Custom Tables with the LandXML Report Extension David Zavislan, P.E.

Transcription

1 December 2-5, 2003 MGM Grand Hotel Las Vegas Custom Tables with the LandXML Report Extension David Zavislan, P.E. CV41-2 Learn some basic concepts of LandXML and the extensible Stylesheet Language (XSL) to create custom reports and table formats for the LandXML Report Extension. This class demonstrates how to use the Land XML Report Extension and custom XSL files to create custom alignment tables and reports.

2 Overview Objectives Introduce the components of the LandXML Reporting extension. Chapter Concepts and Terms 2

3 Exporting Alignments to LandXML Objectives Export alignment data from Land Desktopto an XML file. Chapter Concepts and Terms Extensible Markup Language (XML) universal format for data on the Web. XML allows developers to easily describe and deliver rich, structured data from any application in a standard, consistent way. XML does not replace HTML; rather, it is a complementary format. LandXML LandXML is an XML schema developed by the civil engineering software manufactures to define the XML format for land development, civil engineering data. Using this standard schema, design software will be able to easily exchange data. Lesson 1 LandXML Export Command This lesson shows how to export alignment data to a LandXML file. Land XML data types Points exports point data from the COGO point database. All points can be output or the set can be filtered by Point Groups or by selection. In addition to points, options to export Point Groups and Description Keys can be selected. Surfaces exports all or selected surfaces. Data is output as points and faces to describe the triangulation. Watershed information can also be output with the surface. Watershed data is exported as 2D lists of points, defining closed polygons. Parcels exports center point, line and curve boundary data for defined parcels. Data can be exported for all or selected parcels. Alignments exports alignment data for all or selected alignments. Data includes alignment name, description, starting station, length and coordinate geometry. Profile and cross section data may also be exported with alignments. Point References If COGO points exist in the point database, the point reference option will output point numbers instead of coordinates. Points must be exported for this option to be available. Coordinates will be exported if a corresponding reference point is not found in the database. 3

4 File Options Minimum Output Exports only the information needed to recreate the geometry. This option is for exporting data to be used in Land Desktop or other design applications. Detailed Output Exports all supported data elements and attributes. This option is used when generating reports from XML files. Data Options The data output dialog is used to set the precision and units of output data and what data values to use for point descriptions. When exporting data to other engineering applications, increase all of the data precisions to their maximum values. This will reduce the effects of rounding errors when data is moved back and forth between programs. Exercise 1 Exporting Alignment Data 1. In Land Desktop, Select the Projects Export LandXML menu command. 4

5 LandXML Report Extension Objectives Load a LandXML file. Customize settings. Generate Reports. Chapter Concepts and Terms LandXML Report Extension The Autodesk LandXML Report Extension provides a way to produce reports from Autodesk Land Desktop 3 (Service Pack 1 or higher) and Civil Series 3 LandXML 1.0 data using predefined or custom report forms. The Autodesk LandXML Report Extension runs independently so you do not need to have any other applications running to generate reports from your existing LandXML 1.0 data. Report Forms The name and description of all available report forms are listed on the Forms tab. This report forms list is maintained in the configuration file and includes all predefined report forms that are provided with the Autodesk LandXML Report Extension and any custom report forms that you have added. The configuration file stores the location of the report form as well as the display names for the folders and report forms. XSL Style Sheets Report Forms are defined using XSL (extensible Stylesheet Language). XSL is a language that can convert XML to HTML. The HTML can then be saved and viewed in standard internet browsers. Lesson 1 Opening LandXML Data File This lesson demonstrates how to open a LandXML data file in the LandXML Report Extension. Exercise 1 Launch the LandXML Report Extension 1. Select the Start Programs Autodesk Autodesk Land Desktop 2004 Autodesk LandXML Reporting shortcut. 2. Select the File Open Data File menu command. Exercise 2 Selecting and viewing a predefined report format 1. Select the Forms tab. 2. Expand the Alignment Report Forms folder. 3. Select the desired Alignment Curve report format. 4. Select the Output tab. Lesson 2 Settings This lesson demonstrates the custom settings available in the LandXML Report Extension. Settings - By changing the information on the Settings tab, you can generate reports customized for each project. All predefined report forms provided with the LandXML 1.0 Report Extension use a common heading at the top of the reports. Using the Settings tab, you can add information about your company as well as your clients to the headings. You can also customize the way you display report data. 5

6 Settings file Your custom settings are saved in the C:\Program Files\Autodesk\LandXML Reporting 4\Support\RepGenSettings.xml file. This file is used for all reports generated from your computer. Exercise 1 Entering company information. 1. In the LandXML Report Extension, select the Settings tab. Exercise 2 Entering data display formatting. 1. In the LandXML Report Extension, select the Settings tab and expand the Alignment folder. Lesson 3 Viewing Output This lesson shows the Output tab of the LandXML Report Extension. Exercise 1 Viewing a report 1. Select the Output tab. Exercise 2 Saving a report as an HTML file 1. While on the Output tab, select the File Save As menu command. 6

