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SurView Tutorial

Installation, Configuration & Removal

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SurView files

The SurView directory contains the following files (approximately 2 MB):


SurView installation

Unlike many Windows applications, SurView does not require installation - if provided as a viewer on a CD of digital data, it can run directly from the CD, without any files being copied to your system and without configuration. However, you can also copy the files to another drive for convenience (so you can run SurView without the CD).

SurView has minimal impact on your system in terms of files and configuration settings.

Installation procedure

  1. Copy the files
    If you wish to install SurView on your hard disk, simply drag & drop the entire '\surview' directory (it might have another name) from the CD to any convenient location on your hard-disk. For example, any of the following directories is a reasonable choice, but feel free to put it anywhere, i.e.:

  2. Install CTL3DV2.DLL (Windows 3.x only)
    Microsoft's CTL3DV2.DLL file (~22 kb in size) provides the 3D visual effects in SurView's dialog boxes.

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

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

  3. Create an icon/shortcut (optional)
    You may then create an icon (File | New in File Manager) or a Windows '95 'shortcut' (right click on the desktop and choose New | Shortcut), to run the surview.exe application conveniently.


SurView File Association

File Association
Windows allows data files to be 'run' (i.e. with Program Manager's File | Run option, with Explorer's Start | Run option, by double-clicking them in File Manager/Explorer or by attaching them to icons or Windows '95 'shortcuts' which can be double-clicked). However, all of this requires that the files be 'associated' with a particular application so that Windows knows where to find the .EXE file.

SurView contains an embedded utility to register the 'File Association' for 6 file types (.BOB/BLC, .GRX, .SLD, .ASX, & .FDL). Subsequently, any of the SurView files can be 'run' with the above methods. This 'association' procedure writes entries into the Windows registration database (win.ini file on Windows 3.x). Whether you have copied surview.exe to your hard disk or whether you have decided to leave it on the CD, you should set these File Associations.

Warning
Please use SurView's procedure to set the File Association - it does the same thing as the procedure built-in to Windows, but is more flexible and SurView-specific. Note that File Association only enables Windows to find the application - it does not guarantee that the application will be able to open the file. If you double-click on a SHP or GRD/GRI file, Windows may ask you to identify the application to be used. If you point to SurView, that still will not work. Windows will deliver the file to SurView, but SurView will reject it because SurView does not recognize SHP/GRD/GRI files - it uses ASX files to access SHP files and GRX files to access image/grid files.

File Association menu item

Procedure
Click the [-] 'system menu' (or SurView icon in Windows '95) in the extreme upper left corner of SurView's window and select 'File Association'.

The dialog box will show the path to the .exe that is currently 'associated' with each of the 6 SurView file types. It will also show the pathname to the current surview.exe. One or more of the current associations may be undefined (blank) or it may point to another copy of surview.exe.

  1. select 1 or more of the file types in the listbox
  2. select Set to current to set the association to the current copy of surview.exe. A moment later, after writing the entries to the registration database (or win.ini file), the new entries will appear
  3. close the dialog box

Sample File Association dialog boxes

File Association - none
no File Association for SurView
File Association - current SurView
File Association for current SurView
File Association - another SurView
File Association for different SurView

Moving SurView
If you move surview.exe after the File Association has been done, you will need to reset the File Association settings from this same dialog box so that Windows will know where to find surview.exe at its new location. Bring up the File Association dialog box and click 'Set to current' to replace the existing entries with the current location of surview.exe.

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


SurView removal

  1. Run SurView one last time and bring up the File Association dialog box (as described above). Click 'Remove' to remove the 6 entries from the Windows registration database. You can then terminate SurView.

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

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

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

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

SurView has now been completely removed from your system.


Data files

Digital data files can remain on the CD, but if desired, the files can be moved to another drive (perhaps for faster access). When moving these files (for any reason), keep in mind the following restrictions on FDL, ASX & GRX files, all of which are small text files:


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