The Wish Software Blog

New Features in AutoChart 2010.00.09

2011-11-23T14:19:00.001Z

AutoChart Version 2010.00.09 was released at the beginning of November. Unfortunately, due to other commitments, I've not been able to write a blog post about some of the major changes until now. But, with the adage of "Better Late than Never", here's a quick roundup of the two major changes introduced in this version.

Paper Space Charts option

Use of Paper units and Plot Scale for Text Heights/Tic Lengths/Line widths, etc.

Firstly, AutoChart has been modified so that it can now create and fully work with 'Paper Space' charts - i.e. the Model Tab just contains the real-world plan data (as Entities, Blocks or Xrefs) and each Chart Drawing (with Profile/Cross Profile/Events panels) is created on a Layout Tab. The option to continue working in the usual AutoChart manner with Charts created in the Model space still remains and for most operations, the procedures involved are identical whether you are working with model space charts or paper space charts - the only real difference comes in the Create Charts dialog and consequently how the Chart Base and Template drawings are set up.

Secondly, as part of this change to allow Paper Space charts within AutoChart, the entries for Text Heights/Tic Lengths etc. in the various dialogs have been changed so that the User should enter the required Height/Length at the appropriate printed size rather than in 'real' units at the required scale as per the previous AutoChart procedure. A plot scale (either entered in the 'Current Drawing' dialog or saved to the Charts as part of the Create Charts command) is then used to scale these 'Paper height' values to the correct 'real-world' size for the specified chart scale.

For Paper space charts, the Create Charts command now contains an option to either create Model Space charts (as in the normal AutoChart process) or Paper Space charts. The Number of Layouts per drawing file can be specified, so multiple Charts can be created (as Layout Tabs) within a single drawing.

When creating Paper space charts, the Template drawing should be drawn as a Layout Tab at the required paper size. The Base Drawing should be drawn in 'Paper units' in the model Tab of the Base Dwg File. The Base drawing can then be manually Xreffed into this Template Layout Tab (and scaled to fit if necessary) and the 'Use Base Drawing Xref' option disabled, or otherwise specified as a separate drawing (drawn at the appropriate Paper size in the Model tab) in the Base Dwg Xref File in which case it is xreffed into each Chart Layout as part of the Create Charts Process.

Note that the Plan Panel Origins are set to Paper Space coordinates (i.e. the position of the origin should relate to the plotted size of the chart). The Panel entities in the Panel drawing should be created in 'Real-world' units in the Create Panels command (i.e. the appropriate size of the Plan box at the required Chart scale). The value entered for the Chart Scale in the Create Charts Dialog will then be used to scale the panels down to the appropriate Layout size.

Once the charts have been created, the other relevant Chart Series commands (such as Create Grids, Create Profile, Create Cross Profiles, Create Events, etc.) take the chart type into account and automatically add the data to the relevant model or paper space layout. All Plan data is added to the Model Space and the display within the Chart Plan Panels is controlled using a Viewport Freeze of the appropriate layer names for each plan panel. Note that the use of annotative Text, Blocks and Hatches with the 'Match Orientation to Layout' option enabled in an Xref Drawing could be used instead of the normal Cut Data and Insert/Xref Cut Data procedure to provide 'horizontally reading' entities within the charts.

The longitudinal profile, cross profiles and events panels are created directly on each Chart Layout tab.

All Text Height/Tic lengths, etc. in the AutoChart Dialogs should now be entered as the plotted paper size rather than the 'scaled real-world size' as was previously the standard in AutoChart. i.e. Previously, for a 1:10000 chart, if the Text Height was required to be a plotted size of 2.5mm, the User would have to set the Text Height in the Dialogs as 25 units. With this latest modification however, the Text Height would be entered as 2.5mm and the Plot Scale set to 1:10000.

For all 'Chart Series' commands, the Plot Scale is read from the Chart Scale value set during the Create Charts Process so the Dialog entry is grayed out.

If you run Chart Series commands on Chart Drawings that were created in a previous release of AutoChart (and so do not have the Chart Scale Information embedded within them), the command will prompt you to enter the appropriate Chart Scale for the Chart Series:

This will then save the entered Chart Scale value to the drawings so that subsequent commands can read the value directly from the charts.

When you load an existing (pre AutoChart v2010.00.09) project that hasn't had the Plot Scale set within it (i.e. the Text Heights are real 'scaled' units), AutoChart will prompt you to enter the required Plot Scale:

All Text heights within the acp file will then be updated to the appropriate Paper space height and the Plot Scale set within the appropriate dialogs. A copy of the original acp file will be made in the same location with a ".old" extension.

An Event Box ini file created with a previous version will similarly be automatically updated to use plotted paper heights for the Text based on an entered Plot Scale value. When you load an Event Box ini file using the Create Event Box ini command or through the Create Event Box - Current Drawing or Chart Series commands, AutoChart will check to see if it has been created or modified with the latest version and if not the User will be prompted to specify the appropriate Plot Scale:

The Text Heights will then be scaled to the appropriate plotted Paper Units. Note that the Line Width setting for Line Events has also been changed to use a percentage value rather than real units. All Line Events Line widths will be set to 0 and should therefore either be manually edited to the required percentage of the Event Strip Height in the Create Event Box ini command or the ini file should be used in the Create Event Box (Chart Series or Current Drawing) command which will update the Text Heights, Strip Width values (if used) and the Line Event Linewidths, based on the entered Plot Scale and the specified extents of the Events panel.

I'll finish the roundup of the other new features in AutoChart 2010.00.09 next time, but if you have any questions on any of the above changes, please let us know.

AutoChart version 2010.00.09 is now available for download

2011-11-04T17:32:00.000Z

We are pleased to announce that the latest AutoChart version 2010.00.09 is available for download from the Wish Software Support Page:

http://www.wishsoftware.com/AutoChartSupport.aspx

Access to the download page requires a User Name and Password, so please contact your company's AutoChart Administrator in the first instance to obtain the required login information.

Version 2010.00.09 contains a number of modifications, new commands and bug fixes with the major changes being the new option to create and work with Paper Space charts (rather than the traditional AutoChart method of creating a single Model Space drawing for each chart) and a move to plotted paper units for all Text Heights, Tic Lengths etc. making it easier to re-use a project acp file for different scale charts. Please be sure to see the New Features section of the Help File for a full explanation of the changes.

Full Details of the changes in the latest AutoChart version can be found in the table below:

Type	ID	Description	Command
FR	129	Line Width on Event Box to use a percentage rather than absolute value	Create Event Box ini
BG	630	Import Track crashes when using a E/N/Fix format file	Import Track
BG	735	Enable Charts - Chart Series incorrectly reports "Chart Enabled maximum of 0 reached"	Enable Charts
BG	736	Depth Axes placed on wrong side of (split) box when Xref Profile used on descending Kp Charts	Xref Profile
BG	737	Draw Average Velocity Trendline command does not run from the menu	Draw Average Velocity Trendline
FR	738	Changes to Label Point and Label Route Points commands	Label Point
BG	739	Create Route Coordinate table crashes with Kingfisher Data	Create Route Coordinate Table
BG	740	Cannot add a "+" sign as Event text in the Create Event Box ini Dialog	Create Event Box ini
FR	741	New Command Create MPolygons	Create MPolygons
FR	743	Speed up operation of Add SBP Data command	Add SBP Data
FR	744	Add ability to create multiple sets of Profile/XProfile/Events Blocks/Xrefs for different data/settings	AutoChart
FR	746	Add Object Data to Track Fix Symbols	Import Track
BG	747	Possible incorrect Kp calculation where route polyline contains very short arc segments	Create Profile
FR	748	Allow separate vertical and lateral scales in Create Cross Profiles	Create Cross Profiles
FR	749	Add ability to create and work with Paper Space Charts	AutoChart
FR	750	Add TLGH Coda Track and Coda Track Fix Formats	Import Track
FR	751	Allow Point on Line records to be included as rows in Engineering Table	Create Route Coordinate Table
BG	753	Create Profile tags all Profile polylines as 'Secondary' when Profile is split due to Depth	Create Profile
FR	754	Add ability to overlay further cross profile info (e.g. Top of Pipe) to existing plotted cross profiles	Overlay Cross Profiles
BG	755	Profile polylines are created with linetype generation disabled when PLINETYPE variable set to 0	Create Profile
BG	756	Profile Panel not positioned correctly with split Profile Based alignment sub-panels	Create Profile
FR	757	Add Subsea7 Route Table Format	Create Route Coordinate Table
FR	758	Change text height settings to use Paper units and Plot Scale rather than real (scaled) units	AutoChart
FR	760	New Command - Add Kp Data to Block	Add Kp Data to Block
FR	765	Add Surfer BLN format to Add SBP Data to draw Sub-bottom areas rather than horizons	Add SBP Data

As always, I'll be discussing some of the recent changes, including the options for Paper Space charts, in a forthcoming post on this blog or please contact us if you require any further information on any of the new features.