7 Creating Custom Reports Objectives Create a custom report style sheet. Install new report style sheets. Customize settings. Generate Reports. Chapter Concepts and Terms HTML HTML tags are used to instruct a web browser how to display a web page. XSL Style Sheets Report Forms are defined using XSL (extensible Stylesheet Language). XSL is a language that can convert XML to XHTML. The XHTML can then be saved and viewed in standard internet browsers. Web site with free tutorials for learning HTML, XML and web scripting. Lesson 1 Header File This lesson demonstrates how to edit the LandXML Report Extension header file. The header file is used by all of the default report formats in the LandXML Report Extension. Header file The default location and name of the header XSL file is C:\Program Files\Autodesk\LandXML Reporting 4\Support\scripts\header.xsl. <xsl:include href="url"/> <xsl:param name="name"/> <xsl:value-of select="node"/> <xsl:text> text </xsl:text> This is a top-level element that includes the contents of one style sheet into another. Used to declare local or global parameter. Parameter is local if it is declared within a template. Parameter is global if it is declared as a toplevel element. Extracts the value of a selected XML element. Used to write literal text to the output. Exercise 1 Editing the Header.xsl file 1. Locate and open the C:\Program Files\Autodesk\LandXML Reporting 4\Support\scripts\header.xsl file. Lesson 2 HTML Codes This lesson covers some basic HTML commands used in the XSL style sheets. HTML markup tags HTML tags instruct the web browser how to display the contents of the web page. <html> </html> <head> </head> This statement lets the browser know that the document is defined in html code. Defines the header section of the html file. This section contains information about the document. This information is not displayed in the browser. 7

8 <title> </title> <body> </body> <div> </div> <h#> </h#> <img id= id src=url> <table> </table> <tr> </tr> <td> </td> <hr/> Defines the document header text. This text appears in the web browser s title bar. Defines the body section of the html file, containing all of the contents of the document. Defines division or subsections of the html file. Places enclosed text in header format. <h1> is the largest font and <h6> is the smallest. Defines an image to be displayed in the browser. The src variable defines the location and name of the image file to be displayed. Defines a table. Defines a table row. Defines a table cell. Draws a horizontal line. Exercise 1 Review HTML codes 1. Open and view the Alignment Station and Curve2.xsl file. Lesson 3 Reading XML Data This lesson shows the XSL commands that read and format the data from the exported LandXML file. XPath - XPath uses path expressions to identify nodes in an XML document. These path expressions look very much like the expressions you see when you work with a computer file system position() name() Returns the position in the node list of the node that is currently being processed. Returns the string name of the node. Empty brackets will return the value for the current node. XSL functions: <xsl:include href="url"/> <xsl:param name="name"/> <xsl:value-of select="node"/> <xsl:text> text </xsl:text> This is a top-level element that includes the contents of one style sheet into another. Used to load the XSL files containing JavaScript functions. Used to declare local or global parameter. Parameter is local if it is declared within a template. Parameter is global if it is declared as a toplevel element. Extracts the value of a selected XML element. Used to write literal text to the output. Conditional functions: <xsl:choose> This element is used in conjunction with <xsl:when> and <xsl:otherwise> to create multiple conditional tests. 8

9 <xsl:when> <xsl:otherwise> <xsl:if> This element is used to specify a single action for the <xsl:choose> element. If the <xsl:when> evaluates to true, the contained action is performed. If none of the <xsl:when> elements evaluate to true, the actions contained in the <xsl:otherwise> element will be performed. The xsl template contained within the <xsl:if> element will be performed if the element s test condition evaluates to true. Exercise 1 Sample conditional functions This portion of xsl examines the previous curve and determines if it is reverse or compound. The conditional elements are used to place the appropriate text into the HTML table PCC or PRC. <xsl:when test="string($prevelement) = 'Curve'"> <xsl:variable name="prevcurvedirection" select="landutils:comparepreviouscurvedirection($pos)"/> <xsl:choose> <xsl:when test="string($prevcurvedirection) = 'Compound'"> <td align="center" valign="middle">pcc</td> </xsl:when> <xsl:otherwise> <td align="center" valign="middle">prc</td> </xsl:otherwise> </xsl:choose> </xsl:when> Lesson 4 Java Script Functions This lesson shows some of the COGO functions that are available in the LandXML Report Extension default JavaScript file. LandXML Report Extension default JavaScript files - All of the JavaScript files use the prefix landutils. When calling functions from the style sheet files, this prefix is added to the function name. The prefix and name are delimited with a colon (:). The following files are used in this example for calculating and formatting horizontal alignment information. Similar files are available for vertical alignments, points, parcels and surfaces. Text_Formatting.xsl Contains functions to format text case. Number_Formatting.xsl Number formatting and units conversion for numbers, stationing and directions. NodeConversion_JScript.xsl Converts node data to text. Computations_JScript.xsl Functions to calculate lengths, bearing angles, inverse directions, azimuth angles and direction-direction intersections. 9

