Discover For Mapinfo Tutorials

Discover
Integrated GIS for the Geosciences
Tutorials Manual
Encom Technology Pty Ltd

Leaders in Exploration Software and Services
2 Discover Tutorials
General Information
Discover 4.0 is developed and supported by Encom Technology Pty Ltd.
Sydney Office
Level 2, 118 Alfred St, Milsons Point, New South Wales 2061, Australia
PO Box 422, Milsons Point, New South Wales 1565, Australia
Tel +61 2 9957 4117 Fax +61 2 9922 6141
Gosford Office
Suite 5, 451 Pacific Hwy, North Gosford, New South Wales, 2250 Australia
Tel: +612 4325 7807 Fax: +612 4325 7807
Perth Office
Level 1, 43 Ventnor Ave, West Perth, Western Australia 6005, Australia
PO Box 1572, West Perth, Western Australia 6872, Australia
Tel +61 8 9321 1788 Fax +61 8 9321 1799
World Wide Web www.encom.com.au
Email discover_sales@encom.com.au
Discover Release History

Version 1.0 December 1994
Version 1.1 February 1995
Version 1.2 September 1995
Version 2.0 August 1996
Version 2.1 November 1997
Version 3.0 February 1999
Version 4.0 June 2001
Discover 4.0 requires
MapInfo Professional 4.2 or later with Windows 95/98 or Windows NT/2000
Some advanced features of Discover 4.0 require MapInfo Professional 5.5 or later.
© Copyright 2001, Encom Technology Pty Ltd

4 Discover Tutorials Manual
Table of Contents 5
Table of Contents
Table of Contents 5
1 Introduction 7
Introducing Discover 4.0 ........................................................................7
Discover Tutorials ..................................................................................7
2 Map Making Tutorial 9
3 Dataset Building Tutorial 19
4 Create and Analyse Surfaces Tutorial 29
5 3D Display of Grid Data Tutorial 37

An Exercise in Grid Display and 3D Map Creation ...............................37
GeoTiff Registration and 3D Map Display............................................41
6 Drillhole Display Tutorial 46

Preparing Data prior to Viewing Drillholes ...........................................47
Creating Sections..................................................................................49
Index 59
Discover Tutorials Introduction 7
1 Introduction
Introducing Discover 4.0
Discover version 4.0 is an extension to MapInfo Professional developed for
geoscientists by Encom Technology. Discover 4.0 runs with MapInfo®
Professional version 4.2 or later on Windows® 95/98 and Windows® NT/2000
Discover has been developed by Encom Technology specifically for

geoscientists. Building on the many powerful Geographic Information System
(GIS) features of MapInfo, Discover converts MapInfo into a sophisticated and
easy to use tool for managing, manipulating and displaying exploration datasets.
Discover gives users the ability to process and view data in ways that previously
required a number of software packages. A geologist in the field, an exploration
manager in head office or a draftsperson in a regional office can use Discover to
track tenement activity, contour point data, view drill holes in plan and section,
analyze geochemical data, facilitate map creation, produce scaled hard copy
output with ease, and more.
Discover 4.0 provides new and improved functionality in a number of key areas
and incorporates a significant number of changes requested by existing
Discover users.
Discover Tutorials
The tutorials presented here are designed to illustrate the various presentation
and processing functions available in Discover. The features described is not
complete and many other options and useful operations are provided by
Discover. For information on these functions refer to the Users’ Guide, on-line
help or Discover Reference Manual. The tutorials use step-by-step instructions
to introduce the major concepts and displays. Also note that a number of
operations that are undertaken within MapInfo are used and so a basic
understanding of MapInfo functionality is also required.
The tutorials supplied for Discover are designed to be operated by either

beginners or experienced users. The tutorials are presented in a self-explanatory
manner with a series of step-by-step operations that should guide you through
the display, analysis and interpretive stages of various geological and GIS
problems. The problems chosen and included in the tutorials have in the most
part, been selected from real datasets addressing real exploration problems.
All tutorials provide data that is contained within separate directories. When
installed, the directories are loaded into their own sub-directories beneath the
directory called DISCOVER_TUTORIAL. The relevant directories and
required files are described in each tutorial description.
Map Making Tutorial 9
2 Map Making Tutorial

This tutorial goes through the steps required to produce a geological map,
complete with location map, legend and titleblock.
An Exercise in Map Production

