AutoMAP Library – update from MSCAD2002 to make it work in MSCAD2004

Most of our customers have taken the time and energy involved to harness the power of the AutoMAP Library.  But now that we have MSCAD2004, how do I get my old MSCAD2002 library to work correctly in 2004?  And I don’t want to redo it all of course!

To show an example of what editing you need to do, I will examine the MSCAD 2002 AutoMAP library called Fieldtofinish.csv.

You can simply use the Wordpad program to do all of the editing.

Below is the CSV file in question (right portion is not shown and should not concern us for this example).

The first line should NOT be touched in any way.  It denotes the fields used in the program.

The main thing you need to be concerned with changing are the locations of any symbols used.   In the above file, there are 9 symbols setup for MSCAD2002.  None of them will currently work in MSCAD2004 and need to be updated to the new symbol locations.

The first symbol is shown in the line below (right portion of the line not shown)

The symbol path and name are shown in bold.

FH,,,C:\MSCAD2002\MSCAD\BLOCKS\ICI_PSCP.FLX,0.000000,BARS,

In MSCAD2004, the same symbol is now found in the following location.

So our line would then need to be changed to the following, to reflect this:

FH,,,C:\MSCAD2004\SYMBOLS\FEET\POSTS\ICI_PSCP.FLX,0.000000,BARS,

Similarly, the next 4 symbols need to be updated.

HP,HP,,C:\MSCAD2002\MSCAD\BLOCKS\ICI_PSIP.FLX,0.000000,UTILITY,

IB,IRON BAR,,C:\MSCAD2002\MSCAD\BLOCKS\ICI_AI.FLX,0.000000,BARS, POST1,,,C:\MSCAD2002\MSCAD\BLOCKS\ICI_FSWP.FLX,0.000000,BARS, POST5,,,C:\MSCAD2002\MSCAD\BLOCKS\ICI_FSCP.FLX,0.000000,BARS,

To save you some time, all of the symbols that have the same relative location can be changed at the same time.  Depending upon exactly what you have – you may be able to do a simple search and replace of the path from C:\MSCAD2002\MSCAD\BLOCKS\ to

C:\MSCAD2004\SYMBOLS\FEET\POSTS\.  If not then a copy and paste option is quite quick as well.

HP,HP,,C:\MSCAD2004\SYMBOLS\FEET\POSTS\ICI_PSIP.FLX,0.000000,UTILITY,

IB,IRON BAR,,C:\MSCAD2004\SYMBOLS\FEET\POSTS\ICI_AI.FLX,0.000000,BARS, POST1,,,C:\MSCAD2004\SYMBOLS\FEET\POSTS\ICI_FSWP.FLX,0.000000,BARS, POST5,,,C:\MSCAD2004\SYMBOLS\FEET\POSTS\ICI_FSCP.FLX,0.000000,BARS,

The remaining symbols in this example are shown below:

SIB,,,C:\MSCAD2002\MSCAD\BLOCKS\TREET.FLX,4.000000,TREES, SW,,,C:\MSCAD2002\MSCAD\BLOCKS\TREE22.FLX,20.000000,TREES,

TREE,,,C:\MSCAD2002\MSCAD\BLOCKS\TREEO.FLX,7.000000,TREES,

WV,Water Valve,,C:\MSCAD2002\MSCAD\BLOCKS\ICI_PSC.FLX,0.000000,

Our Tree symbols are now found under the following location.

So with the appropriate change – the symbol entries would read:

SIB,,, C:\MSCAD2004\SYMBOLS\FEET\TREES\TREET.FLX,4.000000,TREES,

SW,,, C:\MSCAD2004\SYMBOLS\FEET\TREES\TREE22.FLX,20.000000,TREES,

TREE,,, C:\MSCAD2004\SYMBOLS\FEET\TREES\TREEO.FLX,7.000000,TREES,

WV,Water Valve,,C:\MSCAD2004\SYMBOLS\FEET\POSTS\ICI_PSC.FLX,0.000000,

If you had any custom symbols that you created and used in MSCAD2002, we suggest that you create a folder of your own under the Symbols folder – like we did for Trees, etc.  Copy all of your symbols into this folder.  Update your CSV file as required.  The bonus is that the Symbol Librarian command in 2004 will also automatically make use of the symbols in your folder.

Looking at my example CSV file with the changes completed:

This file can now be saved to the hard drive in the MSCAD2004\MSCAD folder so it will be available to use.

When you load the file the first time in MSCAD2004 – the remainder of the fields will automatically be updated to allow the new features to work. (layering etc.)

This AutoMAP library is now ready for use in MSCAD2004.

Glen W. Cameron, C.E.T.

Technical Support Manager