Building a Description Key file from scratch using an existing point database.

 

Since I don't have Office 97 or Access 97 installed I cannot create a .MDB file in the required Access 97 format.  I find the most convenient way to build a Description Key file from a list of points is to create a .DSC text file in the old S8 Description Key format.  To generate the correct format open an existing Project.DSC file from S8 in Excel.  Add your own values and then save the file to a .prn format to preserve the column widths.

 

Step 1.  The first step is to open the .DSC file and parse the data using Text to Columns.

 

 

 

Pick to add column separators to isolate the commas into their own cells.

 

Set your column width to

A=8

B=20

C=8

D=20

E=16 (may be up to 26 or 27 characters, I'll have to check)

 

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Step 2.  Getting a filtered point description list that contains no duplicates.

 

Point label style to insert point blocks using desc keys.

 

 

 

Create a attext templ tp desc-layer.txt template file is as follows

 

DESC  C032000

BL:LAYER   C032000

 

to get a text file output in this format

 

'GS','PNTS_GROUND'

'GS','PNTS_GROUND'

'GS','PNTS_GROUND'

'GS','PNTS_GROUND'

'GS','PNTS_GROUND'

'GS','PNTS_GROUND'

'GS','PNTS_GROUND'

'GS','PNTS_GROUND'

'GSPOS','PNTS_GROUND'

'GSTOE','PNTS_GROUND'

'GSTOE','PNTS_GROUND'

 

The above method using AutoCAD 2000i features does not remove duplicates but produces a comma delimited file that contains the Point Description and Layer.  You manually remove duplicates in the spreadsheet by deleting rows.

 

 

2002 / LDT3 solution:

 

Use the new Attribute Extraction command in AutoCAD 2002 to create a list without duplicate descriptions.

 

 

 

 

Step 3.  Add data to create the .DSC format in a spreadsheet.

Choose Copy to Clipboard and Paste into a spreadsheet.

Sort the Description Column in ascending order.

Use another column to type the appropriate Code with wild card for each description you wish to match.   The alternative is to use every description as a code but that will not produce the best results for all projects.  There is no automated way to distill wildcard enhanced Description Key Codes (abbr. Code) from a list of descriptions.

 

 

 

Sort all rows by the Code column to remove spaces in the code and keep the layer names aligned in the same row.

Copy the Code column to the Windows Clipboard.

Switch to the existing .DSC file in a spreadsheet and paste from the Clipboard into the first column.

Paste the Layer names into the second column (B).

 

The editing of entries for symbols, symbol layers and Full descriptions would best be done in Access 97.  The Description Key file is in a MS Access 97 format.  You cannot edit this file using Access 2000.  The alternative is to create a .DSC file but you have the character limitations that you had in S8 as a compromise. My recommendation is to build the .DSC format starting with Descriptions, Layer names, and full descriptions (the last column on the right in the .DSC file) and get as much editing done in the spreadsheet.  Defer the task of adding symbols with names more than 8 characters or layers more that 20 characters until after you have imported the partially completed .DSC file into the Description Key Manager.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Step 4.  Create a .DSC file.  From the spreadsheet save to a .PRN format to get the correct column spacing format. The last column is truncated so you may have to add spaces.

 

Step 5.  Import the .DSC file in Description Key Manager.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Step 6.  Add symbols and layer names using Description Key Manager.

 

The hardest part of the whole process is getting the right Codes created with the appropriate wild cards.  The help file contains a list of valid wild cards to use in Description Key Codes.  Don't forget to save your Description Key file to a Prototype so it is conveniently available to all other projects.

 

Brian Morse

7/13/01