This exercise produces an A4 landscape map. If the printer driver is set for 8.5”
x 11” (Legal) paper, you should be aware that some portions of this exercise
may not appear in the final print as they are outside the printable margins.
Alternative paper settings are noted in the following exercise for users of Legal
size paper.
Note The dataset used in this exercise is fictitious and should not be relied upon for
exploration planning.
Step 1. Open Map Layers

From the MapInfo menu bar, choose File>Open Table. Open the following
tables from the Discover_Tutorial\Map Making directory:
Geology, Structures, Minerals and Tenements
Check the layer order in Enhanced Layer Control. It should be as follows:

Minerals, Structures, Tenements and Geology. If the order is incorrect, drag
and drop the layers within the Enhanced Layer Control dialog and Apply the
changes.
Complete the map window setup by selecting the Zoom to all layers button
from the Enhanced Layer Control or by choosing Map>View Entire
Layer>All Layers.
Step 2. Apply See Thru Shading
Applying see through vector polygon shading lets us view geology underneath,
whilst allowing tenements to be visualized.
Select all of the tenement polygons. To do this, right click on the Tenement
layer in the Enhanced Layer Control and choose Select All from the pop-up
menu (activated by a right mouse click). Alternately, use the Query>Select and
choose the table Tenements, then click OK.
From the Discover menu, choose Map Making>SeeThru Shading. A message

may be displayed asking if table STPatts should be created. You should answer
Create.
Choose the Specify Pattern option. Under pattern type, choose Lines. Click the
Line icon, and choose a Dotted LineStyle, black colour, pixel width of 1.
Under Pattern Density and Orientation, enter angle 135º (a southeast trend),
and spacing of 0.1 km. Press the Save As button and enter the table name
Tenement Fill. Click OK.
The vector polygon fill then appears in the new layer Tenement Fill.
Step 3. Line Annotation

The Structures layer contains syncline (green lines) and anticline (brown lines)
structures that trend northeast. Using Discover, we can add fold axis annotation
to these lines so that the geology is easily understood.
Select a brown line. Using Discover, we can select all other brown lines from
the structures layer. From the Discover menu, choose Map Window>Select by
graphical styles. When you click OK, all remaining brown lines in the
structures layer are selected.
To annotate, choose Discover Map Making>Line Annotation, and fill in the
following options:
Adding annotation to selected lines
The annotation is written to the Structures layer. Repeat the above process for
the green lines, annotating them with a Syncline symbol.
Note If you are applying a directional symbol, such as normal fault, it is important
that the annotation appears on the correct side of the selected line. A symbol is
placed to the left of a line or facing up if the Facing left/up box is checked;
otherwise if the box is unchecked, the annotation appears on the right or down
side of the selected line.
You may wish to experiment with this feature using some of the other lines in
the Structures layer. You can also manually place each annotation on a selected
line using a tool button. If you make a mistake in annotation placement, simply
select the annotation object and delete it.
To increase the annotation density along a line, try decreasing the distance to
0.5 km. To save changes made to the Structures table, choose File>Save Table.
Step 4. Text Labels

Adding labels to a map for printing is a procedure that requires a methodical
approach to get the required result. If you place labels on the map window and
print your map, the labels often have an inappropriate size and require
additional manipulation.
Discover addresses this problem by allowing you to label a map layer at a set
point size at the scale at which the map is plotted. The four tenements can be
labelled using Discover>Map Making>Text Labels.
In the dialog box that appears, choose to label objects from table Tenements
from column Tenement. Choose label size 10 pts for a map scale of
1:15,000. Click OK. The tenements are labelled at their centroid in the
Cosmetic Layer.
The labels need to be saved to a new layer. Choose Map>Save Cosmetic

