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Didger® User’s Guide
The Didger® User’s Guide is furnished under a single user license agreement. Only a
single user may use a single user’s guide. With the purchase of the Didger User’s
Guide, the user is entitled to download the user’s guide content to one (1) electronic
medium and print one (1) hardcopy. No part of this document or the related files may
be reproduced or transmitted in any form, by any means (electronic, photocopying,
recording, or otherwise) thereafter. Contents are subject to change without notice.
Didger is a registered trademark of Golden Software, Inc. All other trademarks are
the property of their respective owners.
September 2013
Contents
Chapter 1 - Introducing Didger
Welcome to Didger.........................................................................................1
Examples of Didger Uses..............................................................................2
What is Digitizing? ......................................................................................2
New Features ................................................................................................3
User Friendly..............................................................................................3
Image Registration and Processing ................................................................3
Projections and Coordinate Systems ..............................................................3
Import and Export Improvements .................................................................6
System Requirements ....................................................................................7
Installation Directions .....................................................................................8
Updating Didger .........................................................................................8
Uninstalling Didger ......................................................................................8
A Note about the Documentation......................................................................9
Three-Minute Tour ....................................................................................... 10
Sample Didger Files .................................................................................. 10
Using Didger ............................................................................................ 11
Getting Base Information into Didger .............................................................. 11
Paper Documents ..................................................................................... 11
Image Files .............................................................................................. 11
Data Files ................................................................................................ 12
Vector Files .............................................................................................. 12
Tablets vs. Scanners .................................................................................... 12
What is a Digitizing Tablet? ........................................................................ 12
Scanners ................................................................................................. 12
Didger User Interface ................................................................................... 13
Didger Layout .......................................................................................... 14
Opening Windows ..................................................................................... 15
Toolbars .................................................................................................. 15
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Chapter 2 - Tutorial
Tutorial Overview ........................................................................................ 33
A Note About the Documentation ................................................................ 34
Using the Tutorial with the Demo Version ..................................................... 34
Starting Didger ............................................................................................ 34
Lesson 1 - Tablet Calibration ......................................................................... 35
Opening and Printing the Tutorial Map ......................................................... 35
Calibrating a Digitizing Tablet ..................................................................... 36
Tablet Calibration Wizard Coordinate System Settings .................................... 36
Create Calibration Points ............................................................................ 37
RMS Calibration Settings ............................................................................ 38
Calibration Settings ................................................................................... 40
Specify Project Limits and Scale .................................................................. 41
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Chapter 1
Introducing Didger
Welcome to Didger
Didger® is a digitizing and coordinate conversion software. You can digitize maps,
aerial photographs, graphs, or any other data with Didger. When working with your
project, you can digitize onscreen with your computer's mouse, or digitize directly
from a paper copy using a digitizing tablet.
Didger provides extensive flexibility in working with your data. You can import image
files, data files, or vector files directly into Didger. Didger supports multiple layers to
help organize your project, georeferencing images, image warping (rubber sheeting),
combining georeferenced images into a new image, overlaying vector, data, and
georeferenced images on each other, easily adding graticule or grid lines to your
project, and associating many different attritubtes to each object. Didger also
includes comprehensive editing tools for creating and editing objects and images.
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Didger
What is Digitizing?
Digitizing is the process of transferring paper document information, image file
information, or data to your computer. This is accomplished with the use of a digitizing
tablet or by importing an image or vector file. Software such as Didger converts the
information from the file or paper document to digital information.
By providing the computer with the coordinates necessary to define object locations in
relation to other objects, you can create a file of object locations. Object locations are
defined by XY coordinates, such as latitude/longitude, UTM (Universal Transverse
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Mercator), State Plane, or any type of coordinate system. In addition, with Didger you
can associate text and data with the objects that you digitize.
New Features
The following is an overview of some of Didger's new features.
User Friendly
• Install 32-bit or 64-bit version of Didger.
• Updated to a modern Windows look.
• Added the Text Editor, making font properties for individual characters
easier.
• Created a text template library, for easily inserting math equations in a text
box.
• Full Unicode integration to allow international fonts and characters in all
aspects of the program.
• Copy and paste text directly in the plot window, creating a new text object.
• Zoom in, out, pan, and zoom realtime with a mouse wheel.
• All drawing tools are now persistent by default, making it easier than ever to
create multiple items at once.
• Set the symbol line color and fill color separately.
• Use opacity for all objects.
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Chapter 1 - Introducing Didger
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Didger
• Sweden - SWEREF99 TM
• SWEREF99 local zones
• SWEREF99 / RT90 emulation zones
• Switzerland - CH1903+LV95
• Switzerland - CH1903 LV03
• Taiwan TWD67 and TWD97
• New Datums
• CH 1903 - Switzerland (Bursa-Wolf)
• CH 1903+ - SwitzerlandHungarian Datum 1972
• GDA94
• IRENET95
• ITRF90 (Bursa-Wolf)
• ITRF94 (WGS84)
• Japanese Geodetic Datum 2000 JGD2000 (WGS84)
• New Zealand Geodetic Datum 1949 (Bursa-Wolf)
• New Zealand Geodetic Datum 2000 (NZGD2000)
• NWS-84
• Posiciones Geodesicas Argentinas 1994 (WGS84 base)
• Posiciones Geodesicas Argentinas 1998 (WGS84 base)
• Rome 1940 - Italian Peninsula
• Rome 1940 - Sardinia
• Rome 1940 - Sicily
• SVY21 (WGS84 base)pie
• Sweden - SWEREF99
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Chapter 1 - Introducing Didger
System Requirements
The minimum system requirements for Didger are:
• Windows XP SP2 or higher, Vista, 7, 8 (except RT), or higher
• Minimum 1024x768 or higher monitor resolution with 16-bit color depth
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Didger
Digitizing tablets are optional hardware items that can be used with Didger.
Installation Directions
Installing Didger 5 requires logging onto the computer with an account that has
Administrator rights. Golden Software does not recommend installing Didger 5 over
any previous version of Didger. Didger 5 can coexist with older versions (i.e. Didger
4) as long as they are in different directories. By default, the program directories are
different. For detailed installation directions, refer to the Readme.rtf file.
Updating Didger
To update Didger, open the program and click the Help | Check for Update
command. The Internet Update program will check Golden Software’s servers for any
free updates. If there is an update for your version of Didger (i.e. Didger 5.0 to
Didger 5.1), you will be prompted to download the update.
Uninstalling Didger
Windows XP: To uninstall Didger, go to the Windows Control Panel and double-click
Add/Remove Programs. Select Didger 5 from the list of installed applications. Click
the Remove button to uninstall Didger 5.
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Chapter 1 - Introducing Didger
Windows Vista: To uninstall Didger when using the Regular Control Panel Home,
click the Uninstall a program link. Select Didger 5 from the list of installed
applications. Click the Uninstall button to uninstall Didger 5.
To uninstall Didger when using the Classic View Control Panel, double-click Programs
and Features. Select Didger 5 from the list of installed applications. Click the Uninstall
button to uninstall Didger 5.
Windows 7: To uninstall Didger, go to the Windows Control Panel and click the
Uninstall a program link. Select Didger 5 from the list of installed applications. Click
the Uninstall button to uninstall Didger 5.
Windows 8: From the Start screen, right-click the Didger 5 tile and click the
Uninstall button at the bottom of the screen. Alternatively, right-click anywhere on the
Start screen and click All apps at the bottom of the screen. Right-click the Didger 5
tile and click Uninstall at the bottom of the screen.
Various font styles are used throughout the Didger documentation. Bold text
indicates menu commands, dialog names, and page names. Italic text indicates items
within a dialog such as group names, options, and field names. For example, the Save
As dialog contains a Save as type list. Bold and italic text occasionally may be used for
emphasis.
In addition, menu commands appear as File | Open. This means, "click on the File
menu at the top of the document, then click on the Open command within the File
menu list." The first word is always the menu name, followed by the commands within
the menu list.
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Didger
Three-Minute Tour
We have included several example files with Didger so that you can quickly see some
of Didger’s capabilities. Only a few example files are discussed here, and these
examples do not include all of Didger’s many features. The Layer Manager and
Data Manager are a good source of information as to what is included in each file.
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Using Didger
Didger can be used for a variety of purposes, but is primarily used to convert images
to digitized data. The general steps to progress from an image to a data file are as
follows:
1. Open Didger.
2. Click the File | Import command to import an existing image or the Image |
Download Online Maps command to search for an image on a web server.
3. Once the image is imported, use the Image | Vectorize Image command to
automatically convert the image to a series of lines and points.
4. Click the commands under the Draw menu to draw lines, polygons, text, and
symbols on the image.
5. Once all of the information appears as lines, polygons, text, and symbols, the
image can be deleted.
6. The digitized polylines and polygons can be refined with the Draw | Edit
Boundaries commands, if necessary.
7. When the digitized information is correct, click the File | Export command to
export to a variety of formats, including .DXF, .DAT, .SHP, .XLSX, or .KML for use
in other programs.
Paper Documents
If you have a paper document, such as a field map or a well log, you can digitize this
information with a digitizing tablet. If you scan a paper document into other software
to create an image, import the image into Didger using the File | Import command.
Image Files
If you have an image file, such as a .TIF or .BMP, you can import it into Didger with
the File | Import command. The image file can be imported into Didger whether it is
georeferenced or not. If the file does not have georeferencing information, you can
assign the georeferencing information to it when you import the file.
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Data Files
If you have a data file containing XY coordinates and additional information such as
IDs, elevation, etc. you can import the file into Didger with the File | Import
command.
Vector Files
If you have a vector file, such as a .DXF or .SHP, the file can be imported into Didger
with the File | Import command.
There are 32-bit and 64-bit WINTAB drivers available for most digitizing tablets. If you
do not have a driver for your tablet, contact the tablet manufacturer to see if they
have the drivers available. Tablet and driver installation can vary depending on the
manufacturer and model of your tablet. Refer to the users guide for your tablet to
determine the correct installation procedures. The bit version (32-bit or 64-bit) of your
tablet must match the bit version of Didger. If you have a 64-bit version of Didger,
you must have a 64-bit version of the tablet driver for the tablet to communicate
effectively with Didger.
The advantage to using a tablet is that large paper documents are easier to
manipulate on large tablets. Tablets also require less memory than large images.
Scanners
A scanner converts a paper document into an image. Once the image is imported into
Didger, you can calibrate it and then you can digitize information using your
computer's mouse. Scanners use their own software to scan the document into an
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image file. The advantage of using a scanner over a tablet is that once the image is
scanned, the external hardware is no longer needed to digitize the information off the
paper document.
This is the Didger plot window with the Layer Manager, Coordinate Manager,
and Property Manager on the left and the Data Manager on the bottom.
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Didger
Didger Layout
The following table summarizes the function of each component of the Didger layout.
Component
Component Function
Name
The title bar lists the program icon, program name, and the saved
Title Bar Didger file name, if any. An asterisk (*) after the file name
indicates the file has been modified since it was last saved.
Menu Bar The menu bar contains the commands used to run Didger.
The toolbars contain Didger tool buttons, which are shortcuts to
menu commands. Move the cursor over each button to display a
Toolbars tool tip describing the command. Toolbars can be customized with
the View | Toolbars/Managers | Customize command. Toolbars
can be docked or floating.
The plot window contains the images and drawn objects in the
Plot Window
current project.
The status bar shows information about the activity in Didger. The
status bar is divided into four sections. The left section displays the
number of selected objects or a brief description of menu
Status Bar
commands under the cursor. The second section shows the cursor
coordinates. The third section displays the current layer name. The
last section contains the projection information.
The Layer Manager controls all aspects of layers, such as the
Layer Manager addition and removal of layers. The Layer Manager is initially
docked on the left side above the Property Manager.
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Opening Windows
Selecting the File | Open command opens any Didger project file. The File | New
command creates a new plot window.
Toolbars
The Didger project window includes toolbars that contain buttons for many of the
common commands. The toolbars are initially docked, but they can be dragged and
placed anywhere on the screen.
Customize Toolbars
Click the View | Toolbars/Managers | Customize command to open the
Customize dialog and customize toolbars, menus, and keyboard shortcuts.
Toolbar Positions
Didger toolbars can be docked to any side of the window or they can be displayed as
a floating window. To dock the toolbar in a new location, click the "grip" bar along the
edge of the toolbar, hold the left mouse button, and then drag the toolbar to a new
location. Drag the toolbar away from a window edge or hold down the CTRL key while
dragging to display the toolbar as a floating window. Alternatively, you can double-
click the toolbar to display it as a floating window. To quickly dock a floating toolbar,
double-click on the title bar. Hold the pointer over any button on the toolbar to display
the function of the button.
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Types of Toolbars
Menu Bar
The Menu toolbar displays the Didger Menu commands.
Use the Menu Bar toolbar to see menu commands like File | Save.
Standard
The Standard toolbar displays commonly used File and Edit menu commands.
View
The View toolbar displays commonly used View menu commands.
The View toolbar has buttons for changing the zoom level,
changing the projection, and adding a grid or graticule to the map.
Arrange
The Arrange toolbar displays commonly used Arrange menu commands.
The Arrange toolbar has buttons for many of the Arrange menu commands.
Drawing
The Drawing toolbar displays commonly used Draw menu commands.
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Image
The Image toolbar displays commonly used Image menu commands.
Boundary Tools
The Boundary Tools toolbar contains commands to edit objects in Didger.
Custom
You can create custom toolbars using the View | Toolbars/Managers | Customize
command. You can specify a custom toolbar name and add any command that you
commonly use to your custom toolbar.
Status Bar
Click View | Status Bar command to show or hide the status bar. A check mark next
to Status Bar indicates that the status bar is displayed. The status bar displays
information about the current command or activity in Didger.
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The left section displays the number of selected objects or a brief description of menu
commands under the cursor. The second section shows the cursor coordinates. The
third section displays the current layer name. The right section contains the projection
information for the project.
In the Select Color dialog, set the color for the plot window background and click OK.
Visibility
Click the View | Toolbars/Managers commands to toggle the display of the
toolbars. Alternatively, use the View | Toolbars/Managers | Customize command
to open the Customize dialog. The Toolbars page of the Customize dialog displays
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Chapter 1 - Introducing Didger
all of the toolbars. A check mark indicates the toolbar is currently visible. Reset
toolbars with the Customize dialog.
Click the View | Toolbars/Managers commands to toggle the display of the Layer
Manager, Coordinate Manager, Property Manager, and Data Manager.
Alternatively, you can click the button in the title bar of the Layer Manager,
Coordinate Manager, Property Manager, or Data Manager to close the manager
window. The Property Manager can also be opened by double-clicking on an object.
Auto-Hiding Managers
Click the button to hide a docked manager. The manager slides to the side or
bottom of the main Didger window and a tab appears with the window name.
Position the mouse pointer over the tab to view the manager. Move your mouse away
from the manager and the manager "hides" again. You can also click inside the
manager to anchor it at its current position. Click in another manager to release the
anchor and hide the manager. Click the button to disable the auto-hide feature.
Size
Drag the sides of floating plot window, manager, toolbar, or menu bar to change its
size. If a manager is docked, its upper and lower bounds are indicated by a or
cursor. Move the cursor to change the size.
Position
To change the position of a docked manager, click the title bar and drag it to a new
location. The entire manager appears in the location it will be displayed when the
manager is floating. To dock the manager, use the docking mechanism. You can also
double-click the manager's title bar to toggle between floating and docked modes. A
tabbed manager view is also an option.
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Docking Mechanism
Left-click the title bar of a manager and drag it to a new location while holding the left
mouse button. The docking mechanism displays with arrow indicators as you move the
manager.
When the cursor touches one of the docking indicators in the docking mechanism, a
blue rectangle shows the window docking position. Release the left mouse button to
allow the manager to be docked in the specified location.
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Chapter 1 - Introducing Didger
Tabbed Managers
To create tabbed managers:
1. Drag one manager on top of another window.
2. Hover over the center section of the docking mechanism. The blue area shows
where the tabbed manager will display.
3. Release the mouse button.
Floating Managers
The toolbars and menu bar can also be moved or displayed in floating windows.
To dock the toolbar or menu bar in a new location, click the "grip" bar along the
toolbar or menu bar edge, hold the left mouse button, and then drag the toolbar or
menu bar to a new location. Drag the toolbar or menu bar away from the window edge
to display the toolbar as a floating window. Double-click the manager title bar to
switch between floating and docked.
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Didger
Layer Manager
The Layer Manager contains information on plot layers. Layers can be selected,
replicated, arranged, added, deleted, activated, renamed, made visible/invisible, made
editable/uneditable, and locked/unlocked in the Layer Manager. Changes made in
the Layer Manager are reflected in the plot window. The layer each object exists on
is listed in the Data Manager.
Adding a Layer
To add a layer, right-click in the Layer Manager and select Add Layer or click the
button on the Layer Manager toolbar.
Deleting a Layer
To delete a layer, right-click on the layer and select Delete Layer or click the button
on the Layer Manager toolbar. A project must contain at least one layer. If the last
layer is deleted, a warning message appears. Click OK and the layer will remain.
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Chapter 1 - Introducing Didger
Renaming a Layer
To change the name associated with a layer, right-click on the layer and select the
Rename Layer command or click the button on the Layer Manager toolbar.
Duplicating a Layer
To make a copy of an entire layer, right-click on the layer and select Replicate Layer or
click the button on the Layer Manager toolbar. A new layer is created with all of
the objects and properties of the original layer. The new layer is named Copy of and
the original layer name.
All layers have a light bulb button to indicate if the layer is visible. The yellow light
bulb indicates that the layer is visible. The gray light bulb indicates the layer is not
visible. To change the visible status of a layer, click on the light bulb. Invisible layers
do not appear in the plot window and do not appear on printed output.
to a closed lock , indicating that the objects on that layer can no longer be edited.
You can add objects to an uneditable layer, but you cannot select, delete, or change
properties of objects on an uneditable layer. To unlock a locked layer, click on the
closed lock icon next to the layer name.
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Didger
Arranging Layers
To change the display order of the layers with the mouse, click on a layer name to
select it and drag it to a new position in the list above or below a layer. Release the
mouse button and the layer moves to the desired location.
Introduction to Layers
Layers partition a project into one or more overlays.
Layers are like transparencies in that you can see
all layers at the same time, but they let you isolate
objects by placing them on separate layers. Layers
are created and manipulated using Layer
Manager.
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Chapter 1 - Introducing Didger
Data Manager
The View | Toolbars/Managers | Data Manager command displays information
about the objects in the current project such as row number, object type,visibility, IDs
layer, point count, perimeter length, area, and polygon direction.
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Didger
Area This column displays the area of a polygon. The units of the area
calculation are set during calibration or in Tools | Project Settings on
the General tab. Area is not reported when the project is in the
Unprojected Lat/Long projection. The units are listed next to Area in the
header.
Direction This column displays the direction of the polygon vertices. Reverse is
counterclockwise and Forward is clockwise. Polygon direction can be
reversed with Draw | Reverse Direction.
Editing IDs
To edit or add an ID, click in that cell with the mouse, or use the arrow keys on the
keyboard to navigate through the Data Manager and type the new information into
the cell.
Adding IDs
To add an ID column to the Data Manager, use the Map | Data | Edit Attributes
Fields command.
Selecting Objects
To select an object, click anywhere in that object's row in the Data Manager. If you
select an object in the Data Manager, it is also selected in the plot window, and vice
versa.
You can use CTRL+click to select multiple objects and SHIFT+click to select multiple
contiguous objects.
Property Manager
The Property Manager allows you to edit the properties of a selected object. The
Property Manager contains a list of all properties of the selected object. The
Property Manager can be left open so that the properties of the selected object are
always visible.
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Chapter 1 - Introducing Didger
determining how to set the fill opacity for a rectangle or how to assign a primary ID to
an object, refer to the specific pages for fill properties or data attributes.
Object Properties
The Property Manager is divided into property sections based on the object type. For
example, if the object type is a polygon, Polygon Item Properties, Data
Attributes, Line Properties, Fill Properties and Label Properties are the names
displayed for each section.
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Didger
Changing Properties
The Property Manager displays the properties for selected objects. To change a
property, click the property's value and select a new property from the popup box,
scroll to a new number using the buttons, select a new value from a list or palette,
or type a property value. The property access depends on the property type. For
example, a selected polyline would use line properties and has Style, Color, Width,
Opacity, Start Style, End Style, and Scale properties. Changing the Color requires
clicking the current color and selecting a new color from the color palette. Changing
the Width requires typing a new number or scrolling to a new number and then
pressing ENTER on your keyboard or clicking somewhere in the Property Manager to
make the change permanent.
Occasionally, properties are dependent on other selections. For example, in the fill
properties there is a Scale option. This option is disabled (grayed out) unless you have
selected a vector or picture fill type as the Pattern.
Note: if multiple objects are selected, only features common to all objects appear in
the Property Manager.
Keyboard Commands
When working with the Property Manager, the up and down ARROW keys move up
and down in the Property Manager list. The ENTER key activates the highlighted
property. The right arrow key expands collapsed sections (i.e. Fill Properties) and
the left arrow collapses the section.
Property Defaults
Use the Tools | Project Settings command to change the default settings. Default
settings for line, fill, text, and symbols controlling each object type can be set from the
Project Settings dialog.
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Coordinate Manager
The Coordinate Manager contains the vertex coordinates of selected objects.
Viewing Coordinates
To view an object's coordinates, select a single object. The coordinates appear in the
selected Display Units or in Cartesian units, if no projection is defined. When a
coordinate pair is clicked on in the Coordinate Manager, the vertex is highlighted as
a black hatched square in the plot window. If you have more than one object selected,
no coordinates are displayed in the Coordinate Manager.
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• The Search page offers advanced search options including phrases, wildcards,
boolean, and nested searching.
• The Favorites page allows you add help pages to a custom list. This allows
you to quickly find favorite help topics that you reference frequently.
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Chapter 1 - Introducing Didger
Technical Support
Golden Software’s technical support is free to registered users of our products. Our
technical support staff is trained to help you find answers to your questions quickly
and accurately. We are happy to answer any of your questions about any of our
products, both before and after your purchase. We also welcome suggestions for
improvements to our software and encourage you to contact us with any ideas you
may have for adding new features and capabilities to our programs. To allow us to
support all customers equitably, an individual user’s daily support time may be limited.
If you cannot find the answer to your question in the online help, the frequently asked
questions, the knowledge base, or in the support forums, please do not hesitate to
contact us.
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Didger
Please remember to register your serial number by filling out the registration form
online. Registering your serial number entitles you to free technical support,
announcements, and Didger upgrade pricing. Our database is confidential so we do
not share it with third parties. Please take a minute to register your copy of Didger
with us.
Suggestions
We welcome suggestions for improvements to our software and encourage you to
contact us with any ideas you may have for adding new features and capabilities to
our programs. If you have a suggestion you would like to share with us, please send it
to us by clicking Help | Feedback | Suggestions.
Email: DidgerSupport@GoldenSoftware.com
Web: www.GoldenSoftware.com
Phone: 303-279-1021
Fax: 303-279-0909
Mail: Golden Software, Inc., 809 14th Street, Golden, Colorado, 80401-1866, USA
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Chapter 2
Tutorial
This tutorial is designed to introduce you to some of Didger's features. After you have
completed the tutorial, you should be able to begin to use Didger with your own data,
creating and editing your own objects, and importing vector and image files. We
strongly encourage completion of the tutorial before proceeding with Didger. The
lessons should be completed in order; however, they do not need to be completed in
one session. The tutorial should take approximately one hour to complete.
Tutorial Overview
The following is an overview of lessons included in the tutorial.
• Starting Didger shows you how to begin a new Didger session and open a new
plot window.
• Lesson 1 - Tablet Calibration calibrates a map on a digitizing tablet.
• Lesson 2 - Image Calibration calibrates a map that is imported from an image
file.
• Lesson 3 - Creating and Editing Objects draws and edits various drawing
objects.
• Lesson 4 - Converting Coordinates demonstrates how to convert all
coordinates in a project at once.
• Lesson 5 - Assigning and Changing the Projection assigns a map projection to
a project and changes the coordinate system.
• Lesson 6 - Downloading Online Maps steps through downloading a map fro a
web map server.
• Lesson 7 - Vectorizing an Image opens an existing file that contains an image
and automatically converts the image to polylines.
• Advanced Tutorial Lesson 8 - Saving and Exporting Data shows how to save
your Didger project and export data for use in other programs.
• Advanced Tutorial Lesson 9 - Digitizing Objects with Shared Borders shows
how to draw polylines and use a single polyline for multiple polygons.
The lessons should be completed in order; however, they do not need to be completed
in one session.
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Didger
Also, menu commands appear as Draw | Text. This means, "click on the Draw menu
at the top of the plot window and then click on Text within the Draw menu list." The
first word is always the menu name, followed by the commands within the menu list.
Starting Didger
To begin a Didger session:
1. Navigate to the installation folder, which is C:\Program Files\Golden
Software\Didger 5 by default.
2. Double-click on the Didger.exe application file.
3. A new empty project is created with an empty plot window.
If this is the first time that you have opened Didger, you will be prompted for your
serial number. Your serial number is located on the CD cover or in the email received
with the download directions, depending on how you purchased Didger. You may also
access your serial number at any time by clicking Help | About Didger in the Didger
window.
If you have already been working with Didger, open a new plot window by clicking
File | New or click the button. You are prompted to save changes to your
existing work before the new plot window opens.
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Chapter 2 - Tutorial
6. After the map is printed, click the File | New command or click the button to
open a new plot window.
7. Click No when asked if you want to save changes to the plot.
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Didger
The tutorial map can be printed for tablet calibration and digitizing.
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7. Once you are satisfied with the calibration points, click Next to open the RMS
Calibration Settings dialog.
The Create Calibration Points dialog contains the X, Y values you input in the
World X and World Y columns and the values you click on in the Tablet X and Tablet Y columns.
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For the tutorial example, the RMS value is not critical, but you might want to watch
this value closely when you are working on an actual project. For further information
on RMS errors, refer to the RMS Calibration Settings topic and the online help book,
RMS Error.
The RMS Calibration Settings dialog displays the Total RMS value for the calibration.
If this value is too high, click Back and click on the calibration points on the tablet again.
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Calibration Settings
The Calibration Settings dialog contains options for screen display, digitizing
tolerance, and digitizing button options. Note that many of these settings can be set
after calibration by clicking the Tools | Project Settings command.
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Set the axis limits and scale, if desired, in the Specify Project Limits and Scale dialog.
Next Steps
If you wish to digitize objects directly off the digitizing tablet map, go to Lesson 3 -
Creating and Editing Objects. Do not go through the image calibration described in the
next lesson at this time. Otherwise, you will need to recalibrate the tablet when you
are ready to digitize the objects on the map.
If you wish to digitize objects off the screen instead of off the digitizing tablet map, go
to Lesson 2 - Image Calibration.
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Importing an Image
To import an image:
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The image is calibrated during import using this dialog. To begin, we need to enter the
point ID and known coordinate information in the table in the middle of the Image
Registration and Warping dialog.
4. Click the button to activate the zoom in mode. Click a few times on the lower
left corner of the map near CP1 to zoom in on the first calibration point.
Alternatively, use the scroll ball on the mouse to zoom in on the CP1 point.
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8. Follow the steps 4-7 to calibrate the remaining points: CP2, at the top center of
the map; CP3, at the bottom right; and CP4, at the far right. If you make a
mistake, you can click the calibration point name in the calibration table and then
redigitize the point.
The Coordinate System and Image Extents can also be set for the image. If the image
is in a projected system, select Specify in the Specify Coordinate System section and
click the Coordinate System button. This image is not in a coordinate system, so leave
the Use Current selected. If a smaller portion of the image should be used, uncheck
the Automatic Image Extents box in the Specify Image Extents section. Click the Set
Extents button to set the limits. For this project, leave the Automatic Image Extents
checked.
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The dialog settings should be similar to the above settings before clicking OK.
For the tutorial example, the Total RMS value is not critical, but you might want to
watch this value closely when you are working on an actual project. The Total RMS
value is located on the right side of the dialog above the Un-referenced button. For
further information on RMS errors, refer to the RMS Calibration Settings topic and the
online help book, RMS Error.
Click OK in the Image Registration and Warping dialog to use the current settings
and finishing importing the image.
Creating Symbols
The tutorial map contains two types of symbols. The symbols represent
monitoring wells that are labeled with well names (MW-3, for example) and
groundwater elevation values (88.12). The symbols represent recovery wells
labeled with well names (RW7b). When creating the symbols in Didger, the
symbol type, size, color, and IDs can be set for each point. Any of these IDs or a
combination of IDs can be used as a label for the point.
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10. Highlight the text next to the ID Suffix option. Press the DELETE key on the
keyboard so that the suffix is empty.
3. Click on the current Symbol to open the symbol palette and click on the
symbol (symbol 102) to select it.
4. Click on the current Fill Color to open the color palette and click on the color Blue
to select it.
5. To change the outside line color of the symbol, click on the current Line color and
click on the color Blue to select it. Now both the outside and inside of the symbol
will be blue.
Once all the properties are set, you can begin digitizing points. Tablet digitizers use
the puck to digitize and image digitizers use the mouse. Everyone uses the mouse for
dialog actions. If you are digitizing an image and want to zoom in to see the image
more closely, use the mouse scroll bar to zoom in and out.
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10. After the fourth point, press the ESC key on your keyboard or click the button
to exit drawing mode.
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Assigning Labels
Labels can be defined before creating the symbols. Or, all of the symbols can be
selected and labels can be added after the symbols are created.
and click the button to move the well name above the symbol.
16. Click on Secondary in the Label Field Name column and click on the button to
move the elevation label below the symbol.
17. Click OK and the label properties are set for the symbols.
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Drawing Polylines
You can create polylines by clicking on points along the line or by tracing along the
line. When tracing, a continuous stream of vertices is created as you move the pointer
along the polyline. This makes it easy to digitize curved boundaries. The contours in
this example are curved lines and are best digitized using the tracing method.
If you are using a digitizing tablet, check to see if the tablet is in stream mode before
continuing. Click the Tools | Project Settings command. Click on the Digitizing
Settings tab and make sure Stream Mode is checked. Click OK and you are ready to
begin.
If you are digitizing an image, make sure you can see all the contour lines in the
window before beginning. You can click the View | Full Extents command to zoom
out so everything is visible.
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over one end of the 88.30 contour. Press and hold the digitize button or left mouse
button and drag the puck or cursor along the contour line from the beginning to
the end. You should see a polyline drawn in the plot window.
10. After the cursor or puck reaches the end of the line, press the ENTER key on the
keyboard, double-click the left mouse button, or press the finish button on the
puck to stop digitizing the line.
11. The Enter Object Data dialog is displayed. Click in the Primary field and type
88.30, the contour level value for the line just digitized.
12. Click OK in the Enter Object Data dialog.
13. Click on the beginning point for the next contour line on the map.
14. Repeat steps 9-13 for all contour lines on the map.
15. Press the ESC key on the keyboard after you are done tracing the last contour
line. This ends digitize mode.
Digitizing polylines and polygons takes a bit of practice. If you are not satisfied with
the way the object looks as you are digitizing it, you can click the right mouse button
to remove the last digitized vertex. If the line is beyond repair, click ESC on your
keyboard to cancel digitizing, delete the line, and start over. These commands apply to
both tablet digitizing and image digitizing, although you can set a puck button to act
like right-clicking the mouse. See Digitizing Settings for more information on puck
button settings.
Editing Polylines
If you have traced lines by holding down the puck digitizing button or the left mouse
button, the lines are most likely a bit jagged. Several tools are available to help you
edit polygons and polylines. Refer to the Draw menu and the associated help topics
for more information on these tools. Hint: if you highlight a command and click F1 on
your keyboard, the specific topic opens.
2. Click the Draw | Thin and Smooth command or click the button.
3. Select Vertex Averaging in the Line Thinning and Smoothing dialog.
4. Set the Average Rate to 3.
5. Click OK and the line appears smoother.
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If the Vertex Averaging does not produce the desired line, click the Edit | Undo
command and click the Draw | Thin and Smooth command again. Experiment with
the various other smoothing methods until the line appears as desired.
Didger can perform two types of coordinate conversions: Math Operation and
Georeference. Both methods convert coordinates but require different information
about the data. Either method can be selected for converting coordinates. The Math
Operation option is used when a known offset in the project coordinate system exists.
For example, adding, subtracting, multiplying, or dividing every X value by 2. The
Georeference option is used when the exact coordinates of three or more non-linear
points are known and the map will be recalibrated based on those values. This is
useful when you a Didger project file contains either vector data only or both a
georeferenced image and vector data and needs recalibrating. You can select from a
list of many transformation functions when converting the coordinates.
This example will continue with the map from lesson 3 and convert the coordinates
using a math operation. If the map does not exist yet, work through Lesson 2 to
import the map.
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Based on new information, it is determined that the X value for this bottom point
should actually be X = 2200. The value that was calibrated is off by 1000 meters. This
is something that is corrected easily in Didger. To adjust the X values by 1000
meters:
If you click on the point in the lower left corner of the map, you will see that the
coordinates are now closer to 2200, 4000. All of the X values have been adjusted by
1000 meters.
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1. Click the File | Close command or click the button if an existing project is
open.
2. Save the changes if desired. If you are using the demo version, you will not be
able to save the file. Close the file without saving.
The current projection information is on the far right side of the status bar.
The projection can also be determined by clicking the Map | Change Projection
command. If the Change Projection command is not available, a projection has not
been previously set for the project. The Change Projection command is not
available, which indicates the project does not have a projection defined.
The file opens and displays the USGS DRG file in the Cartesian coordinates.
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The image warps to the new projection, displaying state plane feet.
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1. Click the File | Close command or click the button if an existing project is
open.
2. Save the changes if desired. If you are using the demo version, you will not be
able to save the file. Close the file without saving.
3. Click the File | New
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7. After all of the options are set, click OK to download the image.
8. When the progress gauge is finished, a warning message may appear. If the
Would you like to re-project the bitmap to the current projection system? message
appears, click Yes.
The image is added to the project, on top of the other objects. To move the image
behind the other objects,
1. Click on the image to select it.
2. Click the Arrange | Order Objects | Move to Back command or click the
button.
3. In the Layer Manager, click on the WMS-Orthoimagery/USGS_EDC_Ortho_NAIP
layer.
4. Drag the layer to the bottom of the layer list. The roads appear directly on top of
the image.
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After the image is downloaded, the street lines overlay the image.
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1. Click the File | Close command or click the button if an existing project is
open.
2. Save the changes if desired. If you are using the demo version, you will not be
able to save the file. Close the file without saving.
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2. Click the Image | Vectorize Image command or click the button to open
the Vectorize Image dialog.
3. Set the Edge Detection Method to Standard Object Thinning.
4. Set the Smooth Lines to Minor.
5. Set the Min Pixel Length to 5.
6. Uncheck the box next to the Auto Generate Polygons if it is checked.
7. Check the box next to the Create results on new layer(s) if it is not already
checked.
8. Click OK and the vector polylines are automatically created from the image.
2. Images are displayed in the Data Manager with this symbol: . The image
should be at the bottom of the Object Type list.
3. The light bulb symbol is yellow, indicating the image is displayed. Click on the
light bulb so that it changes to gray. This turns off the image so the vector contour
lines can be seen easily.
Click on the light bulb next to the image to turn the image display off.
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Assigning Elevations
Typically, contour lines have elevation numbers associated with them in one of the ID
fields. Technically, you could select each line and type the ID into the Property
Manager's Data Attributes section, but this is time consuming when you have many
polylines. Instead, you can use the Assign Elevations command.
