Oasis montaj 6.

3
Mapping and Processing System
The core software platform for working
with large volume spatial data
QUICK START™ TUTORIALS

www.geosoft.com
The software described in this manual is furnished under license and may
only be used or copied in accordance with the terms of the license.

Manual release date: 4/25/2006.

Written by, Nancy Whitehead. Please send comments or questions to

[email protected]

Copyright © Geosoft Inc. 2006. All rights reserved. No part of this

publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted, in
any form, or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photo-copying, reading, or
otherwise, without prior consent from Geosoft Inc.

Program Copyright© Geosoft Inc. 2006. All rights reserved.

Geosoft and Oasis montaj are registered trademarks of Geosoft Inc.

GEOSOFT, Oasis are trademarks of Geosoft Inc.

Windows®, and Windows NT™ are either registered trademarks or

trademarks of Microsoft Corporation.

Geosoft Incorporated
8th Floor
85 Richmond St. W.
Toronto, Ontario
M5H 2C9
Canada
Tel: (416) 369-0111
Fax: (416) 369-9599

Web Site: www.geosoft.com

E-mail: [email protected]
Contents

Geosoft License Agreement 1

Finding More Help Information 3

Contacting Technical Support 3

Geosoft Concepts 4

Oasis montaj Viewer 4

Oasis montaj Mapping and Processing System 4

Why Oasis montaj? 6

Keeping you in touch with your data 7

Projects and the Project Explorer 8

What you need to know about Project files 9

Metadata Tool 10

Data Types 10

Databases and high-volume data processing 12

Spreadsheets are the windows to your database 14

How the Spreadsheet Displays Project Data 15

Profiles and viewing your data graphically 16

Maps are more than printed sheets of information 17

Dynamically link data and information to knowledge 19

Geosoft Algorithms and Techniques 20

Process Maker technology brings dynamic linking to data processing 21

Oasis montaj 23

Mapping and Processing System 23

 Getting Started 24

Software and Hardware Requirements 24

Oasis montaj eLicensing 25

Installing Oasis montaj 26

Install from the Oasis montaj CD ROM 26

Install your eLicense (New User) 26

Install from the Oasis montaj CD and/or upgrade to current version 27

Parking (Uninstalling) your eLicense 28

To Park (or Uninstall) your eLicense 28

Transferring your eLicense 28

View Computer ID on target computer 28

Transfer eLicense 28

Install the Transfered eLicense: 29

Updating your eLicense 29

Lock and Unlock eLicenses 29

Setting High-Resolution Graphics 29

Configuring Oasis montaj Settings 30

Advanced Settings 33

Tutorial 1: Getting Ready to Work 35

Welcome to the Oasis montaj Environment 35

System Files 36

Creating a Working Directory 36

Copying Tutorial Files to Your Working Directory 36

Before you Begin 37

Creating a Project 37
 Loading Application and Tool menus 39

Finding FAST Answers to Questions 40

Advantages of FAST Information Delivery 41

Printing Complete Manuals on Demand 42

Tutorial 2: Working with Data 43

Creating an Oasis montaj Database 43

Importing Data into the Oasis montaj Database 44

Drag-n-Drop XYZ Data 47

Displaying Data in the Spreadsheet 47

Channel Header Cells 49

Current X and Y (and Z) Channels 49

Processing Data in the Spreadsheet 49

Displaying a Profile in the Spreadsheet 51

Database Toolbar 52

Protect and Unprotect Channels in a Spreadsheet 53

Creating Working Channels in the Oasis montaj Database 54

Editing a Channel in the Database 57

Editing Data Using Conditional Expressions 58

Interpolating Data 58

Profile Panel Options 59

Master Sample 61

Saving Changes to Databases 61

Tutorial 3: Importing and Exporting Databases 63

Before You Begin this Tutorial: 63

Getting Ready to Export to a Microsoft Access 64

 Exporting to Microsoft Access Database Format 64

Importing a Database Table 65

Exporting to an Excel Comma Separated Value (CSV) File 66

Importing an Excel Comma Separated Value (CSV) File 67

Drag-n-Drop Geosoft Database Files 71

Tutorial 4: Basic Mapping and Gridding 73

Selecting Data for Mapping and Processing 73

Creating a New Map 74

Creating a Map Template using New Interactive Tools 75

Working with Interactive Map Template Tool 76

Creating MAPPLOT Map Templates (manual) 77

Creating a Base Map 79

Plotting Survey Lines 84

Plotting Profiles 85

Moving Around the Map 87

Configurable Hotkeys 88

Gridding Data 93

Bi-Directional 93

Minimum curvature 94

Kriging 95

Tinning Overview 96

Trend Enforcement Gridding 97

Gridding using the Bi-directional gridding method 97

Displaying a Grid 100

Plotting Contours 101

 Close and Save Project 102

Drag-n-Drop Geosoft Grid Files 103

Tutorial 5: Map Editing and CAD Tools 105

Before you Begin 105

Create a Project 105

Displaying an Interpretation Map 106

Understanding the Parts of a Map 106

Base and Data Views 107

3D Views 107

Groups 107

View/Group Manager Tool 107

Rendering Options 109
Other Tool Options 110

Selecting and Editing Groups 111

Method 1 111
Method 2 112

Hiding, Moving and Masking Map Groups 113

Hiding a Group. 113

Moving a Group 113

Masking a Group 114

Drawing Lines, Polylines and Polygons 116

Drawing Polylines 116

Changing Line Attributes 118

Creating Polygons from Lines 120

Using the Get Colour and Polygon Colour Tools 124

Get Colour Tool 124
Polygon Fill Tool 124

Polygon Edit Tools 124

 To Add/Remove Vertices on a Polygon 125

Using the Windows Clipboard with Maps in Oasis montaj 127

How does the Windows Clipboard work? 127

Copying Georeferenced information between Maps 128

Use the Clipboard to create a Montage Map or Poster 128

Using the Clipboard to paste a picture from another application on a Map 129

Using the Clipboard to export a graphics from a Map to another application 130

Close and Save Project 130

Tutorial 6: Imaging and Dynamic Linking 131

Open a Project 131

Creating Colour Shaded Images 131

Interactive Colour Imaging and Shadowing 133

Copying and/or Converting Grid Files 136

Using Dynamic Data Links 136

Tutorial 7: Creating Custom Base Maps 139

Tutorial 8: Batch Processing with Scripts 143

Tutorial 9: Advanced Mapping and Gridding 149

Creating a Second Database in a Project 149

Processing Data in the Spreadsheet 152

Plotting Symbols, Colour Bars and Legends 153

Gridding Random Data 164

Gridding Geochemical Data 166

Kriging – Quick Overview 166

Importing Data for Kriging 167

 Calculating and Displaying a Variogram Model 168

Selecting Variogram Model and Parameters 170

Plotting Krigrid Data 173

Tutorial 10: Advanced Imaging 175

Tutorial 11: Projections 180

What is a map projection? 180

Parts of a map projection 180

Understand Geosoft projections 181

Define a projection in Oasis montaj 181

Define X, Y channels 182

Set a projection to a coordinate pair in a database 183

B e f o r e yo u b e g i n … 183

Setting a Projected (x,y) projection to a database 184

Setting a Geographic (long, lat) projection to a database 186

Define the map projection of a grid 189

Defining the map projection of a map view 192

Create a new map from X, Y coordinates 192

New map from Latitude – Longitude coordinates 195

Displaying data with different projections on a map 197

Applying a warp to a grid 197

Warping image files 200

Converting Elevations 200

Projection concepts and FAQs 201

Tutorial 12: Database Maintenance Utilities 205

Checking Database Details 205

 Defragmenting the Database 206

Growing, Verifying or Repairing your Database: 206

Adding Database Comments 206

Tutorial 13: Exporting and Printing Maps 208

Exporting Maps to a File 208

Printing Maps 210

Printer and Page Setup 210

Change or Add New Printer Configuration 212

Print Preview 213

Print a Map 213

Printing in Batch 215

Tutorial 14: 3D Views in Oasis montaj 217

Overview of 3D Views, Groups and Planes 217

Create a 3D View from an Existing Map View or Group 218

Create a 3D View from an Existing Grid File 221

Add a Plane to an Existing 3D View 223

Draw a group directly onto a plane in an existing 3D View 224

To Plot 3D Colour Range Symbols 225

Notes about 3D Views 227

3D Tool and 3D Viewer 228

3D Rendering Memory Requirements 237

Tutorial 15: Data Access Protocol (DAP) 238

DAP’s main features include: 238

Authorizing Your Internet Communication Settings 240

 Authorize Internet Communication Dialog 240

Internet Trust Relationship Dialog 240

Metadata Browser 241

Tutorial 16: Trend Enforcement Gridding Tool 243

Before you begin 244

Creating a project 244

Accessing the Trend Enforcement menus 245

Opening a Database 246

Gridding your data using Bigrid 246

Displaying a Colour Shaded Grid 248

Finding Trends 249

Accessing Trend Lines in Database 250

Plotting Trend Lines 251

Adding Your Own Trend Lines 252

Gridding Trend Enforced Data 253

Comparing the two grids 254

Deselecting/Selecting Trend Lines 255

Appendix 1: Understanding Spheroids and Datums 257

Spheroids 257

Datums 257
What does this mean? 257

Working with spheroids and datums 258

Understanding local datums 258

Method 1 259

Method 2 260
 Choosing a local datum transform 260

Local datum CSV files 261

Adding your own local datum transform 261

Oasis montaj projection files and reference tables 264

GI projection files (*.gi) 264

Projection table files 264

Projection name tables 265

Table 1: Projection transformation methods 265

Parameter Notes: 265

Table 2: Length units 268

Appendix 2: Geosoft Line and Pattern Styles 269

Line Styles 269
P a t t e r n S t yl e s 269

Glossary 275

Index 277
 1

Geosoft License Agreement

GEOSOFT agrees to supply the Licensed Program(s) as specified in my purchase order. Geosoft shall grant me a non-
transferable, non-exclusive license to use the Licensed Program(s), subject to the Terms and Conditions herein contained.
Should there be a separate signed agreement between you and Geosoft, or between your company and Geosoft, pertaining to
the licensed use of this software, that agreement shall take precedence over the terms of this agreement.

1. DEFINITIONS:
In this Agreement:
"Licensed Program(s)" means the actual copy of all or any portion of Geosoft’s proprietary software technology, computer
software code, components, dynamic link libraries (DLLs) licensed through the Geosoft license server, including any
modifications, improvements or updates provided by GEOSOFT.
“Effective Date” is the date the Geosoft license is installed. This date is recorded by the Geosoft License server when the
Licensed Program(s) is installed.
"Services" means the Services described on Section 4.
"Termination" means the occurrences contemplated by Section 6 and 7.

2. LICENSE:
GEOSOFT grants to me a non-transferable and non-exclusive license to use the Licensed Program(s) for my own purposes
whereby the Licensed Program(s) are being used only by myself, on one computer, at any one time.
Title and all intellectual property rights in and to the License Program(s), including, without limitation, copyright, trade secrets
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I may not assign this Agreement or any part thereof or sub-license the rights granted herein, or lend, rent, time-share, sell or
lease the software without the prior written consent of GEOSOFT.
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I may not make any attempt to circumvent the License Manager that controls the access to the software use.

3. TERM:
The Term of this Agreement shall commence on the Effective Date and shall continue until termination, as described in Section
6.

4. SERVICES:
(i) According to the terms of my initial purchase, GEOSOFT shall make available to me, without additional fees such
corrections and improvements to the Licensed Program(s) as may be generally incorporated into the Licensed Program(s) by
GEOSOFT. (Normally this will be for a period of twelve (12) months).
(ii) GEOSOFT has a strong commitment to customer service and product support. GEOSOFT offers me, subject to applicable
Service Charge(s), continuing support in the form of email or telephone advice and other assistance in problem diagnosis and
the correction of errors or faults in the Licensed Program(s) during the life of this License. When a problem occurs which
appears to be related to errors or faults in the Licensed Program(s), I may contact GEOSOFT and GEOSOFT will make an
honest effort to solve the problem. However, GEOSOFT cannot guarantee service results or represent or warrant that all errors
or program defects will be corrected. Also it is to be noted that each Licensed Program is designed to operate on a Windows
NT (sp 6 or later), Windows 2000 or Windows XP platform.
(iii) Further, if I request service relating to the modification of the Licensed Program(s) to meet a particular need or to conform
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I agree that all additions, modifications, revisions, updates and extensions to the Licensed Program(s) shall be subject to all of
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GEOSOFT’s prior written consent.
I will not provide or otherwise make the Licensed Program(s) available to anyone in any form without GEOSOFT's prior written
consent.

6. TERMINATION:
2

This agreement shall terminate upon the termination date, if any, specified in your purchase agreement with Geosoft.
This agreement may be terminated only upon thirty-days prior written notice to GEOSOFT.
GEOSOFT may terminate this Agreement upon prior written notice effective immediately if I fail to comply with any of the terms
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I shall forthwith discontinue use of the Licensed Program(s), on the day Termination shall occur and agree not to resume such
use in the future without written authorization from GEOSOFT.
I shall uninstall and remove all software from my computer. Within thirty days after Termination, I shall destroy all physical and
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translations, compilations, derivatives and updated materials, whether partial or complete, and whether or not modified or
merged into other materials as authorized herein.

8. WARRANTY:
GEOSOFT does not warrant that the functions contained in the Licensed Program will meet my requirements or will operate in
the combinations which may be selected for use by me, or that the operation of the Licensed Program will be uninterrupted or
error free or that all program defects will be corrected.
Each Licensed Program shall be furnished to me in accordance with the terms of this Agreement. No warranties, either
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THE FOREGOING WARRANTIES ARE IN LIEU OF ALL OTHER WARRANTIES, EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING,
BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OR MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR
PURPOSE.

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possibility of such damages, or for any claim against me by any other party.

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I agree that this Agreement is a complete and exclusive statement of the agreement with GEOSOFT.
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The Licensed Programs have been tested to conform to DISC PD2000 1:1998 Year 2000 Conformity Requirements
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that inferences for two-digit year dates greater than or equal to 50 imply 19xx, and those with a value equal to or less than 50
imply 20xx. The Licensed Programs will recognize all two digit years as 19xx. This is to prevent errors importing historical data
that pre-dates 1950. All dates that follow 1999 must use four digit dates in the Licensed Programs.
 3

Finding More Help Information

There are several other functions included in the basic Oasis montaj help system that
may be useful to your work. The entire documentation for the system is available
through the online help system. This electronic library of information enables us to
constantly update the information and provide you with the most up-to-date
information available.

The best way to find information in this system is to use the Search tab to perform a
full-text search of all help topics. If you still can’t find the information you’re looking
for, the Manuals, Tutorials and Technical Notes help system contains complete
Geosoft manuals and tutorials in Adobe Acrobat PDF format.

Contacting Technical Support

The list below provides contact information for Geosoft Technical Support around the
world. Note that, technical support is for Licensed Users Only.
North America Europe and North Africa
Geosoft Inc., Geosoft Europe Ltd.
85 Richmond St. W., 8th Floor 20/21 Market Place, First Floor
Toronto, Ont., Wallingford, Oxfordshire
Canada OX10 OAD United Kingdom
M5H 2C9
Tel: +44 1491 835 231
Tel. (416) 369-0111 Fax: +44 1491 835 281
Fax (416) 369-9599
Email: [email protected]
Email: [email protected]
South America Australia and Southeast Asia
Geosoft Latinoamerica Ltda. Geosoft Australia Pty. Ltd
Praça Floriano 51 / 19º Andar 350 Hay Street
CEP: 20031-050, Centro Subiaco WA 6008
Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil Australia
Tel: (55-21) 2532-0140 Tel 61 (8) 9382 1900
Fax: (55-21) 2532-7197 Fax 61 (8) 9382-1911
Email: [email protected] Email: [email protected]
South and Central Africa
Geosoft Africa Ltd.
Buren Building, Second Floor
Kasteelpark Office Park
c/o Nossob & Jochemus Streets
Erasmuskloof X3, Pretoria
Tel: 27 12 347 4519
Fax: 27 12 347 6936
Email: [email protected]
4 Geosoft Concepts

Geosoft Concepts
This chapter contains information about the components included in Oasis montaj™
and describes the concepts you will need to know to use the system. A quick
overview of the concepts described in this chapter are available in the Oasis montaj
Viewer help system in the About directory called Tour for New Users.

Oasis montaj is Geosoft’s core software platform for working with large volume
spatial data. The core software platform consists of a free Viewer and a licensed
Mapping and Processing System.

Oasis montaj Viewer

The Oasis montaj Viewer is a free software product that enables you to view Geosoft
databases, Geosoft Grids and a variety of common image and data exchange formats.
Specifically, this version provides you with the following capabilities:
• Access project data (Geosoft databases, grids and maps), tools (3D Tool and
Project Explorer), and Geosoft toolbars (Database Tools, Map Tools, Standard
Toolbar)
• Evaluate data, information and interpretations by viewing and performing
specific tasks using Geosoft databases, profiles, maps, and grids as well as
Geosoft and third-party images (including Geosoft PLT, AutoCAD DXF,
MapInfo TAB, ArcView SHP and Microstation DGN files).
• Verify data quality, analyses and interpretations by tracking processes applied to
databases and maps
• Perform selected processes made available through Geosoft menus or third-party
GXs
• Share results and knowledge by viewing and/or sending E-maps to team
members and other professional contacts
• Prepare reports using clipboard image copying capabilities
For more information on the free Viewer visit www.geosoft.com

Oasis montaj Mapping and Processing System

The Oasis montaj Mapping and Processing System contains a cross-section of built-
in data import, processing, analysis, visualization, mapping, and integration
capabilities. This system enables you to perform complex processing, editing,
mapping, and interpretation tasks including the ability to:
• Access project editing tools (Undo/Redo Tool, Map Edit Toolbar, Polygon
Toolbar and Script Bar) and project auxiliary tools (Histograms, Scatter plots,
Probability plots and Triplots)
 Geosoft Concepts 5

• Create, import, and export: maps, databases, grids, images, and profiles
• Process data using Geosoft’s gridding, contouring and 1D filter algorithms
• Advanced grid utilities and gridding toolkit
• Design and layout maps, consisting of base maps, grids, images, customized
annotations, labels, colour symbols, multi-parameter symbol plotting, and other
entities
• Advanced CAD tools to draw interpretation features on your maps
• Drag-n-Drop Geosoft grids, maps and databases and XYZ files for quick viewing
• Automate tasks using scripts
The Oasis montaj environment provides direct access to data contained in Oasis
databases through a spreadsheet window and an integrated profile display window.
The Oasis database is a high-performance database that provides efficient storage and
access for very large spatial data sets.

The Mapping and Processing System enables you to edit maps interactively, apply
dynamic linking to maps and track the map creation processes. Visual data links are
provided to dynamically connect data in the spreadsheet, profile and map views.

Data processing is achieved through the application of Geosoft eXecutable functions

(GXs), which can be used to control all aspects of the data processing sequence and
environment. DAT Technology (for Accessing Grids and Images) enables the
platform to use a variety of grid and image formats in Oasis montaj.

The Oasis montaj core platform provides the basic resources for all Geosoft
Applications and Tools. Geosoft provides a variety of systems that address specific
applications in exploration geophysics, drillhole geology, exploration geochemistry
and other areas. These systems consist of menus and corresponding Geosoft
eXecutables (GXs) that run on the core platform.
6 Geosoft Concepts

Why Oasis montaj?

The concept of an integrated environment for earth science data processing and
analysis emerged from over two decades of software development at Geosoft and is
now implemented in the Oasis montaj software platform. Geosoft’s vision reflects
the fast pace of today’s professional work environment and the significant changes in
data processing over the past twenty years:
• An order of magnitude increase in data volumes
• Increasing digital data availability and connectivity
• Shift in processing from office to in situ (or field) environments
• Replacement of proprietary software with commercial solutions
By design, Geosoft’s Oasis montaj software platform meets specific needs including:
• Upgraded Project Explorer Tool enables users to browse as well as open any
‘project’ item and provides project items in convenient dropdown lists
• Upgraded Metadata Tool provides a context-oriented, interactive way to view
and edit attributes assigned to Geosoft data
• Map View/Group Manager Tool upgrade enabling users to “Freeze” scale and set
“Visible” scale for map groups
• New Drag-n-Drop display technology enables users to Drag-n-Drop Geosoft
Grids (*.GRD), Maps (*.MAP), Databases (*.GDB) and XYZ files (*.XYZ) for
quick viewing of data
• 3D Mapping upgrade enables users to plot 3D Views to the current map
• 3D verticle exageration is also now available
• ‘Light table’ capability provides individual transparency settings for both raster
images and vector line work for every group or layer on a map.
• Electronic licensing model enables Licenses to be handled by the Geosoft license
server enabling licenses to be moved between machines online, or via email or
disk (where necessary).
• Geosoft’s DAP (Data Access Protocol) technology enables users to access very
large spatial datasets residing on an Internet Server (or locally on a Personal
Computer).
• Connecting you to your data and information via dynamic linking – a unique
technology for graphically connecting data, profiles and maps in a single desktop
environment
• Addressing high-volume processing requirements
• Delivering focused solutions to specific Earth Science problems
• Free Oasis montaj Viewer for Data and Information Sharing
 Geosoft Concepts 7

Keeping you in touch with your data

An important design strategy in Oasis montaj was to keep you in touch with your
data. In fact, the system is intended to connect you with your data and information in
several unique ways:
• By providing an integrated environment that holds all of your project information
• By enabling quick and easy access all your project data via the Project Explorer
including; databases, grids, maps, tools and metadata information
• By providing unique views of data (spreadsheet, profile and map)
• By connecting you to data and information in these views (through a specialized
dynamic linking technology)
• By delivering a wide variety of algorithms and techniques
• By “memorizing” the processing you apply to data and maps by means of a
proprietary process “maker” technology. This capability is especially useful for
quickly testing and optimizing processing parameters. It also keeps a record of
processing so that you can remember your settings if you stop working on your
project and later return to it.
Geosoft’s approach is intended to give you a means of keeping in close contact with
your original and processed data and information — from start to finish. As you use
the system, you will find your own ways to take advantage of these capabilities.

The remainder of this section provides some brief details about projects, databases,
maps, views, dynamic links and process makers.
8 Geosoft Concepts

Projects and the Project Explorer

To work in Oasis montaj requires an open Project. An Oasis montaj "Project"
encompasses every item in your working project; from the data files in your project
(databases, maps, and grids), to the tools used (including auxiliary tools such as
histograms, scatter plots etc), to the project setup including the menus you have
displayed and whether you are working on a map or profile and the state in which you
left it the last time you used it.

The Project Explorer enables you to browse as well as open any project item. The
project file (*.gpf) is used to keep track of all information related to a working
project.

The Project Explorer has two windows, the Data window that includes all data files
included in the project and the Tools window that organizes and maintains the project
tools.

Project Explorer Data Tab Project Explorer Tools Tab

Some of the capabilities of the Project Explorer are:

• Keeps track of all files and using the description and metadata tools enables you
to keep track of project information. Note that, in previous versions, file
 Geosoft Concepts 9

information was maintained in the file system and the user had to keep track of
what the files were.
• Explorer tools including; Tools, Toolbars and Auxiliary Tools (licensed version
only)
• Tools; 3D Tool, Metadata Tool, Project Explorer and Undo/Redo Map Edit
Tool
• Auxiliary Tools: Histograms, Probability plots, Scatter plots, and TriPlots
• Toolbars; Database Tools bar, Map Edit Bar, Map Tools Bar, Polygon Edit
Bar, Script Bar and Standard Bar
• File locations displayed in popup dialog when you mouse over item in the
Project Explorer
• Data Description Tool enable users to add description to project items
• Enhanced metadata capabilities enable access to the "View Metadata" of all data
items displayed in the Project Explorer
• Recent Projects & recent Geosoft data files available under File menu
Note: Grids appear in the Project Explorer under "Grids". Opening a grid opens a
view of the grid in its own internal "map". A grid map view is just like a real
map and can accept any graphics that a map can. It can also be saved as a
map, in which case the map will appear in the "Map" section of the project
explorer.
Whenever you create a grid in Oasis montaj it will be placed in the "Grids"
section of the Project Explorer. Some applications will also open the grid for
you to see it in the data viewing area. You can also open a grid for viewing
by double-clicking on the grid name, by dragging and dropping it into the data
viewing, or by dropping it onto an open map, in which case it will be placed
into the default data view.

When a grid is opened in its own window, you will see it either in a default
"equal-area" colouring scheme, or in the last colour scheme that was used to
look at the grid. The grid is actually displayed using a "map" window that
functions just like a real map window. This means that the shadow cursors
will trace locations from other windows and all the normal map drawing and
viewing tools will work just as they do in other map windows. However, this
view is only meant for temporary viewing of the grid and for "scratch-pad"
type rendering of graphics. If you do add any additional graphics to the grid
window you will be asked if you want to save the changes to a new map when
you close the window. If you choose not to save changes, all graphics that
you have added to the grid view will be lost.

What you need to know about Project files

You require an open project to do any work in Oasis montaj. The project also
controls your working directory. Projects are saved as (*.gpf) files. If you open an
10 Geosoft Concepts

existing project from a directory, the system assumes that your files are located in the
specified directory. To streamline your work, as well as keep it organized, you may
want to make sure that your project is in the same directory as the other files you
want to use.

We recommend that each project you work on have its own project (*.gpf) file. If you
use a number of applications or add-on tools in Oasis montaj that have different
menus, you can use the project to display only the menus you require.

Important Note: Workspace files (*.gws) used in Oasis montaj prior to version 6.0 can be
easily converted to Project files (*.gpf) simply by opening them in Oasis
montaj 6.0. On the Open Project dialog (File|Project|Open) select File of
Type as “Workspaces (*.gws)” and when asked if you want to convert the
old workspace into a new Oasis montaj project file, select “Yes”. The
workspace file will be converted to a project file and all associated
workspace information will be transferred to the new project file. In
addition, the workspace file will remain untouched so that it can be
opened in previous versions.

Metadata Tool
The Metadata Tool is a context-oriented, interactive method for viewing and editing
attributes assigned to Geosoft data.

Attributes (or metadata), information about data, can be simple or complex and the
descriptive needs of different kinds of data are infinitely diverse. To allow for this
and provide flexibility, Geosoft developed the Metadata Tool to help you organize
your metadata.

Even though each Geosoft data type (database, map, point, polygon, etc) exhibits
many different attributes, using the tool is simple. The current selection drives what
exists inside the tool. For example, while in map edit mode, select a polygon to see
that polygon’s attributes. As the context changes (i.e. database becomes current
document or you select text on a map, etc.) so does the tool’s focus.

Data Types

The following table provides examples of the data types available to be stored and
viewed using the Metadata Tool:

Databases Displays mostly un-editable content including Name, numbers

of Lines, Channels, and lists all Lines and Channels. Some
editable content includes the projection and a description.

Grids One of the most attribute-rich data type in the Geosoft world.
Includes basic information including Name, Description,
 Geosoft Concepts 11

Location/Boundary Information, Origins, etc. Also could

include a handy polygon file outlining the boundary region and
a fully editable projection field.

Maps Once a map has been selected into context, some basic
information is shown. Maps are special, however, in that they
can exhibit attribute information for specific map elements.
For example, a polygon contains specific attributes which are
displayed if a polygon is the current selection (only permitted
in map edit mode).Map views and groups exhibit different
characteristics and the tool is adjusted with each context
change.Map elements (polygons, lines, points, etc.) exhibit
their own attributes depending on the context chosen.

Global Settings Contains all the information need to customize and drive Oasis
montaj sessions.
Note: Values displayed in a grey box cannot be edited. Values displayed in a white
box may be edited.
T O V IEW M ETADATA:

1. Select (highlight) a data item in the Project Explorer window (i.e. database
(*.GDB), map (*.MAP), or grid (*.GRD) file. Right-click and from the popup
menu, select View Metadata. The Metadata Tool will be diplayed.

2. To close the dialog, click the ( ) on the top right corner.

12 Geosoft Concepts

Databases and high-volume data processing

Many commercial and governmental groups currently use Oasis montaj for routine
processing of high volume datasets (tested up to 10 gigabytes) and also for relatively
low volume processing in a variety of mapping and other applications. One key to the
system’s capabilities is the proprietary 3-dimensional database architecture, which
enables the rapid processing and analysis of high volume data. This object-oriented
database structure stores data in a form that enables rapid access and efficient storage
of your data.

Databases are displayed and organized in Oasis Montaj in the Spreadsheet Window.

The spreadsheet window organizes and displays data differently than conventional
(relational) spreadsheet and database programs. Conventional databases organize data
as tables, records and fields, as shown below:

Conventional databases organize data as tables, records and fields. This is effective
for querying and searching type applications but limits it as a data processing engine
because:
• Programs must read an entire record to access a single field
• It is computationally intensive to change record structures
• Data sampled at different intervals and starting points are difficult to store
Oasis montaj is based on a proprietary 3-dimensional-file format architecture that
overcomes these limitations, as shown below:
 Geosoft Concepts 13

Organized in lines (or groups), columns and elements, the database stores all data
values of a particular type in individual columns or channels. This enables stand-
alone processing of columns and eliminates the need to write results to interim
storage areas and then re-write them after processing. The result is a significant
increase in processing efficiency. This Geosoft file structure provides additional
advantages including:
• Ability to process any number of lines/groups
• Ability to handle lines/groups with unlimited columns
• Ability to handle very large datasets
In addition, since columns are stored separately, this file format is capable of storing
and manipulating data with different end point and sample intervals.
14 Geosoft Concepts

Spreadsheets are the windows to your database

When you create or open a database, you see a spreadsheet. The Spreadsheet view is
your “window” to the Oasis montaj database and it also provides you with flexibility
in setting up your working environment. All data is stored securely in the underlying
database — you simply decide which data you want to display in the spreadsheet and
keep all other data in the background, hidden from view.

The spreadsheet is organized in rows, channels (columns) and lines (also called
groups in other applications such as drillhole plotting). Rows and columns work
similar to standard spreadsheets in that you can edit and delete them as needed. The
system also enables multiple “worksheets” in your database – depending on the type
of data you are working with (line, random line or drillhole); the worksheets have
different names. To see what type of name is used, look at the Line Header Cell
located at the top left corner of the spreadsheet. An “L” for example, indicates that
you are working with line data.

General spreadsheet capabilities include:

• The ability to display data from your database through a spreadsheet window
• Handling of any sample interval
 Geosoft Concepts 15

• Supports full editing and mathematical processing capabilities

• The ability to process selected samples, selected channels and selected lines or
groups

How the Spreadsheet Displays Project Data

The spreadsheet does not display your actual data, but rather a view of the data.
Depending on your type of project, the spreadsheet will display your data as either
values or arrays.

For surveys where a single value is recorded at each station, for example a magnetic
survey, each data cell will contain a single value.

For surveys where a multiple readings where recorded at each station, for example an
Induced Polarization survey, each data cell will contain multiple values.

The spreadsheet represents these values as a profile line in an array channel.

16 Geosoft Concepts

Profiles and viewing your data graphically

The Profile view is your “graphical window” to the Oasis montaj database. You can
display profiles of one or more variables in your database simply by selecting the
channel and selecting a simple menu item. The profile appears directly below its
corresponding database in a profile window. You can have up to five “panes” with 32
variables in each pane.

A key point to note about profile windows is that they are linked dynamically to their
corresponding database. When you select a value or range of values in either the
database or profile window respectively, they are also highlighted in the other
window.

This capability keeps you in touch with your data and gives you an interactive means
of accomplishing quality control or analysis tasks.
 Geosoft Concepts 17

Maps are more than printed sheets of information

Geosoft’s mapping capabilities are the result of more than a decade of programming
development, and the options for producing and editing maps — as well as the quality
of output — reflect this level of experience. You can use the system to produce a
variety of professional presentations quickly and easily.

However, you should also be aware that a map is more than a printed sheet of
information in Oasis montaj; the Map view gives you an electronic area for
analyzing, visualizing and editing your data and information.

When you create a new map the system opens up a new blank Map Window. After a
Map Window is open, you can add a wide variety of data- and base map-related
information. Oasis montaj Maps use Views to organize and display information. A
View divides the information on a map into a Base view, which uses paper
coordinates, and a Data view, which uses ground coordinates. Map surrounds, north
arrows, and scale bars are examples of map groups plotted in the Base view. Map
coordinates, contours, and grids are examples of map groups that are plotted in the
Data view.

Groups are a fundamental part of maps.. Oasis montaj uses Groups to determine the
order in which objects are displayed (rendered) on a map. Groups are layered on top
of each other in a specific order determined by the Map View/Group Manager Tool.
You can create, edit, move, hide, and mask groups. You can also move groups in
front and behind each other. Any new object you add to a map, such as a polygon or
line, is added to the current group.
18 Geosoft Concepts

The ‘Light table’ display technology is based on a new generation of rendering

capabilities. Each group or layer in a map has individual transparency settings,
controlled from the Map View/Group manager. These transparency settings affect
both 2D raster images and vector line work.

As you use the system, you will become familiar with the information that is stored in
each type of View and how to manipulate them (for example, by turning off a map
layer for plotting purposes). And as shown in the next section, you will also learn to
activate dynamic links between databases, profiles and maps so that you can perform
advanced processing (selection of parameters) as well as interactive analysis and
visualization.
 Geosoft Concepts 19

Dynamically link data and information to knowledge

Dynamic links are a key part of Geosoft’s strategy of helping professional’s stay in
close touch with their data—from import to processing to analysis. By definition,
dynamic links are interactive graphical connections that you can activate between
databases, profiles and any number of maps in your project. When you activate links
and select any item or position in a database, profile or map, a cursor automatically
connects the item or point in all items.

This capability gives you an important means of visualizing original or processed

results in any view and seeing the corresponding representation in another view. The
practical benefit is that you can quickly perform quality control, processing or
analysis using all available data and information. Applying dynamic linking is also a
highly efficient approach to building knowledge and making informed decisions.
20 Geosoft Concepts

Geosoft Algorithms and Techniques

The Geosoft eXecutable (GX) is the basic mechanism through which Geosoft
provides the basic resources for all Geosoft Applications and Tools. GXs are
programmed processes that are attached to the main menus in the system and to the
special menus used in application suites. GXs run interactively in the graphical user
interface but many GXs can also run in batch mode (using script commands).

All Geosoft GXs are signed. A Geosoft signed GX is a GX written and tested by
Geosoft. It contains no viruses or code that can harm your system. As a user you can
trust that this GX works and is safe to use. Non-signed GXs will generate a report
warning the user that there could be a problem with the GX or its contents, and that
Geosoft did not test or create this GX.

Individual users can create GXs using the GX Developer Toolkit. Geosoft’s own
developers also use this product to develop applications. The GX Developer is
designed for users who consider them selves to be computer-oriented scientists (i.e.
you do not have to be a computer scientist to use it effectively). If you encounter a
non-Geosoft GX a report warning will be displayed notifying you that this is not a
Geosoft signed GX.

Third party developers are also creating GXs and the product offers many
opportunities for integrating other products into the system either via DLLs or by
directly accessing Geosoft’s database and function library. For more information,
please contact your Geosoft representative.

The following dialog box shows a standard GX dialog box. Geosoft now supports
Visual Basic programming so that users can create even more advanced dialogs boxes
as required for their specific applications.
 Geosoft Concepts 21

Process Maker technology brings dynamic linking to

data processing
A dynamic process link is a built-in feature that remembers the processing parameters
associated with a specific object such as a channel, grid or map and that enables you
to quickly rerun the process using different settings.

A quick tool for reprocessing data, the process link is also useful for remembering
processing settings. This latter capability is particularly effective if you are away
from your project for any length of time and want to recall the settings you were
using.

To access the maker for any object, select the object and click the right mouse button.
The last item in the popup menu is the maker associated with the object. Select this
option and you will see the corresponding dialog box and settings. You can either
change settings and re-process, or exit from the dialog as required.
 Oasis montaj 23

Oasis montaj
Oasis montaj is Geosoft’s core software platform for working with large volume
spatial data and provides the functionality required to manage, manipulate, visualize
and map spatially located Earth Science data.

The Oasis montaj environment provides direct access to data contained in Oasis
databases through a spreadsheet window and an integrated profile display window.
The Oasis database is a high-performance database that provides efficient storage and
access for very large spatial data sets.

The interface provides visual data links that enable you to dynamically connect data
in the spreadsheet, profile and map views. DAT Technology (for Accessing Grids and
Images) enables the Interface to use a variety of grid and image formats in Oasis
montaj.

The Oasis montaj Mapping and Processing System provides the basic resources for
all Geosoft Applications and Add-on Tools. Geosoft provides a variety of systems
that address specific applications in exploration geophysics, drillhole geology,
exploration geochemistry and other areas. These systems consist of menus and
corresponding Geosoft executables (GXs) that run on the core platform.

Mapping and Processing System

The Oasis montaj Mapping and Processing System contains a cross-section of built-
in data import, processing, analysis, visualization, mapping, and integration
capabilities. This system enables you to perform complex processing, editing,
mapping, and interpretation tasks including the ability to:
• Browse and/or open any project item using the Project Explorer, which also
displayes project data in convenient dropdown lists
• Access project editing tools (Undo/Redo Tool, Map Edit Toolbar, Polygon
Toolbar and Script Bar) and project auxiliary tools (Histograms, Scatter plots,
Probability plots and Triplots) in the Project Explorer
• View and Edit attributes assigned to Geosoft data using the context-oriented,
interactive Metadata Tool
• Create, import, and export: maps, databases, grids, images, and profiles
• Process data using Geosoft’s gridding, contouring and 1D filter algorithms
• Advanced grid utilities and gridding toolkit
• Design and layout maps, consisting of base maps, grids, images, customized
annotations, labels, colour symbols, multi-parameter symbol plotting, and other
entities
• Advanced CAD tools to draw interpretation features on your maps
• Drag-n-Drop Geosoft grids, maps and databases and XYZ files for quick viewing
24 Oasis montaj

• Automate tasks using scripts

Getting Started
This section describes the basic installation and set-up procedures for getting started
with Oasis montaj. Topics discussed in this chapter include:
• Software and hardware requirements (page 24)
• Oasis montaj eLicensing (page 24)
• Installing Oasis montaj (page 26)
• Park your eLicense (page 28)
• Transfer your eLicense (page 28)
• Updating your eLicense (page 29)
• Setting High-Resolution Graphics (page 29)
• Configuring Oasis montaj Settings (page 30)-
• Finding More Help Information (page 3)

Software and Hardware Requirements

To run Oasis montaj, you require the following software and hardware:

Operating System Windows XP recommended, Windows 2000 SP3

minimum. We do not support Windows 95, 98, Me or
Windows NT

CPU No requirement on a specific CPU type. An Intel Celeron

processor is not recommended

RAM 512 MB or more of RAM recommended. 256 MB or more

minimum (get as much RAM as you can afford)

Graphics 24-bit graphics card with 3D acceleration is recommended

and required for full colour imaging. Recommend 64MB
RAM on card

Printer/Plotter Any Windows® supported colour printer. Hewlett Packard®

large-format ink-jet plotters are recommended

Installation Oasis montaj MUST be installed while logged on as

Administrator

Installation Disk Space 1 GB or more of free space on the Program Files drive is
required for the installation process

Data Disk Space Data disk space depends on the volume of project data to
be processed and the printer driver you are using, however
100 GB is recommended. This is largely based on your
 Oasis montaj 25

business and data requirements.

Internet To use the Internet capabilities in Oasis montaj, you will

need to install Internet Explorer 5.0 or later. This does not
mean that you have to have Internet Explorer as your
default browser; Oasis montaj just uses the Internet
connection technology supplied in IE5

Oasis montaj eLicensing

With Geosoft’s electronic licensing (eLicensing) model, licenses are handled by the
Geosoft license server. This system enables licenses to be moved between machines
online, via email or if necessary by disk. Geosoft’s eLicensing management system
offers many tangible and real benefits, including:
• Regular upgrades and fixes. We release multiple upgrades a year (with interim
patches when possible). You can only access these with a valid eLicense.
• Transfer license from office to home computer without re-installing all software.
• Add new products to your license instantly.
• Evaluate products easily - for 30 days.
• Easy to manage "1 user - 1 license" model.
• Reduces costs by eliminating unauthorized use.
• Rent modules for specific time periods.
• The eLicensing technology also enables us to add extra services and products on
a regular basis.
• It may take some time to get used to the system and there are some restrictions
that apply:
• Licenses are keyed to individual PCs. Therefore; you must park the eLicense
to switch computers.
• Must park before changing Operating System (for a new hard drive, for
example).
The following Geosoft License Manager options enable you to manage your
eLicense:

Install eLicense – Installs your eLicense, using your ‘license key’, from the Geosoft
license server.
Show computer ID – Displays your computer ID, a unique alpha-numeric string that
identifies your computer and is used to link your Geosoft license to your computer.
View eLicense – Displays your eLicense information.
Update eLicense – Updates your eLicense from the Geosoft license server.
Park eLicense – Parks your eLicense on the Geosoft license server, enabling it to be
retrieved later.
26 Oasis montaj

Transfer eLicense – Transfers eLicense to a different computer ID.

