How to erase C3D points in acad?

So the routine apparently did not really "convert" them, it just made new Carlson points?

> So the routine apparently did not really "convert" them, it just made new Carlson points?

The routine created new Carlson points on the same layer, and added them to the .crd file and the drawing. But the C3D points are still there too. Oddly, the Carlson points inherited the correct point number, elevation and description, but the point number is only seen in the .crd file. The point number attribute in the Carlson point block is blank, and I can't make Carlson update them.

I know in C3D you can lock points. I don't know if they are still locked in your drawing? If they aren't locked, you can just use the erase command in C3D.

> I know in C3D you can lock points. I don't know if they are still locked in your drawing? If they aren't locked, you can just use the erase command in C3D.

I don't have C3D. I have Carlson.

Can you move them to another layer then turn off that layer, I know that didnt answer your question, but it may help.

> Can you move them to another layer then turn off that layer, I know that didnt answer your question, but it may help.

Good thinkin! That works. Now if I can just get the point numbers assigned to the Carlson points.

Thanks!

I guess what I was saying what if I sent you a C3D drawing where the points were locked. In Carlson, would they still be locked keeping you from erasing them?

> I guess what I was saying what if I sent you a C3D drawing where the points were locked. In Carlson, would they still be locked keeping you from erasing them?

In Carlson, the C3D points are just acad proxy entities. Carlson doesn't "see" them as points, or as anything else. I'm trying to use the native autocad command "erase" to kill them, but they won't go away whether or not I explode them into plines and mtext first. The layer isn't locked, either. Just weird.

> I used Carlson to convert some C3D points to Carlson format. Now I want to erase the C3D points, but it won't let me. If I list one of them, it says:
>
> ACAD_PROXY_ENTITY Layer: "--Points-Water Line"
> Space: Model space
> Handle = 42e2c
> DXF name: AECC_COGO_POINT
>
> If I explode a C3D point, it turns into polylines and mtext entities. If I try erasing those, it reassembles them into the C3D point again.
>
> Grrrrr

Just a thought, When explode fails, try the BURST command.

> > I used Carlson to convert some C3D points to Carlson format. Now I want to erase the C3D points, but it won't let me. If I list one of them, it says:
> >
> > ACAD_PROXY_ENTITY Layer: "--Points-Water Line"
> > Space: Model space
> > Handle = 42e2c
> > DXF name: AECC_COGO_POINT
> >
> > If I explode a C3D point, it turns into polylines and mtext entities. If I try erasing those, it reassembles them into the C3D point again.
> >
> > Grrrrr
>
> Just a thought, When explode fails, try the BURST command.

Good idea. Didn't work tho. I select the proxy point and it immediately filters it out.

Command:
BURST

Select objects: 0 found

In Carlson under the Points tab, check your defaults and see what is selected to trace what happened.

You can list all points and see what you have.

Other choices under that tab will allow you to delete some or all of them and start over and choose where you want those points to go.

First I suggest you request the data in a format that you can use. For Carlson I would request an ASCII file P,N,E,Z formatted. That way there is a record of what you received and nobody can point fingers at you for errors caused by a convoluted conversion process.

I know of no engineering/surveying program that does not have the ability to export an ASCII file. So if they can't do it, they are just being lazy or trying to be difficult.

*Assuming you do not have complicated X-REF's and Layer States*
Assuming your Carlson points in the drawing look good. Follow these steps after backing your drawing up.

POINTS -> POINT UTILITIES -> UPDATE CRD FROM DRAWING.

VIEW -> THAW/ON ALL LAYERS
VIEW -> FREEZE LAYER BY SELECTION....Select the Carlson and C3D points.
CNTRL+A
CNTRL+C
N -> ENTER (to start new drawing)
Select your template
RIGHT CLICK -> PASTE TO ORIGINAL COORDINATES
POINTS -> DRAW LOCATE POINTS

You should be good to go if Carlson only recognizes it's own point blocks.

Find the block in the drawing that represents the C3d Block. Draw a gigantic circle in your drawing. Redefine the block to be the circle. Hopefully a circle will appear for each block. erase them and purge the drawing.

Solution

The Carlson conversion routine is almost enough by itself, but I need to do these steps to finish the conversion:

(Since I want to convert the C3D points to Carlson points and keep the points on the same individual layers, an ASCII point file is of no use.)

Open the drawing and set it up with a new, empty .crd file.

Points > Convert Point Format > Civil 3D to Carlson > Custom > ODA

Now the drawing and the .crd file have Carlson points, but the C3D points are still there.

Thaw/Turn On all layers you want to keep.

WBlock out everything in the drawing into a new drawing. The C3D points are proxy objects, so they can't be wblock'ed out.

Open the new drawing and set it to the .crd file from the first drawing.

The native cad entities are there, the Carlson points are there on the correct layers, but no C3D points are there.

The Carlson points have no point numbers assigned, so to fix that, go Points > Edit Point Attributes and select a Carlson point. The point number shows in the dialog box, so just click Okay and, whahlah, the point number attribute of the block fills in with the number.

Unfortunately, you have to do that for every point in the drawing. I'm still trying to find a way to make Carlson do that. The Edit Multiple Point Attributes command won't do it.

> Find the block in the drawing that represents the C3d Block. Draw a gigantic circle in your drawing. Redefine the block to be the circle. Hopefully a circle will appear for each block. erase them and purge the drawing.

The C3D point is not a "block". It's a proxy object. It can't be redefined.

Solution

I should add that the above procedure assumes the C3D user won't be adding more points. In my situation, I need to be able to convert C3D points to Carlson, but the C3D operator in the next room might be adding more points to the same work drawing in the future. So it's good to keep both sets of points in the drawing. Carlson and C3D can coexist, afterall. 🙂

Sorry ... that's all I got. 🙁

Make sure the layer is not locked and try pasting this in at the command line (and press enter).

(command "ERASE" (ssget "x" '((0 . "ACAD_PROXY_ENTITY"))) "")

"First I suggest you request the data in a format that you can use. For Carlson I would request an ASCII file P,N,E,Z formatted. That way there is a record of what you received and nobody can point fingers at you for errors caused by a convoluted conversion process."

AMEN!!