2. The cursor changes to . To assign the elevation data, a line must be drawn
from the minimum contour polyline to the maximum contour polyline. The
minimum elevation is assigned to the first polyline the line crosses and each
successive polyline is assigned an increasing elevation based on the specified
contour interval. The minimum contour level is located at the center circle of this
map and the maximum contour is located at the circle on the right side of the
map. Position the cursor just inside the center circle, hold down the mouse button,
and drag the cursor to the circle on the right side of the map to draw the line.
3. Release the mouse button and the Assign Elevations dialog appears.
4. Type 5460 for the Starting Elevation.
5. Type 60 for the Increment Value.
6. The Assign to Data list contains the fields that can be used for the data. In this
case, select Primary ID.
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7. Click OK and the elevations are entered into the primary ID. You can see all the
primary IDs in the Data Manager.
The Z level values are listed for the Primary ID in the Data Manager.
Preprocessing Note
The vectorization example above was a simplified example. Typically, you need to use
image pre-processing tools before vectorizing. Pre-processing includes the commands
in Image | Processing Filters. For example, if the pixels are not well defined, you
may need to use Adjust Contrast, Adjust Brightness, etc. If the lines in the image
are not well defined or break apart, you may want to use Image Erosion and
Dilation. Pre-processing and vectorization settings may take some experimentation to
achieve the preferred results.
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Note: if you are using the demo version of Didger, the files cannot be saved or
exported. Proceed to Lesson 9 - Digitizing Objects with Shared Borders instead.
If you have not done so already, it is recommend that you complete lesson 2 and
lesson 3 to calibrate a project and draw symbols in the project.
1. Click the File | Save command or click the button. Since this is a new
Didger project, the Save As dialog is displayed, allowing you to save the file to
any name.
2. Highlight the File name field contents, type the name Example_Save, and then
click the Save button. The file Example_Save.pjt is saved and the .PJT extension is
placed on the file automatically.
Note: if you are using the demo version of Didger, the files cannot be saved or
exported. Proceed to Lesson 9 - Digitizing Objects with Shared Borders instead.
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If you have not done so already, it is recommend that you complete lesson 2 and
lesson 3 to calibrate a project and draw symbols in the project.
For this lesson, let’s produce a text file of points. First, we need to select just the
points in the file. This is easily accomplished with Criteria Select.
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1. Click the File | Close command or click the button if an existing project is
open.
2. Save the changes if desired. If you are using the demo version, you will not be
able to save the file. Close the file without saving.
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The image above shows the nine lines that need to be digitized.
The arrows indicate direction for each line to be digitized.
When assigning IDs to each line, the Primary ID will be used as the object name on
the left side of the polyline. The Secondary ID will be used as the object name on the
right side of the polyline. In these non-shared objects, only a single ID will be entered.
Because of the arrow directions indicated in the image above, all of these non-shared
objects will only have the right side of the object named.
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e. Click OK.
9. Press the ESC key on the keyboard to end drawing mode.
The image above shows the nine lines that need to be digitized.
The arrows indicate direction for each line to be digitized.
When assigning IDs to each line, the Primary ID will be used as the object name on
the left side of the polyline. The Secondary ID will be used as the object name on the
right side of the polyline. Following the arrow direction indicates which side of the
shared polyline is right or left. Pretend you are standing on the line facing in the
direction the arrow points. The object on your left is the left side of the polyline. The
object on the right is the right side of the polyline.
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3. Check the box next to Enter Data After Creation option, if it is not already
checked.
4. Check the box next to Create Several, if it not already checked.
5. To create line 1 above,
a. Click on the far right point, where lines 1, 3, and 6 meet. Try to click inside the
snap tolerance circle created by the previously digitized lines.
b. Double-click on the far left point, where lines 1, 2, and 9 meet. Try to double-
click inside the snap tolerance circle created by the previously digitized lines.
c. In the Enter Object Data dialog, type in Colorado in the Primary box.
d. Type Wyoming in the Secondary box.
e. Click OK.
6. To create line 3 above,
a. Click on the bottom-most point, where lines 1, 3, and 6 meet. Try to click
inside the snap tolerance circle created by the previously digitized lines.
b. Double-click on the top-most point, where lines 2, 3, and 4 meet. Try to
double-click inside the snap tolerance circle created by the previously digitized
lines.
c. In the Enter Object Data dialog, type in Wyoming in the Primary box.
d. Type Nebraska in the Secondary box.
e. Click OK.
7. To create line 5 above,
a. Click on the far left point, where lines 5, 6, and 8 meet. Try to click inside the
snap tolerance circle created by the previously digitized lines.
b. Double-click on the far right point, where lines 4, 5, and 7 meet. Try to
double-click inside the snap tolerance circle created by the previously digitized
lines.
c. In the Enter Object Data dialog, type in Nebraska in the Primary box.
d. Type Kansas in the Secondary box.
e. Click OK.
8. To create line 6 above,
a. Click the bottom-most point, where lines 5, 6, and 8 meet. Try to click inside
the snap tolerance circle created by the previously digitized lines.
b. Click on the upper right point on line 6.
c. Click on the far left point, where lines 1, 3, and 6 meet. Try to double-click
inside the snap tolerance circle created by the previously digitized lines.
d. In the Enter Object Data dialog, type in Colorado in the Primary box.
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f. Click Create. The polygon is created on the map with the default polygon
properties and the Primary name of Nebraska.
g. Click on Wyoming in the Select Left/Right ID box.
h. Click Create. The polygon is created on the map with the default polygon
properties and the Primary name of Wyoming.
i. Click Close to close the dialog.
If a polygon is not created, check the left and right IDs. Usually, troubles with
polygon creation mean the IDs were entered incorrectly. Another common cause of a
polygon not being created is the digitized beginning and ending points not being within
the snap tolerance circle of the other points. in the area.
Congratulations! You have now completed the advanced tutorial for Didger.
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Getting Base Information into Didger
There are several ways to get base information into Didger, depending on the type of
information you have and the type of hardware you own. Base information can include
paper reference maps, paper graphs, images, vector files (such as .DXF), an aerial
photograph, a Mylar map, data files, etc.
Paper Documents
If you have a paper document, such as a field map or a well log, you can digitize this
information with a digitizing tablet. If you scan a paper document into other software
to create an image, import the image into Didger using the File | Import command.
Image Files
If you have an image file, such as a .TIF or .BMP, you can import it into Didger with
the File | Import command. The image file can be imported into Didger whether it is
georeferenced or not. If the file does not have georeferencing information, you can
assign the georeferencing information to it when you import the file.
Data Files
If you have a data file containing XY coordinates and additional information such as
IDs, elevation, etc. you can import the file into Didger with the File | Import
command.
Vector Files
If you have a vector file, such as a .DXF or .SHP, the file can be imported into Didger
with the File | Import command.
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Introduction to Layers
Layers partition a project into one or more overlays. Layers are like transparencies in
that you can see all layers at the same time, but they let you isolate objects by placing
them on separate layers. Layers are created and manipulated using Layer Manager.
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Layer Manager
The Layer Manager contains information on plot layers. Layers can be selected,
replicated, arranged, added, deleted, activated, renamed, made visible/invisible, made
editable/uneditable, and locked/unlocked in the Layer Manager. Changes made in
the Layer Manager are reflected in the plot window. The layer each object exists on
is listed in the Data Manager. Refer to the Layer Manager section in Chapter 1 for
additional information.
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The Layer Formatter is a thematic mapping tool used to classify common data with
symbols and colors. You can apply drawing properties to items that share a common
attribute or keyword. For example, you can import a polygon layer representing
geologic formations across the country. The formation field may have many records
but only three possible formations: Granite, Schist, and Sandstone. The Layer
Formatter uses the formation field as the keyword and adds all available values to a
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list in the data view. You can then select a value from the list and apply fill and line
properties to all records that share a common name. In this example, fill properties
could be blue for Granite, green for Schist, and red for Sandstone.
Format Type
The Format Type determines how objects are selected. To change the Format Type,
click on the existing option and select the desired option from the list. Select Keyword
if you want to classify your data on items of a certain type, like surface and bottom
hole well locations. Select Range if you want to categorize your data based on ranges
within a data field. Range data are typically numeric data fields such as well depths,
production cost, or population data.
New List
Click the button to create a new list. The existing entries in the list are removed.
Delete Item
Click the button to remove the selected item from the list.
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Open List
Click the button to open the Format Files dialog. Select the existing Didger
Format Files (*.dfh) file from the dialog and click Open. The items from the list are
displayed in the Layer Formatter dialog.
Save List
Click the button to open the Format Files dialog. Type a name for the new Didger
Format Files (*.dfh) file and click Save. The items from the list are saved to a new
.DFH file.
Classifying Objects
To classify data based on a keyword:
1. In the Layer Manager, select the layer you want to classify.
Tablet Calibration
Click the Draw | Tablet | Tablet Calibration command or click the button to
calibrate the digitizing tablet before beginning work on a project or continuing with a
project. The Tablet Calibration Wizard steps through the necessary options to begin
a new project or to recalibrate an existing project using the digitizing tablet. The tablet
must be calibrated before digitizing objects.
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There are 32-bit and 64-bit WINTAB drivers available for most digitizing tablets. If you
do not have a driver for your tablet, contact the tablet manufacturer to see if they
have the drivers available. Tablet and driver installation can vary depending on the
manufacturer and model of your tablet. Refer to the users guide for your tablet to
determine the correct installation procedures. The bit version (32-bit or 64-bit) of your
tablet must match the bit version of Didger. If you have a 64-bit version of Didger,
you must have a 64-bit version of the tablet driver for the tablet to communicate
effectively with Didger.
The advantage to using a tablet is that large paper documents are easier to
manipulate on large tablets. Tablets also require less memory than large images.
Scanners
A scanner converts a paper document into an image. Once the image is imported into
Didger, you can calibrate it and then you can digitize information using your
computer's mouse. Scanners use their own software to scan the document into an
image file. The advantage of using a scanner over a tablet is that once the image is
scanned, the external hardware is no longer needed to digitize the information off the
paper document.
Rotation
Your paper source documents can be rotated on the tablet, and Didger corrects for
any rotation.
Scaling
Paper source documents can use different scaling in the two dimensions. For example,
your document might use a scaling of 1 inch=1000 feet in the X dimension, and 1 inch
= 1200 feet in the Y dimension, and Didger corrects for the different scaling.
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Calibration Marker
You can set the calibration marker symbol, color, and size by clicking the Draw |
Tablet | Calibration Marker command before or after calibrating the digitizing
tablet. Each tablet calibration point is shown in the plot window with the symbol
selected in the Calibration Marker dialog. The settings in the Calibration Marker
dialog are used in the current project and in future projects until the settings are
changed. The calibration markers are not printed or exported.
Activate Tablet
Before you digitize objects, the digitizing tablet must be calibrated (see Tablet
Calibration), and must be activated by clicking the Draw | Tablet | Activate Tablet
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If your tablet is not properly installed, contact the tablet manufacturer for assistance.
Connectivity between the digitizing tablet and the Wintab driver often requires certain
information that can only be obtained from the tablet manufacturer. In our experience,
tablet manufacturers can quickly and easily get you up and running with your digitizer
connectivity.
The final Didger project accuracy is determined by the care you put into the
calibration process. If you demand a high degree of precision and accuracy for your
project, take care when working through the calibration from selecting the calibration
points to digitizing them. If accuracy is not highly important to your results, calibration
requires very little effort. However, it is always a good idea to verify that RMS values
are reasonable before proceeding with a project.
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There are three points to consider that can affect the error values and ultimately the
RMS values.
1. How well did you define the X and Y coordinates for your calibration points?
• When you choose your calibration points, determining the exact XY
coordinates for the points is important. If you are determining XY coordinates
from an axis, you must rely on using a straight edge and ruler to determine
exact coordinates. In these cases, the points must be measured and recorded
as accurately as possible.
• The calibration point coordinates must also be typed into the calibration grid
during the calibration process. You should be careful to enter the correct
coordinates during this stage. If you find a problem with your XY coordinates,
correct any mistakes in the calibration grid coordinate values. Refer to the
tutorial for more information on the calibration grid and calibrating. If you
change a value in the grid, you do not have to redigitize the point (or points) if
you are confident that you clicked in the precise location when digitizing the
calibration points.
2. How precise were you when you clicked the calibration points?
• Even with exact calibration point coordinates, you should use care when
clicking the points. Make sure the pointer is directly over the points when you
click them onscreen or on the digitizing tablet.
• If the RMS value is not acceptable and your XY coordinates are correct, you
can redigitize the points. Refer to the tutorial for more information on
calibrating.
3. Finally, there are four conditions under which Didger does not calculate RMS
values, or the RMS values are meaningless.
• when you are using one or two log axes
• when you only have three calibration points with an affine polynomial
georeferencing method
• when you select the thin plate spline, natural cubic spline, Marcov spline,
exponential spline, rational quadratic spline, or inverse distance squared
georeferencing methods
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• when your project uses different X and Y scaling (not the same number of
units per inch in both dimensions)
When you type calibration point coordinates into the calibration grid, Didger
determines where the exact or expected point locations should be in relation to the
tablet’s coordinate system or in relation to the image pixels.
where
x = a digitized location
t = the true (or expected) location
n = the number of digitized calibration points
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This graphic illustrates the relationship between a point’s true location and
the probability that a digitized point will be within a certain distance of the true
location. For example, there is a 68.3% chance that a digitized point would
lie somewhere within the smaller circle around the true point location.
As stated previously, RMS values are simply standard deviation values, and are in the
units you use for your calibration coordinates (feet, meters, miles, kilometers, and so
on). Because of this, you can think of RMS values as distances. In this discussion, they
are often referred to as the RMS distance rather than RMS value or RMS error.
In Didger, we assume that all digitizing errors are random. This means that when you
digitize a point it has an equal chance of lying in any direction from the true point
location (a normal distribution). Statistics tell us that with this type of data distribution
(a normal distribution), a certain percentage of observations can be expected to lie
within a particular number of standard deviations from the mean. In Didger, this
means that a certain percentage of points lie within a certain number of RMS distances
from their true location. For example, we can say that there is a 68.3 percent chance
that a digitized point lies within one RMS distance of its true location.
What does this mean in simple language? How far away is the digitized location from
the true location? When you digitize a point, the digitized location is probably not
exact. You cannot determine how far away it actually is, but you can say there is a
percentage chance that it is within a given distance from the true location by using a
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standard normal probability table. It can be stated that a point has some percent
chance of being a certain distance from its true location, or that a certain percentage
of points lie within a certain distance of their true location. Here is a short probabilities
table giving you an idea of several percentages assigned to numbers of RMS distances.
This table shows how to use the RMS values to determine the chances that a digitized
point will lie within a certain distance from its true location. If we take the first row of
the table as an example, it shows that there is a 38.3 percent chance that a digitized
point will lie within one-half of the RMS distance (0.5*RMS distance) of its true
location. So, if your project uses feet for units, and the RMS value is 10, there is a
38.3 percent chance that a digitized point lies within 5 feet of the true location
(0.5*10). Alternatively, assume a project RMS is calculated to be 16.40. Another way
of using these RMS values is to say that 99.7 percent of all digitized points lie within
49.20 units of their true locations (3*RMS distance or 3.0 * 16.40 = 49.20).
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project. In this case, you might want a relatively low RMS value for your
project.
• Some projects do not require very stringent error parameters. For example, if
your project is digitizing sample points you recorded by hand on a topographic
map (the map positions were only approximated to begin with), you might not
care as much about the digitizing accuracy because the point location is
slightly suspect. Under these conditions, the actual RMS value is not as
important, although you should at least look at the RMS value to determine if
it appears realistic for your project.
The key point with RMS values is to establish what the acceptable error for your
project is, and make sure the calibration RMS error falls within the acceptable
parameters. If your company uses established standards, then they can be employed
for your Didger project. If you have no established standards, you can define them
any way you want. Just decide how accurate you want your data to be, and follow the
guidelines discussed below to achieve those standards.
You can think of allowable RMS error as acceptable error on the ground. If you were to
locate a digitized point on the ground, how far off can you afford to be, and with what
certainty? This acceptable error on the ground determines the allowable RMS.
Allowable RMS error is defined by the formula
where
• Allowable RMS is the RMS value that is at or within the standards you set for
your project. RMS is the standard deviation of errors reported for all digitized
calibration points.
• Acceptable Error on the Ground is the distance, at true scale (1:1), from the
true location that digitized points represent. If you determine the exact real-
world location of a digitized point from your document, the acceptable error
represents the possible distance from the true location for the point.
• The RMS Factor is the number of standard deviations (RMS distances)
represented by an acceptable chance of occurrence. From the table shown
previously, the RMS factors are 0.5 for 38.3 percent, 1.0 for 68.3 percent, 1.5
for 86.6 percent, 2.0 for 95.4 percent, 2.5 for 98.8 percent, and 3.0 for 99.7
percent. These values are equivalent to the Z score from a standard normal
probability table.
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For example, let’s say you wanted to be 95.4 percent sure (RMS factor = 2) that
digitized points were within five units (acceptable error on the ground) of their true
location. In this case, the allowable RMS would be
During calibration of this example, you would need to be sure that your RMS value
was at or below 2.5.
Let’s say you want to determine your own standards using a 1:24,000 scale base map
and you want the digitized points to be within 0.05 inches of their true map position.
Your standards require that you are 95 percent sure that your points are within this
limit. In other words, when you produce a 1:24,000 map of the digitized data, you are
95 percent sure that the plotted positions are within 0.05 inches of their true location.
With this information, you can determine the acceptable RMS error for your project.
If you calibrate the map using feet as the calibration point units, the RMS value is also
in feet. To calculate an acceptable RMS value, you must translate the acceptable map
error (0.05 inches) to acceptable error on the ground (the error at true scale). Ground
error is based on map error, so you can convert required map error to required ground
error. This is done using the formula
From this you can determine the acceptable RMS. Remember that you want to be 95
percent sure that your digitized information is within the limit, which corresponds to
about two RMS distances (two standard deviations).
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so
so
The spatial transformation methods correct for translation, rotation, and differential
scaling. Spatial transformation is analogous to stretching and pinning a rubber sheet.
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The sheet is pinned down in various locations (control points) and is consequently
stretched and contracted between these points. Spatial transformations can stretch
the project in several different directions at one time. Therefore, it is beneficial to
define more control points where distortion is greatest.
Affine Polynomial
The most common transformation is Affine Polynomial. Affine transformations are a
subset of bilinear transformations. Bilinear transformations account for rotation, shift,
and differential scaling in X and Y. The X and Y axis orthogonality may change, but
parallel lines remain parallel. Affine polynomial transformations of a plane change
squares into parallelograms and change circles into ellipses of the same shape and
orientation. The affine polynomial transformation results may not be as good as when
using a higher order polynomial.
The minimum number of control points required for this transformation is three,
though four are required to calculate an RMS value.
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The left graphic is the file before using the affine polynomial transformation. The right
graphic is the file after an affine polynomial transformation. Note that lines remain parallel.
The minimum number of control points required for this transformation is four.
The left graphic is the file before using the first order polynomial transformation. The right
graphic is the file after using a first order polynomial transformation. Note that lines are no longer
parallel.
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The left graphic is the file before using the second order polynomial transformation.
The right graphic is the file after using second order polynomial transformation.
The left graphic is the file before using the third order polynomial transformation.
The right graphic is the file after using third order polynomial transformation.
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The minimum number of control points required for the Thin Plate Spline
transformation is four. The equation is of the form:
The left graphic is the file before using the thin plate spline transformation.
The right graphic is the file after using a thin plate spline transformation.
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The minimum number of control points required for the Natural Cubic Spline
transformation is four. The equation is of the form:
The left graphic is the file before using the natural cubic spline transformation.
The right graphic is the file after using a natural cubic spline transformation.
Marcov Spline
Radial basis functions include the Thin Plate Spline, Natural Cubic Spline, Marcov
Spline, Exponential Spline, and Rational Quadratic Spline. These methods are best for
correcting local distortions. RMS values are not reported when using radial basis
function methods as these methods are perfect interpolators at the control points.
The minimum number of control points required for the Marcov Spline transformation
is four. The equation is of the form:
The left graphic is the file before using the Marcov spline transformation.
The right graphic is the file after using a Marcov spline transformation.
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Exponential Spline
Radial basis functions include the Thin Plate Spline, Natural Cubic Spline, Marcov
Spline, Exponential Spline, and Rational Quadratic Spline. These methods are best for
correcting local distortions. RMS values are not reported when using radial basis
function methods as these methods are perfect interpolators at the control points.
The minimum number of control points required for the Exponential Spline
transformation is four. The equation is of the form:
The left graphic is the file before using the exponential spline transformation.
The right graphic is the file after using an exponential spline transformation.
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The minimum number of control points required for the Rational Quadratic Spline
transformation is four. The equation is of the form:
The left graphic is the file before using the rational quadratic spline transformation.
The right graphic is the file after using a rational quadratic spline transformation.
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The left graphic is the file before using the inverse distance squared transformation.
The right graphic is the file after using an inverse distance squared transformation.
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Chapter 4
Drawing Objects
Draw Menu Commands
The Draw menu has commands to create text, polygons, polylines, symbols,
rectangles, rounded rectangles, ellipses, and spline polylines. In addition, you can
reshape polylines and polygons, convert polylines to polygons and polygons to
polylines, combine or split islands and lakes, connect multiple polylines, or break a
polyline into multiple parts. Editing objects is discussed in Chapter 5.
Text
Click the Draw | Text command or click the button to create a text object. Unlike
a label, text objects are not directly associated with other object types. The typeface,
size, style, alignment, opacity, and color can be set for individual characters in a text
blocks.
Drawing Text
To create text:
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Text Properties
Text object properties can be modified through the Property Manager. Text object
properties include: Text Item Properties and Text Properties.
Default Properties
The default text properties are set by clicking the Tools | Project Settings command
and clicking on the Text Properties tab.
Text Editor
You can access the Text Editor by creating new text or by editing existing text. To
open the Text Editor with existing text, double-click on the text to open the Text
Editor.
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Text Appearance
Select a typeface from the list in the upper left corner of the dialog.
Set the size (in points) of the typeface in the box to the right of the typeface list.
Click the colored button to the right of the size box to display the color palette and
change the color for the highlighted text.
Several styles (including bold, italic, underline, and strikethrough) can be applied to
the text. Note that some typefaces, such as Symbol, do not support bold or italicized
text.
If the default superscript or subscript placement is not sufficient, you can highlight the
text and enter a number in the box adjacent to the subscript box to raise or lower text
from the midpoint of the existing line. Click the button to reset the highlighted
character's position to the default unsuperscripted or unsubscripted position.
Sub Position
You can click in any field in a template and use the boxes below Sub
Position to modify the position of the field in a template. The values are
offsets from the main character's zero position and are in pixels. How
far each value moves the template field is determined in part by the
font size. Positive values move the field to the right and up. The Sub
Position values are only available when editing text in a template field.
Editing Tools
Text can be edited using the following tools:
• You can cut , copy , or paste selected text, or paste objects from
the clipboard into the Text Editor.
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• Click the button to open the Symbol Properties dialog and add a symbol to
the text block.
• Click the button to open the Insert Date/Time dialog and enter the date
or time. The information entered in this dialog will automatically update every
time the Didger project is redrawn.
• Click to open the Template Library dialog and enter equations based on a
template.
• You can left justify , right justify , or center the text in the
bounding box. These options only make a difference with multiple lines of text.
• You can magnify text in the Text Editor by entering a new number in the
Zoom box. By default, the text is zoomed to a reasonable level.
• You can adjust the opacity of the selected text by entering a new number in
the Opacity box. Enter a value between zero (no opacity, full transparency)
and 100% (full opacity, no transparency).
Background
Click the Background button to open the Select Color dialog to set the background fill
pattern, color, and fill options for the text object.
Color
The Color is the color of the background. Click the existing color sample next to Color
to open the color palette. Click on a color in the palette to use it for the selected
background color. Click the Custom button at the bottom of the palette to open the
Colors dialog and create custom colors.
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Opacity
The Opacity controls the transparency of the foreground portion of the pattern. To
change the Opacity, highlight the existing value and type a new value. Press ENTER on
the keyboard to make the change. Alternatively, click on the to increase or
decrease the opacity value. Opacity values are between 0% (zero opacity, full
transparency) to 100% (full opacity, zero transparency).
To edit the alignment for text that already exists, change the options in the Text
Editor.
OK or Cancel
Click the OK button to save your changes and close the Text Editor. Click the Cancel
button to exit the Text Editor without saving your changes.
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You can set default symbol properties by clicking the Tools | Project Settings
command. In the Project Settings dialog, click on the Symbol Properties tab to
access these defaults. Changes made in the Project Settings dialog affect all
subsequent documents. Custom symbols can be created using a third party TrueType
font editing software.
Symbol Set
The Symbol Set displays all the fonts installed on the computer. Click on the symbol
set name and then you can choose a new font from the list.
Symbol
Click on the displayed symbol to choose a Symbol from the symbol palette. The
number of the selected symbol is indicated in the title bar above the palette and
adjacent to the symbol in the Property Manager. Add 32 if you are using font sets or
TrueType symbols, such as GSI Default Symbols.
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The symbol index is the symbol or glyph number as it appears in the title bar above
the palette and adjacent to the symbol in the Property Manager.
In the Text Editor dialog, click the button to open the Insert Date/Time
dialog. The date/time will update every time the project updates.
Format List
Select a default format from the list. Use the vertical scroll bar to scroll through the
list. A sample of the selected format is displayed above the list.
Add
Click the Add button to open the Add Format dialog and add a new format. The Add
Format dialog is used to add a custom date/time format. The Edit Format dialog is
identical, but is used to edit existing custom date/time formats.
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Enter a new format in the New Format box. See Add or Edit Format for a list of
format examples.
Edit
Select a custom format. Click the Edit button to open the Edit Format dialog and edit
the custom format. The default formats cannot be edited.
Delete
Select an custom format. Click the Delete button to delete the custom format. The
default formats cannot be deleted.
Insert or Cancel
Click the Insert button to insert the selected date/time format. Click the Cancel button
to close the Insert Date/Time dialog without making changes.
Click the button in the Text Editor dialog to open the Template Library dialog.
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Up/Down
Use the up and down buttons at the left side of the screen to reposition a selected
template in the library.
New
Click the New button to create a new template. The Symbol Properties dialog opens.
Select a base symbol, click OK, and the Create\Edit Template dialog appears.
Edit
Click the Edit button to edit the selected template in the Create\Edit Template
dialog.
Copy
Click the Copy button to duplicate the selected template. The copied template is
automatically pasted at the end of the template library.
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Delete
Click the Delete button to delete a template.
Import
Click the Import button to use a different Golden Software template library file .LBT.
Insert
Click the Insert button to insert a template into the Text Editor.
Close
Click the Close button to close the template library without inserting a template into
the Text Editor.
Example
For example, to use the Template Library to create an image of the square root of a
number:
1. Click the Draw | Text command.
2. Click on the view window where you want the text to be displayed.
4. In the Template Library dialog, select the template and click the Insert
button.
5. In the Text Editor, the template is inserted as . Enter the numeric value, for
example the number nine, and click OK to display the in the view window.
If you are creating a new template select a symbol and click the OK button before the
Create/Edit Template dialog opens.
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Add String
Click the Add String button to add a text string box. Text string boxes in the templates
allow numbers or letters to be entered into the template in the Text Editor.
Add Line
Click the Add Line button to add a line to the template.
Font
Select a text string (#) and click the Font button to open the Text Properties dialog
and set the properties of the text string.
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Set the properties of the text string in the Text Properties dialog.
Delete
Select a text string or a line, and then click the Delete button to remove it from the
template.
String Alignment
Once a text string is created (#), you can set the String Alignment of the entered text.
Text is entered after the template has been inserted into the text editor. Refer to the
Text Box Alignment section of the Text Editor topic for more information on alignment.
Line Alignment
You can set the Line Alignment to extend to the right, left, top, or bottom of the
marker by selecting a line and clicking one of the Line Alignment buttons. The line
length depends on the bounding box size.
Main Symbol
Click the Main Symbol button open the Symbol Properties dialog and change the main
symbol appearing in the template.
To delete the main symbol, click the Main Symbol button to open the Symbol
Properties dialog. Choose an empty symbol box, such as symbol number zero.
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Test
Click the Test button to open the Test Template dialog and see how the template will
appear in the Text Editor.
1. Use the Symbol Set menu to select a set of symbols or text.
2. Highlight the desired symbol and click OK. The Create/Edit Template dialog
opens.
3. Use the following instructions with the Create/Edit Template dialog.
1. In the plot window, click the Draw | Text command or click the button.
2. Click on the screen where the text should be located and the Text Editor opens.
3. Click the button in the Text Editor to open the Template Library dialog.
4. Click New in the Template Library dialog. The Symbol Properties dialog opens.
5. In the Symbol Properties dialog, scroll down and select the square root symbol
and click OK. (The square root symbol is number 182 near the bottom of the
Symbol set.)
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6. The Create/Edit Template dialog opens with the square root symbol in the
center of the main window. Click Add String in the Create/Edit Template dialog
and a pound symbol appears.
7. Set the Horizontal String Alignment to Left so the top line will grow with the text
entered into the box.
8. Use the arrow buttons on the left and top sides of the dialog to position the string
to the right of the square root sign.
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12. Click Test to view the final template. Click Close in the Test Template dialog.
13. Click OK to add this template to the template library. Leave the Template Library
dialog open for the next example.
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8. Use the up/down and left/right arrow buttons to position the second string below
and to the right of the line symbol.
9. Click Test to view the template. Click Close in the Test Template dialog.
10. Click OK to add this template to the template library. Leave the Template Library
dialog open for the next example.
1. If the template library is not open, in the Text Editor click the button to open
the Template Library.
2. Highlight the new square root template in the Template Library, and click Insert.
3. You will be asked to save the changes in the template library. Click Yes. The
square root symbol appears in the Text Editor.
4. You may want to make the symbol larger. Adjust the Zoom of the image with the
zoom up arrow.
5. Click inside the text box underneath the square root sign.
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Once the text is entered into the templates the substrings (added lines or added
symbols) can be moved around. For example, the top line on the square root symbol
may not quite touch the square root. Select the line by clicking just to the left of the
line where the pound sign (#) would be in the Create/Edit Template dialog. Use the
Sub Position boxes in the Text Editor to move the line around.
Polygon
A polygon is represented by a closed shape in a Didger project, and can have up to
256 associated IDs. Polygons are composed of straight-line segments defined by
vertices, in which the starting and ending vertex is the same. Polygons are shown with
a combination of line style, line color, fill pattern, fill color, and Primary ID label.
Polygons must have at least three vertices.
Drawing a Polygon
To draw a polygon:
1. Click the Draw | Polygon command, click the button, or press CTRL+G on
the keyboard.
2. The cursor changes to a cross hair cursor to indicate drawing mode.
3. Enter any information about the polygon, such as the ID, in the Property
Manager.
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4. Move the cursor over the location for the start of the polygon and click the left
mouse button.
5. Move the cursor to the next position along the line and click again.
6. Continue this procedure until you click the final point. Then press the ENTER key.
7. The first and last points are automatically connected and the new polygon is
drawn. To end draw polygon mode, click on another toolbar button or press the
ESC key on your keyboard.
Polygons can also be created from polylines using some of the commands in the Draw
| Change Boundary Type and Draw | Edit Boundaries sections.
Default Properties
The default line and fill properties are set by clicking the Tools | Project Settings
command and clicking on the Line Properties or Fill Properties tabs.
Drawing Tips
• Click points on the page to draw a polygon, or click and hold the left mouse
button and drag the cursor to draw a continuous stream of points.
• When creating a continuous stream, the minimum distance between vertices is
controlled by the Vertex Tolerance.
• Click the right mouse button to remove the last drawn point. This can be done
repeatedly.
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• If the CTRL key is pressed while clicking points, the created vertex is snapped
to the nearest vertex on an existing polyline or polygon. You can also use the
Button Settings Snap Vertex option to simulate this action.
• If the ALT key is pressed while clicking points, the created vertex is snapped to
the nearest position along a line segment of an existing polyline or polygon.
This point is not necessarily at the position of a vertex along the existing line,
just the closest position along that line. You can also use the Button Settings
Snap Line Segment option to simulate this action.
• If the CTRL key and SHIFT key are pressed while clicking points, lines are
constrained to 45-degree angles.
• Double-click the left mouse button or press the ENTER key to close the
polygon.
• To cancel drawing a polygon, press the ESC key before closing the polygon.
• Edit the polygon shape by using Draw | Reshape.
• Edit polygons by clicking on the polygon in the plot window or in the Data
Manager.
• Set default line and fill properties with the Tools | Project Settings
command.
• Zoom while in drawing mode by scrolling the mouse wheel. Alternatively,
press the NUMLOCK key on the keyboard to ensure Number Lock is on. Then,
use the + and - keys on the numeric keypad to zoom in and out.
• Scroll while in drawing mode by pressing the mouse wheel down and panning
the screen. Alternatively, press the NUMLOCK key on the keyboard to ensure
Number Lock is on. Then, use the 4, 8, 6, and 2 keys to scroll left, up, right,
and down.
Polyline
A polyline is represented by a line in a Didger project, and can have up to 256
associated attributes. Polylines are composed of straight-line segments defined by
nodes and vertices.
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Drawing a Polyline
To draw a polyline:
1. Click the Draw | Polyline command, click the button, or press CTRL+L on
the keyboard to begin drawing a polyline.
2. The cursor changes to a cross hair cursor to indicate drawing mode.
3. Enter any information about the polyline, such as the ID, in the Property
Manager.
4. Move the cursor over the location for the start of the polyline and click the left
mouse button.
5. Move the cursor to the next position along the line and click again.
6. Continue this procedure until you click at the final point for the line. Press the
ENTER key.
7. To end drawing mode, click on another tool button or press the ESC key on your
keyboard.
Default Properties
The default line properties are set by clicking the Tools | Project Settings command
and clicking on the Line Properties tab.
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Drawing Tips
• Click the endpoints of the line to draw a straight line, or click several points to
create an irregularly shaped line.
• Click the right mouse button to remove the last drawn point. This can be done
repeatedly.
• Click and hold the left mouse button to create a continuous stream of points.
• When creating a continuous stream, the minimum distance between vertices is
controlled by the Vertex Tolerance.
• If the CTRL key is pressed while clicking points, the created vertex is snapped
to the nearest vertex on an existing polyline or polygon. You can also use the
Button Settings Snap Vertex option to simulate this action.
• If the ALT key is pressed while clicking points, the created vertex is snapped to
the nearest position along a line segment of an existing polyline or polygon.
This point is not necessarily at the position of a vertex along the existing line,
just the closest position along that line. You can also use the Button Settings
Snap Line Segment option to simulate this action.
• If the CTRL key and SHIFT key are pressed while clicking points, lines are
constrained to 45-degree angles.
• Double-click the left mouse button or press the ENTER key to end the line.
• To cancel drawing the line, press the ESC key before ending the line.
• Edit the shape of the line using Draw | Reshape.
• Edit the line style and color by clicking on the line in the plot window or in the
Data Manager.
• Set default line properties with the Tools | Project Settings command.
• Zoom while in drawing mode by scrolling the mouse wheel. Alternatively,
press the NUMLOCK key on the keyboard to ensure Number Lock is on. Then,
use the + and - keys on the numeric keypad to zoom in and out.
• Scroll while in drawing mode by pressing the mouse wheel down and panning
the screen. Alternatively, press the NUMLOCK key on the keyboard to ensure
Number Lock is on. Then, use the 4, 8, 6, and 2 keys to scroll left, up, right,
and down.