Coordinate Systems in AutoCAD MAP 2012

2011-08-19T17:10:00.000+01:00

AutoCAD MAP 2012 sees a major change from previous versions in the way Coordinate Systems are defined. In terms of AutoChart, these changes have no effect in working with pre-existing definitions, you still choose the Projection CS and the Geographic CS in the same way as always, however, if you need to define a new coordinate system in MAP, the process can now seem quite unfamiliar.

In this Blog post, I hope to give a brief overview of what’s involved in working with the new Coordinate Systems dialogs to create a UTM Zone 47N Projection based on the ‘Batavia’ datum.

Spheroid	Bessel 1841
Datum	Batavia
Semi-major axis (a)	6 377 397.155 m
Semi-minor axis (b)	6 356 078.963 m
Inverse flattening (1/f)	299.1528128
Projection Parameters
Projection	Universal Transverse Mercator (UTM)
Zone	47 North
Latitude of Origin	00° 00’ 00” N (Equator)
Central Meridian	99° 00’ 00” E
Scale Factor at Origin	0.9996
False Easting at Origin	500 000m
False Northing at Origin	0 m
Unit of Measurement	International Metres
Datum Transformation From WGS84 to Local Datum
DX	plus (+) 377.00 m
DY	minus (-) 681.00m
DZ	plus (+) 50.00m
Example Transformation
WGS-84	Batavia
Lat : 5° 17’ 58.94133” N	Lat : 5° 18’ 02.34112” N
Long : 97° 19’ 46.85008” E	Long : 97° 19’ 37.52676” E
Easting : 314 898.576 m	Easting : 314 633.300 m
Northing : 586 042.752 m	Northing : 586 091.720 m

When faced with working with an unfamiliar coordinate system, we have to start by confirming whether the coordinate system already exists within the AutoCAD MAP definitions.

The easiest way to do this is to start the command called Library (MapCSLibrary)

Now type in the name of the Datum in the search (e.g. “Batavia”) and see which Projections are available which use this datum name:

For a start we see there is no UTM 47N available but there is a datum (Batavia_1) and a datum transformation (Autodesk now calls these "geodetic transformations") (Batavia_1_to_WGS84) that may be useful. If we click on these and select view we can check the values of the datum and the transformation.

Datum:

Transformation (Analytical Formula Transformation Page)

This shows us that the Ellipsoid used within the Datum definition is correct and the transformation parameters match the requirements.

Now we have to make a coordinate system using this Datum. You can leave this command and start the Create Coordinate system command but actually it is probably easier to choose one of the existing UTM coordinate systems and use Duplicate.

Once the new coordinate system has now been created we must change the values, so use the Edit button in the form and change the Code, Description and values on each page to the correct values.

Once all of the various parameters have been set up, choose Save.

Now you just need to check the definition woks correctly by using the AutoChart commands.

Start the point command – type in the Batavia E/N. Change the point type and zoom extents.

Start the AutoChart|Inquiry|Point Id|Single command

Snap to the node of the point and the LL84 Lat/Longs will be displayed and can be checked against the supplied values.

If a suitable Datum definition doesn't already exist, a new Datum can be created in a similar way to creating a Projection. Once the Datum has been defined, a Geodetic Transformation can then be created to specify the Datum Shift parameters to or from WGS84.

AutoChart version 2010.00.08 is now available for download

2011-03-31T17:04:00.000+01:00

We are pleased to announce that the latest AutoChart version 2010.00.08 is available for download from the Wish Software Support Page:

http://www.wishsoftware.com/AutoChartSupport.aspx

Access to the download page requires a User Name and Password, so please contact your company's AutoChart Administrator in the first instance to obtain the required login information.

Version 2010.00.08 corrects a bug introduced in the previous version that meant that the new Save/Load/New project functionality could sometimes not work as intended. If you have previously downloaded and installed the recent 2010.00.07 version of AutoChart, please upgrade to this new release.

Full Details of the changes in the latest AutoChart version can be found in the table below:

Type	ID	Description	Command
BG	525	Create Panels Crashes when Route is on Locked Layer	Create Panels
FR	732	New command. Draw Average Velocity Trendline	Draw Average Velocity Trendline
FR	733	New command. Import Velocity Table	Import Velocity Table
BG	734	New/Load Project incorrectly triggering a Save Project prompt when nothing has changed	AutoChart

New Features in AutoChart 2010.00.07

2011-03-30T14:07:00.000+01:00

We've just released the 2010.00.07 version of AutoChart so in today's Blog post I'm going to do my usual round-up covering some of the modifications and new features in this release.

First and foremost, with the recent AutoCAD 2012 release, the new AutoChart installation has been made 2012 compatible. If you are planning to use AutoCAD 2012, then you must use the 2010.00.07 or above version of AutoChart, however, this version is also compatible with all AutoCAD releases back to AutoCAD 2007.

A number of new commands have been added (or in some cases moved to the menu system from their previous command line only version).

A New Project command has been added that will clear all loaded AutoChart Dialog states to their default empty state. AutoChart has also been modified to prompt the user to Save an existing project if it has been edited before exiting AutoCAD, loading a different Project file or starting a New Project. An option has also been added to the AutoChart Directory Preferences menu that allows the last used Project file to be automatically loaded when AutoCAD is initially started up.

The Concatenate VisualWorks Files command (found in the Utilities menu) will join all of the Events.csv, Track.csv or XP.csv files, found under a VisualWorks Report Directory Structure, into a single file. This can be useful for QCing the charted data whne you need to find a specific data record when it is easier to search through a single file rather than trying to locate the correct individual data file within the multiple DATA_ sub-folders. The command prompts for the location of the VisualWorks Project folder, the filename search string (e.g. Events.csv, Track.csv or XP.csv) and the filename for the resultant concatenated file. It will then join all files matching the filename string that are located in the DATA_ sub-folders under the VisualWorks Project folder and save the resultant output file in this Project Folder.

Recreate Hatch Boundaries can be used to re-generate the boundary polyline from the selected Hatch entity.

Insert/Xref Cut Data has been modified to allow a Subset of Cut Data drawings to be optionally used, rather than inserting every drawing within the selected Cut Data Directory. When the Cut Data Directory is selected via the Dialog Button, a list of the drawings contained within this folder is displayed. If the 'Select All Files' option is unchecked, the User can then highlight only the Cut data drawings that are required to be added. If the 'Select All Files' option is ticked then every Cut Data drawing will be added.

Label Route Points has changed to Include the Kp value and the Point ID (Description) has been added to the Label Route Points Dialog. If The Kp option is used then the 1st attribute within the block definition will be used to display the Kp value of the Route vertex. The Description value will be added to the last attribute of the Block Symbol. Note that the Description relies on the Route being originally imported from data with a Description Field value.

i.e. if the Dialog is set up to Label Kp, Description, Grid Coordinates and Geographic coordinates then the Block symbol must contain 6 attributes in the order:

1st Attribute: Kp
2nd Attribute: Easting
3rd Attribute: Northing
4th Attribute: Latitude
5th Attribute: Longitude
6th Attribute: Description

Note that the attribute order depends on the order they are defined (made) within the Block Symbol rather than their physical location within the symbol.

If fewer options are used then the attribute order within the block symbol should be adjusted accordingly.

The command also now has an option to use the Curve Data of a Design Route to label the bends in the Route. The option expects the Block Symbol used to have 20 attributes defined in the following order:

Curve Number
Tangent Point 1 ID
Tangent Point 1 Kp
Tangent Point 1 Easting
Tangent Point 1 Northing
Tangent Point 1 Latitude
Tangent Point 1 Longitude
Tangent Point 2 ID
Tangent Point 2 Kp
Tangent Point 2 Easting
Tangent Point 2 Northing
Tangent Point 2 Latitude
Tangent Point 2 Longitude
Intersection Point ID
Intersection Point Easting
Intersection Point Northing
Curve Radius
Curve Tangent
Curve Delta Angle
Curve Length

The relevant Information will be extracted from the curve tangent points and the remaining attribute values calculated from the properties of the curve to produce an output as per the example below:

Import Track now has an option to add a Text Prefix and/or Suffix to the Line name annotation. This will only be added to the Line Name Text Label. The AutoChart Info and AutoCAD Object Data that is added to the track data will retain the original track line name only.

