CORPSCON Version 4.1
TECHNICAL DOCUMENTATION AND OPERATING INSTRUCTIONS

1.  BACKGROUND
The National Geodetic Survey has developed two conversion
programs called NADCON (North American Datum Conversion) and
VERTCON (Vertical Conversion) to provide consistent results when
converting to and from NAD 83(NADCON) and NAVD 88(VERTCON).  Both
programs work exclusively in geographical coordinates
(latitude/longitude).  The U.S. Army Topographic Engineering
Center (TEC) created a more comprehensive program CORPSCON (Corps
Convert), which is based on NADCON and VERTCON.  In addition to
transformations between NAD 83 and NAD 27 geographical
coordinates, CORPSCON also converts between State Plane
Coordinates Systems (SPCS) and geographical coordinates;  thus
eliminating several steps in the total process of converting
between SPCS 27 and SPCS 83.  Inputs can be in either geographic
or SPCS coordinates (SPCS 27 X and Y or SPCS83 northing and
easting). This program can also be used to convert between state
plane and geographic coordinates on the same datum.  CORPSCON
will convert heights in Geographic, State Plane and UTM
coordinate systems.

2.  IMPROVEMENTS
Corpscon Version 4.1 provides the user with all the original
capabilities of Corpscon 3.0x, but now includes vertical
conversions.  Other added capabilities include:  1) a slightly
different user interface for coordinate input and UTM/SP zone
selection, 2) maximum number of input points has also been
increased from 32,000 to 2,000,000,000, 3) Latitude and longitude
in batch input files may now be in decimal degrees, degrees-
decimal minutes, or degrees-minutes-decimal seconds, 4) the six
pairs of .las/.los file problem from v3.01 has been corrected,
and 5) this help file now includes excerpts from the user
documentation on operating instructions.  Also, Corpscon v4.1 no
longer supports GeoLab or Fillnet files.

3. OPERATING INSTRUCTIONS.

Change to the drive/directory containing the program files. Type
CORPSCON and hit the enter key to start the program.  A single
screen menu will be displayed with three windows, "CORPSCON Main
Menu", "Send Data", and "Console Window".  A command bar should
also be present at the bottom of the page.

     NOTE: An identification message at the top of the menu
should read "CORPSCON v4.1." If the message has a number lower
than 4.1 or the menu has "Beta CORPSCON v4.1 or v4.0," then this
is an older version of CORPSCON and it should be disregarded.

3.1 Corpscon Main Menu
The "CORPSCON Main Menu" has three basic functions that can be
selected by typing the highlighted numeric (1, 2, or 3) which is
located by that respective function.  The "Input Data Format"
specifies the coordinate system to which the original coordinates
are referenced.  The "Output Data Format" specifies the
coordinate system to which the original coordinates are to be
converted.  The "Input Data Source" specifies from where the
input data will come.  Each of these will be explained below.

3.1a Input/Output Data Format
To select an input or output coordinate system, the user should
perform the following steps:

     1.  Select '1' (input) or '2' (output) coordinate system.
          
          2.  Select Horizontal Coordinate System
          After completeing step 1, menu similiar to the one
          below should appear.  Use the arrow keys to highlight a
          coordinate system and press 'Enter' to select the
          coordinate system.
                    
          +- Horizontal Format --------------+
          |  State Plane, NAD 27             |
          |  State Plane, NAD 83             |
          |  UTM Coord., NAD 27              |
          |  UTM Coord., NAD 83              |
          |  Geographic Coordinates, NAD 27  |
          |  Geographic Coordinates, NAD 83  |
          +----------------------------------+
          
          3.  Select Grid Zone (State Plane and UTM systems only)
          If the user selects a grid coordinate system in Step 2
          (i.e. State Plane or UTM), an input zone must be
          specified.  If a geogpahic coordinate system is
          specified in step 2, the user will proceed to step 5.  
          
          - UTM Zone Selection -
          If a UTM coordinate system is selected in Step 2, a
          message box will appear prompting the user to enter the
          desired UTM zone.  The user should type in the number
          of the zone and press 'Enter' to select.  UTM zones may
          be found in Appendix A.
          
          - State Plane Zone Selection -
          If a State Plane coordinate system is selected in Step
          2, a menu will appear promtping the user to select the
          area of the country in which the state is located.  The
          user should highlight the desired area using the arrow
          keys and press 'Enter' to select.  After selecting an
          area of the country, a second menu will appear
          prompting the user to select a state for that area. 
          The user should highlight the desired state and press
          'Enter' to select.  If there is more than one state
          plane zone for the selected state, a third menu will
          appear prompting the user to select a state plane zone
          in which they would like to perform conversions.  The
          user should highlight the desired zone and press
          'Enter' to select.
          