Lock eLicense – Locks eLicense on the current computer.

Unlock eLicense – Unlocks eLicense from the computer using the ‘License key’.

Installing Oasis montaj

Oasis montaj is installed either from the CD-ROM. The installation method will
vary depending on your operating system.

When “installing” Oasis montaj you MUST be logged on as Administrator.

To use the Internet capabilities in Oasis montaj, you will need to install Internet
Explorer 5.0 or later. This does not mean that you have to have Internet Explorer as
your default browser; Oasis montaj just uses the Internet connection technology
supplied in IE5 to connect to the web.

Install from the Oasis montaj CD ROM

Please note that your installation procedure will vary slightly depending on the
operating system you are using.
3. Insert the Oasis montaj CD into your CD-ROM drive. The InstallShield Wizard
Setup dialog is displayed and tells you that the system is preparing the
installation.
4. When ready, the program displays the Geosoft Oasis Montaj – InstallShield
Wizard Welcome screen. To continue, follow the directions on the screens that
appear.
5. When the "Installation Completed" dialog is displayed, you can check the boxes
provided to launch Oasis Montaj or view the release notes.
6. Click the [Finish] button to complete the installation process.

7. To install your eLicense, new Oasis montaj users refer to the Install your
eLicense (New User) instructions below, current Oasis montaj users please refer
to the Upgrade Oasis montaj instructions.

Install your eLicense (New User)

Your eLicense is installed from the Geosoft license server, online, via email or if
necessary by disk.

T O I NSTALL YOUR E L ICENSE AS A N EW U SER :

1. Connect to the Internet.

 Oasis montaj 27

2. On the Start menu select, Programs/Geosoft/Oasis montaj/License/Setup (or

double click on the Oasis montaj icon). The Geosoft License Manager dialog
will be displayed.
3. In the "License Key" box, enter your 8-digit alphanumeric license key (provided
with your CD-ROM) and click the [Internet] button. Geosoft’s license server will
retrieve your license from our Internet server and download it to your computer.
4. All of the software you are licensed for will now be accessible to you.

Install from the Oasis montaj CD and/or upgrade to current version

Currrent users or new users who have the Oasis montaj CD can install and then
upgrade their Oasis montaj software to the current version by following the
instructions provided below.

T O I NSTALL FROM THE CD AND UPGRADE TO C URRENT V ERSION :

1. Insert the Oasis montaj CD into your CD-ROM drive. The InstallShield Wizard
Setup dialog is displayed and tells you that the system is preparing the
installation.
2. When ready, the program displays the Geosoft Oasis Montaj – InstallShield
Wizard Welcome screen. To continue, follow the directions on the screens that
appear.
3. When the "Installation Completed" dialog is displayed, check the box provided to
launch Oasis Montaj.
4. Click the [Finish] button to complete the installation process and launch Oasis
montaj. The Geosoft License Manager dialog will be displayed.
5. In the "License Key" box, enter your 8-digit alphanumeric license key (provided
with your CD-ROM) and click the [Internet] button. Geosoft’s license server will
retrieve your license from our Internet server and download it to your computer
and all of the software you are licensed for will now be accessible to you.
6. On the Help menu, select Check for Updates. The Oasis montaj InstallShield
Updates page is displayed.
7. Click the [Show Updates] button and the currently available Updates will be
displayed.
8. Click the [Add] button to select the Update, and the [Next>] button will be
enabled.
9. Click the [Next>] button and you will be presented with the option to Download
or Install the Update. If you choose to Install, we recommend that you close
Oasis montaj at this point. Follow the instructions provided to complete the
process.
28 Oasis montaj

Parking (Uninstalling) your eLicense

The Oasis montaj eLicensing technology enables users to park their eLicense on the
Geosoft license server, enabling it to be retrieved later.

To Park (or Uninstall) your eLicense

1. Connect to the Internet.
2. On the File menu, select License/Park License.
3. The Geosoft License Manager dialog will be displayed. This is a warning
message that tells you that parking a license places your license on the Geosoft
license server so that it may be installed on a different computer for your own
personal use. Your license is non-transferable, and use of the license by anyone
but you may be a violation of your license agreement.
4. It then asks you if you are sure you want to park your license? Click the [Yes]
button. Your license is uploaded to the Geosoft license server to be downloaded at
a later time and Oasis montaj closes.

Transferring your eLicense

Your eLicense can be transferred to a different computer ID (i.e. transferring your
license from your desktop to a laptop or visa-versa). Before you can transfer your
eLicense you must determine the computer ID for the target computer (computer you
wish to install the license on).

View Computer ID on target computer

1. Install Oasis Montaj on your second computer (as shown above).
2. On the Start menu select, Programs/Geosoft/Oasis montaj/License/View
Computer ID. The Geosoft License Manager dialog will be displayed. The alpha-
numeric ID displayed in this window is your “Computer ID”.
3. Copy this number for use in the next step and Click the [OK] button to close the
window.

Transfer eLicense
1. On the computer that currently has your eLicensed installed, open Oasis montaj
and connect to the Internet.
2. On the File menu, select License/Transfer License. The Geosoft License Manager
dialog is displayed.
3. In the "Target Computer ID" box, enter the computer ID of the target computer
i.e. the computer you wish to install the license on and click the [OK] button.
 Oasis montaj 29

4. Your eLicense is now linked to the new computer ID and can be downloaded
from the Geosoft license server or sent via email to the "Target Computer".

Install the Transfered eLicense:

1. Connect to the Internet.
2. On the Start menu select, Programs/Geosoft/Oasis montaj/License/Setup. The
Geosoft License Manager dialog will be displayed.
3. In the "License Key" box, enter your 8-digit alphanumeric license key (provided
when you "Transfered" your license) and click the [Internet] button. Geosoft’s
license server will retrieve your transfered license from our Internet server and
download it to your computer.
4. All of the software you are licensed for will now be accessible to you on your
other computer.

Updating your eLicense

You can update your eLicense (i.e. access additional applications or add-on tools) by
first contacting your local Geosoft representative and then simply connecting to the
Geosoft license server.
1. Contact your local Geosoft representative about adding additional applications or
add-on tools.
2. Open Oasis montaj and connect to the Internet.
3. On the File menu, select License/Update License. Your eLicense is updated with
the new licensed products.

Lock and Unlock eLicenses

The Lock and Unlock eLicenses options is used primarily by administrators of large
numbers of eLicenses. It is used to control and restrict the movement of licenses and
to prevent misappropriation and loss.

Setting High-Resolution Graphics

In order to view the colours in your maps and grids correctly, you may have to
change your video card settings.
1. Click right mouse button on desktop screen.
2. On the Properties menu, click Settings.
3. Set the colour palette to High Colour 16-bit or True Colour 24-bit.
30 Oasis montaj

Configuring Oasis montaj Settings

Before you start working with Oasis montaj you may want to configure your other
default settings. The program will work correctly with all of the standard default
settings; however these may be changed to reflect your personal requirements or
those of your computer. The default settings are the selections made for many of the
programs where there is no user input and are designed to yield logical results.

You may overwrite some of these intelligent defaults in normal use but this should
not create any problems since the defaults are only intended to get you started with
the system and may change as your knowledge of the system increases.

T O C HANGE THE D EFAULT S ETTINGS OF THE O ASIS MONTAJ E NVIRONMENT

1. On the Edit menu, click Settings and then click General. The Default settings
dialog is displayed..
2. Select the desired choices from the available selections. You need not change any
selections at this time. Once you are more familiar with Geosoft, you may come
back to alter the settings.

The following list summarizes some of the more frequently changed

settings:

Default menus Select the menu files (.omn) to load as the

default menus when creating a new project. If
more than one menu is selected, each menu must
be separated by the | character.

Default grid colour table Select the default colour table to use for
displaying grids.

Default map font Select the default map font. The file
TRUETYPE.INI will be modified to map the
 Oasis montaj 31

"default" font from Geosoft PLT files to the

TrueType font specified here. To change the
mappings of other Geosoft fonts you can modify
the TRUETYPE.INI file directly.

Default symbol font Select the default Geosoft symbol font (*.gfn).

3. Clicking the [Next>] button displays the More settings dialog, as shown below:

The following list summarizes some of the more frequently changed

settings:

Default input Select the input grid format you would like to use by default.
grid format

Default Select the output grid format you would like to use by
output grid default.
format

Default grid This is the default grid element type to use for Geosoft grids.
element type If grids will be used with Geosoft DOS programs, select "16-
bit (DOS compatible)".

Error level If All errors are selected, you will see more error messages
reporting each time an error occurs. This is useful for GX
programmers who may need to see more error context when
debugging GX’s.

Print memory Select the amount of RAM you would like the Geosoft print
(megabytes) driver to use when printing. This only effects print
configurations that use the Geosoft drivers. Enter 0 to use
the default, which is 33% of the total physical RAM
available on the system.
The Geosoft print driver will slice each print job into bands
32 Oasis montaj

of this size. The more RAM you use for printing, the faster
printing will be. If you specify too much RAM, it is possible
to significantly diminish the performance of other tasks on
the computer. This amount should normally not exceed 50%
of the installed RAM on your system, although we will allow
the value to be up to 75% of the available RAM.
This setting is not used by the Windows driver. If you use
the Windows print driver, the printing process will use
virtual memory up to the size required by the print. This can
be up to 600 MB for A0 (E) size plots. We recommend that
you use the Geosoft drivers when working with large
plotters.

Image Cache Select the amount of virtual RAM you would like to reserve
for the image cache. As images are displayed in Oasis
Montaj, an efficient access version of the image will be
stored in the cache if there is room. The cache copy of the
image greatly improves the performance of rendering the
image when zoom/pan/redraw operations are performed. If
there is insufficient room in the cache, the image will always
be rendered from the DAT interface, which is slower.
We recommend that you should set the image cache size to
about 4 times the largest images that you routinely work
with. Note that the image cache will be created in the
GEOTEMP directory, and there must be sufficient room to
hold the cache plus other Geosoft temporary files. The
image cache should not be more than 50% of the available
room in GEOTEMP.
4. Clicking the [Next>] button displays the Internet settings dialog, as shown below:

5. This dialog enables you to control the type of Internet connection you have. If
your browser accesses the internet through a proxy server or firewall, set the type
to "Proxy Server/Firewall". This will use the POST HTTP command instead of
the GET http command and should enable Oasis montaj to access the internet
through your proxy/firewall connection.
 Oasis montaj 33

Advanced Settings

The Oasis montaj Advanced Settings are global variables that remain set for a given
installation of Oasis montaj. The Advanced Settings file (geosettings.meta) stores the
values, which remain the same for different data sets and Oasis montaj projects.

Oasis montaj Advanced Settings contains parameter settings that are used to
establish default settings in Oasis montaj. When Oasis montaj is first started, it will
read the contents of the Advanced Settings file and set default values. Changing the
Advanced Settings file after montaj has started will not change defaults in the
running program.

The Advanced Settings file, located on the Edit|Settings|Advanced menu, are

displayed in the MetaData Browser and organised in sections. Each section will
have associated parameters that can be modified to user specifications.

The General Settings (SETTINGS GX) can be used to maintain the most common
parts of the Oasis montaj global settings.
 Tutorial 1: Getting Ready to Work 35

Tutorial 1: Getting Ready to Work

In this tutorial, we will guide you through the basic steps to start working with your
new software. At this point you should have already installed Oasis montaj. You
should begin by starting the Oasis montaj softare application.

T O S TART U SING O ASIS MONTAJ

1. On the Start menu bar click Programs and then click Geosoft and then click Oasis
montaj/Oasis montaj .
or
2. Double click on the Geosoft icon in Windows Explorer or File manager or the
icon located on you desktop screen.

Welcome to the Oasis montaj Environment

When you start Oasis montaj, the system opens to a Graphical User Interface (GUI)
with standard Windows style elements, including the Main Menu, Pop-up Menus and
Online Help as shown below:
36 Tutorial 1: Getting Ready to Work

System Files

As you work with the system, you will become familiar with a variety of standard
files used for specific functions. The following list provides a short summary of the
more important files.

Oasis montaj System Files System File Extensions

Geosoft database file *.GDB

Map file, including plots and grids *.MAP
Geosoft grid file *.GRD
Colour information for grids/images *.AGG
Geosoft eXecutable *.GX
Geosoft Script file *.GS
Oasis Menu, Oasis sub-menu *.OMN, * .SMN
Geosoft Project file *.GPF
Geosoft projection information file *.GI
Geosoft Map file (used in the MapInfo *.GM
software to distinguish a Geosoft map file
from a MapInfo (*.map) file

Creating a Working Directory

The system enables you to access files anywhere but it is a good strategy to carefully
organize your data (project information and files) before carrying out any processing.

To start this tutorial, please create a working directory called D:\Tutorial. A general
rule to follow in working with Geosoft applications is to avoid working in the
Geosoft directory. In these tutorials, we will follow this rule by keeping all the
working data files in D:\Tutorial.

Copying Tutorial Files to Your Working Directory

This tutorial is based on the following data and image files:

• casaber.xyz • krigsample.csv • mag.xyz
• geochem.xyz • krigsample.xyz • survey.leg
• mag.leg • head.xyz • map04mag.grd
• map04.con • magvlf.xyz • map04.mdf
• map.prj • sqltest.mdb • mag.grd
• mag.agg • test.grd • omontaj.tif
• indexmap.jpg • projtest.xyz
 Tutorial 1: Getting Ready to Work 37

Before you Begin

This tutorial uses sample data provided on the Oasis montaj CD-ROM (or can be
downloaded with the tutorial from the Geosoft web site). These data are located in the
\Geosoft\Oasis montaj\data\various directory. Before you begin the tutorial, copy
the data files from the various directory to a working directory such as D:\Tutorial.

Creating a Project
To work in Oasis montaj requires an open Project. An Oasis montaj "Project"
encompasses every item in your working project; from the data files in your project
(databases, maps, and grids), to the tools used (including auxiliary tools such as
histograms, scatter plots etc.), to the project setup including the menus you have
displayed and whether you are working on a map or profile and the state in which you
left it the last time you used it.

The project also controls your working directory. Projects are saved as (*.gpf) files. If
you open an existing project from a directory, the system assumes that all your
project files are located in the same directory. To streamline your work, as well as
keep it organized, you may wish to make sure that your project file is in the same
directory as the other files you want to use. We recommend that each project you
work on have its own project (*.gpf) file. If you use a number of applications or add-
on tools in Oasis montaj that have different menus, you can use the project to display
only the menus you require.

The Project Explorer tool enables you to browse as well as open any project item.
The Project Explorer has two windows, the Data window that includes all data files
included in the project and the Tools window that organizes and maintains the project
tools. To access the Tools window click the Tools bar on the bottom of the Project
Explorer. To return to the Data window, click the Data bar on the top the Project
Explorer.

T O C REATE A P ROJECT :

1. Start Oasis montaj.

2. On the File menu, click Project and then click New. The New Project dialog is
displayed.
38 Tutorial 1: Getting Ready to Work

Note: Oasis montaj assumes that your data is in the directory containing this
project
3. Specify a name and directory for the project. For example, name the project
GeoDemo and specify the working directory as D:\Tutorial
4. Click the [Save] button. The system saves the project and indicates it is open by
adding menus to the menu bar, adding buttons to the Standard Short-cut bar and
by displaying the Project Explorer window. These are visual clues indicating that
you are ready to start working with the system.
 Tutorial 1: Getting Ready to Work 39

5. To close a project, click File|Project and then click Close.

Loading Application and Tool menus

The Oasis montaj Mapping and Processing System menus are displayed directly
under the Title Bar when you open a project. These dropdown menus provide direct
access to all of the systems capabilities.

The specialized applications or add-on tools (i.e. geophysical and geochemical

analysis, 3D drillhole plotting, gravity and magnetic filtering, leveling, interpretation
etc.) have their own menu files (for example, magmap.omn) that will include all of
the menus and submenus that you will need to use the additional software. Manuals
and tutorials for these applications and add-on tools can be opened from the
Help|Manuals and Tutorials menu or downloaded from the Geosoft website,
http://www.geosoft.com/resources/tutorials/.

Your Oasis montaj project keeps track of which menus are displayed. This means
that you can have a different set of menus displayed for each project. This is
especially useful if you are working on multiple projects and using many applications
or tools. For example, if you are working on a geochemistry project, you may want to
display different menus than if you are working on an UXO project. By creating
separate projects with differing menus you can customise the Oasis montaj
environment to suit your current project.
40 Tutorial 1: Getting Ready to Work

T O L OAD AN A PPLICATION OR A DD - ON TOOL M ENU :

1. On the GX menu, click Load Menu (or click the Load menu icon on the
Standard Shortcut Toolbar). The Load menu dialog will be displayed.
2. Select the menu file (*.omn) from the list of files and click the [Open] button.
The system displays the new menu on your menu bar.
Tip: If you want to modify your default menus (i.e. load a specified menu with
every new project) you can use the Default settings dialog box to change your
settings. If you are really interested in system configurations and want to view
all of the System settings open the Advanced Settings file
(Edit|Settings|Advanced). The Advanced Settings will be displayed in the
MetaData Browser.

Finding FAST Answers to Questions

Oasis montaj provides information through two different interfaces. You can use the
Online Help system to locate quick information in short topics using Contents, Index
and Search tools. The Manuals, Tutorials, and Technical Notes system (using
Acrobat Reader) contains full-length documents that you can print.

Geosoft’s electronic information approach is called FAST. The following table

summarizes FAST, how to use it and the types of information and assistance you can
expect to find.

? Type How to Find It Information Available

F Fastest Move the cursor to any part of Instant information on the

Information the Interface or menu item and GUI or corresponding
press the <F1> key. Geosoft eXecutable (GX).

A Application Click the [Help] button on any To access technical

Information dialog (GX). information for each
parameter on the current
Oasis montaj dialog (GX).

S System On the Help menu, select Help Oasis montaj conceptual,

Information Topics to run the Help System. procedural and GX
Search the Contents or use the information.
Search Function.

T Tutorials On the Help menu, select Oasis montaj Quick Start

Manuals and Tutorials. tutorial and applications
and add-on tools manuals,
tutorials and selected
technical notes are
available for online
viewing and printing in
Adobe PDF format.

The following graphic gives you a preview of the “S” part of FAST. When you
access the main Help system, you see a screen similar to the following:
 Tutorial 1: Getting Ready to Work 41

Advantages of FAST Information Delivery

Geosoft’s move from printed manuals to electronic information delivery is pragmatic:

• The system has become so full-featured that the optimal solution to providing
accurate, brief and complete (ABC) information was to centralize information in
a single information warehouse (i.e. the Oasis montaj Help System).
• Users would be able to print full versions of manuals based on the design and
technologies Geosoft was implementing.
• Electronic information retrieval is a powerful technique that enables users to take
advantage of the computer’s highly optimized searching capabilities.
• With over 40 manuals to support, manuals were updated infrequently; the new
system means that information can be updated and delivered much more rapidly
through media such as our web site.
• Users would have the ability to print partial information or full manuals wherever
they were – providing maximum flexibility, reducing the need to keep track of
manuals and putting the information at the user’s fingertips.
• Deploy resources more effectively as measured in terms of our users’ ultimate
benefit. By transferring resources spent in low-return tasks (such as
formatting, producing and distributing manuals) into creating and maintaining
42 Tutorial 1: Getting Ready to Work

information, Geosoft has committed itself to spending its resources to deliver

accurate, brief and complete information to its customers.

Printing Complete Manuals on Demand

To make sure our users have the latest manuals, we ship electronic versions of
selected manuals and tutorials with our Help system. Application manuals and Quick
Start™ Tutorials currently available include:
• montaj Geophysics (1D-FFT Filtering)
• montaj Geochemistry
• montaj Drillhole Plotting
• montaj Airborne Quality Control
• montaj Geophysics Levelling
• montaj MAGMAP Filtering (2D-FFT Filtering)
• montaj Gravity & Magnetic Interpretation (Euler 3D)
• montaj Gridknit
• montaj Induced Polarization
• montaj 256-Channel Radiometrics Processing
• montaj Gravity and Terrain Correction
• montaj UX-Detect
• Target Surface and Drillhole Mapping System
• GX Developer
• DAP Server
• DAP Cataloguing Metadata
In addition, as part of our new FAST strategy, we are allocating resources formerly
spent on formatting, preparing and delivering hardcopy manuals on adding more
manuals and tutorials to the system and updating the current ones on a timely basis.
For the most up-to-date manuals and tutorials visit Geosoft website at
http://www.geosoft.com/resources/tutorials/

T O P RINT C OMPLETE M ANUALS

1. On the Help menu, click Manuals and Tutorials. The system displays a main
menu page in Acrobat Reader.
2. Click on the Manual, Tutorial, or Technical Note you want to print. The system
opens the PDF file in Acrobat Reader.
3. Once the Adobe Reader is loaded click the File menu and then click Print to print
the manual.
 Tutorial 2: Working with Data 43

Tutorial 2: Working with Data

Some of the more important components of the system are databases, spreadsheets,
profiles and maps. The “window” to the database in Oasis montaj is a specialized
earth science spreadsheet that appears automatically when you create a new database.
This spreadsheet provides access to a wide variety of data management, data and
profile viewing and processing capabilities. Maps have special properties that you
will learn about in later tutorials.

The purpose of this tutorial is to give you a general overview of how you can use this
data management system effectively in your applications.

Creating an Oasis montaj Database

One of the fundamental technologies in Oasis montaj is its unique database
architecture. This architecture is designed to let you rapidly create and import data of
many kinds (ASCII and binary) into high-performance Oasis montaj databases. After
data is imported into a database, you have numerous options for editing, visualizing,
processing and performing other tasks.

Oasis montaj features a database compression option that enables you to reduce the
file size and improve the performance of Geosoft database files (*.gdb). Processing
speed is improved by compressing files because the computer takes less time to read
and write to disk. Power users will especially benefit from using compressed
databases.

You can choose either to compress for speed, compress for size or no compression at
all. Which type of compression you use is entirely up to you. It all depends on which
type better suites your needs. For example, you would more than likely compress for
speed if you have a lot of hard drive space available. However, if space is limited,
you may wish to compress for size.

T O C REATE A N EW D ATABASE :

1. On the Data menu, click New database. The Create New Database dialog is
displayed.
2. Specify a New database name (tfmag.gdb). You can then specify the Maximum
lines/groups and Maximum channels/fields. The defaults are 200 and 50, which is
fine for the purposes of this tutorial, but generally we recommend that you specify
a number that is representative of the final estimated project size. This strategy
ensures that you have enough space available in your project while not consuming
excessive storage space. The size can be changed later via the
Maintenance…menu option from the Data menu, should your project expand in
scope.
44 Tutorial 2: Working with Data

3. Specify Compress for SPEED in the Compression box and select the Advanced
tab.
4. This dialog enables you to change the way Oasis montaj works with data in the
database file. These parameters control the database "page size", which is the
smallest unit of memory that is read/written and stored on the database. In almost
all cases, the default page size (1024 bytes) should be sufficient since this will
support a total database size of up to 4 Terabytes in size and will enable
individual channels on a line to hold up to 64 Megabytes of data. This is sufficient
for our database, for more information click the [Help] button.
5. Click the [OK] button. The system creates a new database with the database name
that you specified and opens a Spreadsheet window with empty Channel Header
Cells and Data cells.

Importing Data into the Oasis montaj Database

There are a number of options for importing Geosoft and third-party formatted data.
In this tutorial, you will import and work with standard Geosoft XYZ files, default
templates and import modes. For more information about how templates and import
modes work refer to the Help system.

T O I MPORT D ATA INTO A D ATABASE

1. On the Data menu, click Import and then click Geosoft XYZ.
 Tutorial 2: Working with Data 45

2. The system displays the Import XYZ data dialog box.

3. In the XYZ data file box, specify mag.xyz. You can click on the [Browse] button
to search for this file in your Tutorial directory.
Tip: The [Browse] buttons allow you to browse and select files from anywhere on
your computer or network drives. This assists in ensuring the selection of the
proper files from the correct directory are chosen.
4. Click the [Template] button. The system displays the Import dialog box with the
name of the file you are importing displayed along the dialog box title bar.

5. The name of the default import template file (default.i0) is displayed in the
Template Name box. This file will include the settings specified in this dialog. If
you have multiple files of the same format to import you can rename this file to be
used again.
46 Tutorial 2: Working with Data

6. To modify the settings for a channel, select (highlight) the channel you wish to
edit and Source Data and Output boxes to the right, specify your changes.
7. In the Source Data box you can select a Format for your numbered data. (i.e.
normal, scientific, data, time) from the drop down menu. If your data contains a
value (for example –9999) that represents dummy values, enter this value in the
Dummy parameter box.
8. In the Output Channel box you can select or specify a Name you want to use for
the channel in the database. You can also select the Type of numbers to use, the
Width (number of digits), and number of Decimal places.
9. When you are done editing and modifying your data click the [OK] button to
return to the Import XYZ data dialog box.

10. Click the [OK] button to import the data.

11. The imported data should look like the picture below.

Note: The default placeholder for missing or blank data (i.e. dummy value) in an
XYZ file is “*”. If the dummy value was for example, -9999, then you should
enter this in the Dummy box on the template dialog box..
 Tutorial 2: Working with Data 47

Drag-n-Drop XYZ Data

The ability to drag XYZ files and drop them into an open database file (*.GDB) is
now included in Oasis montaj. Only default parameters are used and XYZ files must
be in the correct format and the database must be large enough to hold the dropped
XYZ file.

The ability to drag other file types directly from Windows Explorer and drop them
into Oasis montaj for display is also available including; grid files (*.GRD), map
files (*.MAP) and database files (*.GDB) files. Items on the Project Explorer bar may
also be dragged and dropped.

Displaying Data in the Spreadsheet

Unlike traditional spreadsheets, the Oasis montaj Spreadsheet windows provide a
view of your database instead of the actual data in the database. This design enables
you to customize the spreadsheet to display data to your specifications. In addition, it
lets you work with data in the spreadsheet without actually making changes to the
data — until you decide to save the database. After you save the database, your
changes are permanent. For more information about our databases, please refer to the
Help system.

When you import data you will notice that the system automatically displays all of
your data in the Spreadsheet window.
Note: When the system creates a database, it automatically creates L0:0. During the
data import process, if the data that you import does not contain a line 0, so
that there is no data in this line, the line is automatically deleted. If the line
contains data it is retained.
T O R EMOVE A C HANNEL (C OLUMN ):

1. Click once on the channel header cell labelled mag to select it. Press the [space
bar] key on the keyboard or click on the right mouse button and select Remove
column from the popup menu. The channel is removed from the Spreadsheet
view.
Note: The database (*.gdb) file still contains all the data. The Spreadsheet is only
used to provide a view of selected channels.
T O L IST A C HANNEL :

1. Move your cursor to the top of the first empty channel header cell, right click and
from the popup menu, select List.
48 Tutorial 2: Working with Data

2. A box will appear beneath the empty channel header listing all the available
channels that currently are not being viewed in the Spreadsheet window. Select
mag to display the channel in the Spreadsheet.

Tip: If you know the name of the data channel already, you can simply position the
cursor on a specific Channel Header Cell, type the name and click the [Enter]
button.
Note: If you see ‘**’, this convention indicates that the data are too wide for the
spreadsheet column. To change the width of a column, place the cursor on the
dividing line between the column headers. The mouse becomes a double
arrow. Click on the left mouse button and drag the line to the right to increase
the column width. Release the mouse button when done.
 Tutorial 2: Working with Data 49

Channel Header Cells

The cells immediately right of the ID Cell are called Channel Header Cells. These
cells are used to identify a unique type of data contained in a column of the
spreadsheet. The data for a channel appears below the channel header.

The channel headers provide a visual indication of the current status of the displayed
channel. If the top left corner of the header cell is marked by a black triangle, the
channel is read-only, and it may not be modified. A red line at the bottom of the
header cell indicates that the channel has been re-sampled in order to present a view
of the data with one of the other channels on the screen.

Current X and Y (and Z) Channels

Oasis montaj supports "current" X and Y (and Z) channels. This capability enables
users to select the channels that they would like to use as the current X and Y (and Z)
channels (for example, East, North, and Relative Level).

To set the current X and Y (and Z) channels, using the Coordinates|Change X, Y

coordinates menu item, select the names of the new coordinate channels. This makes
these channels the new current X and Y channels. You can also use this menu item to
review the current settings for the X and Y channels.

Markers have been added to the channel header to indicate which channels are
currently defined to be the "current" X, Y (and Z) channels. The markers are little
rectangles on the right side of the header cell, and contain "x", "y" (or "z") in reversed
display (like the triangle protection symbol on the left).

When you alter the current coordinate channels (Coordinates|Change X,Y

coordinates), these markers change too. Normally, users will just get "x" and "y", but
if you have a "Z" channel it will get the "z". The "z" will be used in Wholeplot
databases, where DH_EAST = "x", DH_NORTH = "y" and DH_RL = "z".

Processing Data in the Spreadsheet

After you open a Spreadsheet and display one or more channels, you have the option
of processing the data using the Oasis montaj utilities and X-utilities. These utilities
help you apply formulas and perform database operations between channels for
individual groups of points, lines or the entire database. For more information about
the processing utilities, please refer to the Online Help system.

T O C ALCULATE B ASIC S TATISTICS ON A C HANNEL :

1. Click three times on the channel header cell labelled mag to highlight the mag
data in all of the selected lines (groups) in the database. The selected data is the
data the system will calculate the statistics on.
50 Tutorial 2: Working with Data

Note: Clicking (highlighting) the channel header once selects the header cell,
clicking twice selects the channel and clicking three times selects the channel
in all of the selected lines (groups) in the database.
2. On the Utility menu, click Report and then click Mark statistics. The system
displays the Stat Report dialog box.

3. You can save a copy of the statistical report by clicking the [Save Stats] button.
The system will display the Save Stats dialog box where you can specify a name
for the New statistics file then click the [OK] button to have the system save the
file to your project directory.

4. On the Stat Report dialog box click the [OK] button to close the dialog box.

The following list summarizes how to obtain results on specific parts of your
database:

Click once on the channel header No statistics can be calculated.

cell to highlight the header cell.

Click twice (double click) on the Statistics are calculated for that specific line of the
channel header cell to highlight the database.
data in the current line (group).

Click three times on the channel Channel statistics are calculated for all of the selected
header cell to highlight the data in lines in the database.
 Tutorial 2: Working with Data 51

all of the selected lines (groups) in

the database.

Note: The maximum value in the mag channel is 9999 - for this dataset, this number
may indicate a data spike or spikes in some or all of the lines of data.

Displaying a Profile in the Spreadsheet

After you open a Spreadsheet and display one or more channels, you have the option
of displaying them in graphical (profile) form in a Profile window. The Profile
window is composed of sub-windows called panes. You can display up to five
separate panes with 32 channels of data in each pane. For more information about the
Profile window, please refer to the Help system.

T O D ISPLAY A P ROFILE :

1. Select (highlight) the channel header cell of the mag channel, from the Profile
menu, select Show profile. The system displays a profile of the data in the Profile
Window below the spreadsheet.

Tip: To see where the mag values are located with regards to the profile line
simply click on a value in the mag channel and the system will highlight the
corresponding area on the profile.
2. We recommend you experiment with the various options available for profile
display, appearance, scaling and plotting etc. available via the Profile menu.
T O D ISPLAY THE P ROFILE OF D IFFERENT L INE :

1. Move the cursor to the Line Header Cell in the top left corner of the spreadsheet.
The currently displayed line in the worksheet is L5:0.
52 Tutorial 2: Working with Data

2. Select (hightlight) the Line Header Cell, click the right mouse button and select
List from the popup menu. A list of all the line numbers in the current database
will be displayed. You can think of each line number as a worksheet in the
spreadsheet window. When you view a new line number a new worksheet is
opened in the spreadsheet window with corresponding line number information.

3. Click on L13:0 from the list and you will see that the spreadsheet and profile
window now displays L13:0, as shown below:

4. The profile view now shows the two data spikes, which peak at a value of 9999.
These spikes were also identified in the channel statistics and should be removed
from the data before performing any additional data processing.
Tip: When the Line Header Cell is highlighted, you can use the [Page Up] and
[Page Down] keys from your keyboard to scroll through lines. You can also
use the Line Command Toolbar to scroll through the lines. The figure below
shows what each of these buttons do.

Database Toolbar

Display First Line/Group. Click this button to show the data and
 Tutorial 2: Working with Data 53

profiles for the starting line in your database.

Display Last Line/Group. Click this button to show the data and
profiles for the final line in your database.

Display Previous Line/Group. Click this button to show the data

and profiles for the previous line in your database.

Display Next Line/Group. Click this button to show the data and
profiles for the following line in your database.

Create a New Database Line/Group. Click this button to create a

new line in your database. A dialg box is displayed that enables you
to specify the line number, version, date, and type. If your database
contains groups of data instead of lines, a new group will be created.

Delete Selected Database Line/Group. Click this button to delete

the currently select line from your database.

Protect and Unprotect Channels in a Spreadsheet

You will notice that each channel header has a black triangle in its upper left-hand
corner. This indicates that the channel is protected and cannot be edited by the user
until the “protection” is turned off. Original imported data are automatically stored as
protected data.

T O R EMOVE C HANNEL P ROTECTION

1. On the Data menu, click Channels and then click Protect none.
2. The system removes the black triangles from the top left corner in the channel
header cells, indicating the channels are no longer protected.
Tip: If you want to unprotect a single channel only you can right click on the
channel header to activate a popup menu. Make sure there is no check mark
beside the protected option. A checkmark beside this option indicates the
channel is protected.
T O P ROTECT C HANNELS

1. On the Data menu, click Channels and then click Protect all.
2. The system adds black triangles in the top left corner of the channel headers cells
indicating the channels are now protected.
Tip: If you want to protect a single channel only you can right click on the channel
header to activate a popup menu. Make sure there is a check mark beside the
protected option. A checkmark beside this option indicates the channel is
protected.
54 Tutorial 2: Working with Data

Creating Working Channels in the Oasis montaj

Database
You can create new channels in your database to store the results of filters,
mathematical expressions, or any other processing operations. We recommend that
you create a new channel for storing any changes you make to the original imported
data. In this tutorial we need to create a new channel into which we can copy the
original mag channel to for editing purposes.

T O C REATE A N EW C HANNEL :

1. Move to the top of the next empty column and highlight the channel header cell
using a single click of your left mouse button.
2. Type in the name of the new channel (magedited) and press the [Enter] key on
your keyboard. The system displays the Create Channel dialog box. Note that,
you can also select the channel hearder cell, left click and from the popup menu
select New, to display the Create Channel dialog.

3. Click the [OK] button to accept the default values. The system creates a new
channel in the database named magedited and fills this channel with dummy
values.
4. On the Utility menu, click Copy channel. The system displays the Copy a channel
dialog box.
 Tutorial 2: Working with Data 55

5. Select mag from the dropdown list for the Copy FROM box and magedited from
the dropdown list for the TO box. Click the [OK] button.
6. The system copies values from the mag channel into the newly created
magedited channel.
T O C REATE A N EW C HANNEL U SING THE M ATH F ORMULA T OOL - A LTERNATE M ETHOD
(O PTIONAL ):

Follow steps 1 through 3 above; however use a different channel name such as
magedited2.
1. Click left mouse button three times on the magedited2 channel header cell to
highlight all of the data within this channel.
2. Press the [=] key from your keyboard to activate the Math Formula Tool. You can
see the Math Formula Tool is activated by looking at the status bar of the
spreadsheet window.
3. Type mag in the formula bar. Typing mag means the new channel will be equal
to the mag channel. Notice that as you type the formula, it is written in each
channel cell as well as at the bottom of the screen.

4. Press the [Enter] key on your keyboard to activate the formula and have the
system display the values in the selected channel.
Note: The math formula tool supports simple math and algebraic functions as well
as temporary variables for complex expressions using the channel names as
variables. For more information, see the Help system. We will use this math
tool later in the tutorial.
T O D ELETE A C HANNEL FROM THE D ATABASE :

We do not require two magedited channels; therefore we can easily delete the
magedited2 channel from the database.
1. Before you can delete a channel from the spreadsheet window you need to make
sure the channel is not protected (i.e. there is no black triangle in the upper left
56 Tutorial 2: Working with Data

corner of the channel header cell). If you try and delete a channel that is protected
the system will not allow you to proceed with the deletion process.
2. Right mouse click on the magedited2 channel header cell and select Delete
channel from the popup menu.

3. The system will display the Delete dialog box. This dialog box is a safety feature
confirming that you really wish to delete a channel from the database.

4. Click the [Yes] button to permanently delete this channel from your database
(Note that, the default is No this is a secondary safety feature preventing you from
pressing the Enter key by mistake, deleting the channel).
Note: It is important to realize that deleting a channel is very different than just
removing a channel from spreadsheet view. When you remove a channel from
the spreadsheet it is still there in the database and can be retrieved simply by
listing the channel again. When you delete a channel it is not only removed
from the spreadsheet view, but it is also deleted from the database as well.
 Tutorial 2: Working with Data 57

Editing a Channel in the Database

Once you have made a copy of the channel you can now edit and process the data
found in that channel. In this case we wish to remove the two data spikes found on
line 13:0 of the tfmag.gdb database.

T O E DIT D ATA IN A C HANNEL U SING THE P ROFILE V IEW :

1. Before you can edit a channel you must make sure that channel is not protected. If
you try and edit a channel that is protected the system will not allow you to
proceed with the editing process. (A black triangle is displayed in the upper left
corner of the channel header cell when a channel is protected).
2. Ensure that you are viewing the line 13 (L13:0) in the worksheet, and that you
have chosen the magedited channel to edit.
3. On the Profile menu, click Show Profile. The system displays a profile of the data
in the Profile Window below the spreadsheet.
4. Move to the profile window and click on the first data spike (there are two on the
line). You will notice that the corresponding data value to that spike, 9999, is
highlighted in the spreadsheet view at sample (fiducial) 32 and a small box is
drawn at the top of the data spike in the profile window. Clicking anywhere in the
profile view will display the corresponding value in the spreadsheet view.

5. Click with your mouse on the 9999 value in the corresponding magedited
channel. Press the [Delete] key from the keyboard to remove the value from the
database. A dummy value (*) will appear.
58 Tutorial 2: Working with Data

6. Repeat the procedure for the other data spike found at fiducial 131 and a second
dummy value (*) will appear. Your profile should now look like the one shown
below.

Editing Data Using Conditional Expressions

Spikes may also be removed from a dataset by using a conditional math expression.
Using the Math Formula Tool, type the following formula:

This formula states that if the mag value is less than 9000, magedited will equal the
mag value, otherwise it is set to the dummy value. This procedure works in this case
because the bad data spikes are outside of the valid data range.

Interpolating Data
Now that you have removed the spikes and examined the database for other possible
errors, you may wish to interpolate the data through the gaps created when you
removed the data spikes.

T O F ILL G APS IN A D ATA C HANNEL U SING I NTERPOLATION :

1. On the Utility menu, click Interpolate. The system displays the Interpolate
Dummies dialog box.
 Tutorial 2: Working with Data 59

2. Select magedited as the Channel to interpolate and also select magedited as the
Output interpolated channel. Select Minimum Curvature as the Interpolation
method. Click the [OK] button.
3. The system will interpolate the gaps created in the data during the editing session
using the minimum curvature method of interpolation. Click the [Help] button for
more information on this function.
4. Display the mag and magedited channels in the profile window by right clicking
on each channels header cell and selecting Show profile from the popup menu.
You can now compare the edited data against the raw data.

Tip: By displaying the two profiles in the same profile window you can examine
the effectiveness of interactive editing and interpolation on the original data.
However, note that the profiles have different vertical scales magedited is
(4720.90 – 5974.10) and mag is (4639.92 – 10104.08).

Profile Panel Options

The Panel Options dialog box enables you to set scale options for the Y axis of the
profiles in the profile window.

TO DISPLAY THE TWO PROFILES AT THE SAME SCALE :

1. Click right mouse button on the profile window. On the Profile popup menu, click
Panel Options.
60 Tutorial 2: Working with Data

2. The system will display the Panel Options dialog box. Make sure the Scale to fit
for each line option radio button is selected and there is a check mark in the Same
scale for all profiles in panel option box.