Import Soundings now has an option to draw the sounding Blocks/Text at a specified rotation angle. If the Remove Sounding Overwrite option is used, this will take the angle of each sounding entity into account when calculating which soundings to use or remove.

The full list of Changes in version 2010.00.07 can be found within the AutoChart Help File, on the Wish Software Support website or in this Blog Post. If you require any further information on any of the changes, then please contact us at Support@WishSoftware.com

AutoChart version 2010.00.07 is now available for download

2011-03-29T09:40:00.000+01:00

We are pleased to announce that the latest AutoChart version 2010.00.07 is available for download from the Wish Software Support Page:

http://www.wishsoftware.com/AutoChartSupport.aspx

Access to the download page requires a User Name and Password, so please contact your company's AutoChart Administrator in the first instance to obtain the required login information.

Version 2010.00.07 contains a number of modifications, new commands and bug fixes as well as adding compatibility with the newly released AutoCAD 2012.

Details of the changes in the latest AutoChart version can be found in the table below:

Type	ID	Description	Command
FR	171	Prompt User to Save AutoChart Project if it has changed when exiting AutoCAD or loading a new project	Save Project
FR	275	Add functionality to use values in data file (VisualWorks XP.csv and TPDS Ver.3 only) for pipe diameter	Create Cross Profiles
FR	338	New Command - New Project to reset all AutoChart Dialogs to empty	New Project
FR	493	Add option to allow Point Description and KP attributes to be used in Label Route Points	Label Route Points
FR	709	Add UKOOA P1/90 file format to Import Track command	Import Track
BG	710	AutoCAD crashes when exporting a Route with Geodetic KPs and Intermediate Points turned on	Export Route
FR	713	Add Fledermaus plf format to Import Route	Import Route
FR	714	Add Fugro Starfix sdf file format to Create Profile	Create Profile
FR	715	Add option to use Curve Data in Label Route Points	Label Route Points
FR	716	Add option to use a Prefix/Suffix in the Track Line Name annotation	Import Track
BG	717	Dynamic Blocks lose their dynamic property when imported with a scale that does not equal 1	Import Block Data
FR	718	Add option to set a Block/Text rotation in Import Soundings	Import Soundings
FR	719	Add Quinsy QPS Format to Export Route	Export Route
BG	720	VisualWorks XP.csv Cross Profiles incorrectly flipped at an anti-clockwise Route curve	Create Cross Profiles
FR	721	Add option to select a Subset of Cut drawings in Cut Data Directory to be Inserted/Xreffed	Insert/Xref Cut Data
BG	722	Hatch Above/Below Profile not working with 5pt Profile file format	Create Profile
BG	723	Profile Hatches not extending to increased boundary when Xref Profile command is used in AutoCAD 2011	Xref Profile
FR	724	Add option to auto-load last used project acp file on AutoCAD startup	Directory Preferences
FR	725	Compatibility with AutoCAD 2012	AutoChart
FR	726	New Command - Create Velocity Profile	Create Velocity Profile
FR	727	New Command - Export Velocity Profile Table	Export Velocity Profile
FR	728	New Command - Circle Cutter	Circle Cutter
FR	729	New Command - Concatenate VisualWorks Files	Concatenate VW Files
FR	730	New Command - Remove Profile Dictionary	Remove Profile Dictionary
FR	731	New Command - Re-create Hatch Boundary	Re-create Hatch Boundary

As always, I'll be discussing some of the recent changes in a forthcoming post on this blog or please contact us if you require any further information on any of the new features.

Importing contours from a SHP File

2011-01-19T13:45:00.000Z

I've previously covered using the MAP Query command to transform a drawing between coordinate systems however the same Query command can also be used to set the elevation properties of a set of contours that have been imported from a SHP file.

The process involves importing the SHP file data with the contour elevations being saved to MAP Object data and then running a MAP Query to Alter Properties in order to set the polyline elevations to the appropriate value stored in the object data field.

The complete process is shown in the video below:

For a full description of the steps, please read on...

Firstly, use Map Import to bring in the SHP file to a new drawing. After browsing to the required SHP file, in the Import Dialog, set the Object Data to create by clicking in the Data column and then clicking the … button.

In the Resultant Dialog, Change the option to Create object data and then press the Select Fields button.

The ELEVATION Input and Target fields should be ticked.

Click OK in each of the Dialogs to return to the main Import Dialog, and then click OK in this to bring in the contours to the drawing. These should now be polylines with the elevation as object data. Now you need to Use the Map Query function to set each polyline’s elevation to its object data. You need to save the drawing with the imported contours, close it and create a new blank drawing. Use MAP->Query->Define Query (or adequery at the command line) to start the Map Query Dialog.

Under Query Type, press the location button and set the boundary type to ALL.

Back in the main Define Query Dialog set the Query Mode to Draw.

In the Options Side of the Dialog, click the Drawings button then Attach and attach the Imported SHP file contours drawing created earlier (You may need to create a Drive Alias in the Dialog used to browse to and select the required dwg file if you can’t see the required Drive letter).

Click OK to go back to the Define Query Dialog, and this time on the options side click the Alter Properties button.

In the Set Properties Alterations Dialog, first select Elevation as the Property and then click the Expression button.

In the Property Alteration Expression Dialog, expand the Object Data until you see the elevation object data field and highlight this.

Click OK to go back to the Property Alterations Dialog and then Click Add to place the Elevation Alteration into the List.

Click OK to return to the Define Query Dialog and then press Execute Query to create a new set of contour polylines with the elevation taken from the Object Data of the originals.

To remove the Query link to the original imported SHP drawing file, use MAP->Drawings->Define/Modify Drawing Set and detach the Drawing File.

This will then treats the new polyline entities as newly created and you can Save this new drawing and use it as required.

AutoChart Custom Formats - Part 2

2010-12-07T11:59:00.000Z

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:

Custom Format Imports in AutoChart

2010-12-01T16:05:00.000Z

AutoChart contains a variety of built in formats for importing different data types, but often you may be faced with a data file that doesn't match anything available (particularly with Events data files). You're then faced with either reformatting the data to a recognised format or you can turn to Custom Formats and design your own import type.

Custom formats can be used to import most ASCII file types and optionally can be set up to deal with different delimiters, headers and units.

In the next couple of Blog posts, I'll cover the use of Custom Format Files in AutoChart, starting with the general principles and moving on to the specific file types in the next post.

A Custom Format file is essentially a user defined file containing information on what data type is held in which column in a data file. Custom Format files should have a '.ini' file extension and be located in the appropriate sub-folder (for the import type) within the AutoChart Formats Directory (by default this directory is \AutoChart\Formats although the path can be set within Directory Preferences.
Custom Formats can be used for the following Import types (and the sub-folders must be named as shown below):

Events
Profile
Route
Soundings
SubBottom
Track

Any Custom Format ini files that exist within these sub-folders will then appear within the File Type Drop Down List in the appropriate Command Dialog. Note that Events Custom Format ini files can also be used in the Import Block command.

The delimiter used within a file can be set within the Custom ini file header #Delimeter variable as shown in the examples below. If no delimiter option is specified then AutoChart assumes that the file is comma delimited. Additionally, header lines in the data file can be ignored by specifying the number of lines at the beginning of the file to be skipped in the #HeaderLines variable:

#AutoChartName,ColumnPosition
#To use tab delimiter you can use a tab character or for the avoidance of doubt when perusing this file "\t"
#Delimeter,","
#HeaderLines,3

The above example would therefore import the data as comma delimited and would skip the first three lines of the input file before starting to read the data from the fourth line. If the #HeaderLines option is omitted from the ini file then the import function will start reading from the first line in the data file.

Within the rest of the Custom Format ini file, the Field name and its column position in the data file are defined in the format: Field Name, Column Position

i.e.

Easting,4

Northing,5

etc.

The units of each field or a unit multiplier can optionally also be specified after the column position. When the data is imported, if the field unit is specified then AutoChart compares the specified unit with that of the Coordinate System and automatically converts the input unit to the correct unit for the coordinate system. If a multiplier value is specified then AutoChart will always multiply the data from that field by the multiplier.

i.e.