          4.  Select Units of Measure (State Plane and UTM systems
          only)
          After specifying a zone in Step 3, a menu will appear
          promptinig the user to input the units of measure. 
          Valid units are U.S. Survey Feet, International Feet,
          or Meters.  The users should highlight the desired
          units using the arrow keys and press 'Enter' to select.
          
          5.  Select Vertical Datum
          After entering horizontal datum information, a menu
          will appear similiar to the one below which prompts the
          user to select a horizontal datum.  Highlight a datum
          using the arrow keys and press 'Enter' to select.  If
          no vertical conversions are desired, select 'None' from
          the vertical datum menu.
          
          +- Vertical Format -+
          |  NGVD 29          |
          |  NAVD 88          |
          |  None             |
          +-------------------+
          
          6.  Select Vertical Units of Measure
          If a vertical datum is selected, a menu will appear
          prompting the user to enter the units of measure. 
          Valid units are U.S. Survey Feet, International Feet,
          or Meters.  The users should select the desired units
          and press 'Enter' to select.
          
          3.1b Input Data Source
The "Input Data Source" specifies the type or format of input
data.  To select an input source press '3' and a menu similiar to
the one below should appear.  Highlight the desired format and
press 'Enter' to select.  Each format will be discussed below.

     +- Input File Format --------------+
     |  From Keyboard (Manual Entry)    |
     |  From Batch File (ASCII Format)  |
     |  From NGS Blue Book (*80*/*81*)  |
     +----------------------------------+

     - From Keyboard -
     The "From Keyboard" option displays a coordinate entry
     window similiar to the one shown below upon start of
     conversion.
     
     +- Manual Input - Lat,Lon,Elev ------+
     |  Latitude:                         |
     |  Longitude:                        |
     |  Height:                           |
     |  Point Name:                       |
     +------------------------------------+
     
     The user may edit the input by using the character, number,
     backspace, insert, delete, home, end, left arrow, and right
     arrow keys.  The user may move to different fields by using
     the up arrow, down arrow, page up, page down, and enter
     keys.  The user may cancel input window at any time by
     pressing the ESC key.  The user must press enter at the last
     line to accept the point.
     
     Below are a few important notes on coordinate input.
     1. West Longitude is assumed positive.  Points in the
          Alaska Aleutians that lie in east longitude, i.e.,
          Shimya, must be entered as a west longitude exceeding
          180 degrees.  For example, a longitude of 174 05' 12"
          East would be entered as 185 54' 48".
          
          2. Geographic coordinates may be enter in decimal
          degrees, degrees-decimal minutes, or degrees-minutes-
          decimal seconds, but will be converted to degree-
          minutes-decimal seconds upon input.
          
          3.  A maximum of 20 characters may be used for the
          point name.
          
          - From Batch File -
     The "From Batch file (ASCII format)" will prompt the user to
     enter an input file name.  There are four formats that exist
     for an ASCII batch file, examples of each are listed below:
     
          For geographic Coordinates with elevation:
     
          ;This is a sample file
          ;Agency: USATEC
          ;Project: Sample File,
          ;NAD 83 Geographic Coordinates
               Test Site,38 44 0.0,77 8 0.0111,20.682
     
          For geographic Coordinates without elevation:
     
          ;This is a sample file
          ;Agency: USATEC
          ;Project: Sample File,
          ;NAD 83 Geographic Coordinates
               Test Site,38 44 0.0,77 8 0.0111
     
          For grid coordinates with elevation:
     
          ;This is a sample file
          ;Agency: USATEC
          ;Project: Sample File,
          ;NAD 83 State Plane Zone 4501,U.S FOOT
               Test Site,11872752.0,6953015.832,19.8
     
          For grid coordinates without elevation:
     
          ;This is a sample file
          ;Agency: USATEC
          ;Project: Sample File,
          ;NAD 83 State Plane Zone 4501,U.S FOOT
               Test Site,11872752.0,6953015.832
     
     Batch files may be built using a text editor, spreadsheet,
     or any other source the will output ASCII files.  The above
     format must be followed thought.  Batch file may also be
     built in Corpscon by using the F3-Build Batch File command. 
     Comment lines have a ';' or '#' in the first colunm of that
     line. There is no limit on the number of comment lines a
     file can have. CORPSCON disregards any line starting with a
     ';' or '#'. The actual data in the ASCII file are broken down
     into three or four fields separated by commas. The first
     field contains a twenty character name. The format of the
     next two fields depends on whether the data is plane or
     geographic coordinates. For geographic coordinates, the
     second field contains the latitude and the third
     contains the longitude of the station.  The latitude and
     longitude fields may be in decimal degrees, degrees-decimal
     minutes, or degrees-minutes-decimal seconds.  For plane
     coordinates, the second field contains the easting (x), and
     the third field contains the northing (y).  The fourth field
     in each file is the height field.  This field need not be
     included if no vertical conversions are needed.
     