3. Click the [OK] button to display the two profiles at the same scale.

The following list summarizes the different scale options available to you:

Scale to fit for each line Adjusts the scale in the profile box to fit each
line that is displayed.

Fix the range Uses the same range for all the profiles that are
displayed.

Fix the scale, centre the range Fixes the ranges and displays the line in the
centre of the window.

Same scale for all profiles in panel All profiles (including those from different
channels) are set to the same scale.
 Tutorial 2: Working with Data 61

Same range for all profiles in panel All profiles are centred individually on their
own mid-data value.

Master Sample
The Master Sample channel is used to force all other database channels to be sampled
at the same fiducial rate as the selected channel. The Master Sample channel is
identified by blue line under the channel header.

This feature is useful when you want to edit data from a channel that has a larger
fiducial rate (data sampled less often) then other channels in the database.

By default, the spreadsheet window displays data using the channel with the smallest
fiducial (most frequent sampling) rate.

For example, consider a database with two channels. Channel 1 has a fiducial
sampling rate of 10 readings/second. This channel is considered to be smaller (more
frequent) than Channel 2, which was sampled at 1 reading/second. By making
Channel 2 the Master Sample channel, Channel 1 is displayed at the same rate so that
only every tenth fiducial is displayed.

T O A CTIVATE THE M ASTER S AMPLE :

1. Right click on a database channel header and select "Master Sample" from the
popup menu.
TO REMOVE THE M ASTER S AMPLE :

1. Right click on a database channel header and select "No Master Sample" from the
popup menu.

Saving Changes to Databases

When you are ready, you may want to make your changes permanent in the database.

T O S AVE C HANGES TO Y OUR D ATABASE :

1. On the Data menu, click Save database changes.

2. The system displays the Save Changes dialog box. Click the [Yes] button to
confirm the save.
62 Tutorial 2: Working with Data

3. The system updates your database and the changes are now permanent.
Note: To undo changes, click the Discard changes...menu option from the Data
menu. This will restore your database to its last saved state.
 Tutorial 3: Importing and Exporting Databases 63

Tutorial 3: Importing and Exporting Databases

Oasis montaj provides a variety of importing and exporting capabilities, including:
• Reading directly from common databases (Access, FoxPro, Dbase, Paradox and
OBDC)
• Exporting your data as Microsoft Access database format (*.mdb)
• Importing ASCII data interactively via Excel-style import wizard
• Exporting ASCII data
The following menus show you the importing and exporting options available to you
in the system.

Data Import Menu Data Export Menu

Before You Begin this Tutorial:

Oasis montaj uses ADO and ODBC software developed by Microsoft to connect to
other spreadsheet and database applications.

In this tutorial, we will guide you through these tasks. The tutorial is structured using
the following steps:
64 Tutorial 3: Importing and Exporting Databases

• First we will export some data from an Oasis montaj database to a Microsoft
Access database to familiarize you with the exporting process.
• We will then proceed to import the Access database into a new Oasis montaj
database to familiarize you with the import process.
• You will then create your own ASCII data set by exporting from Oasis montaj.
• Lastly you will import this Ascii data back into a new Oasis montaj database.

Getting Ready to Export to a Microsoft Access

This tutorial will use the tfmag.gdb database file. This data file contains x and y
ground locations as well as data (mag) values. Although the data is magnetic data, it
is suitable for demonstrating the standard manipulations you will perform with any
type of data with which you are working. Data is arranged in lines (i.e. multiple
worksheets) which is not typical for certain types of data (i.e. random geochemical
data) but again, you should be able to generalize this to the case in which you have
only one line (i.e. random data). Database

Exporting to Microsoft Access Database Format

Before working with the database export capabilities, please be aware that Geosoft
currently supports table export only to Microsoft Access databases.

Typically this should not hinder you in practice since Access is widely supported by
other database applications. However, we apologize for any inconvenience this
limitation may cause. If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to
contact any of our Technical Support groups around the world.

The system offers you several choices for creating an Access database, namely
exporting to:

Individual Each line (or group in the case of drillhole data) has its own table in the
tables output database.

Single table All lines are stored in one table in the output database.

Tip: As a rule of thumb, if you are working with multiple lines, we recommend
that you export lines as Individual tables so that you can keep track of them in
future. If you are working with a single line (i.e. geochemical data), it is more
likely that you will export the line as a Single table. In the following
procedure, we will export data as Individual tables within a database.
T O E XPORT TO A M ICROSOFT A CCESS D ATABASE :

1. Make sure the tfmag.gdb database is open in your project.

2. On the Data menu, click Export and then click Microsoft Access. The system
displays the Save to Microsoft Access database (MDB) dialog box.
 Tutorial 3: Importing and Exporting Databases 65

Note: If you choose selected lines as the Lines/Groups to save option you make
sure the lines you wish to export are selected according to your specifications.
You can choose certain lines to select via the Line Selection Tool, which can
be loaded from the Data menu by clicking Lines and then clicking the
Selection tool.
3. Specify an Output MDB file name (Export_Access) and the rest of the options as
shown above. Click the [OK] button.
4. The system displays a progress dialog box as it creates the new Access database.

Importing a Database Table

Now that you have created a Microsoft Access database we can show you how to
import an Access Database. Normally you would already have created your database
by actually using Access, but for purposes of this tutorial we had to create a (*.mdb)
file first to be able to show you how to import one later.

Geosoft’s database table import assumes that the database is a Microsoft Access
database (*.mdb) If it is not, the system prompts you for a database type (any of the
following):
• dBase III • FoxPro 2.0 • Paradox 3.x
• dBase IV • FoxPro 2.5 • Paradox 4.x
• dBase 5 • FoxPro 2.6 • Paradox 5.x
T O I MPORT A D ATABASE T ABLE :

1. On the Data menu, click New database. The Create New Database dialog is
displayed. Specify a New database name (Import_Access) and click the [OK]
button to open a new empty database.
2. On the Data menu, click Import| Database Table and then click All Tables. The
system displays the Import Database dialog. Since you just finished creating a
database to import the data into, click the [Yes] button.
66 Tutorial 3: Importing and Exporting Databases

Note: We chose the All Tables option of importing because when we originally
exported this data we exported it as individual tables. Therefore, we would
like to import all the tables back into the database. If we choose the Single
Table option we could choose individual lines and fields we wished to import.
3. The system displays the Import Entire External Database Dialog box. Use the
[Browse] button to select Export_Access.mdb as the File to import. Specify
Lines from the Store tables as drop down menu. Click the [OK] button.

4. Click the [OK] button. The system imports file into the database.

Exporting to an Excel Comma Separated Value (CSV)

File
An important capability is the ability to export to Excel-style comma separated value
(*.CSV) ASCII files. This timesaving feature enables you to quickly export your
processed data from Oasis montaj and perform specialized analysis or processing in
Excel as required.

T O E XPORT TO AN E XCEL F ILE :

1. Make sure the tfmag.gdb database is open in your project.

2. On the Data menu, click Export and then click the Other. The system displays the
Export to Other format dialog box.
 Tutorial 3: Importing and Exporting Databases 67

3. Specify the Format as CSV (Excel) and the output Data file Name as
Export_Excel. Click the [OK] button. The system exports the data to the
designated file.

Importing an Excel Comma Separated Value (CSV)

File
Oasis montaj provides a variety of options for easily importing Excel data. In this
tutorial, we demonstrate the use of Geosoft’s Import Wizard technology.

T O I MPORT E XCEL F ILES :

1. On the Data menu, click New database. The system displays the Create New
Database dialog box. Specify a New database name (Import_Excel) and click
the [OK] button to have the system create the new empty database for you.
2. On the Data menu, click Import and then click Ascii. The system displays the
Import Wizard dialog box.

3. Use the [Browse] button to specify the Excel-Export.csv file as the File to
import. Click the [Wizard] button.
4. The system scans the file and displays the first of three Data Import Wizard
dialog boxes. The wizard displays a preview of the data file and automatically
determines the File Type containing the data (i.e. Delimited — separated by
commas).
68 Tutorial 3: Importing and Exporting Databases

5. In the four fields in the middle of the dialog box specify which line in the file
contains the data headings (i.e. channel names), data units (“m” or “ft” ect.),
which line to begin importing data on and the number of lines to display in the
preview rows.
6. If your import data had several columns of data you can use the horizontal scroll
bar at the bottom of the display window to view the columns. Click the [Next>]
button to continue.
7. The second dialog box in the Data Import Wizard is displayed. Specify the
Column delimiters as Microsoft Excel CSV for the type of character used to
separate the column text. In this case, the system displays the data in columns by
drawing lines in the preview window indicating the way in which it is preparing
to import your data. Click the [Next>] button to continue.
 Tutorial 3: Importing and Exporting Databases 69

Tip: The Data Import Wizard enables you to easily import data from any Ascii
spreadsheet or data file. The Data Import Wizard supports both Delimited and
Fixed Field Ascii files. The Data Import Wizard also imports Microsoft
Excel Comma Separated Value (CSV), Comma Delimited, White Space
Delimited and Tab Delimited data files. The window at the bottom of the
dialog box shows the file that is being imported. For more information about
the Data Import Wizard settings, read the Ascii Import Wizard help topic or
click the [Help] button on the dialog box
8. The system displays the third dialog box in the Data Import Wizard. The wizard
has scanned your data and determined the Channel Type of data with which you
are working (Data in this case). It is always good practice to review your data to
ensure that the wizard has selected the correct columns. The Parameters area in
the dialog box shows the name, label, type and format of data of the column
highlighted in the preview window.
Note: In the dialog box below, we have selected the Y column to show how the
corresponding parameters are displayed in the Parameters box.
70 Tutorial 3: Importing and Exporting Databases

9. Click the [Finish] button. The system displays the Save the template? dialog box.
Click [Yes] to save the import template. For more information on the import
template click the [Help] button.

10. The Save the template dialog box is displayed.

11. In the Template box you can either accept the default name for the import
template or rename the template. For our purpose we will accept the default name
and click the [OK] button.
 Tutorial 3: Importing and Exporting Databases 71

12. The Import dialog box is displayed. Click [Yes] to import data into the current
database.

13. The Import Wizard imports the data to the Import_Excel.gdb as shown below.

Drag-n-Drop Geosoft Database Files

The ability to drag database files (*.GDB) from Windows Explorer and drop them
into an open project is now included in Oasis montaj.

The ability to drag other file types directly from Windows Explorer and drop them
into Oasis montaj for display is also available including; grid files (*.GRD), map
files (*.MAP) and users can also drag XYZ files and drop them into an open database
file (*.GDB). Items on the Project Explorer bar may also be dragged and dropped.
 Tutorial 4: Basic Mapping and Gridding 73

Tutorial 4: Basic Mapping and Gridding

Maps provide a key tool for interpretation for many earth science applications. Oasis
montaj provides a wide range of capabilities for performing both basic and advanced
mapping. In addition, the map is an important part of the dynamic linking and
imaging capabilities in Oasis montaj.

In this tutorial, we guide you through basic map creation. The general steps to follow
when creating a map include:
• Selecting data for mapping and processing
• Creating a new map
• Setting up map layout templates
• Creating a base map
• Plotting survey lines
• Plotting profiles
• Moving around the map
• Gridding data
• Plotting contours
Later tutorials focus on custom map creation, dynamic linking and imaging, and
adding special elements such as symbols to maps.

Selecting Data for Mapping and Processing

Oasis montaj creates base maps and map elements, and performs other processing
(such as gridding) based on the lines (or groups in the case of drillhole data) selected
in the database. By default, when you import data, all lines are selected.

For the purpose of this tutorial, we recommend that you leave all lines selected. After
you run through the tutorial initially, you may want to experiment with turning lines
on and off and re-creating your map.

T O S ELECT D ATA FOR P ROCESSING :

1. First ensure that the tfmag.gdb database is selected in the project.

2. On the Data menu, click Lines and then click Selection tool.
3. The system displays the Line Selection Tool dialog.
74 Tutorial 4: Basic Mapping and Gridding

• You can highlight the lines you want to select or deselect individually or click
the [Highlight lines by range] button to select lines by range.
• Clicking the [Select highlight] button or [Deselect highlight] button will either
add a check mark beside the highlighted lines or remove a checkmark.
• Lines that are selected will have a check mark beside them and lines that are not
selected will have no check mark beside them.
• If the line is not selected, it will not be included in the maps you create or data
you process. For this tutorial make sure all the lines are selected. Click the [OK]
button.

Creating a New Map

Oasis montaj introduces an intelligent entity called a Map. Physically a map is a
special graphic file (*.MAP) containing drawings and images. In practice, however, a
map is smarter than a basic file because it enables you to edit interactively, apply
dynamic linking and track the map creation processes.

When you create or open a map in Oasis montaj, the system displays a Map window
in the project. For a new map, the window is initially empty. For an existing map, all
map elements are displayed when the window opens.

An important component of the map is the map template. Templates control

placement of base map elements (surrounds), contours, grids, plots, images and any
other graphics elements required to complete your map. You will learn more about
templates in a following exercise. For more information on mapping, map
components and working with maps see the online Help.

T O C REATE A N EW M AP :

1. Select the tfmag.gdb database in your current project.

2. On the Mapping menu, click New map and then click New map from X,Y.

3. The Data range to map dialog is displayed. Click the [Scan data] button to have
the system query the database for the Minimum X, Y and Maximum X, Y
coordinates and the Distance units.
 Tutorial 4: Basic Mapping and Gridding 75

Note: If the scanned data or grid file does not have an established unit, "metres" is
assumed. It is important that the distance units accurately reflect the units of
the data range. This default value can be modified in the Edit|Settings|General
dialog.

4. Click the [Next] button. The Create a New Map dialog is displayed.

5. Enter a Map name (tfmag.map), Map Template (portrait letter) and then click
the [Scale] button. The system automatically calculates a scale that will fit the
data on the map template. Just remember to round the scale to a more efficient
number (100000).
6. Click the [Finish] button display the new blank map.
Note: If no scale is specified, a scale will be chosen which will fit all of the data
within the chosen map sheet.

Creating a Map Template using New Interactive Tools

The Interactive Map Template Creation Tool simplifies map making by providing the
ability to use standard map templates from our template library or interactively create
customized map templates for use within Oasis montaj.

The template can be used to create simple base maps for standard presentations or
very sophisticated final maps. This XML based template supports the creation of
multiple data views on a single map. The user may define titles, text, logos, colour
bars, and may even include background graphics or images in each view. For the
power users, the templates are fully scriptable.
76 Tutorial 4: Basic Mapping and Gridding

Working with Interactive Map Template Tool

The Interactive Map Template Creation Tool is designed to simplify map making by
providing easy-to-use interactive tools for modifying or creating customized map
templates for use within Oasis montaj. “Data linking”, which can be used very
effectively to organize the layout on an output map (especially "map" style maps
where the base view has a fitting view defined) is also available.

Adding a map template to your current project can be achieved in two ways:
• On the Mapping menu, select Template|New map template| and then select one
of two options, Blank map template or From template library.
 Tutorial 4: Basic Mapping and Gridding 77

• On the Map Template Tools Bar, select one of the following buttons; New
template from library ( ), New blank map template ( ) or Open existing map
Template ( ).
Once you have a map template created and/or opened in your current project you can
quickly and easily add new base group to your map template using the Add new base
group button ( ) on the Map Template Tools Bar or by selecting the view you want
to add the group to on the map template window, right-click and from the popup
menu, select Add new base group.

When adding new Data Views to your map template, you can define the data extents
and projection information or leave the area undefined. Data groups can be added
using the Add new data group to current view button ( ) on the Map Template
Tools Bar or by selecting the view you want to add the group to, in the map template
window, right-click and from the popup menu, select Add new data group to current
view.

For more information on working with the New Map Template Interactive Tools, see
the Oasis montaj online Help Topics. To quickly locate help for the New Interactive
Map Template Tools, specify “Interactive Map Template Tool” on the Search tab.

Creating MAPPLOT Map Templates (manual)

The system provides a variety of default templates that enable you to create your own
standard maps with logos, custom layouts and other elements as required. For
example, you may use the default A4 or A3 templates to create your own layout that
you use regularly for making a map.
Note: When you create a map template, it is saved permanently in your system.
When you are learning the system, we suggest you experiment using the same
template until you are ready to create a final version with a custom name. You
may want to make up a testing template, called TEST, for example.
T O C REATE Y OUR O WN MAPPLOT M AP T EMPLATE :

1. On the Mapping menu, click New map and then click New map from X,Y.

2. The system displays the Data range to map dialog box. Click the [Scan data]
button to have the system query the database for the data ranges and report the
Minimum X,Y and Maximum X,Y coordinates. Click the [Next] button.
3. The system displays the Create a New Map dialog box. Enter a Map name (New
Template.map) and choose portrait A4 as the Map template.
4. Click the [Templates] button. The MAPPLOT Template Manager dialog is
displayed.
78 Tutorial 4: Basic Mapping and Gridding

5. Click the [New] button to create a new template, so that the original template is
not overwriten. The New MAPPLOT Template dialog is displayed.

6. Use this dialog to specify a New template name (e.g. NEW_A4) and click the
[OK] button. The Edit MAPPLOT Template dialog is displayed.

7. Change the Map style to (figure). Figure style maps have a layout with the title,
scale bar and north arrow located at the bottom of the map whereas map style
maps have a layout with the title box, scale bar and north arrow along the right
hand side of the map. You can leave the rest of the default values as they are.
8. Click the [OK] button to continue. The system will return you to the MAPPLOT
Template Manager dialog. Click the [OK] button.
 Tutorial 4: Basic Mapping and Gridding 79

9. The Create a new map dialog box is redisplayed with (NEW_A4) as the specified
Map template.

10. Click the [Scale] button. The system automatically chooses a scale that will fit the
data on the map template. Just remember to round the scale to a more efficient
number (150000).
11. Click the [Finish] button to create and open the empty map in your current
project.

Creating a Base Map

You can customize your base map with many elements, including map surround,
north arrow, scale bar, reference grids, latitude/longitude annotations, text
blocks/ballons and titles. The layout of your base map can either be map or figure
style. Figure style maps have a layout with the title, scale bar and north arrow located
at the bottom of the map whereas map style maps have a layout with the title box,
scale bar and north arrow along the right hand side of the map. The following pictures
show the difference in layout between the two styles.
80 Tutorial 4: Basic Mapping and Gridding

T O C REATE AND P LOT A F IGURE S TYLE B ASE M AP :

1. Make sure your blank tfmag.map file is open and selected in the project.
2. On the Mapping menu, click Base map and then click Draw base map. The Base
map layout dialog is displayed.

3. This dialog box is the first dialog box in the base map layout wizard. The type of
Map style that you choose here will reflect the type of dialog boxes to follow.
Choose figure as the Map style and specify a Map scale of 100000. The rest of
the default values are fine the way they are. Click the [Next>] button to continue.
 Tutorial 4: Basic Mapping and Gridding 81

4. The system displays the Figure style base map dialog box. You can specify
different types of display styles for the Reference grid via the drop down menu.
Choose dotted lines for the Reference Grid box. Click the [Next>] button to
continue.

5. The system displays the Figure titles dialog box. Specify a Title (Figure Map
Style) and a Sub-Title(s) if you wish. Click the [Finish] to plot the basemap in
your current open tfmag.map. Your map should look similar to the one shown
below.
82 Tutorial 4: Basic Mapping and Gridding

T O C REATE AND P LOT A M AP S TYLE B ASE M AP :

1. Create a new blank map with using the NEW_A4 Template. You will need to
modify this template to change the map style from figure to map. Call this map
New Map_Map Style. Click the [Finish] button, your new blank map should be
open and selected in the project.
2. On the Mapping menu, click Base map and then click Draw base map. The Base
map layout dialog is displayed.
 Tutorial 4: Basic Mapping and Gridding 83

3. This dialog box is the first dialog box in the base map layout wizard. The type of
Map style that you choose here will reflect the type of dialog boxes to follow.
Choose map as the Map style and specify the Map Margins as shown above.
4. Click the [Next>] button to continue. The s Full map style base map dialog is
displayed.

5. You can specify different types of display styles for the Reference grid via the
dropdown menu. Choose dotted lines for this tutorial.
6. Click the [Next>] button and the Map title block dialog is displayed.
84 Tutorial 4: Basic Mapping and Gridding

7. You can specify the map titles and sub-titles as shown above and then click the
[Finish] button to plot the basemap on the current open map.
8. Your map should look similar to the one shown below.

Plotting Survey Lines

For line-oriented Geoscience surveys, you may want to display survey lines (flight
lines for airborne surveys.

T O P LOT S URVEY L INES :

1. Select (highlight) the New Map_Map Style.map.

2. On the Mapping menu, click Line Path.
3. The system displays the Line path plot dialog box. You can leave the defaults as
they are.
 Tutorial 4: Basic Mapping and Gridding 85

4. Click the [OK] button and the system displays the survey lines on your New
Map_Map Style.map map.

Plotting Profiles
For line-oriented Geoscience surveys, you can also display plan view profiles of the
data values for each survey line.

T O P LOT P ROFILES :

1. Make sure New Map_Map Style.map is selected in your project.

2. On the Mapping menu, click Profile. The Profile plot dialog is displayed.
86 Tutorial 4: Basic Mapping and Gridding

3. Choose the profile channel (magedited). Set the profile scale (units/mm) as 50
and the profile base as 5000. Change the line colour to red and click the [OK]
button.
4. The system displays the plan profiles of the channel selected on your map. Click
the [Help] button for more information regarding the parameter selections
available in the Profile plot dialog box.
 Tutorial 4: Basic Mapping and Gridding 87

Moving Around the Map

Once you have your map displayed, you may want to zoom into the map so that more
detail is displayed. You may also wish to move around the map using other options.
The following is a list of some of the different types of viewing options available, on
the Map Tools Bar, for moving around and viewing the map with ease:

Interactive Zoom Click this button to activate the interactive zoom. Click on the area of
the map you want to zoom (e.g. an anomalous location on a grid),
then while holding down the left mouse button, move your cursor left
to zoom out and right to zoom in on the selected area.

You can also access this command by clicking the right mouse button
on a map and selecting Interactive Zoom from the popup menu.

Zoom Box Click this button to activate the zoom box. Click on the map, then
while holding down the left mouse button, move your cursor to box
in the area of the map you want to zoom, click the left mouse button
to select the area. Click the mouse button again to zoom to the area
selected.

Note: Once the box has been defined, the cursor and the box are
linked and by moving the cursor around the map you can move
the box to another location, and then click the left mouse
button to zoom to the boxed area.
88 Tutorial 4: Basic Mapping and Gridding

You can also access this command by clicking the right mouse button
on a map and selecting Zoom Box from the popup menu.

Zoom Out Click this button to zoom out and shrink the displayed map features
by 50%.

You can also access this command by clicking the right mouse button
on a map and selecting Zoom Out from the popup menu.

Zoom In Click this button to zoom in and increase the displayed map features
by 50%.

You can also access this command by clicking the right mouse button
on a map and selecting Zoom In from the popup menu.

Zoom to Selection Click this button to zoom to the selected map view or group.

You can also access this command by clicking the right mouse button
on a map and selecting Zoom to Selection from the popup menu.

Pan Click this button to move around in the currently selected map. Click
the left mouse button and while holding the button down, move the
hand cursor to pan around the current map area.

You can also access this command by clicking the right mouse button
on a map and selecting Pan from the popup menu.

Full Map Click this button to display the whole map area in the map window.

You can also access this command by clicking the right mouse button
on a map and selecting Full Map from the popup menu.

Last View Click this button to undo all changes that you have made since the
last time you saved the map. This command is useful for removing
text and graphics that you may have added accidentally.

When working on a map, you may prefer to use this command

periodically so that you undo only a few changes at a time rather than
your entire set of map edits and other changes.

You can also access this command by clicking the right mouse button
on a map and selecting Last View from the popup menu.

Redraw Click this button to refresh/redraw a map in the Map window after
making editing changes.

You can also access this command by clicking the right mouse button
on a map and selecting Redraw from the popup menu.

Configurable Hotkeys

Oasis montaj now provides configurable Hotkeys enabling quick and easy access to
menu items including all map tools. The Map|Configure Shortcut Keys menu item
 Tutorial 4: Basic Mapping and Gridding 89

provides an interactive dialog enabling you to set your own hotkeys or view the
defaults.

T O U SE THE Z OOM B OX O PTION :

1. Click the Zoom Box button ( ) on the Map Tools Bar, or right click on the map
and select Zoom from the popup list.
2. Your cursor will turn into a crosshair. Define a box by clicking the top left and
bottom right corners of the area of interest. Then click once to execute the zoom
command.
90 Tutorial 4: Basic Mapping and Gridding

3. The system zooms into the defined area.

T O U SE THE P AN O PTION :

1. On the Map Tools Bar, click ( ) or right click on the map and select Pan from
the popup menu.
 Tutorial 4: Basic Mapping and Gridding 91

2. Your cursor will turn into a hand . Holding the left mouse button down, use
the mouse to pan around the map.
T O U SE T HE Z OOM I N O PTION :

1. On the Map Tools Bar, click ( ) or right click on the map and select from Zoom
In from the popup menu.
2. The map will be reduced by 50% in the map window.

T O U SE THE F ULL M AP O PTION :

1. On the Map Tools Bar, click ( ) or right click on the map and select Zoom to
Full Map from the popup menu.
2. The map will be displayed in full view in the map window.

T O U SE THE L AST V IEW O PTION :

1. On the Map Tools Bar, click ( ) or right click and select Last View from the
popup menu.
2. The map will be displayed as it was last displayed before a new view was shown.

T O U SE THE R EDRAW O PTION :

1. If you manually resize the map window or perform editing on the map you may
need to redraw the map to refresh its current view. On the Map Tools Bar, click
( ) or right click and select Redraw from the popup menu.
2. The map will be redrawn and redisplayed in the map window.
3. For more information on the tools on the Map Tools Bar and any other toolbar,
see the online Help.
92 Tutorial 4: Basic Mapping and Gridding

Right Click Popup menu Map Tools Bar

(Hotkeys displayed on the right)

The last three buttons on the toolbar determine on which maps the zooming will
occur:
• [This Map Only] button will zoom only the current map, which will be
highlighted.
• [All Maps] button will zoom all the maps, which share the same
coordinate system.
• [Other Maps Only] button will zoom all the other maps, which share the
same coordinate system, with the exception of the current map. This allows
the use of one map as a reference.
To find out the function of the other buttons on the toolbar, hold the cursor over the
button until a description appears.
 Tutorial 4: Basic Mapping and Gridding 93

Gridding Data
Gridding refers to the process of interpolating data onto an equally spaced “grid” of
values in a specified coordinate system, such as X-Y. In this system, the following
gridding methods are available:

Bi-Directional

Bi-Directional is a numerical technique for parallel survey lines, lines with some tie
lines or roughly parallel lines. Use BIGRID, if the data is collected along lines that
are roughly parallel, as in the following examples:

Parallel Lines Lines with some tie lines Roughly parallel lines

Note: BIGRID is not able to use the tie lines, as shown in the middle example,
because of the way the gridding algorithm works. If the data on the tie lines is
important, RANGRID or KRIGRID should be used.
The Bi-directional gridding method (BIGRID GX), is ideal for line oriented data
because it inherently tends to strengthen trends perpendicular to the direction of the
survey lines. In this way, BIGRID can take advantage of the fundamental
characteristics of line-based surveys.

The gridding process is carried out in two principle steps. First, each line is
interpolated along the original survey line to yield data values at the intersection of
each required grid line with the observed line. The intersected points from each line
are then interpolated in the across-line grid direction to produce a value at each
required grid point.

Geological trends in the data can be emphasized by the appropriate orientation of the
grid so that the second interpolation is in the direction of strike. In addition to trend
enhancement, BIGRID allows the method of interpolation to be selected
independently for the down-line and across-line directions. The interpolations
available are linear, cubic spline (minimum curvature) or Akima spline.

Filtering of the line data before interpolation is also possible. BIGRID can design
and apply non-linear and/or linear numerical filters to the original line data. The use
94 Tutorial 4: Basic Mapping and Gridding

of the non-linear filter is a very effective way to remove data spikes (undesired high-
amplitude short-wavelength features) from the original data.

BIGRID has the following features:

• Unlimited number of data points per survey line
• Unlimited number of survey lines
• Unlimited output grid size
Note: The actual maximum size of the dataset or grid that you can use depends upon
the available free disk space of your computer.

Minimum curvature

The random gridding method (RANGRID GX ) fits a minimum curvature surface to

the data points using a method similar to that described by Swain (1976) and Briggs
(1974). A minimum curvature surface is the smoothest possible surface that will fit
the given data values.

RANGRID first estimates grid values at the nodes of a coarse grid (usually 8 times
the final grid cell size). This estimate is based upon the inverse distance average of
the actual data within a specified search radius. If there is no data within that radius,
the average of all data points in the grid is used. An iterative method is then
employed to adjust the grid to fit the actual data points nearest the coarse grid nodes.

After an acceptable fit is achieved, the coarse cell size is divided by 2. The same
process is then repeated using the coarse grid as the starting surface. This is
iteratively repeated until the minimum curvature surface is fit at the final grid cell
size.

A very important parameter in the RANGRID process is the number of iterations

used to fit the surface at each step. The greater the number of iterations, the closer
the final surface will be to a true minimum curvature surface. However, the
processing time is proportional to the number of iterations.

RANGRID stops iterating when:

• It reaches a specified maximum number of iterations, or
• A certain percentage of the observed points are within a limiting tolerance of
the surface
By default these limits are 100 iterations and 99% of points within 1% of the data
range..

The RANGRID GX also has the following capabilities:

• Accessing unlimited number of input observation points.
• Adjustable internal tension.
• Applying de-aliasing filter.
• Applying linear and logarithmic gridding.
 Tutorial 4: Basic Mapping and Gridding 95

• Applying projections.
• Blanking un-sampled areas.
• Outputing grids up to any size.
Note: The actual maximum size of the grid that you can use depends upon the
available free disk space of your computer.

Kriging

Kriging is a statistical gridding technique for random data, non-parallel line data or
orthogonal line data.

Use RANGRID or KRIGRID when the XYZ data is not sampled along lines that run
in roughly the same direction. Such data are often called random, because they give a
random appearance when the data locations are plotted. Also, line data with survey
lines that are orthogonal (or have random directions) should be gridded with
RANGRID or KRIGRID.

The following figure illustrates these types of data:

+ +

+++

+
+
+ +
Random Data Non-parallel Line Data Orthogonal Line Data

If the data is relatively smooth between sample points or survey lines, then
RANGRID should be used.

However, use KRIGRID, if the data

• is variable between sample locations,
• is known to be statistical in nature (such as geochemical data),
• is poorly sampled, or
• is clustered.
The statistical gridding method (KRIGRID GX) uses the method of Kriging to
determine a value at each grid node based on the XYZ data. KRIGRID first
calculates a variogram of the data, which shows the correlation of the data as a
function of distance.
96 Tutorial 4: Basic Mapping and Gridding

Simply speaking, the further data points become, the less correlation we expect
between points. A variogram shows this phenomena for a given dataset, and based
on the variogram, you are able to select a model that best defines the variance of the
data.
The technique of Kriging uses this model to estimate the data values at the nodes of
the grid. A significant by-product of Kriging is the ability to estimate the error of the
data at each grid node.

Geosoft supports ordinary Kriging as well as universal Kriging. Universal Kriging

differs from ordinary Kriging in that it allows the data to contain a regional trend.
For a more in-depth understanding of geostatistical analysis and Kriging, refer to
Mining Geostatistics written by A.G. Journel and C.J. Huijbregts, 1978.

KRIGRID has the following capabilities:

• Applies de-aliasing filter.
• Applies linear and logarithmic gridding options.
• Blanks un-sampled areas.
• Calculates a variogram from the input data channel.
• Output grids up to any size.
• Processes unlimited number of input observation points.
• Supports linear, power, spherical, Gaussian, exponential and user defined
models.
Note: The actual maximum size of the grid that you can use depends upon the
available free disk space of your computer.

Tinning Overview

The ability to create a TIN (Triangular Irregular Network), and to use this TIN file to
grid data using the Nearest Neighbour , Linear or Natural Neighbour methods has
been added to the Oasis montaj environment.

The TIN is created from a set of spatial data using the public domain Sweepline
algorithm implemented by Steven Fortune of Bell Laboratories (Fortune, S 1987).
The TINDB GX applies the Sweepline algorithm to the X, Y (Z-optional) data values
in a Geosoft database (*.gdb) to create a binary TIN (*.tin) file.

When Z values are included in the (*.tin) file, a TIN grid can be created using the
TINGRID GX. The TINGRID GX applies the Nearest Neighbour, Linear or Natural
Neighbour (Sambridge, Brown & McQueen 1995) algorithm to the Z values in the
(*.tin) file to create a grid.

The TIN gridding method requires one data point for each (X, Y) data location in the
database. Tinning provides the ability to sum or average duplicate samples − data that
have multiple Z values at single point locations. (Note that, when Z values are
included in the (*.tin) file, only data point locations with non-dummy Z values are
included.)
 Tutorial 4: Basic Mapping and Gridding 97

Geosoft Tinning provides a number of ways of visualizing the TIN, including the
ability to plot the TIN Nodes, the TIN Mesh (or Delaunay triangulation), the Convex
Hull, and the Voronoi cells of your data.

Trend Enforcement Gridding

A traditional problem in gridding geophysical data, is the aliasing problem that

occurs due to the presence of more samples “along the lines” than across lines. This
problem leads to obvious effects including ellipsoids or ellipsoidal “beads” between
lines in gridded data. There are various solutions to these types of effects including
filtering and gridding along trend directions. However, these techniques may reduce
geologic signal or obscure local trends. Oasis montaj “Trend Enforcement
algorithm” is designed to provide a solution that preserves the character of local
trends while eliminating aliasing effects. To learn how to perform trend enforcement
gridding in Oasis montaj, refer to Tutorial 16: Trend Enforcement Gridding page
243.

Gridding using the Bi-directional gridding method

In this example, we will use Bi-directional gridding (since the data are oriented in
parallel lines and we expect to have cross-line trending). You can apply Bi-
directional gridding by using the Dialog controls menu option or running a control
file that contains the gridding commands and parameters. The procedures for both
methods are provided. However, you will only need to follow one of the methods to
perform the Bi-directional gridding successfully. If you are a new user, we
recommend choosing the first method.

T O A PPLY B I -D IRECTIONAL G RIDDING TO XYZ D ATA U SING D IALOG C ONTROLS :

1. Select the tfmag.gdb database.

2. On the Grid menu, click Griding|Bi-directional line gridding|Dialog controls.
The Bi-directional gridding of line data dialog is displayed.

3. From the Channel to grid dropdown list, select (magedited) and specify the
Output grid name as tfmag (note that, the file extension *.grd will be added by
the system).
98 Tutorial 4: Basic Mapping and Gridding

4. The grid cell size should be 1/4 to 1/8 of the line separation distance. The line
separation is 200 metres; therefore, we will use a Grid cell size of 50. For more
information on these parameters, click the [Help] button. Click the [Advanced>]
button to continue. The Advanced Gridding options dialog is displayed.

5. We can leave these parameters to the intelligent defaults, for detailed information
click the [Help] button. Click the [Finish] button and the data will be gridded and
displayed in your current project.
Tip: The cell size is the distance between grid points in the X and Y directions.
In most situations the cell size can be selected as 1/4 to 1/8 of the line
separation, or the minimum station interval, whichever is greater. By
default, BIGRID will choose a cell size based upon these criteria, although
we do recommend that you choose the cell size directly..
T O A PPLY B I -D IRECTIONAL G RIDDING TO XYZ D ATA U SING A C ONTROL F ILE :

1. On the Grid menu, click Gridding and then click Bi-directional line gridding and
then click Control file. The system displays the Bi-directional gridding dialog
box.
 Tutorial 4: Basic Mapping and Gridding 99

2. Specify the Data channel to grid (magedited) from the drop down menu. Also
specify a name for the New grid file (tfmag_con). We will leave the Transverse
gradient channel blank as this parameter doesn’t apply to our data. For
information on this parameter, click the [Help] button.
3. The next step is to specify a Control file. Normally you would specify an existing
control file that contains your bi-directional gridding (BIGRID) commands and
parameters. However, in this tutorial, since no BIGRID control file exists, specify
the name of a new control file to create (tfmag.con).
4. Click the [Edit Controls] button and the Select a default text editor dialog is
displayed.

5. This dialog is only displayed if you have not selected a default text editor yet. Use
the [Browse] button to locate a text editor (like Notepad) and click the [OK]
button to display the Edit file using notepad.exe dialog.

6. The ftmag.con file is selected by default, click the [OK] button. The system
displays the control file you specified (tfmag.con) using your default text editor.
7. The control file contains comments that explain how to use the BIGRID
parameters. The rest of the control file is blank.
8. Close the tfmag.con control file and click the [Grid] button on the Bi-directional
line gridding dialog to grid the data and display it in your current project.
100 Tutorial 4: Basic Mapping and Gridding

Note: We did not specify any parameters in the bigrid control file, therefore the grid
was gridded using only the intelligent defaults.

Displaying a Grid
There are a number of options for displaying grids; these include displaying single
grids, colour shaded grids, ternary image grids, two-grid composites (for shaded-
relief maps), three-grid composites (for ternary maps) and four-grid composites. In
this example, we will display a single grid.

Grids appear in the Project Explorer under "Grids". Opening a grid opens a view of
the grid in its own internal "map". A grid map view is just like a real map and can
accept any graphics that a map can. It can also be saved as a map, in which case the
map will appear in the "Map" section of the project explorer.
Tip: When displaying grids, you must specify a colour table to use (supplied with
the product). You may want to experiment with different colour tables to see
how they affect your image.
T O D ISPLAY A S INGLE G RID ON A M AP :

1. Open and select the tfmag.map that we created earlier with a basemap.
2. On the Grid menu, click Display grid|Single grid. The Place a grid on a map
dialog is displayed.

3. Use the [Browse] button to select the Grid name (tfmag.grd).

4. We can leave the remaining parameters to the defaults and click the [Current
Map] button. The tfmag.grd grid is displayed as on the tfmag.map.
 Tutorial 4: Basic Mapping and Gridding 101

Plotting Contours
Contours refer to the lines drawn at specified intervals or multiples of intervals on
your map based on a gridded dataset. After you create a grid, you may want to
contour your data and display these contours on your map. In Oasis montaj,
contouring is specially designed to handle the very large dynamic data ranges that
characterize Earth Science data sets. For more information on plotting contours, refer
to the Adding Contours to Maps topic in the Online Help system.

Contouring options include quick, custom, log and from a control file (for batch
contouring).
• Quick - uses default parameters.
• Custom - uses parameters you specify the system to use. This method generates
simple or log contours.
• Log contour - Draws contours on a map using a specified grid in logarithmic
mode
• Have Control File - ASCII control file enables full cartographic cosmetic
control of plotting options
In this example, we will use the automatic (quick) method.

T O Q UICK C ONTOUR A G RID :

1. Make sure the tfmag.map is open and selected in your project.

102 Tutorial 4: Basic Mapping and Gridding

2. On the Mapping menu, click Contour and then click the Quick. The Contour
dialog is displayed.

3. Click the [Browse] button to select the grid you want to contour (tfmag.grd).

4. Click the [OK] button. The contours are drawn on the map.

Close and Save Project

The next tutorial (Tutorial 5: Map Editing and CAD Tools) is designed to introduce
you to basic map editing and CAD tools. In order to preserve your current databases
and maps we will save and close this project. We will open this project to use again in
Tutorial 6: Imaging and Dynamic Linking.

Closing a project will save all of your project databases, maps and profiles, plus
information that tells the system whether you are working on a map or profile and the
state in which you left it the last time you used it.
 Tutorial 4: Basic Mapping and Gridding 103

T O C LOSE A P ROJECT

1. On the File menu, click Project and then click Close. The Save Modified
Documents dialog is displayed.

2. This dialog enables you to select All, None or Selected (highlighted) files. To
select more than one file at a time hold the <Shift> key to select consecutive files
or hold the <Ctrl> key to select individual files.
3. For this tutorial, click the [All] button to save all open databases, maps and grids
in the project.

Drag-n-Drop Geosoft Grid Files

The ability to drag grid files (*.GRD) from Windows Explorer and drop them into an
open project is now included in Oasis montaj.

