DXFGate+ - EARTH-CALC

Topsoil sample - uncoded mound prep

Load Topsoil.
Press Fit, then zoom or pan until all points are visible.
Use ID, Z, and Text only when you need point numbers, levels, or raw DXF labels.
Click a point, or use Pnt ID, to inspect it in Point Info.
Notice this sample has useful positions and levels, but no Earth-Calc roles. That makes it ideal DXFGate prep work.
Press Shot order. The thin dotted orange line shows the order the shots were collected.
Treat shot order as a draft guide only. It is not a confirmed BB base string yet.
Use Select or Lasso to highlight the internal mound points.
Avoid the perimeter/toe points. If you highlight the wrong points, press Deselect before assigning a role.
Press PSL. The selected internal points become spot/internal level points.
Repeat the Select/Lasso and PSL step until only the likely perimeter/toe points remain in the draft line.
When the remaining line follows the base/toe of the mound, clear any selection and press BB.
Check that the solid orange BB string and red PSL points look sensible on screen.
Use Join pts or Delete line for small BB repairs if needed.
Check the CSV Review.
When EC CSV becomes active, export the CSV. The original DXF is not overwritten.
Load the exported CSV into Earth-Calc and run the mound volume calculation.

Topsoil is an approximate prep route because the original DXF is not properly coded. Visually confirm the chosen BB perimeter before relying on the volume.

Substock sample - coded base/top route

Load Substock, then zoom out or press Fit.
Notice the two outlier points away from the main mound. This is common in site DXF files.
Clean route: press Delete point, then click each outlier point in turn.
Alternative route: press Shrink-wrap first. If the outliers are pulled into the orange base outline, use Delete point on them, then recheck the outline.
Shrink-wrap creates a confirmed BB base outline and turns remaining candidate mound points into PSL.
When the base outline and PSL points look sensible, check the CSV Review.
When EC CSV becomes active, export the CSV and load it into Earth-Calc for the volume calculation.
For an extra inspection check, find Surface Builder in the right column and press Build TIN preview.
Press Profile in the top toolbar, then click one point just outside the mound and another point on the opposite side.
The profile appears along the bottom of the screen. Press CLEAR PNTS before CLOSE if you want to remove the current profile line.

Known base/toe codes still take priority when present. Shrink-wrap is an assist, not proof: always check the orange BB outline before export.

Canal sample - breach inspection

Load Canal. This is a large mixed-survey DXF with canal-bank breach/repair detail.
If the file is unknown, zoom into both spots first and decide which one is the real site body of work.
In this sample, keep the top-right survey data. The bottom-left point is an outlier.
Fit is not helpful yet because the outlier controls the drawing extents.
Use Select and drag around the bottom-left outlier point.
Press Delete selected.
Now press Fit. The main survey should fill the view properly.
You should now see a temporary site setup, canal, and a canal-bank breach/repair area.
Use Area to estimate the breach footprint. Area supports up to 30 vertices.
Use Dist for quick multi-leg checks and Dim if you want to leave labelled measurements on the drawing.
Use Surface Builder then Build TIN preview before using Profile.
Use Profile across the breach area to inspect the approximate shape of the breach section.
A typical future workflow is to trim the file down to the breach area, then compare this survey with a later repair survey as two surfaces to estimate gross placed material.

Canal is mainly a viewer/inspection practice file. It highlights why outliers must be removed before Fit, Area, Profile, or later surface comparison work becomes useful.

Formation sample - secondary viewer practice

Load Formation to practise general DXF viewing, text, point inspection, and layer behaviour.
Use Pnt ID to check both survey points and source DXF vertices.
If it does not help the Earth-Calc route, treat it as optional familiarisation rather than a core volume example.

Tool methods - choose the route

View first

Load the file, read What's in it, then use Fit.
Use Layers, ID, Z, and Text to reveal or reduce detail.
Use Pnt ID and Point Info when you need to know exactly what a point or source vertex is.

Prep for Earth-Calc

Use Shot order, Select, Lasso, Shrink-wrap, Code Map, or Layers to find likely BB/TB/L/PSL data.
Assign roles with BB, TB, L, and PSL.
Repair with Join pts, Delete line, Delete point, Delete selected, and Delete within.
Check CSV Review, then use EC CSV. Report tools and label hiding must not change EC CSV rows.

Clean labels for a report

Turn on ID or Z.
Use Lasso or Select to choose a dense clump, then press Hide labels.
Select individual points and press Show labels to bring back only the useful labels.

