Civil 3D provides reporting methods using both XML Reporting and .NET reports. This post is
going to focus on the XML Reporting. XML Reporting lets you export information from a drawing into an XML file which is then transformed using an XSL file. The first thing you should know about XSL, is that Autodesk views them as example reports as indicated in the warnings contained within the XSL sheets.
“This is a sample report form for generating metes and bounds legal descriptions for parcels. This report form (stylesheet) is not intended to be a replacement for a trained, experienced professional. It is intended as a example to make the professional more productive.”
While we can wish Autodesk would put in a report exactly the way we want, it would appear Autodesk’s position is that you the professional should take the example and produce your own report that meets your requirements. So now that we know we need to modify the reports to meet our requirements, how do we do this?
First we need to know where the report files are stored. They are located here: C:\ProgramData\Autodesk\C3D 2011\enu\Data\Reports\xsl (at least in Windows 7/Vista). Each report has it’s own XSL file. The XSLstands for EXtensible Stylesheet Language and provides the instructions on how the XML file should be transformed into a report. There are XSL editors available, but I haven’t had much luck in using them. Instead I’ve been using Notepad to modify the reports.
The XSL then uses other files contained in the source folder. Each of them does different things. For instance the Conversion_JScript.xsl converts the units from Metric to English or the other way around or changing the unit types (such as feet to miles). Modifying them is as straight forward as modify the text. As the file name indicates the conversion file uses JavaScript to run the report.
The GeneralLegalPhrasings.xml file has the wording used for the legal descriptions. So if you wanted to change the wording in the Parcel reports, you’d modify the wording in this file.
This is just a brief explanation on how to modify the files, I may post more another day.
If you don’t want to modify the reports yourself, I’m available and willing to provide quotes to modify the XML reports to meet your requirements. Just Email me for more information.