Abbreviated annotation text can be applied to features with LIST-type attributes (for example, COLOUR, LITCHR and NATSUR). If a list value is matched to an abbreviation in the abbreviation file, the abbreviation is used when the annotation is created.
Abbreviations can only be substituted when the UseAbbreviation flag is set to True in the annotations file, For more information, see Annotation File).
The following abbreviations are defined in the Abbreviation (abbreviationfile.xml) file.
List Value | Abbreviation |
|---|---|
fixed | F |
flashing | Fl |
long-flashing | LFl |
quick-flashing | Q |
very quick-flashing | VQ |
ultra quick-flashing | UQ |
isophased | Iso |
occulting | Oc |
interrupted quick-flashing | IQ |
interrupted very quick-flashing | IVQ |
interrupted ultra quick-flashing | IUQ |
morse | Mo |
fixed/flash | FFl |
flash/long-flash | Fl+LFl |
occulting/flash | Al.Oc.Fl |
fixed/long-flash | FLFl |
occulting alternating | Al.Oc |
long-flash alternating | Al.LFl |
flash alternating | Al.Fl |
group alternating | Al |
quick-flash plus long-flash | Q+LFl |
very quick-flash plus long-flash | VQ+LFl |
ultra quick-flash plus long-flash | UQ+LFl |
alternating | Al |
fixed and alternating flashing | Al.FFl |
mud | M |
clay | Cy |
silt/ooze | Si |
sand | S |
stone | St |
gravel | G |
pebbles | P |
cobbles | Cb |
rock | R |
lava | La |
coral | Co |
shells | Sh |
boulder | Bo |
fine | f |
medium | m |
coarse | c |
broken | bk |
sticky | sy |
soft | so |
stiff | sf |
volcanic | v |
calcareous | ca |
hard | h |
white | W |
black | B |
red | R |
green | G |
blue | Bu |
yellow | Y |
amber | Am |
violet | Vi |
orange | Or |
approximate | PA |
The abbreviationfile.xml file is included with the installation. You can create custom files to add new abbreviations. However, make sure you update the annotation control file to include the new abbreviation file. See Annotation Control File.
For example, a list-type attribute contains the string value, UNKNOWN. You can abbreviate this string to read UNKWN by using the following syntax in an abbreviation file:
<Abbreviation String="UNKNOWN" Value="UNKWN" /> |
Make sure that the UseAbbreviation flag is set to true on the list attribute that contains the value UNKNOWN.
The above examples describe abbreviations for individual attribute values. However, you can also set the abbreviation file to return a single abbreviation for a range of list-type attributes. For example, you can use the abbreviation RGB for COLOUR attribute values of 3 (red), 4 (green) and 5 (blue). This means that RGB is displayed in the annotation when these three values are used together.
The syntax of a list abbreviation table is shown below.
<ListAbbreviationTable> <ListAbbreviation> <AttributeName>COLOUR</AttributeName> <ListValueId>3</ListValueId> <ListValueId>4</ListValueId> <ListValueId>5</ListValueId> <Abbreviation>RGB</Abbreviation> </ListAbbreviation> </ListAbbreviationTable> |
Notice that the list abbreviation table has three fields. These are described in the following table.
Tag | Description |
|---|---|
<AttributeName> | The name of the attribute with the values that the abbreviation is applied. |
<ListValueID> | The attribute value to which the abbreviation is applied. There are multiple |
<Abbreviation> | The abbreviation that will replace the value. |
Some guidelines need to be followed when using one-to-many list abbreviations:
• All list values must be in the attribute for the abbreviation to be returned.
• If using multiple one-to-many abbreviation entries in the abbreviations file, remember that the first abbreviation that matches the attribute value is the one that is returned, even if there is a better match further in the table. Because of this, list abbreviation entries should be in order from the entries with the most attribute values to the entries with the least attribute values.
A sample one-to-many abbreviation table is include in the abbreviationfile.xml file. You can use the table and modify the entries to suit your needs. However, you will need to remove the comment tags (<!--, -->) to make the table active.