The ability to drag other file types directly from Windows Explorer and drop them
into Oasis montaj for display is also available including; database files (*.GDB),
map files (*.MAP), and users can also drag XYZ files and drop them into an open
database file (*.GDB). Items on the Project Explorer bar may also be dragged and
dropped.
 Tutorial 5: Map Editing and CAD Tools 105

Tutorial 5: Map Editing and CAD Tools

This tutorial is designed to introduce you to the basic map editing and CAD functions
in Oasis montaj. The procedures are designed to show you how you can use these
tools to draw an interpretation from geophysical data. The tutorial also shows how
you can use the clipboard to copy, import, and export map groups and images.

This tutorial will show you how to:

• Display an interpretation map
• Create a group
• Hide, move, or mask a group
• Create and apply a mask
• View and edit groups
• Draw lines on a map
• Convert lines to polygons
• Use the “Snap to line” and “Snap to point” tools
• Change line symbols and polygon patterns
• Using the eyedropper and fill tools
• Using the Polygon Edit Tools
• Use the clipboard to copy, import and export map elements

Before you Begin

This tutorial uses a background map called mag.map. These files are provided on the
CD-ROM in the Oasis montaj/data/various directory. Before you begin this tutorial
you will need to copy the background map to a working directory and create a new
project.

Create a Project
In order to begin working in Oasis montaj you must have an open project. The
procedures below describe how to open a new project.

T O C REATE A N EW P ROJECT :

1. On the File menu, click Project and then click New. The New Project dialog is
displayed.
2. Specify a name and directory for the project. For example, name the project
Interp and specify the working directory as D:\Tutorial\cad. Oasis montaj will
automatically look for your data in the directory containing this project. Make
sure you copy the sample data file (mag.map, mag.grd and mag.GRD.gi) for
this tutorial to your project directory (D:\tutorial\cad).
106 Tutorial 5: Map Editing and CAD Tools

3. Click [Save]. The system saves the project with the corresponding name.

Displaying an Interpretation Map

Now that you have opened a project, you can display the map you want to interpret.
1. On the Map menu, click Open map… the Open Map dialog box is displayed.
Select the mag.map file in your project directory (C:\tutorial\cad). Click the
[Open] button to select the file.
2. The map which includes a geophysical grid will be displayed in the map window,
C:\tutorial\cad\mag.map

Note: If you would like to change the colour pallet of your grid to the pastel, as
shown above, simply redisplay the mag.grd file using the “pastel.tbl” or in Select a
Group mode (click the ( ) button) select the grid, right click and select Image
Colour tool from the popup menu. Using the Load from File icon ( ), select the
pastel.tbl from the Oasis montaj|tbl directory, click [Open] and then [OK] on the
Image Colour tool. The grid will be displayed using the pastel colour table.

Understanding the Parts of a Map

In Oasis montaj, Maps are special items that serve a number of purposes in the
system. First, the map window provides the basic mechanism for creating maps,
images and linking to other maps and data. Secondly, Maps provide a means of
editing graphics, adding text and creating highly customized final presentations for
output to printers and plotters. To work effectively with maps, you need to be familiar
with the purposes of maps in the system as well as the role of views and groups.
 Tutorial 5: Map Editing and CAD Tools 107

Base and Data Views

Geosoft Maps use Views to organize and display information. A view divides the
information on a map into a Base view, which uses paper coordinates and a Data
view, which uses ground coordinates. Map surrounds, north arrows, and scale bars
are examples of map groups plotted in the Base view. Map coordinates, contours, and
grids are examples of map groups that are plotted in the Data view.

3D Views

A 3D View can be created from an existing 2D View or Group already displayed on a

map, or directly from a grid file. Specialized GX’s may also create 3D views for their
own purposes. Like 2D Views, a 3D view also represents coordinates, but in this
case in X,Y AND Z. 3D Views may also contain any number of drawing planes.
Any Group or drawing object that can be drawn on a 2D View can be drawn on a
Plane in a 3D View. Each plane in a 3D view can be oriented independently in the 3D
coordinate system. A Plane in a 3D view can be flat or it can have a surface relief
defined by a grid file.

The 3D Tool has a simple tab dialog box with a corresponding 3D Viewer window.
The 3D Viewer enables you to change the orientation of the 3D View relative to your
point of view by rotating the coordinate system horizontally and vertically and by
zooming and panning. The 3D View can be modified using the 3D Tool, including
defining the orientation, setting relief grid controls and transparency levels of
individual planes, and specifying axis labels.

For more information on creating and working with 3D Views see Tutorial 14: 3D
Views in Oasis montaj page 217.

Groups

Oasis montaj uses Groups to determine the order in which objects are displayed
(rendered) on a map. Examples of Groups in the Base view include a north arrow,
title text box, or a scale bar. Examples of Groups in the Data view include lines,
polygons, grids, and images. You can create, edit, move, hide, and mask groups. You
can also move groups in front and behind each other. Any new object you add to a
map, such as a polygon or line, is added to the current group.

View/Group Manager Tool

You can use the View/Group Manager tool ( ) to display and edit the Views and
Groups in a map. This tool (see example on next page) consists of a ‘tree’ structure
that contains two main branches representing the Base view and the Data view. Under
each view, a number of groups are listed according to their layer on the map.
108 Tutorial 5: Map Editing and CAD Tools

Each group in a view shows an icon beside its name that identifies the group as
either a map vector object ( ) or an aggregate ( ) . Views can either be normal 2D
views ( ) or 3D views ( ). The check boxes in the tree controls and indicates
visibility of an item.

To select single items in the tree click on the item desired. Multiple selections of
groups within a view can be achieved by holding the <Ctrl> key and clicking on the
desired items. Changing the selection during group editing will end group editing
without cancelling any current changes.

The effect of a double click on any item depends on the state of the map. If in shadow
cursor mode the map will switch to either group or view selection mode and select the
item that was clicked upon. If the map is already in either of these selection modes a
double click has the same effect as hitting the button or using the activate
shortcut key (default <Enter> key).

The group on the top layer (closest to the front) is listed first, followed by the next
layer behind it, followed by the rest of the layers to the bottom layer at the end of the
list. It is possible to control the render order in the tree by using the Drag n Drop
technology. The Drag n Drop capability enables you to move map groups up and
down within Views and also to move Views relative to each other.
 Tutorial 5: Map Editing and CAD Tools 109

R ENDERING O PTIONS

Check the Render images first box to render (draw) the images groups first.

Check the Auto-Redraw box to automatically redraw the map when a change is
made to it.
Click the Redraw button to redraw the map when changes are made to the groups
in the View/Group Manager and the Auto-Redraw option is off.
Frozen Scale
Click this button to freeze the scale of the currently selected map group,
independent of the view scale of the map. For example, when zooming in the text
size in a group will not grow but remain the same size on the screen.
Visible Scale
Click this button to set a scale range in which the currently selected Group will be
visible. For example, individual groups may be made visible only at specific
scales. Then, while zooming, if the map scale is outside the range, the group is
not drawn.
110 Tutorial 5: Map Editing and CAD Tools

The View/Group Manager Tool is a “modeless” dialog, which means it can remain
open while you work on your map. It can be toggled on or off using the “M” hot key
and can even be docked on the side of your screen or at the top with the toolbars.

O THER T OOL O PTIONS

The other Tool options include moving, masking, transparency settings, editing and
deleting. All of the following properties require the licensed version.

Moveable
Check the Moveable box to enable the movement of the selected group on the
map using the cursor.
Masked to View
Check the Masked to View box to mask the selected view using the mask
applied to the View (Mapping|Masking|Apply mask to a view -
VIEWCLIP.GX).
This option enables you to apply a mask to selected groups within a View.
Mask to Group region
Using the Mask to Group region dropdown list, select the extended view
mask applied to the View (Mapping|Masking|Add|Replace group mask in
view - VIEWEXTCLIP.GX).
This option enables you to save the mask into the map and activate it on
specific groups in the View.
Transparency
Check the Transparency box to enable the slider (Transparent - Opaque).
Move the slider to the transparency level wanted for the selected group.
Edit
Click the button to edit (or activate) the selected item.
Note: Double click on a group or view in a map or using the activate shortcut
key (default Enter-Key) will also activate the edit mode for that item. The edit
mode depends on the item; group edit mode for vector groups, image color
tool for images and color symbols and 3D Viewer for 3D views.
Delete
Click the Delete button to delete the selected View/Group.
Note: If you delete a group my mistake or make any other undesired changes,
you can click the Undo last map change ({bmct undolastmapchange.bmp})
button on the Standard Toolbar or use the shortcut (Default Ctrl-Z) at any
time to undo any changes and revert to the original map.
 Tutorial 5: Map Editing and CAD Tools 111

The following procedure demonstrates how to create a group. The procedures for
moving, hiding and Masking groups are included in later steps of this tutorial.

T O C REATE A N EW G ROUP :

1. On the Mapping menu, click New group. In the view box, make sure data is
selected.
2. In the New group name box, specify the name as interp.

3. Click the [OK] button. The Map Edit toolbar is displayed.

Selecting and Editing Groups

When you create a new group, this group becomes selected and you can edit it. A
group is open for editing whenever you see the Map Edit toolbar displayed. There are
two different ways to select another group to edit.

M ETHOD 1

The first method is to use the Map View/Group Manager. This manager provides a
single dialog box that enables you to switch between different groups, change their
properties (moveable, hidden, masked), and changing their layering order (move
groups to the front or back).

U SING THE V IEW /G ROUP M ANAGER :

1. First select the map you want to edit and make sure the Select a group ( )
button is selected.
2. Next, on the Mapping toolbar, click View/Group Manager ( ) button.
3. The View/Group Manager is displayed. The currently selected group (interp) is
highlighted. To switch to another group, click on the group name so that it
becomes highlighted.
112 Tutorial 5: Map Editing and CAD Tools

4. Click [Edit] button and the group is selected and in edit mode on your map and
the Map Edit toolbar is displayed.
5. When you are done editing the group, right-click and from the popup menu, select
End Editing.

M ETHOD 2

The second method of selecting and editing a group is to use the Mapping popup
menu. You may find this method quicker when you are editing and switching
between groups frequently.

TO QUICKLY S ELECT AND E DIT A G ROUP

1. Make sure the Select a group ( ) button is selected. Place your cursor on the
map, right-click and from the popup menu, select Groups and then select the
name of the group you would like to select (e.g. Data\Interp). Then, right-click on
the map again and this time select Edit this group from the popup menu. The
group is selected and in edit mode on your map and the Map Edit toolbar is
displayed.
2. When you are done editing the group, right-click and from the popup menu, select
End Editing.
 Tutorial 5: Map Editing and CAD Tools 113

Hiding, Moving and Masking Map Groups

The following three procedures will show you how to control how groups are
displayed on a map.

Hiding a Group.

Sometimes, when you have many groups on a map you may not want to display all
them on your final map. The procedure below shows you how to hide the grid in your
map.

T O H IDE A G ROUP ON A M AP :

1. First select the map you want to edit and make sure the Select a group ( )
button is selected.
2. Click View/Group Manager tool button ( ).
3. In the dialog box, highlight the group (AGG_mag) you want to hide and remove
the check box from the box directly infront of the icon.

4. Click [OK]. The grid on the map is hidden from view. To display the group
again, add the check mark back again.
5. You can also make a group hidden or visible by selecting the group in a map,
right clicking and from the popup menu, select Status|Hidden.

Moving a Group

To move a group around a map with your cursor, you must first select the Moveable
option for that group. Once this option is set, you can move the group by selecting it
and moving it with the cursor.

T O M OVE A G ROUP :

1. First you must make sure the moveable option is set for the group. There are two
methods of doing this:
• One method is to select the View/Group Manager Tool button ( ). Using
the Manager tool, select (highlight) the name of the group, then place a check
in the Moveable box. Click [OK].
• The second method is to select the group in the map by clicking on the group
with the left mouse button. Then click the right mouse button. On the popup
menu, click Moveable.
2. Now place the cursor anywhere inside the group. The cursor will change into a set
of directional arrows ( ).
114 Tutorial 5: Map Editing and CAD Tools

3. Holding down the left mouse button, drag the group in the direction you want to
move it.

Masking a Group

Masking a group involves using a polygon or rectangular mask file to make only a
specific area of a group visible. To mask a group, you must first create and apply a
mask to a view. You can then use this mask on specific groups in the view areas of
the group outside the mask. The following three procedures show you the steps to
create a mask, apply it to a view, and turn Masking on for a group.

T O C REATE A R ECTANGULAR M ASK :

1. On the Utility menu, click Window Data, then click Create rectangular mask. The
Define rectangular plot mask dialog is displayed.
2. Click the [Interactive] button. The Define rectangle dialog box is displayed.
Click the [OK] button to continue.

3. Use the mouse to draw a rectangle on the map (Mag.map). The Define a
rectanglular plot mask dialog is then displayed with the coordinates of the
rectangle, as shown in the dialog below.

4. Specify the mask file name as rectanglemask.ply and from the dropdown list
select inclusive. This means that when the mask is applied to a group, only
features inside the rectangle mask will be visible.
5. Click [New File] to save the mask file.
 Tutorial 5: Map Editing and CAD Tools 115

T O A PPLY A M ASK TO A V IEW :

1. On the Mapping menu, click Masking, then click Apply mask to a view. The Reset
view clip region dialog is displayed.
2. Using the [Browse] button, specify the Clip polygon file (.ply) as
rectanglemask.ply and select the Map view as Data.
3. In the Clip all groups box, select no. This will set the Masking option to off for
all other groups in the view.

4. Click the [OK] button.

T O M ASK A G ROUP :

1. Select the map you want to edit and make sure the Select a group ( ) button is
selected.
2. Click Map View/Group Manager tool button ( ).
3. In the dialog box, highlight the group (AGG_mag) you want to mask.

4. Place a check mark in the Masked to viewed region box. Click [OK].
5. The map is redrawn to display only the section of the grid inside the mask.
116 Tutorial 5: Map Editing and CAD Tools

6. You can also turn Masking on or off by selecting a group in a map, clicking the
right mouse button and then clicking on the Status|Masked option in the popup
menu.

Drawing Lines, Polylines and Polygons

You can use the line and the polyline tools to draw linear features such as dykes and
faults. You can then connect these lines and create shaded polygons to mark different
geological or geophysical areas of the site.

Drawing Polylines

The procedure below shows you how to draw polylines on your map and how to
create polygons from these lines. This procedure also shows you how to use the Snap
to point and Snap to line tools, which are useful for ensuring that your lines connect
each other without overlapping.

D RAWING P OLYLINES TO I DENTIFY L INEAR F EATURES :

1. Select the mag.map.

2. Make sure the Select a group ( ) button is selected. Right-click mouse button on
the map.
3. On the popup menu, click Groups, then click name of the group you would like to
select (interp).
4. To edit the selected group, right-click on the map and click Edit group from the
popup menu. The Map Edit toolbar is displayed.
5. On the Map Edit toolbar, click polyline tool ( ) button.
6. Draw a line along the edge of an anomaly. Click cursor on the place you want the
line to start, and then move the mouse, clicking wherever you want to change
direction. When you are finished, click right-mouse button and click on Done.
 Tutorial 5: Map Editing and CAD Tools 117

7. Draw another polyline roughly parallel to the first (as shown below).

8. You can now connect other polylines to the ones you have just drawn. To do this
click on the polyline tool button.
9. Click right mouse button. A dialog box is displayed that enables you to choose
whether you want the new polyline from a location along the existing line or a
point on the line.
Note: To just draw a line and not connect it to a previous line, click Cancel and left
click to draw the line (as you did in step 2 for the first polyline).
10. Choose the Snap to point option. The cursor will change to a circle with a shaded
centre.

11. When you move the cursor over a point or node along the line, the cursor changes
to a target symbol with the shaded circle indicating the location of the point.

12. To begin drawing a new polyline from this point, click left mouse button.
118 Tutorial 5: Map Editing and CAD Tools

13. Move the cursor and click left button to define the shape of the line. Draw the
polyline so your last point is located just short of the second line (see below).

14. Click right mouse button. On the popup menu, click Snap to line. The cursor will
change to a circle. Use this cursor to search for a section of the line to connect to.
The Snap to line cursor works like this:

• When the cursor is searching for a line to connect to, it looks like:
• When the cursor finds a line it can connect to, it changes to:
15. Once you have the cursor on the line where you want it, click left mouse button to
insert a point.
16. Click right mouse button, and then click Done to finish drawing the line.
17. Repeat the previous steps to add more polylines to your map so that it looks
something like the following:

Changing Line Attributes

This procedure shows you how to modify the attributes (thickness, colour and
pattern) of the lines you drew in the previous steps.

C HANGING L INE A TTRIBUTES :

1. Select the line you would like to edit by clicking the left mouse button on it.
Sizing handles are displayed around the line, indicated it is selected.
 Tutorial 5: Map Editing and CAD Tools 119

2. Click right mouse button. Then click on Attributes in the popup menu. The
Polyline Attributes dialog box is displayed.

3. In the Thickness box, you can specify the line thickness in millimetres (0.1 is the
default).
4. To change the line colour, click on the Draw Colour box. A colour palette dialog
box is displayed for you to choose a colour.
5. To change the line pattern, make sure there is a check mark in Styled Line check
box. Double click in the Styled Line box to display the LineAttributes dialog box.
120 Tutorial 5: Map Editing and CAD Tools

6. In the Pattern Family box you can select from a variety of different sets of
patterns (Standard Patterns, Fancy lines, Geology, Arrows, Slashes, and Shapes).
In the Pattern box, click on the pattern you would like to apply. You can also set
the pitch (which is the distance between the symbols or dashes in the line). Click
the [OK] button when you are finished.
7. Click Smooth check box to smooth the rough edges in the polyline into smooth
curves.
8. Click [OK] to apply the changes to the line or click [Cancel] to exit the dialog
without making any changes.

Creating Polygons from Lines

After delineating different areas of your map with polylines and/or lines, you can use
these lines to create polygons. This process will convert all the lines in the current
group into polygons. If you have lines that you do not want converted to polygons
either create these lines in a different group or ensure that the lines are not connected
to other line to create polygons.

T O C REATE P OLYGONS FROM L INES :

1. On the Mapping menu, click Create Polygons from lines….

2. The Create a Polygon area group from a line group dialog box is displayed.

3. The line group to process box should contain the group of lines that you want to
convert to polygons.
4. The colours or patterns box has three options for shading polygons: colours,
patterns or both. Choose both to use both colours and patterns.
5. The number of units indicates the number of boxes of categories you want to
create in the legend. The default is 10. You can edit these boxes later.
6. Select Yes to add a legend to the map. Click [OK] to continue.
7. Specify the legend settings in the Legend dialog box.
 Tutorial 5: Map Editing and CAD Tools 121

8. Click the [OK] button to create polygons and a legend similar to the map below.

E DITING P OLYGONS AND L EGEND B OXES :

1. You can edit both polygons and their associated legend boxes in the same way.
Move the cursor to the polygon or box you want to edit and double-click left
mouse button. The Polygon Attributes dialog box is displayed.
122 Tutorial 5: Map Editing and CAD Tools

2. To change the fill colour, click on the Colour box. A colour palette dialog box is
displayed for you to choose a colour. To turn line colouring off (i.e. make the line
invisible) remove the check mark from the Filled check box. You can select a line
colour the same way using the Draw Edge | Colour box instead.
3. To change the fill pattern, make sure there is a check mark in Fill pattern check
box. Double-click in the Pattern box to display the Pattern Attributes dialog.
 Tutorial 5: Map Editing and CAD Tools 123

4. In the Pattern Family box you can select from three different sets of patterns
(Objects, Hatches or Solid Fill). In the Pattern box, click on the pattern you
would like to apply.
5. You can also set the Tile Size and Tile Density, which changes the space between
the pattern symbols and the Line Thickness (% of Tile Size), which changes the
size of the individual pattern symbols. Click the [Refresh] button to see what the
pattern will look like in the example box.
6. Click the [OK] button when you are finished selecting a pattern or click [Cancel]
to exit the dialog without making any changes.
7. Click [OK] on the Polygon Attribute dialog box to apply the changes to the
polygon or click [Cancel] to exit the dialog without making any changes.
124 Tutorial 5: Map Editing and CAD Tools

Using the Get Colour and Polygon Colour Tools

Using the Get Colour Tool (eyedropper) and the Polygon fill tool (bucket) on the
Map Edit toolbar, you can copy fill colours and patterns from one polygon and apply
them to another polygon. A description of each tool and how to use them is provided
below.

G ET C OLOUR T OOL

You access the Get Colour Tool by clicking on its Button

button in the Map Edit toolbar. The image cursor will
change to an eyedropper.
Cursor

P OLYGON F ILL T OOL

You access the Polygon Fill tool by clicking on its Button

button in the Map Edit toolbar. The image cursor will
change to a bucket.
Cursor

T O C OPY A C OLOUR FROM ONE P OLYGON TO A NOTHER :

1. Click on the Get Colour button ( ) in the Map Edit toolbar. The image cursor
will change to an eyedropper ( ).
2. To get a colour (and pattern) from a polygon, place the eyedropper cursor over
the polygon containing the colour you want and click left mouse button.

3. The cursor will change to a bucket ( ). Click on the polygon to which you
want to apply the fill. The polygon now contains the new colour (and pattern).

Polygon Edit Tools

Polygon Edit tools are now provided with Oasis montaj. These tools will enable you
to edit polygon vertices, add exclusion regions to polygons, and tools to switch
between editing the vertices of main polygons and vertices of the exclusion regions
polygons.
 Tutorial 5: Map Editing and CAD Tools 125

Map Edit popup menu Edit polygon vertices

The ability to edit polygon vertices has been added to
the Oasis montaj Mapping and Processing System.

The Edit Vertices option is available on the “Map

Edit” popup menu when you are in Group Edit mode
and have a polygon selected on your current map.

For instructions on Editing Vertices see To

Add/Remove Vertices on a Polygon below.

Polygon Edit Tools Description

Add a rectangle exclusion region to polygonUse this tool to

draw a rectangle exclusion region to a previously created
polygon.

Add a polygon exclusion region to polygonUse this tool to

draw a polygon exclusion region to a previously created
polygon.

Draw a N-sided regular polygon exclusion region to

polygonUse this tool to draw a n-sided regular polygon
exclusion region to a previously created polygon.

Switch to main polygon vertex editingUse this tool to switch

from an exclusion region’s vertex editing to the main
polygon’s vertex editing.

Switch to previous/last exclusion region’s vertex editing Use

this tool to switch to the previous (or last) exclusion region’s
vertex editing.

Switch to next/first exclusion region’s vertex editing Use this

tool to switch to the next (or first) exclusion region’s vertex
editing.

To Add/Remove Vertices on a Polygon

Vertices can be added or removed from polygons by using the plus (+) and minus (-)
keys on your Number Keypad.
Note: The plus (+) and minus (-) keys on the main alpha-numeric keypad will not
work; you MUST use the Number Keypad only.
126 Tutorial 5: Map Editing and CAD Tools

T O A CCESS THE E DIT P OLYGON V ERTICES O PTION :

1. Click the Select a Group ( ) button and select the group on your map that
includes the polygon you wish to edit.
2. While holding your cursor over your map, right click and from the “Map Edit”
popup menu select, Edit this group. The group will now be in Edit mode (you will
see a box with hatch marks around the group, this is a visual clue that you are in
Edit mode).
3. Select the “Polygon” that you want to edit and then right click and from the “Map
Edit” popup menu you can now select Edit Vertices. The vertices on your map
will change from grey to white.
TO ADD ADDITIONAL V ERTICES ON A POLYGON :

1. While in Edit mode, select Edit Vertices from the “Map Edit” popup menu.
2. Place your cursor, between two vertices on the polygon, where you want to place
the new vertices. Press and hold the “+” key on your Number Keypad (note that, a

plus sign ( ) is added to your cursor).

3. While holding down the “+” key, use your mouse to select the location for the
new vertices.
TO REMOVE VERTICES FROM A POLYGON :

1. While in Edit mode, select Edit Vertices from the “Map Edit” popup menu.
2. Place your cursor on the vertices you want removed. Press and hold the “-” key

on your Number Keypad (note that, a minus sign ( ) is added to your

cursor).
3. While holding down the “-” key, use your mouse to select the vertices to be
removed.
 Tutorial 5: Map Editing and CAD Tools 127

Using the Windows Clipboard with Maps in Oasis montaj

The Windows clipboard can be used to move maps and map component objects from
one map to another within Oasis montaj. In addition, you can use the clipboard to
copy and paste objects between Oasis montaj and other applications.

The Windows clipboard lets you perform the following tasks:

• Copy text and graphics (as EMF objects) from Windows applications to Oasis
montaj maps.
• Copy map objects from Oasis montaj to the clipboard as EMF picture graphics
and bitmaps. You can then paste these pictures into most word processing,
presentation and graphic applications.
• Copy objects from one map to the clipboard and paste these into another map.
The objects can be pasted either as georeferenced information in an existing data
view, or in a separate view centreed on the currently displayed window.

How does the Windows Clipboard work?

The Windows clipboard allows applications to perform two separate operations:

1. Information can be copied (or cut) to the clipboard.
2. Information on the clipboard can be pasted into an application document.

When information is copied to the clipboard, it can be placed on the clipboard in a

variety of formats. When information on the clipboard is pasted into another
application, that application will choose a format on the clipboard that it understands.
For example, when text is copied to the clipboard from the Microsoft Word program,
it is placed as raw ASCII text, a formatted EMF picture of the text, and a Word
document that includes formatting information. When this information is pasted into
a simple text editor, only the ASCII text can be used. When this information is pasted
onto a PowerPoint slide, the text and formatting is used, and when pasted onto an
Oasis Montaj map, the EMF picture is used.

When information is copied from an Oasis Montaj map to the clipboard, the
following will be placed on the clipboard:
• A text block that contains geo-referencing information about the object. This
includes the locations of the corners of the picture formed by the information and
the map projection of the coordinate system.
• A map view and its contained groups, or all map groups if nothing on the map
was selected. If a map group was selected, only that group and the view that
contained the group are placed on the clipboard.
• An EMF picture of the map or view/group selected and clipped to the currently
displayed window.
128 Tutorial 5: Map Editing and CAD Tools

• A bitmap of the map or view/group selected and clipped to the currently selected
window.
Copying Georeferenced information between Maps
All data plotted in a map data view carry with it the geo-referencing information of
the view. Georeference information includes the map coordinates of the data, a
transform that translates the view coordinates to the map (paper) coordinates, and
optionally a full map projection. When data is copied to the clipboard, all this
information is included.

If you use the paste georeferenced command to paste the clipboard information into a
map view on another map, the geo-referencing information will be used to locate this
information correctly in the new data view. If the new data view is in a projection
different from the original data view, the data will be re-projected to the coordinate
space of the new view.

T O C OPY G EOREFERENCED O BJECTS (G ROUPS ) BETWEEN M APS :

1. On the first map, select the entire map, a view or a group you want to copy.
• To select the entire map, make sure you are in the normal cursor tracing
mode by clicking the Shadow Cursors button ( ).
• To select a view, click on the Select/change the current view button . Then
click on the click on the view you want to select.
• To select a group, click on the Select a group button , then choose the
group.
• To select a single entity within a group such as a single line or polygon,
click on the Select a group button . Then double-click on the group to
change to the group edit mode (or select the group, right-mouse button, “Edit
this group”). Once in group edit mode, select the entity you want to place on
the clipboard.
2. Click the right mouse button. On the popup menu, click “Cut”, “Copy”, or “Copy
map to clipboard” (if displayed), or (or press CTRL+C).
3. Click on the map you want to paste the information into.
4. Click on the right-mouse button and select paste georeferenced. You will be
presented with a dialog that lets you choose the view that you want to paste the
information into.
Use the Clipboard to create a Montage Map or Poster
At times, you may want to make a single map that contains separate data views from
multiple map presentations. This is often called a montage. Each data view may show
different data for the same map area. This can be done using the cut and paste feature
of Oasis Montaj as follows:
 Tutorial 5: Map Editing and CAD Tools 129

T O C REATE A M ONTAGE M AP FROM COMPONENT MAPS

1. Create separate maps of all the different data sets that you want to show together
on your montage.
2. Create a new empty map that will be the montage. It is easiest to create this map
by duplicating an existing map without its contents. From the Map menu, select
Duplicate map… and specify a new map name and make the contents “blank”.
The blank map that is created will be your montage map.
3. Go to a map that contains data and select the data by changing to the
Select/change the current view mode (button ), then click on the view you want
to select. Click the right mouse button and choose “Copy” (or press CTRL+C).
4. Go to the montage map, click the right mouse button, on the menu click Paste.
On the dialog that is presented, choose the Same scale at offset option and
specify a location at which to place the view on the montaj map. You can also
simply move the view after pasting.
5. Repeat steps 3. and 4. for each data view to be placed on the montage map.

When working with a montage map, you can also turn on the Map/Snap mode to limit
the location of moved items to an even increment from the map origin. This helps you
to exactly line up map views vertically and horizontally. Use the Map/Snap
resolution option to specify the smallest increment to use for moving views.

You might also choose to create your montage map from the entire contents of other
maps, including their base views. To do this, choose Copy map to clipboard instead
of “Copy” in step 3. In step 4, always choose to offset the location of the inserted
views as required. This is because once inserted, only individual views can be
selected and moved on the map and it is difficult to move all map views and keep the
alignment between views.

Using the Clipboard to paste a picture from another application on a

Map

You can use the clipboard to paste an image onto a map from another application that
can copy Enhanced Metafile Format (EMF) or Bitmap information to the clipboard.
For example, you might create marginal notes for your map in Word for Windows.
This information can be selected and copied to the clipboard, where it will be in EMF
format (among others). This information can then be pasted on your map, sized and
located as you like.

T O P ASTE A P ICTURE FROM ANOTHER A PPLICATION TO A M AP :

1. In the other program, select the graphical information and copy it to the clipboard
(in Word, just select the text, or in PowerPoint, select a slide or an object on a
slide).
2. In Oasis montaj, select the map you want to paste the graphic into.
130 Tutorial 5: Map Editing and CAD Tools

3. Click on the right-mouse button and select paste. You will be presented with a
dialog that lets you choose the view that you want to paste the information into

Using the Clipboard to export a graphics from a Map to another

application

You can use the clipboard to copy maps, or parts of maps to other applications that
can accept EMF or Bitmap graphics, or can understand Oasis Montaj map objects on
the clipboard. For example, you map wish to place your data view and the images it
contains on a PowerPoint slide, or add this as a figure in a Word for Windows
document.

T O P LACE A G RID I MAGE ON A P OWER P OINT S LIDE :

1. In Oasis montaj, display the grid in a data view and add whatever other graphics
you want to include.
2. Click the Select/change the current view button ( ) and choose the view you
want to place in PowerPoint.
3. Click on the right-mouse button and select “Copy” (or press Ctrl-Insert).
4. In PowerPoint, create a new slide, or open the slide to receive the picture.
5. In PowerPoint, on the Edit menu, click Paste Special. This will display a dialog
box enabling you to choose the format that you want to use to paste the image.
Choose “Picture (Enhanced Metafile).
Note: You can use the same procedure in almost any Microsoft application. Other
applications that support pasting of Enhanced Metafile or Bitmap information
will have a similar procedure.

Close and Save Project

The next tutorial (Tutorial 6: Imaging and Dynamic Linking) is designed to
introduce you to imaging and dynamic linking and we will be using the data and
maps from Tutorial 4. Therefore, we need to close the current project.

Closing a project will save all of your project databases, maps and profiles, plus
information that tells the system whether you are working on a map or profile and the
state in which you left it the last time you used it.

T O C LOSE A P ROJECT

1. On the File menu, click Close Project. The Save Changes dialog box is displayed.

2. Click the [Yes to All] button to save all open databases in your project. (Maps are
always saved when you close a project.)
 Tutorial 6: Imaging and Dynamic Linking 131

Tutorial 6: Imaging and Dynamic Linking

As described in Tutorial 3, the system provides a variety of capabilities for imaging
and linking maps to data and profiles. This tutorial introduces you to these concepts.

Open a Project
In this tutorial will be using the data and maps from Tutorial 4. Therefore, we need to
open the GeoDemo project.

T O O PEN A P ROJECT

1. On the File menu, click Project and then click Open. The Open Project dialog
box is displayed.
2. Select the GeoDemo.gpf file and click the [Open] button. The project is open
exactly as you left it.

Creating Colour Shaded Images

The shaded relief image is a common method used to present geophysical and other
types of data. This presentation technique creates a 3-dimensional effect using 2-
dimensional rendering or plotting capabilities. The result is useful for checking the
quality of the data and for data interpretation.

When you create a shaded relief map the system automatically creates a new grid file
for that map with _s after the original grid name. For example, mag.grd will become
mag_s.grd.

Shaded relief maps can be created interactively using the Run Dynamic Shawdowing
button ( ) in the Image Colour Tool, or manually by creating a shaded grid using
the Mapping|Display grid|Colour-shaded grid image.

T O C REATE A C OLOUR S HADED I MAGE :

1. On the Grid menu, click Display grid and then click the Colour-shaded grid. The
system displays the Colour-shaded grid image dialog box.
132 Tutorial 6: Imaging and Dynamic Linking

2. Click the [Browse] button to select the Grid name (tfmag.grd). For the Shading
effect select Normal (RGB) from the drop down menu. Accept the default
parameters for the Colour table, Colour method, Illumination inclination and
Illumination declination.
Note: Illumination inclination and Illumination declination simply means the sun
illumination angles.
3. Click the [New Map] button. The Map Exists dialog is displayed.

4. This is a safety feature built into the system to make sure that you that you do not
overwrite your tfmag.map. Click the [No] button so that you do not overwrite
your current map. The system prompts you for a New map name.

5. Type the name of the new map as tfmag_shaded.map. Click the [OK] button.
The system will create a colour-shaded image from the grid file tfmag.grd and
place the image in a new map window called tfmag_shaded.map.
 Tutorial 6: Imaging and Dynamic Linking 133

Interactive Colour Imaging and Shadowing

Oasis montaj provides an Image Colour tool that enables you to modify colour grid
zoning interactively on the screen, store custom colour configurations in a specialized
colour palette file and apply these to all of your grid image products. The system
supports the following transform methods for zoning the data.
• Linear - The system divides the range of grid values linearly into even
increments.
• Normal - The system assumes your grid data are normally distributed and
determines zones based on the distribution for a standard bell curve.
• Equal Area (Histogram) - The system evaluates your grid values and
statistically determines the zones, such that each colour occupies an equal area of
the map.
T O A CTIVATE THE I MAGE C OLOUR T OOL :

1. Make sure tfmag_shaded.map is selected in your project.

2. Click the Select a group button ( ).
3. Since there is only a colour shaded image in this map and no other groups, click
on the map once with the left mouse button to have the system select the map.
You will notice that the cursor has changed to show that it is in the Select a group
mode.
134 Tutorial 6: Imaging and Dynamic Linking

4. Right click while your have the grid selected and from the popup menu selct
Image Colout Tool. The Image Colour Tool dialog is displayed. This dialog
shows the data distribution relative to the colour table (colour.tbl) selected
earlier.

T O M ANIPULATE THE C OLOUR S PECTRUM / P ERCENTILE G ROUPS :

1. Press and hold your left mouse button on the left or right arrows at the top corners
of transform box. This will expand or contract your view of the transform in the
window.
 Tutorial 6: Imaging and Dynamic Linking 135

2. Click on the up or down arrows on the colour slide bar and notice how the colours
compress and stretch through the data range. The percentile value is displayed on
the right-hand side of the colour tool bar. Also notice how the colour values
change at the same time on your tfmag_shaded.map.
Tip: Click the [Reset] button ( ) to set the colours back to their original
settings.
T O A CTIVATE THE I NTERACTIVE C OLOUR S HADING T OOL :

1. Ensure that the Image Colour Tool is still activated.

2. Select tfmag_s.grd as the image to be used by the Image Colour Tool from the
dropdown menu that displays the current grid name.

3. A new image transform is displayed for the tfmag_s.grd.

4. Click the [Dynamic shadowing] button ( ). The system displays the Shadow
Tool dialog box.

5. Move the Shadow Tool dialog box so that it’s not blocking the map.

6. Click the [DynaShade] button. Your cursor will turn into a sun icon ( ).
136 Tutorial 6: Imaging and Dynamic Linking

7. Use the sun cursor and click and hold the left mouse button on the image. As you
move your mouse around the image, the sun illumination will change relative to
the centre of your map window.
Note: The illumination is relative to the centre of the map window and not the centre
of the image.
8. To save your new sun angles, release your mouse button and click the [Stop]
button, then click the [OK] button.
9. The system returns you to the Image Colour Tool dialog box.

10. Click the [OK] button to save your changes.

Copying and/or Converting Grid Files

Oasis montaj enables you to copy and/or convert any supported grid format to any
other supported grid format.

C OPYING AND / OR C ONVERTING G RID F ILES

1. On the Grid menu, click Copy/convert grids. The Copy/convert grids dialog is
displayed.
2. Using the [Browse] button, select the Input Grid File, and specify the Output
Grid File.
3. Click the [OK] button. The grid is copied and/or converted as specified.
Note: For more information on copying and /or converting grid files, click the
[Help] button on the Copy/convert grids dialog box.

Using Dynamic Data Links

Dynamic links are “virtual” georeferenced connections between spreadsheets,
profiles and maps. These links work in two-directions so you can select any window
and see the equivalent data in the other windows you are using.

T O L INK S PREADSHEET , P ROFILE AND M AP D ATA:

Desktop linking enables you to place a special Link cursor on one or more maps and
locate a specific part of the data.
1. Make sure only tfmag_shaded.map and the database tfmag.gdb are open in your
project (do not remove them from your project, just close the map, grid and
database windows of the other items).
2. On the Window menu, click Tile Vertically. The system arranges your database
window and map window side by side.
3. The system automatically turns on a map link and activates the Shadow Cursors
button on the Map Editing toolbar. ( ). You can tell a button is activated
because it will appear to be depressed more than the other buttons on the toolbar.
 Tutorial 6: Imaging and Dynamic Linking 137

4. Click on a value in the database or on a point in the profile view, and you see that
the Link cursor (large black cross) moves to the same location on the map. This
type of linking enables you to quickly identify discrete anomalies on a map and
view their corresponding values in the database.

Dynamic
Data Linking

Tip: You can display multiple maps and use this function to locate and visualize
the same anomaly locations for different data types. It is quite useful for
quality control (searching for anomalous noise spikes, for example) and for
multi-parameter interpretation.
 Tutorial 7: Creating Custom Base Maps 139

Tutorial 7: Creating Custom Base Maps

Many users have the need to create custom base maps based on corporate standards
or client requirements. Custom base maps can be prepared using the commands
available in the MAPPLOT GX.

In this exercise, we will build a MAP using the control file, Map04.con, along with a
few support files.

T O C REATE A C USTOM B ASE M AP :

1. On the Mapping menu, click Base map and then click Mapplot control file, and
then click From control file.
2. The system displays the MAPPLOT control file and load on current map dialog
box.

3. Click the [Browse] button and select the Control file name, (Map04.con). From
the Draw to dropdown list select a new map. We can leave the Match strings
blank, for more information on match string, click the [Help] button.
4. Click the [OK] button and the New map dialog is displayed.
140 Tutorial 7: Creating Custom Base Maps

5. . Specify the New map name as (Map_04) and click the [OK] button. The new
map with the basemap based on the Mapplot control file (map04.con) is
displayed.

