Streamlining Structural Engineering with BricsCAD: Extracting and Exporting Real-World Coordinates for Piles

By Scott Fitzgerald BricsCAD Civil Engineering Construction General June 24, 2024

Introduction

At KTF Software, we pride ourselves on providing top-tier support and solutions for our customers. Recently, we had the opportunity to assist a structural engineer using BricsCAD Lite with a specific challenge: extracting real-world coordinates for pile locations and exporting them into a table format.

Our customer had a drawing set up for piles and needed to extract the X and Y coordinates of each pile (circle object) into an Excel sheet. While the DATAEXTRACTION command in BricsCAD allowed for easy extraction of coordinates, he needed a way to assign and export pile numbers (e.g., P1, P2, etc.). Manually matching coordinates to pile numbers was not an efficient solution.

The Solution

To address this, we developed a custom LISP routine. Here’s a step-by-step guide on how we achieved this and how you can utilize it for your projects:

Download and Load the LISP Routine
- Load the LISP routine in BricsCAD using the APPLOAD command.
Invoke the LISP Command
- Run the command CircleEastingNorthing2csv in BricsCAD.
CSV Generation
- The routine generates a CSV file in the same folder as your DWG file, containing the coordinates and pile numbers.
Open and Edit CSV in Excel
- Open the CSV file in Excel to adjust data as required (e.g., tweak decimal places or change row order).
Import Data into BricsCAD as a Table
- Copy the data from Excel.
- In BricsCAD, use the Paste Special command (PASTESPEC), select the CSV option to import the data as a table entity.
- Modify the table as needed within BricsCAD.

For drawings set with “mm” units (INSUNITS=4), our LISP routine automatically converts coordinates from millimeters to meters, ensuring true easting and northing values.

Conclusion

This solution not only saves time but also reduces errors associated with manual data handling. It exemplifies our commitment to enhancing your workflow and delivering tailored solutions that meet your unique needs.

At KTF Software, we are dedicated to supporting our clients and helping them get the most out of their software investments. Whether it’s through custom scripts, training, or direct support, we’re here to help you succeed.

Interested in learning more about how we can support your structural engineering projects with BricsCAD? Contact us today!