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:

Custom Format Imports in AutoChart

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

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

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

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

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

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

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...

1. 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.
2. 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!
3. 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).
4. 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.
5. 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

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

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

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.