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Symbol
Symbols are markers that are used to indicate point positions. Any TrueType font can
be used as a symbol, including several custom fonts provided with Didger. You can
use the Draw | Symbol command to place symbols in the plot document. A symbol
object can have up to 256 associated attributes.
Drawing a Symbol
To draw a symbol:
1. Click the Draw | Symbol command, click the button, or press CTRL+T on the
keyboard.
2. The cursor changes to a cross hair cursor to indicate drawing mode.
3. Enter any information about the symbol, such as the ID, in the Property
Manager.
4. Click on a location in the plot window to create a symbol.
5. Press the ESC key or click another tool button to end drawing mode.
Default Properties
The default symbol properties are set by clicking the Tools | Project Settings
command and clicking on the Symbol Properties tab.
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Drawing Tips
• Edit a symbol style, color, and size by clicking on the symbol in the plot
window or in the Data Manager.
• Set default symbol properties with the Tools | Project Settings command.
• Zoom while in drawing mode by scrolling the mouse wheel. Alternatively,
press the NUMLOCK key on the keyboard to ensure Number Lock is on. Then,
use the + and - keys on the numeric keypad to zoom in and out.
• Scroll while in drawing mode by pressing the mouse wheel down and panning
the screen. Alternatively, press the NUMLOCK key on the keyboard to ensure
Number Lock is on. Then, use the 4, 8, 6, and 2 keys to scroll left, up, right,
and down.
Rectangle
A rectangle is a special type of polygon, that contains two sets of two parallel sides of
the same length. A rectangle can have up to 256 associated IDs. Rectangles are
shown with a combination of line style, line color, fill pattern, fill color, and Primary ID
label.
Drawing a Rectangle
To draw a rectangle:
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Default Properties
The default line and fill properties are set by clicking the Tools | Project Settings
command and clicking on the Line Properties or Fill Properties tabs.
Drawing Tips
• To cancel drawing a rectangle, press the ESC key before finishing the
rectangle.
• Edit the polygon shape by using Draw | Reshape.
• Edit polygons by clicking on the polygon in the plot window or in the Data
Manager.
• Set default line and fill properties with the Tools | Project Settings
command.
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Circle
A circle is a special type of polygon. A circle can have up to 256 associated IDs. Circles
are shown with a combination of line style, line color, fill pattern, fill color, and Primary
ID label.
Drawing a Circle
To draw a circle:
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Default Properties
The default line and fill properties are set by clicking the Tools | Project Settings
command and clicking on the Line Properties or Fill Properties tabs.
Spline Polyline
A spline polyline is a polyline object, digitized like a polyline, but with different results.
A spline polyline uses a smoothing algorithm to add points between digitized vertices.
A spline polyline must be created from three or more points.
1. Click the Draw | Spline Polyline command or click the button to begin
drawing a spline polyline.
2. The cursor changes to a cross hair cursor to indicate drawing mode.
3. Enter any information about the spline polyline, such as the ID, in the Property
Manager.
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4. Move the cursor over the location for the start of the polyline and click the left
mouse button.
5. Move the cursor to the next position along the line and click again. A curved line
connects the first and second points.
6. Continue this procedure until you click at the final point for the line. Press the
ENTER key.
7. To end drawing mode, click on another tool button or press the ESC key on your
keyboard.
To adjust the tension of the spline press the UP or DOWN arrow keys while drawing
the spline polyline.
Default Properties
The default line properties are set by clicking the Tools | Project Settings command
and clicking on the Line Properties tab.
Drawing Tips
• Click the right mouse button to remove the last drawn point. This can be done
repeatedly.
• Double-click the left mouse button or press the ENTER key to end the line.
• To cancel drawing the line, press the ESC key before ending the line.
• Edit the shape of the line using Draw | Reshape.
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• Edit the line style and color by clicking on the line in the plot window or in the
Data Manager.
• Set default line properties with the Tools | Project Settings command.
• Zoom while in drawing mode by scrolling the mouse wheel. Alternatively,
press the NUMLOCK key on the keyboard to ensure Number Lock is on. Then,
use the + and - keys on the numeric keypad to zoom in and out.
• Scroll while in drawing mode by pressing the mouse wheel down and panning
the screen. Alternatively, press the NUMLOCK key on the keyboard to ensure
Number Lock is on. Then, use the 4, 8, 6, and 2 keys to scroll left, up, right,
and down.
• To adjust the tension of the spline press the UP or DOWN arrow keys while
drawing the spline polyline.
Spline Polygon
A spline polygon is a polygon object, digitized like a polygon, but with different results.
A spline polygon uses a smoothing algorithm to add points between digitized vertices.
1. Click the Draw | Spline Polygon command or click the button to begin
drawing a spline polygon.
2. The cursor changes to a cross hair cursor to indicate drawing mode.
3. Enter any information about the spline polygon, such as the ID, in the Property
Manager.
4. Move the cursor over the location for the start of the polygon and click the left
mouse button.
5. Move the cursor to the next position along the line and click again. Generate the
spline polygon by clicking on the anchor points during the polygon creation. The
anchor points identify a change in the spline polygon's shape and direction. Notice
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that the spline polygon shape is visible and that you can change its curvature by
moving the mouse.
6. Continue clicking on the anchor points until you click the final point. Press the
ENTER key or double-click the left mouse button to end drawing mode. The new
spline polygon is drawn.
7. To end drawing mode, click on another tool button or press the ESC key on your
keyboard.
To adjust the tension of the spline press the UP or DOWN arrow keys while drawing
the spline polygon.
Default Properties
The default line and fill properties are set by clicking the Tools | Project Settings
command and clicking on the Line Properties or Fill Properties tabs.
Drawing Tips
• Click the right mouse button to remove the last drawn point. This can be done
repeatedly.
• Double-click the left mouse button or press the ENTER key to close the
polygon.
• To cancel drawing a polygon, press the ESC key before closing the polygon.
• Edit the polygon shape by using Draw | Reshape.
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• Edit polygons by clicking on the polygon in the plot window or in the Data
Manager.
• Set default line and fill properties with the Tools | Project Settings
command.
• Zoom while in drawing mode by scrolling the mouse wheel. Alternatively,
press the NUMLOCK key on the keyboard to ensure Number Lock is on. Then,
use the + and - keys on the numeric keypad to zoom in and out.
• Scroll while in drawing mode by pressing the mouse wheel down and panning
the screen. Alternatively, press the NUMLOCK key on the keyboard to ensure
Number Lock is on. Then, use the 4, 8, 6, and 2 keys to scroll left, up, right,
and down.
Wrapped Polyline
The Draw | Wrapped Polyline command is used to create a wrapped polyline, a
common function in well log digitizing. This allows logs to be digitized with multiple
scales when logs have curves off scale. Once the polyline creation is complete, the
program automatically constructs the curve segments into a single polyline.
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12. To end drawing mode, click on another tool button or press the ESC key on your
keyboard.
Wrap Limits
The Wrap Limits section controls the Minimum Value and Maximum Value of the curve.
To change the Minimum Value or Maximum Value, highlight the existing value and
type a new value.
Wrapping Scale
The Wrapping Scale option controls the number of scales displayed on the log. The
default value is 1. When a log wraps more than once around the log, Didger allows
you to enter that number as the Wrapping Scale. To change the Wrapping Scale,
highlight the existing value and type a new value.
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The above figure represents a well log with curves off scale.
In this instance, the Minimum Value is 30 and the Maximum
Value is 130. The Wrapping Scale is 1. The scale is along
the X Axis, so the Un-Wrap Along Y Axis is unchecked.
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Polygon Marker
The Draw | Polygon Marker command creates a polygon marker. A polygon marker
is a symbol, but has a special use for the Draw | Edit Boundaries | Create
Polygons by Locator command. Didger stores an internal setting to differentiate a
polygon marker from a normal symbol. If you draw a polygon marker in the middle of
some snapped polyline segments, you can use the Create Polygons by Locator
command to generate a polygon from the polylines.
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IDs
There are two methods to assign IDs when drawing multiple objects. You can enter
the IDs after each object is drawn, or you can have Didger auto-increment the IDs if
the IDs are sequential.
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c. In the Increment Settings section, check the box next to the Create Several
option.
3. Move the pointer over the first location and click to draw the object, following the
steps on the object help page.
4. When the object is finished, the Enter Object Data dialog appears. Enter the IDs
for the object just created and click OK.
5. Continue drawing the rest of the objects and entering the IDs associated with each
object.
6. When you have drawn the last object, either use the mouse to click another button
on the toolbar or press the ESC key on the keyboard to end drawing mode.
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Object Types
Didger allows you to convert symbol, polyline, polygon, text, and image objects from
your paper documents or imported files into digital format. Every object digitized or
imported into Didger has associated XY coordinates that define the object location
and can have up to 256 associated attributes. These attributes can be used to assign
names, data, or any type of descriptive text to an object.
Didger objects are represented in your project using special drawing properties, such
as fill patterns and color. You can control the properties with the Property Manager
for each object you create.
Symbols
Symbols are isolated locations that indicate objects such as well locations, sample
locations, benchmarks, and so on. In Didger, polygon markers are a special type of
symbol. Post maps, created by importing a data file, also consist of symbols. Symbols
have Symbol Item Properties, Data Attributes, Symbol Properties, and Label
Properties.
The IDs associated with symbols can provide information such as:
• well names
• technician name
• contamination levels
• water depth
• elevation
• sample number
• date of sample
• assay value
• porosity This is a symbol
• or any other type of data with a label.
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Polylines
Polylines indicate objects such as roads, streams, contours, township and range lines,
or partial area boundaries such as county or state boundaries that might pass through
a map area. A polyline consists of one or more line segments joined end to end.
Polylines, unlike polygons, are not closed. The beginning and ending points of a
polyline are called nodes, and the intermediate ends to each line segment are called
vertices. Polyline nodes are displayed as green (beginning) and red (ending) boxes
when the Show Line Nodes box is checked in Tools | Project Settings | Tolerance
Settings. Polylines are also called curves or lines. In Didger, spline polylines and
wrapped polylines are special types of polylines. Polyline objects have Polyline Item
Properties, Data Attributes, Line Properties, and Label Properties.
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The IDs associated with polylines can provide information such as:
• road name
• stream name
• stream flow for stream segments
• contour value (elevation)
• township or range indicators
• and so on
Polygons
Polygons are closed shapes such as county or state boundaries, project areas, and
claim boundaries. Polygon perimeters are defined by a series of straight-line segments
joined end to end. A polygon contains at least three line segments, and the beginning
of the first line segment is joined to the end of the final line segment to achieve
closure. Vertices define the end of each straight-line segment along a polygon. In
Didger, rectangles, circles, and spline polygons are special types of polygons.
Polygons have Polygon Item Properties, Data Attributes, Line Properties, Fill
Properties, and Label Properties.
The IDs associated with polygons can provide information such as:
• county or state name
• area name
• number of samples or wells in an area
• claim number
• claim ownership
• and so on
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Text
Text is defined as an object type in Didger and, unlike labels, text is not directly
associated with other object types. Text objects are created for display purposes and
are not generally used for analysis. The information stored for text includes a text
string, the location at which it is displayed, and text properties (color, font, size, etc.).
Text has Text Item Properties and Text Properties.
Images
An image is displayed as an array of dots or pixels. There are two ways of storing,
representing, or displaying spatial data in digital form: images and vector data.
Images, such as . JPG or .GIF, are displayed as an array of dots or pixels and contain
information on each and every pixel. The resolution of an image changes when the
image is resized or stretched. Images have Image Item Properties.
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Property Manager
The Property Manager allows you to edit the properties of a selected object. The
Property Manager contains a list of all properties of the selected object. The
Property Manager can be left open so that the properties of the selected object are
always visible.
Object Properties
To change the properties of an existing object, click the object in the plot window. All
of the properties for the selected object are listed in the Property Manager. Each
object type contains a unique set of properties that you can change and view through
the Property Manager.
Item Properties
The Item Properties section of the Property Manager displays information about
the selected object in the current project depending on the object type.
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• Image objects contain Layer, Visible, Image Width, Image Height, Geo-
Referenced, Clipped Image, and File Name
Property Description
Layer This row displays the layer on which the object exists.
You can also move objects to other layers through the
Property Manager.
Visible This row allows you to display the visibility of an object
type. Select True to make the object visible. Select False
to make the object not visible.
Length This row displays the length of a polyline or the perimeter
length of a polygon. The units of the length measurement
are set during calibration or in Tools | Project Settings |
General.
Point Count This row displays the number of vertices in a polygon or
polyline.
Area This row displays the area of a polygon. The units of the
area calculation are set during calibration or in Tools |
Project Settings | General. Area is not reported when the
project is in the Unprojected Lat/Long projection.
Direction This row displays the direction of the polygon vertices.
Reverse is counterclockwise and Forward is clockwise.
Polygon direction can be reversed with Draw | Reverse
Direction.
Image Width This row displays the image width in pixels.
Image Height This row displays the image height in pixels.
Color Format This row displays the current color format of the current
image.
Geo-Referenced This row displays whether the image is geo-referenced. A
True is displayed if the image is geo-referenced. A False is
displayed if the image is not geo-referenced.
Clipped Image This row displays whether the image has been clipped. A
True is displayed if the image was clipped. A False is
displayed if the image was not clipped.
File Name This row displays the complete directory path and file
name of the image.
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Additional IDs can be listed here if other IDs have been defined in the project. This can
occur when you import a file with other IDs or if you have selected the Map | Data |
Edit Attribute Fields and added additional IDs.
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Once the Auto Increment option is checked, the Starting Increment Value, Ending
Increment Value, Increment Value, ID Prefix, and ID Suffix options become available.
The Starting Increment Value is the first value to use for the Primary ID. The Ending
Increment Value is the last value to use for the Primary ID. The Increment Value is the
value added to the Primary ID between the sequential points. The ID Prefix is the
static text placed at the beginning of each sequential ID. The ID Suffix is the static
text placed at the end of each sequential ID. The ID Prefix and ID Suffix are optional.
Automatic numbering continues until the Ending Increment Value is reached.
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To change any of the values, highlight the existing value and type a new value. The
Starting Increment Value, Ending Increment Value, and Increment Value must be
numbers.
Create Several
The Create Several check box lets you digitize any number of objects in succession
without choosing the digitize command each time. This option is especially helpful
when you are digitizing several objects of the same type. For example, if you are
digitizing several points you should activate this option.
You can use the Enter Data After Creation and Create Several check boxes in
conjunction. For example, if you are digitizing several points, each with different IDs,
you can check both options. Click the first point, enter the data in the Enter Object
Data dialog, and click OK. Draw the next point, enter the IDs, and continue the
procedure until you have digitized all the points. Press ESC on the keyboard or Finish
on the tablet pointer (set with the Button Settings command) when you are done to
end drawing mode.
Symbol Properties
The Symbol Properties section in the Property Manager controls the symbol
properties for the selected object in the project. Symbol properties are used in
symbols.
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Symbol Set
Select the Symbol Set from the list. The Symbol Set can be any TrueType font
installed on your system. To change the Symbol Set, click on the existing font name.
Select the new font from the list.
Fill Color
The Fill Color is the inside color of a solid symbol. Click the existing color sample next
to Fill Color to open the color palette. Click on a color in the palette to use it for the
selected foreground fill color. Click the Custom button at the bottom of the palette to
open the Colors dialog and create custom colors.
Fill Opacity
Change the Fill Opacity of the symbol by highlighting the existing value and typing a
new value. Alternatively, click the buttons to increase or decrease the opacity
percentage. Percentages range from 0% (completely transparent) to 100%
(completely opaque).
Line Color
The Line Color is the outside edge color of the symbol. Click the existing color sample
next to Line Color to open the color palette. Click on a color in the palette to use it for
the selected foreground fill color. Click the Custom button at the bottom of the palette
to open the Colors dialog and create custom colors.
Line Opacity
Change the Line Opacity of the symbol by highlighting the existing value and typing a
new value. Alternatively, click the buttons to increase or decrease the opacity
percentage. Percentages range from 0% (completely transparent) to 100%
(completely opaque).
Size
Change the Size of the symbol by highlighting the existing value and typing a new
number into the box. Alternatively, click the buttons to increase or decrease the
symbol size. Symbols can be from 0 to 4.000 inches (0 to 10.160 centimeters) in size.
Sizes are reported in page units.
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Line Properties
The Line Properties section in the Property Manager controls the line properties for
the selected object in the project. Polyline properties are used in polylines, polygons,
rectangles, and circles.
Click the Tools | Project Settings command or click the button to open the
Project Settings dialog. The Line Properties page controls the default line
properties.
Style
The Style is the manner in which a line is drawn. Click on
the existing line style to open the line style palette. Click on
a style to use it for the selected line. Both simple and
complex lines can be selected from the list.
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The first dash is 0.200 inches, so 0.200 is entered into the first Dashes box. This is
followed by an equal length space of 0.200 inches. Enter 0.200 in the first Spaces box.
The "dot" is a line dash that is 0.030 inches long followed by a space of 0.200 inches.
So, 0.030 is entered into the second Dashes box and 0.200 is entered into the second
Spaces box. The pattern repeats after the space so no more dash/space definitions are
necessary. You can use a combination of five dashes and five spaces to create a new
line style.
Name
Click on one of the displayed line styles and the name of the selected line style
appears in the Name field. Type a new line style name in the Name field if you are
creating a custom style.
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Sample
The Sample box shows the new line style.
Add to List
Click the Add to List button to add a new line style to the end of the line style palette.
Type the new line style name into the Name field before adding the new line style.
Replace
Click the Replace button to replace the selected line style with the modified line style.
The previous style is removed.
OK or Cancel
Click OK to make the change. You are prompted with a dialog confirming changes.
If you click Yes, the change is permanently made to your line palette. The next time
you open Didger, this new line style will be shown. If you click No, the change is only
made to the current Didger session. When you close Didger, the custom line style is
lost.
Click Cancel to close the Custom Line dialog without making any changes.
Color
The Color is the color of the line. Click the existing color sample next to Color to open
the color palette. Click on a color in the palette to use it for the selected line. Click the
Custom button at the bottom of the palette to open the Colors dialog and create
custom color.
Width
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The Width controls how thick a line appears. To change the line Width, highlight the
existing value and type a new number. Press ENTER on the keyboard to make the
change. Alternatively, click the to increase or decrease the thickness of the line.
The line Width is a value from 0.0 to 0.5 inches (0.0 to 1.27 cm). A width of zero is
one pixel wide. Values are in page coordinates.
Opacity
The Opacity controls the transparency of the line. To change the Opacity, highlight the
existing value and type a new value. Press ENTER on the keyboard to make the
change. Alternatively, click on the to increase or decrease the opacity value.
Opacity values are between 0% (zero opacity, full transparency) to 100% (full opacity,
zero transparency).
Scale
The Scale determines the size of the arrowhead. A larger Scale creates a larger arrow.
To change the scale of the arrowheads, highlight the existing value and type a new
value. Alternatively, click the to increase or decrease the scale. Press ENTER on
the keyboard to make the change.
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Fill Properties
The Fill Properties section in the Property Manager controls the fill properties for
the selected object in the project. Fill properties are used in polygons, rectangles, and
circles.
Click the Tools | Project Settings command or click the button to open the
Project Settings dialog. The Fill Properties page controls the default fill properties.
Pattern
The Pattern indicates the way that an object is
filled. To change the Pattern, click on the existing
pattern sample next to Pattern. In the list, select a
new pattern from the fill pattern palette. Select a
pattern by clicking on it. Alternatively, you can
use the arrow keys to move around the palette,
and then press the SPACEBAR on your keyboard
to select a pattern. The pattern name and type
appears at the top of the palette. Hold the cursor
over a pattern to display a tool tip with the
pattern name. Use the scroll bar to see all of the
available fill patterns.
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To load a fill pattern from a raster image file, click the Custom button at the bottom of
the fill pattern palette. An Import dialog will appear. Click on the image file and click
Open to load the image as the fill pattern.
Foreground
The Foreground is the color of the pattern lines or pixels. Click the existing color
sample next to Foreground to open the color palette. Click on a color in the palette to
use it for the selected foreground fill color. Click the Custom button at the bottom of
the palette to open the Colors dialog and create custom colors.
Foreground Opacity
The Foreground Opacity controls the transparency of the foreground portion of the
pattern. To change the Foreground Opacity, highlight the existing value and type a
new value. Press ENTER on the keyboard to make the change. Alternatively, click on
the to increase or decrease the opacity value. Opacity values are between 0% (zero
opacity, full transparency) to 100% (full opacity, zero transparency).
Background
The Background is the color behind the pattern. Click the existing color sample next to
Background to open the color palette. Click on a color in the palette to use it for the
selected background fill color. Click the Custom button at the bottom of the palette to
open the Colors dialog and create custom colors.
Background Opacity
The Background Opacity controls the transparency of the background portion of the
pattern. To change the Background Opacity, highlight the existing value and type a
new value. Press ENTER on the keyboard to make the change. Alternatively, click on
the to increase or decrease the opacity value. Opacity values are between 0% (zero
opacity, full transparency) to 100% (full opacity, zero transparency).
To make a fill pattern appear transparent with only the foreground portion of the fill
pattern showing, change the Background Opacity value to 0%.
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Scale
The Scale controls the density of the bitmap fill Pattern. The scale factor controls the
density of the pattern. Set the Cover mode to Tile and set the Scale factor to a value
between 0.1 and 10. The larger the Scale, the larger the resulting pattern.
Cover Mode
The Cover mode is used with bitmap patterns. The Cover mode determines how the
bitmap is used to fill the desired area. You can Stretch a bitmap to fit the fill area or
Tile the pattern in the fill area. To change the behavior, click on the existing value and
select the desired option from the list.
This bitmap fill has the This bitmap fill has the
Cover mode set to Stretch. Cover mode set to Tile.
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Label Properties
Didger lets you position labels many different ways with respect to point, polyline, or
polygon objects. The Label Position Editor is available through the Property
Manager under the Label Properties section.
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added to the list, highlight it in the Label Field Name column and click the Remove
button.
Font Properties
To change the font properties of the labels, highlight a label in the Label Field Name
list and click the Font button.
Remove Label
Click on a label in the Label Field Name list to select it and click the Remove button to
remove the label from the object.
Label Position
The label position options change according to the type of object selected. The view
window displays the options as you chose them.
Polyline Labels
The polyline label positions are controlled through the following options.
When you select Position Along Line, you can use two fields to position the label:
• Label Alignment On - Select from the list to place the label On, Above, or
Below the polyline.
• Label Position Along - Select from the list to indicate the label position along
the polyline as Before the Start, Beginning, Middle, End, and At the End.
When you choose Position From Line Extent, the label is placed relative to the center
of the polyline's bounding box. Select from the list to place the label either in the
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Center point of the bounding box, or to the Left, Right, Top, or Bottom of the center of
the bounding box.
Introduction to Colors
Change the color of the selected item by selecting a new
color from the color palette. The color palette is opened
by clicking the color sample or button. Create new colors
by clicking the Custom button at the bottom of the color
palette.
Standard Page
The standard colors appear on the
Standard page in a standard
palette spectrum.
Colors
Click a color in the standard palette
spectrum.
New
A preview of the selected color
appears under New on the right side
of the dialog. Click OK to accept the
new color. The Colors dialog closes.
Select
Click the Select button to color
Use the Colors dialog to load standard colors
or create custom colors.
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match to any color on the screen. The cursor changes to an eyedropper. Move the
cursor around the screen and the color under New changes accordingly. Click the
mouse when you find the color you want, and that color appears under New. Click OK
to accept the new color. The Colors dialog closes.
Custom Page
You can create custom colors on the Custom page. New colors are created by mixing
red, green, and blue.
Colors
Click anywhere in the color
spectrum to choose a new
color, or enter new values in
the Hue, Sat, Lum, Red,
Green, and Blue boxes. You
can drag the slider next to
the color spectrum to adjust
the new color's intensity.
New
A preview of the new color
appears under New on the
right side of the dialog. Click
OK to accept the new color.
The Colors dialog closes.
Select
Click Select to color match to
any color on the screen. The
cursor changes to an
eyedropper. Move the cursor Use the Colors dialog to load standard colors
around the screen and the or create custom colors.
color under New changes
accordingly. Click the mouse
when you find the color you want, and that color appears under New. Click OK to
accept the new color. The Color dialog closes.
Cancel
While in the Colors dialog, click Cancel to close the dialog without making any color
changes.
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Field Names
By default, the Data Attributes dialog includes the Primary, Secondary, Tertiary, and
Quaternary IDs in the Field Name column. To change any field name, slow double-click
(click once, wait a second, and click again) to edit the name. Type the new name and
press ENTER on the keyboard to make the change.
Each field is defined as either String or Number under Preferred Export Type. The
Current Field indicates whether the field is currently in use in the project. When
importing files, up to 256 data fields can be preserved.
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Adding Fields
Click the Add Field button to add field names to the list. The new field name is listed
as New Field and a number. The number indicates the field name. Since there are four
fields, by default, the next field is named New Field 5.
Removing Fields
Click the Remove Field button to delete the selected field from the project. If no field
name is selected, Didger starts at the top of the list and removes the first item in the
list of data fields.
Specialty Fields
The Specialty Fields section allows mapping of field names to one of the default fields
defined in the Specialty Fields section. The Primary ID is used as the unique key for a
data set. In most files, this will be the Primary field name. However, it could be any
unique field in the project.
The Polygon Left and Polygon Right fields are used to store the left and right side IDs
of the polygon boundary. These are used with the Draw | Edit Boundaries | Create
Polygons by IDs command.
The Z-Level field is used to store elevation or production values. This column is
primarily used with the Map | Surfer | Grid Data command. The Z-Level field must
be defined before selecting this command.
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Reshaping Objects
Click on an single object to select it and click the Draw | Reshape command, click
the button, or press CTRL+R on the keyboard to move, add, and delete vertices
within a selected polyline, polygon, spline polyline, or spline polygon.
After clicking the Draw | Reshape command, all of the vertices in the selected object
are shown with hollow squares. Click on a vertex to select it. The selected vertex is
indicated by a solid black square.
There are a number of special keys that control the reshape operation:
• Click and drag the vertex to move it to a new location.
• To add a vertex, hold down the CTRL key on the keyboard, move the mouse
pointer over the position where you want to add a vertex, and click.
• To delete a vertex, select the vertex and press the DELETE key on the
keyboard.
When you are done reshaping the object, press the ENTER key or click the
button. The polyline or polygon is redrawn in the new shape.
An object can also be reshaped by selecting it and editing the vertex coordinates in
the Coordinate Manager.
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Deviation Distance
The Deviation Distance controls how many points are removed by the thinning
process. Points closer than the Deviation Value from the general trend of the polyline
are removed. A value of 0 does not remove anything. A value of .1 inch removes all
points that are .1 inch or closer to the general trend of the polyline.
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Vertex Averaging
Vertex Averaging preserves the first and last point in a polyline, but averages the
vertices along the polyline based on the number set in the Average Rate field. For
example, a polyline that has 10 vertices when averaged using a rate of 3 yields a
polyline with 6 vertices.
Spline Smooth
Spline Smooth produces a uniform polyline that passes through all of the data points,
regardless of the spacing of the data points or the tension factor applied to the spline
fit. The Spline Tension can range from 1 to 50. Higher tension factors result in
straighter polylines between the data points and lower tension factors result in more
curvature. The Generate Points option is the total number of vertices in the new
polyline after smoothing.
The original polyline is on the left. The polyline after a Spline Tension of
3 and Generate Points of 100 was applied is shown on the right.
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Resampling Polylines
Click the Draw | Resample Polyline command to resample along either the X or Y
axis of a selected polyline. The project must be calibrated with Cartesian coordinates
to use this command. Resample Polyline is designed specifically for well log
resampling to create a data value at specified depth increments.
This function is not designed to work with polygon objects or polylines that loop back
on themselves. The polylines should have X or Y values that are ordered and are
ascending or descending. If your data are not arranged this way, then use the Thin
and Smooth command instead.
In the Resample Polylines dialog, you can choose to Resample Along the X Axis or
Resample Along the Y Axis. For the axis you choose, enter a Starting Value, Ending
Value, and Increment Value for resampling.
You can check the Create New Line check box to leave the original polyline as is and
create a new polyline, usually for comparison purposes.
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The program searches all of the object types selected for any objects that are a
duplicate of other objects in the project. Any objects that contain identical vertices are
removed, regardless of the object properties such as line style or IDs. When an object
type is checked in the dialog, that object type is searched for duplicates. When an
object type is not checked in the dialog, that object type is not searched for
duplicates.
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In the dialog, set the Specify Length value to any value in project coordinates. Any
polylines shorter than the specified length are deleted when OK is clicked.
If the box next to Remove Linked Polylines is checked, polylines that are shorter than
the specified length that have been snapped to polylines longer than the specified
length are also removed. If the box is unchecked, the short polylines that have been
snapped to polylines longer than the specified length are not removed.
Alternatively, polygons can be created from polylines by clicking the Draw | Edit
Boundaries | Create Polygons by Locator or the Draw | Edit Boundaries |
Create Polygons by IDs commands.
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Connecting Polylines
Click two or more polylines to select them. Click the Draw | Edit Boundaries |
Connect Polylines command to join the selected polylines into a single new polyline.
When you connect polylines, they are joined by connecting the two closest nodes. The
polylines do not have to be within snap tolerance of each other. The new polyline uses
the IDs and line properties of the polyline that had been at the top of the Data
Manager.
Breaking Polylines
Click on a polyline to select it and click the Draw | Edit Boundaries | Break
If the Break Polyline command is not available, the polyline may not be on the
current layer. Click on the layer that the polyline is on in the Layer Manager to select
the proper layer before selecting the Break Polyline command.
To break a polyline:
1. Click on a polyline on the current layer to select it.
2. Click the Draw | Edit Boundaries | Break Polyline command.
3. Move the pointer over the position along the polyline you wish to cut.
4. Click on this position.
A beginning and ending node are created at the clicked position indicating that two
polylines are created. Both new polylines use the original polyline IDs and line
properties.
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To rename or change any of the properties of the new polylines, click on the new
polyline to select it. Edit the properties in the Property Manager or change the IDs in
the Data Manager.
Trimming Polylines
Click on a polyline to select it and click the Draw | Edit Boundaries | Trim Polyline
command or click the button. The cursor changes to . Click on the polyline
where the polyline should end. The shortest section between the point where the
mouse is clicked and the end of the polyline is removed. For instance, on a horizontal
polyline, if the trim point is closer to the right edge of the polyline, everything to the
right of the trim point is removed.
If the Trim Polyline command is not available, the polyline may not be on the current
layer. Click on the layer that the polyline is on in the Layer Manager to select the
proper layer before selecting the Trim Polyline command.
To trim a polyline:
1. Click on a polyline on the current layer to select it.
2. Click the Draw | Edit Boundaries | Trim Polyline command.
3. Move the cursor over the position along the polyline you wish to remove.
4. Click the left mouse button.
The shorter section of the polyline is deleted and the longer section of the polyline
ends at the clicked location.
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This is different from the Connect Polylines command in that you do not choose the
polylines to be connected.
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Note: if a polyline intersects with another polyline, it is discarded from the Snap
Undershoot Polylines operation. The Snap Undershoot Polylines command does
not work with intersecting line segments. Use the Trim Overshoot Polylines instead.
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Note: If a polyline does not intersect with another polyline, but is within the snap
tolerance, the Trim Overshoot Polylines command will not snap the lines together.
Use the Snap Undershoot Polylines command instead.
You can create polygons that share common borders by digitizing the shared border
(polyline), and use the border to create both adjacent polygons. This command
requires that a polygon marker be digitized somewhere within the polygon area to be
created.
2. Snap the polyline segments to one another by clicking the Draw | Edit
Boundaries | Snap All Polyline Segments command. If the polyline segments
are not snapping together, check the snap tolerance value and display the snap
tolerance circles. You may need to reset the snap tolerance value or reshape the
polyline.
3. Draw the polygon markers by clicking the Draw | Polygon Marker command.
4. Assign a Primary ID to each polygon marker in the Property Manager in the
Data Attributes section.
5. Click the Draw | Edit Boundaries | Create Polygons by Locator command and
the polygons are created.
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If a polygon is not created, check to be sure the polylines are snapped. If all polylines
are snapped, try moving the polygon marker to a slightly different location within the
polyline outlines. In some cases, moving the polygon marker to a slightly different
location within the set of polylines allows the polygon to be created.
For each polyline used by the Create Polygons by IDs you must first create an ID in
the field that is assigned to the Polygon Left and Polygon Right attributes defined by
clicking the Map | Data | Edit Attribute Fields command.
The polyline nodes must be coincident with the nodes of the other polylines used to
create the polygons in this command. For this reason, it is recommended that you use
the Draw | Edit Boundaries | Snap All Polyline Segments command before using Draw
| Edit Boundaries | Create Polygons by IDs command.
Consider the example below where three polylines are digitized to create two adjoining
polygons. The beginning node for all three polylines is at the bottom center and is
indicated by the green box. The Left and Right IDs for the three polylines are also
indicated.
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Three polylines are digitized with the left and right IDs as shown above.
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a. In the Property Manager, in the Data Attributes section, set the Primary to
Polyline 2.
b. Set the Tertiary to Polygon 2.
c. Set the Quaternary to Outside.
The next figure shows two polygons after they have been created with the Create
Polygons by IDs command.
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Note: You can only create one polygon at a time, even if you create polylines defining
multiple polygons with the same IDs.
Combining Polygons
Select all of the polygons to combine. Click the Draw | Edit Boundaries | Union
Polygons command or click the button to create a new polygon that traces around
the outside of a group of contiguous polygons.
Note, if the selected polygons do not contain any overlapping sections, no change is
made after selecting the command.
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Intersecting Polygons
Select all of the polygons to intersect. Click the Draw | Edit Boundaries | Intersect
Polygons command or click the button to create a new polygon from two or more
intersecting polygons. The polygon that intersects all selected polygons is created. The
original polygons outside of the intersecting portion are removed. A single new
polygon that contains only the shape of the intersecting polygons is created.
Note, if the selected polygons do not contain any overlapping sections, no change is
made after selecting the command.
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Difference of Polygons
Select all of the polygons to use for calculating the difference. Click the Draw | Edit
Boundaries | Difference of Polygons command or click the button. The
overlapping section of the selected polygons are removed. A single new polygon is
created that contains the shape of the areas that do not contain overlapping portions
of the original polygons.
Note, if the selected polygons do not contain any overlapping sections, no change is
made after selecting the command.
These two areas are selected. After the Difference of Polygons command
is selected, two new areas are created without the intersecting
area. Note that the area's fill was changed for emphasis.
Dividing Polygons
To divide a polygon into multiple pieces, create a polyline where you would like to
divide the polygon. Click on the polygon and polyline to select both objects. Click the
Draw | Edit Boundaries | Divide Polygons command or the click the button to
create two or more polygons from one polygon.
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NOTE: A convex hull cannot be created from only two points or from only a single two
point polyline because building a polygon requires at least three points.
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Islands/Lakes
Select a group of polygons. Click the Draw | Combine Islands/Lakes command to
combine all of the selected polygons into a single complex polygon. The new polyline
uses the IDs and line properties of the polyline that had been at the bottom of the
Data Manager. You can edit the complex polygon's properties in the Property
Manager.
Splitting Islands/Lakes
Select a single complex polygon. Click the Draw | Split Islands/Lakes command to
break the complex polygon into its component parts. When the Split Islands/Lakes
command is selected, each polygon becomes completely independent of the other
polygons in the group. The original object’s Primary ID is assigned to all the new
polygons. You can change the new polygons’ properties, such as IDs, through the
Property Manager.
