AutoChart Custom Formats - Part 2

In Last Week's Post I covered the basics of AutoChart Custom Formats, so today I'll continue with the subject and discuss specific examples of the various data types and how the Custom Format ini file should be set up to read in external ASCII data sources.

As explained in the previous post, the Custom Format ini file is a Text file that defines which column of the data file holds particular fields. The Header of the ini file defines what delimiter is used within the data file and also if there are any header lines at the beginning of the data that should be skipped. Any numerical fields can also have a unit multiplier or a multiplier value applied when the data is imported.

Custom formats are available for Events, Profile, Route, Soundings, SBP and Track data types.

AutoChart expects certain record data columns to be named in a specific manner in order to correctly ascertain the type of data they contain:

ALL CUSTOM FORMATS

• Easting
• Northing
• Latitude
• Longitude
• Kp

NOTE: X/Y Positional Data should be EITHER Easting/Northing OR Latitude/Longitude. If both formats are specified in the Custom ini file then the data will be plotted based on the Easting/Northing values. Profile type data can be imported by KP value or by XY positional data that is recalculated against the specified Route entity.

EVENTS FORMATS

• Primary
• Secondary
• Comment
• Anomaly

NOTE: The use of numerical formatting in Event Text is limited to specific Field Names that are defined within AutoChart as numerical field values. These Fields are:

• Kp
• Length
• Width
• Height

All other fields are dealt with as strings and the Event Text will be formatted as it appears within the data file.

ROUTE FORMATS

• Description

TRACK FORMATS

• Fix
• Name

SOUNDINGS FORMATS

• Depth

PROFILE FORMATS

Any profile names can be used and these will appear in the list of available data in the Create Profile Command. However, to use the 'Hatch Pipe' functionality, AutoChart expects the following Column Names to be used and to exist in the data file:

• Top of Pipe
• Bottom of Pipe

Additionally, with the Profile Formats an optional line can be added to the ini file header to prevent the profile polyline being drawn between consecutive points when the distance between them exceeds a specified value. the Header line that should be added is

#BreakOnDistance,x

where x is the required break interval in drawing units (i.e. metres/feet). See the Profile ini example below.

SUB-BOTTOM FORMATS

• Depth
• TagName
• Node
• Description (optional)

Note that only 'Tag Name/Node' type data (such as a derivative of the Coda Octopus type format) can be used with a SBP Custom Format ini File.

Node values for a horizon should be 'S' (for start of horizon), 'I' (for intermediate points on the horizon) and 'E' (for End of Horizon). Point values can be denoted by use of an 'S' or 'E' node value, or by any other value (e.g. 'P') outside of a normal horizon definition. Depth values should be relative to the Seabed.

If a 'Description' field is used in the ini file then the values contained by this field will be added to the points and horizon vertices.

Ini Files Examples:

Event ini Example

#AutoChartName,ColumnPosition

#To use tab delimiter you can use a tab character or for the avoidance of doubt when perusing this file "\t"

#Delimeter,","

Primary,3

Secondary,4

Easting,9

Northing,10

Kp,8

Length,14

Height,15

Width,16

Comment,19

EventId,7

Depth,11

Route ini Example

#AutoChartName,ColumnPosition
#Valid AutoChartName values are Easting, Northing, Latitude, Longitude, Kp, Description. Easting and Northing or Latitude and Longitude must be present.
#To use tab delimiter you can use a tab character or for the avoidance of doubt when perusing this file "\t"
#Delimeter,"\t"
#HeaderLines,2
Kp,5,Meter
Easting,6
Northing,7
Description,1

Track ini Example

#AutoChartName,ColumnPosition
#To use tab delimiter you can use a tab character or for the avoidance of doubt when perusing this file "\t"
#Delimeter,","
Latitude,4
Longitude,5
Fix,3
Name,6

Soundings ini Example
#AutoChartName,ColumnPosition
#To use tab delimiter you can use a tab character or for the avoidance of doubt when perusing this file "\t"
#Delimeter,","
Easting,4
Northing,
Depth,10

Profile ini Example
#AutoChartName,ColumnPosition
#To use tab delimiter you can use a tab character or for the avoidance of doubt when perusing this file "\t"
#Delimeter,"\t"
#HeaderLines,1
#BreakOnDistance,10
Kp,3
Top of Pipe,5
Bottom of Pipe,6
Mean Seabed,7

SBP ini Example
#AutoChartName,ColumnPosition
#Valid AutoChartName values are Easting, Northing, Depth, TagName, Node, Description.
#Easting, Northing, Depth, TagName and Node must be present.
#To use tab delimiter you can use a tab character or for the avoidance of doubt when perusing this file "\t"
#Delimeter,"\t"
#HeaderLines,3
TagName,1
Node,2
Easting,3
Northing,4
Depth,5
Description,6

Each Custom Format ini file must be saved in the appropriate Sub-Folder of the AutoChart Format Directory. The path for the Format Directory can be set in the AutoChart Directory Preferences Dialog: