Table of Contents

1. I really don't want to read all of this stuff!
2. Introduction to SurView
3. SurView system requirements
4. SurView installation
5. SurView de-installation
6. Data file installation (Optional)
7. Using SurView
8. Printer limitations

Appendices:

1. Troubleshooting
2. Some Common SurView File Types

1. I really don't want to read all of this stuff!

1. You need a PC with almost any version of Microsoft® Windows™ (3.x, '95, NT)

2. You can run SurView directly from the CD-ROM, but if you want to install it on your hard drive for convenience, simply drag & drop the ...\SURVIEW directory to the location of your choice on your hard drive.

3. If you are NOT using Windows '95 or NT 4.x, you need CTL3DV2.DLL to make it look pretty. Drag & drop the ...\SURVIEW\CTL3DV2.DLL file into your ...\WINDOWS\SYSTEM (or ...\WINDOWS directory if ...\WINDOWS\SYSTEM is on a write-protected network drive). If a newer version already exists (Windows will tell you) - cancel the operation.

4. Create an icon or shortcut for SURVIEW.EXE (optional)

5. Run SurView and select 'File Association' from the [-] system menu in the extreme upper left. Click Add, wait a minute until it's done and click Ok. This allows you to double click any of the 6 SurView file types to launch SurView directly.

6. Scan Section 7 below to get an idea of what you can do with SurView.

7. If you have problems, read the rest of this file.

8. This file is a generic introduction to SurView. Additional documentation on the specific files on this CD-ROM can be found in SURVIEW2.HTM.

2. Introduction to SurView

Despite the proliferation of features, SurView remains primarily an application for viewing geophysical, geological, and geochemical data files interactively and is not intended to be used as a map composition tool for the creation of 'finished' high quality maps suitable for publication. However, SurView can print very nice maps on any of the hundreds of printers supported by Microsoft Windows. As a Microsoft Windows application, SurView enjoys most of the features and benefits of all Windows applications. Complete SurView documentation is provided in a .HLP file driven by the Windows WinHelp help engine.

The copy of SurView which has been provided on this CD-ROM is a limited version which can only display the files provided: the data importing Tools have been disabled. The full-featured version is available separately from the Geological Survey of Canada Bookstore as Geological Survey of Canada, Open File 2661. This information also appears in the Help | About SurView menu item.

3. SurView System Requirements

It is assumed that the user of SurView is familiar with the operation of Microsoft Windows, including:

• use of the mouse and keyboard in Windows
• File Manager or Explorer
• the Windows clipboard
• Windows File Association
• Windows printer installation, setup, and selection

Consult your Windows manual for further information on these and other general topics.

4. SurView installation

The SurView directory (consult the 'roadmap' for this CD-ROM for the exact location) contains the following primary files associated with the SurView application:

• SURVIEW.EXE
• SURVIEW.HLP
• *.RGB (palette files for .GRX grid/image files)
• SYSTEM\CTL3DV2.DLL (3D appearance for dialog boxes - not used for Windows '95)

Procedure

1. Install SurView
   You may run SurView directly from the CD-ROM or you may install the program files on your hard disk for convenience (so you can run SurView without the CD-ROM). Approximately 1 Mb of disk space is required for SurView: the primary files are SURVIEW.EXE and SURVIEW.HLP. If the data set includes any .GRX (grid/image) files, the SurView directory will also contain a set of small *.RGB palette files.

   If you wish to install SurView on your hard disk, simply drag & drop the entire ...\SURVIEW directory from the CD-ROM to any convenient location on your hard-disk. For example, any of the following directories is a reasonable choice, but feel free to put it anywhere, i.e.:

   • c:\surview
   • c:\system\surview
   • c:\software\surview
   • c:\winsoft\surview

   You may then create an icon (File | New in File Manager) or a Windows '95 'shortcut' (right click on the desktop) to run the SURVIEW.EXE application. Consult your Windows manual if you are not familiar with this procedure.