Objects>New and save to table name Tenement Text.
Step 5. Producing a Map Legend

To generate a map legend, click on Discover>Map Making>Legend. A dialog
box appears that allows the user to select the tables from which the legend is
generated. Select the Minerals, Structures and Geology tables by holding the
CTRL key while left clicking on the relevant tables. Click OK.
The legend dialog allows you to specify which columns of attribute data should
be displayed in the legend. Fill in the dialog box as follows:
Generating a legend for the geology map
Place a checkmark in the Specify Order boxes for Minerals and Geology to set
the order of legend items for these layers.
If your map window does not display the full extents of a table, and you want a
legend created for all items in the table, do not place a checkmark in the box for
Legend from objects in map window only.
The font size for the legend text needs to be specified. Click on the Styles
button and press the font style button next to Title Line. Choose point size 24.
Repeat the process for Sub-Title line and choose point size 18.
Click the Text Line 1 and Text Line 2 font style buttons and choose point size
14, click OK. Click the OK button and enter a table name for the legend, say Geology
Legend. Press the Save button.
A legend order window for the minerals layer is then displayed. The minerals
should be displayed in Alphabetical order (ascending), so click on the
appropriate option, and then click OK.
Another legend order window is displayed, this time for geology. The
lithologies should be placed in chronological order. Notice that we are
displaying the lithologies, rather than the ages. Discover orders legend items
based on the first column chosen in the initial setup dialog box. As we want to
display lithologies followed by age in our geological legend, it is necessary to
determine the relevant order prior to starting the legend process.
Alternatively, you can use the Look-up code from Geology option to allow the
lithologies to be ordered according to a numeric attribute in another column.
Re-ordering legend entries for the geology layer

To place the lithologies in chronological order, order them as shown in the

window above using the custom setting and the up-down buttons to move
items accordingly.
When the OK button is pressed, the geological legend is displayed in a new

map. You may wish to verify that the lithologies are in chronological order.
You should minimize the legend window, and make the geological map
window active before proceeding to the next step.
Step 6. Generating Scaled Hardcopy Output

You can now generate an A4 landscape layout (or other suitable paper size)
with scaled map frame, grid, title block, scale bar and legend.
From the MapInfo menu bar, choose File>Page Setup. Choose either A4 (or A
for legal size in North America) and press the Landscape button. Click OK to
accept the Page Setup parameters. This procedure ensures that the MapInfo
layout window is set to the size and orientation required.
Choose Discover>Scaled Output. Under Map Scale choose Custom Scale (at
the bottom of the scale list), and type 15,000 in the box that becomes enabled.
Under frame setup, choose New from the list of Frame Settings.
In the frame settings configuration dialog box that appears, choose A4 and click
the Landscape button. Notice that the map frame position measurements
change to reflect the area that the map covers on your selected sheet of paper.
Note The non-printing margins may have to be adjusted depending on the printer
driver in use.
You can determine if adjustment is required by completing the scaled output

exercise and observing the resulting layout window. If some portions of the map
are in the light grey area (non-printing margins) of the layout, you need to
return to the configuration menu and adjust the non-printing settings. If you
change a non-printing margin (say right and left edges from 1 cm to 1.5 cm
each), you need to compensate by decreasing the frame width by 1 cm (0.5 cm
added to each edge).
For this exercise, we wish to place a titleblock and legend outside the map
frame. If you chose A4 size paper, then decrease the map frame position width
by 5 cm. Change it to 22.7 cm width. Leave the frame height at 19.2 cm. If
you have chosen A size paper, change the frame width to 20.9 cm.
Click the OK button and enter a name to save the setting as, say A4 L Out (or
A L Out) indicating A4 / A landscape paper, legend and titleblock outside map
frame.
Back in the main Scaled Output dialog, ensure that the Draw Grid option is
checked, TITLEBLK appears as the titleblock name, and ScaleBar 1 is listed
for the scalebar. Press the OK button.
The map window will zoom in and a transparent polygon, representing the area
to be plotted at 1:15,000 scale, will appear in the map window. Left mouse click
inside the frame and drag it to cover the tenement area and geology to the left
side of the tenements.
When you are satisfied with the frame position, select the Scaled
Output>Accept Map Position menu option. The map window resizes to the
area of the transparent map frame. The Discover Map Grid dialog box appears.
Click OK to accept the default parameters. A grid is drawn into the map
window.
The titleblock dialog box opens next. Enter the following details:
Title Line 1 Tiger Snake Mining

Title Line 2 Geology Map
Title Line 3 Tenement Locations.
Author (your name)
The default titleblock position is bottom right inside. From the titleblock
position list, choose Bottom Right Outside.
The default Scalebar position is Show ScaleBar in Titleblock. Other options

give you the opportunity to list the layers of the map window in the layout. The
default display position is Bottom Right. For the purpose of this tutorial, set the
display to No List. Press OK to create the titleblock, and a layout window.
Step 7. Add Scaled Frame to Layout