Easting,9,Meter

Kp,1,0.001

If no units or multiplier is specified then the values in the file will be imported directly. Similarly, if the field values are set to the same units as those used by the coordinate system, no unit multiplication will be performed. Note though that as AutoChart expects Kp values to be in Km, setting the unit of the Kp field to 'Meter' will mean that the Kp values in the data file will be divided by 1000 (conversion from meters to Km) when a meter coordinate system is used.

e.g. If the Easting and Northing fields are set to have Unit value of USFoot and the data is imported into a dwg that has a coordinate system with units of US Survey Feet, then the E/N values will be imported as they appear in the file. However, if the data is imported into a Meter coordinate system, the E/N values will be multiplied by (12/39.37).

IntFoot
Meter
USKiloFoot
IntKiloFoot
USMile
IntMile
Kilometer

In the next Blog post, I'll continue discussing Custom Formats and cover each of the Import types and the options available with them.

AutoChart version 2010.00.06 is now available for download

2010-11-01T10:30:00.000Z

We are pleased to announce that the latest AutoChart version 2010.00.06 is available for download from the Wish Software Support Page:

http://www.wishsoftware.com/AutoChartSupport.aspx

Access to the download page requires a User Name and Password, so please contact your company's AutoChart Administrator in the first instance to obtain the required login information.

Version 2010.00.06 contains a few bug fixes and modifications, details of which can be found in the table below:

Type	ID	Description	Command
BG	660	Create Charts crashes (Bad DXF Group 62) if Active colour in Chart Template dwg is set to a colour name	Create Charts
BG	702	Axis xclip generated by Xref Profile causes TTF font text to be displayed bolder than they should	Xref Profile
FR	703	Add Lat/Long output format options to Calculate E/N file (and Calculate KP file) commands	Calculate E/N file
FR	704	Add option to use increased colour palette in Import Soundings	Import Soundings
FR	705	Add option to use Line Name as Layer in Import Track	Import Track
FR	706	Add option to choose to only label one end of the Track Line in Import Track	Import Track
BG	707	Create Cross Profile command crashes with a numberp nil error	Create Cross Profile
BG	708	AutoChart commands give a Dongle Error 4 when a Software License is in use	AutoChart

I'll be discussing some of the recent changes in a forthcoming post on this blog or please contact us if you require any further information on any of the new features.

Using AutoChart to make Pipesheets

2010-10-21T10:42:00.000+01:00

The 2010.00.04 version of AutoChart introduced a new Create Pipesheets command that can be used to make a single or multiple 'Events only' pipesheet chart along an entire route or over a specified Kp range.

The command uses a Base template drawing to provide the chart background and allows up to six events panels on each chart. the format of the displayed data within these events panels is controlled by an Event Box ini file in the normal Create Events manner, with the data being read from an events ASCII file.

The events data format would normally be set up in a Custom Format ini file although the usual built in AutoChart formats can also be used. Data can be from a single file, a directory of files or from VisualWorks Events.csv files held in a VisualWorks Report Directory Structure.

The Event ini file is created in the same manner as for the normal Create Events Panel command with Line and Point Events for all of the Primary/Secondary codes that are required to be shown on the pipesheet. As detailed in an earlier blog post, Block Symbols can be used to represent event codes if required.

The drawing file containing the required Route entity should be selected and the appropriate Route ID chosen if this drawing contains multiple routes. This enables event KPs to be recalculated against the Route entity if required and also allows the Chart Kp limits to be annotated.

The Template drawing should be drawn in the same manner as the normal AutoChart Create Charts Template (i.e. in 'real-world' units at the appropriate scale). The template can contain the usual AutoChart codes for Kp limits, chart number, etc. and these will be automatically calculated and filled in when the Charts are created. There is no option to specify a separate Base Drawing. Instead this should already be xreffed (by the User) into the Template drawing before running the Create Pipesheets command. The Base Xref should contain all of the entities that will remain the same for every chart in the series (i.e. the Chart frames/Titles/Legend etc.) whereas the Template drawing itself should contain the entities that will alter from chart to chart (i.e. the Chart number/reference, the Kp Limits, etc.). The Chart Directory is set to the required folder location for the pipesheet drawing files to be created.

Panels are automatically created along the entire route or optionally over a specified Kp range. The Panel Length and Height should be entered in drawing units and the required overlap between panels can also be set (or enter 0 to have no panel overlap). A First Panel offset can be entered to allow an initial overlap within the first pipesheet panel.

The Kp Axis should be set up with the Line/Major Tic/Minor Tic/Text intervals as required along with the Kp calculation method. If the Pipesheet template contains the codes SSS.SSS and EEE.EEE then the Kp limits for each chart can automatically be calculated and filled in and the required format of the Kp annotation can be selected.

The required number of Events panels within each chart should be selected (up to six panels can be added) and the Bottom Left Hand Corner coordinates for each of these panels should be picked.

When run, the command will automatically create all of the pipesheets for the length of the Route (or for the specified Start and/or End Kp/MP values) and add the Events data to each panel.

If you have any questions or require any further information about using this command, then please contact Wish Software Support.

AutoChart version 2010.00.05 is now available for download

2010-10-19T12:10:00.000+01:00

We are pleased to announce that the latest AutoChart version 2010.00.05 is available for download from the Wish Software Support Page:

http://www.wishsoftware.com/AutoChartSupport.aspx

Access to the download page requires a User Name and Password, so please contact your company's AutoChart Administrator in the first instance to obtain the required login information.

Version 2010.00.05 contains a couple of bug fixes, including fixing a problem in the 2010.00.04 version that would cause the Create Profile command to crash.

The list of changes is detailed in the table below:

Type	ID	Description	Command
BG	697	Create Profile Crashes with a numberp nil error	Create Profile
BG	698	Create Pipesheets ignores the 1st Pipesheet Number setting from the Dialog	Create Pipesheets
FR	701	Added "BRSO" variable to use (Sears) Foot coordinate system (Borneo) with Km Route distances	AutoChart

If you have already downloaded and installed the 2010.00.04 version of AutoChart, please update to the 2010.00.05 installation.

Using Block Symbols in the Events Panel

2010-10-11T15:30:00.002+01:00

Last week we released the latest 2010.00.04 version of AutoChart. The major changes in this release are concerned with modifications to the Events functionality so that it is now possible to use Block Symbols within the events strips and to allow the creation of multi-panel PipeSheet events charts along a Route. In today's Blog post, I’ll start by covering the use of Block Symbols in Events panels.

Previous versions of AutoChart restricted the display of Point events to a simple tic and text marker. The latest version now allows the user to define and use Block symbols for particular Event Codes and also to use ‘Arrow’ Blocks to place arrowheads at each end of Line Events. The control of these options is set up by manually editing the Event Box ini file in a Text Editor.

The Blocks are defined in two parts - a Blocks section containing Block Codes which hold the path to the block drawing file and the required Block Scale. The Event Codes definition record then adds the required Block Code for the particular Primary/Secondary Event Code as well as the Block Insert Percentage:

A Block Code of ARROW (note this is Case Sensitive and must be all in Capitals) can be defined in the Blocks Section and then this used to place automatically oriented arrow heads on the ends of Line Events by using the 'Y' option at the end of the Line Event definition. If Arrows are not required then the option should be set to 'N'. Note that the Arrow Head Symbol drawing should be created with the point of the arrow at x=0, y=0 and pointing left - AutoChart will automatically flip the arrow when it is placed at the right side of the line event.

Note that in the example below, Point and Line definitions have been abbreviated to only show the relevant information. See the AutoChart Help File for an unabridged example.

TEXTSTYLES
#Name,Font,Height,Width
WMF-ARIAL1,arial.ttf,0,1
LINETYPES
#Name,File
LAYERS
#LayerName,Linetype,Colour
ANODE,Continuous,Red
FJ,Continuous,White
STRIPCOUNT
#StripCount
1
STRIPWIDTH
#StripNumber(must be in order for the moment),StripWidth
EVENTFORMAT
#EventFormat
ASA_Training_Events

BLOCKS
#BlockFormat
#Block Code,Block Path,Block Scale
AN-AD,C:\AutoChart\Symbols\Pipesheet Symbols\Anode Damaged.dwg,250
AN-AF,C:\AutoChart\Symbols\Pipesheet Symbols\Anode Retrofit.dwg,250
AN-AR,C:\AutoChart\Symbols\Pipesheet Symbols\Anode Remote.dwg,250
FJ-OK,C:\AutoChart\Symbols\Pipesheet Symbols \Field Joint.dwg,250
ARROW,C:\AutoChart\Symbols\Pipesheet Symbols\Left Arrow.dwg,250
.
.