2. Install CTL3DV2.DLL
   Microsoft's CTL3DV2.DLL provides the 3D visual effects in SurView's dialog boxes and is approximately 22 kb in size:

   • Windows '95
     If you are using Windows '95 or Windows NT 4.0 or a later version, you do NOT need to install CTL3DV2.DLL and can skip this section.

   • Windows 3.x & Windows NT 3.5x
     The CTL3DV2.DLL file must be placed in your ...\WINDOWS\SYSTEM directory, regardless of whether you are running SurView from the CD-ROM or from your hard disk.

   Use File Manager or Explorer to drag CTL3DV2.DLL from the ...\SURVIEW\SYSTEM directory (located below SURVIEW.EXE) and drop it into your ...\WINDOWS\SYSTEM directory. If you are running Windows from a network drive, you may not have access to this Windows 'system' directory, in which case, install the file in your ...\WINDOWS directory. Do not use the DOS COPY command to perform this operation: a newer version of CTL3DV2.DLL file may be over-written without warning.

   If the file already exists, File Manager will display the size, date, and time of both files and prompt 'Confirm File Replace'. You should cancel the operation if the existing CTL3DV2.DLL file is more recent than the CTL3DV2.DLL file from the CD-ROM.

3. Run SurView to Set the File Association

   File Association Windows allows data files to be 'run' (i.e. with Program Manager's File | Run, or by double-clicking them in File Manager/Explorer or by attaching them to icons or Windows '95 'shortcuts' which can be double-clicked). However, this requires that the files be 'associated' with a particular application so that Windows knows where to find the .EXE file. SurView registers the 'File Association' for 6 file types (.BOB, .GRX, .SLD, .BLC, .ASX, and .FDL). Subsequently, any of the SurView files can be 'run' with the above methods. This 'association' procedure writes entries into the Windows registration database.

   Procedure
   Whether you have copied SURVIEW.EXE to your hard disk or whether you have decided to leave it on the CD-ROM, you should now run SurView to set these file associations - either double-click SURVIEW.EXE from File Manager or using Program Manager's File | Run command) or use the icon/shortcut that you have created. This only needs to be done once. Click the [-] 'system menu' (or SurView icon in Windows '95) in the extreme upper left corner of SurView's window and select 'File Association'. The dialog box will show blank entries for the 6 file types. Click 'Add' to add new entries to the registration database. A moment later, the new entries will be displayed. Close the dialog box by clicking 'Ok'. The File Association has now been 'set'. SurView can then be terminated with no further interaction or you can continue and select files for viewing with File | File Display List.

   If you move SURVIEW.EXE after the File Association has been done, you will need to reset the File Association settings from this same dialog box so that Windows will know where to find SURVIEW.EXE at its new location. Simply click 'Remove' to remove the existing entries and then click 'Add' to add entries for the current location of SURVIEW.EXE. This is also described below in the section on 'SurView de-installation'.

   Once the File Association has been done, File Manager/Explorer will draw a different icon for the associated files, indicating that they are 'executable' (by double-clicking them).

4. Adjust for Monitor Size
   SurView needs to know your monitor size and most of the time Windows makes a good guess on the size (the information is not stored anywhere). However, if SurView's picture does not fill the entire drawing area of the window, leaving margins at the top and right, you will need to make a one-time adjustment for the monitor that you are using. See the 'Troubleshooting' section for details.

5. SurView de-installation

1. Run SurView one last time and bring up the File Association dialog box (as described above). Click 'Remove' to remove the six entries from the Windows registration database. You can then terminate SurView.

2. If you installed SurView on your hard disk, delete the entire ...\SURVIEW directory (primarily the SURVIEW.EXE and SURVIEW.HLP files).

3. SurView may have created a SURVIEW.CFG file in your ...\WINDOWS directory: delete it.

4. Do not delete the CTL3DV2.DLL file from your ...\WINDOWS\SYSTEM directory - other applications use this file.

5. From Program Manager, delete any groups, icons or shortcuts that you created for SurView.

SurView has now been completely removed from your system.