We need to add the legend to the layout window. Make the Geology Legend
map window active and select the Discover>Map Making>Add Scaled Frame
to Layout menu item. Fill in the dialog box as below.
Adding a scaled frame for the legend into the layout
The legend is added to the layout window. Paper measurements appear along
the side of the layout window in centimetres. Take a moment to examine the
legend position with reference to the layout measurements and the information
that was entered in the above dialog box. This should provide a good idea of
how Add Scaled Frame to Layout works.
For A size paper, enter a value of 21.9 cm for Offset from left. You can
always adjust the position of the frame once it has been added to the layout.
Step 8. Creating a Location Map

The final requirement is to add a location map to the layout window. Choose
File>Open Table. From the Tutorial Map Making directory, open the table
Australia in a New Map Window.
We need to draw a red rectangle to represent the location of our map within
Australia, and we will use the Key-In-Shapes tool. The coordinates for the
rectangle have been previously determined.
Select Discover>Oject Editing>Key-In-Shapes. Choose to draw onto the
Cosmetic Layer. Click on Rectangle as object type, click on the polygon icon
and choose a Red colour. XY units are in decimal degrees. Press the Enter
Coordinates button. Enter XY coordinate pairs as follows:
Corner 1 X = 121.41 Y = -26.81

Corner 2 X = 122.98 Y = -25.52
Click OK and then Exit. Choose Map>Save Cosmetic Objects to a new table
Location Area. Then view the entire layer for Australia.
Step 9. Adding the Location Map to the Layout Window

The Location Map Window should be active. Select Map Making>Add
Scaled Frame to Layout. Fill in the dialog box with the following parameters:
Scale: 1:100,000,000
Frame width: 5 cm
Frame height: 4 cm
Offset from left: 23.6 cm
Offset from top: 0.9 cm
Map centre: 133.38º, -27.18º
The location map is added to the layout window. If you are using A size paper,
enter a value of 21.9 for Offset from left (x cm).
From the Drawing toolbar, click on the Text Style button, and choose font
size 8. Then click on the Text icon, position your cursor in the bottom left
corner of the location map (in the layout window), and type Location Map.
Step 10. Exit Scaled Output and Plot Map

Choose Scaled Output>Exit. A dialog box appears allowing you to save the
map grid, titleblock and a workspace. If you want to plot more copies of your
map later, you should check the three boxes and enter appropriate table names
to save the titleblock and map grid. If you don’t, you may need to go through
the scaled output process to create the map again.
With the finally scaled map displayed you can the print the map by choosing
File>Print. An example map with titleblock, legend and location map is shown
below. You can nominate to use the Print to File option if you do not have the
correct printer connected, or if you need to print multiple copies of this map at a
later date.
417000 m E
417500 m E
418000 m E
418500 m E
419000 m E
419500 m E
420000 m E
Location Map
7106000 m N E98/460 7106000 m N
E98/459
7105500 m N 7105500 m N
Geological Legend
Tiger Claim Group
Au Quartzite
Permian
7105000 m N 7105000 m N Pb Aplites, Diorites, Segmatites

Carboniferous
Zn Basalts, Dolerites, Andesites

Silurian
Fault Metagabbros Metadiorites

Ordovician
E98/457 Anticline Felsic Porphyry

Ordovician
Syncline Lamprophyres
Cambrian
Alluvium Gabbros, Microgabbros

Quaternary Pre-cambrian
Colluvial
7104500 m N 7104500 m N Quaternary
E98/458
Encom Technology
Tiger Snake Mining

Date:19/2/1999 Geological Map
Author:
Tenement Locations
7104000 m N Office: Melbourne
417500 m E
418000 m E
418500 m E
419000 m E
419500 m E
420000 m E
Drawing:
Scale: 1:15000 Projection: AMG Zone 51 (AGD 66)
0 125 250 500
metres
Scaled map with titleblock, scalebar, legend and location inset

Dataset Building Tutorial 19
3 Dataset Building Tutorial

In this tutorial you will learn the steps required to develop a polygon spatial
dataset, using the example of building a geological map.
Assume that you have been given a map, which is a hand drawn geological
interpretation of the study area. The final digital map must show differing line
styles for the linework, and all geological units are to be attributed and coloured
appropriately.
In order to build the attributed polygon map from digitized linework, we will
perform the following tasks:
• Digitizing
• Cleaning linework
• Smoothing linework
• Building polygons
• Building a colour table
• Colouring the map
• Line annotation
• Labelling.
An Exercise in Building a Geological Map

