Howdy folks.  (I thought it would be prudent to use the cowboy greeting since the Calgary Stampede begins today.)  I have a number of surveyor clients who are a little jazzed about 3 new tidbits from the developers of the 2010 version. Check them out after the jump.

First tidbit.  You need not use an FBK to add data to your survey database.  You have four choices now.

Second tidbit.  You need not include BEG and END statements.  If you’re importing from a text file you need only define Figure Prefixes.  Your lines will automatically connect if your description matches that of any Figure Prefix.  Below, any of my points with descriptions CL, DWY, or EP will have survey figures drawn between them.  They connect in order by Point Number or Import Order, whichever you choose.  Granted, you must survey in a manner where linework will get connected in the desired order.  If you have EP on each side of the road and you survey in cross section like many surveyors do, your lines will criss-cross across the road.  You’ll need separate descriptions for left and right in this case.  By the way, you can still use BEG and END (or B and E) to start and end lines exactly where you want, you just don’t need to if all you want to do is connect everything.

Third tidbit.  Let’s say you’re surveying the pavement line of a road and you encounter a driveway.  Your road points may be “EP” and you’re driveway points could be “DWY”.  Essentially, you need figures to be joined to the same point; the figure currently being connected along your EP and a new one that starts at this EP/DWY point.  In this case, you just need to use this as your description for point number 4 below – “EP DWY”.  You can have as many figures begin here as long as you separate each description with a space.  Here is an excerpt from my text file.

Well that’s it gang.  Good surveying!