10 CoordGeometry.xsl Contains functions to calculate PI information, process station equations, line functions, curve functions and spiral functions. Exercise 1 Sample function calls to calculate a value and place it into HTML format 1. This XSL line sets the variable startn to the value calculated by the JavaScript function GetLineStartNorthing. 2. This XSL line takes the value read in step one and applies formatting with the JavaScript FormatNumber function. The Source and alignment parameters are all set on the LandXML report extension Settings tab. <xsl:variable name="startn" select="landutils:getlinestartnorthing($pos)"/> <xsl:value-of select="landutils:formatnumber(string($startn), string($sourcelinearunit), string($alignment.coordinate.unit), string($alignment.coordinate.precision), string($alignment.coordinate.rounding))"/> Lesson 5 Adding Custom XSL Reports to the LandXML Report Extension This lesson shows where XSL report files are saved and how to add a new report to the LandXML Report Extension. Report Scripts The LandXML Report Extension looks for scripts in the C:\Program Files\Autodesk\LandXML Reporting 4\Support folder. Style sheets are saved in the XSL sub-folder. The XSL files supplied by Autodesk reference JavaScript XSL files in the scripts sub-folder. The JavaScript programs are used to calculate and format values from the XML files. Exercise 1 Copying custom files to the LandXML Report Extension folders. 1. Copy the custom XSL files to the C:\Program Files\Autodesk\LandXML Reporting 4\Support\xsl\Alignments folder. Note: These files reference the default script files, provided by Autodesk. Exercise 2 Installing custom report formats. 1. Launch the LandXML Report Extension program and select the Forms tab. 2. Right-click on the Alignment Report Forms folder and select Add Form from the shortcut menu. 3. Browse to the C:\Program Files\Autodesk\LandXML Reporting 4\Support\xsl\Alignments folder and select the Alignment Station and Curve2.xsl file (copied in the previous exercise). 4. Click the Open button. Exercise 3 Viewing custom a custom report 1. In the LandXML Report Extension, after loading a data file and selecting a form, select the Output tab. 10

11 Pasting Reports into AutoCAD Objectives Copying a table generated with the LandXML Report Extension into AutoCAD. Chapter Concepts and Terms Pasting from HTML When pasting into AutoCAD from a HTML file, the information is pasted as an MTEXT entity. All table formatting and linework is lost. Pasting from Excel When pasting into AutoCAD from an Excel spreadsheet, tables can be pasted as AutoCAD lines and text. Lesson 1 Copy Report to Clipboard This lesson demonstrates the process of creating a report in the LandXML Report Extension and then copying the generated table to the clipboard. Exercise 1 Open data file 1. In the LandXML Report Extension, select the Data Summary tab. 2. Load the XML file generated from Land Desktop Exercise 2 Select report format 1. Select the custom report format created in previous lessons. Exercise 3 View report 1. In the LandXML Report Extension, after loading a data file and selecting a form, select the Output tab. Exercise 4 Copy report to Clipboard 1. Using your mouse, highlight the table for an alignment. Right-click on the highlighted text and select Copy from the shortcut menu. Lesson 2 Microsoft Excel This lesson demonstrates how to paste the copied table into an Excel spreadsheet. It then uses the functions in Excel to adjust the column width and format the text. Exercise 1 Pasting copied HTML table into Excel 1. Launch Microsoft Excel. 2. Select the Edit Paste Special menu command. 3. Select the HTML option. Exercise 2 Formatting the table 1. Using Excel formatting commands, set the column widths, number formatting and text alignment. 11

12 Lesson 3 Pasting Into AutoCAD This lesson demonstrates how to copy a table from Excel and paste it into AutoCAD as line and text entities. Paste as AutoCAD Objects Pasting as AutoCAD objects from an Excel spreadsheet will create text entities for each cell and line from the cell borders. Exercise 1 Copy from Excel 1. Continuing from Lesson 2, select all of the table s cells in the Excel spreadsheet. 2. Right-mouse-click on the highlighted cells and select Copy from the shortcut menu. Exercise 2 Past Special in AutoCAD 1. Open a drawing in AutoCAD. 2. Select the Edit Paste Special menu command. 3. Select the as AutoCAD Entities option. Exercise 3 Scale 1. Use the SCALE command to resize the entities to the desired text height. Exercise 5 Clean up border 1. Use the AutoCAD Map Drawing Cleanup command to correct the table lines. About the Speaker: David Zavislan is the corporate CADD manager at Nolte Associates, Inc. He supports Nolte s engineering and document delivery processes, developing and implementing CADD tools, training, and standards. A licensed civil engineer, David has also been an independent CADD consultant, specializing in civil engineering, surveying, and mapping. During his career he has worked as a structural engineer, staff engineer for a municipal public works department, project engineer, project manager, and as a software trainer and consultant for a software reseller. David earned a B.S. in Civil Engineering at Colorado State University in For additional information on the materials covered in this class or information about services available from David Zavislan and Nolte Associates, please David at: david.zavislan@nolte.com The expanded version of this handout and the sample files used in this presentation can be downloaded from Go to the [client access] page. (You may be required to install an FTP utility for your browser). Enter the file name CV41-2-long.zip in the download box, then click the download button. This download will be available through the end of January,

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