Pine, etc. This is intended to apply different styles for each type.
- Size...they enter the value...100, 500, 750. This is intended to affect the size of the tree in the DWG.
- Surface...they choose from the list...Yes, or No. This is intended to indicate if the point should be included in a surface definition.
The exported CSV file would look like this:
P,N,E,Z,D,Att1,Val1, Att2, Val2, Att3, Val3...etc.
1,27.90,22.4, 4.7,TREE,TYPE, Cherry, SIZE,5.2,SRF,Yes
Currently, Civil 3D cannot work efficiently with these additional columns in the CSV file. Yes, the UDPs will allow the display of them in label styles, but it would be best if the Description Keys, or some new tool, could be modified or created to allow these attributes to dictate the properties instead of the Description Key parameters.
My wish is for Civil 3D to use these attributes to affect the properties of the points INSTEAD of requiring us to enter all those data in the raw description. It is what my surveyor customers want.
Thanks.
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