Importing and Exporting Point Files Using Style Guides

Siteworks allows you to import and export ASCII point files that are comma-, tab-, or semicolon-delimited. Supported formats include the default PNEZD and PENZD point file formats, as well as custom formats defined through Style Guides.

What Are Style Guides?

A Style Guide defines how Siteworks interprets or creates point files with custom column layouts and formatting. Style Guides allow you to:

• Define custom column orders.
• Specify file delimiters (comma, semicolon, or tab).
• Set decimal separators (period or comma).
• Configure file extensions.
• Add optional prefixes and suffixes to data fields.
• Map file columns to Siteworks data types.

Style Guides are stored in the PointStyleGuides.jsn file:

The PointStyleGuides.jsn file can be transferred between devices and is automatically synchronized through Trimble WorksManager.

Where Style Guides Are Used

A Style Guide can be selected, created, or edited anywhere a point file is imported or exported, including:

• Importing control points during site creation.
• Importing point files from the Data Management menu.
• Exporting measured data to a custom point file format.

Note: The default Siteworks Style Guide uses the standard PNEZD or PENZD format. The Easting and Northing coordinate order for the default format is defined during project creation.

Creating or Editing a Style Guide

Select Create/Edit Style Guide to open the Style Guide Definition screen.

On this screen, you can configure:

• Style Guide name
• Value separator (comma, semicolon, or tab)
• Decimal point delimiter (period or comma)
• File extension
• Prefixes and suffixes for each field
• Data type assigned to each column

Understanding Prefixes and Suffixes

Prefixes and suffixes can be added to individual data fields.

During import:

• Siteworks ignores the defined prefix or suffix and imports only the actual value.

During export:

• Siteworks automatically adds the defined prefix or suffix to the exported value.

Important: Siteworks does not use prefixes or suffixes to determine data types. Each column must still be mapped to the correct Siteworks data type in the Style Guide.

To Configure a Style Guide

1. Select Create/Edit Style Guide.
2. Enter a name for a new Style Guide or select the magnifying glass icon to edit an existing one.
3. Choose the:
   • Value separator (comma, semicolon, or tab)
   • Decimal point delimiter (comma or period)
4. Specify a file extension.
   • The extension is applied to exported files.
   • During import, only files with the matching extension are displayed.
5. If you need to import files with different extensions but the same column structure, select All Files in the Type filter.
6. Assign a Siteworks data type to each column and specify its position in the source file.
7. Optionally configure prefixes and suffixes.
8. Select + to add additional data types.
9. Select − to remove data types that are not required.

Data Imported by Siteworks

When importing point files, Siteworks imports only the following fields:

• Point Name
• Easting
• Northing
• Elevation
• Point Code

All other fields defined in the source file or Style Guide are ignored during the import process.

Data Available During Export

When exporting points, Siteworks can include all attributes configured in the Style Guide, including:

• Antenna/Target Height
• Date
• Easting
• Elevation
• Horizontal Angle (HA)
• Latitude
• Longitude
• Northing
• PDOP
• Point Code
• Point Name
• Slope Distance
• Time
• Vertical Angle (VA)
• WGS Height

Note: Exported point files include column header names in the output file.

Best Practice

When exchanging point data between office and field teams, create and standardize Style Guides across all devices to ensure consistent imports, exports, and data formatting throughout the project lifecycle.