File formats¶

The files CivilSurvey Expert reads and writes.

The project: .CSF¶

One file holds the whole project: every route (field books, designs and From coordinates routes), the cross sections with their edits, reviews and history, the templates saved to the project, the contour jobs and their results, and the project's settings. Open it with File › Open… (Ctrl+O), by double-clicking it, or by dropping it on the Start page.

Copies kept beside it, so a project can always be put back:

Compact and repair (File › Info) keeps the file as it was beside it.
Import from Excel saves the project and keeps a copy of it first.
When an older project is upgraded to the current version, a copy is kept first (named like CSE_Road.CSF.bak).

Save a copy… writes the project to another file, named like CSE_Road (copy).CSF, and you go on working in the one you have open.

Templates: .cst¶

A template, as Export .cst writes it and Import .cst reads it (Template tab). Use it to take a template to another project or to a colleague. See Share a template.

Title blocks¶

The standard title block comes with the program. A project's own title block, once you edit it, is kept beside the project file:

Project.titleblock.xml for portrait sheets;
Project.titleblock.landscape.xml for landscape sheets;
a DWG title block, when you choose one with Use another file….

See Set up the title block.

Points files: CSV, TXT, XYZ, PTS, ASC¶

Read by Import points… (From coordinates routes) and Import Points (Contour): one point per line, with its name, northing, easting, level and code. The columns can be in any order: when the first row is headings (N, E, Z, RL, Elevation, Code, Desc, Name, Point…) they are matched by name; otherwise they are taken as point, N, E, R.L., code. Comma, tab or space separated. Latitude, longitude and ellipsoid height columns are only used to check the grid values.

For practice: road-survey-points.csv.

Excel workbooks: .xlsx¶

File › Excel › Export to Excel: the whole project, a sheet per route. Import from Excel reads such a workbook back, asking what each sheet becomes. See The whole project to Excel and Bring in a field book from Excel.
Export to Excel in the Volume Abstract: its Abstract, Chainage-wise and Mass haul sheets.
Export to Excel in Contour: the Points sheet and the shown result's sheets.

PDF¶

Print Sections, the Volume Abstract's Print / PDF and Contour's Print / PDF save PDF files, named from the project and the chainages (for sections: {project} sections {first} to {last}, which you can change).

AutoCAD: DWG and DXF¶

Export to AutoCAD… on the Cross Section or Long Section screen: the drawing on screen.
Print Sections with AutoCAD drawing as the print type: the sections laid out in columns on one drawing.
Contour's export: the plan's contours, boundary and points, each on its own layer.