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If your poles and lines live in Google Earth, a GIS export or another design tool, you can bring them into Cloneable as a job from a map file. Cloneable reads three formats: Points become poles, anchors or custom points. Lines become spans, custom lines or polylines. Coordinates should be in latitude and longitude (WGS84), which is what Google Earth and most GIS exports use. There are two parts. You do the first once per kind of file, and the second for every file.
  1. Build a configuration from a sample file, so Cloneable has a template for each kind of feature in it.
  2. Import the file as a job using that configuration.
Building a configuration needs an organization admin. Anyone can import a file once a configuration exists.

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Build a configuration from a file

Open Settings → Configurations → New configuration → From a KML file.
1

Upload

Drop your file in, or click to browse. Cloneable reads it and shows how many points and lines it found.
2

Review

Check the kinds of features Cloneable found, with a confidence level and a few examples of each.
Review step listing detected types Pole, Span and Anchor with high confidence and their counts

Three kinds of feature found in a sample file

3

Identify

Tell Cloneable what each kind of feature is: Pole, Span, Guy anchor, Span measurement, Custom point, Custom line, Polyline or Skip. Suggestions are filled in for you. Only one kind can be the pole.
Identify step with Pole, Span and Guy anchor chosen for the three detected types

Each detected type gets a Cloneable role

4

Details

Choose which details from the file each template keeps. Fields like the job and location are always included. You can turn a field into a dropdown, using the values found in the file or your own list, and change each template’s map icon.
Details step with a card per template listing always-included fields and details from the file such as height and class

Pick the details to keep for each kind of feature

5

Create

Name the configuration and choose measurement units (Feet (decimal), Feet & inches or Metric (meters)). The name is checked as you type. Click Create configuration.
Create step with the configuration name marked Available, measurement units, and a summary of templates and fields

Name the configuration, then create it

When it’s done, click Import a KML as a job to bring the same file straight in.

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Import a file as a job

Start from Add job on the dashboard and choose Import from KML, or from Import a KML as a job above.
1

Upload file

Drop in your file. Cloneable shows the points, lines and types it found.
2

Select job

Add the features to a job you already have, or choose Create new job, pick a configuration and name the job. Each configuration shows how well it fits the file, for example “handles all 3 kinds”.
Select job step with Create new job chosen, a configuration selected and a job name entered

Create a new job with the configuration built from this file

3

Map types

Choose a template for each kind of point and line in the file. Anything left on Skip import isn’t imported. You can also map a placemark’s name or attributes onto template fields.
Map types step with Poles mapped to Pole, Anchors to Anchor and Spans to Span

Each kind of feature mapped to a template

4

Preview

Check how many objects go to each template and look at a sample of the data. Lines connect to poles automatically where their ends match a pole’s position.
Preview step summarising 8 points and 5 lines mapped, and objects by template

What will be imported, by template

5

Import

Click Start import. The log shows each object as it’s created, including which pole each anchor was linked to. You can pause, resume or stop.
Import step showing Successfully created 13 data objects and a log of poles, guy anchors and spans created

A finished import

Click View on map to see the job.
Map showing a line of poles connected by spans with an anchor at each end

The imported job on the map

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Good to know

  • Importing the same file twice creates everything twice. To update a job, import only new features, or start a new job.
  • Photos aren’t imported, even from KMZ files that include images.
  • Polygons are skipped.
  • Anchors are linked to their pole by an ID in the file if there is one, otherwise to the nearest pole.
  • Spans connect to poles by matching coordinates. If a span’s ends don’t line up with a pole (within about 50 m), the span is skipped and the log says so.

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Troubleshooting

The file type isn’t one Cloneable reads, or the extension is wrong. Export again as .kml, .kmz or .geojson.
KML and GeoJSON files can be up to 50 MB, KMZ up to 100 MB. Split the file, or save it as KMZ.
Every type is set to Skip import. Choose a template for at least one type in the Map types step.
It was built for a different kind of file. Choose another, or click Build a configuration from this file (admins only).
Neither end of the line is near a pole Cloneable imported. Check the line’s coordinates line up with your poles, and that poles are mapped to a template.
The anchors’ type was mapped to the pole template. Map it to your anchor template instead.