CREATING A MESH FROM A TXT FILE
		This page outlines a method for creating a mesh from a txt file using the new Place Mesh from Surveyor's Data feature in ArchiCAD 14. The data in the txt file can be copied from an Excel file, allowing the creation of complex forms from mathematical formulas. The illustration to the left shows a relatively simple mesh created using this method outlined below.

1. First, a brief explanation about the txt file format, which is the bridge between the Excel spreadsheet and ArchiCAD. A web page explaining this format is here. The first line is not read as part of the mesh, it simply shows the delimiters between the X, Y, Z and ID inputs. The delimiters can be spaces, commas or tabs, I have used spaces in this example. "#" is used for marking comments, numbers and text following this symbol are not read as part of the mesh. The order of points does not matter, the perimeter points can be mixed in with the interior points. Values less than 1 need a 0 before the decimal point (for example "0.55" will work, ".55" will not). Each line contains an X, Y, Z and optional alphanumeric ID (for example: 1.1, 2.1, 0.6, point56).

2. Now the Excel file. In this example I have created a grid of 10 x 10 squares equally spaced (X and Y values), with calculations for the Z points in an arc increasing in height from front to rear. The perimeter can be any shape, and the points do not need to conform to a grid, they can have any X, Y and Z values (like a site mesh). In this example I have used a trigonometric function to calculate the Z heights.

3. Within the Excel file, a formula is used to convert the calculations to a line that can be copied into the txt file. This formula combines the X, Y, Z and AlphaNumeric ID values with the delimiters.

4. Select the column with the conversion formulas, including the top row that has the delimiter example, and copy.

5. Switch to your text application (I used TextEdit on the Mac), open a new blank file, and paste (in TextEdit, use Paste and Match Style to eliminate any extraneous formatting). The selected rows from Excel come into the text application with the correct formatting, one row per point.

The TextEdit file will have a file extension of .rtf, so select this file in the Finder and change its file extension to .txt.

6. The file is now ready for import into ArchiCAD. Under the Standard Profile 14 Work Environment, the Place Mesh from Surveyor's Data command is under the Design menu. (If you have imported a Work Environment from an earlier version of ArchiCAD, you will need to add this command to your Work Environment.) A dialog box appears for setting the units, zero level and how to place the Mesh.

7. A Mesh based on your formulas is placed in the ArchiCAD file.

8. This Mesh is editable in the 2D and 3D Window, or the formulas can be changed in Excel and the process from steps 4 through 6 repeated to replace the Mesh.