CODES
#Point,Strip,PrimaryCode,SecondaryCode,Layer,Color,Linetype,LineWidth,StartTic%,EndTic…
#Line/Video,Strip,PrimaryCodeStart,SecondaryCodeStart,PrimaryCodeEnd,SecondaryCodeEnd,…
Line,1,S-MTS,,S-MTE,,0,256,ByLayer,0,80,WMF-ARIAL1,{…},83,Top Centre,,,,,,,,,,,Y
Line,1,S-VID,,E-VID,,0,256,ByLayer,0,80,WMF-ARIAL1,{…},83,Top Centre,,,,,,,,,,,N
Point,1,AN-DAMAGED,,ANODE,256,ByLayer,0,50,50,{…},35,Middle Centre,,,,,,,,,,,AN-AD,50
Point,1,AN-RETROFIT,,ANODE,256,ByLayer,0,50,50,{…},35,Middle Centre,,,,,,,,,,,AN-AF,50
Point,1,AN-REMOTE,,ANODE,256,ByLayer,0,50,50,{…},35,Middle Centre,,,,,,,,,,,AN-AR,50
Point,1,FJ-OK,,FJ,256,ByLayer,0,50,50,{…},35,Middle Centre,,,,,,,,,,,FJ-OK,50
.
.

So, for instance, in the Blocks Section, a Block Code of ‘AN-AD’ is defined that points to a Block dwg path of C:\AutoChart\Symbols\Pipesheet Symbols\Anode Damaged.dwg and the Block Insert Scale for this Code is set to 250. In the Codes Section, the Point Event definition for a Primary Code of “AN-DAMAGED” calls the Block Code of AN-AD and inserts the Block Symbol at a strip percentage of 50% (i.e. the mid-point of the strip).

The ARROW Block code points to a block symbol of a Left facing arrowhead, again with a block insert scale of 250. In the Line Event definition for the Start and End of Mattresses, the 'Y' option at the end of the definition denotes that the ARROW symbol should be added to the left and right ends of the line. AutoChart will automatically flip the direction of the arrow for the right side of the line. By contrast the Start and End of Video Line event uses a 'N' option at the end of the definition so that arrowheads are not added to this line.

Note that if the Start Tic Percentage is set the same value as the End Tic Percentage, the Line for the point events will not be drawn - i.e. in the example above, only the Block symbol will be inserted with the required event annotation. Any annotation should be entered as event text rather than attributes within the block definition.

The Events will then be plotted with the appropriate Block Symbols to represent the relevant Event Codes as defined in the Event Box ini File:

AutoChart version 2010.00.04 is now available for download

2010-10-07T16:23:00.000+01:00

We are pleased to announce that the latest AutoChart version 2010.00.04 is now available for download from the Wish Software Support Page:
http://www.wishsoftware.com/AutoChartSupport.aspx

Access to the download page requires a User Name and Password, so please contact your company's AutoChart Administrator in the first instance to obtain the required login information.

Version 2010.00.04 contains a number of modifications and bug fixes, the details of which are shown below:

Type	ID	Description	Command
FR	683	Add Option for 'Open Cross' type Graticule/Grid	Create Grids
BG	684	Create Panels - Multiple Routes crashes when used with Profile Based alignment Panels and long routes	Create Panels Multiple Routes
FR	685	Added ability to use software licensing for Lease/Temporary licenses	AutoChart
BG	686	Profiles polylines created from LPA files are not classified as 'Primary' so SBP data cannot be added	Create Profile
BG	687	Add SBP crashes with a consp nil error when a chart contains multiple Profile Panels	Add SBP Data
BG	689	Import Route using multiple files in a Directory does not draw any route polylines for certain formats	Import Route
FR	690	Add option to always show the first and last fix symbol and/or label regardless of interval used	Import Track
FR	691	Allow 'Name' Field to be used in Custom Track Formats	Import Track
FR	692	Allow 'Latitude' and 'Longitude' fields to be used as valid position data in Custom Formats	AutoChart
BG	693	Move Profile Xref crashes with a numberp nil error	Move Profile Xref
BG	694	Geoconsult SBP formats missing from Add SBP Data command	Add SBP Data
FR	695	Add functionality to insert Block symbols at Point Events and/or arrows on Line Events	Create Events
FR	696	New Command. Create PipeSheets	AutoChart

As usual, I'll be discussing some of the changes in a forthcoming post on this blog.

Five AutoCAD editing tips

2010-09-08T14:19:00.000+01:00

Whilst we would all like to produce perfect charts straight from AutoChart, the fact is, there will always be some degree of final editing involved. So, anything that saves a bit of time whilst actually using AutoCAD to draw or edit entities has got to be a good thing.

It's amazing just how many little hidden drawing and editing aids there are that can help you save time. Some of these may be obvious, but until you've seen someone use them (and asked "How did you do that?") you may never know just what you're missing out on. So, with this in mind, today's post is dedicated to a few drawing and editing tips and tricks you may or may not know about...

Using object grips to edit an entity is fairly commonplace, but you can also quickly cycle between different operations by pressing the Enter or Space Key.This cycles the command from Stretch to Move to Rotate to Scale to Mirror and then back to Stretch. The command uses the selected Grip Point as the Base point, so the entity is Moved/Rotated/Scaled/Mirrored around this point.
AutoCAD 2011 adds some nice mid-vertex grips that allow you to stretch two vertices at once. However, you can also select multiple Grip points to achieve the same functionality in earlier versions of AutoCAD. Just hold down the Shift Key whilst you click on the required Grip points. The stretch will then be applied to both points. Perfect for tweaking the size of your chart boxes!
You can snap to the mid-point of two points by typing M2P (or MTP) before selecting the two base points. Alternatively, Right-Click and select Mid Between 2 Points in the Snap Overrides section of the Shortcut menu (you may need to adjust your Right-Click customisation settings in the Options menu to get the Short-cut menu to appear).
Need to run the same command a number of times? Rather than having to recall the command each time, you can type 'multiple' at the command line and then type the name of the command you want to run. The command will then repeat until the ESC key is pressed. Note that this only really works for commands that can be run from the command line (i.e. that don't involve a Dialog box) so is best used for repeatedly drawing a number of entities.
If you want to change the size of some text entities but need to keep its relative position (regardless of the Text Justification), then you can use the ScaleText command. This allows you to select the Text you want to re-size, specify the justification points and then enter the new text height. The text entities will be scaled around the selected justification point, so won't move in position.

You can see all of these tips in the video below:

If you've got any similar tips and tricks you'd like to share with other users then please let us know in the comments section of this post.

New Features in AutoChart 2010.00.03 Part 2

2010-08-13T13:43:00.000+01:00

In my last post I covered the changes we've made in AutoChart version 2010.00.03 to Custom Formats, this time I'm going to finish my round up of 2010.00.03 by discussing the new Create Panels - Multiple Routes command and the related modifications to Create Charts to allow chart creation from multiple Panel Sets.

These changes are really laying the groundwork for future development to allow more automated charting production of a multiple route project (for instance, charting the cable arrays of a windfarm survey area). In time we intend to add options to automatically add route specific data to charts created from multiple route entities - automating the automation if you like!

The first steps towards this eventual development come in the 2010.00.03 version of AutoChart. The Create Panels menu has been separated out into two variants - the previous (original) version is now called Create Panels - Single Route and works in the same manner as before. This has now been joined by a new Create Panels - Multiple Routes command that allows the user to select one or more AutoChart route entities to create panels along. Both versions of the command work in the same way, except that Multiple Routes version disables the Panel Identifier text box in the dialog as this information is automatically taken from the AutoChart Route ID attached to the route entity. (Note that only polylines that have been imported or assigned as an AutoChart route can be used in Create Panels - Multiple Routes).

To complement the new Create Panels - Multiple Routes command, Create Charts has also been modified to allow the creation of chart drawings from multiple Panel Sets in a single operation. Previously, if the specified Panel Drawing contained multiple Panel IDs then you could only create charts from one panel set at a time. Now multiple panel sets can be chosen in the dialog:

The Panel Set name will automatically be used in the Chart Prefix Name if charts are created from multiple Panel Sets. If only a single Panel Set is used then this option can be turned on if required or the Chart Prefix name can be typed in explicitly.

Note that the Chart Direction is restricted to a common Kp direction for all of the selected Panel Sets. If differing directions are required (i.e. some charts need to have ascending Kps whilst others need descending Kps) then Create Charts should be run in two batches according to the required Chart Direction with the selected Panels. Also, the selected Panel entities should all be of the same type (i.e. all alignment panels) - it is not possible to mix alignment type panels with North-up type panels in the same Chart creation routine.

