Learning Center

Export a survey

Save a survey as a file for design software, GIS, Google Earth or your records: XYZ or KML from the Load list, and CSV, TSV, XYZ, KML, Shapefile ZIP or LandXML from Field Survey and Levee. Every export lands in Documents/DitchAssist/exports.

  • Full Automation Kit
  • Guidance Only Kit
  • Ditch Assist Lite
  • DIG™ Kit

In the app Survey sidebar › Load › survey › share icon › Export XYZ / Export KML

Exports turn a saved survey into a standard file you can open elsewhere: in your design software, a GIS, Google Earth, or the Job Viewer. Where you export from depends on the kind of survey.

SurveyExport from
Route surveys (Ditching, Simple Grading, Terracing, Tiling, Excavation)The Load window: XYZ or KML. Steps
Whole-field surveys (Field Survey from Levee, contour work or Land Forming)Field Survey's list of saved surveys: seven formats, with Share. Steps
Field surveys opened from LeveeLevee's Load Saved Survey list: five formats, with Share. Steps

Every export is saved in Documents/DitchAssist/exports/ on the tablet. Coordinates are latitude/longitude (WGS84) and elevations are in metres.

Before you start

Time: about a minute per export.

  • The survey is saved. Exports work from saved surveys only.
  • The app has All files access, so the file lands where you can find it (Check All files access).
  • To send the file by email or Drive: the tablet is on Wi-Fi with internet (Wi-Fi on the tablet).

Export a route survey (XYZ or KML)

Tap Survey

On the Home screen, tap Survey: the second button in the column down the right side. It works once a workflow is open (a card on Home shows ACTIVE). The Survey screen opens with the map.

Home screen with nine workflow cards, Leveling marked ACTIVE. The right-hand column of buttons reads Home, Survey, Grade, Settings, Manual and Pre-Flight Checks.
  1. Survey. Second button down the right side.

Tap Load

At the bottom of the column of buttons down the right side: a dark button with a folder icon. A window called Load opens on the Surveys tab.

Survey screen. The right-hand column reads Home, IQ Survey, Field Survey, Start, Drive and Shots, Slope-IQ, and at the bottom Reset and Load.
  1. Load. Bottom right of the column, with a folder icon.

Tap the share icon on the survey's row

Find the survey by its name. Surveys are grouped by day, newest first. On its row, tap the share icon: a box with an arrow pointing up, between Load and the trash can. A small menu opens.

Load window, Surveys tab. Rows grouped by day, each with a name, points and length, a green Load button, a share icon and a trash icon.
  1. Share icon. Box with an up arrow, between Load and the trash can.
  2. The survey's name and size, on the same row.

Tap Export XYZ or Export KML

  • Export XYZ: a text file, one point per line, tab-separated: latitude, longitude, elevation in metres.
  • Export KML: opens in Google Earth. A green line for the route plus a pin per point with its elevation and distance in feet.
The Load window with a small menu open next to the S1_XYZ_Raw row: Export XYZ and Export KML
  1. Export XYZ, Export KML. Tap the one you need.

The file is saved

The menu closes and the Load window stays open. A message starting Exported: shows for a few seconds along the bottom, behind the dimmed window, so you may hardly see it. The file is saved anyway.

Close the window with the X at its top right.

The Load window after the export, with its survey list and an X in the top-right corner
  1. X. Closes the Load window. The exported file is already saved.

There's no Share button for these exports. Copy the file from Documents/DitchAssist/exports with a USB cable, or share it from the tablet's My Files app. Both are shown in Move files to and from the tablet. The file is named after the survey, with a long number on the end, so a new export never replaces an old one.

Survey elevations already have the blade height taken off, so they are ground elevations. They are in the frame of the base station used that day; calibrate to a benchmark when you bring a design back from another program.

An XYZ export can go back into the app on another tablet, with Import survey file (XYZ / XYZP) at the top of the Load window in Ditching, Excavation or Tiling.

Export a whole-field survey

Field Survey is the whole-field survey you drive for Levee, contour work or Land Forming. These steps start in Levee; the contour workflows and Land Forming open the same Field Survey screen from their own survey button.

  1. Tap the Levee card on Home

    It's in the bottom row of the nine cards, in the middle. Connect, or tap Simulate, if the app asks (Connect to your kit). The Contour Guidance choices appear.

    Home screen with nine workflow cards. The middle card of the bottom row reads Levee, Contour Guide.
    1. Levee. Bottom row, middle card.
  2. Tap Survey New Field

    The first choice under Contour Guidance. When saved field surveys exist, a window called Resume or export existing survey opens.

    Levee window: Contour Guidance, Survey a field or load existing elevation data, then generate contours to follow. Two choices: Survey New Field and Use Existing Data 1
    1. Survey New Field. Opens Field Survey, with your saved surveys listed first.
  3. Tap the survey

    Each saved survey is listed with its points, sessions and date. Tap the one to export. A window called Survey actions opens.

