Before you start

File formats supported:

• XYZ — text file with three columns per line: X (lat or easting), Y (lon or northing), Z (existing elevation). The app uses Z as the design — there is no separate proposed surface. Cut/fill is not available.
• XYZP — four columns: X, Y, Z (existing), P (proposed). The app computes cut = Z − P at every point. This is the standard format for land-forming design software output, including Geo-Surface™.
• AGD — drainage software export with extra columns. The app uses the Code column to recognize:
  • 0MB — master benchmark (one per file). Appears as a Design BM row in the Calibrate Elevation sheet for drive-to calibration.
  • 2BAL{n} — section / balance boundary polylines (closed loops). Drawn on the map as dotted pink loops. (The dashed purple rectangle on the forming map is a different element — it outlines the overall design bounds.)
  • 3GRD — grade points (the actual XYZP design points).
• LandXML — TIN surface from civil engineering software. The app projects State Plane / UTM / WKT to WGS84 and clips outside the boundary. Multi-surface files let you pick which surface to import.

Tolerant text-file parsing (XYZ / XYZP / AGD). Column separators may be tab, semicolon, comma, or whitespace — semicolon-delimited European CSV imports fine. Numbers may use dot decimals (247.65), comma decimals (247,65), or European thousands separators with comma decimals (1.234,56). A line like 47,25;-97,35;247,65 imports correctly. Header rows are still auto-skipped.

Other prerequisites:

• RTK Fixed GPS, controller connection, correct blade height — same as every grading mode.
• The file must be on the tablet (downloaded, copied via USB, or shared from your design software).
• For really big designs (>50,000 points), expect a multi-minute triangulation step. The app warns you and shows a percent ring.

About benchmarks in Forming mode

If your file is AGD with a 0MB row, you have an imported benchmark with a known surveyed elevation. Always use this BM for calibration — it is the most accurate way to align the GPS frame to the design.

If your file is XYZP without imported BMs, you set the BM by driving to a zero-cut/fill point on the design (somewhere the proposed and existing elevations match) and running a 5-second average.