In time these modifications should evolve along with other AutoChart commands to vastly improve productivity when charting a project that involves multiple routes all requiring a similar final chart format.

New Features in AutoChart 2010.00.03

2010-08-11T11:30:00.000+01:00

Last week we released the latest version of AutoChart (2010.00.03). Although it's not been a particularly long interval since the previous release, the 2010.00.03 version sees a number of modifications, in particular to the functionality of Custom Format ini files.

When you define a Custom Format ini file to read in your ASCII data, you can now add a line to the ini Header to define the number of rows at the start of the data file to ignore. This means that you don't need to strip off Header lines from the data, you can simply set up the Custom Format ini file to skip the appropriate number of lines before the command starts to read the actual data by adding a #HeaderLines entry to the start of the ini file definition:

#AutoChartName,ColumnPosition
#Valid AutoChartName values are Easting, Northing, Kp, Description. Easting and Northing 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
Easting,6
Northing,7
Description,1

So, in the above example, the first two lines of the data file would be ignored when the data is imported. If the #HeaderLines variable is omitted from the ini file then the import function will start reading from the first line in the data file.

Another option that can be added to the ini file is that you can now specify the units of numerical fields or an actual multiplier value so that unit conversion can be undertaken automatically as the data is imported. This option is activated by adding the unit value after the column number for the field:

#AutoChartName,ColumnPosition

#Valid AutoChartName values are Easting, Northing, Kp, Description. Easting and Northing 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,","
#HeaderLines,3
Kp,1,Meter
Easting,2
Northing,3

Alternatively, an explicit multiplier value can be specified rather than the field units:
#AutoChartName,ColumnPosition
#Valid AutoChartName values are Easting, Northing, Kp, Description. Easting and Northing 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,","
#HeaderLines,3
Kp,1,0.001
Easting,2
Northing,3

In both of the examples above, the values in the Kp column of the data will be divided by 1000, so converting the input units in meters to Kp in Kilometers. If no units or multiplier is specified then the values in the file will be imported directly. Similarly, if the coordinate values are set to the same units as those used by the coordinate system, no unit multiplication will be performed.

e.g. If the Easting and Northing fields are set to have a unit value of USFoot and the data is imported into a drawing that has a coordinate system with units of S Survey Feet, then the E/N values will be imported as they appear in the file. However, if the data is imported into a meter coordinate system, the E/N values will be multiplied by (12/39.37).

The following units can be specified:

USFoot

IntFoot

Meter

USKiloFoot

IntKiloFoot

USMile

IntMile

Kilometer

Continuing with the Custom Format theme, it is now possible to define and use a Custom Format ini file for Sub-Bottom Profiler (SBP) file types. The SBP Custom ini files must be stored in the \SubBottom sub-folder of the AutoChart Formats support folder (e.g. C:\AutoChart\Formats\SubBottom) and follow the following conventions:

Positions must be stored in fields named Easting and Northing
Horizon depths must be relative to the seabed and be stored in a field named Depth
Nodes and Tag names must be defined in a field named Node and a field named TagName respectively. Node values 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 linear horizon definition.
Optionally a Description field can be used in the ini file and then the values contained in this field will be added to the points and horizon vertices.

As noted above, header lines can be skipped and unit conversion can be performed by setting these options in the ini file definition.
#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,";"
#HeaderLines,3
TagName,1
Node,2
Easting,3
Northing,4
Depth,5
Description,6
In my next post I'll finish my roundup about the changes in the latest 2010.00.03 version of AutoChart by discussing the modifications we've made to allow creation of panels and charts along multiple routes.
As always you can check out the details of all of the recent changes on our website or in the AutoChart Help documentation.

AutoChart version 2010.00.03 is now available for download

2010-08-03T16:43:00.000+01:00

We are pleased to announce that the latest AutoChart version 2010.00.03 is now available for download from the Wish Software Support Page:
http://www.wishsoftware.com/AutoChartSupport.aspx

Access to the download page requires a User Name and Password, so please contact your company's AutoChart Administrator in the first instance to obtain the required login information.

Version 2010.00.03 contains a number of modifications and bug fixes, the details of which are shown below:

Type	ID	Description	Command
BG	270	Create Charts Crashes with an 'Invalid' Error if the selected Base Chart is already open	Create Charts
FR	670	Added Innomar SPB Format	Add SBP Data
FR	672	Custom Formats modified to allow user to specify the number of header lines and the units of fields	AutoChart
FR	673	Add IXSEA SBP Format	Add SBP Data
FR	674	Add Triton SBP format	Add SBP Data
BG	675	Bad DXF Group error when importing Route from a single XP.csv file	Import Route
FR	676	Enable Custom Formats for SBP file types	Add SBP Data
FR	677	Use Top of Cover Flag for Cross Profile Lateral alignment if Top of Pipe not Found	Create Cross Profiles
FR	678	Show Top and Bottom of Pipe profiles as a dashed polyline where the pipe is buried (Acergy UK only)	Create Profile
FR	679	New Command Create Panels - Multiple Routes	Create Panels
FR	681	Create Charts command modified to work with multiple panel sets	Create Charts

I'll be discussing some of the changes in a forthcoming post on this blog.

New Features in AutoChart 2010.00.02 Part 2

2010-07-13T13:32:00.002+01:00

Continuing on from last week's post, I'll finish my roundup of some of the new features included in the latest 2010.00.02 version of AutoChart.

We've now modified the Create Profile, Create Cross Profiles and Create Events Current Drawing commands so that, when they are run from within a Chart drawing, they will follow the direction of the Chart UCS. Previously when the Current Drawing version of these commands was used, the Kps within the Panel would always increase from Left to Right. Now if the command is run within a Chart that has been created with the Descending Kps option, the Kps in the Profile/Cross Profile/Events panels will follow the Chart direction and increase from Right to Left. This means that should you need to force the Panel Start Kp within a particular chart you can be sure that the Kp direction will be correct for that chart.

The Create Grid command has been changed so that you can now specify separate intervals for the Latitude and Longitude graticules. Previously the same interval would be used for both Latitude and Longitude which was not always desirable for certain datums and work areas. The Create Grid command now has individual entries for the Latitude interval and for the Longitude interval:

We've also fixed a problem in the Create Grid command where if the Geographical graticule parameters were not entered even though the option to use them was turned off, the command would fail with a Bad DXF (62) error.

The Create Cross Profile command has been modified to allow a 'Lateral' Reference point to be chosen as well as the Vertical reference point. This means you can select one of the Cross Profile Flags as the Lateral reference and the cross profile will be centered in the panel based on the X-offset of the selected Flag. For instance, if you were plotting cross profiles from a trenching survey, you may want the scans referenced to the bottom of the trench rather than the pipe position so that you can illustrate how the pipeline is situated within the trench.

The Zero line on the vertical axis will then refer to the selected Lateral Reference Point:

A new command Export SBP Data has been added. This allows the user to output any AutoChart Sub-Bottom Profile horizon data from an existing profile to a comma separated AutoChart format SBP data file. This means that any SBP data that may have been graphical edited within AutoCAD can be re-output to a data file or enables the User to recreate a data file that is no longer available. The SBP data within the profile MUST have been original made by AutoChart so that it it an AutoChart SBP entity Tag (this can be checked using the Show Entity Data inquiry.

e.g.
Pick Entity to list:
Tag Name : Horizon 3

Export SBP Data can be run in either Current Drawing or Chart Series mode.

The Create Matchlines command has been modified so that it works correctly with North-up panels. Previously the command would only work with Alignment type panels and did not recognize North Up panels as valid entities.

Another New command is Attach Route ID by Layer. This will automatically convert all lines and polyline entities within the current drawing to AutoChart Route entities. It adds a Route ID based on the Layer name that the polyline sits on.

The command can prove useful when adding labels to existing pipelines/cables within a Chart Series. If the Layers are set such that the layer name reflects the required label values (e.g. Pipe ID) then Attach Route ID by Layer can be used to add AutoChart Route ID information to all of the lines/polylines. The drawing can then be Xreffed into the Chart Series and the Annotate Object command used within each Chart drawing to add the required ID labels to the plan view box simply by clicking on the route entities within the Xref.

Finally, the Help documentation has been updated and revised to provide more information and easier navigation within the Help File.