Reverse Direction
Click on a single polygon, single polyline, group of polygons, or group of polylines to
select them. Click the Draw | Reverse Direction command. The order of points in
the selected polylines and polygons are reversed. Objects converted in this way
appear the same on the screen. The direction of the objects are listed as Reverse
(counterclockwise) and Forward (clockwise) in the Data Manager's Direction column.
Note: This command does not work with complex polygons. To reverse a single
polygon in a complex polygon, first click the Draw | Split Islands/Lakes, reverse
the desired polygons by clicking the Draw | Reverse Direction command, and click
the Draw | Combine Islands/Lakes command to recombine the polygons.
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Image
An image is a graphic that contains a series of small squares, or pixels, to represent
objects in a file. You cannot edit the individual elements of an image, such as
reshaping a line, changing the colors of a line, or changing the line style.
Image Properties
Image object properties can be modified through the Property Manager. Image
object properties are discussed in the Item Properties section of Chapter 5.
Georeferenced Images
Typically, images consist of pixel coordinates, the number of pixels in the X direction
and the number of pixels in the Y direction. A georeferenced image contains real world
coordinates, such as latitude, longitude or UTM, rather than pixel coordinates. Some
images can have coordinate, projection, and datum information embedded in them
(GeoTIFF) and some images have associated files that contains georeferencing
information (Golden Software Reference .GSR, Blue Marble .RSF, ESRI .PRJ, and ESRI
World File .TFW).
If you import an image into a Didger project, you can also import vector files, data
files, and other images into the plot window and overlay them. The projection
information of an image can be changed once you import it into a Didger project.
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has the tools to adjust an image by first calibrating and then by warping the image.
Both processes are needed to most accurately rectify an image.
Image Scaling
Because image files are raster based, they cannot be scaled in the receiving
application without distortion or some loss of resolution. They can be useful for
reproducing the project image in other applications. If you need to reproduce and
rescale the project image in another application, you might consider vectorizing the
image or digitizing the image. The digitized information can then be exported to a
vector format.
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Data Source
In the Select Data Source section, click the to open a section. The arrow turns black
when a section is opened.
Server Information
To see additional options for a specific server, right-click in the Select Data Source
section on the existing data source name, such as NAIP Color Imagery for US layer.
To view the data source for any predefined server, right-click on the predefined server
name and select View. The View Data Source dialog allows predefined web server
URLs to be edited. This may be useful if the location for the server changes.
To view information about the server, right-click on the server name and select Info.
The Server Information dialog displays the results of attempting to connect to the
server.
Layer Information
To view information about the specific layer, right-click on the layer name and select
Info. The Layer Information dialog displays information such as the minimum scale,
height or width, layer name and title. None of the options are editable.
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All custom data sources are saved to an INI file, allowing multiple Golden Software
programs to use the custom definitions. The INI file is located at
C:\Users\<username>\AppData\Roaming\Golden Software\Shared\Geode.ini. The file
can be copied from one computer to another to share custom data sources between
multiple computers and users.
To view information about the server, right-click on the server name and select Info.
The Server Information dialog displays the results of attempting to connect to the
server.
Select the extents of the image to download in the Select Area to Download section.
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The Current map extents option sets the limits for the downloaded image to the map
extents for the project. If no objects exist in the project, this option is not available.
When this option is selected the yellow box in the image Preview section highlights the
area that will be downloaded.
The Entire data source extents reads all of the data on the specified server. All of the
data is downloaded in the single image. With servers that cover large areas, this
option is not recommended because even at high resolutions, very little detail will
appear on the downloaded map.
The Within XX units of Latitude Y and Longitude Y option allows a single latitude and
longitude value to be entered. A square area is downloaded based on the XX value and
the units option. The square is centered on the value entered for the Latitude and
Longitude. To use this option, enter valid values in each box.
• The first box sets the width and height of the square area. For instance, 25
can be input.
• The second option (units) can be set to either Kilometers or Miles. Click on the
existing option to select the desired option.
• The third option is the central Latitude value. In the example below, the center
point of the downloaded image will be 39.753304. Latitude values must be
between -90 and +90. Negative values are entered for the southern
hemisphere. Positive values are entered for the northern hemisphere.
• The last option is the central Longitude value. In the example below, the
center point of the downloaded image will be -105.220139. Longitude values
must be between -180 and +180. Negative values are western hemisphere
longitudes. Positive values are eastern hemisphere longitudes.
The downloaded area will be 25 miles wide and 25 miles tall. The image will be
centered on the longitude and latitude location of -105.220139, 39.753304.
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+180. Negative values are western hemisphere longitudes. Positive values are
eastern hemisphere longitudes.
• Type in the northern-most edge for the downloaded map in latitude degrees
coordinates in the North box. Latitude values must be between -90 and +90.
Negative values are entered for the southern hemisphere. Positive values are
entered for the northern hemisphere.
• Type in the southern-most edge for the downloaded map in latitude degrees
coordinates in the South box. Latitude values must be between -90 and +90.
Negative values are entered for the southern hemisphere. Positive values are
entered for the northern hemisphere.
Set the image quality by dragging the slider to the right or left. Setting the
slider to the far left side downloads a small map with less resolution. Setting
the slider to the far right side downloads a very large map with
very fine resolution. This should only be used for small areas.
Image Preview
The Preview section displays a picture of the area to be downloaded. The image
quality is controlled by the Select Image Resolution to Download. The Preview section
contains a low resolution preview of the area. Use the + and - buttons on the left side
of the image preview to zoom in or out on the area. Changing the zoom level does not
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affect the area to download. The area to download is indicated in the Preview section
by a yellow outline.
Log
The Log section displays the tiles that have previously been downloaded in the current
session.
Type a name and the website location to add the data source.
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Name
In the Name section, type the name of the server. This is the name that is listed in the
Download Online Maps dialog, so the name can be as descriptive as desired.
URL
In the URL section, type the full internet location of the web mapping service. The
address must contain the http:// and the www before the location. If the URL does not
work, a good site to test whether the URL is a WMS server is MapMatters.org. Input
the URL in the Search field and the website will determine if the resulting server is a
WMS server. Didger currently only supports WMS (web map service) servers.
Next
Click Next to test the URL location. The program initiates communication with the
server. If the communication is successful, an Initial Test Success message appears.
Click Finish to return to the Download Online Maps dialog.
If the program cannot communicate with the server, an Initial Test Failed message
appears. The program is unable to connect to the server. There are a variety of
reasons this could happen. The web server URL could have changed or could be input
incorrectly, the web server is temporarily down, a firewall or virus scanner is
preventing the program from connecting to the server, or an internet connection
cannot be established.
Back
Click Back to return to the previous page, allowing the Name or URL to be re-edited.
Cancel or Finish
Click Cancel to return to the Download Online Maps dialog, without making any
changes. Click Finish to return to the Download Online Maps dialog, making any
changes to the Name or URL in the dialog.
Help
Click Help to open the online help file with information about the open dialog.
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Name
In the Name section, type the name of the server. This is the name that is listed in the
Download Online Maps dialog, so the name can be as descriptive as desired.
URL
In the URL section, type the full internet location of the web mapping service. The
address must contain the http:// and the www before the location. If the URL does not
work, a good site to test whether the URL is a WMS server is MapMatters.org. Input
the URL in the Search field and the website will determine if the resulting server is a
WMS server. Didger currently only supports WMS (web map service) servers.
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Next
Click Next to test the URL location. The program initiates communication with the
server. If the communication is successful, an Initial Test Success message appears.
Click Finish to return to the Download Online Maps dialog.
If the program cannot communicate with the server, an Initial Test Failed message
appears. The program is unable to connect to the server. There are a variety of
reasons this could happen. The web server URL could have changed or could be input
incorrectly, the web server is temporarily down, a firewall or virus scanner is
preventing the program from connecting to the server, or an internet connection
cannot be established.
Back
Click Back to return to the previous page, allowing the Name or URL to be re-edited.
Cancel or Finish
Click Cancel to return to the Download Online Maps dialog, without making any
changes. Click Finish to return to the Download Online Maps dialog, making any
changes to the Name or URL in the dialog.
Help
Click Help to open the online help file with information about the open dialog.
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Next
Click Next to test the URL location. The program initiates communication with the
server. If the communication is successful, an Initial Test Success message appears.
Click Finish to return to the Download Online Maps dialog.
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If the program cannot communicate with the server, an Initial Test Failed message
appears. The program is unable to connect to the server. There are a variety of
reasons this could happen. The web server URL could have changed or could be input
incorrectly, the web server is temporarily down, a firewall or virus scanner is
preventing the program from connecting to the server, or an internet connection
cannot be established.
Back
Click Back to return to the previous page, allowing the Name or URL to be re-edited.
Cancel or Finish
Click Cancel to return to the Download Online Maps dialog, without making any
changes. Click Finish to return to the Download Online Maps dialog, making any
changes to the Name or URL in the dialog.
Help
Click Help to open the online help file with information about the open dialog.
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The server location is tested and the results of the test are reported.
If the program cannot communicate with the server, an Initial Test Failed message
appears. The program is unable to connect to the server. There are a variety of
reasons this could happen. The web server URL could have changed or could be input
incorrectly, the web server is temporarily down, a firewall or virus scanner is
preventing the program from connecting to the server, or an internet connection
cannot be established.
Help
Click Help to open the online help file with information about the open dialog.
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The Layer Information dialog contains information about the selected web server.
OK
Click OK to return to the Download Online Maps dialog.
Help
Click Help to open the online help file with information about the open dialog.
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Vectorize Image
Click the Image | Vectorize Image command or click the button to open the
Vectorize Image dialog. The Vectorize Image dialog controls the settings that
automatically convert an image into a vectorized data set. A complete image can be
vectorized, select colors on the image can be vectorized, noise can be removed,
polygons or polylines created, and a number of other image processing options are
available.
Vectorization Scheme
The Vectorization Scheme saves the settings for different vectorization types to use
again on similar images, without resetting or remembering all the parameters. To
change the Vectorization Scheme, click on the down arrow next to the current scheme
name and select the desired scheme from the list.
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To create a new Vectorization Scheme, set all of the parameters in the dialog. Type a
name in the Vectorization Scheme box. Click Save to the right of the scheme name to
store the scheme to a file.
To delete an existing Vectorization Scheme, click on the down arrow next to the
current scheme name. Select the desired scheme from the list. Click Delete to the
right of the scheme name and Save button.
Colors to Vectorize
Didger gives you the option to vectorize an entire image or specific colors or color
ranges from the image. To vectorize the entire image, select the Complete Image
option in the Colors to Vectorize section. To vectorize only certain colors or ranges of
colors, select Selected Colors in the Colors to Vectorize section. For example, you may
only want to vectorize the blue rivers on a contour map.
To set specific colors, select the Selected Colors option. Move the cursor over the
image, and the cursor changes to . Click on the color you want to select.
To zoom into the image, press and hold the SHIFT key on the keyboard and click on
the image. To zoom out of the image, press and hold the CTRL key on the keyboard
and click on the image. Alternatively, use the mouse scroll wheel to zoom in and out.
To move around on the image, click on the scroll bars to move up/down or right/left.
Alternatively, press and hold the mouse scroll wheel down and drag the image on the
screen.
Once the color is selected, it is entered into the Color column cell in the Vectorize
Image dialog. If you make a mistake or click the wrong color, simply click again on
the intended color on the image to update the color in the Color column cell.
To add a new color to the list, click Add below the color section. To delete a color from
the list, click on the color in the dialog and click Delete below the color section. To
delete all of the selected colors, click Remove All.
Color Tolerance
The Color Tolerance determines the range of colors identified by each color. The value
is reported in the Tolerance column. Tolerance defines a similarity in color from one
pixel in an image from another pixel in that same image. For instance, the blue rivers
might be a darker value than the lighter colored lakes. If you only want the blue rivers
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vectorized, then you want the tolerance value low so the range of blue does not
include the lighter blue lakes. Pixel values can range from 0 to 255. A low color
tolerance is very similar to the pixel color selected. A high color tolerance fills the
pixels within a broader range. Click and drag the to the right to
broaden the pixel range of color. The tolerance number moves up as the slider moves
right. This is useful for color images that have a variety of pixel color ranges near the
edge or border. When the Color Tolerance value is zero, only the selected color is
vectorized.
If an image was previously processed using edge detection, erosion, dilation or one of
the other processing filters, you should select Enhanced Object Thinning as the edge
detection method from the list. If the image was not pre-processed, then either Edge
Detection or Standard Object Thinning should be selected from the list for best results.
For most images that contain lines that should be vectorized, Standard Object
Thinning is recommended because lines in images are generally a few pixels wide. The
Edge Detection method would create a polyline on both sides of the line in the image.
Standard Object Thinning creates one polyline through the middle of the line in the
image.
The green lines are the vectors The green lines are the vectors
created using the Standard created using the Edge
Object Thinning method. Detection method.
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The green lines are the output from the The green lines are the output from the
Vectorize Image command using Edge Vectorize Image command using Edge
Detection with an Hysteresis High Value Detection with an Hysteresis High Value
= 30 and Hysteresis Low Value = 10. = 70 and Hysteresis Low Value = 210.
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Smooth Lines
The Smooth Lines option reduces the total number of vertices created along a polyline
during the vectorization process. Available options are: No Smoothing, Minor,
Moderate, and Aggressive. The default option is Minor, which applies a slight amount
of smoothing to the vectorized lines. To change the amount of smoothing, click on the
down arrow next to the existing option and select the desired option from the list.
For example, a polyline generated with No Smoothing creates many points and jagged
edges. Setting the Smooth Lines to Minor removes some of the points and smooths
the jagged edges to make smoother lines. Selecting Moderate for the Smooth Lines
option reduces the number of points created during the trace without overly
compromising the shape of the polyline. Selecting Aggressive for the Smooth Lines
option reduces the number of points even further and simplifies the shape of the
polyline. Some sections of the polyline may be removed with the Aggressive option.
The default is 10 pixels, which means that 10 pixels must be connected before a
polyline object is created. Increasing this number results in fewer vectorized polylines
with longer lengths. Decreasing this number results in more vectorized polylines, with
potentially shorter lengths.
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OK or Cancel
Click OK to create polylines and polygons from the image. Click Cancel to close the
dialog without creating any polylines or polygons from the image.
In an existing project, click on the image to select it. Click the Image | Image
Registration and Warping command or click the button. The dialog allows you
to either verify the calibration or coordinate system, change the calibration, or define
the calibration or coordinate system. The Image | Image Registration and
Warping command is only available when there are no other objects in the project
and the image is selected. If the Image Registration and Warping command is not
available in the Image menu, two options are available. Delete the other objects,
leaving only the image. Click on the image and click the Image | Image
Registration and Warping command. Alternatively, delete the existing image,
leaving the other objects. Click the File | Import command to import the image. The
Image Registration and Warping dialog will appear if the image is not calibrated.
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Calibrate the image, set the image projection, and set the warping
method in the Image Registration and Warping dialog.
Image Display
Above the image display window are three tabs: Source Image, Project Reference
Coordinates, and Dual View.
Click on the tab to view information about the image and project.
Click the Source Image tab to display the un-referenced image. Click on the Project
Reference Coordinates tab to display the current Didger project. Click on the Dual
View tab to display both windows side by side.
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Click the button to the left of the image to enter zoom in mode. The cursor
changes to to indicate zoom in mode. Click on the image to zoom in at the desired
location. Click the button to the left of the image to enter zoom out mode. The
cursor changes to to indicate zoom out mode. Click on the image to zoom out at
the desired location. Alternatively, click on the image and scroll in or out using the
mouse wheel.
Click the button to the left of the image to zoom out to the entire extents of the
image. The full image is displayed.
Click the button to the left of the image to enter pan mode. Click and hold the
mouse button down. The cursor changes to to indicate pan mode. Drag the mouse
around to move the image. Alternatively, click and hold the mouse wheel down to pan
around the image.
Calibration Points
Calibration points are used to define a correlation between the source image
coordinates and the project reference system. Didger automatically creates four
calibration points, located at the maximum extents of the image. The number and
position of the calibration markers shown in any of the selected display windows
reflect the number and position of the calibration points. The green marker
indicates the selected row (or calibration point) in the table at the bottom of the
dialog. The red markers indicate a calibration row that is not currently selected.
Calibration points can be bench marks, surveyed points, grid intersection lines, axis
intersections, or any type of identifiable point you choose. At least three calibration
points must be entered to accurately calibrate an image. Using more points does not
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necessarily yield more accurate calibration. Four points are desired, to create a total
RMS value and individual point error.
Each row contains information about a specific calibration point. The columns contain
information about the location on the image.
• The Use column contains either Yes or No. This column tells Didger whether
to use the point when calibrating. To change the value, double-click on the Yes
to change it to No or double-click on the No to change it to Yes. When set to
Yes, the calibration point is used for calibrating the image.
• The Point ID column identify each calibration point with a name. This column is
optional and information does not need to be entered into this column.
• The Image X and Image Y columns contain the pixel location of the calibration
points on the image. The 0,0 point is located at the top left corner of the
image. The maximum values are determined by the number of pixels in the
image. The maximum point is located at the bottom right corner of the image.
• The Reference X and Reference Y columns contain the real world coordinates
of the calibration points. The values can be typed into the Reference X and
Reference Y boxes or the point can be clicked on in the Project Reference
Coordinates window to be automatically entered.
• The Point Error column displays the error value for each calibration point
between the source image and referenced image.
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in the table. When unchecked, the current calibration row does not change after
clicking a location on the image.
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Total RMS
The Total RMS value is displayed just below the Marker button. The Total RMS helps
you determine the accuracy of your calibration. A large Total RMS could reflect either
too few calibration points, or it may mean that you need to recalibrate your image
with more accuracy.
Warp Method
The Warp Method option determines the image warping method. Available options are:
Affine Polynomial, 1st Order Polynomial, Thin Plate Spline, Natural Cubic Spline,
Marcov Spline, Exponential Spline, Rational Quadratic Spline, Inverse Distance
Squared, 2nd Order Polynomial, and 3rd Order Polynomial. The default option is Affine
Polynomial. To change the Warp Method, click the down arrow next to the existing
warp method and select the desired method from the list. Refer to each specific page
for the transformation information and an image demonstrating the warp.
Resample Method
The Resample Method option determines the method used to when resampling an
image during warping. Available options are Nearest Neighbor or Bilinear
Interpolation. To change the Resample Method, click on the down arrow next to the
existing resampling method and select the desired method from the list.
The Nearest Neighbor method locates the center of each new image cell and locates
equivalent centers on the original image. The closest cell on the original image is
assigned to the new image cell. When the original image and the new image differ in
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size, more than one original cell may be applied to the new image and some original
image cells are not applied to the new image. The nearest neighbor method is the
fastest resampling method, though it can result in distorted output if the original
image and new images differ in size. This method is best for cells containing discrete
data.
The Bilinear Interpolation method uses a weighted average of four cells in the original
image and applies this to the new image. The new image is smoothed compared to the
original image. This method is best for continuous data.
If you want to use the current coordinate system, select the Use Current option.
Otherwise, select the Specify option to enable to the Coordinate System button. Click
the Coordinate System button to open the Assign Coordinate System dialog. Set the
coordinate system for the image in your current Didger project. This is the coordinate
system that the image is currently displaying.
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If Automatic Image Extents is not checked, the Set Extents button is enabled. Click
the Set Extents button to open the Change Output Limits dialog and specify the
output extents for the map, change the pixel dimensions of the image, or change the
scaling. This is useful if you want to create a subset image with a certain extent from
the original file.
Preview
Click the Preview button to open the Warp Preview window. A scaled down version of
the warped image is displayed. This preview does not use the entire image to display
results and therefore, it has a slightly different appearance than the final image will
look.
OK or Cancel
Click OK to save the calibration and apply the new coordinates to the image. Click
Cancel to exit the Image Registration and Warping dialog without applying the
new coordinates.
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7. Click the button and click on the calibration point location in the project in the
Project Reference Coordinates window. The coordinates of that point are entered
in the Reference X and Reference Y cells.
8. Repeat steps 2 through 7 for each calibration point.
Set the limits and image extents in the Change Output Limits dialog.
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Proportional XY Scaling
The Set Proportional XY Scaling check box forces the X and Y dimensions to be scaled
equally. When the check box is activated and you make a change to the X or Y
dimension, the other dimension is scaled the same amount. The same number of units
per pixel is applied to both the X and Y dimensions. If you want to scale the
dimensions differently, you must uncheck the check box.
Undo
Once you have clicked the OK button in the Change Output Limits dialog, the
calculations take place. Depending on the selected Warp Method, this may take
awhile. You may be asked about Undo due to the size of the image. If you are sure
that the warp settings are correct, click Yes to continue without undo.
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Edge Detection
Click the Image | Processing Filters | Edge Detection command to accurately
identify the edges of solid objects. Edges characterize boundaries and are therefore of
fundamental importance in image processing. Edges in images are areas with strong
intensity contrasts from one pixel to the next. Detecting an images edge significantly
reduces the amount of data and filters out useless information, while preserving the
important structural properties in an image.
The Edge Detection dialog includes two key functions (Gaussian Standard Deviation
and Hysteresis) to successfully identify the outline of an image object.
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shorter and more fragmented lines are created across the image. When set to 3.0,
longer, more continuous lines are created across the image. To change the value,
highlight the existing value and type a new value. Alternatively, click and drag the
to the desired value.
Preview Windows
The immediate effects of the edge detection changes are displayed in the dialog. The
image on the left side is the Original Image, as it appears in the project. The image on
the right is the Sample Output, which displays the changes as the Gaussian Standard
Deviation and Hysteresis Threshold Values are changed in the dialog.
mode. Click on the image to zoom in at the desired location. Click the button to
the left of the image to enter zoom out mode. The cursor changes to to indicate
zoom out mode. Click on the image to zoom out at the desired location.
Click the button to zoom out to the entire extents of the image. The full image is
displayed.
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Click the button to enter pan mode. Click and hold the mouse button down. The
cursor changes to to indicate pan mode. Drag the mouse around to move the
image. Alternatively, click and hold the mouse wheel down to pan around the image.
As the zoom changes in the Original Image view, the same zoom appears in the
Sample Output view. This way you can compare the same extents with the applied
settings in both views.
OK or Cancel
Click OK to apply the edge detection to the image. Click Cancel to close the dialog
without applying the edge detection to the image.
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Image Thinning
Click the Image | Processing Filters | Image Thinning command to reduce line
images to one pixel width line segments. Image thinning is a good processing tool for
black and white images that contain simple line or shape objects rather than complex
shapes. It can be used for several applications, but is particularly useful for reducing
foreground regions in a black and white image to a skeletal structure that largely
preserves the extent and connectivity of the original region while removing most of
the original foreground pixels. In this mode it is commonly used to tidy up the output
of edge detectors by reducing all lines to single pixel thickness.
Use the Image Thinning dialog, to reduce lines in images to one pixel in width.
Thinning Method
The Image Thinning dialog allows you to thin an image using either the Standard
Object Thinning or the Image Thinning with angle enhancement method. The Standard
Object Thinning method is the default and works on most images with rounded and
curved shapes. The Image Thinning with angle enhancement method is a better option
for images with corners and angular edges. Click on the desired method and the
preview image updates.
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Preview Windows
The immediate effects of the image thinning changes are displayed in the dialog. The
image on the left side is the Original Image, as it appears in the project. The image on
the right is the Sample Output, which displays the changes as the image thinning is
applied in the dialog.
mode. Click on the image to zoom in at the desired location. Click the button to
the left of the image to enter zoom out mode. The cursor changes to to indicate
zoom out mode. Click on the image to zoom out at the desired location.
Click the button to zoom out to the entire extents of the image. The full image is
displayed.
Click the button to enter pan mode. Click and hold the mouse button down. The
cursor changes to to indicate pan mode. Drag the mouse around to move the
image. Alternatively, click and hold the mouse wheel down to pan around the image.
As the zoom changes in the Original Image view, the same zoom appears in the
Sample Output view. This way you can compare the same extents with the applied
settings in both views.
OK or Cancel
Click OK to apply the image thinning to the image. Click Cancel to close the dialog
without applying the image thinning to the image.
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Spatial Filters
Click the Image | Processing Filters | Spatial Filters command to accentuate the
appearance of an image. The filters can bring out the spatial details that might be
required to digitize objects from an image. There are 17 spatial filters to choose from
in Didger. Spatial filters help to accentuate the appearance of an image.
For more information on the filters listed above, refer to the references on the next
page or to other imaging spatial filter references.
View Filter
To view the affects of a filter, select the desired filter and click Apply. The image in the
Didger window changes to display the filter results.
Reset Image
To return the image to the original state without any filters, click Reset.
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Sharpen
Click the Image | Processing Filters | Sharpen command to sharpen the resolution
of an image. The Sharpen Image dialog opens, allowing you to enter the percentage
of sharpening to apply. Sharpening is used to emphasize the details in an image. This
filter increases the contrast between adjacent pixels. When the images appear fuzzy,
this function can aid in restoring them to a better-enhanced state. This function
enhances the overall contrast of an image.
Percentage
The Percentage value controls the amount of sharpening applied to the image. To
change the value, highlight the existing number and type the desired value.
Alternatively, click the to increase or decrease the value. The Percentage value
must be between -100 and +100. The higher the value, the more sharpening is
applied. The edges in the image become more exaggerated. The lower the value, the
less emphasis is applied.
View Filter
To view the affects of the sharpening filter, select the desired Percentage and click
Apply. The image in the Didger window changes to display the sharpened image
results.
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Reset Image
To return the image to the original state, click Reset.
Median Filter
Click the Image | Processing Filters | Median Filter command to remove detail
from the image. The median filter "blurs" the image such that major details are seen
more easily while removing the intricate details.
Sample Size
Choose a number between three and 11 for the amount of median filtering to apply to
the image. Median filters are a nonlinear filter based on the median brightness value
of each input group of pixels. The filter is very good for removing noise and other
anomalies from an image. The higher the value, the more filtering is applied. To
change the Sample Size, click on the existing value and select the desired value from
the list.
View Filter
To view the affects of the median filter, select the desired Sample Size and click Apply.
The image in the Didger window changes to display the median filtered image results.
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Reset Image
To return the image to the original state, click Reset.
Adjust Contrast
The Image | Processing Filters | Adjust Contrast command opens the Change
Contrast dialog and adjusts the amount of contrast in the image. Contrast is the
difference in brightness between the dark and light components of an image.
Percentage
The Percentage value controls the amount of contrast applied to the image. To change
the value, highlight the existing number and type the desired value. Alternatively, click
the to increase or decrease the value. The Percentage value must be between -
100 and +100. The higher the value, the more contrast is applied. The colors in the
image become more exaggerated. The lower the value, the less contrast is applied.
The colors in the image become closer to other colors.
View Filter
To view the affects of a filter, select the desired filter amount and click Apply. The
image in the Didger window changes to display the filter results.
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Reset Image
To return the image to the original state without any filters, click Reset.
Adjust Brightness
Click the Image | Processing Filters | Adjust Brightness command to control the
amount of light assigned to the image.
Percentage
The Percentage value controls the amount of brightness in the image. To change the
value, highlight the existing number and type the desired value. Alternatively, click the
to increase or decrease the value. The Percentage value must be between -100
and +100. The higher the value, the more fading toward white is applied to the image.
The image becomes very light. The lower the value, the more darkness toward black is
applied to the image. The image becomes very dark.
View Filter
To view the affects of a filter, select the filter amount and click Apply. The image in the
Didger window changes to display the filter results.
Reset Image
To return the image to the original state without any filters, click Reset.
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Adjust Saturation
Click the Image | Processing Filters | Adjust Saturation command to adjust the
color saturation of the image. Saturation refers to relative purity or the amount of
white light mixed with hue.
View Filter
To view the affects of the filter, select the desired Percentage and click Apply. The
image in the Didger window changes to display the saturation filter image results.
Reset Image
To return the image to the original state, click Reset.
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Color Reduction
Click the Image | Processing Filters | Color Reduction command to reduce the
number of colors in an image. This is useful when you want to simplify a complex
image or reduce its size.
Method
The Method determines how the color reduction is applied. Available options are 5:5:5
Median cut, 8:8:8 Median cut, and Popularity. To change the Method, click on the
down arrow next to the existing option and select the desired option from the list.
The 5:5:5 Median cut implementation uses 5 bits of precision for each color: 5 bits
red, 5 bits green, and 5 bits blue. The 8:8:8 Median cut uses 8 bits of precision for
each color: 8 bits red, 8 bits green, and 8 bits blue. Normally, the 5:5:5 Median cut
method is faster, but the 8:8:8 Median cut method offers better color distribution.
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The Popularity method maintains good color integrity in images where most of the
colors are similar in hue. For example, a source image that contains mostly shades of
red maintains the subtle variations between the different shades of red as long as
there are not large concentrations of other hues in the image. However, the Popularity
method can lose portions of the color spectrum in images where many colors are
similar in hue. If a source image contains many shades of red and only a few shades
of green, choosing this method may result in an image without green at all if there
was too much red in the source image.
View Filter
To view the affects of the filter, select the desired Percentage and click Apply. The
image in the Didger window changes to display the color reduction filter image
results.
Reset Image
To return the image to the original state, click Reset.
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Method
The Method is the type of process that is applied to the image. Available options are:
Erosion, Dilation, Opening and Closing. To change the Method, click on the down arrow
next to the existing option and select the desired option from the list. Erosion
uniformly reduces the size of objects in relation to their background. Dilation uniformly
expands the size of objects in relation to their background. Opening applies first
Erosion and then Dilation. Closing applies first Dilation and then Erosion, filling in
single pixel anomalies, such as holes and gaps. Examples of each are shown in the
following graphics.
Erosion uniformly reduces the size of objects Dilation uniformly expands the size of
in relation to their background. objects in relation to their background.
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Opening uses the Erosion operation followed Closing uses the Dilation operation followed
by a Dilation operation. by an Erosion operation and fills in single
pixel object anomalies, such as small holes
and gaps.
Pass Size
The Pass Size is the number of passes or consecutive operations used on an image.
To change the value, highlight the existing number and type the desired value.
Alternatively, click the to increase or decrease the value. The Pass Size value must
be any integer between 1 and 25. The lower the value, the less number of times the
filter is applied. The higher the value, the more filtering is applied. This is useful if you
want to build up the process incrementally to get the desired result.
View Filter
To view the affects of the filter, select the desired Method and Pass Size and click
Apply. The image in the Didger window changes to display the filtered image results.
Reset Image
To return the image to the original state, click Reset.
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Set the Method and click OK to convert the color image to black and white.
Method
The Method determines how the colors are converted to black and white. Available
options are: Intensity Threshold and Brightness Threshold. To change the Method,
click on the existing option and select the desired option from the list. Intensity
Threshold refers to the magnitude, or amount, of light actually reflected or
transmitted. For instance, a low Intensity Threshold yields more white in the image
and a high Intensity Threshold yields more black. Brightness Threshold refers to the
contrast of brightness between black and white. For instance, a low Brightness
Threshold makes more black pixels white. A high Brightness Threshold creates a
higher brightness contrast by making more white pixels black.
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To change the amount of the method applied, click and drag the to
the desired value.
Preview Windows
The immediate effects of the method options are displayed in the dialog. The image on
the left side is the Original Image, as it appears in the project. The image on the right
is the Sample Output, which displays the changes as the Method and amount of the
Method are changed in the dialog.
mode. Click on the image to zoom in at the desired location. Click the button to
the left of the image to enter zoom out mode. The cursor changes to to indicate
zoom out mode. Click on the image to zoom out at the desired location.
Click the button to zoom out to the entire extents of the image. The full image is
displayed.
Click the button to enter pan mode. Click and hold the mouse button down. The
cursor changes to to indicate pan mode. Drag the mouse around to move the
image. Alternatively, click and hold the mouse wheel down to pan around the image.
As the zoom changes in the Original Image view, the same zoom appears in the
Sample Output view. This way you can compare the same extents with the applied
settings in both views.
OK or Cancel
Click OK to apply the black and white method to the image. Click Cancel to close the
dialog without applying the black and white method to the image.
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Convert to Grayscale
Click the Image | Processing Filters | Convert to Grayscale command or click the
button to convert the image to eight shades of gray. This feature is useful when
the file size is very large. Converting the image to grayscale reduces the memory
overhead and allows the program to process information more quickly. It is also easier
to view the newly digitized vector objects.
To control how the colors are changed, click the Image | Processing Filters |
Convert to Black and White instead.
Clipping Images
There are two methods of clipping images in a Didger project. The image can be
clipped based on a polygon or the image can be clipped to remove the map collar that
may exist with USGS topographic maps.
Images can also be cropped using the Image | Crop Image command. Cropped
images remove the outside cropped portion. After closing the file, the cropped portion
cannot be retrieved. Clipped images can be reverted to the original image with the
Image | Remove Clipping command.
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Digitize a polygon around the area you Select the polygon and click the Image |
would like to retain. The polygon is shown as Clip Image | Current Polygon
a thick black line above. command to clip the image.
Map Collar
The map collar is the area outside the neat lines in a map. The collar contains
information about the map, such as its name, location, scale, etc. Click the Image |
Clip Image | Map Collar command to remove the collar. If you remove the collars
from multiple image files, you can use Image | Mosaic to create a single new image.
USGS Digital Raster Graphic .DRG files are scanned topographic maps that sometimes
contain map collars. .DRG files are either in a .TIF or .DRG file format. Didger
supports the .TIF format. To use the Image | Clip Image | Map Collar command,
the directory where the .TIF file is located also must contain a .FGD file. The .FGD file
defines the map collar. The Image | Clip Image | Map Collar command works with
1:24,000; 1:63,360; 1:100,000; and 1:250,000 scale maps that contain the
accompanying .FGD file.
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The image on the left is the original image with a map collar.
The image on the right is the image after removing the map collar.
Remove Clipping
If an image has been clipped with either the Image | Clip Image | Current Polygon
or Image | Clip Image | Map Collar command, the clipping can be removed from
the map by clicking the Image | Clip Image | Remove Clipping command.
If you have any other objects selected, the Remove Clipping command is grayed
out.
To remove clipping:
1. Click the Edit | Deselect All command to deselect all objects.
2. Click once on the image to select it.
3. Click the Image | Clip Image | Remove Clipping command. The image is
displayed in the original format.
Images can be cropped using the Image | Crop Image command. Cropped images
remove the outside cropped portion. After closing the file, the cropped portion cannot
be retrieved.
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To remove all clipping, click anywhere in the project and click the Image | Clip
Image | Remove All Clipping. All images are displayed in the original format.
Images can be cropped using the Image | Crop Image command. Cropped images
remove the outside cropped portion. After closing the file, the cropped portion cannot
be retrieved.
Cropping Images
Click the Image | Crop Image command or click the button to extract a small
section of an image. After clicking this command, the cursor changes to . Click
and drag the cursor around the area you would like to keep. The portion of the image
outside the drawn box is automatically removed. The selected portion of the image is
cropped and becomes a new image. The new image can be exported to a new image
file, if desired. The original image does not exist any longer.
The image cannot be restored to the original format except by clicking the Edit |
Undo command. Cropped images remove the outside cropped portion. After closing
the file, the cropped portion cannot be retrieved. If any portion of the image may need
to be retrieved at a later point, use the Image | Clip Image commands instead.
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Resizing Images
Click the Image | Resize Image command to change the pixel dimensions and
resolution of an image.
Set the new image size and resolution in the Resize Image dialog.
