How ASCII 3D To Feature Class (3D Analyst) works
ASCII 3D To Feature Class imports 3D features from one or more ASCII files into a new output feature class.
The Input File Format may be set to XYZ, XYZI, or GENERATE. XYZ is the same for points, lines, and polygons:
x y z
x y z
All three values for XYZ are double-precision floating point. A decimal or comma is used for fractional components. Values can be space or comma delimited; spaces are recommended. Header lines are permitted. The first line encountered where the first three tokens are numeric will be considered the beginning of the point records. Alphanumeric items after x,y and z-coordinates are permitted, but they won't be used for anything. Only individual lines and polygons can be represented in an XYZ file, and they can only be single part. Polygons must close, with the last vertex equal to the first, and must not self-intersect.
XYZI imports ASCII XYZ data, along with lidar intensity (I) data, into an output feature class. The XYZI file format option imports data in the same manner described above for XYZ file format. The difference is XYZI writes out an intensity binary large object (BLOB) field to the output feature class if it is a multipoint.
If the ASCII file is in XYZI format and the intensity should be ignored by the importer, choose XYZ. This will skip the intensity value when reading the file(s).
The GENERATE format for points is the same as XYZ, with the exception that no header lines are permitted, points are prefaced with IDs, and the last line of the file is optionally noted using the END keyword:
id x y z
id x y z
.
.
END
IDs are long integers. A decimal is used for fractional components of coordinates. Values can be space or comma delimited; spaces are recommended.
The GENERATE format for lines and polygons supports multiple features per file:
id
x y z
x y z
x y z
END
id
x y z
x y z
END
END
The END keyword signals the end of a feature. Two END keywords in a row indicates the end of the file. Lines and polygons can only be single part. Polygons must close, with the last vertex equal to the first, and must not self-intersect.
When multiple input files are specified, the input format must be the same for all, either XYZ, XYZI, or GENERATE. The output geometry type will be the same for all as well.
The Output Feature Class Type may be set to either POINT | MULTIPOINT | POLYLINE | POLYGON. When points are input, the only valid Output Feature Class Type are POINT or MULTIPOINT. Multipoints are recommended when you don’t intend to add any attribution on a per point basis, especially when many thousands or millions of points are involved. The intensity will be imported for these multipoints into an intensity BLOB field when the XYZI file format is selected. When the input represents Lines, the Output Feature Class Type must be set to POLYLINE. When the input represents polygons, the Output Feature Class Type may be set to POLYGON or POLYLINE.
The Z Factor is a multiplier applied to the input z-values. It may be used to convert between units, such as feet to meters, and between signs (for example, positive depths into negative heights relative to sea level). Use a negativeZ Factor to reverse signs. The default is 1.0, or no change.
The Input Coordinate System is the coordinate system of the input data. The default is Unknown Coordinate System. This will be assigned to the output feature class unless a projection into a different coordinate system is needed. A projection will occur if the target feature class resides in a feature dataset that uses a different coordinate system or a different output coordinate system is set in the geoprocessing environment.
The Average Point Spacing is required when the Output Feature Class Type is set to MULTIPOINT. This value is used, in conjunction with {max_points_per_shape}, to construct a virtual tile system used to group the points. The tile system's origin is based on the domain of the target feature class. Specify the spacing in the horizontal units of the target feature class.
The Decimal Separator option declares whether the decimal symbol used in the file(s) is a point or comma. This is in support of data formatted for different international locales/regions. Files that use a comma as a decimal separator must use space as a value delimiter.