    Resume or export existing survey window: Show only levee surveys ticked, the saved survey North 40 levee with 59 pts, 1 session and a date, and Cancel and Start Fresh Survey buttons 1
    1. A saved survey. Tap it to resume it or export it.
  4. Tap a format

    The formats are listed under Export formats, below Resume survey.

    Survey actions window for North 40 levee: Resume survey, then Export formats CSV, TSV, XYZ space-delimited, XYZ semicolon-delimited, KML, Shapefile ZIP and LandXML, and Cancel 1 2
    1. Resume survey. Carries on collecting points instead.
    2. Export formats. Seven choices, explained in the table below.
  5. Tap Share, or Done

    A window reads Exported to and the file name, with the full path under it. Tap Share to send the file straight to email, Drive or Quick Share (email and Drive need internet). Tap Done to leave it in exports.

    Window over the dimmed field map: Exported to survey_2026-10-17_00_42.csv, the full path in Documents/DitchAssist/exports, and buttons Done and Share
    1. Done and Share. Share opens Android's list of ways to send the file.

Pick the format here:

ChoiceFile
CSV — comma-delimitedlat,lon,elev_m · .csv. Opens in a spreadsheet.
TSV — tab-delimitedSame, tab-separated · .tsv
XYZ — space-delimitedlat lon elev_m · .xyz
XYZ — semicolon-delimitedlat;lon;elev_m · .xyz
KML — Google Earth point cloudEvery point as a pin · .kml
Shapefile ZIP - pointsA .zip with SHP, SHX, DBF and PRJ (3D points) for GIS.
LandXML - point surveySurvey points (CgPoints) · .xml

Ask the person who will use the file which one they want. CSV and Shapefile suit most GIS and drainage design programs.

Export from Levee

Levee can export a saved field survey from its own list, in five formats. Shapefile and LandXML are only in Field Survey (above).

  1. Tap Use Existing Data

    The second choice under Contour Guidance, when you open Levee from Home. The Levee screen shows its Contour Guidance panel with a row of coloured buttons.

    Levee window: Contour Guidance with the two choices Survey New Field and Use Existing Data 1
    1. Use Existing Data. Import a DEM, LiDAR, saved survey, or job.
  2. Tap Saved Survey

    The orange button under Or use existing data, on the left. A window called Load Saved Survey opens.

    Levee screen with the Contour Guidance panel: Survey New Field, then a row of buttons under Or use existing data starting with an orange Saved Survey button
    1. Saved Survey. First button under Or use existing data.
  3. Tap the share icon on the survey's row

    The box with an up arrow at the right end of the row, left of the trash can. A window called Export format opens: WGS84 (EPSG:4326). Elevation in meters. Saved under /Documents/DitchAssist/exports/

    Load Saved Survey window: North 40 levee, 59 points, 1 session and a date, a share icon and a trash icon, Use for Contours, and Cancel 1
    1. Export / share. Next to the trash can.
  4. Tap a format

    CSV, TSV, XYZ (space or semicolon) or KML. The window closes.

    Export format window: WGS84 (EPSG:4326), elevation in meters, saved under Documents/DitchAssist/exports; choices CSV, TSV, XYZ space-delimited, XYZ semicolon-delimited and KML; Cancel 1
    1. Five formats. The same files as in the table above.
  5. Tap Share in the message, if you want to send it

    A message along the bottom of the screen reads Exported to and the file name, with Share at its right end. To close the message without sharing, swipe it down.

    Levee screen with a dark message bar along the bottom: Exported to survey_2026-10-17_00_42.csv, and Share at the right end
    1. Exported to … The file is in Documents/DitchAssist/exports.
    2. Share. Send it by email, Drive or Quick Share.

If it doesn't work

Export failed. Check storage permission.“Export failed. Check storage permission.”

The app doesn't have All files access. Switch it on (Check All files access), then close the app fully and open it again (Close an app fully). Export again.

The Exported path isn't Documents/DitchAssist/exports

Without All files access the app writes the file to its private storage, where you can't reach it over USB. Fix the permission as above and export again.

I tapped Export XYZ and nothing seemed to happen

In the Load window the Exported: message shows faintly behind the dimmed window for a few seconds. The file is saved. Look in Documents/DitchAssist/exports: the newest file has the survey's name and a long number.

Could not load survey data for export“Could not load survey data for export.”

The survey file couldn't be read. Try another survey; if it is one you need, copy the surveys folder off and contact Ditch Assist support.

I can't find the exported file on my PC

On the computer, open the tablet's Internal storage, then Documents, then DitchAssist, then exports (Copy with a USB cable). If it isn't there yet, unplug and replug the cable so the list refreshes.

Did this answer your question?

Still stuck? Talk to a product specialist. 1-833-DITCH-AS · support@ditchassist.com · Monday to Friday, 8 a.m.–5 p.m. Central.

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