Field guide
Standardize a description without losing its original meaning
A reliable code mapping makes each edit explicit and keeps the field record available for review.
Choose a task that changes descriptions only
Use this survey point code editor when different crews have used inconsistent labels, an agreed deliverable needs a specific vocabulary, or a small set of descriptions needs an exact correction. You provide the source point file and the mapping. The tool changes only the column you identify as description. Point identifiers, northing, easting, elevation, additional columns and record order remain attached to the same observations.
A code can mean different things in different projects. This page has no universal classification dictionary and does not infer what an abbreviation means. It does not edit a CAD drawing, rebuild linework, change a feature library or translate field descriptions when you switch the website language. Confirm the intended vocabulary with the project specification before deciding which original values should become which targets.
Read the actual source layout before building rules
Choose a UTF-8 CSV or TXT file, or paste delimited text. Comma, semicolon and tab separators are supported, with optional headers and correctly quoted values. A description containing a comma, double quote or line break needs the appropriate CSV quoting. Every nonempty source record is retained during interpretation, including repeated point IDs. The file limit is 10 MiB and one hundred thousand point records. XLSX workbooks are also accepted for this input: explicitly choose the worksheet, and replace formulas, dates or error cells with plain values before importing.
Confirm the existing description column and the coordinate columns. A point file exported in PNEZD order does not place description in the same location as every custom layout. If no description column exists, return to the source software and add one deliberately; this editor will not silently append a guessed classification. Invalid coordinates or broken row structure block editing until the source is corrected. Missing optional elevation stays empty.
Start with the inventory of complete values
The inventory counts every distinct original description, including empty strings and values with surrounding spaces. Quoted display makes those differences visible: "EP", "ep" and " EP " are separate entries before you enable any cleanup. Search the inventory to find a family of descriptions, then select a row to copy its complete value into the mapping form. Inventory search is a viewing aid and does not restrict processing.
Enter the full replacement and add the mapping. A blank target intentionally clears a description; it is not an instruction to ignore the rule. You can also edit the two-column mapping CSV directly, using the exact header source,target. Quoting follows ordinary comma-separated CSV syntax. Up to two thousand rules are supported, with a maximum of 4,096 characters per source or target value.
Understand exact matches and simultaneous replacements
By default, a rule from EP to EDGE matches EP only. It will not change ep, EP1, EP1 B or a sentence that happens to contain EP. There are no wildcards, regular expressions or substring replacements. This avoids turning a short object code into an accidental edit of a longer control string. A complete-value rule also makes the saved audit easier to explain to another technician.
All replacements use the original record values in one pass. If you define A to B and B to C, an original A becomes B, not C; an original B becomes C. The result is independent of rule ordering. Multiple source rules that collapse to the same comparison key are rejected, even if their targets appear similar. Resolve that ambiguity in the mapping rather than relying on whichever rule happens to be last.
Enable whitespace and case cleanup deliberately
The trim option removes leading and trailing whitespace before matching. Case normalization can keep the original spelling or convert to upper or lower case before matching. The same preparation is applied to mapping source keys. It does not translate words, remove punctuation, simplify accents or expand abbreviations. The output target of an explicit mapping is written exactly as entered, so a deliberately mixed-case replacement stays mixed case.
When cleanup is enabled, unmatched simple descriptions are also normalized. For example, a space-padded lowercase code can become its uppercase form even without a mapping entry. Review the Changed and No mapping match views together: unmatched does not always mean unchanged. A blank original value is a real value and can be mapped explicitly. Missing descriptions are not automatically invented from nearby points or their coordinates.
Protect linework and control information
Survey descriptions may contain string identifiers and connectivity instructions as well as feature labels. Autodesk documents those roles in its field-code workflow, while specialist code editors expose separate code and parameter components. This tool does not parse those manufacturer-specific languages. It instead uses a conservative protection rule and leaves interpretation to the person who understands the field record.
A description with internal whitespace, a comma, a semicolon or a vertical bar is treated as composite. Cleanup alone never changes that original value. To edit it, provide a complete-value mapping and explicitly confirm that you checked the linework or control markers. An unconfirmed composite edit blocks application. Other project-specific syntax may exist without these characters, so inspect all proposed changes rather than assuming the guard recognizes every control convention.
Reproduce a small, complete example
The built-in synthetic example has six records with descriptions EP, ep, a space-padded EP, EP1 B, TREE and an empty value. It includes an extra Note column and one missing elevation. The initial mapping is EP to EDGE. With trimming and case conversion off, only the first record changes: six records enter, six leave, one description changes and five have no mapping match.
Enable trimming and uppercase conversion, then build another preview. The first three descriptions become EDGE; EP1 B remains unchanged, TREE stays TREE and the empty description remains empty. The result has three changed records and three without mapping matches. To change EP1 B into EDGE1 B, add that complete mapping and confirm its control markers. Its coordinates, ID and Note value must still be identical to the source after application.
Review the proposal before applying it
The preview lists source record keys and physical line ranges, point identifiers, original descriptions, proposed descriptions and the rule responsible. Duplicate point IDs remain separate records because row identity does not depend on the point number. Multi-line quoted fields retain a start and end line. Use the filters to inspect changed, unmatched or protected records, and page through the result without reducing the exported set.
Apply is available only when the preview has no blocking decisions. Changing an input, mapping or cleanup setting discards the previous output so that a stale proposal cannot be downloaded as current. Cancel terminates the background calculation and keeps your input. Discarding a preview restores the source-based working state; it does not apply inverse replacements, which could be ambiguous after several codes map to one target.
Save reusable mappings and an auditable deliverable
Download a mapping preset to keep the rules and cleanup choices in a local JSON file. It contains no point table. Importing a preset validates its type, version and size, replaces the visible rule settings, and requires a new preview. Composite-description confirmation is deliberately cleared on import because a reviewed rule from another file is not automatic approval for the present observations.
After application, download the edited point CSV, the full per-record audit and the unmatched-description list. The point CSV preserves source column order and header presence, uses comma separators and retains original field strings except the approved descriptions. The audit records original and output values; the JSON report also contains the complete source, parameters, version, timestamp and application state. Retain those files together when handing off the result.
Check the output in its intended workflow
The point CSV is an instrument-style data file: literal values are preserved, including descriptions that might look like spreadsheet formulas. The separate audit CSV protects formula-like cells for spreadsheet review. Do not substitute the protected audit for the actual point file. If you want another column order, use the format converter after checking the edited file.
Use Continue in checker to pass the confirmed result locally to the next tool and verify its mapping again. This page does not upload your point file or persist the project in browser storage. Downloaded files remain on your device until you manage them separately. The browser session is not a backup, and full offline operation is not promised. Source correctness, approved code meanings and destination compatibility still require project review.