Learning Center

Land Forming: import errors, metric prompt or no cut/fill

Forming won't open without switching to metric, the design file is refused, a LandXML surface won't import, there's no cut/fill map, the map is all one colour, or Start says you're outside the design.

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  • DIG™ Kit

In the app Home › Forming › Land Forming Design

Land Forming grades to a 3D design surface from your land-forming design software, or from Geo-Surface™ for simple designs. The app reads XYZ, XYZP and AGD files and LandXML surfaces, works in metric only, and needs proposed elevations in the file to show cut and fill.

Before you start

  • Have the design file's name and type (XYZ, XYZP, AGD or LandXML) and know where it came from.
  • Calibration steps use the BM badge at the top of the screen: how to calibrate.

Time: 1 to 5 minutes, plus time to export the design again if the file is the problem.

Quick checks first

  • Export the design as XYZP or AGD with proposed elevations (plain XYZ gives no cut/fill), under about 50,000 points.
  • Accept the switch to metric when you open Forming.
  • Calibrate after loading, ideally to the design's own benchmark (Design BM).

Find your symptom

Tap the line that matches what you see. It opens with the causes, most likely first. Check tells you how to spot the cause. Fix tells you what to do, one step at a time.

Forming won't open unless you switch to metric“Switch to Metric Units?”
Switch to Metric Units? dialog explaining that Land Forming designs are authored in metres, with Cancel and Switch to Metric buttons
  1. Switch to Metric. The only way into Forming. Cancel returns to Home.

Land Forming is metric only

Fix:

  1. Tap Switch to Metric (the green button at the bottom right of the window, picture above). You should see the Land Forming screen open.
  2. Read depths in metres and millimetres while you form: designs, the cut/fill legend and on-grade tolerance all use them.
  3. When you leave Forming and want feet again, open Settings and change the UNITS box back. See Settings.
The design file is refused“No valid data points found in file. N line(s) could not be parsed.”
Land Forming Design dialog with a red box: No valid data points found in file. 6 line(s) could not be parsed. 1
  1. The reason. Here a world file (.jgw) was picked by mistake.

It's not a design file, or the wrong layout Most likely

Check: Open the file in a text editor. XYZ is latitude, longitude, elevation; XYZP adds a proposed elevation as the 4th column; both in decimal degrees, separated by tabs, commas, semicolons or spaces. AGD has its own header and a Code column. A KML, image or world file gives this message. No non-empty lines in file or File is empty: … means there's nothing in it.

Fix:

  1. On the computer, export the design again from your design software as XYZP or AGD.
  2. Copy the new file into the tablet's Downloads folder. See Files on the tablet.
  3. In Land Forming Design, pick the new file. You should see the design summary with a point count instead of the red box.

Proposed elevations missing on some rows

Check: Line N: this XYZP file is missing the proposed elevation (4th column)… or Line N: this AGD file has a 3GRD row missing its proposed elevation…

Fix: Fix or delete the named line, or export again so every row has both elevations.

An AGD with no grade points

Check: No grade points (3GRD) found in AGD file.

Fix: Export the AGD with grade points included, or export XYZP.

The file moved

Check: File not found: …

Fix:

  1. Copy the file into the tablet's Downloads folder again.
  2. In Land Forming Design, pick it again from Downloads.
A LandXML surface won't import“No <Surface> elements found in file”

No triangulated surface in the file Most likely

Check: Or Surface "…" has N points but no triangle faces — the TIN is empty or could not be parsed. or No valid TIN data found in selected surfaces.

Fix: Export a TIN surface (with faces) to LandXML 1.2. Pick the finished-grade surface, not existing ground.

Unknown or unsupported coordinate system

Check: The CRS reading in the import stats says Unknown CRS, or the preview looks stretched or flipped. The app reads the coordinate system from the file (NAD83 State Plane and UTM are recognised, others from the file's own WKT); there's no picker to change it. NAD27 zones that need a grid shift (including the Dakotas) don't import correctly.

Fix: Export the LandXML again in NAD83 State Plane or UTM, with the coordinate system written into the file. Check the design lines up on the map before grading.

The terrain file won't load

Check: Failed to read terrain file: … or Terrain import failed: … at step 2.

Fix: Pick another surface or carry on without terrain (you then get no cut/fill against existing ground).

Triangulating takes forever, or Resume sits on Loading

A large design Most likely

Check: The ring shows progress. 30,000 points takes several minutes; over 50,000 isn't recommended.

Fix: Wait, don't close the app. Next time have the design software thin the points.

A damaged file

Fix: If it never finishes, delete the job and import again.

No cut/fill map and no Auto-Nudge“XYZ format — design elevations only. No cut/fill overlay or auto-nudge available.”
Land Forming Design summary for an XYZ file: 39 points, elevation range 4.7 m, and an amber note: XYZ format — design elevations only. No cut/fill overlay or auto-nudge available. 1
  1. XYZ note. One surface only, so nothing to compare.

The file has only one surface

Fix: Use XYZP or AGD with proposed elevations. A LandXML design without an existing-terrain file has the same limit; add the terrain XML.

The cut/fill map is all red or all blue

Not calibrated, or calibrated wrong Most likely

Check:

  1. Look at the BM badge at the top of the screen. Grey means not calibrated.
  2. Orange, with Restored from <date> in the status line, means it is using last session's offset, which may be wrong today.

Fix:

  1. Tap the BM badge. The Calibrate Elevation window opens. It may say how far you are from zero cut/fill.
  2. If the window has a Design BM row, park on that benchmark and tap the row.
  3. If there is no Design BM row, park at a spot that should be zero cut/fill and tap the loaded design row.
  4. You should see the map show both cut and fill colours, and the reading where you stand close to zero. Step-by-step pictures: Grade is off.
No Design BM row in the Calibrate Elevation window

The file carries no benchmark

Check: AGD files list benchmarks as 0MB rows; XYZ/XYZP lines need BM, BENCH or BENCHMARK in them. LandXML has no benchmark support.

Fix: Either calibrate to the loaded design at a spot that should be zero cut/fill (steps under all red or all blue), or set a known elevation:

  1. Park on a spot whose elevation you know.
  2. Tap the BM badge at the top of the screen.
  3. In Calibrate Elevation, tap Advanced.
  4. Type the known elevation in metres in the box under Enter the known survey elevation at your current position.
  5. Tap Set BM next to the box.
  6. In the box that asks Set your current position to …? This replaces the current calibration., tap Set BM.
  7. You should see a green status line at the top of Calibrate Elevation.
Calibrate Elevation with Advanced open: Enter the known survey elevation at your current position, a field showing 812.50 and a Set BM button
  1. Advanced. Opens the known-elevation box.
  2. The box and Set BM. Type the elevation in the box, then tap Set BM at its right end. (This picture was taken in feet; in Forming the app works in metres.)
Section boundaries don't show on the map

Only AGD files with boundary rows carry them

Fix: Export an AGD with boundaries from your design software.

Start says you're outside the design“GPS is outside the forming design area. Move inside the design before starting.”

No target where you are

Fix:

  1. Look at the map: your machine icon should sit inside the coloured design area.
  2. Drive until it does.
  3. Tap Start. You should see the cut/fill reading appear.

If you drive off the design while grading there's no message: the grade tone just stops.

No design loaded

Check: The map shows No Forming Design Loaded.

Fix: Import the design file. See Import a design.

Still not fixed?

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