Inspect, measure, report

Use Area for footprint checks, Dist for quick multi-leg path measurement, and Dim when the measurement should stay on the drawing.
Use Angle for a three-point angle check.
Use the purple Radius tool for segmented/approximate curves: click 3 or more points/vertices along the perceived curve, then pin that fitted readout if needed.
Use Pnt ID for true DXF ARC/CIRCLE radii: turn on Pnt ID, click the curved line, then Point Info shows true Radius, Arc length, PIN RAD, ALL RADS, and RAD PDF.
Be careful: true DXF curves report true arc length. User-selected radius points can report a shorter arc length if the clicked points do not cover the full curve.
Kerb note: if a visual kerb radius is drawn from multiple DXF arc/line entities, or has duplicate parallel kerb lines, ALL RADS may create more than one numbered entry for what looks like the same radius. Delete any duplicate/unwanted targets before pressing RAD PDF.
If ALL RADS is not visible, you are not currently inspecting a true DXF ARC/CIRCLE with Pnt ID, or that curve's layer is hidden. Segmented curves use the purple Radius tool instead.
For an all-radius schedule, use Pnt ID on a true DXF radius, press ALL RADS in Point Info, click any unwanted numbered targets to remove them, then press RAD PDF.
While ALL RADS is live, the Point Info controls stay available. Use Pan to move around, then return to Pnt ID or turn Pan off before clicking numbered targets off.
Build a TIN in Surface Builder, then use Profile for an approximate section.
Use Markup and Report Basket for captures, notes, highlights, and PDF output.
Use Original + Gate layers when you want the rich original DXF preserved and DXFGate notes, highlights, dimensions, and role/string overlays added as extra layers.
Use DXFGte-Vwd for the simplified viewed/marked drawing route. It represents the visible working copy and is useful for clean evidence, but it is not a full original CAD round-trip.
The exported filenames start with a DXFGate date/time stamp followed by the original DXF name. Left unchanged, those files sort into a diary/timeline of what was viewed or issued at a particular date and time.
The exported DXF also includes a small DXFGTE_VWD_BOX title box above the drawing with the original file name, opened/saved times, saved file name, and linked user label when available.
When emailing a DXFGte-Vwd file, also include the original DXF. The viewed file is an audit/markup companion, not a replacement for the source drawing.

Top tools - what each one does

View and edit

Fit fits the visible working geometry.
Shot order shows a draft dotted line from collection order.
Select box-selects or toggles points.
Lasso draws around points and adds them to selection.
Join pts connects two chosen points or closes a small gap.
Delete line removes a visible line segment.
Delete point hard-deletes one point.
Pan moves the drawing without selecting, editing, or inspecting.

Roles and cleanup

BB, TB, L, and PSL assign Earth-Calc roles.
Clear role removes roles from selected points.
Deselect clears the active selection.
Delete selected deletes selected points.
Delete within deletes points, linework, and text inside the selected footprint.
Shrink-wrap builds a candidate boundary, using known base/toe codes first where present.

Inspection and display

Area, Dist, Dim, Angle, Radius, and Profile are DXFGate+ inspection/report tools.
Radius is the 3+ point fitted-radius tool for segmented or approximate curves.
Pnt ID inspects survey points, source DXF vertices, and true DXF ARC/CIRCLE curves; true-curve radius tools appear in Point Info.
ID, Z, and Text control point numbers, levels, and raw DXF labels.
Hide labels and Show labels clean derived ID/Z labels for selected points only.

Right panels - method and use

File: drop/open DXF files and load practice samples.
What's in it: first diagnostic check for DXF version, entities, points, linework, text, and code hints.
Surface Builder: build/clear TIN preview and unlock profile inspection.
Point Info: read the selected point/source-vertex ID, E, N, Z, role, layer, text source, and true DXF curve radius controls.
Boundary & recode: advanced shot-range and source-code grabbing when the simple tools are not enough.
Code Map: map incoming survey codes to BB, TB, L, PSL, or IGNORE.
Layers: show/hide DXF layers and use layer roles when a whole layer is meaningful.
Markup: add report-only notes/highlights and control highlight fill.
Report Basket: capture full views, capture areas, include/exclude pages, delete captures, and produce PDF evidence.
CSV Review: inspect the exact EC CSV rows before export.
EXPORT: EC CSV, DXFGte-Vwd viewed/marked DXF, PDF report, and future EC file routes.

The safe order is inspect first, assign roles second, review CSV third, export last. Markup, dimensions, report captures, and hidden labels are for display/reporting only.