ASCII IN (AscIn) Type: Translator
Translates ASCII files into VrOne files.
ASCII file formats are exported by many software packages, including the ASCII Out application. This provides a method to import simple data into VrOne. The ASCII In translator allows the user to specify a variety of input formats, and supports Lines, Splines, Text, and Symbols. Files may be translated into the current open VrOne file, or may be translated in a batch mode into multiple VrOne files.
ASCII In
Loads previously recorded ASCII IN (.asi) parameter file. Records current translation parameters to a ASCII IN (.asi) parameter file. Allows all ASCII input files to be selected. Also allows a VrOne output file to be defined for each input file. Looks for files with an extension of .asc by default, but will attempt to read in any file chosen. The VrOne output filenames will only be used if the "Translate to separate VrOne files" option is on.
Add Files Pressing this button will be display a standard VrOne file selection dialog. All files selected will be added to the list of Input files. A VrOne output filename will be generated based on each input filename. Remove All Pressing this button will remove all files from the Input file table. Change Output Directory Allows the changing on the output directory (folder). By default the output directory is the same as the input file directory Allows editing of general translation parameters.
Translate to separate VrOne files? If this is on, then each ASCII input file will be translated to a separate VrOne file. The Input to Output filename cross-reference is set in the "Define Input Filenames" dialog. Target scale for new VrOne files (1:n) If the "Translate to separate VrOne file?" is on, and a VrOne file does not exist during translation, then this Target scale will be used when creating the new VrOne file. Units for new VrOne files If the "Translate to separate VrOne file?" is on, and a VrOne file does not exist during translation, then these units will be used when creating the new VrOne file. The options are: "US Foot", "Meters", "Intl Foot" Field Delimiter Specifies the delimiter character that separates items on each line of the input file. The options are “Spaces” or “Commas”. Files that are “Space” delimited may have one or more spaces or tabs between the fields.
Following is an example of a “Space” delimited file: 734370.0 4069560.0 620.0 734370.0 4069590.0 620.0 734370.0 4069620.0 620.0 734370.0 4069650.0 620.0 734370.0 4069560.0 620.0 734370.0 4069590.0 620.0 734370.0 4069620.0 620.0 734370.0 4069650.0 620.0
Following is an example of a “Comma” delimited file: 734370.0, 4069560.0, 620.0 734370.0, 4069590.0, 620.0 734370.0, 4069620.0, 620.0 734370.0, 4069650.0, 620.0 734370.0,4069560.0,620.0 734370.0,4069590.0,620.0 734370.0,4069620.0,620.0 734370.0,4069650.0,620.0 Feature Code Surrounding Character Specifies the character that surrounds feature codes. This is only used if a feature code field position is specified. This can only be a single character, such as a quote, or may be left blank. Because Feature Codes may contain spaces, only comma-delimited files fully support Feature Codes.
Following is an example of a line from a “Comma” delimited file containing a feature codes at the last field position with a quote as the surrounding character. 734370.0,4069560.0,620.0,Sym,”Sym 7723” Default line layer Defines the layer that will be used for all lines if a layer field is not in the input file. Default spline layer Defines the layer that will be used for all splined lines if a layer field is not in the input file. Default text layer Defines the layer that will be used for all text if a layer field is not in the input file. Default symbol layer Defines the layer that will be used for all symbols if a layer field is not in the input file. Default symbol graphic pointer Defines the graphic pointer that will be used for all symbols. Default text label Defines the text label that will be used if no text labels are in the input file. Text label location Defines the location of the text label field on lines that define text locations in the input file. The options are “No Text Label”, “End of the record”, “Record following”. If the “No Text Label” option is chosen, then the text will be placed with the default text label. If the “End of the record” option is chosen, the text label will be taken from the last field of the current text record. If the “Record following” option is chosen, the text label will be taken from the next line in the input file (will read the entire line as the text label) Allow layer names in Layer field? If this is on, then any layer names found in the layer name field will be looked in the current layer name table. If a match is found, the entity will be placed in the layer that matches the layer name. If this is off, then all layers must be numeric. This allows the user to define the pen codes for lines vertices, symbols, or text. Each line in the input file must contain a pen code that identifies the type of information it contains. For example, text elements may be defined by the Pen code “Text”. Lines and Splined Lines are created by using different pen codes to indicate when a new line should be started (Pen down), and when it should be ended (Pen Up or Pen end). NOTE: The pen up, pen down, and pen end codes should all be different or AscIn will not translate the lines correctly.
Defines the field positions of each data item in the ascii input file. Each line in the ascii file must contain data that matches the fields positions defined in this dialog box. A 0 field position indicates that the field is not present.
The dialog box shown above defines a very basic ascii file format. In this case, the file only contains the x,y,z and pen code information for each record. A sample line from a comma-delimited file that matches this format would look as follows:
123.45,154.43,12.54,Sym
NOTE: ASCII In will ignore any lines in the ASCII file that contain less fields than specified here. Begins the file translation process. All files that were defined by the “Define input Filenames” option will be imported. Help Starts the browser and displays the current help document. Quit Quits ASCII In and gives an option to save the current parameters if they have been changed.
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