This command allows you to define default, ready-to-use descriptions. You can create multiple feature code lists and each list can contain an unlimited number of codes. Each feature code consists of a short code, a longer description, a polyline toggle, and a polyline type setting.  The initial dialog is shown below.



Add a Feature Code


Select a Feature Code File


Edit an Existing Code


Saving the Feature Code List


Remove an Existing Code


The Add Code dialog is shown below. Below the figure is a description list of the various options and buttons available in the dialog.



Code: Enter the name of the Feature Code. For example, you might use EP for edge of pavement.

Full Text: Enter a description for the code. This is only for your information. It will not be added to the point description.  It is particularly helpful when using numeric codes, to remind you of what they refer to.

Polyline ON: This setting determines whether points with this code are joined together with linework when the points are plotted.

Polyline is 3D: Choose whether the polyline should be 3D or 2D. If you choose YES, then each polyline vertex is located at the elevation of the point. If you choose NO, then the entire polyline is constructed on elevation 0, regardless of each points elevation. This setting is not applicable if Polyline On is set to NO.

New Attributes: This option leads to GIS type attributing, where you can further describe the code (e.g.  fence) with additional attributes.  For example, one attribute might be Fence Type, and there may be 4 options, with a default option.  These can be set up, one time, by using the Add option within New Attributes. Once setup, whenever a fence is chosen, the attributes can be selected from a list.  These attributes will be stored in the raw file and most importantly, will output to an ESRI Shape file (Map Screen, File pull down, Export SHP File).  You can even control the prompt and what the default attribute is (in this example, “barbed wire”) and whether each attribute entry is required, or just optional.  With this setting, any shot to “FL” for fence will jump into the GIS attribute screen. The setup screen for attributes is shown below.



Fence type is a user-defined attribute.  But many attributes of the feature are known by Carlson SurvCE (e.g. the current instrument being used, the date and time, etc.).  These types of known attributes appear in a list of special codes, selectable above, and shown in the figure below.



Now, when you are collecting the points with an “FL” code, and the program detects that you have shot a “point-only” feature, or if you are shooting a line, that you have ended the line (e.g. FL END), then you will be prompted for the attributes.


If there are several attributes associated with the fence (eg. height, condition, etc.), then the Next and Previous buttons will be active.  If you have just taken three points along a fence line with GPS, the raw data file will appear, within FILE Raw Data Edit RW5 File.


You also have the option not to save the attribute information, in which case it will not appear in the raw file or be convertible to shape files using the command Export SHP File found under File in the Map screen.


Special Code Suffixes


PC & PT: Used to specify the point of curvature (PC) and point of tangency (PT) of a curve. If you are taking shots on a curve, use PC to specify the beginning of the curve and PT to specify the end of the curve. The PC special code will activate a 3-point arc automatically, so use of the PT code in a 3-point arc is redundant and therefore it is not necessary.  You can even do a reverse curve by entering the PT instead as PC.  However, if you are picking up a meandering stream or tree line, PT is useful to end the curving feature, and the program will “best fit” a curve through all the surveyed points between the PC and PT codes.



CLO: Use this code to close a figure. This tells the software to close from the last point coded as CLO back to the first point of the figure.  Note that after using a special code such as "CLO", appended with a space to the description code "BLD", that the program automatically removes the special code as it defaults the next description to "BLD".  The "CLO" code also has the effect of ending the line and starting a new line.  It only works with codes defined as 2D or 3D polylines.



SMO: Use this code to smooth the line through all of the points. This code must occur on the first point of the line.



JPN: Use this code followed by a point ID to create a new line segment between the current point and the entered point ID.

END (or ..): Use this code to end the line.  You can also set any code for Begin Line, but keep in mind with SurvCE you only need to end a line, and the next point with the same description will begin a new line.

RECT:  This special code can be used in 2 different ways.  You can take measurements to 3 sides of a building and on the third side, add the special code RECT, and the program will create a 4-sided building.  Or you can measure two sides of a building and enter the distance right (RECT30) or distance left (RECT-20) to create the other, parallel sides.  Both methods are illustrated below.



OH and OV:  You can also create horizontal offset lines and you can offset these same lines vertically as well by combining OH and OV as in EP OH0.5 OV0.5 (which might create a 6" over, 6" up back of curb parallel 3D polyline).  You can even do multiple offset lines as shown below:



This example here leads to a series of 4 parallel lines (for railroad tracks in this case), all offset to the left (negative) of the direction of the points 120 through 126.



The OH and companion OV commands are flexible in that they can be entered after the first point measured, such as on point 121 or 122. 


Using Short-Cut Icons to Append Special Codes

With the Prompt for Height and Description turned on within Configure, you have the opportunity to choose from your existing descriptions saved in your Feature Code List, whenever you store points.  You also have the ability to select icons for the special codes as shown here:



These codes going from top to bottom, starting at the left, represent start line, end line, close line, select active line (when multiple lines are being drawn with the same code), start curve, end curve, rectangle, "more", and in the next screen, you obtain Offset Horizontal and Offset Vertical.


Pre-Formatted Special Codes

SurvCE has several pre-made files of codes used by certain highway departments and others.  These can be selected from the drop list by selecting Special Codes within the Feature Code command.



When a specified format is selected such as Geopak (MO DOT), the standard codes all change, including the separator code.  Whereas for normal coding, a space is used to separate a description from a special code (eg. EP PC), with MO DOT coding, a "-" (dash) would be used as the separator, as in EP-EC.  The users of these systems need to be familiar with the required coding.  For example, with Geopak (MO DOT) coding, a typical edge of bituminous survey might be coded:  201-BS, 201, 201, 201-C, 201-C, 201-EC, 201, 201-ES.  Note that Geopak requires a start line and end line and requires coding on all arc points (C or EC).  This coding will process correctly in SurvCE, but SurvCE will also process this coding if the "-BS" is omitted on the first measurement.  Use of the special icons within the Hgt/Description prompt screen will append the correct special codes that are active.  Geopak also requires points to process linework, so it will not respond to the OH feature and the CLR feature, which create lines without always creating points for each vertice.  With Geopak-style configurations, you can click the Settings button at the top of the screen (left of the green checkmark) and require that all linework be created with associated points, for processing in Geopak.



The upper 3 items in Settings appear for all feature code list scenarios, and are default off when SurvCE is shipped.



Reprocessing the Field Codes

Using the command Field to Finish, found under the Tools pulldown menu in the Map screen, you can reprocess your field codes after editing any aspect of your point data.  So if you left off an "end line" command, you can edit the point, change the description, and re-process the linework.  In the example using the code RECT25 above, if you edited that point and changed it to RECT50, it would draw a twice as large building when you run Field to Finish, and RECT-25 would draw the same building but instead in the opposite direction.