Pixel Dimensions
Choose the Width and Height pixel settings for the resized image. The Pixel
Dimensions indicate the number of pixels that are in the new image. The larger the
number of pixels, the larger the image will be. Values should be between 10 and
32767 in both the Width and Height directions. To change the value, highlight the
existing value and type a new value. When the box next to the Constrain Proportions
option is checked, changing either the Width or the Height automatically changes the
other dimension.
Document Size
The Document Size section displays the Width and Height of the selected image in
page units. When the box next to the Retain Document Size option is checked, the
Width and Height are not available and show the original image size. When the box
next to the Retain Document Size option is not checked, the Width and Height can be
changed separately.
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Resolution
Choose the Resolution to increase or decrease the number of pixels in a page unit of
the image being resized. If you choose to change the number, the Width and Height in
the Pixel Dimensions changes automatically. The Resolution controls how fine the new
image will appear. The larger the number, the larger the Pixel Dimensions will be.
Constrain Proportions
Check the box next to the Constrain Proportions option to retain the original image
pixel proportions. When checked, the new image will have the same height to width
ratio as the original image, resulting in no stretching of the new image. When
unchecked, the new image can have different Height and Width values, allowing the
image to be stretched.
Resample Method
The Resample Method controls how the image is resized. Available options are:
Nearest Neighbor, Bilinear, Cardinal cubic spline, B-Spline, and BC-Spline. To change
the method, click on the existing method and select the desired method from the list.
The Nearest Neighbor method locates the center of each new image cell and locates
equivalent centers on the original image. The closest cell on the original image is
assigned to the new image cell. When the original image and the new image differ in
size, more than one original cell may be applied to the new image and some original
image cells are not applied to the new image. The nearest neighbor method is the
fastest resampling method, though it can result in distorted output if the original
image and new images differ in size. This method is best for cells containing discrete
data.
The Bilinear Interpolation method uses a weighted average of four cells in the original
image and applies this to the new image. The new image is smoothed compared to the
original image. This method is best for continuous data.
The Cardinal cubic spline method is a fast method to reduce sharp changes in the
image. It often results in various degrees of blurring.
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The B-Spline method uses a cubic spline method to emulate a Gaussian blurring filter.
This is commonly used to produce a smooth flow though the control points. Typically,
the B-Spline method creates various degrees of blurring in the new image.
The BC-Spline method is similar to the B-Spline method, but tends to produce sharper
angles in the new image.
Reset Image
To return the image to the original state, click Reset.
OK or Cancel
Click OK to resize the image. Click Cancel to close the dialog without resizing the image.
Mosaicking Images
Click the Image | Mosaic command to combine image files from adjacent areas into
a new seamless single image file.
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OK or Cancel
Click OK to change the color format of the image. Click Cancel to close the dialog
without changing the color format of the image.
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Current Color
The Current Color column displays the color selected from the image in the plot
window. To change the Current Color, move the pointer over the image in the plot
window. Move the cursor over the image, and the cursor changes to . Click on the
color you want to select and the Current Color selected is changed. If you make a
mistake or click the wrong color, simply click again on the intended color on the image
to update the color in the Current Color column.
To zoom into the image, press and hold the SHIFT key on the keyboard and click on
the image. To zoom out of the image, press and hold the CTRL key on the keyboard
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and click on the image. Alternatively, use the mouse scroll wheel to zoom in and out.
To move around on the image, click on the scroll bars to move up/down or right/left.
Alternatively, press and hold the mouse scroll wheel down and drag the image on the
screen.
To add a new color to the list, click Add to the right of the color section. To delete a
color from the list, click on the color in the dialog and click Delete to the right of the
color section. To delete all of the selected colors, click Remove All.
Color Tolerance
The Tolerance determines the range of colors identified by each color. The value is
reported in the Tolerance column. Tolerance defines a similarity in color from one pixel
in an image from another pixel in that same image. For instance, the blue rivers might
be a darker value than the lighter colored lakes. If you only want the blue rivers to
change colors, then you want the tolerance value low so the range of blue does not
include the lighter blue lakes. Pixel values can range from 0 to 255. A low color
tolerance is very similar to the pixel color selected. A high color tolerance fills the
pixels within a broader range. Click and drag the to the right to
broaden the pixel range of color. The tolerance number moves up as the slider moves
right. This is useful for color images that have a variety of pixel color ranges and all of
the colors in the range should be changed. When the Tolerance value is zero, only the
selected color is changed.
Transparent
The Transparent column is either True or False. When the Transparent option is True,
the Make Pixel Transparent option is selected. When the Transparent option is False,
the Replace Pixel Color option is selected. When Transparent is set to True, all of the
selected colors are removed from the image, as if they were not there. When
Transparent is set to False, all of the selected colors are change to another color, as
displayed in the New Color column.
New Color
The New Color column displays the color that replaces the Current Color. If Replace
Pixel Color is selected, click on the color button to the right and select a color from the
color palette. Once a new color is selected from the list, it is displayed in the New
Color column. When replacing a color in a grayscale image with a true color, Didger
converts the selected color to its corresponding gray shade. If the Make Pixel
Transparent option is selected, there is an X through the New Color column, indicating
that the color is transparent, not replaced.
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Tablet Digitizing
Tablets vs. Scanners
To accurately digitize points from a paper source document, you need a digitizing
tablet. If you do not have a tablet, you can use a scanner and import an image into
Didger instead.
There are 32-bit and 64-bit WINTAB drivers available for most digitizing tablets. If you
do not have a driver for your tablet, contact the tablet manufacturer to see if they
have the drivers available. Tablet and driver installation can vary depending on the
manufacturer and model of your tablet. Refer to the users guide for your tablet to
determine the correct installation procedures. The bit version (32-bit or 64-bit) of your
tablet must match the bit version of Didger. If you have a 64-bit version of Didger,
you must have a 64-bit version of the tablet driver for the tablet to communicate
effectively with Didger.
The advantage to using a tablet is that large paper documents are easier to
manipulate on large tablets. Tablets also require less memory than large images.
Scanners
A scanner converts a paper document into an image. Once the image is imported into
Didger, you can calibrate it and then you can digitize information using your
computer's mouse. Scanners use their own software to scan the document into an
image file. The advantage of using a scanner over a tablet is that once the image is
scanned, the external hardware is no longer needed to digitize the information off the
paper document.
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What is Digitizing?
Digitizing is the process of transferring paper document information, image file
information, or data to your computer. This is accomplished with the use of a digitizing
tablet or by importing an image or vector file. Software such as Didger converts the
information from the file or paper document to digital information.
By providing the computer with the coordinates necessary to define object locations in
relation to other objects, you can create a file of object locations. Object locations are
defined by XY coordinates, such as latitude/longitude, UTM (Universal Transverse
Mercator), State Plane, or any type of coordinate system. In addition, with Didger you
can associate text and data with the objects that you digitize.
Tablet Digitizing
Digitizing with a tablet and puck, like the one shown below, is a fast and efficient
method when documents such as larger paper maps or bore hole logs need to be
converted into data. Digitizing tablets consist of a large flat surface with an underlying
electronic detection system. To use the digitizer, the document is placed on the tablet.
The document should not be moved after being placed on the tablet. The document is
calibrated by setting the tablet location to some type of coordinate system. This is
done by selecting from three to 256 calibration points. Once calibrated, points,
polylines, and polygons can be transferred from the tablet to the computer screen,
then printed or exported in a variety of formats.
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To begin digitizing:
1. Click the File | New command.
2. Place the document securely on the tablet. The document does not have to be
perfectly oriented on the tablet because Didger corrects for any rotation in the
document relative to the tablet.
3. Click the Draw | Tablet | Tablet Calibration command or click the button.
4. The Tablet Calibration Wizard dialog opens, allowing the digitizing tablet to be
calibrated before beginning work on the project.
a. In the first dialog, click the Coordinate System button.
i. In the Assign Coordinate System dialog, set the coordinate space type,
axis units, calibration units, and projection if desired. This information must
match the document's information.
ii. Click OK.
b. Click Next.
c. In the Create Calibration Points dialog, set the calibration points to use.
Select at least three calibration points on the document and determine the X
and Y coordinates for each point.
i. Enter the calibration points in to the World X and World Y boxes. For each
point, you must enter the X and Y coordinates that define the point’s
position in the document.
ii. The ID is optional.
iii. Once you have entered the calibration points, click on point number one,
and then move the tablet pointer over the point to be calibrated and click. A
dot appears in the dialog indicating the point you clicked.
iv. Continue clicking the calibration points until all are entered.
v. Click Next.
d. In the RMS Calibration Settings dialog, verify the calibration and the RMS
value. If the value is not low enough, click Back and recalibrate the tablet. If
the value is acceptable, click Next.
e. In the Calibration Settings dialog, set the tolerance values, the display units,
and the tablet button settings. Click Next.
f. In the Specify Project Limits and Scale dialog, set the axis limits and
scaling. Click Finish and the tablet is ready for digitizing.
5. Once the tablet is calibrated, click the commands on the Draw menu to draw
objects. Use the tablet puck to click on the objects.
6. After objects are drawn, the map projection can be changed, if desired.
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Activate Tablet
Before you digitize objects, the digitizing tablet must be calibrated (see Tablet
Calibration), and must be activated by clicking the Draw | Tablet | Activate Tablet
Before you calibrate the tablet, you must select between three and 256 calibration
points on your paper document, and determine the document XY coordinates for these
calibration points. When you place the document on the digitizing tablet, the document
calibration points are placed over specific tablet locations. The Tablet Calibration
Wizard asks you to enter the document coordinates for your calibration points and
then click each calibration point. This way, Didger knows where these document
calibration points lie in relation to the tablet coordinates, and can then convert all
subsequently digitized object coordinates to document coordinates for use in Didger.
Once you have calibrated the digitizing tablet, you are ready to digitize objects from
your paper document. This is the actual transfer of data from your paper document to
the computer. During this procedure, you transfer the document location of objects as
well as names or data associated with each object. A Didger project can contain any
number and combination of objects.
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Calibration points can be at any location and are important in establishing the quality
of your subsequently digitized data. The accuracy also depends on the degree of
precision you use when digitizing the calibration points.
The calibration points cannot lie in a straight line. If you can, spread the calibration
points over the extent of the document or image.
Tablet Calibration
Click the Draw | Tablet | Tablet Calibration command or click the button to
calibrate the digitizing tablet before beginning work on a project or continuing with a
project. The Tablet Calibration Wizard steps through the necessary options to begin
a new project or to recalibrate an existing project using the digitizing tablet. The tablet
must be calibrated before digitizing objects.
Rotation
Your paper source documents can be rotated on the tablet, and Didger corrects for
any rotation.
Scaling
Paper source documents can use different scaling in the two dimensions. For example,
your document might use a scaling of 1 inch=1000 feet in the X dimension, and 1 inch
= 1200 feet in the Y dimension, and Didger corrects for the different scaling.
The source document can use different scaling in the two dimensions. For example,
your document might use a scaling of 1 inch=1000 feet in the X dimension, and 1 inch
= 1200 feet in the Y dimension, and Didger corrects for the different scaling.
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Set the coordinate space type, the axis scales, and the map
projection parameters in the Tablet Calibration Wizard dialog.
Coordinate System
Click the Coordinate System button to open the Assign Coordinate System dialog.
Set the Coordinate Space Type, axis types, and projection information. Click OK to
return to the Tablet Calibration Wizard dialog.
NOTE: You must know the exact projection category, system, and datum settings
used in the file to enter the Projected Coordinate System settings manually. If you
incorrectly set the projection parameters, the map will be distorted. Do not use this
dialog to change the projection, use it to initially set the projection. If you would like
to change the map's projection, create the map. After digitizing the objects on the
map, change the projection by clicking the Map | Change Projection command.
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Rows can also be added by clicking the Cancel button on the puck. Normally, this is
button 3.
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saves time by not needing to type in the coordinates for a project that have bene
previously defined. This works extremely well with a tablet when the paper document
on the tablet has not moved.
Click the Load button to open the Open dialog. Select the data file and click Open. In
the Load Calibration Points dialog, set the columns to the appropriate fields from the
calibration points table and click OK.
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Calibration points are added by clicking the Digitize button on the puck. Normally this
is button 1.
Moving to the next row can be done by clicking the Finish button on the puck.
Normally this is button 2.
Rows can also be added by clicking the Cancel button on the puck. Normally, this is
button 3.
Moving to the next row can also be done by clicking the Finish button on the puck.
Normally this is button 2.
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When calibration points are digitized, the coordinate positions of the points in the
digitizer's grid referencing system or pixel coordinates are determined. Didger uses
the selected Georeferencing Method to compute the error between the tablet or pixel
coordinates and the digitized coordinates. This allows Didger to orient and scale the
project.
The error for each point and the total RMS error
are listed in the RMS Calibration Settings dialog.
In the results grid, the following data are included. You can use the scroll bars to scroll
the field of view.
• The Use column shows which calibration points are used in the calibration.
When set to Yes, the calibration point is used. When set to No, the calibration
point is not used. Double-click on the word Yes or No to change it. As you
remove calibration points, the Point Error and Total RMS values automatically
update. To increase the overall accuracy of the calibration, Didger lets you
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exclude any points that have an unacceptably high error. Any points with a
high Point Error should either be removed or recalibrated.
• The Point ID column shows the name associated with each calibration point in
the Create Calibration Points dialog.
• The Source X and Source Y columns display the X and Y coordinates for each
calibration point in the tablet coordinate system.
• The World X and World Y columns display the X and Y coordinates for each
calibration point in the document coordinate system.
• The Computed X and Computed Y columns display the projected X and Y
coordinates, in meters, for the specified latitude/longitude value for that
calibration point.
• The Predicted X and Predicted Y columns display the X and Y coordinates of
the calibration point after it has been processed by the georeferencing
algorithm. This indicates the accuracy of the calibration point for the
calibration.
• The Point Error column shows the standard deviation in each value. This
column contains zeros if the RMS is not calculated. The error values presented
for each point indicate the difference between the coordinates entered and the
expected digitizing coordinates.
RMS
The Total RMS value is calculated from the Point Error values. This is a measure of the
agreement between the calibration point coordinates and the expected digitizing
coordinates. The Total RMS field below the results grid shows the average error that
can be expected in any single point. If the RMS error is too high, click the Back button
to return to the Create Calibration Points dialog and repeat the calibration
procedure for any point.
Georeference Method
Didger provides a number of methods for georeferencing the coordinate space from
tablet or pixel coordinates to world coordinates. You can select one of 10 methods for
calibration in the Georeference Method list, including Affine Polynomial, 1st Order
Polynomial, Thin Plate Spline, Natural Cubic Spline, Marcov Spline, Exponential Spline,
Rational Quadratic Spline, Inverse Distance Squared, 2nd Order Polynomial, and 3rd
Order Polynomial.
When digitizing from source documents or images that contain extreme warping, a
higher order polynomial method is appropriate. When different methods are selected,
the Total RMS and Point Error values change.
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If you do not have the minimum number of calibration points needed for a particular
method, Didger defaults to the next acceptable method based the number of
calibration points. For most digitizing applications, the Affine Polynomial method is the
best choice.
Tolerance Settings
Tolerance settings include the options to control the distance between points on a
polyline or polygon and the distance between objects.
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Vertex Tolerance
The Vertex Tolerance option sets the minimum spacing for vertices along a polygon or
polyline. The values are specified in calibration units. The value defines the minimum
segment length for a polyline or polygon. No two adjacent vertices along the object
can be closer together than the specified length. To change the tolerance, highlight the
existing value and type a new value. A good default value is half the Total RMS error
value.
Snap Tolerance
The Snap Tolerance option sets the minimum distance allowed between nodes for the
existing and new polylines when creating a new polyline. The value is specified in
calibration units. To change the tolerance, highlight the existing value and type a new
value. A good default value is the Total RMS error value.
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The Y Axis Minimum and Y Axis Maximum values define the project limits in the Y
dimension. To change the values, highlight the existing value and type a new value.
If your project is projected in anything other than Unprojected Lat/Long, the numbers
in the Specify Project Limits group appear in meters. Click the Lat/Long button to set
the limits in latitude/longitude coordinates.
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The X Axis Scaling and Y Axis Scaling sections specify the scaling along the specified
axes. If the project is in anything other than unprojected lat/long, the numbers to
enter for Map Units must be in meters.
The 1.0 in (cm) = __ Map Units edit box specifies the number of units per inch or
centimeter in the specified dimension. For example, if you want your project to be
drawn at a scale of 1000 units per inch, type the value 1000 into the edit box. The
Length value is automatically updated to reflect the change you make. If your project
is 8000 units in the dimension you are setting, the project is 8 inches long in that
dimension. To change the map unit scaling, highlight the existing value and type a
new value.
The Length edit box specifies the length of the project in the specified dimension.
When you change the Length value the 1.0 in (cm) = __ Map Units edit box is
automatically updated to reflect the change in length. To change the length scaling,
highlight the existing value and type a new value. Alternatively, click the to
increase or decrease the size of the map.
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Finish
Click Finish to end the tablet calibration wizard. Once the dialog closes, objects can be
digitized with the puck and the Draw menu commands.
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To load points:
1. Click the Load button in the Image Registration and Warping dialog, the
Create Calibration Points dialog, or the Coordinate Conversion dialog to load
existing calibration points into the project.
2. Points may be loaded from any data file format, such as a .DAT, .XLSX, or .ACCDB
file. Select the appropriate file in the Open dialog.
3. Click Open.
4. The Load Calibration Points dialog appears.
5. Set the columns to the appropriate columns in the worksheet.
6. Click OK. The values are loaded into Image Registration and Warping dialog,
the Create Calibration Points dialog, or the Coordinate Conversion dialog in
the calibration points table.
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Point ID
The Point ID option contains the column assigned to the Point ID. To change the
column, click on the existing option and select the appropriate column from the list.
Source X and Y
The Source X and Source Y columns contain the Tablet X and Tablet Y values for a
tablet calibration or the Image X and Image Y values for an image registration. To
change the column, click on the existing option and select the appropriate column
from the list.
World X and Y
The World X and World Y columns contain the World X and World Y values for a tablet
calibration or the Reference X and Reference Y values for an image registration. To
change the column, click on the existing option and select the appropriate column
from the list.
Skip Rows
Check the box next to the Skip Rows option to not import values from one of the rows
in the worksheet. Normally this is used for a header row. It can also be used for a row
that contains data that does not apply to this project. When the box is checked, the
row listed to the right of the Skip Rows text will not be imported into the dialog. When
the box is unchecked, all rows are imported. To change the skipped rows, highlight the
existing value and type the new row number.
OK or Cancel
Click OK to accept the points from the file and return to the Image Registration and
Warping dialog or the Create Calibration Points dialog. The points are
automatically entered into the calibration points table. Click Cancel to return to the
Image Registration and Warping dialog or the Create Calibration Points dialog
without the values entered.
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Large Documents
Sometimes you might need to digitize information from a paper source document that
is larger than your digitizing tablet. With Didger, you can accomplish this task by
making use of the Tablet Calibration in the Draw menu and the Project Limits in
the Map menu.
Tablet Calibration Wizard or click the button to digitize the calibration points
for the first section of the document.
3. Digitize all the objects from that portion of the document. Save the work in a .PJT
file.
4. When completed with the first section, move the document so the next section is
placed on the tablet.
5. Choose the Tablet Calibration command.
6. Clear all the currently displayed calibration points from the calibration grid and
type the coordinates for the calibration points on the current section of the
document. Step through the Tablet Calibration Wizard to calibrate these new
points.
7. Choose the Project Limits command from the Draw menu, and set the limits for
the project to the entire document extents (with all the sections you digitize). Do
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not check the Set limits based upon check box. This allows you to see the entire
project area, including all the objects you have digitized from other sections. Note:
You can set the Project Limits at the beginning of the project so you can see the
entire project area from the beginning.
8. Digitize the objects for the current document section and save the file when
completed.
9. Continue with this procedure until all sections of the document are digitized.
Wintab Info
Click the Help | Wintab Info command to view information about your digitizing
tablet. If you do not have a digitizing tablet installed or if it is turned off, the Wintab
Info command is grayed out. If the digitizing tablet is not working properly, the
Wintab Information dialog reports this to you.
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NOTE: Some tablet pucks use buttons that begin numbering at zero rather than one.
For these types of pucks, Button 1 in the dialog refers to button 0 on the puck.
Button Settings
Click the existing option next to Select Button to change the function of the selected
button. The available options and the function description are listed below.
• Nothing - If this option is selected, the button does not have a function.
• Enable Tablet On/Off - This option toggles the digitizing tablet on and off. This
can also be accomplished by clicking the Draw | Tablet | Activate Tablet
command. When the tablet is disabled, the tablet pointer can then be used as
a mouse. Toggling the tablet on with this button is not supported by all tablet
drivers.
• Enable/Disable Stream Mode - When stream mode is enabled, you can hold
down this button and drag it to create a continuous stream of vertices. The
minimum vertex spacing is controlled by the vertex tolerance settings.
• Digitize - This option creates a point, node, or vertex. This option should
always be specified for one of the buttons. See digitizing points, polylines, and
polygons for more information.
• Finish - This option completes the creation of a polyline or polygon. When you
have digitized the final point in a polygon or polyline, this adds the final node
for polylines, or closes the polygon and adds the default fill.
• Cancel - This option cancels the current operation before completion.
• New Point - This option is the same as clicking the Draw | Symbol command.
• New Polyline - This option is the same as clicking the Draw | Polyline
command.
• New Polygon - This option is the same as clicking the Draw | Polygon
command.
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• Snap Nearest Vertex - When digitizing a polyline or polygon, this option snaps
the next created vertex to the nearest vertex on an existing polyline or
polygon.
• Snap Nearest Line Segment - When digitizing a polyline or polygon, this option
snaps the next created vertex to the nearest position along an existing polyline
or polygon, even if a vertex does not exist at that point.
• Undo - This option removes the last point digitized in a polyline or polygon.
Stream Mode
When Stream Mode is checked, hold down the primary mouse button or digitize button
and drag the puck to create a continuous stream of vertices. The minimum vertex
spacing is controlled by the vertex tolerance settings.
Digitizing Cursor
The Digitizing Cursor list sets the default cursor type when digitizing. The cursor icon
changes to the type selected. To change the cursor, click on the existing option and
select the desired option from the list.
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If your tablet is not properly installed, contact the tablet manufacturer for assistance.
Connectivity between the digitizing tablet and the Wintab driver often requires certain
information that can only be obtained from the tablet manufacturer. In our experience,
tablet manufacturers can quickly and easily get you up and running with your digitizer
connectivity.
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Map Properties
Map Menu Commands
The Map menu contains commands to create Surfer base maps and grid data using
Surfer, convert project coordinates, change project limits and scale, set a default
projection or change the existing projection, add graticules and grid lines, make
reporting about objects, layers, and project settings, and edit attribute information.
In the Surfer Map dialog, select the type of base map to create. Available options are
Creating a single raster base map or Exporting individual objects.
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click OK. Golden Software's Surfer program opens and a single image base map of
the Didger project appears.
Individual Objects
When Exporting individual objects is selected, Didger creates separate objects in a
base map for each individual image, polyline, and polygon in the Didger project and
creates one separate post map for all the points in the project. All the map layers are
overlaid into a single map object in Surfer. The images will be exported from Didger
in 300 DPI resolution (using the physical size under Map | Project Limits to
determine the pixel count) and polylines and polygons will be exported as DXF files.
Points are exported to a DAT file. If points exist in the project, the Data Export Options
dialog is displayed. Click OK and the map is created in Surfer.
Due to the current nature of export formats, some objects may not appear exactly as
they do in Didger. This command is compatible with Surfer 7 or later versions. If you
do not currently own Surfer version 7 or higher, you can contact Golden Software for
upgrade information.
Note: Log axes are not supported with the Grid Data command. Didger requires that
the X and Y minimum values are less than the X and Y maximum values for the
project limits.
Gridding Method
There are several gridding parameters you can set when producing a grid file. Refer to
Gridding Methods for more information on specific parameters. All gridding methods
require at least three non-collinear data points with Z data entered in the Z level field.
Available gridding methods include Inverse Distance to a Power, Minimum Curvature,
Nearest Neighbor, Radial Basis Function, and Triangulation with Linear Interpolation.
To change the Gridding Method, click on the down arrow next to the existing gridding
method and select the desired method from the list.
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If the desired gridding method is not available, click the File | Export command and
export the data points to a DAT file. The DAT file can be used directly in Surfer to grid
the data.
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Map, and Shaded Relief Map. If Create Surfer Map is not checked, the map layer type
options are not available.
Select Contour Map to create a contour map from the grid file. A contour map is a
two-dimensional representation of three-dimensional data. The first two dimensions
are the XY coordinates, and the third dimension (Z) is represented by lines of equal
value. The relative spacing of the contour lines indicate the relative slope of the
surface. The area between two contour lines contains only grid nodes having Z values
within the limits defined by the two enclosing contours. The difference between two
contour lines is defined as the contour interval.
Select Image Map to create an image map from a grid file. Image maps are raster
maps based on grid files. These maps represent Z values (e.g. elevations) with user
specified colors.
Select Shaded Relief Map to create a shaded relief image map from a grid file. These
maps use colors to indicate the local orientation of the surface relative to a user-
defined light source direction. Didger determines the orientation of each grid cell and
calculates reflectance of a point light source on the grid surface. The light source can
be thought of as the sun shining on a topographic surface. Portions of the surface that
face away from the light source reflects less light toward the viewer, and thus appear
darker.
These maps were created using the Grid Data command in Didger. The map on the left is a
contour map, the middle map is an image map, and the map on the right is a shaded relief map.
Gridding Options
The Gridding Options section contains the specific Gridding Method options and the
Grid Line Geometry section. The first section identifies the properties needed to create
a grid using the specified Gridding Method. For instance, if you choose Nearest
Neighbor in the Gridding Method list, then the Nearest Neighbor options section
appears in the Gridding Options section. To see the options, click on the next to the
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option name to expand the section. Highlight any values and type new values to
change the value or click on the option to view a list of available options.
The Grid Line Geometry section contains the grid limits and density parameters for the
grid. To see the options, click on the next to the Grid Line Geometry text to expand
the section.
The Export Units contains the units that should be used for the grid. Click on the cell
to the right of Export Units and select one of fourteen different unit options from the
list.
The Number of rows and Number of columns contain the grid density. Grid density is a
measure of the number of grid nodes in the grid. The # of nodes in the X direction is
the Number of columns, and the # of nodes in the Y direction is the Number of rows.
By default, both directions are assigned 100 grid nodes. To change a value, highlight
the existing number and type the desired coordinate value.
The default location for the new grid file is the user AppData temporary directory,
which is c:\Users\<username>\AppData\Local\Temp, by default. The default file name
is Didger.grd.
OK or Cancel
Click OK to create the grid and optional Surfer map. Click Cancel to end grid creation
without creating the grid.
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Gridding Methods
Grid method parameters control the interpolation procedures. When you create a grid
file, you can usually accept the default gridding method and produce an acceptable
map. Different gridding methods provide different interpretations of your data because
each method calculates grid node values using a different algorithm. If you are not
satisfied with the map of your data, you might consider producing grid files using
several different gridding methods and comparing the results.
Because Surfer maps are created from gridded data, the original data in Didger are
not necessarily honored in the grid file. When you post the original data points on a
contour map, some of the contour lines might be positioned in a position relative to
the original data that appears differently than you might draw the line. This happens
because the locations of the contour lines are determined solely by the interpolated
grid node values and not directly by the original data. Some methods are better than
others in preserving your data, and sometimes some experimentation (i.e. increasing
grid density) is necessary before you can determine the best method for your data.
Gridding methods are selected in the Grid Data dialog. To open the Grid Data dialog,
click the Map | Surfer | Grid Data command or click the button. The following list
provides an overview of each gridding method and some advantages and
disadvantages in selecting one method over another.
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Minimum Curvature
Minimum Curvature generates smooth surfaces and is fast for most data sets but it
can create high magnitude artifacts in areas of no data. The internal tension and
boundary tension allow you control over the amount of smoothing. Minimum Curvature
can extrapolate values beyond your data's Z range.
Nearest Neighbor
Nearest Neighbor is useful for converting regularly spaced (or almost regularly spaced)
XYZ data files to grid files. When your observations lie on a nearly complete grid with
few missing holes, this method is useful for filling in the holes, or creating a grid file
with the blanking value assigned to those locations where no data are present.
Nearest Neighbor does not extrapolate Z grid values beyond the range of data.
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Coordinate Conversion
Click the Map | Coordinate Conversion command or click the button to open the
Coordinate Conversion dialog. A coordinate conversion adjusts the values of the
existing map coordinates and moves all objects to the new locations. Coordinate
conversions are often used to correct for off-center control points in the original
project because you can perform different math operations on the X and Y axis.
Coordinates can be adjusted with a math operation or georeferenced. Examples of
situations you would use coordinate conversions are: converting the file coordinates of
a *.DXF file to latitude/longitude coordinates, or converting a site-specific coordinate
system to a regional coordinate system.
Set the Input Data Units, the Math Operation, or pick points
using the Georeference option in the Coordinate Conversion dialog.
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Coordinate System
Click the Destination System button to open the Assign Coordinate System dialog.
This dialog lets you define a new output coordinate system during the conversion
process, and is useful for transforming site-specific coordinate systems to regional
georeferenced projected systems.
Math Operation
Use Math Operation when you want to correct a known offset in the project coordinate
system. For example, add 0.35 to all X values, or multiple 1.50 from all Y values.
To offset all values by an X or Y value, select the desired operation from the X Axis
Operation or Y Axis Operation. Available options are Add, Subtract, Mulitple, and
Divide. After selecting the operation, highlight the existing value and type the desired
value. For example, to offset all objects by 0.35 units in the X direction and multiply
all Y values by 1.5, the Math Operation would be selected and the values set to:
Georeference
Use Georeference when you know the exact coordinates of three or more non-linear
points and you want to recalibrate based on those values. This is useful when you
want to recalibrate a Didger project file. For example, suppose that you know that the
image is incorrectly referencing the wrong X value, but that the image is slightly
warped. You can select points on the map and type in new values in the georeference
table.
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Click in the project to set the Source X and Source Y values. Type in the Point ID,
World X, and World Y values. The Point Error is automatically
determined when four or more points are entered.
Click on the image and hold the mouse wheel down. The cursor changes to to
indicate pan mode. Drag the mouse around to move the image.
Add
Click Add to add another row to the georeference table. Each row is a new calibration
point. The new row is added at the bottom of the table with the default values.
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Remove
Click on a row in the georeference table to select it. Click Remove and the currently
selected row is deleted from the georeference table.
Load
Click Load to open the Open dialog. Select a previously defined set of calibration
points. The calibration points can be stored in any supported data file format, including
.XLS, .XLSX, .ACCDB, .TXT, and .DAT. Loading a previously defined set of calibration
points saves you the time of typing in the coordinates for a project that you have used
in the past. After selecting the new file and clicking Open, the Load Calibration Points
dialog appears. Set the columns and click OK and the points are displayed in the
georeference table.
Save
Click Save to save the calibration points to a file for use at a later point or in another
project. After clicking Save, the Save As dialog appears. Type a file name and click
Save and the points are saved to an ASCII data file.
Georeference Method
The Georeference Method list lets you select from numerous transformation functions.
Available options are Affine Polynomial, First Order Polynomial, Thin Plate Spline,
Natural Cubic Spline, Marcov Spline, Exponential Spline, Rational Quadratic Spline,
Inverse Distance Squared, Second Order Polynomial and Third Order Polynomial. To
change the Georeference Method, click on the existing option and select the desired
option from the list. Not all options will be available every time, as the options depend
on the number of points in the georeference table. By default, the Affine Polynomial is
selected, which works well in many situations.
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Total RMS
If you choose to use the georeference option, the Total RMS value is displayed above
the georeference table when the Recalc button is clicked. The RMS value is
recalculated with the latest set of values.
Recalc
Click Recalc to recalculate the RMS and point errors after selecting new locations for
the calibration points.
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4. Note that the pointer is a cross hair pointer . Move the pointer over the project
and click on the point where you have known coordinates. A calibration marker is
placed at the clicked location, and the values for the Source X and Source Y points
are filled into the record. The Source fields show the original coordinate system of
the project.
5. Highlight the value in the World X field and enter the X coordinate you want to
assign to that point.
6. Highlight the value in the World Y field and enter the Y coordinate you want to
assign to that point.
7. Click Add to add another record in the table.
8. Repeat steps 3 through 7 for each reference point you want to define. The
Georeference option requires at least three points to define your coordinate
system.
9. Set the transformation method in the Georeference Method list for the RMS
calculation to be made.
10. If you create four or more calibration points, Didger calculates the RMS error. The
overall accuracy of the RMS error varies with the number of reference points, and
the selected georeference method.
11. If you are unhappy with the reported RMS values, you can highlight each record in
the table and re-digitize the points. Alternatively, you can manually change the
value in either the World X and World Y fields, or the Source X and Source Y fields.
However, you must press the Recalc button in order to update the reported RMS
values.
12. Once the georeference method is selected and you are satisfied with the reported
RMS, click OK and the entire project is converted to the new values.
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Project Limits
Click the Map | Project Limits command or click the button to define the extent
and scale of the active project area.
Project limits define the project area extents within Didger. Project limits are based
on calibration point limits, the imported coordinate limits, or the relative screen
coordinates if you have not calibrated the current project. There may be times when
your calibration points are not along the outside of the project area, or you are
calibrating a document that is larger than your digitizing tablet. Under these
conditions, you can set the project limits to match the limits of your document and not
the limits implied by the calibration points.
Changing the project limits is also useful when you want to concentrate on a particular
area of your project because you can adjust the limits to show only the area of
interest. Changing the project limits retains the integrity of all digitized data. When
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you digitize objects outside the project limits, the object position is still registered
properly within the project, even if they do not appear on the screen.
The numbers in the Specify Project Limits group appear in the project display units.
The units used in the limits are indicated next to the Specify Project Limits option
name. In the image above, the limits are set in latitude and longitude.
Click the Lat/Long button to open the Specify Lat/Long Limits dialog, where you can
set the limits in latitude and longitude coordinates, regardless of the display units. To
set the display units, click the Tools | Project Settings command. The display units
are controlled by the Length and Area boxes on the General page.
The project limits are automatically set to be ten percent larger than the limits defined
by your calibrated points. As an example, if your calibration points in one dimension
ranged from 0 to 100, the default project limits would span a range of 110 units in
that dimension, from -5 to 105. The Set limits based upon check box activates
automatic project scaling based on the Calibration points or the Project Extents. The
Calibration option sets the project extents to the calibrated coordinates. If the project
has not been calibrated, the Calibration option is unavailable. The Project Extents
option sets the extents to the entire project.
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Before setting project limits, objects can lie outside the default project limits.
You can reset the project limits so all objects can be seen. The project
limits have been redefined for this project so the entire polygon is seen.
Type the limits for the project in latitude and longitude degrees.
Use this dialog to enter the project limits in latitude and longitude coordinates, instead
of in display units. The values must be input in decimal degree format.
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The units for the Map Units are in project display units. The units are indicated after
the Map Units text.
Length
The Length option sets the length of the map in the X and Y dimension. When the
Length value is changed, the 1" = __ Map Units box is automatically updated to reflect
the change. The units for the Length are in page units (either inches or centimeters).
When the Preserve Project Limits During Import option is unchecked, importing an
image, vector file, or data file automatically changes the limits for the entire project so
that all objects are displayed.
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OK and Cancel
Click OK to apply the scale and limit values to the project. The dialog closes and the
project limits and size automatically update. Click Cancel to return to the project
window without changing either the scale or limits.
