The Display Units setting allows users working in US Survey Feet or International Feet projects to display and enter values using feet and inches. This can make it easier to work with project specifications that require imperial measurements.

Two inch-based display formats are available:

• Decimal Inches
• Fractional Inches

These options are available from:

Home > Settings > Display Units

Note: The Display Units setting is only available when the project is configured to use US Survey Feet or International Feet.

Available Display Formats

Decimal Feet (Default)

Values are displayed entirely in feet.

Example:

5.220 ft

Decimal Inches

Values are displayed as feet and decimal inches.

Example:

5' 2.64"

(Five feet, two point six four inches)

Fractional Inches

Values are displayed as feet, whole inches, and fractional inches.

Example:

5' 2-5/8"

(Five feet, two and five-eighths inches)

Where the Setting Applies

When either inch-based display option is selected, Siteworks displays values throughout the software in feet and inches, including:

• Northing
• Easting
• Elevation
• Offsets
• Stationing
• Rod heights
• COGO distances
• Stakeout distances
• GNSS tolerances
• Cut/fill values

Entering Values in Feet and Inches

A useful feature of Siteworks is that values can be entered in either format regardless of the current display setting.

For example, even if the project is displaying decimal feet, you can still enter measurements using decimal or fractional inches.

Entering Decimal Inches

Use a space between the feet and inches values.

Example:

This is automatically interpreted as:

You do not need to enter the foot (') or inch (") symbols.

Entering Fractional Inches

Use:

• A space between feet and inches
• A dash (-) between whole and fractional inches
• A forward slash (/) for the fractional value

Example:

This is automatically interpreted as:

Entering Metric Values

Even when working in a feet-based project, metric values can still be entered by adding m to the end of the value.

Example:

This will be interpreted as:

2 metres

This can be particularly useful when entering antenna, rod, or target heights.

Fractional Inch Display Tolerance

When using Fractional Inches, you can specify how displayed values are rounded.

Available rounding options include:

• 1/16"
• 1/8"
• 1/4"
• 1/2"

The selected tolerance determines the nearest fraction displayed on screen.

Example

A measurement of:

may display as:

depending on the rounding tolerance selected.

Important: This rounding only affects how values are displayed. Measurement accuracy is not reduced.

Data Storage and Reporting

Although values may be displayed in inches, Siteworks continues to store measurement data at full precision.

Measurement Data

All measurements are recorded within the work order's SPJ file using full decimal-foot precision.

No measurement data is rounded or reduced in accuracy.

Task Log Records

Task log entries use the display units that were active at the time the activity was performed.

For example:

• A point staked while using Decimal Feet will be recorded in decimal feet.
• A point staked later while using Fractional Inches will be recorded in fractional inches.

As a result, changing display units during a work order may result in task log entries being recorded in different units.

Examples of Task Log Entries

• Stakeout reports
• COGO calculations
• Rod height changes
• Measurement activities

Reports and Trimble Business Center

The following are not affected by the Display Units setting:

• Record.txt files
• Siteworks Report Utility outputs
• Trimble Business Center imports

These continue to use standard decimal-foot values regardless of the display unit selected in Siteworks.

SITECH Tip: Display units only affect how values are shown on screen. Siteworks always stores measurement data at full precision, allowing field crews to work in their preferred units while maintaining survey-grade accuracy throughout the project.