Help with Compass dat files read (and processed) by Survex

[Olly Betts]

On Mon, Oct 13, 2025 at 09:46:19AM +0200, Josep Guarro wrote:
> Hi Olly, thank you very much for your information on both emails
> 
> >It sounds like Ariane's .DAT export is incorrect for metric data.
> 
> Yes, that is the issue, also the entrance coordinates are lost on
> Ariane's .DAT export, I will write to the Ariane's author to let him
> know these issues.

Just in case you aren't aware, you need a .MAK as well as the .DAT to
specify fixed point coordinates to Compass.  The documentation for .MAK
format is:

https://fountainware.com/compass/HTML_Help/Project_Manager/projectfileformat.htm

Survex can also read Compass .MAK (with some limitations noted in the
manual).

And please do report problems reading Compass files - the format
documentation is fairly comprehensive and Larry has been helpful with
clarifying details, but this code presumably gets less real-world use
than the native Survex format.

Cheers,
    Olly