The full list of Changes in version 2010.00.02 can be found within the AutoChart Help File, on the Wish Software Support website or in this Blog Post. If you require any further information on any of the changes, then please contact us at Support@WishSoftware.com

New Features in AutoChart 2010.00.02

2010-07-07T11:38:00.000+01:00

Now that we're settled in at our new office, I thought it would be a good opportunity to discuss a few of the new features in the latest version of AutoChart (2010.00.02) that was released at the end of last month.

Probably the most important feature for those of you upgrading to AutoCAD 2011 is that the 2010.00.02 AutoChart is fully compatible with this latest version of AutoCAD. Indeed, to be able to use AutoChart with AutoCAD 2011, the new release must be installed as earlier versions are not compatible.

So, in this first post, I'll cover a few new and modified commands to do with creating and working with longitudinal profiles.

One of the most useful improvements is that the Xref Profile command has been fully updated to draw the Depth Axis and Kp Axis as well as automatically positioning the profile from the single command. The previous version of the command involved a few workarounds and was not particularly intuitive (until you knew how it worked!) whereas now the command works in a similar manner to the Create Profile command, except that the Profile source is a drawing rather than an ASCII file.

The Xref Profile command can be run as Current Drawing (by specifying the Panel Start Kp) or as Chart Series (where the Profile Xref is positioned according to the Plan View UCS). With either version of the command you can select to have automatic vertical positioning of the profile Xref by specifying an Upper/Middle/Lower position or fix the top of the Profile box to a particular value by using the 'Force Grid Start Depth' option and entering the required value.

As with the previous Xref Profile command the drawing to be inserted must be created in Pseudo Real World coordinates (i.e. the X-axis must be (Grid) Kp in metres with Kp 0 at X=0 and the Y-axis must be depth vertically exaggerated, e.g. Depth 0 at Y=0, Depth of 75m with a vertical exaggeration of 50 must be at Y=-3750. Finally, for Ascending Kp Charts the Kps of the Xreffed profile must travel from left to right, for Descending Kp Charts the profile must be mirrored around X=0 so that the Kps travel from right to left. It is usually easiest to use the Create Profile - Current Drawing command with the Calculate Panel Extents from Data option ticked in order to draw the profile data in the correct position.

Note that one of the profile polylines in the profile Xref must have been designated as the AutoChart 'Primary' profile. If this tag does not exist (for instance if the profile was not originally created in AutoChart) then this can be done using the new Attach Profile Info command.

Once the Profile Xref has been added to the charts, if required, a new command Move Profile Xref can be used to adjust the position of the inserted profile. This command allows the user to drag the profile to a new location within the chart panel and then adjusts the Kp Axis and Depth Axis to match. The command then re-applies the XCLIP around the profile panel and updates the chart's profile dictionary.

The new Enable Profile command allows the User to write an AutoChart Profile Dictionary to an existing longitudinal profile within a chart or drawing. The profile dictionary holds the information that relates the position of the profile within the drawing to its real world Kp and depth extents and needs to be present in order for AutoChart to be able to add further relative data (such as sub bottom profile data) to the longitudinal profile. The Enable Profile command creates the profile dictionary for longitudinal profiles that have been created without AutoChart or that have lost this information during the charting process.

The Enable Profile command should be run from within the drawing that has the required profile to be enabled.

When the command is run, the AutoChart dictionary is presented on the command line and written to the drawing as an AutoChart object within the drawing.

Name: Demo_001a_T_1

Bottom Left: 1124.9999998,3850
Top Right: 4699.0125752,6400
Start Kp: 6.55149e-007
End Kp: 3.57537
Scale Factor: 0.99962
Top Depth: -99.0
Bottom Depth: -201.0
Vertical Exaggeration: 25.0

The Show Profile Information command can also be used to view these values.

Another new feature is that the Create Profile command has been modified so that a 'Break at Distance' value can be added to a Custom Format ini file which causes the profile polyline to not be drawn between consecutive points that exceed the specified value. This functionality is only applied when a Custom profile format is used with the appropriate value defined in the header of the ini file.

i.e.

#AutoChartName,ColumnPosition
#BreakOnDistance,10
Kp,1
Burial,2

The above example will not draw the profile polyline between consecutive points that have Kp values that are more than 10m apart. The functionality is activated when the line #BreakOnDistance,x (where x is the required break interval) is inserted in the header of the custom format ini file.

Finally on the subject of Creating Profiles, An option has been added to the Create Profile Dialog that allows the user to add any piece of text as a suffix to the vertical axis text. For instance a suffix of 'm' could be added to the axis values to indicate depth in metres or 'mV' used for a Cathodic Potential profile.

To add a suffix, just type the required value into the Text Suffix textbox in the Create Profile Dialog. If the textbox is left blank then no suffix will be added.

There is also now the option to add a background hatch to the longitudinal profile box (i.e. a 'Sea' hatch). Whilst this functionality has been previously available on request to certain Customers based on their Dongle ID, there was no way to turn off the option once it had been implemented. The addition of a 'Hatch Background' tick box in dialog means that the feature is available to all Users if required and can also be turned off if necessary for other profile panel types (e.g. when creating a CP profile).

To enable the Profile background hatch check the tick box in the Dialog:

The background hatch will be placed on a layer named Profile - Sea Hatch

Next time I'll continue discussing some of the new features in this latest version of AutoChart.

We're moving!!

2010-06-28T10:50:00.000+01:00

There may be a small interruption to Support emails this week as we're relocating the office from Edinburgh to Wiltshire. Obviously we'll try to maintain our normal levels of support as much as possible, but please bear with us during the move.

From the 1st July 2010 our new contact details are:

Wish Software Limited,
Hartham Park,
Corsham,
Wiltshire,
England,
United Kingdom,
SN13 0RP.
Telephone numbers +44 (0)1249 700714/5/6

Mobile numbers and email addresses remain the same.

AutoChart version 2010.00.02 is now available for download

2010-06-21T16:01:00.007+01:00

We are pleased to announce that the latest AutoChart version 2010.00.02 is now available for download from the Wish Software Support Page:
http://www.wishsoftware.com/AutoChartSupport.aspx
Access to the download page requires a User Name and Password, so please contact your company's AutoChart Administrator in the first instance to obtain the required login information.

Version 2010.00.02 contains a number of new commands, modifications and bug fixes and the new install is required for use with AutoCAD 2011.

Please note that AutoChart version 2010.00.02 will be the last version of AutoChart to support AutoCAD 2000 - 2006. All future versions will be compatible with AutoCAD 2007 and above only.

A list of new features is shown below and full details of these can be found within the AutoChart Help File.

I'll also be discussing some of the major changes and new commands in forthcoming posts on this blog, so if there is anything in the above list that you are particularly interested in then please let me know.

Type

ID

Description

FR

093

Create Profile/Cross Profile/Events - Current Drawing follows Chart Direction when AutoChart UCS exists

FR

103

Re-order Panels Utility works with (Cable) Alignment Type panels

FR

122

Add ability to specify different intervals for Latitude and Longitude graticules

FR

136

Add ability to select cross profile lateral reference in Create Cross Profiles command

FR

167

Add option to break profile polyline based on specified maximum distance between consecutive points

BG

606

Bug in Enable Charts Command causes command to crash/not complete correctly when run

BG

629

Export Route to AutoChart Generic format outputs Kp values in metres rather than Km

FR

631

Modify Create Matchlines command to work with North-up Panels

BG

632

Xref/Block Remove not working in AutoCAD 2010

FR

633

New Command. Enable Profile - Current Drawing

FR

634

New command. Export SBP Data

FR

635

New command. Attach Profile Info

BG

636

Dongle 2 Error on upgrade of existing AutoChart installation to version 2010.00.01

FR

637

Increase maximum record characters limit in XP.csv format for Geoswath MBES converted data

FR

638

Set default layer colours and style properties for DOF AUS charts (DOF AUS only)

FR

639

Change format of Kp and Bend angle values in and IP Route Table (JP Kenny only)

BG

640

Application / Consp nil error when creating Profile/Cross Profiles from TPDS SQL database

FR

641

Add 'LoP' and 'RoP' as codes to be used to calculate mean adjacent profile from XP.csv format data

FR

643

New Command. Batch Recover

BG

644

Xref Data reverses order of Xref List when the command is run again if 'Send to Back' option is used

BG

645

Create Grid crashes with a Bad DXF Group (62) error when Lat/Lon graticule not set up/used

FR

646

Add SITRAS Event Format

FR

647

Add option to filter Profile Paired Events based on values in data

FR

648

Add CR2 Format to Create Cross Profiles command

FR

649

Set Acergy charting standards (Acergy UK only)