6. Data File Installation (Optional)

You can change the colours and styles of the data files for display purposes, but you can not update the files if they reside on CD-ROM, as the CD-ROM medium is read-only. This restriction might be a good reason for copying the files to your hard drive, depending on your needs. However, each of the files on the CD-ROM has a 'read-only' attribute that remains attached to the file, even if it is copied to your hard drive. You will need to remove this attribute from each file that you copy to your hard drive, using File | Properties in Windows File Manager (or the DOS ATTRIB command) or you will not be able to modify the files (i.e. change the display colours or styles).

Appendix B contains brief descriptions of some of SurView's file types. When moving these files (for any reason), keep in mind the following restrictions:

• .FDL files:
  These small ASCII files contain the names of other data files, allowing a group of files to be selected for viewing by selecting a single .FDL file. SurView assumes that the data files whose names are in the .FDL file reside in the same directory as the .FDL file. If they are located elsewhere, you must edit the .FDL files to change the filenames to fully-qualified pathnames (drive, directory, filename and extension). SurView always requires the filename extension (.BOB, .GRX, etc.) to determine the file type.

  Note that using a complete pathname in an .FDL file allows you to create other .FDL files (on your hard disk), containing the pathnames of your favourite combination of the primary data files (which can remain on the CD-ROM). For example, you might create a c:\XXX.FDL file containing references to several files on CD-ROM drive D:

  d:\radiomet\pot.grx
  d:\geology\geo.asx
  d:\drainage\rivers.bob
  d:\geochem\biogc.bob

  All you need to do then is put the CD-ROM in drive D: and click the c:\XXX.FDL file to view all of those files.

• .ASX files:
  ASX files contain the filename of a binary .SHP file (i.e. XXX.SHP), the filename of an attributes file (i.e. XXX.DBF) and the filename of a 'theme' or 'lookup table' file (probably a .DBF file, but it could be any name). If these files are not in the same directory as the XXX.ASX file, the simple filenames in the .ASX file must be replaced with fully qualified pathnames.

• .GRX files:
  GRX files contain the filename of a binary grid file (i.e. XXX.BIL) and the filename of a corresponding colour palette file (i.e. XXX.RGB or XXX.CMY). If these files are not in the same directory as the XXX.GRX file, the simple filenames in the .GRX file must be replaced with fully qualified pathnames. If the .RGB or .CMY files reside in the ...\SURVIEW directory (which is common), full pathnames are not required, since SurView knows where to find them.

7. Using SurView

What Can I Do With SurView and this Data Set?

1. You can display various combinations of the files, either by selecting .FDL files (containing names of other files) or by choosing individual .BOB, .GRX, or .ASX files manually. You may wish to create FDL files containing some of your favourite combinations of files and attach them to icons for easy access.

2. Use the <ESC> key to quit drawing the current file (layer). If you have selected several files to display (perhaps from a prepared FDL file), it may take a while to draw the complete set of files. You don't have to wait for SurView to draw the entire picture - just use the <ESC> key to skip the current file (layer) and SurView will move on to the next file in the File Display List.

3. You can zoom and pan on the map. When you enter zoom/pan mode, use the left button to toggle the selection rectangle between zoom and pan modes and move it around with the mouse. Once you have selected the area to view, use the right button to select it. When you print, SurView prints the current 'view' of the data (possibly zoomed).

4. You can use the Edit | Display Attributes menu item to access line/fill styles and colours for lines, polygons, and symbols. If geochemistry data is plotted as proportionally scaled symbols, you can modify the scaling parameters for the symbols as well as the symbol type and element to be drawn. You can change these attributes, but you can't save the changes if the file resides on CD-ROM!.

