Leica Captivate v2.30 - the next great release

After the releases of Leica Captivate v2.10 and v2.20 we have received lots of great feedback about the new features contained. We have again been listening hard to our users and hopefully we will again receive good feedback for the Leica Captivate v2.30 release.

For this new version, released on June 26th 2017, we have concentrated on two are-as that lots of our users work in and then we have thrown in a couple of extra goodies for good measure.

The main topics of this new release are Coding and Linework and the Stakeout apps. Let’s have a closer look at what we did.

New coding and linework functionalities

Let’s first look at the linework part of coding and linework.

With the new version, Leica Captivate now supports line codes in addition to point codes. When importing CAD drawings into Leica Captivate, the name of the layer containing a line will now be imported as the line code. This can be used to give additional information in the field and vice versa - lines measured in the field can be given a code and attributes to give additional information when editing the survey in the office.

Some third party CAD software recreate the linework that was captured in the field by reading the linework flag stored with each point from an ASCII import.

V2.30 of Leica Captivate now allows defining the used linework flags in the Coding settings panel.

When a point in a line is measured, the linework flag is automatically stored with that point. When a measured line is edited, the line itself is updated and in addition the linework flags belonging to the points are also updated.

With Leica Captivate v2.30, the well-received coding method with code boxes has been added to the Stake/Check Road and the Measure to Line apps. This will be very beneficial when doing topographic surveys along roads or reference lines, e.g. at a certain corridor left and right of a road design centreline, and using coding for this survey.

With this new feature, it is no longer necessary to add codes to high points in the office software as they can be coded directly in the field.

With this new feature, it is no longer necessary to add codes to elevated points in the office software as they can be coded directly in the field.

With Leica Captivate v2.30 the possible length of code names, code descriptions and attribute values was extended from 16 to 48 characters. This includes the use of point codes, free codes and line codes.

The extended length is especially useful to enter additional information within the feature code, such as linework commands, or to include stakeout instructions for the field as part of the code.

New stakeout functionalities

For everyone using Stakeout, there are a number of improvements and new features included in Leica Captivate v2.30. Most of the new features are related to staking roads but there is also one for staking points.

For certain stakeout applications it is useful to store the measured point with more than one elevation. One example is staking out manholes. When measuring the centre of a manhole, the drain below may have pipelines joining at different height levels. Leica Captivate now allows entering multiple heights for a staked point and, on the fly, shows the cut and fill for those entered elevations.

The new feature is available in the Stake Points app, the Stake DTM app and the Stake Points & DTM app.

Now for the Road stakeout. The first new feature is related to staking arcs in alignments. In some countries, when staking arcs in an alignment, the chainage is not calculated along the centreline of the alignment but along defined chords of the arc. Leica Captivate v2.30 now supports the chord definition method, preventing wrong results over long alignments from using the arc definition.

The other new Road stakeout features are all related to the cross section view that shows a vertical cut through an alignment.

With Leica Captivate v2.30, the cross section view now shows the content of the DTM and CAD files attached to the job. Further, a new setting is introduced, allowing users to define that all road layers should be displayed when switching to the cross section view.

So in the cross section view, all data available at a certain chainage is now shown at a glance to give full information on the design.

However, the extended content of the cross section view means it can get a bit crowded. Therefore we have added a setting to vertically stretch the cross section view if needed. Users can define how much the view should be stretched and can therefore adjust this setting depending on how much information is shown in the cross section view.

The third additional feature for the cross section view is that it allows the selection of the active layer. So users can now change the active layer directly from within the Stake/Check Road app without the need to switch to a different panel. This should speed up the work process and makes it easier to check the different design elements also in the horizontal view.

The smart enhancements

Last but not least, we have added a couple of changes that we had been asked for quite a number of times.

The first change, we already started with Leica Captivate v2.20, were it was possible to hide the 3D viewer in the Measure app to see more information on the measurement while working, and switching to the 3D viewer only when needed. With Leica Captivate v2.30 this is now also possible in the Measure to Line app and in all Stakeout apps. This allows quick and easy switching between the graphical and numerical information, saving time and making sure that inconsistencies are detected early.

The second new feature relates to entering information into Leica Captivate. Some users prefer typing all alphabetical characters in capital letters. With Leica Captivate v2.30 users can activate entering alphabetical characters in capitals and the software will stay with this setting while working and also after turning the instrument off and on again.

We are planning to continue with regular releases, bringing new features to the market quickly and in short succession. For our users to benefit from this, however, it is helpful to be informed about new releases promptly. From Leica Captivate v2.30 onward, users will be informed directly on the CS20, CS35 or TS/MS instrument about each new version of Leica Captivate that is available in myWorld, if the instrument is connected to the internet. So our users can start enjoying our new features as soon as they are released.

The new Leica Captivate v2.30 field software version will be available on myWorld for download and will be loaded to all products running Leica Captivate prior to delivery from the factory. To install this new version on your Controller or total station, a Customer Care Package (CCP) license valid until at least 01.05.2017 must be installed on the instrument.

If you have any particular wishes, please contact your local Leica Geosystems representative.