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Drift Composition and Surficial Geology of the Trutch Map Area (94G), Northeastern British Columbia

Geological Survey of Canada Open File D3815

Frequently Asked Questions (SurView)

The following are answers to frequently asked questions regarding the Trutch CD setup and SurView operation. Where answers refer to the use of pull-down menus, each successive sub-menu is separated from the preceeding one by a vertical bar, e.g. File | Print map. Shortcuts are shown in parentheses after their menu equivalent, e.g. File | Print map (Ctrl-p).

Many of the questions answered here are covered in detail, with illustrations, in the SurView tutorial.

  1. I inserted the CD into the CD drive and it didn't start automatically. Why?

    Windows 3.1 does not support the AutoPlay feature. Instead use File Manager to open the \Trutch folder and double-click on intro.exe.

    If you are using Windows95, Windows 98 or Windows NT, the CD should AutoPlay each time it is inserted into the CD drive. Slower CD drives will take longer to start up, so allow at least 30 seconds for the intro panel to appear on the screen.

    Right-clicking in Windows Explorer on any drive icon will display a menu of the available commands for that object. The default menu item is usually Open and is activated by double-clicking the icon - an Explorer window will open up to view the contents. For an AutoPlay CD such as this, AutoPlay becomes the new default action so double-clicking on the drive icon should start the AutoPlay application. If you want to access the files with Windows Explorer, right click on the drive icon and select the Open or Explore command.

    If you insert the CD while the computer is booting, the AutoPlay feature might not work. If so, just double-click the drive icon in Explorer to activate the AutoPlay feature.

    If the CD still does not AutoPlay then check the following registry setting. If you are not familiar with the Windows registry then ask for help from your system administrator.

    Use the Start | Run menu command and enter "regedit" to run the Registry Editor. Open the following key:

    HKEY_CURRENT_USER
    Software
    Microsoft
    Windows
    CurrentVersion
    Policies
    Explorer
    "NoDriveTypeAutoRun"

    Check that the values of the key read: 0x00000095 (in some computers the values should read 0000 95 00 00 00) and change them if necessary. You may need to reboot for this to take effect.

    If you are not successful at setting the AutoPlay feature you can always start the CD by double-clicking on the file intro.exe in the \Trutch folder.

  2. I'm confused about the SurView & Trutch Surficial Geology menus.

    SurView menus to the left of and including the Help menu are for standard SurView operations. Menus to the right of the Help menu are specific to Trutch Surficial Geology CD.

  3. Isn't there a quicker way to access some of these features?

    In many cases, the Ctrl key can be used as a shortcut for various menu items. These are indicated in the drop-down menus. Here is a brief table of the SurView shortcuts:

    Summary of useful SurView shortcuts
    Menu item Shortcut
    File Display List or
    Map layer control
    Ctrl-f or Enter
    Right mouse button pick options Ctrl-k
    Print map Ctrl-p
    Redraw Ctrl-r
    Smart cursor Ctrl-c
    Zoom/Pan cursor Ctrl-z
    Undo last Zoom/Pan Ctrl-u
    Zoom in Insert
    Zoom out Delete
    Pan left / right / up / down Number pad keys or
    arrow keys

  4. I can't select anything with the LEFT mouse button.

    When using SurView, the LEFT mouse is only used in the map area for measuring distances (click and drag - the distance is shown in the caption area). Click the RIGHT mouse button to pick features (points, polygons, arcs), as well as for clicking on legend windows to configure or access legend attributes.

    For other normal operations such as selecting menus and clicking on buttons, use the LEFT mouse button.

  5. The text on the index map is illegible. How can I read it?

    You may be running your screen at a low resolution. It is recommended that you use at least 1024 X 768. To change the screen resolution:
    1. right click on the desktop surface & select Properties from the menu.
    2. in the dialog box, select the Settings tab.
    3. in the Desktop area, set the resolution to at least 1024 X 768 or 1152 X 864 pixels.
    4. click Ok to close the dialog box.
    5. if you are running Windows 95, you will have to restart your computer (not required for Windows NT).

    Note that increasing the resolution of your display might decrease the number of colours available, if you are running a video card with insufficient memory. You should have at least 32767 colours (or 15-bit) available.

  6. Colours of rock units don't match the legend, or windows 'flash' when the cursor moves into them.

    You need to increase the colour resolution of your display. Follow the procedure above to bring up the Settings dialog box. In the Color Palette section select at least 32767 colours (or 15-bit), then click Ok to close the dialog box.

  7. The map takes too long to draw. How can I stop it from drawing?

    Some layers contain a lot of data and therefore can take a long time to draw. If you want to interrupt drawing then hit the Esc key. You can then open the file display list and turn the layer off, or close the SurView window. Note: to stop drawing with the Esc key the SurView window must be the active window. If the SurView window is not active, then click on the icon for the SurView window in the task bar, and (without moving the cursor off the icon) hit Esc.

  8. How do I navigate around the map window (zoom/pan)?

    See the Zoom/Pan chapter in the SurView tutorial.

  9. How do I pick a point feature or a line (arc) feature?

    Select the View | Right mouse button pick mode (Ctrl-k) menu item. A dialogue box will open in which you can choose the type of feature to pick, i.e.:

    Click on OK and when you return to the SurView window the feature will be pickable.

    See also FAQ No.10. Instructions for changing the pick feature are also given in the Picking Features chapter in the SurView tutorial.

  10. I click on a feature and nothing happens. Why?

    Check to see that you have the correct pick option selected (See FAQ No.9).