If the Map | Change Projection command is not available, a coordinate system has
not been defined for the current project. Click the Map | Coordinate Conversion
command first. Set the coordinate system in the Coordinate Conversion dialog. This
is the system the project uses for the current reference. After the coordinate system is
set, click the Map | Change Projection command to change it to a new system.
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For projected coordinates, the graticule lines can curve to follow the projection (for
example, on an Albers projection), or can show different spacing in the north-south
dimension (for example, on a Miller projection). For maps using a latitude/longitude
coordinate system or a Cartesian coordinate system, a rectangular graticule or grid is
drawn.
Didger plots the graticule on a layer named Graticule and the grid on a layer named
Grid. The layers can be moved, deleted, or rearranged in the Layer Manager.
Multiple graticules and grids can be created in Didger by renaming the existing
Graticule or Grid layer. Then, a new grid or graticule can be added by clicking the Map
| Graticule and Grid command.
The individual graticule or grid lines can be edited by clicking on the line in the plot
window and editing the properties in the Property Manager. If anything is added to
the Graticule or Grid layer, it is deleted if the graticule or grid is altered.
A grid can be curved if the projection is changed after the grid was initially created.
Consider that a typical USGS 7.5 topographic map shows both State Plane and UTM
grid locations on the map. You can create this same type of map in Didger by first
creating a grid for the UTM coordinates, renaming the Grid layer to Grid-UTM,
reprojecting the project to State Plane coordinates, creating a new grid for the State
Plane coordinates. Make sure to rename the initial grid layer, so Didger does not
overwrite the first UTM grid.
The Graticule and Grid Designer dialog is organized into two pages, a Graticule
page and a Grid page. Most of the options on the two pages are the same. The
Graticule page contains options for displaying and labeling the latitude and longitude
lines. The Grid page contains options for displaying and labelling grid lines in any
units, other than latitude and longitude.
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Display Lines
Check the box next to Longitude (X) or Latitude (Y) on the Graticule page to display
lines of constant latitude or longitude in the project. Check the box next to the Easting
(X) or Northing (Y) on the Grid page to display lines of constant X or Y in the project.
Both pages contain two columns of information. The first column it contains options for
lines of constant longitude (meridians) or X lines. The second column it contains the
same options for lines of constant latitude (parallels) or Y lines.
Display Units
On the Grid page, the Grid Units option controls the units used for the Start, End, and
Increment values. To change the units, click on the existing option and select the
desired units from the list.
Range
The Start and End options contain the range of values that the grid or graticule are
drawn. The line starts at the Start minimum value and ends at the End maximum
value. To change either the Start or End values, highlight the existing value and type
in the desired value. The values are in latitude or longitude on the Graticule page and
in Grid Units on the Grid page.
Increment
The Increment option controls how often lines are drawn. The first line is drawn at the
Start value. The second line is drawn at the Start value plus the Increment value. To
change the Increment value, highlight the existing value and type in the desired value.
The values are in latitude or longitude on the Graticule page and in Grid Units on the
Grid page. If lines should be drawn every 1000 units, change the Increment to 1000
on the Grid tab.
Line Style
Click the Line Style button to open the Line Attributes dialog. The line Style, Color,
and Width can be changed. Click OK in the Line Attributes dialog to return to the
Graticule and Grid Designer dialog.
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Show Ticks
The Show Ticks row contains the Show X and Show Y options. Check the box next to
the Show X or Show Y option to display tick marks along the graticule or grid line.
Uncheck the box to remove tick marks along the graticule or grid.
Label Frequency
The Label Frequency controls how many graticule or grid lines display labels. Setting
the Label Frequency to any value other than 1 skips graticule or grid lines. For
example, if the Label Frequency is set to three, every third line contains a label. To
change the value, highlight the existing number and type a new number. Alternatively,
click the to increase or decrease the value. Setting the Label Frequency to zero
removes all labels from the graticule or grid. Setting the value to one displays labels
for every graticule or grid.
Label Font
The Label Font sets the font properties used for the graticule or grid line label. Click
the Font button to open he Font Attributes dialog where you can define the text
characteristics to use for the labels. The Face, Points, Style, Color, and Opacity can be
changed for the labels. Click OK in the Font Attributes dialog to return to the
Graticule and Grid Designer dialog.
Show Labels
The Show Labels options determines where labels are displayed along the graticule or
grid line. Check the box next to Start to display labels along the Start value lines.
These are on the left and bottom for most projects. Check the box next to End to
display labels along the End value lines. These are on the right and top for most
projects. When neither the box for Start nor End is checked, no labels are displayed.
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value, highlight the existing number and type a new number. Alternatively, click the
to increase or decrease the value.
Label Angle
The Label Angle option sets the angle labels are displayed. A value of zero has
horizontal labels, with the number starting on the left. A value of 90 has vertical
labels, with the number starting at the bottom. A value of -180 or 180 has values
horizontal, with the number starting on the right and displayed upside down. A value
of -90 or 270 has vertical labels, with the number starting at the top. Values are in
degrees, ranging between -360 and 360. To change the value, highlight the existing
number and type a new number. Alternatively, click the to increase or decrease
the value.
Check the box next to Use Default to set the Label Angle option back to the default
rotation. This is 90 for X values and 0 for Y values.
Label Prefix
A text string can be displayed before each label using the Label Prefix box. For
example, a "$" could be used as a prefix. Type the text exactly as you want it to
appear in the Label Prefix box.
Label Suffix
A text string can be displayed after each label using the Label Suffix box. For example,
a "°" could be used as a suffix. Type the text exactly as you want it to appear in the
Label Suffix box.
To display the degree symbol, copy the symbol from the Windows Character Map or
click in the box and press and hold the ALT key on the keyboard. Type 0176 on the
numeric keypad. Release the ALT key and the degree sign will appear.
Default Values
Click the Defaults button at the bottom of the dialog to change the numeric values
back to the program defaults.
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Making Reports
The Map | Make Report command creates a report containing general information
about the project. The report includes Projection Parameters, Object Summary, Layer
Info, Project Settings (project limits, scale, units, etc.), Calibration Information, and
Object Information. The report opens in a text window.
To save the report, click the File | Save As command in the report window. In the
Save As dialog, set the location, file name, and report type. Click Save to save the
file. To print the report, click File | Print. Information from the report can be edited,
copied, and pasted into the Didger project window.
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Field Names
By default, the Data Attributes dialog includes the Primary, Secondary, Tertiary, and
Quaternary IDs in the Field Name column. To change any field name, slow double-click
(click once, wait a second, and click again) to edit the name. Type the new name and
press ENTER on the keyboard to make the change.
Each field is defined as either String or Number under Preferred Export Type. The
Current Field indicates whether the field is currently in use in the project. When
importing files, up to 256 data fields can be preserved.
Adding Fields
Click the Add Field button to add field names to the list. The new field name is listed
as New Field and a number. The number indicates the field name. Since there are four
fields, by default, the next field is named New Field 5.
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Removing Fields
Click the Remove Field button to delete the selected field from the project. If no field
name is selected, Didger starts at the top of the list and removes the first item in the
list of data fields.
Specialty Fields
The Specialty Fields section allows mapping of field names to one of the default fields
defined in the Specialty Fields section. The Primary ID is used as the unique key for a
data set. In most files, this will be the Primary field name. However, it could be any
unique field in the project.
The Polygon Left and Polygon Right fields are used to store the left and right side IDs
of the polygon boundary. These are used with the Draw | Edit Boundaries | Create
Polygons by IDs command.
The Z-Level field is used to store elevation or production values. This column is
primarily used with the Map | Surfer | Grid Data command. The Z-Level field must be
defined before selecting this command.
Assigning Attributes
Click the Map | Data | Assign Attributes command to set the same attributes to
selected objects, or to set incremental values for attributes to the Primary ID data field
to selected objects.
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Assigning Elevations
Click the Map | Data | Assign Elevations command to quickly add incremental
elevation values to polyline objects, such as contour lines. At least two polylines must
exist in the project for the command to be available.
7. Highlight the existing value in the box next to the Starting Elevation option and
type the desired first elevation value.
8. Highlight the existing value in the box next to the Increment Value option and type
the desired contour level increment. This is the elevation difference between
adjacent contours.
9. Click on the existing ID in the Assign to Data option and select the desired ID from
the list. The Z value will be written to this ID. If information already existed for
this ID, the information is overwritten by the Z value.
10. Click OK.
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The incremental contour values are assigned to the contour lines and populated in the
selected data field. You can open the Data Manager to view the changes in the data
fields.
All contour lines that intersect the red line are assigned an elevation
value based on the values entered in the Assign Elevations dialog.
Note that the command does not work on polygons. Polygons must first be converted
to polylines to use the Assign Elevations command.
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Edit Menu Commands
The Edit menu contains commands to undo and redo operations; cut, copy, paste, and
delete object; select or deselect objects.
Undo
Click the Edit | Undo command, click the button, or press CTRL+Z on the
keyboard to reverse the last operation performed. If the last operation cannot be
reversed, the Undo command is grayed. After you save a file, the undo operations are
cleared, so you cannot undo any operations performed before using the Save
command. After you have undone an operation, the Redo command becomes
highlighted, allowing you to reverse the just completed Undo command.
Undo Levels
Up to 25 undo levels can be set though by clicking the Tools | Project Settings
command and setting the Undo levels on the General page. If the Undo command is
not available, check the Undo levels. If the value is set to zero, undo will not be
available.
Redo
Click the Edit | Redo command, click the button, or press CTRL+Y on the
keyboard to reverse the last Undo command. After you have used the Undo
command, the Redo command indicates the operation that you have undone.
Cut
Click the Edit | Cut command, click the button, right-click and select Cut, or
press CTRL+X on the keyboard to move the selected objects to the clipboard. This
deletes the selected objects from the project after copying them to the clipboard. Cut
objects can later be pasted with the Paste command.
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Only one set of data may be placed in the clipboard at a time. The next Cut or Copy
command replaces the contents of the clipboard.
Copy
Click the Edit | Copy command, click the button, right-click and select Copy, or
press CTRL+C on the keyboard to copy the selected objects to the clipboard. The
original objects remain in the window. Use this command to duplicate objects in a
different location in the same window, or copy the objects into a different window or
application. The copied objects can later be pasted with the Paste command.
Only one set of data may be placed in the clipboard at a time. The next Cut or Copy
command replaces the contents of the clipboard.
Paste
Click the Edit | Paste command, click the button, right-click and select Paste, or
press CTRL+V on the keyboard to copy the clipboard contents into the current
document. The objects to be copied must first be placed in the clipboard using the Cut
or Copy commands of Didger or some other application. The clipboard contents
remain on the clipboard until something new is cut or copied to the clipboard.
After selecting the Paste command, the cursor changes to . Once the cross hair
cursor is displayed, click on the location you wish to paste the object. Press ESC at any
time to cancel the operation.
Delete
Click on any object to select it. Click the Edit | Delete command, click the
button, right-click and select Delete, or press the DELETE key on the keyboard to
remove the selected object from the window. The Delete command does not affect
the contents of the clipboard. Any information in the clipboard is retained when you
choose the Delete command.
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Selecting Objects
To delete an object, change an object's properties, or to use some editing tools, the
object must be selected first. There are several ways to select objects in Didger.
To select multiple objects in the Data Manager, press and hold the CTRL key on the
keyboard and select additional objects in the Data Manager. To select multiple
adjacent objects, click on the first object, press and hold the SHIFT key on the
keyboard, and click on the last object. All objects between the first and last object are
selected. To access the plot window commands, click on the plot window title bar or in
the gray area surrounding the project to activate the plot window.
If an object other than the one you want is selected, press and hold the CTRL key on
the keyboard and continue clicking with the mouse until the desired object is selected.
Any objects that were previously selected become deselected.
To select two or more objects in the plot window, press and hold the SHIFT key on the
keyboard while clicking on additional objects. This retains previously selected objects
and includes the newly selected objects. Press and hold both the CTRL and SHIFT keys
on the keyboard to select several overlapping objects in the plot window.
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Select
Select an object by placing the cursor (or pointer) over the object and clicking the left
mouse button. Alternatively, click the button and place the cursor on objects to
select them.
Select All
Click the Edit | Select All command, right-click and select Select All, or press CTRL+A
on the keyboard to select all objects in the document. A bounding box surrounds all
selected objects.
Invert Selection
The Edit | Invert Selection command reverses the selected and deselected objects.
All previously selected objects become deselected. All previously deselected objects
become selected. A bounding box surrounds all selected objects. This command is
useful for selecting a large number of objects and leaving a few isolated objects
unselected. Select the objects you do not want selected and use the Invert Selection
command.
Block Select
Block select allows multiple items to be selected at once. To use the block select
feature:
• Click the Edit | Block Select command and drag a rectangle around the
objects to select.
• Click the button and drag a rectangle around the objects to select.
• Press CTRL+B on the keyboard and drag a rectangle around the objects to
select.
• Select one object in the plot window, hold down the SHIFT key on the
keyboard, and select another object in the plot window.
• Select one object in the Data Manager, hold down the CTRL key on the
keyboard, and select another object in the Data Manager.
• Click and drag the cursor to draw a block selection around multiple objects.
To avoid accidentally moving an object when in selecting multiple objects, click the
Edit | Block Select command. If an object is selected, a bounding box surround the
object.
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Deselect All
Click the Edit | Deselect All command, right-click in the plot window and select
Deselect All, or press CTRL+SHIFT+A on the keyboard to deselect all selected objects.
This command is useful when zoomed in on objects. Alternatively, deselect objects by
clicking in the white space outside any objects in the project.
Selection Type
The Selection Type contains a list of the available criteria selection options. Objects
can be selected based upon Data Attributes, Layer, Object Type, and Measured
Properties. The Data Field option changes depending on the Selection Type. To change
the Selection Type, click on the existing option and select the desired option from the
list.
Selection Criteria
The selection criteria options change depending on the Selection Type. Available
selection criteria include Data Attributes, Layer, Object Type, and Measurement. Each
type of selection criteria has different options available. To set the selection criteria,
click on the existing option and select the desired option from the list.
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When the Selection Type is set to Measured Properties, the selection criteria option
changes to Measurement. Available measurements are Length and Area.
Condition
The Condition option is available when the Selection Type is set to either Data
Attributes or Measured Properties. The Condition lets you set the relationship between
the type of item you are looking for and a value associated with the object. Available
options are >, >=, <, <=, =, or !=. To set a Condition, click on the existing option
and select the desired option from the list.
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Condition Description
> Greater than the Value entered
>= Greater than or equal to the Value entered
< Less than the Value entered
<= Less than or equal to the Value entered
= Exactly equal to the Value entered
!= Not equal to the Value entered. This selects all objects that are
not the Value.
Value
The Value option is available when the Selection Type is set to either Data Attributes
or Measured Properties. The Value can be either a numeric value, text, or a
combination of numbers and text. Note that this field is case sensitive. So, entering
MW1 is not the same as entering mw 1. To change the Value, highlight any text or
numbers that may already exist and type a new set of text or numbers.
Condition Section
The selection can be further refined by adding another selection type. The Condition
section has None, And, and Or options available. To only use the existing selection, set
the Condition to None. To select objects with the first selection and another selection,
such as selecting all polylines with a length greater than 10 units, set the Condition to
And. Enter the additional selection information in the bottom of the dialog. To select
objects with either the first selection or a different type of selection, such as selecting
all symbols or all objects with the primary ID of "well", set the Condition to Or. Enter
the second selection criteria in the bottom of the dialog.
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Example
Select all polylines that have a length greater than five feet. Units are set during
calibration or by clicking the Tools | Project Settings command.
Arranging Objects
Click the Arrange | Order Objects commands to change the order objects are drawn
in the plot window. Objects can also be moved by dragging them to a new position in
the Data Manager.
In the examples below, the red square is being moved with the selected command.
The diagrams show where the red square starts (left image) and where the red square
ends after the command is used (right image).
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move the selected object to the back. The object will appear behind all of the other
objects in the layer.
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Replicating an Object
Click the Arrange | Replicate command or right-click and select Replicate to make a
duplicate copy of the selected objects in the exact location of the original objects.
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Aligning Objects
Click the Arrange | Align Objects commands to align selected objects relative to the
bounding box surrounding the selected objects. The objects can be aligned both
vertically and horizontally.
Click the Arrange | Align Objects | Left command or the button to align all
selected objects along the left side of the bounding box.
Click the Arrange | Align Objects | Center command or the button to center all
selected objects between the left and right sides of the bounding box.
Click the Arrange | Align Objects | Right command or the button to align all
selected objects along the right side of the bounding box.
Click the Arrange | Align Objects | Top command or the button to align all
selected objects along the top of the bounding box.
Click the Arrange | Align Objects | Middle command or the button to center all
selected objects between the top and bottom sides of the bounding box.
Click the Arrange | Align Objects | Bottom command or the button to align all
selected objects at the bottom of the bounding box.
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Rotating Objects
Select an object and click the Arrange |
Rotate command to rotate the object by a
specified number of degrees. After selecting
the command, the Rotate dialog opens. Type
the number of degrees to rotate the object
into the Rotate dialog. Alternatively, you can
move the slider button to change the
rotation. Positive numbers rotate the object
in a counterclockwise direction and negative
numbers rotate the object in a clockwise
Specify the degree of Counterclockwise
direction. rotation in degrees in the Rotate
dialog.
Click on an object to select it. Click the Arrange | Free Rotate command or the
button to rotate the selected object with the mouse. After selecting the command, the
cursor changes to to indicate that the program is in free rotate mode. To rotate
an object click just inside the object’s bounding box and hold the left mouse button
while moving the cursor. As the object is rotated, the object's outline is displayed in
the rotated view. To fix the position of the rotated object, release the mouse button.
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Changing the View
View Menu Commands
The View menu contains commands to display the full extents of the project, change
the zoom level, and change the plot window color. In addition, the View menu
contains a command to reset all windows to the default locations.
Zoom In
The View | Zoom | In command increases the magnification of the area in the plot
window. The command scrolls the window to keep the point of interest centered.
To enter zoom in mode, click the View | Zoom | In command, click the button,
or right-click in the plot window and select Zoom | In. The cursor will change to a
to indicate zoom in mode. Left-click the area on which to center the magnified image.
Zoom Out
The View | Zoom | Out command decreases the magnification of the image in the
plot window. The command scrolls the window to keep the point of interest centered.
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To enter zoom out mode, click the View | Zoom | Out command, click the
button, or right-click in the plot window and select Zoom | Out. The cursor will change
to a to indicate zoom out mode. Left-click the area on which to center the
magnified image.
Zoom Selected
The View | Zoom | Selected command magnifies selected objects to the maximum
size possible in the plot window.
Select an object and use the View | Zoom | Selected command, click the
button, press CTRL+L on the keyboard, or right-click in the plot window and select
Zoom | Selected to magnify the selected object.
Zoom Rectangle
The View | Zoom | Rectangle command allows magnification by drawing a rectangle
around the area of interest in the plot window.
Click the View | Zoom | Rectangle command, click the button, or right-click in
the plot window and select Zoom | Rectangle to enter zoom rectangle mode. The
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cursor will change to a to indicate that you are in zoom rectangle mode. Hold
down the left mouse button and drag the dotted zoom rectangle around the area of
interest to magnify it. When the left mouse button is released, the plot window will
zoom to the selected area.
Zoom Realtime
The View | Zoom | Zoom Realtime command zooms in and out as the left mouse
button is held down and the mouse is dragged up and down in the plot window.
click the button. The cursor will change to a to indicate that you are in zoom
realtime mode. Hold down the left mouse button and then drag up or down in the
window to zoom in or out. As you drag the mouse up, the screen is zoomed in. As you
drag the mouse down, the screen is zoomed out.
Pan
The View | Pan command allows you to move your location in the plot window or grid
node editor, while retaining the current level of magnification.
Use the View | Pan command, or click the button to pan the current view in the
plot window or grid node editor.
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3. Hold the left mouse button down while dragging the view to a new position.
Redraw
Click the View | Redraw command, click the button, or press F5 on the
keyboard to redraw the window. This is used to remove unwanted leftovers or "dirt"
that occasionally results from manipulating objects.
Color
The Color is the color of the background. Click the existing color sample next to Color
to open the color palette. Click on a color in the palette to use it for the selected
background color. Click the Custom button at the bottom of the palette to open the
Colors dialog and create custom colors.
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Visibility
Click the View | Toolbars/Managers commands to toggle the display of the
toolbars. Alternatively, use the View | Toolbars/Managers | Customize command
to open the Customize dialog. The Toolbars page of the Customize dialog displays
all of the toolbars. A check mark indicates the toolbar is currently visible. Reset
toolbars with the Customize dialog.
Click the View | Toolbars/Managers commands to toggle the display of the Layer
Manager, Coordinate Manager, Property Manager, and Data Manager.
Alternatively, you can click the button in the title bar of the Layer Manager,
Coordinate Manager, Property Manager, or Data Manager to close the manager
window. The Property Manager can also be opened by double-clicking on an object.
Auto-Hiding Managers
Click the button to hide a docked manager. The manager slides to the side or
bottom of the main Didger window and a tab appears with the window name.
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Position the mouse pointer over the tab to view the manager. Move your mouse away
from the manager and the manager "hides" again. You can also click inside the
manager to anchor it at its current position. Click in another manager to release the
anchor and hide the manager. Click the button to disable the auto-hide feature.
Size
Drag the sides of floating plot window, manager, toolbar, or menu bar to change its
size. If a manager is docked, its upper and lower bounds are indicated by a or
cursor. Move the cursor to change the size.
Position
To change the position of a docked manager, click the title bar and drag it to a new
location. The entire manager appears in the location it will be displayed when the
manager is floating. To dock the manager, use the docking mechanism. You can also
double-click the manager's title bar to toggle between floating and docked modes. A
tabbed manager view is also an option.
Docking Mechanism
Left-click the title bar of a manager and drag it to a new location while holding the left
mouse button. The docking mechanism displays with arrow indicators as you move the
manager.
When the cursor touches one of the docking indicators in the docking mechanism, a
blue rectangle shows the window docking position. Release the left mouse button to
allow the manager to be docked in the specified location.
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Tabbed Managers
To create tabbed managers:
4. Drag one manager on top of another window.
5. Hover over the center section of the docking mechanism. The blue area shows
where the tabbed manager will display.
6. Release the mouse button.
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Floating Managers
The toolbars and menu bar can also be moved or displayed in floating windows.
To dock the toolbar or menu bar in a new location, click the "grip" bar along the
toolbar or menu bar edge, hold the left mouse button, and then drag the toolbar or
menu bar to a new location. Drag the toolbar or menu bar away from the window edge
to display the toolbar as a floating window. Double-click the manager title bar to
switch between floating and docked.
The View | Reset Windows command will reset the project to Didger defaults.
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Introduction to Importing and Exporting
Didger supports several file formats to aid in the exchange of maps and graphics with
other applications. Files from other applications can be imported into Didger as base
maps. For example, you can export files from Didger as metafiles and then import
them into other software. The clipboard provides another easy way to move maps to
other Windows applications.
Importing
Click the File | Import command, click the button, or press CTRL+I on the
keyboard to import a file into a Didger project. This command opens the Import
dialog so you can select the file to open in Didger.
Import Dialog
The Import dialog appears after clicking the File | Import command.
Look In
The Look in field shows the current directory. Click the down arrow to see the
directory structure and click on the folders to change directories.
File List
The file list displays files in the current directory. The current directory is listed in the
Look in field. The Files of type field controls the display of the file list. For example, if
Golden Software Boundary (*.GSB) is listed in the Files of type field only .GSB files
appear in the files list. To see all files in the directory, choose All Files (*.*) from the
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Files of type list. Double-click on a file to open it or single-click the file and then click
the Open button.
To see all files in the directory, choose All Files (*.*) from the Files of type list.
Double-click on a file to open it or single-click the file and then click the Open button.
The All Files (*.*) option shows all of the file formats in the current directory, even if
the file type is not appropriate for the action chosen.
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Import Images
When an image is imported, any projection information is automatically imported. The
Image Registration and Warping dialog appears, allowing for the reference information
to be changed, allowing for an unreferenced image to be referenced, or allowing a
coordinate system to be assigned to the image.
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Import Data
When a data file is imported, the Import Data File dialog appears. The Import Data
File dialog allows X and Y coordinates to be selected, the attributes can be set, and
the data can be imported as separate points or as a single post map.
When the Preserve Project Limits During Import option is checked in the Project Limits
and Scale dialog, the limits will not automatically change after importing new objects.
The limits and scale will stay at the values set in the Project Limits and Scale
dialog. Click the Map | Project Limits command after importing new objects to
expand the limits.
Click the File | Import command, click the button, or press CTRL+I on the
keyboard to import a file into a Didger project. This command opens the Import
dialog so you can select the file to open in Didger. After a data file is selected and the
Open button is clicked, the Import Data File dialog appears.
To import a data file into Didger, the data file must have at least two columns
containing X and Y locations. Additionally, you can have other columns of information
that can be used as data attributes. Data can be imported as a post map, which
creates a single object. Or each data point can be imported separately, creating a new
object for each point in the data file.
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Set the data columns for the coordinates and attributes in the Import Data File dialog.
Data Columns
The data columns are shown in a spreadsheet format at the top of the dialog. Only the
first 50 rows of the data file will be displayed in the spreadsheet format.
Import Method
The Import Method controls how fields are assigned from the data file to existing data
attribute fields in the project. Available options are Match Fields, Append Fields, and
Replace Fields. To change the Import Method, click on the existing option and select
the desired option from the list.
When the Import Method is set to Match Fields, the available attributes from the
project are listed in the dialog below the Y Coordinate option. To match a field from
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the data file, click in the empty box next to one of the attribute names. Select the
desired data file field name from the list.
When the Import Method is set to Append Fields, all fields in the data file (other than
the X Coordinate and Y Coordinate fields) are automatically added as new attributes in
the project. After importing the data, the project has the previous attribute fields in
addition to the newly defined attributes from the data file. The project attribute fields
are grayed out in the Import Data File dialog.
When the Import Method is set to Replace Fields, all fields in the data file (other than
the specified X Coordinate and Y Coordinate fields) replace the previously existing data
attribute fields. After importing the data, the project only has the newly defined
attributes from the data file. The project attribute fields are grayed out in the Import
Data File dialog.
Importing the data as a single post map is useful when importing large data files
because only a single object is created. One common use for this option would be you
want to import a data file and convert from one coordinate system to another. The
data associated with each point does not need to be edited, so importing the data with
the Create Post Map option speeds the conversion and export.
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Other attribute fields are defined by the Primary, Secondary, Tertiary, and Quaternary
options, when the Import Method is set to Match Fields. Other field definitions are
optional.
To change any coordinate or attribute field to another column in the data file, click on
the existing option or the empty box next to the coordinate or attribute name. Select
the desired column from the list.
Import or Cancel
Click Import to initiate the import of the data file. Click Cancel to close the dialog
without importing.
Exporting
Click the File | Export command, click the button, or press CTRL+E on the
keyboard to export the project information in files that can be used by other
programs. The File | Export command is not available if no objects exist in the
current project. The only way to preserve all information about a project within
Didger is to save as a Didger project .PJT file by clicking the File | Save or File |
Save As commands.
Export Dialog
After clicking the File |
Export command, the
Export dialog opens.
Save In
The Save in field shows the
current directory. Click the
down arrow to see the
directory structure and click
on the folders to change
directories. The buttons to
the right of the Save in field
allow you to create new
folders and change the view
of the file list.
Type a File name and set the Save as type to the desired file
format to export the project.
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File List
The file list displays the files using the extension specified in the Save as type box. A
file can be overwritten by selecting it from the file list.
File Name
The File name box displays the name of the selected file, or type in the path and file
name of the file to be exported.
Save As Type
The Save as type list box specifies the format of the file to be exported.
File Name
Export files typing a name into the File name box and then selecting the file type in
the Save as type list. For example, typing MYPLOT in the File name box and choosing
Tagged Image (*.tif, *.tiff) from the Save as type list results in MYPLOT.TIF. There is
no need to type in an extension because it is automatically added. If a file extension is
typed in the box along with the file name, the file type is determined by the typed
extension. For example, if MYPLOT.DXF is typed in the File name box, the resulting file
is in the AutoCAD DXF format, no matter what is set in the Save as type field.
Export Units
For projected projects, the exported units are always determined by the units listed in
the Coordinate Manager. To export in different units, click Cancel in the Export dialog.
Click on the Coordinate Manager and change the Display Units.
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Didger allows the information to be stored in and recalled from several types of files.
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In the Surfer Map dialog, select the type of base map to create. Available options are
Creating a single raster base map or Exporting individual objects.
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Individual Objects
When Exporting individual objects is selected, Didger creates separate objects in a
base map for each individual image, polyline, and polygon in the Didger project and
creates one separate post map for all the points in the project. All the map layers are
overlaid into a single map object in Surfer. The images will be exported from Didger
in 300 DPI resolution (using the physical size under Map | Project Limits to
determine the pixel count) and polylines and polygons will be exported as DXF files.
Points are exported to a DAT file. If points exist in the project, the Data Export Options
dialog is displayed. Click OK and the map is created in Surfer.
Due to the current nature of export formats, some objects may not appear exactly as
they do in Didger. This command is compatible with Surfer 7 or later versions. If you
do not currently own Surfer version 7 or higher, you can contact Golden Software for
upgrade information.
The Save command saves information in the Didger project file .PJT format that is
not recognized by other applications. When you want to use digitized information in
other applications, you can use the File | Export command to create files in several
useful formats.
Save As
Click the File | Save As command or click the button to save a new project file or
saves a modified project file to a new name. The Save As command saves information
in the Didger .PJT format that is not recognized by other applications. When you want
to use digitized information in other applications, click the File | Export command to
create files in other formats.
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Specify the save location, file name, and file type in the Save As dialog.
Save In
The Save In field shows the current directory. Click the down arrow to see the
directory structure and click on the folders to change directories.
File List
The File list displays the files using the extension specified in the Save as type box. A
file can be overwritten by selecting it from the file list.
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Save As Type
Select the file format in the Save as type list.
Print Setup
Click the File | Print Setup command or the button to set printer options for the
project. The Print Setup dialog appears, where the printer, paper size, paper source,
and page orientation options can be set.
Printer
Click the existing printer Name to select another printer from the list.
Printer Properties
Click the Properties button to open another dialog that changes the printer properties.
For information on specific printer settings, see the owner's manual for the printer.
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Paper
The Paper section control the Size and Source of the paper. These options are based
on the selected printer. Only page sizes and sources that the current printer supports
will be listed. To change either the Size or Source, click the existing option. In the list,
select the new option.
Orientation
The Orientation section controls whether the page is set to Portrait or Landscape
mode. To change the Orientation, click on the desired layout. Select Portrait to have a
vertical page. Select Landscape to have a horizontal page.
Print
Click the File | Print command, click the button, or press CTRL+P on the
keyboard to print the current project.
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Printer
Click the existing printer Name to select another printer from the list.
Printer Properties
Click the Properties button to open another dialog that changes the printer properties.
For information on specific printer settings, see the owner's manual for the printer.
Print Method
The Print Method controls how the document is printed on the page.
• Current View prints the document as it appears in the plot window. The
objects are scaled to fit within the paper and print settings.
• Scaled Current View prints the current view, as shown in the plot window, at
the scale specified in the Project Limits and Scale dialog for vector plots or
the size specified during import for an image.
• Fit to Page reduces the size of the plot so that it fits within the specified page
size.
• Tile breaks the drawing into page size pieces and generates multiple pages of
output.
Print Range
The Print Range controls which document pages are printed. Select All to print all the
pages that contain objects. Select Selection to print the selected objects only.
Copies
Copies specify the number of copies to print. If two or more copies of multiple page
documents are printed, check the Collate box to separate the copies into packets.
These options are disabled if the current printer does not support them.
Overlap
When the Print Method is set to Tile, each page overlaps adjacent pages by the
amount specified in the Horizontal and Vertical boxes in the Overlap section.
Scale
When the Print Method is set to either Scaled Current View or Tile, the Scale option is
available. Setting the Scale to 100% prints the project at the actual size. Printing with
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a Scale of 200% prints twice as large of the project scale. Printing with a Scale of 50%
prints half as large of the project scale.
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There are seven pages in the Didger Settings dialog: General, Tolerance Settings,
Digitizing Settings, Line Properties, Fill Properties, Text Properties, and
Symbol Properties.
Page Units
You can set the Page Units to either Inches or Centimeters.
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Circle Options
The Circle Options
define how circles are
digitized.
• The Vertex
Offset defines
the frequency
of the vertex
spacing along
the perimeter
of the circle in
degrees.
Decreasing
the value
increases the
number of
vertices
created along
the perimeter
of the circle.
the Vertex
Offset ranges
from 0.1 to
10. To change
the value,
highlight the
existing value Set miscellaneous project options on the
and type a General page of the Project Settings dialog.
new value.
Alternatively,
click the to increase or decrease the value.
• The Use 3 Point Method defines a drawn circle by clicking on three points. The
circle whose perimeter intersects all three points is drawn after the third point
is clicked. This option is checked, by default. If this option is unchecked,
Didger uses a center-radius method to define the circle. Under this method,
the first point clicked defines the center of the circle. The second point clicked
defines the radius from the first point. The circle is drawn automatically when
the second point is created.
Undo Levels
You can set the number of commands to undo in the Undo Levels edit box. The
maximum number of undo levels is 25. To change the undo levels, highlight the
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existing value and type a new value. Alternatively, click the to increase or
decrease the value.
Printing Options
Check the box next to Simulate Stock Hatch Patterns to retain the line density when
printing or exporting projects with polygons filled with one of the stock fill patterns.
Uncheck this box to allow the printer or export filter to control the line density display.
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Snap Tolerance
When you create a new
polyline, the Snap Tolerance
edit box specifies the minimum Set the snap and vertex tolerance for line and symbol
distance allowed between nodes creation on the Tolerance Settings page in the
for the existing and new Project Settings dialog.
polylines. The value is specified
in project units.
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Tolerance value is set to zero, you will not see any circles. The color of the circles is
set by selecting a color from the list adjacent to the Snap Tolerance value. This
command is useful when using commands such as Snap All Polyline Segments.
Since the end nodes are not within the overlapping portion
of the snap tolerance circles, the polylines would not snap
together using Draw | Edit Boundaries | Snap All Polyline Segments.
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5. Make any additional adjustments to the digitizing settings and click OK to close the
Project Settings dialog.
NOTE: Some tablet pucks use buttons that begin numbering at zero rather than one.
For these types of pucks, Button 1 in the dialog refers to button 0 on the puck.
Button Settings
Click the existing option next to Select Button to change the function of the selected
button. The available options and the function description are listed below.
• Nothing - If this option is selected, the button does not have a function.
• Enable Tablet On/Off - This option toggles the digitizing tablet on and off. This
can also be accomplished by clicking the Draw | Tablet | Activate Tablet
command. When the tablet is disabled, the tablet pointer can then be used as
a mouse. Toggling the tablet on with this button is not supported by all tablet
drivers.
• Enable/Disable Stream Mode - When stream mode is enabled, you can hold
down this button and drag it to create a continuous stream of vertices. The
minimum vertex spacing is controlled by the vertex tolerance settings.
• Digitize - This option creates a point, node, or vertex. This option should
always be specified for one of the buttons. See digitizing points, polylines, and
polygons for more information.
• Finish - This option completes the creation of a polyline or polygon. When you
have digitized the final point in a polygon or polyline, this adds the final node
for polylines, or closes the polygon and adds the default fill.
• Cancel - This option cancels the current operation before completion.
• New Point - This option is the same as clicking the Draw | Symbol command.
