# DXF files and Shapefiles

DXF files and Shapefiles contain survey or engineering design data that has been created from various office software packages.

- A DXF file is a 2D or 3D vector graphic file format generated from CAD software such as AutoDesk. DXF stands for Drawing Exchange Format.

- A Shapefile is an ESRI vector data storage format for storing geographic features as points, lines, or polygons as well as attribute information.

The rest of the this topic applies equally to DXF files and Shapefiles, unless otherwise stated.

Supported items in DXF files and Shapefiles

For DXF files and Shapefiles that contain layers, a name is generated for every selectable feature in the file. A code can be generated for every selectable feature within the file. This is derived from the attributes stored in the file; often, it is the name, code, and attributes of features in the original file.

For Shapefiles, the name is the first five characters of the Shapefile name, followed by a file index number, then a space and then the line number in the Shapefile where this feature is defined.

For DXF files, the name is the first 8 characters of the layer name, followed by a space and then the line number of the feature in the DXF file. For DXF files from Trimble Business Center the item name, where present, is used.

You can review a selectable feature in the map to find the file and layer name.

DXF files

Displayable and selectable DXF items:

- ARC, CIRCLE, INSERT, LINE, POINT, POLYLINE, LWPOLYLINE.

Display only DXF items:

- 3D FACE, SPLINE, SOLID, ATTRIB, BLOCK ATTRIB, TEXT, MTEXT, HATCH.
- Control characters: C – diameter symbol, D – degree symbol, P – plus/minus symbol, % – percentage symbol.

Extrusion arcs contained in a DXF file are displayed correctly in the map, but cannot be made active. Extrusion arcs form an ellipse in plan view and the staking of ellipses is not supported.

To show hatched polygons, tap in the map toolbar, select Settings and select the Hatch polygons check box.

Shapefiles

Supported Shapefile items:

- Null shape, Point, PolyLine, Polygon, MultiPoint, PointZ, PolyLineZ, PolygonZ, MultiPointZ, PointM, PolyLineM, PolygonM, MultiPointM, MultiPatch, Hatching.

To see attribute information for Shapefile items, the Shapefile must have an associated .dbf file.

To show hatched polygons, tap in the map toolbar, select Settings and select the Hatch polygons check box.

Viewing DXF files and Shapefiles in the map

To display DXF files and Shapefiles in the map, tap in the map toolbar to open the Layer manager and select the Map files tab. Tap the file once to make it visible (), and tap it again to make items in the file selectable (). To add files from a different location to the project folder, tap Add. For more information, see Managing map file layers.

These types of files typically contain layers. To make only some layers visible or selectable, in the Map files tab, tap the arrow next to the file name and then tap each layer once to hide it, or twice to make it visible but not selectable. Tap the layer again to make it visible and selectable.

For a complete list of displayable and selectable items in DXF files and Shapefiles, see Supported items in DXF files and Shapefiles.

Triangular 3D faces in a DXF file can be used as surfaces in Trimble Access. See Digital terrain models (DTMs).

Map settings for DXF files and Shapefiles

The Trimble Access software provides settings for controlling the display of the data in DXF files and Shapefiles. To configure these settings, tap in the map toolbar, select Settings and configure the setting in the Map data controls group.

Line features that are coded as white in a DXF file are drawn in black in Trimble Access.

#### To explode polylines

To explode polylines contained in the file into individual line and arc segments, select the Explode polylines (DXF, Shape, 12da & LandXML) check box. Each segment in an exploded polyline is given a unique name, based on the polyline name and a segment number.

#### To create nodes

To create points at the ends of lines and arcs and at all points along a polyline, select the Create nodes (DXF, Shape, 12da & LandXML) check box. The created points can then be selected for stakeout or Cogo calculations.

This option also creates points at the center of circle and arc elements in DXF files, but creating a point at the center of a DXF arc element does not apply to arc elements that are part of a polyline.

Because Shapefiles do not support arcs, arcs are often represented as a series of short lines resulting in a large number of points. Performance may be impacted when Create nodes is selected.

#### To specify the null elevation

Some applications use a value such as ‑9999.999 to represent null. For the Trimble Access software to correctly treat this value as null, you must enter the value that represents null in the DXF file in the Null elevation (DXF only) field. Values are considered to be null if they are less than or equal to the null elevation value. For example, if the null elevation is ‑9999, then ‑9999.999 is also considered to be null.

Only grid coordinates are displayed. If you have not defined a projection, only points stored as grid coordinates appear. Grid (local) coordinates cannot be displayed if the input transformation was not defined. See Transformations.

If the Grid coords field in the Cogo settings screen is set to Increase South‑West or Increase South‑East, the map display is rotated by 180° such that increasing south coordinates are displayed up the screen.

### To display labels

To show or hide names, codes, and elevations for items in DXF files and Shapefiles, tap the appropriate Display check box(es) in the Map data controls group.

The software shows these extra labels only when the file is set to selectable in the Layer manager. If the file is only set to visible, the extra labels are not shown. See Managing map file layers.

#### To display station values

Station values are displayed for any lines in DXF files that are selected in the map. To show or hide station values for all DXF files, select the Display station values check box.

Working with DXF files and Shapefiles

To select items from the LandXML file, make the items in the file selectable () using the Layer manager and then select them from the map using the map Select tool . To select multiple items, press the Ctrl key and tap them using the Select tool , or use the Rectangle selection or Polygon selection tools.

To rotate the data in the map, tap and then tap the map and drag to rotate the view. The icon in the center of the map indicates the point of orbit.

From the map, you can select items in the DXF files and Shapefiles and then use them in other software functions, for example to perform a Cogo calculation, create a surface, or stakeout. For more information, see Supported items in DXF files and Shapefiles.

When you use an item in a DXF file or Shapefile in a Cogo calculation, during stakeout, or to create a point in the job, Trimble Access copies the attributes of the item from the file and stores them with the point, polyline or arc in the Trimble Access job.

To review attribute information for items in a DXF file or Shapefile that have feature types associated with them, select the items in the map and then tap Review. If you selected more than one item, select it from the list and tap Details.

You can export data from the job as DXF files or Shapefiles. See To export data from the job.

Staking

You can select items (points, lines and arcs) in DXF files and Shapefiles and stake them out.

1. Tap in the map toolbar and select the Map files tab. Make sure the layers containing the items to stake are visible and selectable.
2. In the map, tap the item to select it. For lines, tap near the end of the line to select the start of the line.
3. Tap Stakeout or press Enter on the controller to start stakeout.