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You can import a CSV point file into Virtual Surveyor to complete your drone data. Those points can be measured by any type of terrestrial survey equipment. The only thing you need to pay attention to is the formatting of the file.

This article explain how to correctly format a CSV file before importing it into Virtual Surveyor. Then we will go through a complete process to model the terrain under a bridge thanks to additional total station data. 

CSV file format

To be compatible with Virtual Surveyor, your CSV file needs to respect some formatting rules. 

Make sure the csv file has column headers. The first line of the point file should at least contains a field called 'X' and one called 'Y'. You can also include optional fields called "Z", "P", "D", "Name" or "Layer". 

• P - Point number
• X - Easting coordinate of the point
• Y - Northing coordinate of the point
• Z - Elevation of the point
• D - Descriptor
• Name - Point name
• Layer - Point layer

More headers are recognized by Virtual surveyor for these properties. More info in the tips and tricks section below.

The order of the column is not significant. You can move the columns. It's not an issue if the files contains extra columns generated by the survey equipment. Virtual Surveyor only reads the data in the columns with PXYZD headers. 

The CSV file are formatted according to your Windows regional settings. Before importing CSV be sure to set different symbol for decimals and list separators. Have a look to that Windows support article to learn more how to tune those settings. If you change your regional settings, don't forget to restart Virtual Surveyor before launching another point import.

CSV import

You can easily import a well formatted CSV file. Drag and drop the file in the project view or click on choose files in the bottom section of the project view. Your points are automatically added to a new layer.

Usage : model the terrain under a bridge.

To illustrate the point file import, lets see how to add total station data to model the terrain under a bridge. 

1. Check the format of the CSV file exported from the total station. If needed, use a text editor to give it the right format.
2. Drag and drop the CSV point file in the project view.
   
   
3. Use the 2D view mode to see the points under the bridge.
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4. Draw lines to connect the points and create the survey under the bridge.
   
   
5. Triangulate the survey to create the surface under the bridge
   
   
6. Select the surface and modify the elevation terrain.
   
   

Tips and tricks

• Instead of importing a point file you can also use a CAD file exported from your survey equipment. In addition to points, those files can contain other survey items like lines or boundaries. 

• Property	Supported headers (case not sensitive)
  Easting coordinate of the point	x xcoord x coord x-coord x coordinate x-coordinate longitude easting long
  Northing coordinate of the point	y ycoord y coord y-coord y coordinate y-coordinate latitude northing lat
  Elevation of the point	z zcoord z coord z-coord z coordinate z-coordinate height elevation altitude
  Point name	name title
  Point number	number p
  Point descriptor	descriptor d
  Point layer	layer group