There are a number of tables associated with this tutorial that are referred to
frequently. The data is located in the Discover_Tutorial\Dataset Building
directory and you are encouraged to view them.
Step 1. Digitizing
When the digitizer has been set up (see the MapInfo Users’ Guide for more
information on digitizing in MapInfo), create two tables for the linework.
Ensure that there is a character column in each table called Lifestyle and save
this table in the appropriate coordinate system.
The first table holds all the line segments that form the boundaries of the
geological units (for example, lithological boundary, Fault - normal, Fault -
thrust, Unconformity etc). The second table holds all the line segments that do
not form a boundary (for example, trend line and faults etc.).
Note We are digitizing linework into two separate tables as this provides greater
flexibility during the rest of the dataset building process.
Decide what is to be digitized first, either a boundary or non-boundary, and

make that table editable. You will find that you swap between entering data in
both tables as the digitizing progresses.
Use the Map Making>Styles Library function when digitizing the linework to
apply the appropriate attribute to the linework. This function is applicable for
lines, points and polygons.
Select the style you want (see the on-line help to create new styles not listed in
the Styles Library). For example, if you decide to digitize a fault, select Fault –
Normal. An example of the line style is shown in the adjacent style button. You
can click on the line style icon to change the line style. At the bottom of the
dialog box, place a checkmark in the box beside Apply style name as
attribute. Under tables, select the editable table, and under column choose
Linestyle. Click on Apply.
Digitize the first Fault - Normal. The line has the correct style, colour and
weight. Open a browser window of the table and the single record shown has
the attribute. You may wish to have the browser open to the side of the map
window so you can check progress. Return to the style library each time you
need to change styles.
Note Note that when you change to another table, you need to reset the Table and
Column choices in the dialog box.
As you digitize, ensure that you use the Snap function to join the ends of lines
at every intersection (keyboard toggle key - S). Whenever two lines intersect
you should begin a new line, though this can be done automatically at a later
stage. You do not have to split lines when digitizing into the second table,
because these lines do not form a boundary.
If the boundary line being digitized has a sharp corner, you should break the
line at the apex, otherwise when the line is smoothed, the definition of the sharp
corner may be lost.
There are two tables named Bound and Line2 in the

Discover_Tutorial\Dataset Building directory. These tables represent
examples of newly digitized data. Open these two tables and with a browser
window open, check the attributes of the various line styles. See how the two
tables contain boundaries and non-boundaries respectively.
Newly digitized linework split according to whether it forms a polygon boundary
The boundary table, Bound, is shown with a thin black line, and the Line2 is
displayed with the thick black line. You can see how one line is split between
two tables according to whether it forms a polygon boundary or not.
Step 2. Cleaning Linework

After digitizing is completed, both tables of digitized linework need checking.
Ensure that where one line is split between two tables, the end nodes are
snapped to the continuation lines in the other table. You may also want to
manually smooth some lines that need a little adjustment (select the editable
line- Edit>Reshape and modify accordingly), and look for line segments that
are not snapped.
The Line2 table needs checking as outlined above. The Bound table needs
further work to make sure that it is clean for polygonizing.
Select the Object Editing>Auto Polygonize menu item, and the Polygonize
menu appears on the MapInfo menu bar. Choose the Clean Linework menu
option from the Polygonize menu. You need to nominate a new table in which
to save the cleaned linework. Check the Show Misclosures box and leave the
Misclosure Tolerance value at 1. When this linework cleaning is complete, the
screen shows your original table and a series of stars in a table called MisClose,
which indicates the line intersections that need to be checked.
If you display both the original linework and the new table (using style
overrides of different colours for each) you can see which lines need further
checking.
Misclosures identified by the Polygonizer
This example is exaggerated. However, it does illustrate two common problems

that need to be corrected for polygonizing to be successful.
1. Over shoot – Line continues beyond the point at which it should terminate
2. Under shoot – Lines do not continue far enough.
The stars in the map above are from the table MisClose, which was created by
the Polygonize function, Clean Linework.
Step 3. Smoothing Linework