    If you are still unable to pick a feature after the pick option has been set correctly then check that the pick tolerance is set to a reasonable value. The pick tolerance is the search radius around the cursor in which SurView checks for features whenever you right-click. Go to Pick | Right mouse button pick mode (Ctrl-k) and check the value in the ...% X extent box. If it is too small you can increase it by typing a new value into the dialogue box and clicking OK.

    If you are still unable to pick the desired feature, check that you are positioning the cursor properly. The feature you want to pick must be at the end of the antenna on the front of the airplane cursor.

    See also the SurView's cursor section in the Picking features chapter in the SurView tutorial.

  11. I only see some of the layers. Where are the rest?

    TheTrutch Surficial Geology menu items are configured to launch the .fdl (File Display List) files, each of which contains a list of files corresponding to the layers for a given tile. Some of these layers are initially hidden.

    To change the visibility of the layers:

    1. bring up the list of layers by selecting File | File Display List or Edit | Map Layers... (Ctrl-f or Enter).
    2. files (layers) which are checked on the left of the list are enabled for viewing.
    3. double-click any layer name to toggle the visibility, or select one or more layers in the list and use the Show/Hide button to toggle the visibility of the selected items.
    4. Normally, you want to retain the same view of the map, so leave the Adjust view on return option unchecked.
    5. click Ok to close the dialog box and redraw the map.

    See also the Show/hide section in the SurView tutorial.

  12. How can I display the legend for my layer of interest?

    The legend for surficial units is shown by default. To display available legends go to View | Legends and select the layer for which you want to see the legend.

    If the layer whose legend you want to display is dimmed in the menu list this means the layer is not currently enabled for display. To make the layer visible, select the File | File Display List (Ctrl-F or Enter) menu item. Find the layer to be displayed and check the check box by double clicking on the layer. Click on OK to redraw the map and then turn on the legend as indicated above.

    See also the ASX legend windows chapter in the SurView tutorial.

  13. How do I find more information surficial units on the map?

    1. right-click on the polygon of interest and the surficial geology database record will be displayed.
    2. click on the Legend button to display the Surficial Geology Legend and unit description.

    See also the DBF Information Display section of the Picking features chapter of the SurView tutorial.

  14. I already have one map tile displayed. How do I open another map tile in the same window?

    1. select the Surficial Geology or Drift Composition | Options | File open options menu item and enable Add each file to current display list.
    2. return to the Surficial Geology menu to select a new tile.
    3. it will appear in the same window.

    See also the Custom menu chapter in the SurView tutorial.

  15. How can I tell which NTS map area I am viewing?

    1. select the View | Smart (E,N) Cursor (Ctrl-C).
    2. a narrow horizontal bar will appear in the map window displaying eastings and northings in metres.
    3. click on the Windows icon at the left of the bar and select "NTS sheet number". Other options are Lat/Long and UTM zone.
    4. now the horizontal bar will display the NTS map area.

    See also the Smart cursor section in the Miscellaneous features chapter in the SurView tutorial.

  16. How do I configure the surficial geology legend?

    1. move the cursor over the background of the surficial unit legend window and it will change to a wrench (setup) icon.
    2. right-click on the background and the legend configuration dialogue box will appear.

    See also the Theme Selection section in the ASX legend windows chapter in the SurView tutorial.

  17. How do I show a subset of the displayed polygons?

    1. move the cursor over the background of the regional unit legend window and it will change to a wrench (setup) icon.
    2. right-click on the background and the legend configuration dialogue box will appear.
    3. click the Subset button and a list of different polygon values will appear with all selected by default.
    4. reselect the subset of items you want to display.
    5. click Ok to close the subset dialog box.
    6. click Ok to close the configuration dialog box.
    7. the map will be redrawn showing only the subset.

    See also the Subset selection section in the ASX legend windows chapter in the SurView tutorial.

  18. How do I change the colour of a unit?

    1. move the cursor over the background of the regional unit legend window and it will change to a wrench (setup) icon.
    2. click on the background and the legend configuration dialogue box will appear.
    3. click the Colour button.
    4. select the unit(s) whose colour you want to change and then select a colour from the palette.
    5. click Ok to close the colour selection dialog box.
    6. click Ok to close the configuration dialog box.
    7. the map will be redrawn with new colours.

    See also the Editing Colours section in the ASX legend windows chapter in the SurView tutorial.

  19. How can I print a hardcopy of a report for a mineral occurrence? (Or age date, surficial unit, source?)

    If you want the report for a point (or polygon) location that you see on the map:
    1. right-click on the point (or polygon - see FAQ 9) of interest to display the database record.
    2. click the More Info button and the report will open in a separate window.
    3. move to the cursor to the report window and select File | Print Topic.
    4. the topic will be printed on your default printer.

  20. Can I save my map view for future use?

    The list of layers you have loaded, their current visibility and the current viewing region can be saved to a file on a disk (obviously not on the CD!). Note that this saves only the list of layers, so the file is very small:
    1. select File | File Display List (Ctrl-f or Enter)
    2. click on Save list
    3. specify the name and location of the file you are saving and click Ok

    The file will normally have the extension .FDL. Note that it is not possible to save the extent of your map view, nor which legends are visible, but the .FDL file will remember the visibility of the layers.

  21. How do I copy data to disk for non-SurView use?

    A shapefile set consists of three files with the extensions .shp, .dbf, and .shx. You will need all 3 files. The file name indicates the data layer and feature type. See File naming conventions in Files, Directories and Formats for a detailed discussion of file names.

    All shapefiles are located in the folder \Trutch\data\shp.




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