5. For .ASX files (polyline/polygon 'shape' files), if several 'themes' or 'views' of the file have been created, you can choose from a list of these themes (use Edit | Display Attributes as above), allowing the polygons to be drawn with a different colour table derived from a different attribute of the polygon (i.e. perhaps geology can be drawn using 'by age' or 'by rock type' colours).

6. For .BOB files, you can enable/disable plotting various combinations of lines, points, polygons, and symbols:
   • If the 'Plot'? checkbox for the line colour is:
     • set, the feature is plotted
     • clear, the feature is not plotted
     • greyed, the feature is plotted, but the outline is not drawn

   • If the 'Plot?' checkbox for the fill colour is:
     • set, the polygon is filled using the current fill colour and/or pattern
     • clear, the polygon is not filled

7. You can display the 'Smart Cursor' (Options), to display the location of the cursor as it is moved around the map. Select the [-] system menu of the cursor window to display a list of display modes (geographic, projected, NTS etc.).

8. You can enable/disable the display of .GRX (grid) or .ASX (Arc/Info SHP) legend windows with the View | Legends menu item. Each legend window can be resized and placed anywhere on the map. Re-configure any legend window by right-clicking on the window to bring up a dialog box of options and parameters.

9. You can enable the Options | Use Alternate Language Where Available menu item. This will generally only be useful with .ASX files that have been prepared with bilingual legends and titles. If so, toggling this option will toggle the language used for the window caption and legend labels.

10. You can print the current 'view' of the data set to any printer supported by Windows, including Postscript printers. Connect a Postscript printer drive to FILE and you can create a Postscript file. Note that SurView does not print low-resolution screen dumps like some applications - it prints the same way that it draws on the screen.

11. You can copy the picture or portion of the picture to the Windows clipboard and paste it into any Clipboard-enabled application (word processor, spreadsheet, drawing program). Use the Edit | Copy to Clipboard menu item.

12. You can query polygons, polylines, and points by 'picking' them with the right mouse button, provided they have been enabled for this action (see description of files specific to this data set - not all features can be 'picked'). Depending on how the files have been set up, in response to a click, SurView can display a topic in a Windows .HLP file or a record from a .DBF database file. It might even run another application to view a file.

13. You can pick a polygon or a polyline or a point with the right mouse button. If only one of these file types is being viewed, then the right mouse button will configure itself automatically to pick the appropriate type of item. However, if you are displaying more than one of these types of features, then you must use the Pick menu item to configure the right mouse button for picking one of the three types of objects and to adjust the pick tolerance (for lines and points). Note that the pick tolerance for polylines is adjusted automatically each time the scale of the picture changes (the computed value is about 1% of the current view width), but you may have to adjust the value in order to pick a polyline correctly.

14. Finally, you can use SurView's interactive help to learn more about SurView and/or the file formats. The interactive help is easier to navigate than some help files, because it has been designed to be read like a book from page 1 to the end (using the << and >> browse buttons in WinHelp), while retaining all of the familiar hypertext and keyword search features common to .HLP files. You won't get lost. Use the Contents topic and/or the custom menu items (Chapters, File Formats) to go quickly to the section of your choice.

8. Printer limitations

Appendix A: Troubleshooting

• Problem: I click on a file in File Manager or try to 'run' the file from Program Manager and Windows says
  "No application is associated with this file"
  

  Solution: You must run SurView first in order to register the SurView file types for File Association. Simply start up SurView, do the File Association and then terminate it. Click on the file icon again and SurView should start up with that file in the File Display List.

  In Windows '95 you may be invited to select an application. Do not do this. Instead, use the procedure described above: it writes 'cleaner' entries in your Windows registry file.

  ---

• Problem: I click on a file in File Manager or try to 'run' the file from Program Manager and Windows says: "Cannot find SURVIEW.EXE. This application is required to run files with extension ..."

  Solution: Windows has an incorrect File Association setting that points to a non-existent SURVIEW.EXE. It is likely that you have moved SURVIEW.EXE to another location since the association was initially registered. Windows will provide a dialog box to ask you to 'Locate' SURVIEW.EXE. Ignore this dialog box (close it) and follow the procedure to reset the File Association from SurView.