• New Polyline - This option is the same as clicking the Draw | Polyline
command.
• New Polygon - This option is the same as clicking the Draw | Polygon
command.
• Snap Nearest Vertex - When digitizing a polyline or polygon, this option snaps
the next created vertex to the nearest vertex on an existing polyline or
polygon.
• Snap Nearest Line Segment - When digitizing a polyline or polygon, this option
snaps the next created vertex to the nearest position along an existing polyline
or polygon, even if a vertex does not exist at that point.
• Undo - This option removes the last point digitized in a polyline or polygon.
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When Beep on Object Completion is checked, the system emits the "default beep"
sound each time an object is finished being digitized. This signifies that the object was
created without needing to look at the monitor. If the default beep is mapped to a
.WAV file in Windows, that sound plays instead.
Stream Mode
When Stream Mode is checked, hold down the primary mouse button or digitize button
and drag the puck to create a continuous stream of vertices. The minimum vertex
spacing is controlled by the vertex tolerance settings.
Digitizing Cursor
The Digitizing Cursor list sets the default cursor type when digitizing. The cursor icon
changes to the type selected. To change the cursor, click on the existing option and
select the desired option from the list.
Style
The Style is the manner in which a line is drawn. Click on the existing line style to
open the line style palette. Click on a style to use it for the selected line. Both simple
and complex lines can be selected from the list. To create a custom simple line style,
click the Custom button at the bottom of the list. The Custom Line dialog allows you
to create new line styles.
Color
The Color is the color of the line. Click the existing color sample next to Color to open
the color palette. Click on a color in the palette to use it for the selected line. Click the
Custom button at the bottom of the palette to open the Colors dialog and create
custom color.
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Width
The Width controls how thick
a line appears. To change the
line Width, highlight the
existing value and type a new
number. Press ENTER on the
keyboard to make the
change. Alternatively, click
the to increase or
decrease the thickness of the
line. The line Width is a value
from 0.0 to 0.5 inches (0.0 to
1.27 cm). A width of zero is
one pixel wide. Values are in
page coordinates.
Scale
The Scale determines the size of the arrowhead. A larger Scale creates a larger arrow.
To change the scale of the arrowheads, highlight the existing value and type a new
value. Alternatively, click the to increase or decrease the scale. Press ENTER on
the keyboard to make the change.
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Fill Pattern
The Fill Pattern indicates the
way that an object is filled.
To change the Fill Pattern,
click on the existing pattern
sample next to Fill Pattern.
In the list, select a new
pattern from the fill pattern
palette. There are two types
of fill patterns: Windows
stock and bitmap images.
Stock patterns and some
bitmap patterns can have
different foreground and
background colors. All
patterns can have the
foreground or background
color partially transparent.
Bitmap patterns can be
scaled.
Foreground
The Foreground is the color of the pattern lines or pixels. Click the existing color
sample next to Foreground to open the color palette. Click on a color in the palette to
use it for the selected foreground fill color. Click the Custom button at the bottom of
the palette to open the Colors dialog and create custom colors.
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Background
The Background is the color behind the pattern. Click the existing color sample next to
Background to open the color palette. Click on a color in the palette to use it for the
selected background fill color. Click the Custom button at the bottom of the palette to
open the Colors dialog and create custom colors.
Opacity
Change the Opacity of the pattern by entering a value from 0% (completely
transparent) to 100% (completely opaque). To change the opacity, highlight the
existing value and type a new value. Press ENTER on the keyboard to make the
change. Alternatively, click the buttons to increase or decrease the opacity level.
Scale Factor
The Scale Factor controls the density of the bitmap fill Pattern. The scale factor
controls the density of the pattern. Set the Cover mode to Tile and set the Scale
Factor to a value between 0.1 and 10. The larger the Scale Factor, the larger the
resulting pattern.
Cover Mode
The Cover mode is used with bitmap patterns. The Cover mode determines how the
bitmap is used to fill the desired area. You can Stretch a bitmap to fit the fill area or
Tile the pattern in the fill area. To change the behavior, click on the existing value and
select the desired option from the list.
This bitmap fill has the This bitmap fill has the
Cover mode set to Stretch. Cover mode set to Tile.
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Face
The Face is the font used for
the text. To change the font,
click on the current font
name. Select the desired
font from the list. Click the
arrow button or select a font
and use the ARROW keys on
the keyboard to scroll
through the Face list. The
selected font is displayed in
the Sample section. The font
files that are installed on
your computer are displayed
in the Face list. Didger
supports all true type fonts.
Size (Points)
Set the text size in the
Points field. Highlight the
existing value and type a
new value. Press ENTER on
the keyboard to make the Set the default text properties on the
Text Properties page in the Project Settings dialog.
change. Or, click the
buttons to increase or
decrease the size. A Points value between zero and 720 can be specified.
Style
Check the boxes next to Bold, Italic, Strikethrough, or Underline to apply a style to the
text. Note that some typefaces, such as Symbol, do not support bold or italicized text.
• Bold will increase the thickness of the text (i.e. example).
• Italic will create oblique text (i.e. example).
• Strikethrough will add a horizontal line through the center of the text (i.e.
example).
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• Underline will add a horizontal line under the text (i.e. example).
Alignment
The Alignment controls the location of the text relative to the reference point. A
reference point is the point clicked in the plot window when the crosshair cursor is
placing the text on the screen. The text box is horizontally and vertically aligned
relative to the reference point. The default position is that the reference point is at the
upper left corner of the bounding box (left, top).
• Left horizontally aligns the text box so that the reference point is to the left of
the text box.
• Center horizontally centers the text box on the reference point.
• Right horizontally aligns the text box so that the reference point is to the right
of the text box.
• Top vertically aligns the text box so that the reference point is above the text
box.
• Baseline vertically aligns the text box so that the reference point is located at
the base of the text. The baseline is the imaginary line along which characters
are positioned as they are drawn. Descenders on characters (i.e. the loop on
the lower case "g") are drawn below the baseline.
• Bottom vertically aligns the text box so that the reference point is below the
text box.
• Center vertically centers the text box on the reference point.
Color
You can click the Color button to open the color palette. Click on a color to use it for
the text. You can create new colors by clicking the Custom button at the bottom of the
color palette.
Opacity
Change the Opacity of the text by entering a value from 0% (completely transparent)
to 100% (completely opaque). To change the opacity, highlight the existing value and
type a new value. Press ENTER on the keyboard to make the change. Alternatively,
click the buttons to increase or decrease the opacity level.
Sample
A sample of the selected text options appears in the Sample section.
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Symbol Set
Select the Symbol Set from the list. The Symbol Set can be any TrueType font
installed on your system. To change the Symbol Set, click on the existing font name.
Select the new font from the list.
Symbol
Choose the Symbol by
clicking the existing symbol
and selecting a new symbol
from the symbol palette. The
number of the selected
symbol is indicated in the title
bar above the palette. This
number is useful when a
specific symbol is desired.
Color
The Color is the color of a
solid symbol. Click the
existing color sample next to
Color to open the color
palette. Click on a color in the
palette to use it for the
selected foreground fill color.
Click the Custom button at
Set the Symbol Properties for the selected
the bottom of the palette to object in the Property Manager.
open the Colors dialog and
create custom colors.
Size
Change the Size of the symbol by highlighting the existing value and typing a new
number into the box. Alternatively, click the buttons to increase or decrease the
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symbol size. Symbols can be from 0 to 4.000 inches (0 to 10.160 centimeters) in size.
Sizes are reported in page units.
Categories
The Commands page lists
menu titles (File, Edit,
etc.) in the Categories list.
You can also show all
commands in the program
by selecting All Commands.
Click on the menu title to
display the menu's
commands in the
Commands list.
Commands
When a category is
selected, the Commands
list is updated to display
the commands within the
category.
Use the Commands page in the Customize dialog
to add buttons to toolbars and commands to menus.
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Description
When a command is selected, an explanation of the command appears in the
Description box.
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Toolbar Display
The Toolbars list displays
all the toolbars. A check
mark indicates the
toolbar is visible.
Uncheck the box to hide
a toolbar. The Menu Bar
cannot be hidden.
Resetting a Toolbar
If you would like to reset
the changes to a toolbar,
click on the toolbar name
and click the Reset
button to reset the
toolbar to the defaults.
Renaming Toolbars
To rename a toolbar, click on the existing toolbar name and then click the Rename
button. Enter a new name into the Toolbar Name dialog. Only custom toolbars
created with the New button can be renamed.
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Deleting Toolbars
To delete a toolbar, click on the existing toolbar name and click the Delete button. In
the warning message, click Yes to delete the custom toolbar. Click No to keep the
custom toolbar. Only custom toolbars created with the New button can be deleted.
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Menu Animations
When clicking on a menu,
you can choose to have
the menu Unfold, Slide,
or Fade. Select None if
you do not want any
menu animation. Select
Default to return to the
default animation.
Menu Shadows
Check the Menu shadows Use the Menu page in the Customize dialog
to display menus.
box to display a drop
shadow around open
menus.
Context Menus
Context menus are the menus displayed when right-clicking in the window. You can
customize these menus in Didger. Select a menu from the Select context menu list.
Add or remove items from the selected menu. Click the Reset button to restore the
default context menus.
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3. On the Commands page, select a command in the Commands list and drag it into
the open context menu.
Screen Tips
Check the Show ScreenTips on
toolbars option to show what a
button does when you place
the cursor over the button. To
display shortcut keys in the
screen tip, check the Show
shortcut keys in ScreenTips.
Large Icons
Check the Large Icons box to
display large icons.
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The Button Appearance dialog allows you to use a predefined image or create a new
image.
Image Only
Select Image only if you would
like the button appearance to
only display an image.
Text Only
Select Text only if you would
like the button appearance to
only display a text description.
Button Text
Specify the text description in the Button text area.
Edit
Click the Edit button to open the Edit Button Image dialog. The Edit Button Image
dialog allows you to create a new image or edit a current image.
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Picture
Change the color of the pixels in
the Picture area to create a new
image or edit a current image.
Preview
The image created in the Picture
area is displayed at full size in the
Preview area. This is a preview of
what the image will look like when
used in the program.
Colors
Use the Colors area to specify a
color to change the pixels of the
Picture area and create or edit a
button image.
Tools
Choose from one of the preset Create new or edit current button images
Tools to help create or edit a in the Edit Button Image dialog.
button image. The tools available
include:Pencil, Fill, Select Color,
Line, Rectangle, Ellipse, Copy, Paste, and Clear.
Additional Customization
When the Customize dialog is open, you can right-click on an existing toolbar button
or menu item to set various options. Right-click on an actual toolbar or menu item to
see these commands. Do not in the Customize dialog.
• Select Reset to Default to set the toolbar button or menu item to the default.
• Select Copy Button Image to copy the button or menu item graphic. This
command is disabled if the menu item does not contain a graphic.
• Select Delete to remove a menu command or toolbar button.
• Select Button Appearance to set the button text and graphic display.
• There are three settings for graphic and text appearance, Image, Text, and
Image and Text. To display the graphic only, click Image. To display text only,
click Text. To display both the graphic and text, click Image and Text. Some of
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Also, when the Customize dialog is open, you can rearrange the menus, menu
commands, and toolbar buttons. To move a menu, menu command, or tool button,
click on the menu name, menu command, or tool button and then drag it to a new
location.
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Introduction to Coordinate Systems
A coordinate system is a method of defining how a file's point locations display on a
map. Different types of coordinate systems exist that control how the coordinates are
shown on the map. In Didger, a project can be unreferenced in Cartesian
Coordinates, referenced to a geographic lat/long coordinate system, or referenced to a
known projection and datum.
The standard procedure for creating maps in a specific coordinate system are:
1. Create the map by importing the file.
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2. Click the Map | Set Default Projection command to set the target coordinate
system.
Didger does not require a map projection be defined. Maps can be created from non-
referenced data, grid, and imported image and vector maps. If you do not specify a
coordinate system for each imported file, it is highly recommended that you do not
change the target coordinate system for the project. Changes to the target coordinate
system for the map can cause the unreferenced map layers to appear incorrectly.
To use a projection:
1. Once you have a map in the plot window, select Map | Change Projection. The
Assign Coordinate System dialog opens.
2. Select a Coordinate Space Type.
3. Select the Geographic (lat/lon) or Projected System you would like to use in the
Select a Projected Coordinate System list.
4. If any parameters need to be changed, click the Modify button. Set the options in
the Define Coordinate System dialog. Specify the parameters for the selected
projection by entering the appropriate values into the dialog. The variables in this
dialog vary according to the projection selected in the previous step. Please see
the projection type for a description of the variables. If you do not understand
projections refer to one of the many books on mapping. See also Projection
References.
5. Click the OK button.
Didger modifies the coordinates of the drawing for the new projection. This may take
a few minutes if the drawing is large.
If the Map | Change Projection command is not available, a coordinate system has
not been defined for the current project. Click the Map | Coordinate Conversion
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command first. Set the coordinate system in the Coordinate Conversion dialog. This
is the system the project uses for the current reference. After the coordinate system is
set, click the Map | Change Projection command to change it to a new system.
The standard procedure for creating maps in a specific coordinate system are:
1. Import the first file by clicking the File | Import command.
2. If the Assign Coordinate System dialog appears, select Projected Coordinates.
3. In the Select a Projected Coordinate System section, select the coordinate system
that the file is currently projected. This is the existing coordinate system for the
file. When finished making changes, click OK.
4. Import the second file by clicking the File | Import command.
5. If the Assign Coordinate System dialog appears, select Projected Coordinates.
6. In the Select a Projected Coordinate System section, select the coordinate system
that the file is currently projected. This is the existing coordinate system for the
second file. This coordinate system can be different from the first file's coordinate
system and has no effect on the first imported file. When finished making changes,
click OK.
7. To change the coordinate system for the project, click the Map | Change
Projection command.
8. If the Coordinate System is not correct, change the Select a Projected Coordinate
System to show the desired target coordinate system. When finished, click OK.
The entire map is now displayed in the desired target coordinate system.
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When a .GSR2 file is created for a data file, it is read when creating grids or maps
from the data file. The resulting grid or map layer has the same coordinate system as
the original data file.
Assign a projection to your file or project in the Assign Coordinate System dialog.
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coordinates). Projected Coordinates are typically used with maps that have known
coordinates (i.e. latitude/longitude), projections, and datums.
Cartesian Settings
X Axis Type and Y Axis Type are used with Cartesian Coordinates only. The Axis Type
is either Linear or Logarithmic. The data must be greater than zero when using a
Logarithmic axis. Values equal to and less than zero are ignored in the plot when the
logarithmic type is selected. Well logs use both logarithmic and linear scales. The
linear option is more common with real world maps.
Calibration Units
Calibration Units are defined when specifying the coordinate system for an image file
that needs control points defined.
Projection Categories
Click the button to expand the options in the Coordinate System dialog. Click the
button to collapse the options.
Predefined
Expand the Predefined section by clicking the + button. The Predefined section
includes all coordinate systems that have been predefined for Didger.
Geographic (lat/lon)
Expand Geographic (lat/lon) to select a Latitude/Longitude coordinate system and
datum that fits your needs. Detailed information about each projection is listed at the
bottom of the dialog when the system is selected. If your data are currently in a form
of lat/lon, you would want to select one of the options in Geographic (lat/lon).
Projected Systems
Expand Projected Systems to select a predefined Polar/Arctic/Antarctic,
Regional/National, State Plane, UTM, or World coordinate system. Detailed information
about each projection is listed to the right when the datum is selected.
Templates
Expand the Templates section to select a predefined template. Click the desired
template and press the Modify button to change the properties. Once modified, the
new coordinate system is added to the Custom section.
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Favorites
Select a coordinate system and click the Add to Favorites button to add a coordinate
system to your Favorites list. Alternatively, right-click on a selected coordinate system
and choose Add to Favorites from the menu. Select a coordinate system and click the
Remove from Favorites button to remove a coordinate system from your Favorites list.
By default, no favorite coordinate systems are specified. It is recommended that
systems that you use frequently and Custom systems that you intend to use more
than once be added to the Favorites section for ease of navigation.
Custom
Expand Custom to see the custom coordinate system you have defined for the current
file. Custom systems can be defined by clicking the New button. By default, no custom
coordinate systems are specified. Custom coordinate systems are only listed in the
dialog when the file using the custom coordinate system is open.
If a Custom coordinate system is defined and intended to be used more than once, it
is highly recommended that the system be added to the Favorites section by clicking
the Add to Favorites button.
If the Modify button is unavailable, make sure that a specific coordinate system is
selected. If a category of systems, such as Predefined or Geographic (lat/lon) is
selected, the Modify button is unavailable.
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Add to Favorites
Click the Add to Favorites button to add a projection to your Favorites list.
Alternatively, right-click on a coordinate system and choose Add to Favorites. This is
very useful if you frequently use the same projection, such as World Geodetic System
1984. This is also useful for Custom systems that will be used on multiple project
files. Adding the projection to the Favorites list makes selecting the projection easier
in the future.
If the Add to Favorites button is unavailable, make sure that a specific coordinate
system is selected. If a category of systems, such as Predefined or Geographic
(lat/lon) is selected, the Add to Favorites button is unavailable.
Remove
Select a coordinate system in the Favorites list and click the Remove from Favorites
button to delete the system. Alternatively, right-click on a coordinate system in the
Favorites section and choose Remove. The coordinate system is removed from the
Favorites section.
If the Remove from Favorites button is unavailable, make sure that a specific
coordinate system is selected in the Favorites list. If a category of systems, such as
Predefined or Geographic (lat/lon) is selected or if a coordinate system is selected in a
category other than Favorites, the Remove from Favorites button is unavailable.
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Name
Specify a custom name for the new coordinate system in the Name box.
Projection
Select a projection from the Projection list. Specify custom Parameter and Value
options. Unprojected Lat/Long does not have Parameter and Value options to specify.
The projection options include: Unprojected Lat/Long, Albers Equal Area Conic,
Azimuthal Equidistant, Bonne, Cassini, Eckert IV, Eckert VI, Equidistant Conic,
Equidistant Cylindrical, Gnomonic, Hotine Oblique Mercator, Lambert Azimuthal Equal
Area, Lambert Conformal Conic, Mercator, Miller Cylindrical, Mollweide, New Zealand
Map Grid, Oblique Mercator, Orthographic, Polyconic, Robinson, Robinson-Sterling,
Sinusoidal, Stereographic, Transverse Mercator, Universal Transverse Mercator (UTM),
and Van Der Grinten.
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Datum
Select a datum from the Datum list. Specify custom Parameter and Value options to fit
your needs.
OK or Cancel
Click OK to create your new custom coordinate system. The coordinate system will be
listed in the Custom section of the Assign Coordinate System dialog for this file. If
you want to save the custom coordinate system for future use, add the custom
coordinate system to the Favorites section. Click Cancel to return to the Assign
Coordinate System dialog without creating a custom coordinate system.
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There are many excellent textbooks and publications on this subject, and we will not
attempt to explain projections in full detail here. If you need or want more
information, you might consider reading the references that provide good introductory
discussions of map projections.
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When you do not use projections, land areas can become distorted in shape and size,
so some areas might appear relatively larger or smaller than they actually are in
relation to other land areas and visual representation of data can become somewhat
misleading. However, these problems only become significant when you are plotting
large land masses, such as an entire continent. For most Didger applications, such as
plotting a single state or a group of states, this problem is minimal.
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* The State Plane Coordinate System uses Transverse Mercator, Lambert Conformal
Conic, or Hotine Oblique Mercator, depending on the zone.
Characteristics of Projections
Some projections are imbued with characteristics that tell us if certain types of
measurements (e.g. measurements of distance, area, etc.) are accurate on the
projected map. Due to the nature of projecting a three-dimensional surface onto a
two-dimensional surface, a projection cannot have all four characteristics at one time.
Therefore, the purpose of the map must be considered when selecting a projection.
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Some projections are not strong in any one of the four characteristics and are not
listed above.
If your map has a projection to it, it is very important to specify the appropriate
projection settings to get accurate length/area results.
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Ellipsoids
For maps of the Earth where accuracy is not of particular concern, we can safely
assume that the Earth is perfectly spherical in shape. However, the Earth is actually
somewhat ellipsoidal (or egg-shaped), approximately 1/300 wider than it is tall,
assuming a vertical orientation with respect to the axis of rotation. This shape needs
to be taken into account to produce maps of any significant accuracy.
Ellipsoid Definition
You can choose an ellipsoid type from the Ellipsoid drop-down list. If you select
<custom>, set the next parameters in the Ellipsoid section. The Semimajor Axis
should be set in meters. Next, set either the Semiminor Axis in meters or the Inverse
Flattening (1/f) ratio value. If you do not understand ellipsoids and datum definitions,
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please use the defaults. For more information on these subjects, see the references
provided.
Datums
Since coordinates on the Earth's surface can be recorded under widely varying
assumptions about the shape and size of the Earth and the locations of the poles and
prime meridian, cartographers have developed a standard for identifying the frame of
reference for a coordinate system. This standard is called the datum. Because the
frames of reference differ, a coordinate recorded in one datum usually has slightly
different latitude and longitude values from the same point recorded in any other
datum.
When combining data from multiple sources into a single map, it is important that all
of the coordinates being combined use the same datum. Since each datum has slightly
different latitude and longitude values for the same coordinates, mixing coordinates
from multiple datums together introduces inaccuracies into the map. To address this
problem, a datum conversion procedure is available to convert coordinates from one
datum to another.
Different methods may be used for converting coordinates from one datum to another:
Method Description
Molodensky The Molodensky method is the most widely used method of datum
conversion. It adjusts latitude and longitude coordinates by taking
into account the displacement between two datum's ellipsoids on
all three axes. It does not take into account any rotational
differences between the two ellipsoids.
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Method Description
Bursa-Wolfe The Bursa-Wolfe method is similar to the Molodensky method, but
in some instances it produces results that are more accurate
because it takes into account both displacement and rotational
differences between two ellipsoids. Didger supports the Bursa-
Wolfe method for conversions from the WGS84 datum to the
following datums: World Geodetic System 1972, DHDN-1, DHDN,
Australian Geodetic 1984, ANS84, MRT - Everest Modified,
Switzerland - CH1903, NTF France - Paris Meridian, and Pulkovo
1942 - Hungary.
If your map includes a NADCON or MRE datum, it is converted to the existing datum in
the plot window. If you open a new plot window and import a NADCON or MRE map,
the map is converted to WGS 84.
Didger supports conversions for over 200 different predefined datums, as well as
user-defined datum conversions based on the Molodensky, NADCON, or Inverse
NADCON methods.
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Datum
The Datum list contains predefined datums. Select a datum to populate the Parameter
and Value columns. Customize the parameters and values as needed.
Conversion Method
The Conversion Method controls the method of datum conversion and the conversion
parameters. The conversion methods include Molodensky, Bursa-Wolfe, and None.
• The Molodensky method is the most widely used method of datum conversion.
It adjusts latitude and longitude coordinates by taking into account the
displacement between two datum's ellipsoids on all three axes. It does not
take into account any rotational differences between the two ellipsoids.
• The Bursa-Wolfe method is similar to the Molodensky method, but in some
instances it produces more accurate results because it takes into account both
displacement and rotational differences between two ellipsoids.
• Choose None if the predefined methods do not suite your purpose. If you
select <custom> from the Ellipsoid Name list, you can specify your own
ellipsoid model parameters.
Ellipsoid
The Ellipsoid group contains options for defining the ellipsoid. Use these settings to
define the ellipsoid model that best approximates the curvature of the Earth's shape in
the map region. If you do not understand ellipsoids and datum definitions, it is
recommended you use the defaults.
• The Name list contains a collection of ellipsoid models that cartographers have
historically used in attempts to produce more accurate maps of different
regions of the Earth. The Name list also contains the option to create a
<custom> ellipsoid.
• The Semimajor Axis box can be edited to define the major axis.
• The Semiminor Axis box can be edited to define the minor axis.
• The Inverse Flattening (1/f) can be edited to define the flattening ratio.
• The X Displacement, Y Displacement, and Z Displacement are the axis
displacements in meters.
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Prime Meridian
The Prime Meridian section contains options for defining the prime meridian Name and
Prime Meridian Shift. A meridian is a line of constant longitude running north-south on
a map. The zero meridian or prime meridian is used as a reference line from which
longitude east and west is measured. The prime meridian passes through Greenwich,
England. The Prime Meridian Shift is the shift from the prime meridian, typically 0
degrees, in decimal degrees.
The ellipsoid is used to approximate the global differences. But additional differences
exist because of the actual topographic surface. Local datums were created to locally
account for these differences. The datum includes the ellipsoid, the prime meridian
shift, and any offsets in the X or Y direction. Because local datums align the ellipsoid
with a particular location on the earth's surface, local datums are not suitable for use
outside the designed area.
In the Define Coordinate System dialog, you can choose how datums are converted
from one datum to another. This is the Conversion Method. The Molodensky method is
the most widely used method of datum conversion. It adjusts latitude and longitude
coordinates by taking into account the displacement between two datum's ellipsoids on
all three axes. It does not take into account any rotational differences between the
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two ellipsoids. The Bursa-Wolfe method is similar to the Molodensky method, but in
some instances it produces more accurate results because it takes into account both
displacement and rotational differences between two ellipsoids. Didger supports the
Bursa-Wolfe method for conversions from the WGS84 datum to the following datums:
World Geodetic System 1972, DHDN-1, DHDN, Australian Geodetic 1984, ANS84, MRT
- Everest Modified, Switzerland - CH1903, NTF France - Paris Meridian, and Pulkovo
1942 - Hungary.
Changing the datum incorrectly can cause maps to appear wrong or not appear at all.
It is advised that changing the datum be done with caution and a basic understanding
of the local datums is advised.
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difference between the projections are in the definition of the false easting, northing,
central longitude, central latitude, standard parallel or datum. Projections are defined
for specific countries or specific regions. Properties for each coordinate system and
datum are listed in the dialog by clicking on the desired system.
Templates
The Templates section is an easy way to modify one of the predefined systems without
needing to find the system in one of the other Predefined lists. To modify a coordinate
system, click on the desired template coordinate system and click the Modify button.
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Supported Projections
In this section the supported projections and different parameters of each projection,
are discussed in detail.
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Parameter Description
Central Longitude Specifies the central longitude of the projection in degrees.
The Central Longitude value typically should be defined as the
longitudinal center of the map you are going to produce. For
example, the value -95.5 represents the geographic center of
the United States, so the map of the U.S. is drawn upright.
Central Latitude Specifies the central latitude of the projection in degrees. The
Central Latitude value should be defined as the latitudinal
center of the map you are going to produce. This value is only
significant when you define False Easting and False Northing
values.
Standard Parallel Specifies the latitude of the first of two standard parallels, in
degrees. The standard parallels typically are defined at
approximately one-sixth of the distance inside the north and
south limits of the map. For example, if your map latitude
ranges from 30° to 36°, you could place your Standard
Parallels at 31° and 35°. There are alternative methods for
determining the best position of the standard parallels. Please
see Snyder for more information.
2nd Standard Specifies the latitude of the second of two standard parallels,
Parallel in degrees. See above.
World Map
Azimuthal Equidistant Projection
Standard Parallel: 0 Central
Longitude: 0
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Projection Parameters
Parameter Description
Name Specifies the units used in the map.
Scale Specifies the unit scale of the projected map, relative to
meters. For example, a scale of one means one unit in the
projected map equals one meter; a scale of two means two
units in the projected map equal one meter; etc.
False Easting Specifies the false easting, or horizontal offset, of the
projected coordinates, in meters. False Eastings and False
Northings are added to the underlying "projected"
coordinates as a way to arbitrarily offset their internal XY
coordinates after the projection. Unless you have a reason
for using these offset values, do not use them. These values
do not affect the latitude/longitude coordinates for the map,
only the internal coordinates used to plot the map on the
screen. If you use False Easting and False Northing offsets
for a map, any subsequent boundaries you append to the
map must also use these same offsets if you want the
imported boundaries to be drawn in the correct relative
position to the existing boundaries.
False Northing Specifies the false northing, or vertical offset, of the
projected coordinates, in meters. See above.
Central Longitude Specifies the central longitude of the projection in degrees.
The Central Longitude value typically should be defined as
the longitudinal center of the map you are going to produce.
Standard Parallel Specifies the central latitude of the projection in degrees.
The Standard Parallel value typically should be defined as
the latitudinal center of the map you are going to produce.
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Bonne Projection
The Bonne projection is a pseudo-
conical, equal area projection. The
scale is constant along any given
parallel, and accurate along the
specified standard parallels. The
Bonne projection is distortion-free
along the central longitude and the
parallels. This projection is used for
continental and topographic
mapping.
North America Map
Bonne Projection Central Longitude: -100
Projection Parameters Standard Parallel: 40
Parameter Description
Name Specifies the units used in the map.
Scale Specifies the unit scale of the projected map, relative to
meters. For example, a scale of one means one unit in the
projected map equals one meter; a scale of two means two
units in the projected map equal one meter; etc.
False Easting Specifies the false easting, or horizontal offset, of the
projected coordinates, in meters. False Eastings and False
Northings are added to the underlying "projected"
coordinates as a way to arbitrarily offset their internal XY
coordinates after the projection. Unless you have a reason
for using these offset values, do not use them. These values
do not affect the latitude/longitude coordinates for the map,
only the internal coordinates used to plot the map on the
screen. If you use False Easting and False Northing offsets
for a map, any subsequent boundaries you append to the
map must also use these same offsets if you want the
imported boundaries to be drawn in the correct relative
position to the existing boundaries.
False Northing Specifies the false northing, or vertical offset, of the
projected coordinates, in meters. See above.
Central Longitude Specifies the central longitude of the projection in degrees.
The Central Longitude value typically should be defined as
the longitudinal center of the map you are going to produce.
Standard Parallel Specifies the central latitude of the projection in degrees.
The Standard Parallel value typically should be defined as
the latitudinal center of the map you are going to produce.
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Cassini Projection
The Cassini projection is a cylindrical projection.
The scale is accurate along the central longitude
and along latitude lines perpendicular to the
central longitude. This projection is useful for
high-aspect regions (regions taller than they are
wide).
Parameter Description
Name Specifies the units used in the map.
Scale Specifies the unit scale of the projected map, relative to
meters. For example, a scale of one means one unit in the
projected map equals one meter; a scale of two means two
units in the projected map equal one meter; etc.
False Easting Specifies the false easting, or horizontal offset, of the
projected coordinates, in meters. False Eastings and False
Northings are added to the underlying "projected"
coordinates as a way to arbitrarily offset their internal XY
coordinates after the projection. Unless you have a reason
for using these offset values, do not use them. These values
do not affect the latitude/longitude coordinates for the map,
only the internal coordinates used to plot the map on the
screen. If you use False Easting and False Northing offsets
for a map, any subsequent boundaries you append to the
map must also use these same offsets if you want the
imported boundaries to be drawn in the correct relative
position to the existing boundaries.
False Northing Specifies the false northing, or vertical offset, of the
projected coordinates, in meters. See above.
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Parameter Description
Central Latitude Specifies the central latitude of the projection in degrees.
The Central Latitude value typically should be defined as the
latitudinal center of the map you are going to produce.
Central Longitude Specifies the central longitude of the projection in degrees.
The Central Longitude value typically should be defined as
the longitudinal center of the map you are going to produce.
Eckert IV Projection
The scale is constant along any given parallel
and accurate along the parallels 40°30' north
and south in the Eckert IV projection. This is
a pseudo-cylindrical, equal area projection
with the central longitude half the length of
the equator. The poles are represented by
lines half the distance of the equator as well.
The meridians are semi-ellipses. Eckert IV is
designed to produce aesthetically pleasing
world maps.
World Map Eckert IV Projection
Central Longitude: 0
Projection Parameters
Parameter Description
Name Specifies the units used in the map.
Scale Specifies the unit scale of the projected map, relative to
meters. For example, a scale of one means one unit in the
projected map equals one meter; a scale of two means two
units in the projected map equal one meter; etc.
False Easting Specifies the false easting, or horizontal offset, of the
projected coordinates, in meters. False Eastings and False
Northings are added to the underlying "projected"
coordinates as a way to arbitrarily offset their internal XY
coordinates after the projection. Unless you have a reason
for using these offset values, do not use them. These values
do not affect the latitude/longitude coordinates for the map,
only the internal coordinates used to plot the map on the
screen. If you use False Easting and False Northing offsets
for a map, any subsequent boundaries you append to the
map must also use these same offsets if you want the
imported boundaries to be drawn in the correct relative
position to the existing boundaries.
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Parameter Description
False Northing Specifies the false northing, or vertical offset, of the
projected coordinates, in meters. See above.
Central Longitude Specifies the central longitude of the projection in degrees.
The Central Longitude value typically should be defined as
the longitudinal center of the map you are going to produce.
Eckert VI Projection
The scale is constant along any given
parallel, and accurate along the
parallels 49°16' north and south in
the Eckert VI projection. This is a
pseudo-cylindrical, equal area
projection with the central longitude
half the length of the equator. The
poles are represented by lines half the
distance of the equator as well. The
meridians are sinusoidal. The Eckert
VI projection is useful for world maps. World Map Eckert VI Projection
Central Longitude: 0
Projection Parameters
Parameter Description
Name Specifies the units used in the map.
Scale Specifies the unit scale of the projected map, relative to
meters. For example, a scale of one means one unit in the
projected map equals one meter; a scale of two means two
units in the projected map equal one meter; etc.
False Easting Specifies the false easting, or horizontal offset, of the
projected coordinates, in meters. False Eastings and False
Northings are added to the underlying "projected"
coordinates as a way to arbitrarily offset their internal XY
coordinates after the projection. Unless you have a reason
for using these offset values, do not use them. These values
do not affect the latitude/longitude coordinates for the map,
only the internal coordinates used to plot the map on the
screen. If you use False Easting and False Northing offsets
for a map, any subsequent boundaries you append to the
map must also use these same offsets if you want the
imported boundaries to be drawn in the correct relative
position to the existing boundaries.
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Parameter Description
False Northing Specifies the false northing, or vertical offset, of the
projected coordinates, in meters. See above.
Central Longitude Specifies the central longitude of the projection in degrees.
The Central Longitude value typically should be defined as
the longitudinal center of the map you are going to produce.
Parameter Description
Name Specifies the units used in the map.
Scale Specifies the unit scale of the projected map, relative to
meters. For example, a scale of one means one unit in the
projected map equals one meter; a scale of two means two
units in the projected map equal one meter; etc.
False Easting Specifies the false easting, or horizontal offset, of the
projected coordinates, in meters. False Eastings and False
Northings are added to the underlying "projected"
coordinates as a way to arbitrarily offset their internal XY
coordinates after the projection. Unless you have a reason
for using these offset values, do not use them. These values
do not affect the latitude/longitude coordinates for the map,
only the internal coordinates used to plot the map on the
screen. If you use False Easting and False Northing offsets
for a map, any subsequent boundaries you append to the
map must also use these same offsets if you want the
imported boundaries to be drawn in the correct relative
position to the existing boundaries.
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Parameter Description
False Northing Specifies the false northing, or vertical offset, of the
projected coordinates, in meters. See above.
Central Longitude Specifies the central longitude of the projection in degrees.
The Central Longitude value typically should be defined as
the longitudinal center of the map you are going to produce.
For example, the value -95.5 represents the geographic
center of the United States, so the map of the U.S. is drawn
upright.
Central Latitude Specifies the central latitude of the projection in degrees.
The Central Latitude value should be defined as the
latitudinal center of the map you are going to produce. This
value is only significant when you define False Easting and
False Northing values.
