Feature Class Z To ASCII—Help | ArcGIS for Desktop

Summary
Usage
Syntax
Code Sample
Environments
Licensing Information

Summary

Exports 3D features to ASCII text files storing GENERATE, XYZ, or profile data.

Usage

The Profile format provides profile information for 3D line features that can be imported into specialized graphing applications. Each line feature in the source feature class will be written to a separate file whose name is suffixed with the line's unique ID. Each row in the profile table contains the distance from the starting position of the line to the vertex (D) followed by the elevation of that vertex.
```
0 z₁D₁ z₂D₂ z₃D₃ z₄
```
The XYZ format store x, y, and z coordinates as floating-point values, where each row represents a distinct point record.
```
x₁ y₁ z₁x₂ y₂ z₂x₃ y₃ z₃x₄ y₄ z₄
```
Note:
Point and multipoint features are written to the same file, whereas each polygon and polyline feature is written to a separate text file whose name is suffixed with the feature's ID. Each part of features with multiple parts gets written to a separate file and its file name will have its part number appended after the feature's ID.
The GENERATE format does not support header lines, but it stores all input features in one file.
- Point features are stored with their respective ID and XYZ coordinates, and the last line is denoted by the END keyword:
```
id₁ x₁ y₁ z₁id₂ x₂ y₂ z₂id₃ x₃ y₃ z₃id₄ x₄ y₄ z₄END
```
  Note:
  Multipoint features that originate from the same record in the originating feature class will share the same ID.
- Line and polygon features are separated by the END keyword, and two successive END keywords indicate the end of the file:
```
id₁x₁ y₁ z₁x₂ y₂ z₂x₃ y₃ z₃x₄ y₄ z₄END
id₂x₁ y₁ z₁x₂ y₂ z₂END
END
```
  Note:
  The first and last XYZ coordinates for polygon features are always identical.

Syntax

FeatureClassZToASCII_3d (in_feature_class, output_location, out_file, {format}, {delimiter}, {decimal_format}, {digits_after_decimal}, {decimal_separator})

Parameter	Explanation	Data Type
in_feature_class	The 3D point, multipoint, polyline, or polygon feature class that will be exported to an ASCII file.	Feature Layer
output_location	The folder that output files will be written to.	Folder
out_file	The name of the resulting ASCII file. If a line or polygon feature class is exported to XYZ format, the file name is used as a base name. Each feature will have a unique file output since the XYZ format only supports one line or polygon per file. Multipart features will also have each part written to a separate file. The file name will be appended with the OID of each feature, as well as any additional characters needed to make each file name unique.	String
format (Optional)	The format of the ASCII file being created. GENERATE —Writes output in the GENERATE format. This is the default. XYZ —Writes XYZ information of input features. One file will be created for each line or polygon in the input feature. PROFILE —Writes profile information for line features that can be used in external graphing applications.	String
delimiter (Optional)	The delimiter used to indicate the separation of entries in the columns of the text file table. SPACE —A space will be used to delimit field values. This is the default. COMMA —A comma will be used to delimit field values. This option is not applicable if the decimal separator is also a comma.	String
decimal_format (Optional)	The method used to determine the number of significant digits stored in the output files. AUTOMATIC —The number of significant digits needed to preserve the available precision, while removing unnecessary trailing zeros, is automatically determined. This is the default. FIXED —The number of significant digits is defined in the Digits after Decimal parameter.	String
digits_after_decimal (Optional)	Used when the Decimal Notation is set to FIXED. This determines how many digits after the decimal are written for floating-point values written to the output files.	Long
decimal_separator (Optional)	The decimal character used to differentiate the integer of a number from its fractional part. DECIMAL_POINT —A point is used as the decimal character. This is the default. DECIMAL_COMMA —A comma is used as the decimal character.	String

Code Sample

FeatureClassZToASCII example 1 (Python window)

The following sample demonstrates the use of this tool in the Python window.

import arcpy
from arcpy import env

arcpy.CheckOutExtension("3D")
env.workspace = "C:/data"
arcpy.FeatureClassZToASCII_3d("LidarPts.shp", "", "ASCII_LidarPts.txt",
                            "GENERATE", "COMMA", "FIXED", 6, "DECIMAL_POINT")

FeatureClassZToASCII example 2 (stand-alone script)

The following sample demonstrates the use of this tool in a stand-alone Python script.

'''****************************************************************************
Name: FeatureClassZToASCII Example
Description: This script demonstrates how to use the
             FeatureClassZToASCII tool to create generate files for all
             z-aware point features in a given workspace.
****************************************************************************'''
import arcpy
import exceptions, sys, traceback
from arcpy import env

try:
    # Obtain a license for the ArcGIS 3D Analyst extension
    arcpy.CheckOutExtension('3D')
    # Set environment settings
    env.workspace = 'C:/data'
    # List all points in the target workspace
    fcList = arcpy.ListFeatureClasses("*", "POINT")
    if fcList:
        # Set Local Variables
        outFolder = "C:/output"
        outFormat = "GENERATE"
        delimeter = "SPACE"
        decimal = "FIXED"
        digits = 3
        dec_sep = "DECIMAL_POINT"
        for fc in fcList:    
            # Use Describe method to evaluate whether the feature class is z-aware
            desc = arcpy.Describe(fc)
            if desc.hasZ == True:
                # Define the output file name by replacing '.shp' with _ascii.txt
                outName = fc.replace('.shp', '') + "_ascii.txt"
                #Execute FeatureClassZToASCII_3d
                arcpy.FeatureClassZToASCII_3d(fc, outFolder, outName, outFormat, delimeter, decimal, digits, dec_sep)
    else:
        print "There are no feature classes in the " + env.workspace + " directory."


except arcpy.ExecuteError:
    print arcpy.GetMessages()
except:
    # Get the traceback object
    tb = sys.exc_info()[2]
    tbinfo = traceback.format_tb(tb)[0]
    # Concatenate error information into message string
    pymsg = 'PYTHON ERRORS:\nTraceback info:\n{0}\nError Info:\n{1}'\
          .format(tbinfo, str(sys.exc_info()[1]))
    msgs = 'ArcPy ERRORS:\n {0}\n'.format(arcpy.GetMessages(2))
    # Return python error messages for script tool or Python Window
    arcpy.AddError(pymsg)
    arcpy.AddError(msgs)

Environments

Licensing Information

ArcGIS for Desktop Basic: Requires 3D Analyst
ArcGIS for Desktop Standard: Requires 3D Analyst
ArcGIS for Desktop Advanced: Requires 3D Analyst