To Create a Surface Point File Manually

Create a PENZ space-delimited point file containing point information and use the file to create or add data to a surface in AutoCAD Civil 3D.

1. Open a text editor, such as Notepad.
2. Enter the point number, easting, northing, and elevation values. Separate each value by one or more spaces.
3. Enter the information for each point on a separate line. For best results, do not include extra spaces at the end of a line or blank lines at the end of the file. The file should consist entirely of point data. However, you can add a comment line by entering a # sign at the beginning of a line.
4. Save the file as a text file.

An example of a PENZ space-delimited point file:

# Autodesk Point File Format 
3      379.910000   511.270000   227.620000
4      393.880000   497.100000   225.750000
5      382.640000   464.050000   223.890000
6      403.690000   429.340000   222.880000
103    190.080000   307.560000   194.250000
104    182.090000   322.940000   194.940000
105    174.100000   338.320000   195.630000
106    142.910000   340.320000   203.030000
107    117.470000   342.780000   208.460000
108    124.430000   394.400000   208.410000
109    137.700000   400.690000   205.430000