After digitized linework has been cleaned, you may want to smooth some or all
of the lines. Smoothing does not affect the location of the lines, but can
substantially improve the linework appearance by interpolating between
original node locations. As noted above, do not smooth lines that have sharp
corners.
When smoothing, you can either smooth directly over the original lines or save
smoothed lines to a new table. We recommend that you choose the latter option
so that you can always revert to unsmoothed linework.
Ensure your table of linework is open and select the lines you wish to smooth.
Now choose Object Editing>Polyline Smoother and select the Save
smoothed lines to new table option.
When smoothing is complete, display both tables (the original and the
smoothed) with different coloured style overrides. Check over the linework,
looking for areas where the smoother has been too aggressive, or has adversely
changed the line appearance. Edit the original linework, adding or deleting
nodes in order to give the smoothing function a better line to follow. Close the
smoothed table and repeat the procedure, on the original table, until the
smoother has given the required result
.Newly digitized data – Bound Same area smoother – Boundsm
Open Boundsm from the Tutorial folder. Display with the unsmoothed Bound
and compare. There are a series of magenta lines in the Boundsm that close off
the linework for polygonizing, and are added after smoothing. When you add
these lines make sure they are snapped at the ends.
Step 4. Building Polygons

Select all of the lines in the smoothed table of boundary linework, return to the
Polygonize menu options and select Build Polygons. Check the Cut out
inlying polygons box, save to a new table and click OK.
When the polygonizer has finished, add the polygon table to the map window
and assign a coloured fill style override. You may need to do some editing in
the areas where polygons have not been formed. Check that the linework is
snapped and clean. Use auto-trace (see the MapInfo Users’ Guide) with the
polygon tool. Alternatively, copy specific line segments to a new table, create
the polygon there and copy the changes back into the original polygon table.
Open a browser of the polygon table. The newly formed polygons have the
attributes of the original lines. Clear the attributes by updating the column.
From the MapInfo menu bar, choose Table>Update Column and enter the
following parameters:
Table to Update polygon

Column to Update LineStyle
Get Value from Table polygon
Value “” (ie. an empty text string)
Although the linestyle field will ultimately be filled with the MapCode for each
polygon, clearing this column first means that a simple query can be used to
ascertain if any polygons have been missed when colouring the map.
Choose Table>Maintenance>Table Structure and rename the first column in

the polygon table from Linestyle to MapCode.
Step 5. Building a Colour Table

Before colouring the geological units (the polygons), a colour table must be
created. This table will hold the geological codes for each polygon, the colour
definition for each unit and a description, if required.
As this is a completely new dataset, you need a new colour table. Collate a list
of as many geological codes as you can from the original map. Have some idea
of what colour scheme you wish to use for these codes and spend some time
making sure that your list is complete.
Choose the Colour Maps option from the Discover menu and select the Create
Empty Colour Table option from the Choose Action dialog. Save a new colour
table called Finalcol, and an empty browser is opened.
From the MapInfo menu bar, select Edit>New Row. This adds a blank row to
the browser. By holding down the Ctrl key and hitting the ‘E’ key, you can
rapidly add the required number of rows. When this is done, choose File>Save
Table. In the browser, work your way down the MapCode column, entering the
geological unit codes as you go. If required, add in the description information
for each code at the same time.
Go back to the ColourMap menu item and choose Action. This time with
Select Colour Table checked, choose the new colour table and the first column
in this table, MapCode. Click OK.
Return to the ColourMap menu, and select the Edit Colour Table menu item.
This dialog box allows you to highlight each geological code in turn and define
the colour fill and linestyle. Select the code from the list and the region and line
boxes appear. These are shown in black because they are the “null” colours.
Choose the colour for this polygon code, and make sure that the Accept button
is clicked before you go to the next code, otherwise your region and line
patterns are not stored. As you choose patterns, the browser table will be
automatically updated with the pattern descriptions in the appropriate columns.
Click OK, and your colour table is ready for use.
The example in the Tutorial Dataset Building directory is called Finalcol,

displayed below without the description fields.
Colour table browser
You can go back and edit the colour table at any time. If you have a polygon
code that is not in the table, you can add a new line to the browser, add in the
code, and then edit the colour table as before to give the polygon code a region
style. If you change the colour of a unit, during or after the map colouring, you
need to re-colour the map, or select the edited unit and update the region colour
style of the selected objects.
Step 6. Attributing and Colouring the map

