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Point Find and Replace

Find and replace in COGO points - raw description, full description and point name - with the * and ? wildcards. Step through with Find Next or change everything with Replace All; point names stay unique.

Command VDCPOINTREPLACE · VDC Survey tab › Points panel
Find and replace in COGO points - raw description, full description and point name - with the * and ? wildcards. Step through with Find Next or change everything with Replace All; point names stay unique.

What it does, per run

  • Wildcards: * = any run of characters, ? = one character; [*] / [?] for the characters themselves; everything else literal (no regex).
  • Replacement wildcards carry the match: each * / ? in the replacement writes what the find's matching wildcard matched, in order (TREE* -> TR* turns TREE OAK into TR OAK).
  • Match case and whole word (bounded by anything not a letter or digit: EP matches EP-1, not BEP).
  • Fields: raw description, full description, point name - any combination.
  • Full description is edited through its description format; $ tokens are never touched. A part that comes from the raw description follows the raw change and is never replaced twice.
  • Names stay unique: every new name is checked against every point in the drawing; a repeat is skipped and listed before anything is written.

Scope, modes & output

  • Scope: all points, one point group, or picked points.
  • Find Next: zooms to and highlights each match - Replace, Skip, Replace all remaining, Stop.
  • Replace All: shows the counts and skipped names first, then changes every match in one pass.
  • Locked points are skipped. Option (off by default): re-apply description keys on points whose raw description changed, before the full description is judged.
  • Output: count report + <drawing> - Point Find and Replace.csv under VDC Reports (field, before, after, result per point). UNDO reverses the run.
  • Settings %APPDATA%\VDC\PointReplace\settings.json (env VDC_POINTREPLACE_SETTINGS), schema-tolerant.

Dialog

Point Find and Replace dialog
Point Find and Replace - VDCPOINTREPLACE
Point Find and Replace dialog
Point Find and Replace - VDCPOINTREPLACE

When to use it

  • A field crew used the wrong code (EP for EOP) and the descriptions need fixing across the job.
  • Point names need a prefix changed (TP to CP) without creating duplicate names.
  • Cleaning up typed descriptions before tables, labels or a description-key re-run.

How to run it

  1. Run VDCPOINTREPLACE; type the text to find (use * and ? for wildcards) and the replacement.
  2. Tick the fields to search - raw description, full description, point name.
  3. Choose the scope - all points, a point group, or picked points.
  4. Click Find Next to step through the matches, or Replace All to change them in one pass.
  5. Read the count report; the CSV in VDC Reports lists every field before and after.

Options

  • Find Next: zooms to each match: Replace, Skip, Replace all remaining or Stop.
  • Replace All: shows the counts and any skipped names first, then changes every match.
  • Whole word only: matches only where the hit is not joined to another letter or digit.
  • Re-apply description keys: runs Apply Description Keys on every point whose raw description changed (off by default).

Watch out for

  • The full description comes from the raw description through the description keys - tick Raw description to change that part at its source.
  • Description keys are re-applied only with the option ticked; it can change the style, label style and layer of the re-keyed points.
  • The replacement may not use more * or ? than the find text - type [*] or [?] for the characters themselves.
  • Locked points are skipped; unlock them first.

Related: Remove Duplicate Points · Code Leaders · Control Exhibit