RE: Has anybody used the Attributes in Openroads, not Inroads?

I thought it was you. The example you posted is the traditional TDS RAW Attribute AT,TNTY,TVMAC. All TDS Records use 2 character codes for almost everything in the file, with commas between fields. I've pasted a link to a PDF of the full TDS Raw Data Spec. 

So the AT defines that this is an Attribute record. It accepts two String values - TN designates the first field will be the Attribute Name. Every character between the TN and the comma is the Attribute Name. Then there is the TV which designates that the  next field is the Attribute Value. Everything following the TV is read as its value, up to the end of line.

If the crews use a collector with an Attribute File loaded, it will write the record based upon what the crew enters in the various dialog boxes that the TDS software provides from the supplied attribute file.

I am not sure how Carlson does Attributes - sometimes they have extended the TDS Specs to meet their needs.

The main issue. is when the crew is shooting topo, they can either enter attributes using this menu driven approach, of they can use the Dot notation method I mentioned in my first post. There is no mechanism for them to create custom records ion the TDS file.

So the AN* AV* AA* syntax would require manual edit of raw file after the fact. Unless there is some toggle or data collector out there that creates its attributes in that manner. 

Here is that link: http://www.microsurvey.com/support/fieldgenius/documentation/TDSRawDataSpec.pdf

And here is a link for Stylesheets that could be used to create a custom version of a RAW file: http://www.trimble.com/globalTRLTAB.asp?nav=Collection-32914

Here is more info on that: 

Trimble ASCII File Generator UtilityDownload this utility program to apply style sheets to Trimble Access/Trimble Survey Controller JobXML or job files in order to create custom export formats or reports on your office computer.