6. The control file Map04.con is shown below. To view the control file, on the Edit
menu, click Edit ASCII file. Click the [Browse] button to locate the control file.
The four letter commands (for example, SURR) are all described in the help for
the MAPPLOT GX. This file accesses several text files for legend information:
survey.leg and mag.leg. It also places three images on the map: a Geosoft format
grid file, map04mag.grd; a TIF file, omontaj.tif (Oasis montaj logo); and a JPG
file, indexmap.jpg.
MDFF map04.mdf

DATT s1=kt100
DATT s2=kt200
DATT s3=kt500

DATT t1=kt100
 Tutorial 7: Creating Custom Base Maps 141

DATT t2=kt200
DATT t3=kt300

MGRP Surround,0,0
SURR s3,0.15,s1
DATT s1

MGRP Coordinates,0,1
ANOY ,,,,,2000,0.15,,-1,-1,,,-0.15,,1
ANOX ,,,,,2000,0.15,,-1,,,,-0.15,,1

DATT refgrid=kt150
GRID 2

PROJ map.PRJ
DATT llgrid=kt050
GRID -3,0.05,0.0230
ALAT ,,0.5,,,-1
ALON ,,0.5

DATT s1
RECT 12
MGRP Scale_Bar,0,0
SCAL 1,6,2,,ft,,,,1
SCAL 1,6,3,,mt

MGRP North_Arrow,0,0
NARR 9,-6,-4,0.0,4,s2,80.3,23.4

MGRP Index_Map,0,0
RECT 3,-10,7,-2.65,15
TEXT 3,-9.8,7.2,-1,"Index Map - Topography"
s1,,,,,TI
RECT 3,-8,10,-6,13
s3
TEXT 3,-8.2,9.7,-1,"Survey Area"
s1,,,,,TI

MGRP Color_Bar,0,0
CBAR 6,-14,-8,1.2,0.6,s1
mag.agg,,,,-1
"Magnetics"
"[nT]"

DATT s1
MGRP Legends,0,0
TXTB 3,-6,20,0,,mag.leg
s1
TXTB 3,-10,30,-1,,survey.leg
s1
142 Tutorial 7: Creating Custom Base Maps

MGRP Titles,0,0
TITL 3,0,0,12
a,"Goldhunter",0,t2,.4
b,"Total Field Magnetics",0,t3,.3
b,"Northern Province",0,t2,.3
b,"Canada",0,t2,.3
c,"Data collected by ",0,t1,.25
c,"Helicopter Magnetics System",0,t1,.25
c,"flown by",0,t1,.25
c,"Surveys 'R Us",0,t1,.25
d,"Gold Mapping Corp.",0,t2,.3,,,15
MGRP Mag,0,1
AGGR 0
AGG_mag
mag.grd,colour.tbl,3
MGRP Logo,0,0
AGGR 2,-5,1,18,6,1
AGG_logo
omontaj.tif(IMG;t=tif)
MGRP IndexMap,0,0
AGGR 3,-10,7,36,15,1
AGG_indexmap
indexmap.jpg(IMG;t=jpg)
7. Open map04.con file in your text editor program (i.e. Notepad).

8. Experiment with the map04.con file. Adding a forward slash character “/” at the
start of a line changes the line to a comment. If a line has this type of character
you can add any text for your informational purposes. Add a forward slash
character “/” to the following lines at the end of the file.
/MGRP IndexMap,0,0
/AGGR 3,-10,7,36,15,1
/ AGG_indexmap
/ indexmap.jpg(IMG;t=jpg)

9. Save the changes you made to the map04.con file as map04_no-index-map.con.

10. Create a new map using MAPPLOT, following the procedure in Step 1 above,
substituting map04_no-index-map.con for the control file name, and map04_no-
index-map.map for the map name. The indexmap JPG image (brown topographic
map) will be missing.
11. Try other modifications. Click the [Help] button from the MAPPLOT control file
and load on current map dialog box. You can add any commands found in the
MAPPLOT GX to the control file.
 Tutorial 8: Batch Processing with Scripts 143

Tutorial 8: Batch Processing with Scripts

Scripting refers to the act of creating and running a file that will carry out many
operations in a row. Oasis montaj Scripts are ASCII files that define a series of
processing actions to be performed on selected data in a database. You can run scripts
interactively in Oasis montaj using the script toolbar buttons or the
command Run Script found under the GX menu.

We will create a script file using the script file record option. This operation writes a
script file (*.GS) by recording each GX that you run during this session – until you
stop script recording (from the GX menu). The resulting (*.GS) file contains
sufficient parameter and database information to run the selected GXs in the same
sequence. We will try this by recording a script of three different GXs - create a map
using MAPPLOT, add line path, and add line profiles - then run the file.

T O C REATE A S CRIPT F ILE :

1. On the GX menu, click Record a script. The system displays the Create Record
File dialog box.

2. Specify a File name (Script_map) and then click the [Save] button.
3. On the Mapping menu, click Base Map and then click MAPPLOT control file and
then click From control file.... The system displays the Mapplot dialog box.
4. Click the [Browse] button and select the control file map04.con for the Control
file name. Select to Draw to a new map from the dropdown menu. Click the
[OK] button.
144 Tutorial 8: Batch Processing with Scripts

5. The system displays the New map dialog box. Specify a New map name
(script_map), and click the [OK] button.

6. On the Mapping menu, click Line path. The system displays the Line path plot
dialog box. The default settings will be used for this tutorial. Click the [OK]
button.

7. On the Mapping menu, click Profile. The system displays the Profile plot dialog
box.
 Tutorial 8: Batch Processing with Scripts 145

8. Specify magedited from the dropdown menu for the profile channel, 50 units/mm
for the profile scale and 5000 for the profile base. Specify blue from the
dropdown menu for the line colour. Click the [OK] button.
9. On the GX menu, click Stop recording.... The system stops recording your
actions. All of your actions were recorded and saved to the script_map.gs file.
10. On the Edit menu, click Edit ASCII File. The system displays the Edit a file
dialog box.

11. Click the [Browse] button and select the file Script_map.gs as the File you wish
to open to view the Script parameters that you just created. Click the [OK] button
and the system opens up the file in your default text editor.
Below is the GS file. The three GXs that were recorded are shown beside the GX
command: MAPPNEW, PATH, and PROFILE. For information about the scripting
commands, please use the Help system and look under script commands.
/--------------------------------------------------------
146 Tutorial 8: Batch Processing with Scripts

/ LOG OPENED : Wed Mar 17 00:55:00 2004

/--------------------------------------------------------
CURRENT Database,"D:\Tutorial\tfmag.gdb"
CURRENT Map,"d:\tutorial\Map_04.map"
SETINI MAPPLOT.CON=".\\map04.con"
SETINI MAPPLOT.NEW="1"
SETINI MAPPLOT.MS1=""
SETINI MAPPLOT.MS2=""
SETINI MAPPLOT.MS3=""
SETINI MAPPLOT.MS4=""
SETINI MAPPLOT.MS5=""
SETINI MAPPLOT.MS6=""
SETINI MAPPLOT.MS7=""
SETINI MAPPLOT.MS8=""
SETINI MAPPLOT.MS9=""
SETINI MAPPLOT.MS10=""
SETINI MAPPLOT.MAP=".\\Script_map.map"
GX mapplot.gx
CURRENT Database,"D:\Tutorial\tfmag.gdb"
CURRENT Map,"d:\tutorial\Script_map.map"
SETINI PATH.LINE_COLOR="K"
SETINI PATH.LINE_THICKNESS="0.15"
SETINI PATH.TICKFLAG="0"
SETINI PATH.LABEL_FORMAT="TL"
SETINI PATH.LABEL_DIR="0"
SETINI PATH.LABEL_COMPASS="0"
SETINI PATH.LABEL_LOCATION="1"
SETINI PATH.LABEL_SIZE="2.5"
SETINI PATH.LABEL_COLOR="K"
SETINI PATH.LABEL_WEIGHT="0"
SETINI PATH.H_OFFSET="2"
SETINI PATH.V_OFFSET="0"
SETINI PATH.GAP="0"
GX path.gx
CURRENT Database,"D:\Tutorial\tfmag.gdb"
CURRENT Map,"d:\tutorial\Script_map.map"
SETINI PROFILE.CHANNEL="magedited"
SETINI PROFILE.SCALE="50"
SETINI PROFILE.BASE="5000"
SETINI PROFILE.LOG="0"
SETINI PROFILE.LOGBASE="1.0"
SETINI PROFILE.SMOOTH="0"
SETINI PROFILE.COLOR="CM"
SETINI PROFILE.THICKNESS="0.15"
SETINI PROFILE.STYLE="0"
SETINI PROFILE.PITCH="5"
SETINI PROFILE.PFILCOL="N"
SETINI PROFILE.NFILCOL="N"
SETINI PROFILE.GAP=""
SETINI PROFILE.JOIN="1"
 Tutorial 8: Batch Processing with Scripts 147

SETINI PROFILE.PLOTORDER="1"
GX profile.gx
/-------------------------------------------------------
/ LOG CLOSED : Wed Mar 17 00:56:43 2004
/-------------------------------------------------------

12. The map script_map.map that was created in Step 2 is displayed showing the
custom base map, line path, and magedited profiles in the colour chosen.
13. Close script_map.map, as we will be re-creating it by running the script.
14. On the GX menu, click Run Script. The system displays the Run a script with
parameters dialog box.

15. Click the [Browse] button and select the Script file you wish to run
(Script_map.gs). Click the [OK] button. The system will begin to process the GS
file containing the three GXs you recorded and display the map for you.
16. As an additional exercise, try modifying a parameter in the GS and run it again.
For example, in the editor change the parameter, PROFILE.COLOUR from “B”
(blue) to “R” (red).
 Tutorial 9: Advanced Mapping and Gridding 149

Tutorial 9: Advanced Mapping and Gridding

As more information becomes available in digital format, earth science specialists are
recognizing that it is essential to work with a variety of data from different sources.
This approach not only spreads resources as far as possible but it also enables
professionals to pool their knowledge and interpret results more effectively and make
more informed decisions.

In this tutorial, we investigate the integration of geochemical data in to an

environment that has focused on a single type of data (i.e. geophysical) only.

Creating a Second Database in a Project

We are going to create a second database, in the same project you have open now
(GeoDemo.gpf), that contains geochemical data covering the same area as the
magnetic data.

T O C REATE A N EW D ATABASE :

1. On the Data menu, click New database. The system displays the Create New
Database dialog box.
2. Specify a New database name (geochem.gdb). Click the [OK] button.
3. The system creates a new database with the database name that you specified and
opens a Spreadsheet window with empty Channel Header and Data cells
T O I MPORT D ATA I NTO A S ECOND D ATABASE :

4. On the Data menu, click Import and then click Geosoft XYZ.
5. The system displays the Import XYZ data dialog box.

6. Click the [Browse] button and select the geochem.xyz file located in your
Tutorial directory. Make sure the Import Template box is blank and click the
[Template] button.
7. The system displays the Import dialog box with the name of the file you are
importing displayed along the dialog box title bar.
150 Tutorial 9: Advanced Mapping and Gridding

8. Highlight the Z1 channel, and in the Output Channel box change the Name from
Z1 to As. Repeat this procedure with the remaining Z* channels so that the
channels have names as shown below.
 Tutorial 9: Advanced Mapping and Gridding 151

9. Click the [OK] button to return to the Import XYZ data dialog box. A temporary
import template file (default.i0) is created with the settings you specified. Click
the [OK] button to import the data.

10. An Import XYZ progress dialog box will be displayed on the screen while the
system imports the data into the database. The imported data should look like the
picture below.
152 Tutorial 9: Advanced Mapping and Gridding

Processing Data in the Spreadsheet

The following utilities allow the user to apply formulas and perform database
operations between channels. In the following example, we will take the Log10 of the
As channel and store the results in a new channel called LogAs.

T O A PPLY A F ORMULA TO THE D ATABASE :

1. Select (highlight) the first empty channel header cell, then right click and from the
popup menu, select New. The Create Channel dialog is displayed.
 Tutorial 9: Advanced Mapping and Gridding 153

2. Specify the Name for the channel as Log_As and then click the [OK] button. The
system creates a new channel in the database and displays it in the spreadsheet
window.
3. Click three times on the Log_As channel header cell to highlight the entire
channel.
4. Press the [=] key from the keyboard to activate the formula bar at the bottom left
hand corner of your screen and type Log10 (As) then press the [Enter] key from
the keyboard.
5. The system applies the formula to the channel as shown below.

6. On the Data menu, click Save database changes to save your changes.

7. The Save all changes dialog box is displayed. Click [Yes].

Plotting Symbols, Colour Bars and Legends

Oasis montaj provides the ability to create a variety of symbol type plots of spatially
located Earth Science data. This functionality is ideally suited to the presentation of
data sets that are not line-oriented, such as geochemical survey results.

The types of symbol plots available in the system include:

154 Tutorial 9: Advanced Mapping and Gridding

An effective method for geochemical data is to plot coloured symbols on a map.

Oasis montaj enables you to create fixed size coloured symbols or symbols that are
sized in proportion to the data values. Colours can be based on a variety of colour
files, including zone (*.ZON) , aggregate (*.AGG) , table (*.TBL) or image
transform (*.ITR) . Symbols can have different fill and edge colours. The fill and
edge colours are independent, so they can be set to different values for different
channels.

C REATE A M AP

1. Select (highlight) the geochem.gdb.

2. On the Mapping menu, click New map and then click New map from X,Y.

3. The system displays the Data range to map dialog box. Click the [Scan data]
button to have the system query the geochem database for the data ranges and
report the Minimum X,Y and Maximum X,Y coordinates.
4. Click the [Next] button. The system displays the Create a New Map dialog box.
Enter a Map name (geochem.map) and click the [Scale] button. The system
automatically chooses a scale that will fit the data on the map template. Just
remember to round the scale to a more efficient number (75000).
5. Click the [Finish] button to open a new blank map.
Note: If no scale is specified, a scale will be chosen which will fit all of the data
within the chosen map sheet.
T O P LOT L OCATION P LOT S YMBOLS :

The most basic type of symbol plotting in Oasis montaj is to draw location plot
symbols on a map for all data points in the database.
1. Select (highlight) the geochem.map.
2. On the Mapping menu, click Symbols and then click Location Plot.
 Tutorial 9: Advanced Mapping and Gridding 155

3. The system displays the Symbol plot dialog box. Specify the parameters for your
symbols as shown below. Click the [OK] button.

4. The system plots and displays the symbols on your map.

T O P OST D ATA V ALUES ON A M AP :

Assay data values can be posted next to sample locations on your map.
1. On the Mapping menu, click Posting. The Post data values on a map dialog is
displayed.
156 Tutorial 9: Advanced Mapping and Gridding

2. Specify the parameters for posting the data as shown above. Click the [OK]
button. The map is redrawn with the As assay values posted.
Note: By defining different Posting locations, it is possible to post the values of
numerous elements for each sample location (for example, Au, As, Cu,
and Pb).
T O P LOT P ROPORTIONAL S IZED S YMBOLS :

1. On the Mapping menu, click Symbols, then click Proportional size.

2. The system displays the Proportional size symbols dialog box.
 Tutorial 9: Advanced Mapping and Gridding 157

3. Specify the Data channel you wish to process (As), as well as the rest of the
parameters as shown above. The symbol scaling value indicates how many data
units are represented by a 1mm wide symbol. For example, if you specify that the
scale is 1000 then a symbol, which has a data value of 20000, is plotted 20 mm
wide.
4. Click the [OK] button to display the symbols on your map
Note: If you specify a base value, the value is subtracted from the data before
calculating the symbol sizes. Any negative values that are left after
subtracting the base are not plotted.
158 Tutorial 9: Advanced Mapping and Gridding

T O P LOT Z ONE C OLOURED S YMBOLS :

Tip: You may wish to create a new map (geochem2.map) at a scale of about
75000 at this point since the map above already has many symbols plotted on
it.
1. On the Mapping menu, click Symbols and then click Zone Coloured. The
Coloured symbols dialog is displayed.
 Tutorial 9: Advanced Mapping and Gridding 159

2. Select As as the Data channel and specify the rest of the plotting parameters as
shown above. Click the [OK] button. The system displays the Colour Symbol
Tool dialog box.

3. You can select the Log Distribution and if you are satisfied with the colour
distribution click the [OK] button. The system plots the zone coloured symbols
on the map.
160 Tutorial 9: Advanced Mapping and Gridding

T O P LOT C OLOUR R ANGE S YMBOLS :

The Colour Range Symbols are the most flexible of the entire symbol tools collection.
It allows for different ranges of data to be plotted using different symbols, colours
and sizes.
1. Create a new map (geochem3.map) at a scale of 75000.
2. On the Mapping menu, click Symbols and then click Colour Range Symbol.
3. The system displays the Classified symbol plot dialog box.
 Tutorial 9: Advanced Mapping and Gridding 161

4. Specify Au for the Classification channel box and the rest of the parameters as
shown above. Click the [Ranges] button.
5. The system displays the Specify Ranges dialog box.

6. Specify the extent of each range by entering the maximum value for each range as
shown above. Click the [Symbols] button.
7. The system displays the Specify Symbols dialog box.

8. Specify the desired symbol shape for each range. In this example, circles were
chosen for all of the ranges.
9. Click the [OK] button to return to the Specify Ranges dialog box, then click the
[Sizes] button.The system displays the Specify Sizes dialog box.
162 Tutorial 9: Advanced Mapping and Gridding

10. Specify the Symbol Size for each level.

11. Click the [OK] button to return to the Specify Ranges dialog box, then click the
[Colours] button. The system displays the Specify Fill Colours dialog box.

12. Choose the colours for the 5 levels and click the [OK] button to return to the
Specify Ranges dialog box.
13. Click the [OK] button to return to the Classified symbol plot dialog box.

14. Click the [Plot] button. The system plots the classified symbols for all 5 ranges
on the map. A close up picture of the range classified gold samples is shown
below. The large yellow circles represent those samples that were greater than
100ppm.

This is a very useful tool. As an exercise, try using different symbols to classify the
range of the Cu data.
 Tutorial 9: Advanced Mapping and Gridding 163

T O P LOT L EGEND S YMBOLS :

When you use classified symbols, you will most likely create a legend showing the
symbol colours and size ranges used on the map.
1. On the Mapping menu, click Symbols and then click Colour Range Symbol
Legend. The Classified Symbol Legend dialog will be displayed.

2. Click the [Locate] button. The Locate Legend dialog is displayed. Click the [OK]
button and your mouse will turn into a crosshair. Position the cursor on the map
where you want the lower left corner of the legend to be located and click left
mouse button.
3. The system redisplays the Classified Symbol Legend dialog box with the X and Y
Positions of where the legend will be located.

4. Specify a Title for Legend Au (ppm) and click the [Plot] button. The system plots
the legend on the map.
164 Tutorial 9: Advanced Mapping and Gridding

Note 1: When you select this option, the system automatically records the
colour, symbol and size settings you specified when creating the range
classified symbols. This makes generating a legend easy.

Note 2: This option is also used for plotting legends for the zoned colour
symbols where a (*.ITR) file must be specified. A (*.ITR) file is created when
the zoned colour symbols are plotted. The default name is the channel-name.itr,
e.g. Au.itr.

Gridding Random Data

The random gridding method (RANGRID GX) fits a minimum curvature surface to
the data points. For details on minimum curvature gridding, refer to the Help system.

T O P ERFORM M INIMUM C URVATURE G RIDDING :

1. Select the geochem.gdb database.

2. On the Grid menu, click Gridding and then click Minimum curvature and then
click Dialog controls.
3. The system displays the Minimum Curvature Gridding dialog box.
 Tutorial 9: Advanced Mapping and Gridding 165

4. Using the Channel to grid drop down list, select (As) and then specify the Name
of new grid file (As.grd) and a Grid cell size of (50).
Tip: For more information on the Advance gridding parameters, click the
[Help] button.
5. Click the [OK] button. The system processes the data and creates the output grid
file (As.grd).
Tip: Experiment with the data you have generated so far by creating a map
displaying the As.grd grid you just created with proportional size symbols
displayed as well. This map will allow you to compare two ways of
processing your data and the validity of both. The following map shows an
example of what such a map would look like.
166 Tutorial 9: Advanced Mapping and Gridding

Gridding Geochemical Data

There are four potential methods to use for gridding data:
1. Bi-directional
Suitable for highly sampled data surveyed along regular lines. Can work well
with potential field geophysical data.
2. Random
Suitable for randomly oriented data with a relatively large number of samples.
Can work well with geochemical data from comprehensive regional and local
surveys.
3. Kriging
Suitable for clustered data in which clusters are characterized by a relatively large
number of samples and may be widely spaced. Can work well with geochemical
data from stream sediment surveys and similarly sampled data.
4. Tinning
Suitable for randomly oriented data with a relatively large number of samples, or
clustered data in which clusters are characterized by a relatively large number of
samples and may be widely spaced. Can work well with geochemical data.
Based on these very general criteria, random gridding and kriging are the optimal
methods for statistical data such as that from geochemical surveys. Since
geochemical data are statistical in nature and have a high range from sample to
sample, it may also be appropriate to reduce the range of data through standard
processing (i.e. application of a logarithmic transform).

In this brief tutorial, we provide an overview of kriging and describe how to select an
initial model (variogram, or more strictly, a semi-variogram) for creating a grid.
Selecting a variogram model is the key to obtaining high-quality results – the actual
gridding process is relatively routine. We also provide summaries of how to apply
kriging in Oasis montaj and create a map of your final results.

Kriging – Quick Overview

This statistical gridding method uses the method of Kriging to determine a value at
each grid node based on the located data you provide. A significant by-product of
Kriging is the ability to estimate the error of the data at each grid node.

In Kriging, the approach is to first calculate a variogram of the data, which shows the
correlation of the data as a function of distance. Simply speaking, the further apart the
data points become, the less correlation we expect between points. A variogram
shows this phenomena for a given dataset, and based on the variogram, you are able
to select a model that best defines the variance of the data. There are five types of
variograms you can generate in the system, including:
• Power
 Tutorial 9: Advanced Mapping and Gridding 167

• Sphere
• Gaussian
• Exponential
• User-defined
The technique of Kriging uses the model you select to estimate the data values at the
nodes of the grid. In geochemical applications, the sphere and gaussian model are
typically most effective. The spherical model is mathematically simpler and we
typically recommend this model as your starting point. Advanced users may want to
experiment with gaussian and user-defined variogram models.

Geosoft supports ordinary Kriging as well as universal Kriging. Universal Kriging

differs from ordinary Kriging in that it allows the data to contain a regional trend. For
a more in-depth understanding of geostatistical analysis and Kriging, refer to Mining
Geostatistics written by A.G. Journel and C.J. Huijbregts, 1978.

Importing Data for Kriging

For the purpose of this tutorial, we provide a specific dataset called krigsample.csv.
This dataset contains clustered data suitable for this method.

T O I MPORT S AMPLE D ATA:

1. Create a new database and call it Kriging.gdb.

2. On the Data menu, click Import and then click Geosoft XYZ. The Import XYZ
data dialog is displayed.

3. Using the XYZ data file [Browse] button, locate the krigsample.xyz file. Accept
the default import template and import mode.
4. Click the [OK] button and the system imports the data into the database.
168 Tutorial 9: Advanced Mapping and Gridding

Calculating and Displaying a Variogram Model

After importing data, the next step is to calculate a semi-variogram (referred to as a

variogram for convenience in Geosoft). The variogram shows the correlation
(semivariance) of the data as a function of the distance away from the sampling point.
The further apart the data points become the less correlation we expect between
points.

In this tutorial, we will create a variogram to represent this correlation and then use it
to determine the grid values. The normal procedure for creating a variogram is to:
• Create a variogram file (*.var) of the channel you wish to display
• Select a variogram model
• Plot the variogram
• Repeat this process for other models.
In general, you must specify a geochemical data channel, output variogram file, log
option, log minimum and variogram model. In addition, depending on the model you
are using, you may have to set additional parameters as follows:

Power Specify a power value to use.

Spherical, Gaussian and Specify the Range/Slope, Nugget and Sill.

Exponential

User-defined Specify an input grid containing your custom variogram model

and select the User-defined Variogram model.
 Tutorial 9: Advanced Mapping and Gridding 169

T O C ALCULATE A V ARIOGRAM M ODEL :

In this procedure, we will use the default model (linear) to simply generate a
variogram of our data that we can then use to select the optimal variogram model and
parameters.
1. On the Grid menu, click Gridding|Kriging and then click Dialog controls. The
Kriging dialog is displayed.

2. Complete the entries as shown above and then click the [Advanced>] button. The
Krigging – Advanced options dialog is displayed.

3. In the Name of output variogram file box, specify (Cu.VAR). We will leave the
remaining parameters to the defaults.
170 Tutorial 9: Advanced Mapping and Gridding

4. Click the [Variogram Only] button. The system creates a variogram and displays
it in a map in the current project.

In this example, we see a variogram based on the data with a linear model
superimposed. The variogram shows the anticipated increase in variability as distance
increases. At the right end, it may appear to decrease but this is usually the result of
too few pairs for the statistics to be valid. Normally the variogram reaches a point
(sill value) at which the semivariance plateaus. The corresponding h value is called
the range value – beyond this distance there is no similarity in samples.

We also see a plot of sample pairs. This latter plot shows how many sets of samples
occur within specified distances of each other – this curve may help you to refine
your variogram in the selection of the data points used to visualize your model curve.
Here, most of the data occurs within 10 000 m and data beyond this point should not
be given as high an emphasis when building your variogram.

Selecting Variogram Model and Parameters

Selecting a model and parameters is the toughest part of your kriging decision and
requires considerable experience. Typically, you would use kriging to grid data
within clusters accurately and then truncate the model between clusters so that
clusters do not affect the gridding of neighbouring clusters. In this application, data
integrity is maintained both within and between clusters and you can examine the
error grid to verify that this effect is maintained.

For a spherical model, typically you will have the following values:
 Tutorial 9: Advanced Mapping and Gridding 171

• Nugget (starting value): The nugget is the average error in each data point, and is
indicated by the intersection of the variogram model with the h=0 axis. The
default is 0 indicating that there are no repeated samples.
• Sill: This is the value corresponding to the point at which the variogram becomes
uncorrelated and reaches its plateau point (or goes flat).
• Range/Slope: The range is the distance at which the variogram model reaches
the sill value. Beyond the range, the data is uncorrelated.
T O S ELECT A V ARIOGRAM M ODEL :

1. After displaying the starting linear model, evaluate the data and verify that the
spherical model is appropriate.
2. On the Grid menu, click Gridding and then click Kriging and then click Dialog
controls.
3. The system displays the Kriging dialog box, click the [Advanced>] button and
specify the following settings on the dialog:
• Select spherical for the Variogram model.
• Specify a different Name of the output variogram file such as
Cu_spherical.VAR.
• Specify the Range/Slope value from inspection of the variogram and pairs
graphs (4000)
• Specify the Nugget value from inspection of the variogram and pairs graphs
(0.06)
• Specify the Sill value from inspection of the variogram and pairs graphs (0.16)
4. Click the [Variogram Only] button. The Cu_spherical.VAR is plotted and
displayed in your current project.

5. You are now ready to grid the data using the model.
172 Tutorial 9: Advanced Mapping and Gridding

T O G RID THE D ATA:

1. On the Grid menu, click Gridding and then click Kriging and then click Dialog
controls. The Kriging dialog is displayed.

2. Select the Cu Channel to grid and the Name of new grid file as Cu.grd. Click the
[Advanced>] button to display the Kriging – Advanced Options dialog.

3. The system displays the Kriging dialog box. Specify the information as shown
above and click the [Back] button to return to the Kriging dialog.
4. Click the [OK] button to grid the data and display it in a map window in your
current project.
 Tutorial 9: Advanced Mapping and Gridding 173

Plotting Krigrid Data

As an exercise, try displaying your krigrid grid. The basic steps are as follows:
1. Create a new map
2. Display the grid
3. Display the variogram (using the Grid/Gridding/Kriging/Plot Variogram…menu
option)
4. Display sample locations
5. Draw the Base map

Your completed map containing the Krigrid data should look something like this:
 Tutorial 10: Advanced Imaging 175

Tutorial 10: Advanced Imaging

It is often helpful for interpretation to combine multiple types of data together using
special colour schemes. Two common methods of combining grid images are:
• Using a grey-shade for one type of data, and full colour for another (for example,
grey shaded topography with colour magnetics).
• Using a ternary diagram presentation – three data grids using either a cyan-
magenta-yellow (CMY) or red-green-blue (RGB) colour model (commonly used
with airborne radiometric data).
As we have seen previously, it is possible to create maps and add images to them,
including single colour grid images, colour-shaded grid images, and JPG files. In
addition, the system also supports a variety of advanced options that you can access
via the Grid|Display Grid. Following are examples:

G REY S HADED M AGNETICS WITH C OLOUR A U :

1. Open the geochem.gdb database and the tfmag.map map. (Note: if your
tfmag.map does not have all these groups (path, profile etc.) you will not need to
hide them. However, if your tfmag.map does not have a base map add this now.)
2. Click the View/Group Manager button ( ) and hide all data groups except the
coordinates group.

3. On the Grid menu, click Display grid and then click 2-grid composite.
176 Tutorial 10: Advanced Imaging

4. The system displays the Display 2.grid composite on map dialog box. Specify the
parameters for the dialog box as shown below (if you do not already have an
As.grd file, create one using minimum curvature gridding).

5. Click the [Current Map] button. This procedure loads the grey-shaded image of
the total field magnetics, plus a colour image of the gold channel, As. The map
appears as follows:
 Tutorial 10: Advanced Imaging 177

3-G RID T ERNARY P LOT :

1. Before you begin this tutorial, you must have grid files, (*.grd) for the Au, Cu
and Pb channels from the geochem.gdb database. If you have not already gridded
this data please do so now using the minimum curvature gridding method.
2. Open the geochem.gdb database and the tfmag.map map. Click the View/Group
Manager button ( ) and hide all data groups except the coordinates group
3. On the Grid menu, click Display grid and then click Ternary image.
4. The Ternary colour image dialog is displayed. Enter the parameters for this
dialog as shown below.

5. Click the [Current Map] button. The system processes and displays the ternary
image of the Pb-Au-Cu grids, using Red-Cyan for Pb, Green-Magenta for Au,
and Blue-Yellow for Cu.
178 Tutorial 10: Advanced Imaging

6. On the Grid menu, click Display grid and then click Ternary legend.
7. The system displays the Ternary Colour Legend dialog box. Enter the parameters
as shown below and click the [OK] button.

8. The system displays the Locate Legend dialog box. Click the [OK] button and
locate an area on the map to display the legend
 Tutorial 10: Advanced Imaging 179

9. The system creates and displays the ternary legend on you map.
180 Tutorial 11: Projections

Tutorial 11: Projections

Oasis montaj features "smart projections" that reprojects data "on-the-fly" as it is
displayed. This functionality enables maps to have several views; each containing a
different set of projection coordinates. In addition, dynamic links between maps and
data are maintained, even if different projections are used. :

What is a map projection?

A projection is a systematic construction of features on a plane surface (a map) that
represents corresponding features on a spherical (or curved) surface (the earth).
Projections include actual objects (highways, coastlines) as well as constructs
(meridians, political boundaries). For more information on projections see the
Appendix: Understanding Spheroids and Datums page 243.

Parts of a map projection

Understanding how projections work requires a basic knowledge of the different

components. When working with projections, you should be familiar with some
terms. The terms below represent different components of a projection:
• Ellipsoid: A solid figure (shaped like an egg or oval) for which every vertical
cross-section is an ellipse.
• Spheroid: A spheroid is an oblate ellipsoid of revolution (basically an ellipsoid)
that is used to model the surface of the earth for the purpose of making maps.
• Datum: A reference value to which other measurements are referred. Also, an
arbitrary reference level to which measurements are corrected. For example, a
datum for elevation would be sea level.
• Local Datum Transform: A datum adjusted for use in a specific location on the
earth. Earth centre offset, rotation, scale factor relative to the WGS84 datum.
• Projection Method: The mathematical algorithm used to transform points on a
spheroid to their relative locations on a flat surface (i.e. Transverse Mercator,
Lambert Conformal).
 Tutorial 11: Projections 181

Understand Geosoft projections

When dealing with map projections, it is important to be aware that the geographic
map location (X,Y) of any objects are either an implied or a known map projection. If
you do nothing to define map projections in your data, Oasis montaj will assume that
all locations (X,Y) are in the same map projection, which is unknown.

However, you must define map projections if you want to:

• Annotate maps with longitude, latitude locations.
• Convert the location of information (data or grids) from one map projection to
another.
• Display information on a map that is in a different map projection.
• Defined a warped coordinate system to fit data to a desired map coordinate
system.
Note: If you do not need to do any of these things, you do not have to deal with map
projections. For more information on projections see the Appendix:
Understanding Spheroids and Datums page 243.
In Oasis montaj, working with map projections requires that the map projection
information be attached to coordinate information of a database, grid or map. Once
you have attached a map projection to a set of coordinates, Oasis montaj will deal
with any re-projections that may be required to properly display data together on
maps.

Map projections can be defined for any pair of channels in a database, for a grid
coordinate system, and for a data view in a map. In most cases, all that is required is
to define the map projection of the "X" and "Y" channels of an original database. This
map projection will then be passed on to grids when data is gridded, and map views
will inherit this projection when they are created. Map projections of data channels,
grids and views can also be viewed and modified at any time, although the
modification of map projections does require specific and accurate knowledge of the
projection information.

Define a projection in Oasis montaj

In Oasis montaj a projection is always attached or applied to something. This can be
a coordinate pair on a database, a grid, or a map view. Before you can apply a
projection, you will need to know the following information about your data. The
type of projection coordinates that contain the location information for your data: For
more information on projections see the Appendix: Understanding Spheroids and
Datums page 243.
• Projected (x,y) The coordinates are in a known projected coordinate system,
such as UTM, or some other map-based projection.
• Geographic (long,lat) The coordinates are longitudes and latitudes in
degrees. Only a datum is required.
182 Tutorial 11: Projections

• The coordinate subset to use (e.g. UTM, USA State Plane).

• The units of measurement you want to use (e.g. feet, metres).
• The Datum (or ellipsoid) to use (i.e. WGS 84 / UTM zone 44N) and local
datum to use.
Important Note: When you define (or modify) a projection the coordinates of
the data (database, grid or map view) remain unchanged. This
process only sets the “projection label”. However, when you
reproject data into another coordinate system the numerical
representation of the coordinates will change.

Define X, Y channels
Once your data has been successfully imported into Oasis montaj you can set the
coordinate system and projection information for your database.

One of the first steps in setting a projection is defining your X and Y channels. (This
can be done during the import process, or will be automatically set if your coordinate
channels are called X and Y by default.) Note that, you cannot create a map until your
X and Y channels are defined.

In Oasis montaj we have introduced "current" X and Y (and Z) channels. This

feature enables users to select the channels that they would like to use as the current
X and Y (and Z) channels (for example, East, North, and Relative Level).

Markers have been added to the channel header to indicate which channels are
currently defined to be the "current" X, Y (and Z) channels. The markers are little
rectangles on the right side of the header cell, and contain "x", "y" (or "z") in reversed
display (like the triangle protection symbol on the left).

When you alter the current coordinate channels, these markers change too. Normally,
users will just get "x" and "y", but if you have a "Z" channel it will get the "z". The
"z" will be used in Wholeplot databases, where DH_EAST = "x", DH_NORTH = "y"
and DH_RL = "z".

Note: All grids, maps, and databases derived from a database that has projection
information attached to it, will also include the projection information.

T O D EFINE X AND Y CHANNELS :

1. When you first import your data, your X and Y coordinate channels may be called
East and North (or any other valid naming system).
2. To define X and Y channels select the Coordinates/Change Coordinates menu
item. The Change X, Y coordinates dialog box is displayed.
 Tutorial 11: Projections 183

3. Select your X and Y channels (in this case you would select the East and North
channels) from the database, and click [OK].
4. Your database now has set X and Y channels (titled East and North) which can be
seen by the inverse x and y on the right side of the channel header cell.

Set a projection to a coordinate pair in a database

Oasis montaj uses a Projection Wizard to guide you through setting and modifying
projection settings. This wizard customizes the dialogs it displays to the settings you
choose. Depending on which options you select, not all the dialog boxes shown in the
procedure below may be displayed every time you set a projection.

B EFORE YOU BEGIN …

To define a projection, you must know the type of projection that is used for the data.
If the wrong projection type is specified, Oasis montaj may return strange results or
take an unusually long time to process the data.

A projection can be defined from any pair of channels in a database. These two
channels must contain coordinate information. Normally, the X and Y coordinate
channels are used. Users can define projection from any of the following sources:
a. Projected (x,y)
b. Geographic (long,lat)
c. No Projection
d. Copy from channel
e. Copy from a grid
f. Geosoft PRJ file (projection file)
g. Geosoft warp file
184 Tutorial 11: Projections

Setting a Projected (x,y) projection to a database

You would use the Projected (x,y) projection if your database coordinates are in a
known projected coordinate system, such as UTM, or some other map-based
projection.

T O S ET A P ROJECTED (X, Y) P ROJECTION FOR D ATABASE C HANNELS :

1. Open a Database (geochem.gdb) that contains at least two channels with

coordinate information (X, Y).
2. On the Coordinates menu, click Set Projection. The system displays the
Georeference database channels dialog box.

3. Select the X and Y coordinate channels that you will use to set the projection, and
select Set as current X,Y? as Yes, then click the [Projection] button. The system
displays a dialog box containing the current projection information for the
database. If the database contains no projection information, the Unknown
coordinate system dialog box is displayed.

Note: Whenever you work with projections in Oasis montaj, the projection
information for the current database, grid, or view is displayed in a dialog box
similar to the one above. When the fields in any dialog box are shaded grey,
you can only view the information. If the dialog box fields are white, you may
edit the values.
4. To set the projection, press the [Modify] button. The system displays the Define a
Coordinate System dialog box.
 Tutorial 11: Projections 185

5. Using the Coordinate system dropdown list, select the coordinate reference
system for the data. For example, if the data in your database is organized by X
and Y locations, you would choose the Projected (x,y) option, however if the
data in your database is organized by latitude, longitude locations, you would
choose Geographic (long,lat). For more information on setting a Geographic (lat,
long) projection see the following topic; To set a Geographic (long,lat)
Projection for a Database page 186.
6. When you are done, click the [Next>] button. The Define a Projected coordinate
System dialog is displayed.

7. Select the Datum and Projection Method you want to use from the dropdown
lists.
Note: If the projection method you want to use does not exist, but you know the
parameters for it, you can click the [New method] button to create a new
(custom) projection method.
8. After selecting the projection method, click the [Next>] button. The Choose local
datum transform dialog will be displayed.

9. Using the Local datum transform dropdown list, select a local datum transform to
use. Note that, the dropdown list provides all the local datum transforms, which
apply to the selected datum.
10. Click the [Next>] button to continue. The Units of length dialog is displayed.
186 Tutorial 11: Projections

11. The Length unit dropdown list will display the unit of length for the selected
projection. Note that, this unit of length should not usually be changed because it
matches the units used by the projection.
12. Click the [Next>] button to continue.
13. The system displays the Projected Coordinates System (x,y) dialog to confirm
your settings.

14. If all the projection settings are correct, click [OK] to apply the projection.
Otherwise, click [Modify] to re-define the projection.

Setting a Geographic (long, lat) projection to a database

You would use a Geographic (long, lat) projection if your database coordinates are in
longitudes and latitudes degrees and only a datum is required.
Important Note: When you select a “Geographic (long,lat)” projection the geographic
coordinates will be displayed as a Cartesian system with units of
degrees. This means that you will not be able to display latitude and
longitude annotations in the base map because the X, Y coordinate
system of the map will be represented by the long, lat coordinates.
 Tutorial 11: Projections 187

TO SET A G EOGRAPHIC (L ONG , L AT ) P ROJECTION FOR A D ATABASE :

1. Open a Database that contains at least two channels with geographic coordinate
information (long, lat) for example import the projtest.xyz and rename the east
and north channels to longitude and latitude.
2. On the Coordinates menu, click Set Projection. The system displays the
Georeference database channels dialog box.

3. Select the X and Y coordinate channels that you will use to set the projection
(Note that, in this case the selected X, Y coordinate pair are called longitude and
latitude) and then click the [Projection] button. The system displays a dialog box
containing the current projection information for the database. If the database
contains no projection information, the Unknown coordinate system dialog box is
displayed.

Note: Whenever you work with projections in Oasis montaj, the projection
information for the current database, grid, or view is displayed in a dialog box
similar to the one above. When the fields in any dialog box are shaded grey,
you can only view the information. If the dialog box fields are white, you may
edit the values.
4. To set the projection, press the [Modify] button. The system displays the Define a
Coordinate System dialog box.
188 Tutorial 11: Projections

5. Using the Coordinate system dropdown list, select the coordinate reference
system for the data. For example, if the data in your database is organized by
latitude and longitude locations, you would choose the Geographic (long,lat)
option, however if the data in your database is organized by X, Y, you would
choose Projected (x,y). For more information on setting a Projected (x, y)
projection see the following topic; To set a Projected (x, y) Projection for a
Database page 183.
6. When you are done, click the [Next>] button. The Geographic coordinate system
dialog is displayed.

7. Select the Datum you want to use from the dropdown list, and then click the
[Next>] button. The Choose local datum transform dialog is displayed.

8. Using the Local datum transform dropdown list, select a local datum transform to
use. Note that, the dropdown list provides all the local datum transforms, which
apply to the selected datum.
9. Click the [Next>] button to continue The Units of length dialog is displayed.
10. The Length unit dropdown list will display the unit of length for the selected
projection. Note that, this unit of length should not usually be changed because it
matches the units used by the projection.
11. Click the [Next>] button to continue. The Geographic coordinates (long.lat)
dialog is displayed to confirm your settings.
 Tutorial 11: Projections 189

12. If all the projection settings are correct, click [OK] to apply the projection.
Otherwise, click [Modify] to re-define the projection.

