Export formats

[Michael Lake]

Hi

I use QGIS a lot and the only way I could get Survex data into qgis was via dxf.

Run cavern on svx file. Run aven on 3d file and export "Underground Survey Legs:
and "Station Names" as dxf.

Then in QGIS from Vector / Dxf2Shp converter
I import the dxf and output one point shapefile for labels, one polyline
shapefile for legs. Then add those as vector layers. 

shapefile support is excellent as it's been around a long time, is stable, wont
be going away and as has been mentioned proprietary but open. 

A few options here: have a shp output with options in survex or have a plugin
for qgis that just handles survex files. I think the latter would be better as
with a plugin in qgis your not lumbering survex with more export formats that
most users wont use. If someone can write a qgis plugin (they are in Python) one
could select a 3d file from Aven and then via checkboxes select what attributes
to import (legs, stations etc) as the plugins have a GUI interface.

Mike

Quoting Olly Betts <olly at survex.com>:
> Currently aven supports exporting to the following formats:
> 
> * DXF - CAD format (also via cad3d)
> * EPS - Encapsulated PostScript - a vector image format
> * GPX - for importing to GPS units
> * HPGL - for plotters
> * JSON - experimental export for web-based viewers
> * KML - for use with GIS systems, online map sites, etc
> * PLT - intended for use with Carto (also via cad3d)
> * POS - produce a Survex .pos file (also via 3dtopos)
> * SK - Skencil format (also via cad3d)
> * SVG - vector image format e.g. used by inkscape (also via cad3d)
> 
> I suspect some of these are no longer used.  For example, Skencil is an
> open source drawing package which last saw any development in 2010 from
> what I can see: http://skencil.org/, though perhaps other tools use the
> format.  Carto seems inactive too (last release 2005).
> 
> I'm not proposing to drop any formats currently, but it would be useful
> to know which formats are actively used to focus effort when making
> enhancements to the export functionality.
> 
> Some enhancements pretty much automatically work for all the formats
> (for example, allowing hiding of splay legs), but others need some work
> for each format (for example, showing splay legs but in a different way
> to non-splay legs), and working on these for a format nobody uses up
> time I could spend working on something else.
> 
> Also, are there any formats missing from the list people would find
> useful?
> 
> Cheers,
>     Olly
> 
> -- 
> Survex http://lists.survex.com/mailman/listinfo/survex
> 


Mike Lake