  ---

• Problem: I try to run SurView and I get an error message: "This application uses CTL3DV2.DLL, which has not been correctly installed"

  Then the application runs, but the dialog boxes don't look right.

  Solution: CTL3DV2.DLL will not allow itself to be run from any directory other than ...\windows\system or ...\windows (for network installations). Either you have not installed CTL3DV2.DLL in that directory, or Windows is finding another copy of it first. Delete all versions of CTL3DV2.DLL on your system, except the copy in ...\windows\system.

  In order to allow you to run SurView directly from the CD-ROM, the CTL3DV2.DLL file has been deliberately placed in a subdirectory below the directory which contains SURVIEW.EXE. This ensures that Windows can not find it if you run SurView by double-clicking on the SURVIEW.EXE file on the CD-ROM from File Manager or by using Program Manager's File | Run command.

  ---

• Problem: SurView does not use the entire drawing area within the application window to draw the picture.

  Solution: Windows does not know the physical size of your monitor, so it makes a guess, based on the video card resolution you are using. In some cases (small monitor/high resolution or large monitor/low resolution), this estimate will be incorrect and you must make a small adjustment for the monitor size. Windows '95 makes a better guess at the monitor size because it has a setting for you to enter your monitor type and size.

  Click on the system menu [-] in the extreme upper left corner of SurView and select 'Adjust for Monitor Size'. Follow the instructions (click on the centre of the RED cursor so it moves to the black crosshair location) and click Ok. When the picture is redrawn, it should now fill the entire window. This must be done with at least one data file selected: the problem does not exhibit itself if only the GSC logo is displayed.

  This calibration only needs to be done once: the settings are saved in ...\WINDOWS\SURVIEW.CFG when you close the SurView application. The interactive help for SurView contains additional information regarding this adjustment in Section 2.3.8 (in SURVIEW.HLP).

  ---

• Problem: I don't like the grey background colours for colour tables A, B or C.

  Solution: SurView uses three colour tables labelled A, B, and C. Each .BOB file contains the line/fill colours/styles for all three tables for its own polygons. SurView also has background colours for each of the three colour tables (default: all grey), but these are independent of the contents of the files and so are maintained in the SURVIEW.CFG file in the ...\WINDOWS directory. A well-behaved Windows application should normally use the user's preferred background and text colours (as set in Control Panel), but for SurView, (as a mapping application) the background colour is more closely tied to the colours in the data files, than to the text colour.

  To change the colours for the three tables, start up SurView and choose Edit | Display Attributes and select 'Other' (if the File Display List is empty, 'Other' will be automatically selected). For each of the three columns of style buttons, click the button at the top of the column (labelled A, B, and C) and then select a colour from the palette. Click the Ok button in the dialog box when you are done. When you terminate SurView, you will be asked 'Save changes?'. Click 'Yes' and SurView will save the values in ...\WINDOWS\SURVIEW.CFG. Subsequently, when you start up SurView, the background colours for the three tables will be as you have defined them.

  Note: You don't have to choose a boring, harsh white background just because that is best for printing. The background colour is only used for the screen display and is not printed (unless you specifically request that the background colour be printed by selecting the option in the printing dialog box).

Appendix B: Some common SurView file types

• .BOB Binary OBject data files
  These are primary data files, containing co-ordinates and display attributes for a variety of combinations of polyline, polygon, point, and text data.

• .ASX Arc/Info Shape File Specification
  These are simple ASCII files which contain a list of options and display attributes for viewing a binary Arc/Info .SHP 'shape' file.

• .GRX Grid Specification
  These are simple ASCII files which contain a list of options and display attributes for viewing a binary grid or image file.

• .FDL File Display List
  These are simple ASCII files which contain lists of other data files, allowing a set of files to be selected for viewing as a single entity.