Custom export formats

You can modify a predefined format to meet your specific requirements, or use it as a template to create a completely new custom export format.

You can use any text editor, such as Microsoft Notepad, to make minor changes to the predefined formats.

Modifying a predefined format offers the following benefits:

  • Important information can be displayed first.
  • Data can be ordered to suit your requirements.
  • Information that is not required can be removed.
  • Additional data can be computed for display, for example by applying construction offsets to reported values.
  • The point design elevation can be edited after the stake out measurement is completed.
  • Up to 10 extra design elevations with individual vertical offset values can be defined and edited, with the cut/fill to each extra design elevation being reported.
  • The size and color of the font can be modified to suit your requirements

Trimble recommends saving any modified XSLT files with a new name. If you keep the original name, predefined XSLT files are replaced when you upgrade the controller, so any custom changes are lost.

To create a completely new custom format, you need some basic programming knowledge to modify the XSLT file. XSLT stylesheet definition files are XML format files. Stylesheets must be created according to the XSLT standards as defined by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C). For details, go to w3.org.

You cannot easily modify or create a stylesheet on the controller. To successfully develop new stylesheet definitions, work on an office computer using a suitable XML file utility program.

Trimble Access version 2021.00 and later supports stylesheets that use the following EXSLT modules:

  • math: math functions typically defined to use the math: namespace
  • date: date and time functions typically defined to use the math: namespace (except for date:format-date, date:parse-date and date:sum)
  • sets: functions to provide set manipulation typically defined to use the set: namespace
  • strings: functions to provide string manipulation typically defined to use the set: namespace
  • functions: functions that allow users to define their own functions for use within XSLT (except for func:script)

Stylesheets using these EXSLT extensions can be used in Trimble Access, but will not operate successfully in the File and Report Generator utility as that utility is based solely on the stylesheet functionality available the Windows operating system.

To develop your own XSLT stylesheets, you need:

  • An office computer.
  • Basic programming skills.
  • An XML file utility program with good debugging facilities.
  • The JobXML file schema definition that provides the details of the JobXML format required to create a new XSLT stylesheet. There is a link to the schema location at the top of every JobXML file.
  • A job or JobXML file that contains the source data.

Some custom reports can be generated using Trimble Access on the controller, while others can be generated using the File and Report Generator utility, which can be downloaded from the Software and utilities page.

The basic steps are:

  1. Source a Job file or JobXML file from your controller.
  2. Create the new format using a predefined XLST stylesheet as a starting point and the JobXML schema as a guide.
  3. To create the new custom file on the office computer, use the File and Report Generator utility to apply the XSLT stylesheet to the Job or JobXML file. For information on using this utility, refer to the File and Report Generator Help.
  4. To create the custom files on the controller, copy the file to the System Files folder on the controller.