Standard Parallel Specifies the latitude of the first of two standard parallels, in
degrees. The standard parallels typically are defined at
approximately one-sixth of the distance inside the north and
south limits of the map. For example, if your map latitude
ranges from 30° to 36°, you could place your Standard
Parallels at 31° and 35°. There are alternative methods for
determining the best position of the standard parallels.
Please see Snyder for more information.
2nd Standard Parallel Specifies the latitude of the second of two standard parallels,
in degrees. See above.
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Parameter Description
Name Specifies the units used in the map.
Scale Specifies the unit scale of the projected map, relative to
meters. For example, a scale of one means one unit in the
projected map equals one meter; a scale of two means two
units in the projected map equal one meter; etc.
False Easting Specifies the false easting, or horizontal offset, of the
projected coordinates, in meters. False Eastings and False
Northings are added to the underlying "projected"
coordinates as a way to arbitrarily offset their internal XY
coordinates after the projection. Unless you have a reason
for using these offset values, do not use them. These values
do not affect the latitude/longitude coordinates for the map,
only the internal coordinates used to plot the map on the
screen. If you use False Easting and False Northing offsets
for a map, any subsequent boundaries you append to the
map must also use these same offsets if you want the
imported boundaries to be drawn in the correct relative
position to the existing boundaries.
False Northing Specifies the false northing, or vertical offset, of the
projected coordinates, in meters. See above.
Central Longitude Specifies the central longitude of the projection in degrees.
The Central Longitude value typically should be defined as
the longitudinal center of the map you are going to produce.
This value is only significant when you define False Easting
and False Northing values, and has no apparent effect on the
map.
Standard Parallel Specifies the central latitude of the projection in degrees.
The Standard Parallel value typically should be defined as
the latitudinal center of the map you are going to produce.
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World Map
When plotting latitude/longitude Unprojected Lat/Long
coordinates, Surfer constructs the
map coordinate system by first determining the latitude for the center of the map.
Then the appropriate scale is determined for the east-west (longitude) relative to the
north-south (latitude) dimension of the map. See latitude/longitude and Using Scaling
to Minimize Distortion on Latitude/Longitude Maps for more information on relative
scaling of latitude versus longitude.
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Gnomonic Projection
The Gnomonic projection is an azimuthal
projection. It is represented as a plane tangent
to the globe. At this point of tangency, which is
called the standard parallel, all major
characteristics are retained. When you move
away from the standard parallel in any direction
the map is not conformal, not equal-area, and
distances are not true to scale. Only areas of
less than a hemisphere can be shown and
distortion increases noticeably as you move
further from the standard parallel.
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Parameter Description
Central Longitude Specifies the central longitude of the projection in degrees.
The Central Longitude value typically should be defined as
the longitudinal center of the map you are going to produce.
This value is only significant when you define False Easting
and False Northing values, and has no apparent effect on the
map.
Standard Parallel Specifies the central latitude of the projection in degrees.
The Standard Parallel value typically should be defined as
the latitudinal center of the map you are going to produce.
Projection Parameters
Parameter Description
Name Specifies the units used in the map.
Scale Specifies the unit scale of the projected map, relative to
meters. For example, a scale of one means one unit in the
projected map equals one meter; a scale of two means two
units in the projected map equal one meter; etc.
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Parameter Description
False Easting Specifies the false easting, or horizontal offset, of the
projected coordinates, in meters. False Eastings and False
Northings are added to the underlying "projected"
coordinates as a way to arbitrarily offset their internal XY
coordinates after the projection. Unless you have a reason
for using these offset values, do not use them. These
values do not affect the latitude/longitude coordinates for
the map, only the internal coordinates used to plot the map
on the screen. If you use False Easting and False Northing
offsets for a map, any subsequent boundaries you append
to the map must also use these same offsets if you want
the imported boundaries to be drawn in the correct relative
position to the existing boundaries.
False Northing Specifies the false northing, or vertical offset, of the
projected coordinates, in meters. See above.
Central Scale Factor Specifies the central scaling factor for the projection. This
(KO) value is often set to 1.0, but may be set to another value
for specific applications.
Azimuth (Alpha) The angle in degrees in which to rotate the central line.
Zero is north, and rotation is clockwise. This value cannot
equal zero or a multiple of 90 degrees.
Central Latitude Specifies the central latitude of the projection in degrees.
The Central Latitude value typically should be defined as
the latitudinal center of the map you are going to produce,
and should typically be defined as the center of the map.
1st Meridian Defines one end of the X extent for the central line.
Rotate U/V to X/Y u,v are unrectified coordinates that follow the central line of
the projection. x,y are rectified rectangular coordinates.
When True, u,v are rotated to x,y. See Snyder page 70.
Offset by U When True, u coordinates are offset to remove the Us
center component, to normalize the origin of the u axis.
This is typically required for State Plane coordinate
systems that use the Hotine Oblique Mercator projection
method.
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Projection Parameters
Parameter Description
Name Specifies the units used in the map.
Scale Specifies the unit scale of the projected map, relative to
meters. For example, a scale of one means one unit in the
projected map equals one meter; a scale of two means two
units in the projected map equal one meter; etc.
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Parameter Description
False Easting Specifies the false easting, or horizontal offset, of the
projected coordinates, in meters. False Eastings and False
Northings are added to the underlying "projected"
coordinates as a way to arbitrarily offset their internal XY
coordinates after the projection. Unless you have a reason
for using these offset values, do not use them. These
values do not affect the latitude/longitude coordinates for
the map, only the internal coordinates used to plot the map
on the screen. If you use False Easting and False Northing
offsets for a map, any subsequent boundaries you append
to the map must also use these same offsets if you want
the imported boundaries to be drawn in the correct relative
position to the existing boundaries.
False Northing Specifies the false northing, or vertical offset, of the
projected coordinates, in meters. See above.
Central Scale Factor Specifies the central scaling factor for the projection. This
(KO) value is often set to 1.0, but may be set to another value
for specific applications.
Central Latitude Specifies the central latitude of the projection in degrees.
The Central Latitude value typically should be defined as
the latitudinal center of the map you are going to produce,
and should typically be defined as the center of the map.
Standard Parallel Defines one end of the Y extent for the central line.
1st Meridian Defines one end of the X extent for the central line.
2nd Standard Parallel Defines the other end of the Y extent for the central line.
2nd Meridian Defines the other end of the X extent for the central line.
Rotate U/V to X/Y u,v are unrectified coordinates that follow the central line of
the projection. x,y are rectified rectangular coordinates.
When True, u,v are rotated to x,y. See Snyder page 70.
Offset by U When True, u coordinates are offset to remove the Us
center component, to normalize the origin of the u axis.
This is typically required for State Plane coordinate
systems that use the Hotine Oblique Mercator projection
method.
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Parameter Description
Name Specifies the units used in the map.
Scale Specifies the unit scale of the projected map, relative to
meters. For example, a scale of one means one unit in the
projected map equals one meter; a scale of two means two
units in the projected map equal one meter; etc.
False Easting Specifies the false easting, or horizontal offset, of the
projected coordinates, in meters. False Eastings and False
Northings are added to the underlying "projected"
coordinates as a way to arbitrarily offset their internal XY
coordinates after the projection. Unless you have a reason
for using these offset values, do not use them. These values
do not affect the latitude/longitude coordinates for the map,
only the internal coordinates used to plot the map on the
screen. If you use False Easting and False Northing offsets
for a map, any subsequent boundaries you append to the
map must also use these same offsets if you want the
imported boundaries to be drawn in the correct relative
position to the existing boundaries.
False Northing Specifies the false northing, or vertical offset, of the
projected coordinates, in meters. See above.
Central Longitude Specifies the central longitude of the projection in degrees.
The Central Longitude value typically should be defined as
the longitudinal center of the map you are going to produce.
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Parameter Description
Standard Parallel Specifies the central latitude of the projection in degrees.
The Standard Parallel value typically should be defined as
the latitudinal center of the map you are going to produce.
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Parameter Description
False Easting Specifies the false easting, or horizontal offset, of the
projected coordinates, in meters. False Eastings and False
Northings are added to the underlying "projected"
coordinates as a way to arbitrarily offset their internal XY
coordinates after the projection. Unless you have a reason
for using these offset values, do not use them. These values
do not affect the latitude/longitude coordinates for the map,
only the internal coordinates used to plot the map on the
screen. If you use False Easting and False Northing offsets
for a map, any subsequent boundaries you append to the
map must also use these same offsets if you want the
imported boundaries to be drawn in the correct relative
position to the existing boundaries.
False Northing Specifies the false northing, or vertical offset, of the
projected coordinates, in meters. See above.
Central Longitude Specifies the central longitude of the projection in degrees.
The Central Longitude value typically should be defined as
the longitudinal center of the map you are going to produce.
For example, the value -95.5 represents the geographic
center of the United States, so the map of the U.S. is drawn
upright.
Central Latitude Specifies the central latitude of the projection in degrees.
The Central Latitude value should be defined as the
latitudinal center of the map you are going to produce. This
value is only significant when you define False Easting and
False Northing values.
Standard Parallel Specifies the latitude of the first of two standard parallels, in
degrees. The Standard Parallels typically are defined at
approximately one-sixth of the distance inside the north and
south limits of the map. For example, if your map latitude
ranges from 30° to 36°, you could place your Standard
Parallels at 31° and 35°. There are alternative methods for
determining the best position of the standard parallels.
Please see Snyder for more information.
2nd Standard Parallel Specifies the latitude of the second of two standard parallels,
in degrees. See above.
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Mercator Projection
The Mercator projection is a cylindrical
projection and it is conformal. In a
Mercator projection, scale is constant along
any given parallel and accurate along the
specified center latitude. Scale is the same
in all directions near any given point.
Distortion is minimal near the center
parallel, but becomes extreme toward the
poles. All lines of constant direction (rhumb
lines) are known to be straight, thereby
making this projection very desirable for
producing navigational charts. A limitation
of this projection is that coordinates at or
near the poles cannot be projected due to
constraints of the mathematical formulas
World Map Mercator Projection
used. Central Longitude: 0 Central Latitude: 0
Projection Parameters
Parameter Description
Name Specifies the units used in the map.
Scale Specifies the unit scale of the projected map, relative to
meters. For example, a scale of one means one unit in the
projected map equals one meter; a scale of two means two
units in the projected map equal one meter; etc.
False Easting Specifies the false easting, or horizontal offset, of the
projected coordinates, in meters. False Eastings and False
Northings are added to the underlying "projected"
coordinates as a way to arbitrarily offset their internal XY
coordinates after the projection. Unless you have a reason
for using these offset values, do not use them. These values
do not affect the latitude/longitude coordinates for the map,
only the internal coordinates used to plot the map on the
screen. If you use False Easting and False Northing offsets
for a map, any subsequent boundaries you append to the
map must also use these same offsets if you want the
imported boundaries to be drawn in the correct relative
position to the existing boundaries.
False Northing Specifies the false northing, or vertical offset, of the
projected coordinates, in meters. See above.
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Chapter 13 - Coordinate Systems and Map Projections
Parameter Description
Central Longitude Specifies the central longitude of the projection in degrees.
The Central Longitude value typically should be defined as
the longitudinal center of the map you are going to produce.
Central Latitude Specifies the central latitude of the projection in degrees.
The Central Latitude value typically should be defined as the
latitudinal center of the map you are going to produce.
Projection Parameters
Parameter Description
Name Specifies the units used in the map.
Scale Specifies the unit scale of the projected map, relative to
meters. For example, a scale of one means one unit in the
projected map equals one meter; a scale of two means two
units in the projected map equal one meter; etc.
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Parameter Description
False Easting Specifies the false easting, or horizontal offset, of the
projected coordinates, in meters. False Eastings and False
Northings are added to the underlying "projected"
coordinates as a way to arbitrarily offset their internal XY
coordinates after the projection. Unless you have a reason
for using these offset values, do not use them. These values
do not affect the latitude/longitude coordinates for the map,
only the internal coordinates used to plot the map on the
screen. If you use False Easting and False Northing offsets
for a map, any subsequent boundaries you append to the
map must also use these same offsets if you want the
imported boundaries to be drawn in the correct relative
position to the existing boundaries.
False Northing Specifies the false northing, or vertical offset, of the
projected coordinates, in meters. See above.
Central Longitude Specifies the central longitude of the projection in degrees.
This value should be defined as the longitudinal center of the
map you are going to produce. This value is only significant
when you define False Easting and False Northing values and
it has no apparent effect on the map.
Mollweide Projection
The Mollweide projection is a pseudo-
cylindrical, equal area projection.
Scale is constant along any given
parallel, and true along 40°44' north
and south. The central longitude is
half the length of the equator. This
projection was designed to produce
aesthetically pleasing world maps.
World Map
Mollweide Projection
Central Longitude: 0
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Chapter 13 - Coordinate Systems and Map Projections
Projection Parameters
Parameter Description
Name Specifies the units used in the map.
Scale Specifies the unit scale of the projected map, relative to
meters. For example, a scale of one means one unit in the
projected map equals one meter; a scale of two means two
units in the projected map equal one meter; etc.
False Easting Specifies the false easting, or horizontal offset, of the
projected coordinates, in meters. False Eastings and False
Northings are added to the underlying "projected"
coordinates as a way to arbitrarily offset their internal XY
coordinates after the projection. Unless you have a reason
for using these offset values, do not use them. These values
do not affect the latitude/longitude coordinates for the map,
only the internal coordinates used to plot the map on the
screen. If you use False Easting and False Northing offsets
for a map, any subsequent boundaries you append to the
map must also use these same offsets if you want the
imported boundaries to be drawn in the correct relative
position to the existing boundaries.
False Northing Specifies the false northing, or vertical offset, of the
projected coordinates, in meters. See above.
Central Longitude Specifies the central longitude of the projection in degrees.
The Central Longitude value typically should be defined as
the longitudinal center of the map you are going to produce.
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Parameter Description
Name Specifies the units used in the map.
Scale Specifies the unit scale of the projected map, relative to
meters. For example, a scale of one means one unit in the
projected map equals one meter; a scale of two means two
units in the projected map equal one meter; etc.
False Easting Specifies the false easting, or horizontal offset, of the
projected coordinates, in meters. False Eastings and False
Northings are added to the underlying "projected"
coordinates as a way to arbitrarily offset their internal XY
coordinates after the projection. Unless you have a reason
for using these offset values, do not change them. These
values do not affect the latitude/longitude coordinates for
the map, only the internal coordinates used to plot the map
on the screen. If you use False Easting and False Northing
offsets for a map, any subsequent boundaries you append
to the map must also use these same offsets if you want
the imported boundaries to be drawn in the correct relative
position to the existing boundaries.
False Northing Specifies the false northing, or vertical offset, of the
projected coordinates, in meters. See above.
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Parameter Description
Name Specifies the units used in the map.
Scale Specifies the unit scale of the projected map, relative to meters. For
example, a scale of one means one unit in the projected map equals
one meter; a scale of two means two units in the projected map
equal one meter; etc.
False Easting Specifies the false easting, or horizontal offset, of the projected
coordinates, in meters. False Eastings and False Northings are added
to the underlying "projected" coordinates as a way to arbitrarily
offset their internal XY coordinates after the projection. Unless you
have a reason for using these offset values, do not use them. These
values do not affect the latitude/longitude coordinates for the map,
only the internal coordinates used to plot the map on the screen. If
you use False Easting and False Northing offsets for a map, any
subsequent boundaries you append to the map must also use these
same offsets if you want the imported boundaries to be drawn in the
correct relative position to the existing boundaries.
False Specifies the false northing, or vertical offset, of the projected
Northing coordinates, in meters. See above.
1st Meridian Defines one end of the X extent for the central line.
Standard Defines one end of the Y extent for the central line.
Parallel
2nd Meridian Defines the other end of the X extent for the central line.
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Parameter Description
2nd Standard Defines the other end of the Y extent for the central line.
Parallel
Central Scale Specifies the central scaling factor for the projection. This value is
Factor (KO) often set to 1.0, but may be set to another value for specific
applications.
Orthographic Projection
The Orthographic projection is an azimuthal
projection. In an Orthographic projection, scale is
accurate at the center and along any circle
circumscribed around the center. Distortion is nil at
the center, and increasingly extreme with
increasing distance from the center. This projection
is useful for "view of globe" or "view from space"
pictures of the Earth. A limitation of this projection
is that the hemisphere facing away from the center
of the projection is not visible. Objects near the
edge of the visible hemisphere may be clipped.
Parameter Description
Name Specifies the units used in the map.
Scale Specifies the unit scale of the projected map, relative to
meters. For example, a scale of one means one unit in the
projected map equals one meter; a scale of two means two
units in the projected map equal one meter; etc.
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Parameter Description
False Easting Specifies the false easting, or horizontal offset, of the
projected coordinates, in meters. False Eastings and False
Northings are added to the underlying "projected"
coordinates as a way to arbitrarily offset their internal XY
coordinates after the projection. Unless you have a reason
for using these offset values, do not use them. These values
do not affect the latitude/longitude coordinates for the map,
only the internal coordinates used to plot the map on the
screen. If you use False Easting and False Northing offsets
for a map, any subsequent boundaries you append to the
map must also use these same offsets if you want the
imported boundaries to be drawn in the correct relative
position to the existing boundaries.
False Northing Specifies the false northing, or vertical offset, of the
projected coordinates, in meters. See above.
Central Longitude Specifies the central longitude of the projection in degrees.
The Central Longitude value typically should be defined as
the longitudinal center of the map you are going to produce.
Central Latitude Specifies the central latitude of the projection in degrees.
The Central Latitude value typically should be defined as the
latitudinal center of the map you are going to produce.
Polyconic Projection
The Polyconic projection is useful for maps of
continental or smaller regions. Generally, this
projection is not used for world maps due to
extreme distortion at any significant distance from
the center of the projection. Only the central
meridian is distortion-free. Notice in the sample
map shown above that Africa is relatively
undistorted, but the rest of the world is barely
recognizable. Scale is true along the central
longitude and along each parallel.
World Map
Polyconic Projection
Central Longitude: 0
Central Latitude: 0
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Projection Parameters
Parameter Description
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Chapter 13 - Coordinate Systems and Map Projections
Projection Parameters
Parameter Description
Name Specifies the units used in the map.
Scale Specifies the unit scale of the projected map, relative to
meters. For example, a scale of one means one unit in the
projected map equals one meter; a scale of two means two
units in the projected map equal one meter; etc.
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Parameter Description
False Easting Specifies the false easting, or horizontal offset, of the
projected coordinates, in meters. False Eastings and False
Northings are added to the underlying "projected"
coordinates as a way to arbitrarily offset their internal XY
coordinates after the projection. Unless you have a reason
for using these offset values, do not use them. These values
do not affect the latitude/longitude coordinates for the map,
only the internal coordinates used to plot the map on the
screen. If you use False Easting and False Northing offsets
for a map, any subsequent boundaries you append to the
map must also use these same offsets if you want the
imported boundaries to be drawn in the correct relative
position to the existing boundaries.
False Northing Specifies the false northing, or vertical offset, of the
projected coordinates, in meters. See above.
Central Longitude Specifies the central longitude of the projection in degrees.
The Central Longitude value typically should be defined as
the longitudinal center of the map you are going to produce.
This option is only available for the Robinson-Sterling
projection.
Sinusoidal Projection
The Sinusoidal projection is a
pseudo-cylindrical, equal area
projection. Scale is accurate
along any given parallel and
along the specified central
longitude. This projection is
useful for continental or world
maps, particularly for high-aspect
regions (regions taller than they
are wide). To get good results
with the Sinusoidal projection,
the map must have coordinates
World Map
between +/-180 degrees longitude
Sinusoidal Projection
and +/- 90 degrees latitude. Central Longitude: 0
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Projection Parameters
Parameter Description
Name Specifies the units used in the map.
Scale Specifies the unit scale of the projected map, relative to
meters. For example, a scale of one means one unit in the
projected map equals one meter; a scale of two means two
units in the projected map equal one meter; etc.
False Easting Specifies the false easting, or horizontal offset, of the
projected coordinates, in meters. False Eastings and False
Northings are added to the underlying "projected"
coordinates as a way to arbitrarily offset their internal XY
coordinates after the projection. Unless you have a reason
for using these offset values, do not use them. These values
do not affect the latitude/longitude coordinates for the map,
only the internal coordinates used to plot the map on the
screen. If you use False Easting and False Northing offsets
for a map, any subsequent boundaries you append to the
map must also use these same offsets if you want the
imported boundaries to be drawn in the correct relative
position to the existing boundaries.
False Northing Specifies the false northing, or vertical offset, of the
projected coordinates, in meters. See above.
Central Longitude Specifies the central longitude of the projection in degrees.
The Central Longitude value typically should be defined as
the longitudinal center of the map you are going to produce.
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Coordinate System of 1927 uses the North American Datum 1927 (NAD27), while the
State Plane Coordinate System of 1983 uses the North American Datum 1983
(NAD83).
Projection Parameters
Parameter Description
Zone Specifies which one of the predefined zone projections to
use for this coordinate system.
Feet or Meters Most SPCS have both a meters and feet option available in
the predefined list.
Stereographic Projection
The Stereographic projection is
an azimuthal, conformal
projection. In a Stereographic
projection, scale is constant
along any circle circumscribed
around the center of the
projection. Distortion is minimal
at the center and becomes
extreme with distance from the
center. Generally, this
projection is not used for
regions larger than a continent
or a hemisphere due to
distortion effects. The
Stereographic projection is
often used for maps of the
poles.
North America
(Other continents included to show distortion of
objects far away from projection center)
Stereographic Projection
Central Longitude: -90 Central Latitude: 45
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Chapter 13 - Coordinate Systems and Map Projections
Projection Parameters
Parameter Description
Name Specifies the units used in the map.
Scale Specifies the unit scale of the projected map, relative to meters. For
example, a scale of one means one unit in the projected map equals
one meter; a scale of two means two units in the projected map
equal one meter; etc.
False Easting Specifies the false easting, or horizontal offset, of the projected
coordinates, in meters. False Eastings and False Northings are added
to the underlying "projected" coordinates as a way to arbitrarily
offset their internal XY coordinates after the projection. Unless you
have a reason for using these offset values, do not use them. These
values do not affect the latitude/longitude coordinates for the map,
only the internal coordinates used to plot the map on the screen. If
you use False Easting and False Northing offsets for a map, any
subsequent boundaries you append to the map must also use these
same offsets if you want the imported boundaries to be drawn in the
correct relative position to the existing boundaries.
False Specifies the false northing, or vertical offset, of the projected
Northing coordinates, in meters. See above.
Central Scale Specifies the central scaling factor for the projection. This value is
Factor (KO) often set to 1.0, but may be set to another value for specific
applications.
Central Specifies the central longitude of the projection in degrees. The
Longitude Central Longitude value typically should be defined as the
longitudinal center of the map you are going to produce.
Central Specifies the central latitude of the projection in degrees. The
Latitude Central Latitude value typically should be defined as the latitudinal
center of the map you are going to produce.
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Projection Parameters
Parameter Description
Name Specifies the units used in the map.
Scale Specifies the unit scale of the projected map, relative to meters. For
example, a scale of one means one unit in the projected map equals
one meter; a scale of two means two units in the projected map
equal one meter; etc.
False Easting Specifies the false easting, or horizontal offset, of the projected
coordinates, in meters. False Eastings and False Northings are added
to the underlying "projected" coordinates as a way to arbitrarily
offset their internal XY coordinates after the projection. Unless you
have a reason for using these offset values, do not use them. These
values do not affect the latitude/longitude coordinates for the map,
only the internal coordinates used to plot the map on the screen. If
you use False Easting and False Northing offsets for a map, any
subsequent boundaries you append to the map must also use these
same offsets if you want the imported boundaries to be drawn in the
correct relative position to the existing boundaries.
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Parameter Description
False Specifies the false northing, or vertical offset, of the projected
Northing coordinates, in meters. See above.
Central Scale Specifies the central scaling factor for the projection. This value is
Factor (KO) often set to 1.0, but may be set to another value for specific
applications.
Central Specifies the central longitude of the projection in degrees. The
Longitude Central Longitude value typically should be defined as the
longitudinal center of the map you are going to produce.
Central Specifies the central latitude of the projection in degrees. The
Latitude Central Latitude value typically should be defined as the latitudinal
center of the map you are going to produce.
Projection Parameters
Parameter Description
Name Specifies the units used in the map.
Scale Specifies the unit scale of the projected map, relative to meters.
For example, a scale of one means one unit in the projected map
equals one meter; a scale of two means two units in the projected
map equal one meter; etc.
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Parameter Description
Central Scale Specifies the central scaling factor for the projection. This value is
Factor (KO) often set to 1.0, but may be set to another value for specific
applications.
Central Specifies the central longitude of the projection in degrees. The
Longitude Central Longitude value typically should be defined as the
longitudinal center of the map you are going to produce. For
example, the value -95.5 represents the geographic center of the
United States, so the map of the U.S. is drawn upright.
Central Latitude Specifies the central latitude of the projection in degrees. The
Central Latitude value should be defined as the latitudinal center
of the map you are going to produce.
Projection in Choose True if your map is in the southern hemisphere. Choose
Southern False if your map is in the northern hemisphere.
Hemisphere
To get good results with the Van der Grinten projection, the
map must have coordinates between +/-180 degrees World Map
longitude and +/- 90 degrees latitude. Surfer does Van der Grinten Projection
not wrap around +/-180 degrees longitude. The Central Longitude: 0
example map is using world-proj.gsb as the base
map. If you are using world-scale maps, the central
longitude generally cannot be set far from 0 degrees since there is no wrap around in
Surfer.
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Chapter 13 - Coordinate Systems and Map Projections
Projection Parameters
Parameter Description
Name Specifies the units used in the map.
Scale Specifies the unit scale of the projected map, relative to
meters. For example, a scale of one means one unit in the
projected map equals one meter; a scale of two means two
units in the projected map equal one meter; etc.
False Easting Specifies the false easting, or horizontal offset, of the
projected coordinates, in meters. False Eastings and False
Northings are added to the underlying "projected"
coordinates as a way to arbitrarily offset their internal XY
coordinates after the projection. Unless you have a reason
for using these offset values, do not use them. These values
do not affect the latitude/longitude coordinates for the map,
only the internal coordinates used to plot the map on the
screen. If you use False Easting and False Northing offsets
for a map, any subsequent boundaries you append to the
map must also use these same offsets if you want the
imported boundaries to be drawn in the correct relative
position to the existing boundaries.
False Northing Specifies the false northing, or vertical offset, of the
projected coordinates, in meters. See above.
Central Longitude Specifies the central longitude of the projection in degrees.
The Central Longitude value typically should be defined as
the longitudinal center of the map you are going to produce.
Golden Software Reference files contain the projection settings used to project the
boundary in Didger. Projection, datum, and georeference information are stored in
the .GSR2 file. When you import a boundary that has an associated .GSR2 file into
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Didger
Didger, the projection information is used when displaying the map even though the
file format does not support projections. If the Golden Software Reference file is
deleted, the boundary can be imported but you must supply the projection information
during import.
Latitude/Longitude Coordinates
Latitude and longitude are spherical coordinates used to locate a point on the earth.
Many maps do not need to take the curvature of the earth into account. For maps
covering relatively small land areas, such as a state or small group of states, the earth
can be assumed to be flat. In these cases, the latitude/longitude coordinates can be
plotted on a simple grid system. Maps plotted in this way can use different scaling in
the two dimensions to minimize distortion on the map. For more information on
scaling Unprojected Lat/Long maps, see Using Scaling to Minimize Distortion in
Latitude/Longitude Projects.
For larger areas, the curvature of the earth should be taken into account. For these
purposes, the map can be plotted using a projection.
Didger only plots latitude/longitude coordinates in decimal degrees. You can see
Latitude/Longitude Coordinates in Decimal Degrees for information on converting
degrees-minutes-seconds to decimal degrees.
Latitude
Latitude is the Y coordinate and defines north-south global position measured from the
equator. Lines of constant latitude are called parallels because they define a series of
rings parallel to the equator. Parallels run east-west, but define north-south position
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Chapter 13 - Coordinate Systems and Map Projections
on the globe. Parallels are designated in degrees from 0° at the equator to 90° at the
poles. Didger uses the convention that parallels are positive north of the equator
(north latitudes), and negative south of the equator (south latitudes). Designations
such as 45° indicate a position 45° north of the equator, while -65° indicates a position
65° south of the equator. At any position on the globe, the distance covered by a
degree of latitude remains nearly constant.
Longitude
Longitude is the X coordinate and indicates east-west position on the globe. Lines of
constant longitude are called meridians. Meridians lie at right angles to the parallels
and are half-circles drawn from the North Pole to the South Pole. One meridian is
designated as the prime meridian. The prime meridian most commonly in use in the
United States runs through Greenwich, England, although there are several other
prime meridians in use throughout the world. Longitude is measured 180° east and
180° west from the prime meridian. In Didger, longitude is positive east (east
longitude) of the prime meridian, and negative west of the prime meridian (west
longitude). A designation such as -105° is used to indicate a location 105° west of the
prime meridian. Meridians converge at the poles so the distance covered by one
degree of longitude decreases as you move north or south from the equator.
Converting from degrees, minutes, and seconds is actually quite easy. Consider the
latitude value 39°25’30". This value needs to be converted to use it in Didger. There
are 60 minutes in one degree and 3600 seconds in one degree. To convert minutes
and seconds to decimal degrees, divide minutes by 60, divide seconds by 3600, and
then add the results to obtain the decimal equivalent.
Conversion Equation:
Example
Consider the latitude value 39°25'30". To convert 39°25’30" to decimal degrees:
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1. First, convert minutes (25') and seconds (30") to their degree equivalents and add
the results.
25'/60 = 0.4167
30"/3600 = 0.0083
0.4167 + 0.0083 = 0.425
2. Then, add this number to the number of degrees.
39 + 0.425 = 39.425
3. The final result is the decimal degree value.
39°25'30" = 39.425°
This table illustrates the change as you move from the equator to the poles.
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Chapter 13 - Coordinate Systems and Map Projections
So, how can you put this information to use? Remember that you are plotting degrees
of unprojected latitude and longitude, but what you really want to show on the map
are the correct distances. You must scale the longitude values correctly for the correct
distances to be represented on the map. The scaling factor to apply for maps is based
on the cosine of the latitude for the area you are working on.
Consider a map of the state of Montana. When you plot the map on a one to one
scale, the map appears stretched in the east-west direction. To understand this
problem, consider that for Montana the latitude ranges from 44.36° to 49°. The
latitude for the center of the map is determined from this to be 46.68°. The cosine of
46.68° is 0.686. The distance covered by one degree of longitude at this latitude is
only 0.686 times the distance covered by one degree of latitude. To reduce the
distortion on this map, you can correct for this difference.
Let’s say you are plotting the map at an X scale of 1" = 2 map units (longitude). For
the map to be scaled appropriately, you would plot the Y scale at 1" = 1.372 map
units (latitude, 2 x 0.686 = 1.372). This effectively stretches the map in the latitude
(N-S) direction. Now the map distances are nearly the same in the longitude and
latitude directions.
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Reference points cannot be reloaded from a world file because they do not exist in the
file. When a world file is loaded into the reference point list the 4 corners of the source
image are recalculated using the world file parameters and are displayed as reference
points.
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Chapter 13 - Coordinate Systems and Map Projections
Projection References
Dent, Borden D., Cartography, Thematic Map Design, Wm. C. Brown Publishers,
Dubuque, 1990.
Greenhood, David, Mapping, The University of Chicago Press, Chicago, 1964, pp. 113-
171.
Robinson, A.H., et al., Elements of Cartography, Fifth Edition, John Wiley & Sons, New
York, 1984, pp. 75-105.
Snyder, John P., Map Projections - A Working Manual, U.S. Geological Survey
Professional Paper 1395, Washington D.C., Department of the Interior, 1987.
Coordinate Systems Overview,
http://www.colorado.edu/geography/gcraft/notes/coordsys/coordsys_f.html,
July 2, 2001.
Map Projection Overview,
http://www.colorado.edu/geography/gcraft/notes/mapproj/mapproj_f.html,
July 2, 2001.
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Datums, Ellipsoids, Grids, and Grid Reference Systems, Defense Mapping Agency
Technical Manual 8358.1, http://earth-
info.nga.mil/GandG/publications/tm8358.1/pdf/8358_1c.pdf, July 2, 2001.
Mapping the Projection to the Need,
http://www3.deasy.psu.edu/projection/index.html, July 2, 2001.
Q: When I import a map from another program, does it import the projection
information?
A: If the map contained a reference file, Didger will automatically read the reference
file and apply any information it finds to the map layer.
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Chapter 13 - Coordinate Systems and Map Projections
A: A good starting place is the references on the Projection References page. Many
other good resources are available either online or in printed documentation.
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Index
align center...317
align left...317
# align middle...317
align right...317
1st order polynomial...90, 92, 251 align top...317
2nd order polynomial...90, 93, 251 allowable RMS error...87, 89, 90
3 minute tour...10 alter projection...56
3rd order polynomial...90, 93, 251 And/Or...311
5 median...223 angle symbol...318
8 median...223 appearance...323
apply datum conversion...295, 370
area...133, 143, 160, 253, 301, 345,
A 381
area to download...182
acceptable error...83, 87 arrange...77, 314, 315, 316
acceptable error on the ground...87 arrange toolbar...15
acceptable RMS error...87, 89, 90 assign attributes...303
accuracy...83 assign coordinate system...390
activate tablet...82, 244 assign coordinate system dialog...372
active layer...22, 77 assign data attributes...303
add...285 assign elevations...62, 305
add data source...188 assign labels...49
add labels...49, 156 assign projection...53
add layer...22, 77 assigning and changing projection...53
add new mapping server...188 assigning elevations...60, 62, 305
add point...37, 247 assigning labels...49
add server...188 assigning the projection...53, 55
add web mapping server...188 auto increment...45
add WMS...188 auto increment IDs...136, 145
adjust brightness...221 auto snap nodes...253, 348
adjust contrast...220 auto-increment...45
adjust coordinates...285 automatic digitizing...196
adjust limits...291 automatic image extents...201
adjust saturation...222 automatically create vector lines...61,
adjust scale...291 196
adjust values...285 automatically digitize contours from an
Aerial photo...42 image...60
affine polynomial...90, 91, 251 available fields...156
albers...391 available projections...378
albers conic...391 average rate...163
albers equal area...391 axis maximum...291
align...317 axis minimum...291
align bottom...317 axis scale...291
axis scaling...245
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Index
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440
Index
H
G
heads up digitizing...45, 50, 101, 126,
gaps...224 128
gauss conformal projection...424 help...29
gaussian...196, 212 help - technical support...31
gaussian filter...196, 212 help menu...32, 262
gaussian standard deviation...196, 212 hide image display...61
gauss-kruger projection...424 holes...224
GCS...401 hotine...403, 405
general...345 hotine oblique mercator...403
generate points...163 hotine projection...405
geode...182 hue...222
geographic coordinate system...401 hysteresis...196, 212
georeference...52, 201, 285
georeference coordinate
conversion...285 I
georeference method...251
georeferenced images...181 ID prefix...145
georeferencing information...181 ID suffix...145
georeferencing method...38, 98 identifier...78, 145
GeoTIFF...334, 432 identify edges...212
getting base information into IDs...145, 247
didger...11, 75
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Index
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Index
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Index
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Index
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450
Customer Service Resources
Before calling, please check the following available resources as your question may
already be answered.
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Register online at www.GoldenSoftware.com or fax or mail the Registration
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Knowledge Base:
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Help | Golden Software on the Web | Knowledge Base command
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Complete the tutorial section in this quick start guide or in the Didger
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