Define the map projection of a grid

When you create a grid from a database that already has location (coordinate)
channels with a defined projection, the projection information in the database is
automatically applied to the grid.
Note: To ensure consistency between your databases and grids it is good practice to
define a projection in your database before creating grids from it.
T O M ODIFY OR D EFINE THE M AP P ROJECTION OF A G RID :

1. On the Grid menu, click Grid Info… menu item. The system displays the Grid
Statistics dialog box.

2. Using the [Browse] button, locate the grid you want to modify. Click the
[Report] button to display the Basic grid report dialog box. This dialog reports
all of the basic information about the selected grid.
190 Tutorial 11: Projections

3. Click the [Modify] button to display the Modify grid information dialog. This
dialog displays the information that is used to locate the grid in a real coordinate
system. Note that, changing anything in this dialog will have the effect of moving
or changing the apparent size of the grid when displayed on a map.

4. Click the [CoordSys] button to modify (or define) the map coordinate system
projection of the grid file.
5. The system displays the current projection information for the grid. As this grid
has no projection information set, the Unknown coordinate system (x,y) dialog
box is displayed.
 Tutorial 11: Projections 191

6. Whenever you work with projections in Oasis montaj, the projection information
for the current database, grid, or view is displayed in this dialog box. When the
fields in any dialog box are shaded grey, you can only view the information. If the
dialog box fields are white, you may edit the values.
7. To modify the projection, press the [Modify] button. The system displays the
Define a Coordinate System dialog box. Depending on the Coordinate system you
select, the projection wizard will walk you through the required steps to define a
map projection to the grid.

8. Using the Coordinate system dropdown list, select the coordinate reference
system for the grid. For example, if the data in your grid is organized by latitude
and longitude locations, you would choose the Geographic (long, lat) option.
9. When you are done, click the [Next>] button the Define a Projected coordinate
System dialog is displayed.

10. Specify the Datum you want to use and click the [Next>] button to continue. The
Choose local datum transform dialog is displayed.
192 Tutorial 11: Projections

11. Using the Local datum transform dropdown list, select a local datum transform to
use. The box provides a list of all the local datum transforms which apply to the
selected datum. Click the [Next>] button to continue.
12. The Geographic coordinates (long/lat) dialog box is displayed. If all of the
projection settings are correct, click the [OK] button.

13. The Modify grid information dialog box is again displayed; click [OK] to return
to the Basic grid report dialog. Click the [Exit] to complete setting the projection.

Defining the map projection of a map view

In Oasis montaj maps have several views that contain information about the map.
Projection information for a map is contained in a data view. Base map information
is contained in the base map view.

There are two choices available when you create a new map, from X, Y or from
latitude-longitude coordinates. When you create a new map the system either reads
the manually entered coordinates, or scans a user’s specified database or grid file and
attaches their projection and coordinate attributes to the specified map view.
Note: The projected base map created from a latitude-longitude range will be
windowed based on lines of latitude and longitude, not X and Y, and the data
window will be oriented so that North is up at the centre of the map.

Create a new map from X, Y coordinates

Use the New map from x,y menu item to create a new blank map to fit the data range
specified. The data range can be entered manually, or it can be determined from the
range of selected data in a database or from a grid range.

T O D EFINE A M AP P ROJECTION FOR A N EW M AP FROM X,Y

1. The first step is to create a new map using the projection coordinates from an
existing database or grid. On the Mapping menu, click New Map|New map from
x,y. The Data Range to Map dialog will be displayed.
 Tutorial 11: Projections 193

2. This dialog shows the data range (coordinate), units and projection information
from the last projection that was used. To change the projection information, you
will need to scan an existing database or grid for the projection and coordinate
information.
To scan a database for the data range and projection information:
a. Click the [Scan Data] button.
b. The system will scan the current database open in your project.
c. The system will re-display the Data Range to Map dialog box showing the
new data range, coordinate information and projection information obtained
from the database.
To scan a grid for the data range and projection information:
a. Click the [Scan Grid] button.
b. The system will prompt you to specify a grid file that contains projection
information.
c. Select a grid file, and click [OK].
d. The system will display the Data Range to Map dialog box showing the new
data range, coordinate information and projection information obtained from
the grid.
3. Click the [Projection] button to view the projection information. A dialog box
showing the known projection information as defined in the database or grid that
was scanned is displayed. The example below shows the projection information
for a map containing no projection information.
194 Tutorial 11: Projections

Note: Whenever you work with projections in Oasis montaj, the projection
information for the current database, grid, or view is displayed in this dialog
box. When the fields in any dialog box are shaded grey, you can only view the
information. If the dialog box fields are white, you may edit the values.
4. To modify the projection, press the [Modify] button. For more information on
defining a projection using the projection wizard go to Step 4 of the Setting a
Projected (x,y) Projection on page 184.
5. Once the projection has been defined, the Projected Coordinates System (x,y)
dialog box will be displayed.

6. If all the projection settings are correct, click [OK] to apply the projection and the
Data range to map dialog will again be displayed.
 Tutorial 11: Projections 195

7. Click the [Next>] button to continue. The Create a New Map dialog box will be
displayed.

8. Specify a Map name for the new map. You can also select a map template to use
for your map layout. To automatically calculate the map scale, click the [Scale]
button.
9. The default scale that will fit the defined data range to the specified template will
be displayed. You can modify this value to a more appropriate scale.
10. Click the [Finish] button when you are done. The system will create a new
(blank) map with projection information in the Map View.

New map from Latitude – Longitude coordinates

To create a new map from Latitude-Longitude requires a database that has a Projected
(x,y) coordinate system.
When using latitude-longitude degrees as the coordinates of your data and/or a
geographic projection you need to use New map from x,y menu item The resulting
map will have latitude and longitude displayed in a right angled Cartesian coordinate
system.
Note that, with a Projected (x,y) coordinate system, you can display Latitude and
Longitude annotations on the basemap of a new map created from x,y coordinates.
196 Tutorial 11: Projections

T O D EFINE A M AP P ROJECTION FOR A N EW M AP FROM LAT / LONG :

1. The first step is to create a new map using the projection coordinates from an
existing database or grid. On the Mapping menu, click New Map|New map from
lat,long. The Data Range to Map dialog will be displayed.

2. This dialog shows the data range (coordinates), units, and projection information
from the current (selected) database in your project. To change the projection
information, click the [Projection] button and then click the [Modify] button.
To scan a database for the data range and projection information:
a. Click the [Scan Data] button.
b. The system will scan the current database open in your project.
c. The system will re-display the Data Range to Map dialog box showing the
new data range, coordinate information and projection information obtained
from the database.
To scan a grid for the data range and projection information:
a. Click the [Scan Grid] button.
b. The system will prompt you to specify a grid file that contains projection
information.
c. Select a grid file, and click [OK].
d. The system will display the Data Range to Map dialog box showing the new
data range, coordinate information and projection information obtained from
the grid.
Note: After creating a map from Longitude/Latitude the data view of the new map
will have a warp attached to it. This is because when we create a
Longitude/Latitude map we warp the view so that North is at the top and
centred. If you remove the warp on your map, new elements may not be
positioned correctly.
 Tutorial 11: Projections 197

Displaying data with different projections on a map

Since grids, images, data and maps can have different projection information, you
may want to display one or more types of projections on a map. The following is a
list of data types that you can attach projection information to and place on a map:
• A grid or image
• Located data
• MapInfo data
• Vector files such as DXFs
When displaying different projections on a map:

1. Identify the projection for each data type (i.e. grids, images, maps, or located
data). Data types with different projections can be placed on the same map.
However, make sure the data cover the same geographical area.

2. Data that is imported into a map is re-projected into the map projection when
it is displayed. For example, if you place a grid with latitude/longitude
projection coordinates on a map defined in UTM coordinates, the system will
display the grid on the map in the map’s projection while preserving the grid’s
projection information. In this example, the lat/long meridians on the grid
would appear curved, while the UTM meridians would appear straight.

Applying a warp to a grid

Warping is useful when you have an un-referenced grid file in an unknown
coordinate system or an un-referenced image.
• To relocate data, define one control point.
• To scale and rotate data, define two points.
• To scale in X and Y and rotate, define 3 control points.
• To perform a quadrilateral warp, define 4 control points.
T O D EFINE A W ARP :

1. On the Coordinates menu, click Define a Warp. The Warp file creation dialog is
displayed.
198 Tutorial 11: Projections

2. Specify an Output Warp file name (.wrp) and from the dropdown lists select the
Warp type and Definition Mode. Note that, the 4-point warp requires the points
are in a clockwise order. The multi-point warp (more than 4 points) is best for
small translations relative to the units of distance on the map.
Note: The Semi interactive mode is a good method, it enables you to select the
points on the map that you are warping from (for example, the corners of a
bitmap) and then manually input the points (in UTMs) that you are translating
to. If you find that you cannot accurately select these points, try the other
modes (interactive and manual) to enter the four points. Remember, that you
can use the right mouse menu to zoom, shrink, and pan around the map while
you are selecting the points.
3. Click the [OK] button. The Map projection dialog is displayed, asking if you
want to “Define the output coordinate projection”.

4. At this stage, you can define the coordinate system of the map, for the purposes of
this tutorial, we will click [No] button to continue applying the warp. The Define
Warp control points dialog is displayed.

5. This dialog tells you to click on the point location for each point in your warp file,
and then specify the new “warped” location in the following dialog. Click the
[OK] button to continue.

6. The cursor will change to a crosshair ( ) enabling you to locate the first
point. Once you have located the first point, the Assign new coordinate 1 of 4
dialog(s) will be displayed.
 Tutorial 11: Projections 199

7. Specify the New X Y coordinates and click the [Next>] button to specify the next
coordinate point location. Continue this until you have specified the 4
coordinates.
Note: Temporary circles will be placed on the locations that you select with the
crosshair cursor. These circles will be removed once all of the control points
have been set and the warp control file has been created.
8. To apply the warp to the grid, on the Coordinates|Apply warp menu, select the
Warp a grid menu item. The Warp a grid dialog is displayed.

9. Select the Grid file to warp, the Warp definition file and specify a New warped
grid file. Click the [Next>] button to continue. The New warped grid dialog is
displayed.
200 Tutorial 11: Projections

10. If all of the parameters are correct, click the [Finish] button to warp the specified
grid file.

Warping image files

If you want to warp an image file (i.e. tiff, bmp) and the file is large, you may only
want to attach the warp to the file. "Attaching" the warp is suitable if you have a very
large file that is stored on a CD, for instance. The warp process is repeated every
time you display the file to a projected map but the original file remains unchanged.

When you warp an image, the warped output image must be a Geosoft COLOR grid
(*.grd) File type in order to keep the colours of the original image.

If the image of the new warped grid appears twisted or is an incorrect size, check the
warp points are in a circular order and the points are correctly located within the
defined map area.

Converting Elevations

The Geoid height menu option enables you to convert GPS elevations to elevations
relative to the geoid. Geoid height (GEOID GX) will create a channel of the geoid
height relative to the GRS 80 spheroid for a given pair of coordinate channels. This
GX requires a grid of the geoid model, which is the elevation of the geoid in metres
relative to the GRS 80 spheroid, which is found in the Oasis montaj/etc directory. For
more information, see the GEOID GX help topic.
 Tutorial 11: Projections 201

Projection concepts and FAQs

A "Datum" defines the earth model used to represent the "Geoid", which is
effectively the surface that would be defined by the sea level throughout an area
being mapped. At this point, we should all understand that the "geoid" undulates
according to the gravitational field; hence, it cannot be defined perfectly by a simple
mathematical expression. The business of cartography is to map features that exist on
a local geoid to a flat piece of paper.

Q 1.) How do we get from a geoid to a map?

A 1.) The first step is the "datum". The datum consists of an ellipsoid, a prime
meridian, and a specific part of the earth for which the datum applies. The datum
ellipsoid is a perfect mathematical surface that best approximates the shape of the
earth over the area of a datum. Latitude, longitude locations on a datum is the closest
match of the geoid location to the datum ellipsoid surface. For example, latitude,
longitude coordinates on the NAD27 datum use the Clarke 1866 ellipsoid with
Greenwich as the prime meridian. One should note that the mapping of the geoid
shape to the ellipsoid is not perfect because of the afore-mentioned imperfections in
the geoid.

At this point, it is worth pointing out that many datums share the same ellipsoid. The
difference between them is that a specific datum only applies to a specific area of the
earth, and the geoid of that area is implied by the datum name. For example, "Luzon
1911", "Mound Dillon" and "NAD27" are all datums based on the "Clarke 1866"
ellipsoid, but are used to map the geoid from the Philippines, the island of Tobago,
and the North (and central) America respectively.

Once we have a longitude, latitude on a specific datum, it is the job of a map

projection to convert the latitude, longitude of the round earth to a Cartesian X,Y
coordinate for a flat piece of paper.

The next piece of the puzzle is to understand why we need a refinement of the datum
into what Geosoft calls "local datums". The advent of GPS and satellite mapping
required the definition of a single datum that best approximates the entire earth. After
a bit of evolution, we have settled on WGS 84, which is truly a "perfect" datum that
represents an exact ellipsoid, and the centre of that ellipsoid is at the gravitational
centre of the earth. A fundamental problem in modern cartography is how to convert
a latitude, longitude on the WGS 84 datum to, say, NAD27 so that a location can be
used on NAD27 maps, or vice versa.

Because datums like NAD27 represent a geoid, and WGS represents a perfect
ellipsoid, we need a way to convert the imperfect geoid shape of NAD27 to the
perfect WGS27. The best way to do this is to measure the difference between known
latitude, longitude locations on the NAD27 datum and the WGS84 location that one
receives from a GPS measurement. This has been done throughout Canada to produce
202 Tutorial 11: Projections

the NTv2 model of NAD27, and throughout the United States to produce the
NADCON model. This process is also being carried out at continental scale in other
parts of the world. Both NTv2 and NADCON are implemented as gridded corrections
models, that given a location, one can look up the correction (both are supported in
Geosoft).

A second way to make the correction is to force the surface of the WGS 84 ellipsoid
to lie as closely as possible to the surface of the datum ellipsoid (which in turn
approximates the geoid), such that a simple mathematical conversion is within
acceptable accuracy. This can be done by adjusting the location of the centre of the
earth of the datum ellipsoid relative to WGS84, which is the basis of the Molodenski
and Bursa Wolf corrections (parameters are in datumtrf.csv). However, such simple
conversions are only accurate over a relatively small part of the datum, depending, of
course, on the complexity of the geoid of that datum. For datums that cover a large
region, such as NAD27, one needs many different adjustments depending on which
part of the NAD27 datum you are on. For example, the very large area
approximations such as "MEAN Canada" are much less accurate in the Yukon than
"Canada (Yukon)". Both are less accurate than the NTv2 correction lookup.

Q 2.) When I buy a topographic map of Canada (of say B.C.) it says it uses the
NAD27 ellipsoid. It doesn't say what local transformation it uses?

A 2.) First, NAD27 is a datum, not an ellipsoid, and the NAD27 datum uses the
Clarke 1866 ellipsoid. You must choose which local datum transform is most
appropriate for your needs. We would recommend always selecting the local
transform that is most specific to your area, in this case "[NAD27] Canada Alberta;
British Columbia". You could also choose "[NAD27] Canada NTv2 (20 min)" if the
highest accuracy is required, but this is slower and more demanding of system
resources.

In our "Datum" list, we also include the names of all the common earth ellipsoids
(with a "*" prefix). This is because practitioners have commonly confused ellipsoids
with datums, and one often only knows the ellipsoid. By including the ellipsoid
names in the list, we make life a bit easier for you when you receive a map and the
information that it is "Clarke 1850, UTM 42S". However, if you need to do a local
datum transform, you must determine (or guess) at the real datum name, which is also
why we list the local transforms by area of use.

Q 3.) I found where the ldatum.csv file calls the datum for say [NAD 27] Canada
(Ont.&Man.) but couldn't find the call to the appropriate datum for [NAD27] Canada
(BC/AB). Did I just not look hard enough?

A 3.) Yes, these transforms are in the tables. When maintaining the tables, we load
the tables into Excel and use the Data/Sort function to sort by datum or area of use (or
any column) to help find things. The ldatum.csv file is used only by the projection
wizard to provide a list of the available projections by datum and by area of use. This
file refers to the actual local datum transform name and parameters in “datumtrf.csv”.
 Tutorial 11: Projections 203

Note that, the tables are only used to construct the projection information the first
time something requires a projection. Once constructed, the parameters become part
of the object in question, and changing the tables later has no effect.

You can find more information on how the tables are constructed and related in the
SETIPJ GX help.
 Tutorial 12: Database Maintenance Utilities 205

Tutorial 12: Database Maintenance Utilities

There are a number of utilities available for data maintenance. These are available to
allow the user to check the status of the database, generally in a troubleshooting or
preventative maintenance role. The following is a list of the data maintenance
utilities:
• Database details
• Verify database
• Defragment database
• Grow database
• Repair database

Checking Database Details

From time-to-time, you may want to examine the database details.

T O C HECK D ETAILS OF A D ATABASE :

1. Select the geochem.gdb database.

2. On the Data menu, click Maintenance and then click Details.
3. The system displays the About Database dialog box.
206 Tutorial 12: Database Maintenance Utilities

4. We are mostly concerned with whether we are close to exceeding the limits of our
Elements (Groups or Lines, Channels, Blobs, Block Size, Compression and File
Size). Another area of concern is what the Statistics show us. Statistics let us
know at a glance how large the GDB is and whether the space is being used
efficiently. If the Unused or lost space seemed excessive (say greater than 20%)
we might consider Defragmenting the database (to follow). For more information
about these statistics please refer to the Help System.
5. Click the [OK] button to close.

Defragmenting the Database

As you work with data in the database, new and modified data are saved to the end of
the database file and to space freed within the database before the last time you saved
the project. As the database grows you can lose space due to fragmentation or from
simply erasing data.

T O D EFRAGMENT Y OUR D ATABASE

1. Make sure you have backed-up the database before packing.

2. On the Data menu, click Maintenance and then click Defragment. The system
removes all unused space by repacking the data as efficiently as possible and
reduces the database file (*.GDB) size by the amount of freed space.

Growing, Verifying or Repairing your Database:

If you find that the original size limits that were selected for your database
(lines/groups and channels/fields), were too small, you can increase these limits using
the Grow command. If you wish to check the integrity of your database, you use the
Verify command. If your database has been corrupted (for example, if the computer
failed during a Defragment operation) you can run the Repair utility to try to recover
some or all of the data. For each of these three commands, please refer to the detailed
explanations in the Online Help System.

Adding Database Comments

Comments about your data can be added to the comment block of a database.
Comments are useful as a place to hold information about the data collection
procedures, instrumentation and surveyors used, any specific problems and the
solutions to them, and other bits of information that may have formerly been kept as
field notes, readme files, or other notes.

The comment block is an RTF file that can be edited with the Windows Wordpad
application, or another text editor.
 Tutorial 12: Database Maintenance Utilities 207

T O A DD C OMMENTS TO Y OUR D ATABASE :

1. On the Data menu, click Database comments. This launches your editor and
opens the file _dbcmnt.RTF which is stored in your database. Edit this file
however you wish, adding text, pictures, etc. When you are done editing, close
the editor. You will be prompted to save the file. Click the [Yes] button.
2. On the Data menu, click Database comments again. You will see the comments
that you entered at Step 1.
208 Tutorial 13: Exporting and Printing Maps

Tutorial 13: Exporting and Printing Maps

The Oasis montaj Mapping and Processing System provides the ability to export
interim processed data to another systems for additional manipulation or to a GIS
system for creating final map products and integrating with other sources of data.
Required tools for exporting data to Geosoft XYZ and other formats are also
provided.

Oasis montaj uses your installed Windows system drivers to create printer or plotter
output. Depending on your installed driver, you may find it does not produce the
highest quality output or that it takes a long time to produce a plot.

Geosoft provides a special printer configuration capability that enables you to

initalize an internal raster engine that performs most of the print/plot processing and
passes it to the driver for final output.

If you are not satisfied with your driver's performance, you can try selecting this
option. Normally, with high-quality drivers, you should not have to use this option
but it can help with problem drivers or PostScript printing.

Exporting Maps to a File

Geosoft recognizes the need for the ability to move data, grids and images easily to
other software systems. Supported export formats for maps include:
• Enhanced Metafile • MapInfo TAB
• ArcView Shapefile • Geosoft Plot file
• CGM Plot • DXF AutoCAD
• Bitmap • DXF AutoCAD v12
• PCX • JPEG
• PNG • JPEG High Quality
• Encapsulated Post Script • TIFF
• TIFF Compressed • GeoTIFF
• Geosoft COLOUR Grid • MapInfo TIFF
• ER Mapper RGB • ArcView TIFF
• ER Mapper ECW Compressor •

For more information on exporting data, refer to the Exporting and Archiving topic
in the Oasis montaj Online Help system.

T O E XPORT M APS TO A F ILE :

1. Select an open map in your project.

2. On the Map menu, click Export. The Export Map dialog is displayed.
 Tutorial 13: Exporting and Printing Maps 209

3. Specify the Region to Export (Viewed Region, Full Map or Selection).

4. Select the Output Format, the Image Resolution and where to Export the map to
(File or Clipboard).
5. Using the Options dropsown list, select (Cluster Dither, Error Diffusion or No
Dither).
6. Click the [OK] button. If you selected to export to a file the system will display
the Exported file name dialog box. Specify a name for the file and click the
[Save] button.
7. The system exports the map.

T O E XPORT TO GIS, S PREADSHEET AND D ATABASE A PPLICATIONS :

1. On the Data menu, click Export and then click the Geosoft XYZ. The system
displays the Export XYZ data dialog box.

2. Specify the XYZ data file to export as Geoexport and click the [Template]
button. The Export XYZ Template dialog box is displayed.
210 Tutorial 13: Exporting and Printing Maps

3. All of the channels automatically included to be exported. If you wish to remove

certain channels from the export process highlight the channels in the Channel
box and click the [Remove] button. Click the [OK] button to once you have
selected the data you wish to export. The system will return you to the Export
XYZ data dialog box. Click the [OK] button again and the system exports the
data.
Tip: The Include Comment Header option is not default, but may contain
important information that pertains to the database you are exporting. The
Include Dummies option allows you to omit dummy values when exporting.

Printing Maps
By default, the system is set up to use your current Windows driver. When you start
printing maps for the first time, you will most likely accept the defaults. Depending
on your driver’s performance however, you may want to add a new configuration that
uses a more advanced printing option, such as Geosoft bands, Geosoft bands and
dither, or HP-RTL. Refer to the on-line help system for a complete discussion on the
pros and cons of the different printing modes.

Printer and Page Setup

For optimal printing, you may have to experiment with printer settings and properties.
Different drivers allow different selections (paper size, orientation, dithering patterns
and colour controls). However, they can be very slow especially for large plots.
 Tutorial 13: Exporting and Printing Maps 211

T O C ONFIGURE YOUR P RINTER AND P AGE ::

1. Make sure your GeoDemo.gpf project is open.

2. On the File menu, click Printer and Page Setup. The Page Setup dialog is
displayed.

3. Use this dialog to specify your page setup, i.e. Paper Size, Paper Source,
Orientation (Portrait or Landscape), and Margins.
4. Click the [Printer] button to configure your printer settings.
212 Tutorial 13: Exporting and Printing Maps

5. Use this dialog to select your printer and to modify your printer properties. Click
the [OK] button twice to exit these dialogs.

Change or Add New Printer Configuration

Use the Change Printer Configuration/Add Printer Configuration dialog(s) to change

the configuration of your printing mode, colour scaling and other print options.

T O A DD A N EW P RINTER C ONFIGURATION :

1. On the Print dialog, click the [Add Config] button. The Add Printer
Configuration dialog is displayed.

2. If you want to use Windows drivers for printing make sure Windows is selected
for the Print Mode.
3. If you are having problems with your Windows drivers and want to optimize your
printing speed, select the Geosoft bands or Geosoft bands and dither Print
Mode.
4. Select the Geosoft HP-RTL device if you have this type of printing device.
5. If you want to adjust the Colour Scaling, change the CYMK colour values.
6. If you want to adjust the Image print resolution change the default dpi value.

7. Click the [OK] button and the system will save your new configurations and
initializes it for use.
Note: To change your printer configurations click the [Change Config] button from
the Printer Setup dialog box.
 Tutorial 13: Exporting and Printing Maps 213

Print Preview

Use the Print Preview dialog to display the active map, as it would appear when
printed.

T O P REVIEW A M AP B EFORE P RINTING :

1. On the File menu, click Print preview. The Print preview dialog is displayed.

2. From this dialog you can specify the Region to Plot, the Plot Scale, Overlap and
Layout of the file you wish to print. Click the [Preview] button. The system
displays a preview of how your map will look when printed on paper.
3. Click the [Print] button if the map is ready for printing or click the [Close] button
to return to the Print Preview dialog box.

Print a Map

Use the Print dialog to specify how you want your print job to appear and to send a
job to the printer.

T O P RINT A M AP :

1. Select (highlight) the map that you would like to print.

2. On the File menu, click Print. The Print dialog is displayed.
214 Tutorial 13: Exporting and Printing Maps

3. Specify the Region you want to print (current Viewed Area or the Entire Map).

4. Specify the Plot Scale. To maintain the map scale, select the Use Scale Factor
option and specify a value, (1 = 100 per cent). If you use this option, the map may
require more than one page depending on the media to which you are printing or
plotting.
5. If the plot is being Panelled, specify either the All panels option or the Range of
panels option to print. If you are printing multiple panels, you can specify an
overlap in mm. This helps you to match panels later.
6. Specify the number of Copies to be printed.
7. If required, select the Print to File option box and specify a filename.
8. Select the Centre on Page option box to centre the plot on the page. To centre the
plot on a paper roll select the Fit On Roll option box.
9. To move the map from its origin (lower left corner of page or plot), specify an
offset distance in mm.
10. Click the [Print] button to send the map or plot to the currently configured printer
or plotter.
 Tutorial 13: Exporting and Printing Maps 215

Printing in Batch

For high efficiency automated printing and plotting, Geosoft provides a batch printing
capability. This capability allows a number of plots to be printed sequentially without
any hands-on intervention.

T O P RINT IN B ATCH :

1. On the File menu, click the Batch printing. The Print Multiple Maps dialog is
displayed.

2. In the Maps to Print box, specify the maps you want to print. To specify more
than one map, map names should be separated by a ‘|’ (vertical bar) character.
Tip: You can also select multiple files by clicking the [Browse] button. In the
Maps to Print dialog box press and hold the [Ctrl] key and while clicking the
left mouse button to select the maps you wish to print.
3. Specify the other parameters as required. For more information about Batch
printing options click the [Help] button.
4. Click the [OK] button. The system sends the maps to the installed printer or
plotter.
 Tutorial 14: 3D Views in Oasis montaj 217

Tutorial 14: 3D Views in Oasis montaj

Oasis montaj 3D views are a representation of a 3D drawing space on a standard
Geosoft map. The 3D capabilities enable you to display multiple surfaces, each with
its own relief and contents, and each with its own orientation in 3D space.

To create 3D views requires the licensed processing engine, but 3D views on an

existing map can be viewed and manipulated in the Oasis montaj free Viewer.

Geosoft Maps use Views to organize and display information. Most Geosoft maps
contain both a Base view and a Data view, but some maps may have more views for
different purposes. Views contain Groups, and these groups in turn contain drawing
elements. All Groups within a 2D View are drawn in the coordinate system of that
View. The Base view uses coordinates in millimetres relative to the final printed
paper, and the Data view uses a coordinate system that can represent a projected or
geographic coordinate system on the earth, or simply an arbitrary X, Y Cartesian
coordinate system. 2D Views contain one flat drawing surface, which is defined by
the View’s coordinate system.

A 3D View can be created from an existing 2D View or Group already displayed on a

map, or directly from a grid file. Specialized GX’s may also create 3D views for their
own purposes. Like 2D Views, a 3D view also represents coordinates, but in this
case in X, Y AND Z. 3D Views may also contain any number of drawing planes.
Any Group or drawing object that can be drawn on a 2D View can be drawn on a
Plane in a 3D View. Each plane in a 3D view can be oriented independently in the 3D
coordinate system. A Plane in a 3D view can be flat or it can have a surface relief
defined by a grid file.

3D views appear on a 2D map as a standard view, except that what you see is the 3D
representation of the view from a fixed viewing location. You can manipulate a 3D
view using the 3D Viewer. When a 3D view is displayed in the 3D viewer, you will
be able to interactively manipulate the point of view, change certain display
parameters, delete planes, and adjust plane transparency using the 3D Tool. The 3D
Tool enables you to modify the 3D parameters, display characteristics and the
appearance of your 3D View in the 3D Viewer. The 3D Tool is available in the Tools
section of the Project Explorer and will appear whenever a 3D Viewer is open. If
more than one 3D Viewer is open, the parameters of the 3D Tool will represent
whichever Viewer currently has focus.

Overview of 3D Views, Groups and Planes

All groups within a 2D View are drawn in the coordinate system of the View. For
example, most Geosoft created maps contain a Base view and a Data view. Map
surround elements, such as legends, North arrow, scale bar and the map border are
218 Tutorial 14: 3D Views in Oasis montaj

drawn on the Base view. Spatial data, such as survey lines, symbol plots, grids,
images and coordinate system axis are drawn in the Data view.

While most Views are 2D, and represent a single 2D coordinate system, Views may
also be 3D, in which case they represent a 3D (X, Y and Z) coordinate system. A 2D
View contains one drawing plane (the X, Y plane), which is the 2D plane represented
by the View’s coordinate system. A 3D View may contain any number of 2D
drawing Planes, each with its own name and oriented independently in the 3D
coordinate system. Further, a Plane in a 3D view may be flat or it may have a surface
relief defined by a grid file.

Anything that can be drawn on a 2D view can be drawn on a plane in a 3D view.

Planes will normally share the X, Y coordinates of the 3D View, and flat planes will
have a constant Z value representing the vertical location of the plane. However, a
plane coordinate system may be oriented in any direction in the 3D space for special
applications.

If a plane does have a relief View, the axis of the relief is always in the Z direction of
the plane.

When displayed on a map, 3D Views are drawn with a fixed axis orientation, size and
point of view. The axis orientation and point of view may be modified by opening
the 3D View in a 3D Viewer window. To do this, select the 3D View (Note: you
must be in View selection mode to select a View), right click and select 3D
Viewer from the popup menu. When viewing the 3D View in the 3D Viewer, you
can change the orientation of the View relative to your point of view by rotating the
coordinate system horizontally and vertically, and you can zoom and pan into the
view, and you can modify certain features of the view when in the 3D Viewer. When
you close the 3D Viewer window, the 3D View will be drawn on the 2D Map as it
appeared in the 3D Viewer.

Create a 3D View from an Existing Map View or Group

A 3D View may be created from an existing 2D View or Group already drawn on a

map, or directly from a Grid file that can be used to represent the surface of a plane in
a 3D view.

TO CREATE A 3D V IEW FROM EXISTING V IEWS OR G ROUPS ON A MAP :

1. Open the map and make sure you are in View mode by selecting the Select/change
the current view ( ) button.
2. With the mouse cursor over the map window, right-click and select Create a 3D
view. The Create a new 3D View dialog will be displayed. This dialog will
enable you to create a new 3D View on a map or add a new drawing plane to an
 Tutorial 14: 3D Views in Oasis montaj 219

existing 3D View (Note that, 3D Views can contain any number of drawing
planes).

3. Specify the New 3D View name (3D_View), and the Name of new plane in 3D
View (Geology).
Note: It is extremely important that when you create a new 3D view that you create
a new name for the view rather than selecting a name from the dropdown list.
The dropdown list is presented to enable you to see what view names you
may already have. Do not overwrite one of the existing 2D views, unless you
want to replace it.
4. From the View or View/Group to draw on plane dropdown list, you can select a
specific Group from the data View or the entire data View to be plotted on the 3D
surface. In this case, we are selecting the geology image group from the data view
(Data\AGG_geology).
5. Using the Relief surface grid (optional) [Browse] button, locate the grid to be
used as the relief surface of the 3D View. In this case, we are using a
(topography.grd) file.
6. Click the [Next>] button. The Relief surface grid dialog is displayed.
220 Tutorial 14: 3D Views in Oasis montaj

7. Click the [Default] button to display the grid scaling parameters and clip-limits
calculated from the relief grid. The default Relief base and the Vertical scale are
determined from the relief grid for aesthetic purposes. For more information
about these parameters, or any dialog parameter, click the [Help] button.
8. To continue, click the [Next>] button. The 3D Controls dialog is displayed.

9. This dialog enables you to specify the appearance of the 3D view on the map.
Click the [OK] button to plot the 3D view to the current map and open the 3D
Tool and 3D Viewer.
10. Using the 3D Viewer, orient the view to the desired perspective and when you are
satisfied with the orientation close the 3D Viewer.
11. The 3D view is placed in the center of the current map. Using the standard 2D
map tools, you can move and size the 3D view into the desirable position on the
map.
 Tutorial 14: 3D Views in Oasis montaj 221

Create a 3D View from an Existing Grid File

A 3D View of a grid can be plotted either to a new map or in the centre of a current
map.

TO CREATE A 3D V IEW FROM A G RID :

1. On the Grid menu, click Display Grid|3D Surface. The 3D Surfaces from a Grid
dialog is displayed.

2. You can select different grids for the Surface relief and Colour image grids, or as
shown above, you can select the same grid file for both so that the colour surface
will coincide with the relief surface.
222 Tutorial 14: 3D Views in Oasis montaj

3. From the New or current map dropdown list select (new). The remaining
parameters can be left the the defaults, click the [Next>] button to display the
Surface Grid dialog.

4. To calculate the Surface grid statistics, click the [Defaults] button. This surface
grid information may be modified here or you can do it later from within the 3D
Tool. Click the [Next>] button to continue. The 3D Controls dialog is displayed.

5. You can edit the 3D Controls parameters now, during the creation of the 3D
Surface, or from within the 3D Viewer while linked to the 3D Tool in real-time so
that changes are displayed immediately.
6. Click the [Finish] button to plot the 3D View to a new map. Note that, the 3D
Tool and 3D Viewer are now open in the foreground of your project. The 3D
Viewer enables you to change the point of view and work with all the attributes
that make up the 3D View by using the controls in the 3D Tool. When you close
the 3D Viewer, the view will appear on the 2D map just as it last appeared in the
3D Viewer.
 Tutorial 14: 3D Views in Oasis montaj 223

Add a Plane to an Existing 3D View

You can add any number of new drawing planes to an existing 3D view. Anything
that can be drawn on a 2D view can be drawn on a plane in a 3D view.

In the next example, we will create a new plane that will include gridded magnetic
data draped on topography that will appear in a plane coincident to the geology plane.

TO ADD A NEW PLANE TO A 3D V IEW :

1. Select the 3D View in the (geology.map) map; make sure you are in View mode
by selecting the Select/change the current view ( ) button.
2. Right click and from the popup menu select Add a new drawing plane. The Add a
new drawing plane to a 3D view dialog will be displayed.

3. Enter the Name of new plane in 3D view (Note: if you enter the name of an
existing plane, that plane will be replaced) and specify the same relief grid
(topography.grd) as for the geology plane.
224 Tutorial 14: 3D Views in Oasis montaj

4. We are not drawing anything on the new plane yet, therefore we will leave the
remaining parameter blank and click the [Next>] button to display the Relief
surface grid dialog.

5. Click the [Default] button to display the grid scaling parameters and clip-limits
calculated from the relief grid. The default Relief base and the Vertical scale are
determined from the relief grid for aesthetic purposes. For more information
about these parameters, or any dialog parameter, click the [Help] button.
6. Click the [Finish] button to create the empty plane in the 3D view. The new plane
will be invisible because we have not yet drawn anything on it.
7. The new plane in the 3D View is now the default drawing plane, so anything we
now draw using the standard Oasis montaj drawing tools will appear on this new
plane.
Note: Note that you can control the vertical position of the plane either by
specifying the plane elevation for flat planes or the Relief base if a relief View
is specified.

Draw a group directly onto a plane in an existing 3D View

You can draw groups including grids, images, contours, and symbols to a plane in a
3D view just like drawing to a 2D view. After creating a 3D view, it becomes your
Default Drawing View so that the next group you plot will be drawn on the Default
Drawing Plane which is the most recent plane in the view unless set otherwise by the
user.

You can also use the clipboard to cut/copy groups from other maps to the default
drawing plane of a 3D view.
 Tutorial 14: 3D Views in Oasis montaj 225

TO MAKE A PLANE THE DEFAULT DRAWING PLANE :

1. Select the 3D View in an open map, make sure you are in View mode by selecting
the Select/change the current view ( ) button.
2. Right click and from the popup menu select Set default drawing plane.
3. If the 3D View contains more than one plane, the Set a default drawing plane in a
3D View dialog will be displayed.
4. From the Default drawing plane dropdown list, select a plane (magnetics) from
the view.
5. Click the [OK] button and the selected plane will now be the default drawing
plane.
Note: You can also change the default drawing view from the “Mapping” menu.
TO COPY A V IEW OR V IEW /G ROUP TO A P LANE :

1. Select the 3D View in an open map, make sure you are in View mode by selecting
the Select/change the current view ( ) button.
2. Right click and from the popup menu select Draw a View/Group on a plane. The
Draw a view or group on a plane in 3D view dialog will be displayed.
3. From the View or View/Group dropdown list, select the View or View/Group you
want to copy to the plane.
4. From the Draw on plane dropdown list, select the plane you want to copy the
View or View/Group to.
5. Click the [OK] button to display the View or View/Group on the selected plane.

To Plot 3D Colour Range Symbols

Oasis montaj provides a range of options for visualizing your data in three
dimensions including; displaying multiple surfaces, each with own relief and
contents, and each with its own orientation in 3D space.

The 3D colour range symbol plotting option enables you to plot 3D symbols with
fixed or variable colours to a 3D map. The colours can be varied based on the
values from another data channel.

This example uses the sample data (MtStHelens Epicenters.gdb) found in the
\Geosoft\Oasis montaj\data\various directory.

T O P LOT 3D C OLOUR R ANGE S YMBOLS :

1. Open the database that includes the data you want to plot using the 3D colour
range symbol option.
2. On the Mapping menu, select Symbols|3D colour range symbols. The 3D
Coloured symbols plot dialog is displayed.
226 Tutorial 14: 3D Views in Oasis montaj

3. Using thedrpdown lists, select the parameters that best suites your data. Note that,
if you want to colour your data using the values from a secondary channel, select
(Variable colour) from the Colour option. Click the [Next>] button and the Data
range to map dialog is displayed.

4. Click the [Scan data] button to scan your current database. Click the
[Projection] button to set the coordinate system. For for information on these or
any dialog parameters, click the [Help] button. Click the [Next>] button and the
Create a new map dialog is displayed.
 Tutorial 14: 3D Views in Oasis montaj 227

5. Specify a new Map name and then from the Map template dropdown list, select a
template.
6. Click the [Scale] button to calculate and display a default scale that will fit the
defined data range to the specified template. You can edit this scale to a more
usable value. Click the finish button and the 3D Controls dialog is displayed.

7. You can edit the 3D Controls parameters now, during the creation of the 3D
colour range symbol plot, or from within the 3D Viewer while linked to the 3D
Tool in real-time so that changes are displayed interactively.
8. Click the [Finish] button to plot the 3D colour range symbols to a map. Note that,
the 3D Tool and 3D Viewer are now open in the foreground of your project. The
3D Viewer enables you to change the point of view and work with all the
attributes that make up the 3D View by using the controls in the 3D Tool. When
you close the 3D Viewer, the view will appear on the 2D map just as it last
appeared in the 3D Viewer.

Notes about 3D Views

3D Views are rendered coarsely when interactively changing the orientation or point
of view. When you release the mouse in any of these modes, the objects will be
refined in a way that is optimum for the given point of view. The time it takes to
228 Tutorial 14: 3D Views in Oasis montaj

refine the picture depends on processor speed, your 3D Graphics capabilities, the
complexity of the 3D model being drawn (number of planes, number of groups, relief
resolution, etc.), and the amount of RAM on your system.

If a plane has a relief View, the groups drawn on the plane will only appear where the
relief View is defined. Groups drawn on flat planes (those without relief Views) will
be drawn to the extents of the group.

3D Views may have clipping areas just like 2D Views. In 3D, the clip area is applied
vertically relative to the X, Y coordinate of each plane.