     - From NGS Blue Book (*80*/*81*) -
     Another file format that CORPSCON can use are Bluebook files
     with *80* and *81* records.  Corpscon will read northings,
     eastings, elevations from from these file, but meters are
     NOT assumed on input.  Units of measure must be specified in
     the input data format.
     
     3.2 Send Data
The "Send Data" menu allows the user to specify what output
formats will be created.  There are four options; "To Console",
"To Printer", "To Printer file", and "To Output File".  These
options can be toggle on or off by pressing the corresponding
highlighted letter(C,P,F, or O) in its field.  When toggling the
"To Printer File" or "To Output File" to on, a message box will
appear prompting the user to enter the file name.  Each option is
discussed below.

     - To Console -
     The "To Console" option displays the original and converted
     coordinates in the console window (the third area located on
     the screen).  Using the <Page-Up> and <Page-Down> keys a
     user can cycle through the points.  Below is an example of
     that option.
     
          NAME:           Test Site           Record 1 of 1.
             INPUT                            OUTPUT
          LAT: 38 44 00.00000              N:  6953015.83296
          LON: 077 08 00.00000             E: 11872752.62967
          NGVD 29 HT:  20.682                 NAVD 88 HT:  19.8
             Convergence DD(A) & Scale Factor (K)
                                           A:  00 51 10.65989
                                           K: 0.999950422
     
     
     NOTE: After viewing the coordinates in the console window,
     hit the <ESC> key to continue. No printing will occur until
     the user has finished viewing the coordinates in the console
     window.
     
     - To Printer -
     The "To Printer" option sends the data directly to the
     printer in a publishable format.  A sample output is given
     in Appendix C.
     
     - To Print File -
     The "To Printer File" option sends the same publishable
     format as above to a user specified file.  A sample output
     is given in appendix C.
     
     When using either the "To Printer" or "To Printer File"
     option, CORPSCON creates a specific format that consists of
     a file header followed by a listing of the input and output
     data. The header states the form of the inputs (e.g., NAD 27
     state plane) and the outputs (e.g., NAD 83 geographic). The
     input coordinates are listed under the "Input" column and
     the output coordinates are similarly listed under the
     "Output" colunm.  If state plane or UTM values are used for
     input or output, then the convergence and scale factor are
     listed under the coordinates.  If a datum conversion is made
     from NAD 27 to NAD 83, or visa-versa, then the datum shift,
     in meters, is shown under the coordinates.  If the inputs
     and outputs for a datum conversion are in state plane
     coordinates, then the state plane coordinate shift, in feet,
     is shown after the datum shift.
     
     - To Output File -
     The "To Output File" option sends an abbreviated output
     format to another file.  An example of this file is given
     below.
     
     ;Software: CORPSCON v4.1
     ;Agency: USATEC
     ;Project: Sample File
     ;Created: 3/2/94   1:44 PM
     ;Coordinates on NAD 83 State Plane - VA North, U.S. FT
     ;Vertical on NAVD 88, U.S. FT
                    Test Site,11872752.62967, 6953015.83296, 19.8
     
     
     3.3 Console Window
The "Console Window" is used to display user messages.  The most
common use of the console window is displaying output.

3.4 Command Bar
The "Command Bar" is located at the bottom of the screen.  It
displays active keys and their corresponding commands.  The
command bar display at the start of Corpscon has the following
keys and commands:

     ESC - exits CORPSCON

     F1 - displays the help screen

     F2 - allows the user to change the project title and agency

     F3 - allows the user to create a batch file

     F4 - starts conversions

It is important to watch the command bar.  The Command Bar will
assist the user when navigating through different Corpscon menus
and windows.


4.   SOURCE OF PROGRAM AND ASSISTANCE
Copies of CORPSCON can be obtained from the National Geodetic
Survey Information Branch at the following address:

      NOAA, NGS, N/CG 174
      (301) 713-3282


Technical questions regarding the operation of CORPSCON should be
directed to:
     
     U.S. Army Topographic Engineering Center
     ATTN: CETEC-TD-GS, (Reference CORPSCON 4.1)
     Alexandria, VA  22310-3864
     (703) 428-6766 X2579


