Mastering Snippet: Traverse Input File

It’s a common misconception that Land Desktop and Civil 3D are unable to tie a least squares analysis into two local monuments.

When performing a least squares analysis in Civil 3D, an “.lsi” file is created. This is the traverse “input” file, and the first few lines of the file will appear something like this:

?NEZ 1 13740905.915851 2157152.441122 774.599442
NEZ 2 13740803.176500 2156598.905200 780.740000
?NEZ 3 13740513.387064 2156723.987321 774.020102
?NEZ 4 13740471.057054 2157000.167405 769.790530

This snippet is found on page 92 of Mastering AutoCAD Civil 3D 2010: If you remove the question mark from the front of any line, Civil 3D will then use that point as another monument when balancing the survey.

To tie a traverse into two or more local monuments, remove the question marks in front of the appropriate point numbers, save the file, and run the analysis. When the analysis is completed, the data in the drawing will reflect the changes you requested (balanced into the monuments without the question marks).

Civil 3D Library
Looking for Survey tutorials? Check out The COGO Branch in the Library. These downloads aren’t software demonstrations. They were created for clients using AutoCAD Civil 3D in the real world. Registration is required.