3D Tool and 3D Viewer

The 3D Tool enables you to modify the appearance of your 3D View in the 3D
Viewer. The 3D Tool is available in the Tools section of the Project Explorer and
will appear whenever a 3D Viewer is open. If more than one 3D Viewer is open, the
parameters of the 3D Tool will represent whichever Viewer currently has focus.
Note: To create an Oasis montaj 3D View requires the Oasis montaj Mapping and
Processing System (licensed version).
The 3D Tool consists of a dialog with four tabs and a 3D Viewer. Each tab enables
you modify different aspects of the 3D View within the 3D Viewer.

- enables you to modify the overall view of the 3D View on a map

- enables you to modify the individual planes within each 3D View

- enables you to add labels, axis, and a box around the 3D View

- enables you to adjust the rendering resolution in the 3D tool

- enables you to modify the voxel display parameters in the 3D tool

 Tutorial 14: 3D Views in Oasis montaj 229

View Tab

Use the 3D View tab to modify the overall view of your 3D view.

The View tab enables you to:

• Rotate your 3D View 360 degrees in all
directions
• Zoom in and out of the displayed View
• Use the Pan tool
• Centre the displayed View (reset focus
point of the View)
• Modify the brightness level
• Specify and fix the inclination of the
View
• Specify and fix the declination of the
View
• Specify the viewing distance from the
central focal point of the View

TO ROTATE THE 3D V IEW :

When you select the Rotate button the curser changes to the rotate mode, and enables
you to rotate the displayed View 360 degrees in all directions. Note that, users that
have a mouse wheel can zoom in and out while rotating the View, by turning the
wheel.

1. Select the Rotate button. The curser changes to rotate mode ( )

2. Left click, and while holding down on the mouse key move right to left or up and
down. The View will rotate in the direction in which you move the mouse.
Note: Moving the mouse from left to right turns the View in an anti-clockwise
direction, and moving right to left turns the image in a clockwise direction. If
the model is “upside-down”, the rotation will appear opposite to what you
expect.
TO ZOOM THE 3D V IEW :

When you select the Zoom button the curser changes to the zoom mode, and enables
you to zoom in and out of the displayed View.

1. Select the Zoom button. The curser changes to zoom mode ( ).

230 Tutorial 14: 3D Views in Oasis montaj

2. Left click, and while holding down on the mouse key move to the right to zoom in
and to the left to zoom out.
Note: You can also move the model closer and farther in any mode using the roller
on your mouse (if you have one).
TO USE THE PAN TOOL :

When you select the Pan button the curser changes to the pan mode, and enables you
to move the entire displayed View.

1. Select the Pan button. The curser changes to pan mode ( ).

2. Left click, and while holding down on the mouse key move the View right to left
or up and down. The entire View will move in the direction in which you move
the mouse.
TO CENTRE THE V IEW :

When you select the Centre button, the focus point of the 3D View is reset and the
current displayed 3D View is centred in the 3D Viewer.
1. Select the Centre button. The displayed View is centred.

TO MODIFY THE BRIGHTNESS LEVEL OF THE V IEW :

When you select the Brightness bar, you can modify the brightness of the displayed
View.
1. Select the Brightness bar.
2. Slide the bar to the left to increase the brightness level and to the right to
decreases the brightness level of the displayed View.
TO SPECIFY AND FIX THE INCLINATION OF THE V IEW :

1. Click inside the Inclination box and specify the inclination you want for the 3D
View, and then check the Fix box.
2. The View will be redrawn in the 3D Viewer with the new fixed inclination.

TO SPECIFY AND FIX THE DECLINATION OF THE V IEW :

1. Click inside the Declination box and specify the declination you want for the 3D
View, and then check the Fix box.
2. The View will be redrawn in the 3D Viewer with the new fixed declination.

TO SPECIFY THE DISTANCE OF THE V IEW :

The distance specifies the distance away from the centre focal point relative to the
longest displayed dimension. For example, a value of 5 will place the viewpoint 5
times the size of the View away from the centre of the View.
 Tutorial 14: 3D Views in Oasis montaj 231

1. Click inside the Distance box and specify the distance you want for the 3D View.
2. Click the OK button. The View will be redrawn in the 3D Viewer with the new
distance.
Planes Tab
Use the 3D Planes tab to modify the planes in your 3D view.

The Plane tab enables you to:

• Select the Plane to modify
• Click [Delete] to delete the current plane
• Select the plane Offset in Z units relative
to the plane coordinates.
• Specify the Transparency of the plane
• Indicate the name of the Relief grid (if
one is used for the selected plane)
• Specify the Sample resolution of the
relief grid
• Specify the Base value of the relief grid
• Specify the vertical Scale of the relief
grid
• Specify a minimum clipped value for
the relief grid
• Specify a maximum clipped value for
the relief grid

T O S ELECT THE P LANE TO MODIFY :

1. From the Plane dropdown menu select the plane to modify.

T O D ELETE THE CURRENT P LANE :

1. Using the Plane dropdown list, select the plane you want to delete and click the
[Delete] button. The Delete View dialog is displayed.
2. This dialog asks if you are sure you want to delete the plane. Click the [Yes]
button and the plane will be deleted from the current view.
T O S ELECT THE P LANE O FFSET IN Z UNITS :

1. In the Offsets box, specify the offset value in ground units. Press the [Enter] key.
The plane will be redrawn in the 3D viewer with the new offset.
T O S PECIFY THE T RANSPARENCY OF THE PLANE :

1. Move the Trans. Slider bar from left to right to increase the transparency.
Note: We use a “screen-door” dithering technique to make a plane transparent. This
method is fast and robust, but may not always give you what you expect
232 Tutorial 14: 3D Views in Oasis montaj

because the transparency screens will overlap in certain combinations. If you

only need to make one plane transparent transparency should work as you
expect. If you are displaying two planes and require both to be transparent,
you should set the transparency of each plane to 50%. If you want to make 3
or 4 planes transparent at the same time, set all planes to 25% transparency. In
the Sample box, specify the sample resolution.
T O S PECIFY THE R ELIEF G RID S AMPLE R ESOLUTION :

1. In the Sample box, set a sampling resolution that is reasonable for the detail
required in the relief surface. Higher sample resolutions provide more relief
detail at the expense of performance. You can select a number up to 768 (you
entry will be converted to an even multiple of 16). Press the [Enter] key. The
relief grid will be redrawn in the 3D viewer with the new sample resolution.
T O S PECIFY THE B ASE VALUE OF THE RELIEF GRID :

1. In the Base box, specify the base value of the relief grid. Press the [Enter] key.
The relief grid will be redrawn in the 3D viewer with the new base value.
T O S PECIFY THE VERTICAL S CALE OF THE RELIEF GRID :

1. In the Scale box, specify the vertical scale of the relief grid. Press the [Enter]
key. The relief grid will be redrawn in the 3D viewer with the new vertical scale.
T O S PECIFY A MINIMUM CLIPPED VALUE FOR THE RELIEF GRID :

The Clip minimum enables you to specify the minimum Z value of your relief grid.
Grid values below this will be clipped.
1. Click inside the Clip min box and specify the minimum value you want for the Z
data of the relief grid. Press the [Enter] key. The relief grid will be redrawn in the
3D viewer with the new minimum Z value.
T O S PECIFY A MAXIMUM CLIPPED VALUE FOR THE RELIEF GRID :

The Clip maximum enables you to specify the maximum Z value of your relief grid.
Grid values above this will be clipped.
1. Click inside the Clip max box and specify the maximum value you want for the Z
data of the relief grid. Press the [Enter] key. The relief grid will be redrawn in the
3D viewer with the new maximum Z value.
Axis Tab
Use the 3D Axis tab to add or modify the axis of your 3D view.
 Tutorial 14: 3D Views in Oasis montaj 233

The Axis tab enables you to:

• Add a box around the 3D View display

• Add an axis to the 3D View display
• Select the Background Colour of the 3D
view diaplay

• Specify the X axis label

• Specify the Y axis label

• Specify the Z axis label

TO ADD OR REMOVE AN AXIS ON A 3D V IEW :

The Axis check box enables you to draw an X, Y and Z axis on the View display.
1. Click the Axis check box to add or remove the X, Y, and Z axis on the View
display.
TO ADD OR REMOVE A BOX AROUND A 3D V IEW :

The Box check box enables you to draw rectangular box edges around the 3D volume
being rendered
1. Click the Box check box to add or remove the rectangular box edges around the
3D volume being rendered.
TO CHANGE THE B ACKGROUND C OLOUR OF THE 3D V IEW :

The Background Colour box enables you to specify the background colour of the 3D
View.
1. Click inside the Background Colour box to display the Color tool dialog. Using
this tool you can select a colour from the basic colour table or by clicking the
[Define Custom Colors>>] button you can specify a custom colour.
2. Click the [OK] button to apply the colour to the background of your 3D View.

TO SPECIFY LABELS FOR THE X, Y, AND Z AXIS OF A 3D V IEW :

You can specify the labels for the X, Y, and Z axis, if the axis is selected.
234 Tutorial 14: 3D Views in Oasis montaj

1. Click inside the X, Y and Z axis label box, and specify the titles you want to
display for your 3D View image.
2. Press the [Enter] key. The axis labels will be redrawn on your map with the new
axis titles.
3D Con Tab
Use the 3D Con tab to adjust the rendering resolution in the 3D tool.

Important information about the 3D Con tab:

• The controls on the 3D Con tab are system controls and changes made to this tab
will affect all 3D maps in your Oasis Montaj system.
• Full rendering occurs every time you modify the 3D view and the view is
redrawn.
• Fast rendering occurs when the image is in constantly motion for example while
rotating, zooming or panning.
• The 3D Views rendering process makes heavy use of the available memory on
your video card, and performance will be substantially reduced if your limits are
exceeded.
The 3D Con tab enables you to:
• Adjust the "full" redraw rendering
resolution

• Adjust the "fast" motion rendering

resolution

• Independently adjust the scale of the

three axis X, Y and Z

TO ADJUST THE FULL REDRAW RENDERING RESOLUTION :

The ‘full’ redraw rendering resolution occurs every time you modify the 3D view and
the view is redrawn.
 Tutorial 14: 3D Views in Oasis montaj 235

1. Move the Full render resolution slider bar from left to right to increase the
resolution.
TO ADJUST THE FAST REDRAW RENDERING RESOLUTION :

The ‘full’ redraw rendering resolution occurs when the image is in constant motion,
for example while rotating, zooming or panning.
1. Move the Fast render resolution slider bar from left to right to increase the
resolution.
TO MODIFY THE S CALE OF X, Y AND Z COORDINATE :

The Scale option enables you to independently modify the X, Y and Z coordinates.
1. Specify the Scale for the X, Y and Z coordinates (note that, each coordinate can
have its own scale factor).Press the <Enter> key and the scale will be updated in
the 3D Viewer.
3D Voxel Tab
Use the 3D Voxel tab to modify the voxel display parameters in the 3D tool.

The 3D Voxel tab enables you to:

• Select the voxel to modify
• select Color Tool
• select Voxel statistics
• select add a box around Voxel
• select display Voxel grid lines
• select Voxel Controls dialog
• Specify the Transparency of the voxel
• Adjust the Data range using slider or
data boxes
• Adjust the X range using slider
• Adjust the Y range using slider
• Adjust the Z range using slider
Note: To adjust the X,Y and/or Z ranges by
specifying exact values, click the Voxel
Controls button.
TO SELECT A V OXEL TO MODIFY :

1. From the Voxel dropdown list select the voxel to modify.

236 Tutorial 14: 3D Views in Oasis montaj

TO ACCESS THE C OLOR TOOL :

1. Click the Color tool ( ) button and the Color Symbol Tool will be displayed.
2. The Colour Symbol Tool enables you to interactively edit/modify the colour
zoning of your zone coloured symbols, store your custom colour configurations in
specialized colour palette files (*.ITR, *.ZON, *.TBL and *.LUT) and apply the
colour palette files to any of your zone symbols. For more information, click the
[Help] button on the color Symbol Tool.
3. Click the [OK] button to close the Color symbol tool and return to the 3D Tool.

TO ACCESS THE V OXEL STATISTICS :

1. Click the Voxel statistics ( ) button and the Voxel statistics dialog is displayed.
2. This dialog displays the Voxel Name, Valid Data, Dummies, Volume, Minimum,
Maximum, Mean Value and Standard Deviation.
3. Click the X on the top right corner to close the dialog and return to the 3D tool.

TO ADD / REMOVE A BOX FROM AROUND THE V OXEL :

1. Click the add box around Voxel ( ) button and a box will be added/removed
to/from the Voxel.
2. This button works as a toggle you can toggle on or off the Voxel box.

TO DISPLAY V OXEL GRID LINES :

1. Click the display Voxel grid lines () button and the Voxel colour shading will
be removed/added and the Voxel grid/Voxel colour fill will be displayed.
2. This button works as a toggle you can toggle on or off the Voxel grid lines or
colour shading.
TO DISPLAY V OXEL CONTROLS DIALOG :

1. Click the Voxel controls ( ) button and the Voxel Controls dialog will be
displayed.
2. Using either the slider bars or the corresponding value boxes, specify the Data
Range, X Range, Y Range and Z Range values for your Voxel display.
3. Click the [OK] button and the Voxel will be updated with the new data ranges.

TO SPECIFY THE TRANSPARENCY OF THE V OXEL :

1. Move the Transparency slider bar from right to left to increase the transparency.

TO INTERACTIVELY MODIFY D ATA RANGE :

1. Using the slider bars specify the Data range and the Voxel will be updated
simultaneously.
 Tutorial 14: 3D Views in Oasis montaj 237

Note: If you specify new Data ranges by specifying values in the data boxes, you
must press the <Enter> key to update the Voxel.
TO INTERACTIVELY MODIFY MY X, Y, Z RANGES :

1. Using the slider bars specify the X, Y, Z ranges and the Voxel displayed in the 3D
Viewer will be updated simultaneously.

3D Rendering Memory Requirements

You can adjust the rendering resolution for 3D Views on the 3D Con tab. The
controls on this tab are system controls and changes made to this tab will affect all 3D
maps in your Oasis Montaj system.

The 3D Views rendering process makes heavy use of the available memory on your
video card, and performance will be substantially reduced if your limits are exceeded.

Full render resolution:

When the full render resolution is set to maximum it can easily consume hundreds of
megabytes of memory (200-600 megs). If you do not have adequate memory
available your computer will start to thrash, your hard drive light will turn on and stay
on and the rendering will take a very long time. If you have less than 256 megs of
RAM, you should not increase this control.

Fast render resolution:

The fast render resolution moves 128k to the video card at the low range, 2 megs at
the middle range and 24 megs at the high range. This means that every time you draw
in FAST mode you move that much memory to the video card. Unfortunately, if your
memory bandwidth is low or your video card is not very fast this slows down the
rendering time.
238 Tutorial 15: Data Access Protocol (DAP)

Tutorial 15: Data Access Protocol (DAP)

Oasis montaj includes a Geosoft DAP client which enables users to search and
retrieve geoscientific datasets, imagery and other map data directly form a DAP
server on a local network or on the Internet. There are two types of DAP clients, a
thick client (a desktop software application) and a thin client (web browser).

Oasis montaj, MapInfo and ArcGIS are thick DAP client software applications.
Thick client applications enable you to download and save the actual data to your
hard drive, so you can use the data in Oasis montaj or any other GIS or spatial data
processing program.

Thin clients, like Geosoft’s DAP Data Explorer use a web browser to browse, view
and extract data from a DAP server. Visit www.geodap.com/map/ and see how it
works!

Geosoft’s DAP capability enables both licensed and free Viewer users to access a
special DAP server set up by Geosoft. This server contains global topographic data at
1000 m resolution as well as DNAG magnetic and gravity data for North America
and a variety of other datasets and associated metadata. These data sets can be used to
create sample maps in Oasis montaj and to learn about the newest technology for
accessing high volume data via the Internet.

DAP’s main features include:

• Large Volume Data Transfer: DAP technology handles the efficient transfer of
very high-volume spatial data, and its associated metadata, through a streaming
technology.

• Spatially Aware: DAP is spatially aware, enabling user-specified spatial

querying and retrieval.

• Ready-to-use Data: DAP provides localized data that matches your current Oasis
montaj map window and projection information.

• Safe and Efficient Data Transfer: DAP data transfer technology provides direct
DAP client/server communication enabling the transfer of encrypted and
compressed data that maintains original data integrity.

TO ACCESS THE DAP SERVER USING O ASIS MONTAJ :

Data on Geosoft’s DAP server is accessed through the Oasis Montaj DAP menu.
Once connection to a DAP server has been established the server will determine what
data matches the data view of your map. You will then be presented with a list of grid
data that is available to be downloaded and displayed on your map.
 Tutorial 15: Data Access Protocol (DAP) 239

Note that, you must have a selected open map (with projection assigned to it) in your
current project.
1. On the DAP menu, click Get DAP data. The Authorize Internet Communication
dialog is displayed. Note: If your Internet Trust Configuration is set to "Trusted"
this dialog will not appear.
2. Click the [Authorize] button. The system will query the DAP server to determine
what data the DAP server has that matches the data view of your current map.
When a match has been made the Get DAP Data retrieval dialog will be
displayed.

3. You will then be presented with a list of data that is available. Select your data
and click the [Get Data] button. The DAP Data Options dialog is displayed.
Specify the Grid Options and click the [OK] button to download and display the
grid on your current map. For more information, click the [Help] button on the
DAP dialog boxes.
240 Tutorial 15: Data Access Protocol (DAP)

Authorizing Your Internet Communication Settings

The Authorize Internet Communication dialog box enables you to authorize what
communication takes place between your Oasis montaj system and the Geosoft
Internet Server. The Internet Trust Relationship dialog box enables you to select
the default setting for authorizing all future communication with the server.

All communication with the Geosoft Server is encrypted for your privacy and
security.

Authorize Internet Communication Dialog

This dialog box is displayed when Oasis montaj tries to communicate with an
internet server. For example, when you try to locate data on the DAP server.
• Click the [Authorize] button to authorize the communication and download the
data.
• Click [Deny] to cancel the communication. The data will not be downloaded.
• Click [Security] to view the Internet Trust Relationship dialog box and
change your default authorization setting (see below).

Internet Trust Relationship Dialog

This dialog box enables you to set the type of access you want when communicating
with an internet or external server to download and install software components.

You can select from three levels of access that will define how the Geosoft Server
will communicate with your computer:

Trusted
This setting will automatically authorize all communication with the server.
This means that you will not be prompted to verify each time you data from the
DAP server. All communication with the server is saved in a log file on your local
computer so that you can check to see what information was sent and received.

Verify
This setting will ask you to verify all communication with the server before
proceeding with a download. This means that whenever you query the DAP server,
the server will show you what is being requested and ask you to authorize it.

Click the [Accept] button to give permission to connect to the server or click the
[Deny] button if you do not want toconnect.

All communication with the server is saved in a log file on your local computer so
that you can check to see what information was sent and received. This is the
default setting.
 Tutorial 15: Data Access Protocol (DAP) 241

Restricted
This setting will not authorize any communication with the server. This means
that you do not want any communication with the server to take place. With this
setting, you will not be able to connect to the server.

Tip: You can modify your Internet Trust Settings at any time by clicking the
Internet Settings menu item on the Edit menu.

Metadata Browser

The Metadata Browser is a tool for viewing metadata associated with a dataset.

Metadata is information about data. Metadata can be simple or complex and the
descriptive needs of different kinds of data are infinitely diverse. To allow for this
and provide flexibility, Geosoft metadata is stored in a hierarchical data structure
called a "meta". The Metadata browser will displays the meta structure (also called a
"schema") and the metadata information of a specific data source. Each branch of a
metadata structure may contain a set of Attributes with associated Values, and other
branches.

Following is an example of the metadata that Geosoft may store with Oasis montaj
grid files:

Data: The Data branch contains all metadata associated with any spatial data type.
The information at the "Data" level is common to all types of spatial data.
242 Tutorial 15: Data Access Protocol (DAP)

Grid: This example describes a grid of data, hence there is a "Grid" branch, which
contains metadata that is specific to grids.

Display: Grids may contain display information about the grid data set, which is
stored in the "Grid/Display" branch.

Statistics: Grids may contain statistical information about the grid data set, which is
stored in the "Grid/Statistics" branch.

Location: The information that locates a 2-D grid array within the "Data" coordinate
system is stored in the "Grid/Location" branch.

T O V IEW M ETADATA IN THE M ETAD ATA B ROWSER :

Metadata, that is associated with any dataset, including all the data in the Project
Explorer, can be viewed using the Metadata Browser.
1. On the Grid menu, select Grid Info. The Grid Statistics dialog is displayed.

2. Using the [Browse] button, select the grid with the attached metadata.

3. Click the [Report] button, to display the Basic grid report dialog.

4. Click the [Meta] button, to display the Metadata Browser Tool.

For more help information, click the [Help] button on the Metadata Browser.
 Tutorial 16: Trend Enforcement Gridding Tool 243

Tutorial 16: Trend Enforcement Gridding Tool

This tutorial is designed to demonstrate how you can use the Trend Enforcement
Gridding Tool to alleviate a traditional problem in gridding geophysical data, i.e. the
aliasing problem that occurs due to the presence of more samples “along the lines”
than across lines. This problem leads to obvious effects including ellipsoids or
ellipsoidal “beads” between lines in gridded data. There are various solutions to these
types of effects including filtering and gridding along trend directions. However,
these techniques may reduce geologic signal or obscure local trends.

In this tutorial, you will first grid a database and examine the resulting grid. You will
notice that there are areas of the grid that have “jagged” edges which can be
misinterpreted as faults and that may complicate geologic interpretation.

These effects occur as an artefact of the gridding process and are independent of the
method (i.e. line-based gridding or random gridding). In the case of random gridding
(i.e. using RANGRID), the result would be a “bull’s eyes” effect rather than jagged
edges (i.e. from BIGRID).

A traditional solution is to add a trend line. This method works as long as you match
high values and low values. The Trend Enforcement algorithm is designed to
perform this process automatically – smoothly joining highs to highs, and lows to
lows. The algorithm also makes sure that the highs and lows do not cross (i.e.
backtrack).

Before trend enforcement After trend enforcement

244 Tutorial 16: Trend Enforcement Gridding Tool

The Trend Enforcement Gridding Tool algorithm is designed to provide a solution

that preserves the character of local trends while eliminating aliasing effects. This
tutorial will show you how to:
• Create a project (page 244)
• Access the Trend enforcement menus (page 245)
• Open a database for manipulation (page 246)
• Grid your data using Bigrid (page 246)
• Display colour-shaded grid (page 248)
• Find trends with the Trend Enforcement Tool (page 249)
• Access trend line channels in the database (page 250)
• Plot trends (page 251)
• Add your own trends (page 252)
• Grid trend enforced data (page 253)
• Deselect/Select trend lines (page 255)

Before you begin

This section describes how to begin working with the Trend Enforcement system in
Oasis montaj. The topics discussed in this chapter include:
• Create a project
• Access the Trend Enforcement menus
This tutorial uses sample data provided on the Oasis montaj CD and installed in your
C:\Program Files\Geosoft\Oasis montaj\data\trend directory. Before you begin the
tutorial you need to create a working directory to store all your data.

To start this tutorial, please create a working directory called D:\Tutorial. A general
rule to follow in working with Geosoft applications is to avoid working in the
Geosoft directory. In these tutorials, we will follow this rule by keeping all the
working data, found in C:\Program Files\Geosoft\Oasis montaj\data\trend, in your
working directory D:\Tutorial.

Creating a project
To work in Oasis montaj requires an open project. An Oasis montaj "Project"
controls your working directory. When you create a project, the system assumes that
all your project files are located in the same directory.

T O C REATE A P ROJECT :

1. Start Oasis montaj.

2. On the File menu, select Project and then click New. The New Project dialog is
displayed.
 Tutorial 16: Trend Enforcement Gridding Tool 245

Note: Oasis montaj assumes that your data is in the directory containing this project
(i.e. D:\Tutorial)
3. Specify a name and directory for the project. For example, name the project
(Trend) and specify the working directory as D:\Tutorial.
4. Click the [Save] button. The system saves the project and indicates it is open by
adding menus to the menu bar, adding buttons to the Standard Short-cut bar and
by displaying the Project Explorer window. These are visual clues indicating that
you are ready to start working with the system.

Accessing the Trend Enforcement menus

The Trend enforcement menu can be accessed from the Grid menu on the Oasis
montaj main menu bar.

TO ACCESS THE T REND E NFORCEMENT M ENU :

1. On the Grid menu, select Gridding and then select Trend enforcement. The Trend
Enforcement menu will be displayed.

TRENDDB.GX

TRNDPATH.GX

TRNDDIGI.GX

2. These menus items (GXs) will enable you to eliminate aliasing effects while
preserving the character of local trends.
246 Tutorial 16: Trend Enforcement Gridding Tool

Opening a Database
In this exercise, you will be working with the database (trend_mag.gdb), which
should be copied into your current working directory D:\Tutorial.

T O D ISPLAY A D ATABASE

1. On the Data menu, select Open database. The Open database dialog is displayed.

2. Select the (trend_mag.gdb) and click the [Open] button. The database is opened
and displayed in a spreadsheet window.

Gridding your data using Bigrid

Gridding refers to the process of interpolating data onto an equally spaced “grid” of
values in a specified coordinate system, such as X-Y. The Trend Enforcement Tool
enables you to use either the Bigrid (Bi-Directional) gridding method for line-based
data, and Rangrid (Minimum curvature) or Kriging (Statistical local estimation)
gridding technique for random based data. In this exercise we will use the Bigrid
method.

T O A PPLY B I -D IRECTIONAL G RIDDING TO D ATA:

1. On the Grid menu, select Gridding, then select Bi-Directional line gridding, and
then select Dialog Controls. The Bi-directional gridding of line data dialog is
displayed.
 Tutorial 16: Trend Enforcement Gridding Tool 247

2. Using the Channel to grid dropdown list, select Mag. Specify the Output grid as
(trend) and specify the Grid cell size, as (25).
Note: If no cell size is specified, the default is ¼ of the line spacing. For more
information, click the [Help] button.
3. To access the Advanced gridding parameters, click the [Advanced>] button. The
Advanced Gridding options dialog is displayed.

4. You can leave these parameters to the intelligent default values. For more
information, click the [Help] button.
5. To return to the Bi-directional gridding of line data dialog click the [<Back]
button. Click the [OK] button to grid the data. The grid (trend.gdb) is displayed
in a temporary map.
248 Tutorial 16: Trend Enforcement Gridding Tool

Displaying a Colour Shaded Grid

When working with the Trend Enforcement Tool system it is sometimes useful to
display the data as a Colour-shaded grid.

T O D ISPLAY C OLOUR S HADED G RID :

1. On the Grid menu, select Display grid and then select Colour-shaded grid. The
Colour-shaded grid image dialog is displayed.
 Tutorial 16: Trend Enforcement Gridding Tool 249

2. Using the Grid name dropdown list, select (trend.grd). Leave the remaining
parameters to the default values and click the [Current Map] button to display
the Colour-shaded grid on the current map (trend.grd).

Colour-shaded grid displaying aliasing effects

Finding Trends
A traditional problem in gridding geophysical data is the aliasing problem that occurs
due to the presence of more samples “along the lines” than “across lines”. This leads
to obvious effects including ellipsoids or ellipsoidal “beads” between lines in gridded
data.

T O F IND T RENDS :

1. On the Grid menu, select Gridding|Trend Enforcement and then select Find
trends. The Find trend lines in a database dialog is displayed.
250 Tutorial 16: Trend Enforcement Gridding Tool

2. Using the Data channel for trends dropdown list, select (mag). In the Window for
Max-Min Search box, specify (500) and in the Preferred angle for trends box
specify (125). Then, in the Allowable deviation in angle box, specify (30.0) and in
the Maximum length for joins box, specify (1000). You can leave the remaining
parameters to the intelligent default values. For a detailed description of these
parameters, click the [Help] button.
3. When ready to continue, click the [OK] button. The system calculates the Trend
lines and places this information in your database.
Note: When using Rangrid as your gridding technique, you must specify a value in
the “Re-sampling interval along trends” parameter. If no value is entered, the
Trend Enforcement Tool will not calculate the appropriate trend lines. For
more information on Finding Trends click the [Help] button.

Accessing Trend Lines in Database

You may want to review your trend lines before you plot them on a map or regrid
your data using the trend enforced data.

T O A CCESS T REND L INES IN D ATABASE :

1. To access the trend lines select your database (trend_mag.gdb).

2. Click on the Line Header Cell (upper left cell). Click the right mouse button.
From the popup menu select List. Another popup menu will appear containing a
list of the lines in the database. Scroll down the list and select R0:0 (the minima
trend lines). The system displays the minima trend lines (start and end points) in
the database.
 Tutorial 16: Trend Enforcement Gridding Tool 251

Note: When you click on a data value (X, Y or Z) in the database, you will notice
that the linked map cursor moves to the selected location of the trend line on
the map.

Linked data point

Plotting Trend Lines

The Trend Enforcement Tool displays the trend lines in the original database. Two
new lines will be added, R0:0 (Minima trend) and R1:0 (Maxima trend).

T O P LOT T REND L INES :

1. On the Grid menu, select Gridding|Trend Enforcement and then select Plot
trends. The Trend Line path plot dialog is displayed.

2. Using the Colour for minimum trends (R0, R2, etc) and the Colour for maximum
trends (R1, R3, etc), select (red) and (blue) and for Line thickness specify (0.15).
(These colours are the opposite of the gridding convention so that these show up
clearly on the map.)
252 Tutorial 16: Trend Enforcement Gridding Tool

3. Click the [OK] button. The No defined map scale dialog is displayed.

4. Note that, this dialog is displayed whenever drawing to a map for which a map
scale has not been defined. This situation most commonly occurs when a map has
been opened just to display a grid image (as applies here). A map scale is
required to determine appropriate scaling for drawing text, patterned lines, and
other map graphic details.
5. Click the [OK] button to accept the default parameters, for more information
click the [Help] button.
6. The trend lines are plotted on the current map (trend.map).

Trend lines, Maximum values (blue), Minimum values (red).

Adding Your Own Trend Lines

The Trend Enforcement Tool may not find all of the trend lines in your database.
You can interactively digitize a trend line from a grid and add it to the end of a line in
the current database. You also have the ability to resample the trend line to a
specified sample interval (necessary when using the random gridding techniques).
 Tutorial 16: Trend Enforcement Gridding Tool 253

T O A DD Y OUR O WN T REND LINES :

1. On the Grid menu, select Gridding|Trend Enforcement and then select Add trend
line. The Add new digitized trend line dialog is displayed.

2. Using the [Browse] button, locate the Grid to digitize as (trend2_s.grd) and from
the Output channel dropdown list, select (mag). In the Re-sample interval box
specify (25). (It is recommended that the trend line be re-sampled at the same cell
size as the grid.)
3. Click the [OK] button to continue. The Digitize to database dialog box is
displayed.

7. Click the [OK] button to begin digitizing.

8. Draw a Trend Line by selecting points (either minimum or maximum point
values) on the displayed grid. When you are finished each line, click the right-
mouse button and select Done.
9. The digitized trend line data values, which have been interpolated to the specified
re-sample interval, will be added to trend line “R2” in the database. Additional
trend lines added to the database will be added to the end of trend line “R2”
separated by a dummy value ( * ).

Gridding Trend Enforced Data

You can now re-grid your data, using the same parameters as the trend.grd.

T O A PPLY B I -D IRECTIONAL G RIDDING TO T REND E NFORCED D ATA:

1. On the Grid menu, click Gridding, then click Bi-Directional line gridding, and
then click Dialog Controls. The Bi-directional gridding of line data dialog is
displayed.
254 Tutorial 16: Trend Enforcement Gridding Tool

2. We will be using the same parameters as the original grid (trend.grd) except we
will change the name of the Output grid file to (Trend_2.grd).
3. Click the [OK] button to grid the data and display the grid in a temporary map.

Comparing the two grids

We can display the two grids side by side to see the difference the trend enforced
gridding has on the data.
 Tutorial 16: Trend Enforcement Gridding Tool 255

The original grid trend.grd (left) the Trended grid trend_2.grd (right).
Note: The actual data values and locations are exactly the same in both grids. The
Trend Enforcement Tool forces the gridding process to honour the trended
data. Trend lines must be selected to be included in gridding. You can
deselect the trend line(s) for other processes with the database.

Deselecting/Selecting Trend Lines

You may want to deselect/select your trend lines for other processing applications.

T O D ESELECT /S ELECT T REND L INES IN A D ATABASE :

To access the trend lines select your database (trend_mag.gdb).

1. Click on the Line Header Cell (upper left cell).
2. Click the right mouse button and from the popup menu, select Selections and then
select Selection Tool.
256 Tutorial 16: Trend Enforcement Gridding Tool

3. The Line Selection Tool dialog box is displayed.

4. Scroll down the list and highlight R0:0 then click the [Deselect highlight] button.
The check mark beside the line is removed.
5. Repeat the previous step for R1:0 and R2:0. Click the [OK] button to continue.

6. To select lines repeat above procedure clicking the [Select highlight] button and
a check mark will be placed beside the line.
 Appendix 1: Understanding Spheroids and Datums 257

Appendix 1: Understanding Spheroids and Datums

Spheroids

A spheroid is an oblate ellipsoid of revolution (basically an ellipsoid) that is used to

model the surface of the earth for making maps. A spheroid is defined by an earth
radius, which is the major axis of the ellipsoid, and the flattening (f), which can also
be expressed as the eccentricity (e) or ellipticity (l).

l = 1/f
e = sqrt((2/l) - 1/(l*l))
e = sqrt(2f - f*f )
In the past, as cartographers created maps of different parts of the earth, spheroids
were chosen to best approximate the shape of the earth in the region of the map. This
led to a number of different spheroids or ellipsoids (such as Clarke 1866, Hayford
1910, etc.) that are in common use for different parts of the world.

In some cases, maps of a particular region of the earth have been created with
different spheroids and it is necessary to convert coordinates from one spheroid to
another. This only works if both spheroids share the same earth centre, which they
normally will for older maps. This is because map survey work has normally used
gravity as the reference for the earth centre, and maps of the same area will clearly
have used the same gravity field.

Datums

The problem with using spheroids alone to define an earth model becomes apparent
when working with satellite locations from GPS receivers. GPS systems commonly
base locations on a spheroid known as World Geodetic System 1984 (WGS 1984),
which naturally places the centre of the earth at the true centre of gravity.
Unfortunately, this differs from the earth centre that has been used for most local
maps of the world because these maps use an assumed earth centre based on the local
gravity field, which is perpendicular to the geoid at that location.

To account for this we need a datum. A datum includes a spheroid and an earth centre
offset from WGS 1984. Some datums may also include a rotation of the minor axis of
the spheroid relative to WGS 1984. Datums for various countries and regions of the
world have been compiled and defined in the MAPPROJ.DTM file.

W HAT DOES THIS MEAN ?

What this means is that longitude/latitude in one datum is not necessarily the same as
in another datum (there may be an offset and rotation). Before the earth centre was
introduced, all we needed was a spheroid (ie. Hayford 1910). This worked fine for
258 Appendix 1: Understanding Spheroids and Datums

projections within the same country or region of the earth because the earth centre
was the same. Note that Hayford 1910 is not a datum, it is a spheroid. If the spheroid
alone is specified, an earth offset (X,Y,Z) of (0,0,0) with no rotation (see
MAPPROJ.DTM) is required.

Working with spheroids and datums

A common mistake that is made when using projections in Oasis montaj is to mix
projections based on a spheroid with projections that use a datum. For example, you
may be in South America and you have data that is defined as using the Hayford 1910
spheroid, and you wish to convert this to a local map datum, say the Brazil Corrego
Alegre datum, which is based on the International 1924 spheroid with an earth centre
offset of (206,-172,6). In this case, your input projection datum should be HAYF1910
(Hayford 1910), and your output projection datum should be INT1924 (International
1924), NOT 55INT924 (Brazil Corrego Allegre). This is because you only know the
spheroid of the input, not the full datum, so you must only use the spheroid of the
output system and assume that both coordinates use the same earth centre, which is
usually the case.

The only exception is when dealing with GPS locations based on WGS 1984 as the
input coordinate. Here, you in fact do know the full datum of the input because all
WGS 1984 has a (0,0,0) offset. In this case, specify the input projection as WGS1984
and the output projection as 55INT924.

Understanding local datums

Local datum transforms are used to convert coordinates between different map
datums. For example, a local datum transform is required to convert longitude,
latitude coordinates on the WGS 84 datum to longitude, latitude coordinates on the
NAD27 (North American Datum 1927). The difference in location that arises
between map datums can be up to several hundred metres.

The key to understanding local datum transforms is an understanding of the geoid and
its relationship to a Datum. A geoid is the actual shape of the earth at mean sea level,
which is everywhere normal due to the earth’s gravitational force. Because of local
and regional variations in the earth’s gravity field, the geoid is not a perfect
mathematical form, but rather it has local variations. These variations are illustrated
in the following diagram (from Verhoogan, John, Francis J. Turner, Lionel E. Weiss,
Clyde Wahrhaftig, William S. Fyfe (1970), The Earth, Holt, Rinehart and Winston,
Inc., New York.):
 Appendix 1: Understanding Spheroids and Datums 259

topographic surface

geoid

ellipsoid

To make maps, an ellipsoid is used to approximate the geoid for a specific region of
the world. An ellipsoid is an ellipse rotated about its shorter axis (also called an
oblate spheroid), which is what the geoid would be if the mass of the earth were
uniformly distributed. A datum is the earth model that is used to map a specific
region of the world. A datum includes an ellipsoid (described by the major axis and
flattening), the prime meridian (location of 0 longitude, normally Greenwich
England), and a tie point, which is the location on the earth at which the ellipsoid and
the geoid are the same for the region that the Datum is used. The ellipsoid and tie
point have been chosen so that the differences between the surface of the ellipsoid
and the geoid are minimised. Most common mapping operations within the same
datum are only concerned with the ellipsoid, which is why an ellipsoid name is often
used interchangeably with a datum name.

With the advent of satellites and later the Global Positioning System, it became
necessary to define datums tied to the gravitational centre of the earth (as opposed to
being tied to a location on the earth’s surface). Such datums are called geocentric, and
the most common example is WGS 84. Most of the difference between an earth
surface ties datum and a geocentric datum can be described by a shift in the location
of the centre of the ellipsoid (the assumed earth centre). However, there can also be a
small rotation difference caused by differences in the direction of North, and a scale
factor caused by differences between the elevation of the tie point and mean sea level.
In addition, local perturbations of the geoid that result from local gravity variations
within a Datum will produce additional “residual” differences.

To convert between datums requires knowledge about all aspects of both datums (the
ellipsoids, prime meridians and the local perturbations of the Geoid). There are a
number of methods used to transform coordinates between datums (see
http://www.petroconsultants.com/products/geodetic2.html), although in practice, the
following two methods supported in Oasis montaj are the most commonly used:

Method 1

The most familiar method is to perform an earth centre shift, rotation and scale,
commonly referred to as the Bursa Wolf 7-parameter transform (parameters are
X,Y,Z offsets, X,Y,Z rotations and a scale factor). The Molodenski transform is a
simplification that deals with three parameters only (X,Y,Z offsets). These transforms
260 Appendix 1: Understanding Spheroids and Datums

are only close approximations to the true perturbations, and datums that cover a large
region often require a number of different "local" definitions (for example, NAD27
has at least 6 different transforms to WGS 84).

The Bursa Wolf transform is supported in Oasis montaj. Parameters of the transform
are listed in the file “datumtrf.csv” for different local datums, and the file
“ldatum.csv” contains a reference list based on the common area of use for each
datum transform.

Method 2

Some national mapping agencies have carefully measured accurate “residual”

differences across a Datum. This is done by measuring the differences between local
map coordinates and WGS 84 at numerous locations. Such differences are described
by “correction "grids”, which contain longitude, latitude and elevation shifts as a
function of location. Examples are NADCON in the US and NTv2 in Canada, both of
which are supported in Oasis montaj (NTv2 in Oasis Montaj is a 20 minute
approximation of the full NTv2 transform). Note that NADCON and NTv2 are not
accurately defined for offshore areas and should not be used for offshore mapping
purposes.

In Oasis montaj, the residual grids are stored as compressed look-up tables in files
with extension “.ll2” in the Oasis montaj/etc directory. The name of the table is
found in the square brackets that are part of the local datum transform name. For
example, the lookup tables used for local datum transform “*NAD27 NTv2 (20 min)
[NTv2]” are found in the file “NTv2.ll2”.

Note that Bursa Wolf transforms are very much faster than NADCON or NTv2, and
will normally be accurate to the sub-metre level for local regions. In future, as more
correction grid models are defined, they will be added to the model list.

