IO - Leica Free Codes, Attributes and Quick Codes – AppsinCadd

When exporting code prefixes to the Leica XML format, n4ce exports the various comma codes and dimensions as free codes. The table below shows the free codes that will produce comma codes for n4ce. These free codes are of a “Fixed” type in the XML file and you will not be able to change them on the instrument.

Free Code	Comma Code	Description
CURVE	C	A curving point on line feature
CURVE START	CS	Start curving a line feature
CURVE END	CE	End curving a line feature
CURVE BREAK	D	Create a discontinuity of curving a line feature at a point
TANGENT	T	A tangent point on a line feature
TANGENT START	TS	Start curving a line feature with a tangent
TANGENT END	TE	End curving a line feature with a tangent
CLOSED STRING	P	Close a feature to create a polygon
NEW STRING	N	Start a new feature
GAP STRING	G	Do not display the next segment of a line feature
NO DTM	X	Exclude a point when creating a DTM
NO DTM START	XS	Start excluding points when creating a DTM
NO DTM END	XE	End excluding points when creating a DTM
2D	Y	A point is 2D and does not have a valid height
2D START	YS	Start 2D points
2D END	YE	End 2D points
NO HT	Z	Do not plot the height of a point
NO HT START	ZS	Start not plotting heights
NO HT END	ZE	End not plotting heights
IGNORE	I	Ignore the point
SYMBOL REQUEST	S	Request a symbol at a point
PERP CORNER BEF	H	Create a perpendicular corner before construction using this point and the previous three
PERP CORNER AFT	J	Create a perpendicular corner after construction using this point and the previous three
CORNER MERGE	K	Merge two line feature segments to create a corner using this point and the previous three
CORNER BEFORE	L	Create a corner before construction using this point and the previous two
CORNER AFTER	M	Create a corner after construction using this point and the previous two
OFFSET SEGMENT	O	Offset a line feature segment using this point and those either side
NO POINT	0	Do not display a point marker
DOT POINT	1	Display the point using the dot point marker

The above table shows several free codes that start and end the application of comma codes to points on a feature string. For instance, the CURVE START and CURVE END free codes instruct n4ce to apply the curve comma code to those points and to all the points between them. This is the similar for the additional free codes for NO DTM, 2D and NO HT. However, the additional free codes for feature tangents, TANGENT START and TANGENT END instruct n4ce to apply the tangent comma code to the start and end points but the curve comma code to all the points between

If a new feature is started and the end free code has not been used, the end is assumed to be after the last point. However, you cannot use the end free code without using the corresponding start.

The table below shows the free codes that will produce dimensions for n4ce. These free codes are of a “Mandatory” type so if you use them, you will have to enter an appropriate value or accept the default.

Free Code	Dimension	Description
LOFFSET	L	A lateral offset for a point, left or right
HOFFSET	H	A horizontal offset for a point, forward or back
VOFFSET	V	A vertical offset for a point, up or down
SEGMENT CODE	M	Change the display of a line feature segment using a different code
MULTI CODE	N	End the current line feature and start a new one using a different code
LINE WIDTH	W	Define the width of a line feature at a point
PARALLEL	P	The parallel offset of a second line feature
OFFSET	O	The offset of the line feature from the points
EXTENSION	X	Extend the segment of a line feature into a corner
LINE COLOUR	LC	Change the pen used for a line feature
LINE STYLE	LS	Change the line style used for a line feature
VT PARALLEL	VP	The vertical parallel offset of additional line features
LINE FORM	LF	The line formation macro for a segment
SCALE	S	The scale of a symbol at a point
ANGLE	A	The angle of a symbol a text string at a point
TEXT	T	The text string at a point
RADIUS	R	The radius of a 1-pt circular feature at a point
DIAMETER	D	The diameter of a 1-pt circular feature at a point
CIRCUMFERENCE	C	The circumference of a 1-pt circular feature at a point
SHAPE WIDTH	W	The width of a rectangular or triangular shape feature at a point
SEGMENTS	NS	The number of segments to be displayed in a shape feature
ROWS	NX	The number of columns to be displayed in a shape feature
COLUMNS	NY	The number of rows to be displayed in a shape feature

The names of the dimensions in the above table are the default names that n4ce assigns to those dimensions. Where these dimension names can be changed, the appropriate name will be exported to the XML file.

The fields for each code prefix that is defined give the option to see up defaults for required dimensions, such as symbol and shape sizes. These fields can also be used to define additional dimensions that may be used as attributes, such as manhole depths. When a code prefix is exported to the XML file, fields that have been defined are also exported so that when surveying, you will be asked to enter appropriate values as required. The name given to attribute is a combination of the description followed by the dimension name, so you should keep your description quite short.

You can define one of your code prefix fields to simulate the use of Quick Codes. If you define a field called QUICKCODE, with the default containing the required quick code value, this will be ignored as an attribute and set the quick code value in the XML file. Note that this field will be ignored when exporting code lists for other instrument manufacturers.

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