Trimble Business Center

This issue involves both TBC and Trimble connect.

I am trying to export utility networks from TBC and view in Trimble connect. I get the utility networks to come through but the colors do not appear to be working correctly only some of the colors show in Trimble Connect. When I drag the LandXML into a blank TBC project all of the colors appear to show up correctly (drainage: orange, sewer: green, existing sewer: off-green, existing drainage: off-orange). I think this is an issue with Trimble connect but I do not have a great way of isolating the issue.

I tried bringing this into Civil 3D and ran into a ton of other issues, so this wasn't a great check. Somethign for another post. 

LandXML actually does not transfer Colors at all - so if you are round tripping and getting it to work in TBC that must be because the Layers are already set up with colors that work - if we create layers for LandXMLdata they will all get the Default By Layer By Layer etc and then the Layer Settings need to change. Having said that we did do some work a while back to try and send a Layer Table with Colors to LandXML but this is non standard LandXML and Connect does not read that at all - so the defaults of Connect would be different.

Alan

XML supports colors. At least it is in the code

At least TBC does. Maybe this is what you are referring to. Perhaps that is why I can export and reimport into TBC with success and everything matching. Kudos and thank you! 

I am looking into a Civil3D XML and it looks like they do not support layers. When importing a Civil3D LandXML, TBC appears to do what you are explain with default to basic settings. 

Looks like I need to shake down the Civil 3D groups. More work ahead of me...

From Civil 3D:

The LandXML Schema does not support Color as Standard, the output from TBC does have an extended LandXML output that does transfer the Layer Colors as you have highlighted, however Connect does not support those Colors in a LandXML file (because it is non standard and because it is managed by a different group ...).

If you round trip output from TBC and then Import back into TBC the Colors will work.

When you  import a normal LandXML, if you use the Import command rather than Drag and Drop you can set some parameters on Import that are used to Layer the data from the LandXML - normal LandXML also doesn't support layers - so we allow the user to pick up on the Name and Description Fields and use those for layer names as a poor man's alternative - this at least splits the LandXML onto Layers that are more useful than everything on Layer 0 and a maunal sort through the data. The last used settings are remembered so after you have imported one file you can use Drag and Drop thereafter.

If before you import a LandXML file you can set up all the Layers with Colors and Linestyles etc. then on Import the data is directed to the existing Layers and pick up the Layer Properties for Color and Linestyle etc. That means having a Template for the data coming from a specific Engineer and relying that the Engineer will be consistent from Project to Project.

Hope this helps

Alan

That does. Thanks Alan