Choosing a local datum transform

A local datum transform is used to convert coordinates between different datums. The
most common example of this is the conversion of GPS locations on the WGS-84
datum to a local map datum. The list below shows the options for the Choose local
datum transform dialog box.

Datum The currently selected datum name is displayed for your

information. You must go back to the previous dialog to change
the datum.
 Appendix 1: Understanding Spheroids and Datums 261

Local datum Select a local datum transform name from the list. Normally, the
transform list will only include known local datum(s) for the Datum
specified. If there are no local datum for the datum specified, all
datums will be available in the list and the default transform will
be “<unknown>”. If you do not know the local datum transform
to use, or if you will always be working the same datum, you will
want to select the <unknown> option in this box. When this
option is applied, no local transform is used.

[List All] If the specified datum has a set of known local datum transforms,
these will appear in the list by default. However, if you have
chosen the wrong datum, and you know the local datum
transform, you may choose to list all known local datum
transforms.

Local datum CSV files

Local datum transforms are listed in the files “ldatum.csv”, which is the list used by
this dialog. The local datum EPSG/POSC1 name is referenced in the “Datum_trf”
column of this file, and the “datumtrf.csv” file contains the actual local datum
transform parameters. If you add your own custom local datum, it must be added to
both files.

Each local datum transform has an associated Datum (such as NAD27). If you choose
a local datum transform that is for a datum different from the one selected previously,
the datum will be changed. This is allowed, but under normal circumstances it means
that there is probably something wrong about the coordinate system you are using.
Changing the datum should therefore only be done with caution and an understanding
of datum issues.

Adding your own local datum transform

You cannot add lookup-based local datum transforms. You can add your own 7-
parameter local datum transforms to the datum tables. For example, perhaps we want
to define a special version of the “Luzon 1911” datum that we have used which is
part of the Philippines.

T O A DD A L OCAL D ATUM T RANSFORM :

1. To add this datum, you need to modify two CSV files in the Geosoft directory
using the following information:

EPSG datum name The name of the datum on which the local transform is
based. This should be an accepted EPSG name, one of the

1
EPSG (European Petroleum Survey Group) / POSC (Petrotechnical Open Software Corporation).
262 Appendix 1: Understanding Spheroids and Datums

datum names listed in the table “datum.csv”. In this case,

the datum is “Luzon 1911”.

Transform name Choose a name that describes the datum. Since your name
is not an EPSG name, you must start the name with a “*”
character. For example, “*Luzon special”.

Area of use Describe the area of use so that the transform can be chosen
based on the area. For example, “[Luzon 1911] Philippines
-special”. By convention, we include the datum name in
square brackets at the beginning of each area of use
description.

dX,dY,dZ Translation vector in metres to be added to a geocentric

Cartesian coordinate point in the projection to produce
WGS 84 geocentric Cartesian coordinates. For example, “-
130,-77,-50”. Note that the sign convention is important,
and Geosoft conforms to EPSG convention as described
here. The inverse sign convention is also in common use
elsewhere.

rX,rY,rZ Rotations in arc-seconds (degrees/3600) to be added to a

geocentric Cartesian coordinate point vector in the
projection to produce a WGS 84 geocentric Cartesian
coordinate vector. The sign convention is such that a
positive rotation about an axis is defined as a clockwise
rotation of the position vector when viewed from the
positive direction of the axis. A positive rotation about the
Z axis (Rz) will result in a larger longitude. Most transforms
(all Molodenski based projections) will use “0,0,0”.

Scale The scale correction to be multiplied by the geocentric

Cartesian coordinate in the map projection to obtain the
correct scale in WGS 84 coordinates. This scale is
expressed in ppm so that the actual scale is (1 +
scale/1,000,000). For example, “0.225”.
2. Once you have gathered this information, edit the file “datumtrf.csv” (this can be
edited in Excel or in a text editor). The first line of the file contains the column
header that describes each data field as follows:

DATUM_TRF,CODE,MAPINFO,AREA_OF_USE,DATUM,TARGET,DX,DY,DZ,RX,RY,RZ,SCALE

For the transform described in the example above, the line would be:

“*Luzon special”,,,"[Luzon 1911] Philippines - special","Luzon 1911","WGS 84",-130,-77,-

50,0,0,0,0.225
 Appendix 1: Understanding Spheroids and Datums 263

The “CODE” and “MAPINFO” columns are used to reference the EPSG code and
MapInfo code when exporting data to these systems. In this case, these codes are not
known and are left blank. Unknown MapInfo codes can also be set to “0”. The
“WGS84” is specified as the “TARGET” since these transform parameters are
relative to WGS84 (by far the most commonly used geocentric datum).
3. Now edit the “ldatum.csv” file and add an entry so that the transform will be
visible to the user in the projection wizard dialogue screens. This table contains
the following columns:

AREA_OF_USE,DATUM,DATUM_TRF

The new entry would be:

"[Luzon 1911] Philippines – special ","Luzon 1911","“*Luzon special"

The DATUM_TRF in this file must match exactly the DATUM_TRF column in the
“datumtrf.csv ” file.
264 Appendix 1: Understanding Spheroids and Datums

Oasis montaj projection files and reference tables

This section is for users who want to develop their own projections or know the
details of the projection methods used in Oasis montaj. The section contains
information on the various files used by Oasis montaj for projections.

GI projection files (*.gi)

Map views and databases have the projection information imbedded in the file.

Oasis montaj stores all the projection information for a particular grid file (.grd) in a
GI (.gi) file. For example, the grid file mag.grd, would have an associated projection
file named mag.grd.gi.

Important! When copying a grid file to another directory, you must copy any
existing (grd.gi) files associated with the data file in order to
maintain the projection information for the grid.

Projection table files

Oasis montaj 5.1 uses CSV files as lookup tables for projection information. These
reference files are described in the list below:

Reference Files Description

List of all known projected coordinate systems, provides the

ipj_pcs.csv
Transform and the Datum lookup names

transform.csv List of known transforms of the world, and their parameters

List of known datums of the world, provides central meridian

datum.csv
and the ellipsoid lookup

ellipsoid.csv All known ellipsoids of the world and their parameters

All known local datums, provides Datum lookup and the local
datumtrf.csv
datum transform parameters

A listing of local datums by area of use. This table is only

ldatum.csv
used by the Projection Wizard

All names in the tables are POSC (Petrotechnical Open Software Corporation)
compliant, unless they begin with an *. The asterix usually signifies that the
projection is a custom projection.
 Appendix 1: Understanding Spheroids and Datums 265

Projection name tables

The following tables are used to define a common set of key parameters for
projections and units used in GXF. The first column of each table is a key name,
which is unique within each table. Key names that are not POSC compliant start with
an (asterisk) character.

Table 1: Projection transformation methods

This table identifies all defined projection transformation methods. The parameters
are listed in the order required in the #MAP_PROJECTION data object.

This table was compiled using EPSG (as of 2000/12/28)) as data sources. The order
of parameters is based on the enumerated parameter order specified in the EPSG table
"TRF_METHOD", with unused parameters omitted. Should EPSG add new methods
in the future, GXF support for those methods implied, and order of required
parameters will be as defined by EPSG.

EPSG "Transverse Mercator (South Orientated)" is the same as POSC "Transverse

Mercator (South Oriented)", which corrects the spelling of "Oriented".

P ARAMETER N OTES :

• All distance references must be specified in metres.

• All geographic references (latitudes and longitudes) are specified in degrees.
• Longitudes in the Western hemisphere are negative.
• Latitudes in the Southern hemisphere are negative.
• Longitudes are relative to the prime meridian of the datum
Projection method Required parameters

Geographic No parameters. This indicates that coordinates are

longitudes and latitudes.

Hotine Oblique Mercator Latitude of projection centre

Longitude of projection centre
Azimuth of initial line
Angle from Rectified to Skew Grid
Scale factor on initial line
False Easting
False Northing
266 Appendix 1: Understanding Spheroids and Datums

Laborde Oblique Mercator Latitude of projection centre

Longitude of projection centre
Azimuth of initial line
Scale factor on initial line
False Easting
False Northing

Lambert Conic Conformal Latitude of natural origin

(1SP) Longitude of natural origin
Scale factor at natural origin
False Easting
False Northing

Lambert Conic Conformal Latitude of first standard parallel

(2SP) Latitude of second standard parallel
Latitude of false origin
Longitude of false origin
Easting at false origin
Northing at false origin

Lambert Conformal (2SP Latitude of first standard parallel

Belgium) Latitude of second standard parallel
Latitude of false origin
Longitude of false origin
Easting at false origin
Northing at false origin

Mercator (1SP) Latitude of natural origin

Longitude of natural origin
Scale factor at natural origin
False Easting
False Northing

Mercator (2SP) Latitude of first standard parallel

Longitude of natural origin
False Easting
False Northing
 Appendix 1: Understanding Spheroids and Datums 267

New Zealand Map Grid Latitude of natural origin

Longitude of natural origin
False Easting
False Northing

Oblique Stereographic Latitude of natural origin

Longitude of natural origin
Scale factor at natural origin
False Easting
False Northing

Polar Stereographic Latitude of natural origin

Longitude of natural origin
Scale factor at natural origin
False Easting
False Northing

Swiss Oblique Cylindrical Latitude of projection centre

Longitude of projection centre
Easting at projection centre
Northing at projection centre

Transverse Mercator Latitude of natural origin

Longitude of natural origin
Scale factor at natural origin
False Easting
False Northing

Transverse Mercator (South Latitude of natural origin

Oriented) Longitude of natural origin
Scale factor at natural origin
False Easting
False Northing

Equidistant Conic Latitude of first standard parallel

Latitude of second standard parallel
Latitude of false origin
Longitude of false origin
Easting at false origin
Northing at false origin
268 Appendix 1: Understanding Spheroids and Datums

Polyconic Latitude of false origin

Longitude of false origin
Scale factor at natural origin
Easting at false origin
Northing at false origin

Table 2: Length units

The following table is compiled from the UNIT_OF_LENGTH table in the EPSG
tables. The unit names are the abbreviations defined in POSC. This table is for
convenient reference only, and the EPSG table is considered the primary reference.
Unit Description Factor to metres

m metre 1.0

ft foot 0.3048

ftUS US survey foot 0.3048006096012

ftMA modified American foot 0.3048122529845

ftCla Clarke's foot 0.3047972651151

ftInd Indian foot (Clarke) 0.3047995102481

ftSe foot (Sears) 0.3047994715387

lkCla link (Clarke) 0.201166194976

lkBen link (Benoit) 0.2011678249438

lkSe link (Sears) 0.2011676512155

chBen chain (Benoit) 20.1167824943759

chSe chain (Sears) 20.1167651215526

ydSe yard (Sears) 0.914398414616

ydInd Indian yard 0.9143985539701

fathom Fathom 1.8288

nautmi nautical mile 1852.0

mGer German legal metre 1.0000135965

dega Degrees (angular) n/a

 Appendix 2: Geosoft Line and Pattern Styles 269

Appendix 2: Geosoft Line and Pattern Styles

Geosoft provides a number of Line and Pattern Styles for use in Oasis montaj. The
following table displays the “Family” name of each Line and Pattern Style and some
examples. The following five pages include all of the available Line and Pattern
Styles that are currently available in Oasis montaj and can be printed and used as a
reference.
L INE S TYLES P ATTERN S TYLES
Family Name Examples Family Name Example

Standard Solid fill Solid Orange

Fancy Objects

Geology Hatches

Arrows Geology

Slashes

Shapes
STANDARD PATTERNS FANCY LINES SLASHES
Solid Line Double Line Dots - 2 Pickets Dash Down - 4 Forward Slash
Equals Bold Dots Pattern #148
Long Dash
Forward Slash #2
Sidewalk #1 Bold Dots - 2 Pattern #149
Dotted
Pattern #128 Pattern #150 Forward Slash - Line Down
Sidewalk #2
Short Dash
Pattern #129 Railroad
Sidewalk #3 Forward Slash - Line Up
Long, Short Dash
Pattern #130 Railroad - 2
Stripe #1
Dash Dot
Forward Slash - Line #2 Down
Pickets Up Railroad - 4
Stripe #2
Pattern #7
Pickets Up - 2 Railroad - Dash Forward Slash - Line #2 Up
Pattern #8 Stripe #3
Pickets Up - 4 Railroad Dash -2
Very Short Dash Ecks
Backward Slash
Pickets Dash Up Railroad Dash - 4
Ecks - 2
Pattern #10
Pickets Dash Up - 2 Backward Slash #2
Ecks - 4
Pattern #11
Pickets Dash Up - 4
Pattern #12 Ecks Line
Backward Slash - Line Down
Pattern #13 Ecks Line - 2 Pattern #138
Backward Slash - Line Up
Ecks Line - 4 Pattern #139
Pattern #14
Ecks Dash Pattern #140 Backward Slash - Line #2 Down
Ecks Dash - 2 Pickets Down
Backward Slash - Line #2 Up
Pickets Down - 2
Ecks Dash - 4
Hash
Ecks Dotted Pickets Down - 4
Ecks Dotted - 2 Pickets Dash Down
Dots Pickets Dash Down - 2
 ARROWS SHAPES
Pattern #501
Dashed Arrow Backward Arrows Dash Up Filled Circles Empty Triangles Down
Pattern #502
Dashed Arrow Backward - 2 Filled Circles #2 Empty Triangles Down - 2
Arrows Dash Up - 2
Pattern #503
Dashed Arrow Backward - 4 Arrows Dash Up - 4 Empty Circles Filled Star of David
Arrow Forward
Empty Circles #2 Filled Star of David - 2
Arrows Up Pattern #535
Arrow Forward - 2
Arrow Forward - 4 Filled Diamonds Empty Star of David
Arrows Up - 2 Pattern #536
Pattern #507 Filled Diamonds #2 Empty Star of David - 2
Arrows Down Pattern #537
Dashed Arrow Forward
Empty Diamonds Filled Star
Arrows Line Down
Arrows Down - 2
Dashed Arrow Forward - 2 Empty Diamonds #2 Filled Star - 2
Pattern #525 Arrows Line Down - 2
Dashed Arrow Forward - 4
Filled Triangles Up Empty Star
Pattern #526
Arrows Line Down - 4
Pattern #511
Pattern #527 Empty Star - 2
Filled Triangles Up - 2
Pattern #512 Arrows Dash Down
Arrows Line Up
Filled Triangles Down Filled Square
Pattern #513
Arrows Dash Down - 2
Arrows Line Up - 2
Filled Square - 2
Filled Triangles Down - 2
Arrow Backward
Arrows Line Up - 4 Arrows Dash Down - 4
Empty Square
Arrow Backward - 2 Empty Triangles Up
Empty Square - 2
Arrow Backward - 4 Empty Triangles Up - 2
Pattern #517
 Geosoft GEOLOGY Linestyles - SHEET 1 of 2
Fault Left Fault Line 2 Thrust Dash Pattern #270
Line Thrust
Shear Pattern #219 Thrust Dash 2 Line Thrust - 2 Half Circle Line
Pattern #203 Half Circle Line - 2
Left Fault Line 4 Thrust Dash 4 Line Thrust - 4
Right Fault Line Dash Thrust Half Circle Line - 4
Pattern #221 Thrust Down
Half Circle Dash
Pattern #205
Dash Thrust - 2
Left Fault Thrust Down - 2
Right Fault Line - 2 Half Circle Dash - 2
Dash Thrust - 4
Pattern #240
Pattern #223
Pattern #207 Half Circle Dash - 4
Pattern #258
Right Fault Line 4 Left Fault 2 Thrust Line Down Half Empty Circle
Pattern #259 Half Empty Circle - 2
Pattern #209
Thrust Line Down - 2
Pattern #225
Pattern #260 Pattern #280
Right Fault
Left Fault 4 Thrust Line Down - 4
Line Thrust Down Empty Half Circle Line
Pattern #211
Clastic Shear Thrust Dash Down
Line Thrust Down - 2 Empty Half Circle Line - 2
Right Fault 2
Thrust Line Thrust Down - 4 Empty Half Circle Line - 4
Thrust Dash Down - 2
Pattern #213
Thrust 2 Empty Half Circle Dash
Dash Thrust Down
Thrust Dash Down - 4
Right Fault 4
Pattern #230 Empty Half Circle Dash - 2
Dash Thrust Down - 2
Pattern #248
Pattern #215 Thrust Line Empty Half Circle Dash - 4
Dash Thrust Down - 4
Pattern #249
Left Fault Line Thrust Line 2 Half Circle Down
Half Circle
Thrust Line 4 Pattern #250 Half Circle - 2 Half Circle Down - 2
Pattern #217
 Geosoft GEOLOGY Linestyles - SHEET 2 of 2
Pattern #290 Filled Circle Empty Circle Dash Dip Dash Down Anticline - 4
Half Circle Down Line Filled Circle - 2 Empty Circle Dash - 2 Anticline Dash
Dip Dash Down - 2
Half Circle Down Line - 2 Filled Circle - 4 Pattern #328 Dip Dash Down - 4 Anticline Dash - 2
Pattern #329 Pattern #348 Anticline Dash - 4
Half Circle Down Line - 4 Filled Circle Line
Filled Circle Line - 2 Pattern #330 Pattern #349 Pattern #368
Half Circle Down Dash
Dip Line Up Pattern #369
Half Circle Down Dash - 2 Filled Circle Line - 4 Pattern #350
Dip Line Up - 2 Pattern #370
Filled Circle Dash Stitch
Half Circle Down Dash - 4
Dip Line Up - 4 Syncline
Filled Circle Dash - 2 Stitch - 2
Empty Half Circle Down
Syncline - 2
Filled Circle Dash - 4 Dip Dash Up Stitch - 4
Empty Half Circle Down - 2
Dip Dash Up - 2 Syncline - 4
Pattern #300 Empty Circle Stitch Dash
Stitch Dash - 2 Syncline Dash
Empty Circle - 2 Dip Dash Up - 4
Empty Half Circle Down Line
Syncline Dash - 2
Empty Half Circle Down Line - 2 Pattern #320 Pattern #338 Stitch Dash - 4
Pattern #321 Pattern #358 Syncline Dash - 4
Pattern #339
Empty Half Circle Down Line - 4
Pattern #359
Empty Circle Line Pattern #340
Empty Half Circle Down Dash
Pattern #360
Empty Circle Line - 2 Dip Line Down
Empty Half Circle Down Dash - 2
Anticline
Dip Line Down - 2
Empty Circle Line - 4
Empty Half Circle Down Dash - 4
Anticline - 2
Dip Line Down - 4
 GEOSOFT FILL PATTERNS
GEOLOGY HATCH OBJECTS
Conglomerate Dots
Alluvium Horizontal Lines Horizontal Half Hexagonal Triangles
Random Conglomerate Hexagonal Dots Random Triangles
Schist Vertical Lines Vertical Half
Random Dots Plus
Clastic 1 Tuff Diagonal Right Half Diagonal Right
Clastic 2 Diagonal Left Half Diagonal Left Dashes Diagonal Plus
Igneous
Boxes X'es
Clastic 3 Siltstone Staggered Lines Bricks
Volcanic 1 Cross Hatch Diagonal Boxes Random Plus
Dolomite Basket Weave
Volcanic 2 Random Boxes Circle
Chert Diagonal Cross Hatch Diagonal Basket Weave
Triangles Random Circle
Volcanic 3 Mudstone Diamond
 Glossary 275

Glossary
array channels Special channels in columns of the spreadsheet that contain multiple channels
of data. Array channels are represented graphically by a curve in the
spreadsheet. See also channels, sub-array channels.

channels In the Oasis montaj spreadsheet, a channel is essentially a column that

contains a specific type of data.

column In the Oasis montaj spreadsheet, a vertical line of cells that contain data.

database See Oasis database

datum A reference value to which other measurements are referred. Also, an arbitrary
reference level to which measurements are corrected. For example, a datum for
elevation would be sea level.

desktop Background area in the Oasis montaj project. You can open and display a
virtually unlimited number of Spreadsheet, Profile and Map windows in this
area.

ellipsoid A solid figure (shaped like an egg or oval) for which every cross-section is an
ellipse.

fiducials Points accepted as fixed bases of reference. Marks indicating the order in
which each reading or sample reading was taken.

Graphical User Interface Interactive software environment where functions are performed by selecting
graphic objects.

grid Collection of points along rows and columns that define a two-dimensional
rectangular area on some plan, usually a ground plan.

Grids or Grid file Files containing location (X and Y) and data (Z) values. Values are typically
interpolated to create a regular and smoothly sampled representation of the
locations and data.

groups A set of graphics elements that make up a graphic component of the map. For
example, a line path plot, a contour plot or a profile plot would all be separate
graphics groups within the Data View.

GX or Geosoft eXecutable Programmed process (identified by the *.GX file extension) used to process
data in Oasis montaj.

images or image file Files containing location (X and Y) and Colour values. The values are not
interpolated. Standard PC file types created using imaging or electronic photo-
editing techniques.

line Linear array of observation points.

local datum transform A datum adjusted for use in a specific location on the earth. Earth centre
offset, rotation, scale factor relative to WGS 84.
276 Glossary

main window Primary tool used to create and maintain databases, display data and process
data. Oasis montaj is a Graphical User Interface (GUI) system that provides
all functionality required to process and display virtually any type of Earth
Science data.

Map (*.MAP) Geosoft-developed file that integrates all graphics elements (lines, polygons
and text) and layers (base maps, data, grids, plots and images) constructed in
Oasis montaj.

map description file (*.MDF) File used when making a standard map that has a sheet size and margins inside
which there is a map area with a specified origin and scale. Usually, MDF files
are created with the MAPSET GX. MDF files may also be created manually
by editing an ASCII file with extension .MDF.

menu (*.OMN) Graphical list of commands or functions that a user may choose from.

Oasis database Object-oriented database that stores Earth Science data in a form that delivers
fast access to data and efficient storage required for applications that deal with
very large volumes of data.

Oasis montaj Oasis montaj is the core software platform that provides all functionality
required to manage, manipulate, visualize and map spatially located Earth
Science data.

Project (*.GPF) Binary file that defines a desktop environment. It is essentially an

“electronic briefcase” that helps organise data and the activities related to
a data processing project.

Projection Method The mathematical algorithm used to transform points on a spheroid to their
relative locations on a flat surface (i.e. Transverse Mercator, Lambert
Conformal).

random xyz data Located XYZ data that cannot be grouped naturally into separate lines. For
example, regional gravity surveys or geochemical surveys are commonly
considered random data because the locations appear somewhat random in
nature.

row In the Oasis montaj spreadsheet, a horizontal line of cells that contain data.

spheroid A spheroid is an oblate ellipsoid of revolution (basically an ellipsoid) that is

used to model the surface of the earth for the purpose of making maps.

sub-array channels Individual channels of data from an array channel.

template A file used to manage data in a particular format.

view Stored snapshot of the screen settings, current line, displayed channels and
displayed profiles in Oasis montaj.
 Index 277

Index
figure style, 82
map style, 84
* base view, 18, 109, 110
*. See dummy values basic statistics, 49
**. See column width batch
printing, 215
processing, 145
3 bi-directional gridding, 95, 167
3-D shading, 133 control file, 100
dialog controls, 99
BIGRID GX, 95
9 control file, 100
dialog controls, 99
-9999. See dummy values
bitmap, 131, 208
bucket, 126
A
Access. See Microsoft Access C
accessing
CAD tools, 107
online help system, 3
calculating
technical support, 3
basic statistics, 49
Acrobat PDF, 3
variogram, 170
activating
cells
Image Colour Tool, 135
channel header, 44
adding
data, 44
contours to maps, 103
CGM Plot, 208
database comments, 206
changes
printer configuration, 212
discard, 63
advanced
saving database, 62
gridding, 151
changing
mapping, 151
default settings, 30
AGG. See Geosoft aggregate file
line attributes, 120
aggregate, 110
Channel
applying
Master sample, 62
formulas, 154
channel header cell, 44, 47, 50
mask to a view, 117
channels, 276
ArcView
array, 276
Shapefile, 208
deleting, 56
TIFF, 208
editing, 57
array channels, 276
listing, 47
ASCII
protecting, 53
comma delimited, 69
removing, 47
importing. See Microsoft Access
spreadsheet, 14
ASCII files
statistics, 49
comma delimited, 68
type, 71
editing, 142
unprotecting, 53
attributes
working, 54
polygon, 124
clipboard
AutoCAD DXF, 208
bitmap, 131
copying maps to, 131
B creating montage maps, 130
EMF, 131
base map exporting graphics, 132
control file, 141 overview, 129
surround, 83, 86 paste georeferenced, 130
base maps pasting, 131
creating, 81 properties, 129
custom, 141
278 Index

closing database, 43, 151

project, 39, 104, 132 lines from polygons, 122
colour map groups, 113
interactive shading, 137 montage maps, 130
palette, 135 new channel, 54
percentile groups, 136 new maps, 76
polygon fill, 124 project, 37, 107
polygons, 126 scripts, 145
shaded images, 133 working channels, 54
spectrum, 136 working directory, 36
zones, 135 CSV. See Comma separated value
colour bars custom
plotting, 155 base maps, 141
colour imaging
interactive, 135
Colour Shading Tool, 137
D
colour tables DAP
for gridding, 102 data, 238
coloured symbols download, 238
plotting proportional size, 158 metadata, 238
plotting simple, 156 MetaData Browser, 238
column, 276 data
delimiters, 70 cells, 44
removing, 47 comma delimited, 69
width, 48 correlation, 169
Comma separated value displaying, 47
exporting, 68 dynamic data links, 138
importing, 69 geochemical, 97, 151
comment header, 210 gridding, 95, 173
comments gridding random, 96
database, 206 importing, 44, 67, 151
compression importing for kriging, 168
database, 43 interpolating, 59
Computer Aided Drafting. See CAD plotting, 174
computer ID plotting profiles, 87
eLicensing, 25 processing, 49, 154
conditional expressions, 58 range to map, 77
configuration selecting, 75
printing, 210 semivariance, 169
configure spikes, 58
printer and page, 211 statistical, 97
configuring data channel, 158
settings, 30 Data Import Wizard, 69, 70, 71
contouring data values, 156
methods, 103 posting on map, 157
contours data view, 18, 109
plotting, 103 database, 276
control file adding comments, 206
base map, 141 applying formulas, 154
Bigrid, 100 channels, 43
for contouring, 103 compression, 43
MAPPLOT GX, 141 creating, 43
copying creating second, 151
from Powerpoint, 131 details, 205
from Word, 131 drag-n-drop, 47, 73
georeferenced information, 130 editing, 57
maps to clipboard, 131 exporting, 66
tutorial files, 36 fields, 43
creating Geosoft, 12
base maps, 81, 84 groups, 43
channels, 55 importing data, 44
 Index 279

indivdual table, 66 drag-n-drop

lines, 43, 47 database, 73
maintenance utilities, 205 grid, 105
Oasis, 12 xyz, 47
proprietary, 12 drawing
relational, 12 base map, 82
saving changes, 47 map groups, 109
single table, 66 polylines, 118
size, 43 symbols, 156
size limits, 206 dummy values, 46
database elements, 206 including in export, 210
databases interpolating, 59
creating, 67 DXF AutoCAD, 208
defragmenting, 206 dynamic
discard changes, 63 data links, 138
growing, 206 linking, 133
importing, 67 links, 7, 19, 20
importing tables, 67 process link, 22
packing. See defragmenting
repairing, 206
saving changes, 62
E
verifying, 206 edge
datum, 276 symbol colour, 156
Dbase, 65 editing
default ASCII files, 142
colour table, 31 channels, 57
error level reporting, 32 groups, 110, 113
grid element type, 31 legend boxes, 123
grid input fromat, 31 maps, 107
grid output fromat, 31 polygons, 123
image cache, 32 scripts, 147
map font, 31 eLicense
menus, 31, 40 Park, 28
printing memory, 32 Transfer, 28
settings, 30 Update, 29
symbol font, 31 eLicenses
Default settings Lock/Unlock, 29
SETTINGS GX, 30 Upgrade, 27
default.i0, 46, 153 eLicensing, 25
define x,y projections, 182 Licensing management system, 25
defining projection, 182 ellipsoid, 276
defragmenting Encapsulated Post Script, 208
database, 206 Enhanced Metafile, 208
deleting Enhanced Windows Metafile, 129, 131
channels, 56 equal zoning, 135
delimited ER Mapper ECW Compressor, 208
comma, 69 ER Mapper RGB, 208
desktop, 276 error level reporting
details default, 32
database, 205 Excel. See Microsoft Excel
dialog controls Explorer tools
Bigrid, 99 Tools, 9
discard changes, 63 export formats, 65
disk cache exporting
images, 32 graphics, 132
disk space, 206 individual tables, 66
displaying maps, 208
grids, 102 Microsoft Access, 66
interpretation map, 108 single table, 66
profile, 51 to CSV file, 68
spreadsheet data, 47 to database applications, 209
280 Index

to GIS applications, 209 pasting, 130

to spreadsheet applications, 209 Geosoft
expressions aggregate file, 36, 156
conditional, 58 colour zone file, 156
eyedropper, 126 database file, 36
grid file, 36
image transform file, 156
F map file, 36
fiducial, 57 menu file, 36
fiducials, 276 project file, 36, 37
figure style projection file, 36
base maps, 82 Script file, 36
file types sub-menu file, 36
.AGG, 36, 156 table file, 156
.CSV, 68, 69 XYZ files, 44
.EMF, 129, 131 Geosoft Colour Grid, 208
.GDB, 36 Geosoft eXecutables, 36, 276
.GI, 36 description, 21
.GM, 36 Geosoft plot file, 208
.GPF, 36 Geosoft projections, 181
.GRD, 36 Geosoft script files. See scripts
.GS, 36, 145 GeoStrike, 99
.GX, 36 GeoTIFF, 208
.ITR, 156 Get Colour tool, 126
.MAP, 36 GI. See Geosoft projection file
.MDB, 67 GM. See Geosoft map file
.MDG. See Microsoft Access GPF. See Geosoft project file
.OMN, 36 Graphical User Interface, 276
.SMN, 36 graphics
.TBL, 156 exporting, 132
.ZON, 156 high-resolution, 30
ASCII. See Microsoft Access grd
files drag-n-drop, 105
for tutorial, 36 GRD. See Geosoft Grid file
fill grid, 276
patterns, 124 creating new, 101
symbol colour, 156 drag-n-drop, 105
filling grid element type
polygons, 126 default, 31
filling gaps grid file. See Geosoft Grid file
using interpolation, 59 grid image
flight lines exporting, 132
plotting, 86 grid input format
formulas default, 31
applying to database, 154 grid output format
FoxPro, 65 default, 31
full map, 93, 209 grid projection, 189
gridding, 75
advanced, 151
G bi-directional, 95, 167
gaps data, 95, 173
filling, 59 description, 95
Gaussian value, 169 dialog controls, 99, 100
gdb displaying grids on maps, 102
drag-n-drop, 73 kriging, 167
GDB. See Geosoft database file krigrid, 97
geochemical data, 97, 151 minimum curvature, 96, 165
gridding, 167 random, 167
georeference random data, 165
connections, 138 tinning, 167
georeferenced objects trend-enforced, 99
 Index 281

using colour tables, 102 XYZ data, 151

grids, 276 XYZ files, 44
colour shaded, 133 indentifying
contouring, 103 linear features, 118
displaying, 102 Install
groups, 276 Administrator, 26
copying, 130 eLicense, 25, 27
creating new, 113 Installing
definition, 18 Oasis montaj, 26
editing, 110, 113 interactive
hiding, 115 colour imaging, 135
in maps, 18 colour shading, 137
in spreadsheet, 14 shadowing, 135
masking, 116, 117 interpolating
moving, 115 data, 59
on map, 109 interpretation map
pasting georeferenced, 130 displaying, 108
selecting, 110, 113
growing databases, 206
GS, 145, See Geosoft script file file
J
GX. See also Geosoft eXecutables JPEG, 208
dialog box, 21
GX Developer, 21
GXs K
BIGRID, 95, 99, 100 kriging, 97, 167
KRIGRID, 97 overview, 167
MAPPLOT, 141, 142, 144 krigrid
RANGRID, 97, 165 plotting data, 174
KRIGRID GX, 97
H
header cell, 47 L
help last map view, 93
accessing online, 40, 42 layers
hiding moving, 110
groups, 115 on map, 109
high-resolution legend
graphics, 30 ternary colour, 178
legend boxes
I editing, 123
legend symbols, 164
image cache legends
default, 32 plotting, 155
Image Colour tool, 135 Line Command Toolbar, 52
images line path
colour shaded, 133 plotting, 86
images or image file, 276 Line Selection Tool, 75
imaging, 133 linear features
interactive colour, 135 indentifying, 118
interactive colour shading, 137 linear zoning, 135
import formats, 65 lines, 276
import template, 46 changing attributes, 120
importing creating polygons from, 122
ASCII data, 65 database maximum, 43
data, 44 non-parallel, 96
data for kriging, 168 on map, 109
database tables, 67 plotting survey, 86
databases, 67 polylines. See polylines
Excel data, 65 selecting, 52, 75
from CSV file, 69 selecting by range, 76
into second database, 151
282 Index

snapping to, 120 adding contours, 103

linking, 133 adding grids, 102
data, 20 adding profiles, 87
data points, 138 adding survey lines, 141
dynamic, 20 base map, 81, 141
objects, 20 base view, 109
links batch printing, 215
dynamic process, 22 clipboard, 129
list creating groups, 113
channels, 47 data view, 109
loading editing, 107
menus, 40 exporting, 208
local datum transform, 276 exporting graphics, 132
log contour, 103 function, 109
log10, 154 groups, 109
interpretion, 108
linking data, 138
M montage, 131
main window, 277 offset, 131
maintenance opening, 108
database, 205 parts of, 109
maker, 22 pasting georeferenced, 130
manuals pasting graphics, 131
accessing online, 40, 42 print preview, 213
printing, 42 printing, 208, 210, 213
map. See also maps scale, 131
Map shaded relief, 133
Base view, 18 mark statistics, 50
creating, 76 masking
Data view, 18 apply to view, 117
default font, 31 groups, 116, 117
description file, 277 rectangular, 116
description of, 18 math formula tool, 58
full, 93 new channel, 55
groups, 18 maximum
last view, 93 groups, 43
navigating, 89 lines, 43
object, 110 value, 51
origin, 131 MDB files. See Microsoft Access
panning, 92 memory
redraw, 93 printing, 32
shrink, 93 menu, 277
surround, 109 menus
templates, 76, 79 loading, 40
views, 18 setting default, 40
zooming, 91 Microsoft Access, 65, 66, 67
MAP. See maps database file, 67
Map (*.MAP), 277 exporting to, 66
map projections, 180 Microsoft Excel
map style exporting to, 68
base maps, 84 importing from, 69
Map view projection, 192 minimum curvature
MapInfo TAB, 208 gridding, 96, 165
MapInfo TIFF, 208 interpolation method, 59
mapping, 75 montage maps
advanced, 151 using clipboard, 130
selecting data for, 75 moving
tools, 107 groups, 115
MAPPLOT GX, 141, 142 multiple projections on map, 197
control file, 141, 144
maps
 Index 283

N contours, 103
krigrid data, 174
navigating legend symbols, 164
map, 89 legends, 155
new profiles, 87
channel, 55 proportional coloured symbols, 158
database, 43, 67, 151 range classified symbols, 161
group, 113 simple coloured symbols, 156
project, 107 survey lines, 86
new channel, 54 symbols, 155
normal zoning, 135 zone coloured symbols, 159
north arrow, 18, 81, 109 PNG, 208
nugget, 171 points
snapping to, 119
Polygon Fill tool, 126
O polygons
Oasis database, 277, See database creating from lines, 122
Oasis montaj, 277 editing, 123
default settings, 30 fill patterns, 124
integrated environment, 6 polylines
Mapping and Processing System, 4 drawing, 118
starting, 35 poster
Viewer, 4 using clipboard, 130
oasis.omn, 40 posting data values, 156, 157
object power value, 169
maker, 22 Powerpoint. See Microsoft Powerpoint
objects previewing printing, 213
pasting georefenced, 130 printer drivers, 210
ODBC. See Open Database Connectivity printing
offset, 131 batch, 215
OMN. See Geosoft menu file configuration, 210
online help maps, 208, 210, 213
accessing, 3 online tutorials, 42
Manuals, 40, 42 options
Technical notes, 40, 42 Geosoft bands, 210
Tutorials, 40, 42 Geosoft bands and dither, 210
opening HP-RTL, 210
maps, 108 previewing, 213
project, 133 setup, 210
output format, 209 printing memory
default, 32
processing
P data, 49, 154
packing databases. See defragmenting selecting data for, 75
panning map, 92 using scripts, 145
Paradox, 65 processing speed, 43
parameters profile view, 57
variogram, 171 profile window, 17, 51
pasting profiles, 17
georeferenced groups, 130 displaying, 51
on map, 131 linking data, 138
patterns options, 51, 60
copying, 126 plotting, 87
polygon fill, 124 scale, 51, 60
PCX, 208 variables, 17
PDF project
Acrobat file, 3, 42 closing, 39, 104, 132
percentile groups creating, 37, 107
colour, 136 opening, 133
plotting. See printing saving, 38, 104, 132
colour bars, 155 Project, 8
284 Index

project coordinate, 183 scaling

Project Explorer, 8 profile windows, 51, 60
projected long,lat, 186 Script file, 36
projected x,y, 184 scripts, 145
projecting data, 180 creating, 145
Projection datum, 180 editing, 147
Projection ellipsoid, 180 recording, 145
Projection Local Datum Transform, 180 running, 149
projection method, 277 sample file, 147
Projection method, 180 second database, 151
Projection spheriod, 180 selecting
Projection Warp, 197 current view, 130, 131, 132
projections, 180 data, 75
Projects groups, 110, 113
*.gpf files, 9 lines, 76
proportional size variogram model, 171, 172
symbols, 156, 158 semivariance, 169
protecting semi-variogram. See variogram
channels, 53 setini, 147
setting
default menus, 40
Q settings
quick contour, 103 configuring, 30
default, 30
setup
R printing, 210
random shaded images, 133
gridding, 167 shadowing
random data interactive, 135
gridding, 165 show profile, 51, 57
random xyz data, 277 shrink map, 93
range classified symbols, 156, 161 sill, 171
range/slope, 171 size
RANGRID GX, 97, 165 database, 43
recording SMN. See Geosoft sub-menu file
scripts, 145 Snap to line, 120
rectangular mask, 116 Snap to point, 119
redraw map, 93 snapping
relief image, 133 mode, 131
removing spectrum
channels, 47 colour, 136
rendering speed, 43
map groups, 109 spherical model
order, 18 nugget, 171
repairing spherical value, 169
databases, 206 spheroid, 277
resolution spikes
map, 131 removing, 58
rows, 14, 277 spreadsheet, 14
running column width, 48
scripts, 149 columns. See channels
components, 14
description, 43, 47
S displaying data, 47
linking data, 138
sample
processing data, 154
interval, 14
view, 14, 47
saving
window, 14, 52, 56, 155
databases, 62
statistics
project, 38, 104, 132
channel, 49
scale bar, 18, 80, 81, 109
marking, 50
 Index 285

report, 50 variogram
saving, 50 calculating, 170
sub-array channels, 277 parameters, 171
survey lines selecting model, 171
parallel, 95 spherical model, 171
plotting, 87 variogram model
tie, 95 selecting, 172
surveys variograms, 167
plotting lines, 86 calculating, 169
symbol font displaying, 169
default, 31 verifying databases, 206
symbols view, 277
colour legend bars, 156 View/Group Manager, 113
horizontal colour legend bars, 156 View/Group Manager Tool, 110
legend, 156, 164 viewed region, 209
plotting, 155 views
proportional size, 156, 158 applying a mask, 117
range classified, 156, 161 base, 109
zone coloured, 156, 159 changing, 131
copying, 130
data, 109
T pasting, 130
template, 277 Visual Basic, 21
map layout, 79
xyz import, 46 W
ternary colour legend, 178
tie lines Warp Image file, 200
gridding, 95 Warp Projection, 197
TIFF, 208 Windows
TIFF Compressed, 208 clipboard, 129
tinning, 167 printer driver, 210
trend-enforced gridding, 99 working channels
tutorial files creating, 54
list, 36 working directory
tutorials creating, 36
accessing online, 40, 42
printing, 42
X
U xyz
drag-n-drop, 47
unprotecting XYZ data
channels, 53 importing, 44, 151
utilities
database maintenance, 205
Z
V zone colour symbols, 156, 159
zoning, 135
value data, 135
dummy, 46 zooming map, 91