FR

650

Add 'No Pipetracker Symbols' to Profile where ToP Flag is X=0, Z=0 in XP.csv format (Acergy UK Only)

BG

651

Route not Imported correctly from RLX format file when the last vertex is a curve

FR

652

Plot and hatch profile Using Top of Cover Flag in Acergy XP.csv format (Acergy UK Only)

FR

653

Speed up reading (Kp calculation) of profile XYZ data when the Route entity contains numerous points

BG

654

Bug when creating Route Coordinate Table in Standard or Kingfisher formats

FR

655

Increase width of Route ID textbox in Re-order panels command

FR

656

New command. Attach Route ID by Layer

FR

657

Split 'Normal' Cross Profile Panels when chart contains multiple Plan sub-panels

FR

658

Add option to turn on/off background sea hatch in long profile box

FR

659

Add option to add Vertical Grid Text suffix in long profile

FR

661

Modify Xref Profile to draw axes and correctly position chart profile panels as part of the command

BG

663

Kp Bug when Geodetic Kps are used with 'Normal' type split profiles rather than Cable type profiles

FR

664

New command. Move Profile Xref

FR

665

Query Geo modified to work with vanilla AutoCAD and include Eastings/Northings in output

BG

666

Xref data inserts wrong Xref if the Edit option is used on multiple Xrefs in the list

BG

667

Using same Max/Min leader length in Add Events to Plan (for vertical text) causes bad DXF Group error

FR

668

Compatibility with AutoCAD 2011

BG

669

Delete Polyline vertices command not functioning with AutoCAD 2010 and higher

FR

671

Update Import Kingfisher Data to read version 3.04 format files

Listing the coordinates of Polygons/Closed polylines in AutoCAD MAP

2010-06-07T11:39:00.005+01:00

In my last post, I discussed the process involved in exporting a listing of polygon positions through ArcGIS. So how could you export the same information using AutoCAD MAP?

Again, it's a fairly simple operation, the main trick being how to easily get the centre points of the polygons or closed polyline entities and this involves using the AutoCAD MAP Create Centroids command.

So, the first step is obviously to have your source data that you want to export the positions from. This could be an existing set of entities (with or without object data) or you can use the MAP->Import command to bring in a shp file of polygon objects and their associated object data. When you import the data in this way, you can also choose to convert all of the polygon entities to closed polylines.

Once the data is in AutoCAD, you can then use the Create Centroids command on either selected entities or on all closed objects within the drawing. This will create a point entity at the centre of each polygon that also contains the associated object data. Once the centroids have been created, save and close the drawing and start up a new drawing in which to run a Report Query in order to output the point data coordinates to a text file.

Select the MAP->Define query command and use the Drawings button to attach the drawing created above. Under the Query type, click the Location button and set the Boundary Type to All. Then click the Property button, select the Object Type radio button, make sure the Operator is set as '=' and click the Values button to choose the POINT object type. This will ensure that only the point objects representing the centres of the polygons will be included in the output.

Back in the Define Query dialog, set the Query Mode to Report and click the Options button to access the Report Options dialog. Click the Expression button, expand the Object Data folder to select the required Object Data field and click OK to return to the Report Options Dialog and click the Add button to add the expression to the Report Template list. Repeat the above steps for any other object data fields you want included in the listing. To include the Eastings and Northings in the Listing, again use the Expression button, but this time expand the 'Properties' folder and select X1. Press OK and then use the Add button to include it in the template. This gives the Eastings of the point objects so repeat the operation to select Y1 to add the Northings to the Listing.

Once the Report Template is set up as required, use the Browse button to define the output name and location for the listing and press OK to return to the main Define Query Dialog.

Finally, click the Execute Query button to generate the report. The data will be output as a comma delimited file that can be opened in Excel.

The entire process is illustrated in the video below:

Listing the coordinates of Polygons in ArcGIS

2010-05-05T11:06:00.002+01:00

So far all of my Blog posts have been about AutoCAD and AutoChart (primarily because these are what I spend the majority of my time dealing with) but Wish Software are also involved in producing and working with GIS deliverables, so today I'm going to add a tip about working in ArcGIS.

If you have a Polygon feature set, it may not be immediately obvious as to how to produce a listing of the centre coordinates of those polygons. Whilst the polygons are displayed in their 'Real-World' position, accessing their actual coordinate values involves a couple of steps.

Firstly, you have to add two fields to hold the X and Y coordinate values, so open the Attribute table in ArcGIS and use Options to Add a Field 'Easting' and a Field 'Northing', both of type Double.
Right click on the Easting Field and use the Calculate Geometry option to add the X-coordinate of each polygon centroid. Repeat Calculate Geometry with the Northing Field to add the Y-coordinate of the centroid and you'll then have the E/N coordinates for the centre of each polygon stored within the Attribute table.
If you want to produce this information as a listing, you can then just use the Export option from the Attribute Table to output to a Text File.

All of the steps above are illustrated in the following video:

Type	ID	Description
FR	093	Create Profile/Cross Profile/Events - Current Drawing follows Chart Direction when AutoChart UCS exists
FR	103	Re-order Panels Utility works with (Cable) Alignment Type panels
FR	122	Add ability to specify different intervals for Latitude and Longitude graticules
FR	136	Add ability to select cross profile lateral reference in Create Cross Profiles command
FR	167	Add option to break profile polyline based on specified maximum distance between consecutive points
BG	606	Bug in Enable Charts Command causes command to crash/not complete correctly when run
BG	629	Export Route to AutoChart Generic format outputs Kp values in metres rather than Km
FR	631	Modify Create Matchlines command to work with North-up Panels
BG	632	Xref/Block Remove not working in AutoCAD 2010
FR	633	New Command. Enable Profile - Current Drawing
FR	634	New command. Export SBP Data
FR	635	New command. Attach Profile Info
BG	636	Dongle 2 Error on upgrade of existing AutoChart installation to version 2010.00.01
FR	637	Increase maximum record characters limit in XP.csv format for Geoswath MBES converted data
FR	638	Set default layer colours and style properties for DOF AUS charts (DOF AUS only)
FR	639	Change format of Kp and Bend angle values in and IP Route Table (JP Kenny only)
BG	640	Application / Consp nil error when creating Profile/Cross Profiles from TPDS SQL database
FR	641	Add 'LoP' and 'RoP' as codes to be used to calculate mean adjacent profile from XP.csv format data
FR	643	New Command. Batch Recover
BG	644	Xref Data reverses order of Xref List when the command is run again if 'Send to Back' option is used
BG	645	Create Grid crashes with a Bad DXF Group (62) error when Lat/Lon graticule not set up/used
FR	646	Add SITRAS Event Format
FR	647	Add option to filter Profile Paired Events based on values in data
FR	648	Add CR2 Format to Create Cross Profiles command
FR	649	Set Acergy charting standards (Acergy UK only)
FR	650	Add 'No Pipetracker Symbols' to Profile where ToP Flag is X=0, Z=0 in XP.csv format (Acergy UK Only)
BG	651	Route not Imported correctly from RLX format file when the last vertex is a curve
FR	652	Plot and hatch profile Using Top of Cover Flag in Acergy XP.csv format (Acergy UK Only)
FR	653	Speed up reading (Kp calculation) of profile XYZ data when the Route entity contains numerous points
BG	654	Bug when creating Route Coordinate Table in Standard or Kingfisher formats
FR	655	Increase width of Route ID textbox in Re-order panels command
FR	656	New command. Attach Route ID by Layer
FR	657	Split 'Normal' Cross Profile Panels when chart contains multiple Plan sub-panels
FR	658	Add option to turn on/off background sea hatch in long profile box
FR	659	Add option to add Vertical Grid Text suffix in long profile
FR	661	Modify Xref Profile to draw axes and correctly position chart profile panels as part of the command
BG	663	Kp Bug when Geodetic Kps are used with 'Normal' type split profiles rather than Cable type profiles
FR	664	New command. Move Profile Xref
FR	665	Query Geo modified to work with vanilla AutoCAD and include Eastings/Northings in output
BG	666	Xref data inserts wrong Xref if the Edit option is used on multiple Xrefs in the list
BG	667	Using same Max/Min leader length in Add Events to Plan (for vertical text) causes bad DXF Group error
FR	668	Compatibility with AutoCAD 2011
BG	669	Delete Polyline vertices command not functioning with AutoCAD 2010 and higher
FR	671	Update Import Kingfisher Data to read version 3.04 format files