To attribute and colour the polygon map with the new colour table (which is
specific to this dataset), open a map window for the geological map and make
the polygon layer editable. Using the select tools, select one or more polygons
that has the same geological code (you need to ascertain this from the original
drawn map).
With the polygon(s) selected you can then apply the appropriate colour and
attribute using the Styles Library function in Discover. From the Map Style
dialog, choose the Use Styles from Discover Colour Table option. Select the
new colour table, choose the column named MapCode, and click OK.
In Object Attributes (at the bottom of the Map Styles dialog), check the Apply
style name as attribute for new or selected objects option. Specify your
polygon table and the column into which the geological code is placed
(MapCode). Select the style to apply to the selected polygons and click on
Apply.
Attributing and colouring the polygon dataset with Map Styles
The selected polygon(s) are coloured. If you open the polygon table browser the
code column will contain the updated geological code for the selected objects
and the message window indicates the current style.
Continue the process until all polygons have been coloured, using the Styles
Library button on the tool bar to speed up the process. To check for polygons
which have not yet been coded and coloured, use Discover’s Select by Group
and choose records where the MapCode = “”. You should also use the Styles
Library to apply styles and attributes to linework such as faults and fold axes.
Step 7. Line Annotation

For linework that requires annotating, such as fault, unconformity and fold axes,
Discover has a function that adds the annotations to the line table, or to a
specific annotation table. Colour, size and frequency of the line annotation can
be specified.
Select the lines that you want to give the same annotations (that is, lines that are
of the same type and where the annotations are facing in the same direction).
You can select the lines easily using Discover
Select by Graphical Styles or Select by Group functions.

From the Map Making>Line Annotation dialog box specify the frequency of
the annotation symbol; line annotation type - character or non-character;
annotation style - size, colour, direction etc. Use a map scale of 1:5,000,000, an
annotation interval of 50 km and annotation size of 5.
You should use the cosmetic layer as you can easily redo the annotation for a
different spacing or size. When the annotation is completed, save the cosmetic
objects to the annotation table. The table Finalann contains the annotations for
our example dataset.
Fault annotation added to a line
Step 8. Labelling
To label the geological units, choose the Map Making>Text Labels menu
option. Select the polygon table of geological units, and choose the MapCode
column. In Label Style set the scale for the text (use 1:5,000,000), the text size
and font, and any offset or label line requirements (not required for this
exercise). The text labels appears at the specified size only at the map scale that
you nominate. As the map is zoomed out, labels appear smaller, and vice versa.
Modifying the automatic placement of labels.
The labels are placed on the Cosmetic Layer and should be saved to a new
table.
Step 9. Workspace
Open the workspace TUTORIAL.WOR. This opens the final tables created
from the original tables, Bound and Line2, together with the annotation tables.
From Layer Control, note the order in which the layers are displayed. The
polygon layer is at the base, with the linework above, and the text and
annotations on top.
Surfaces Tutorial 29
4 Create and Analyse Surfaces Tutorial

This tutorial shows how gridded surfaces and contour plans can be created and
used in Discover. A topographic dataset containing spot heights is used.
An Exercise in Surface Modelling and Analysis

Elevation data, stored as a series of spot height points, is located in the
Discover_Tutorial \Surfaces directory in the table called Spot Heights. The
objectives of this tutorial are to interpolate a surface grid and generate a contour
plan from this data, create a profile, determine grid slope and aspect, perform
sun-shading, and clip the grid to a region.
Step 1. Generate a Grid and Contour plan for Elevation data

Open the table Spot Heights. Choose Map>View Entire Layer, then select all
points. From the Discover menu, choose Create and Analyse Surfaces, and the
Surfaces menu is added to the MapInfo menu bar.
Choose Surfaces>Grid and Contour>Triangulation. Choose elevation as the

Z parameter to grid.
Click the Make Grid button and enter a grid cell size (X and Y should be the
same) of 150 m. For grid output, choose Save Grid as Raster BIL. Enter a
table name such as Topo Grid. Click Save and OK.
Next, click the Make Contours button. A minor contour interval of 100 and
major contour interval of 500 should be chosen. Save the Output Contour
Table to a table name Contours. Press Save and OK.
All parameters have now been set up. If you wish to save them for future use,
click the Save Setting button and enter a setting name, such as Demo1. Click
OK.
Click OK to start the triangulation. When complete, an elevation grid

(commonly referred to as a DEM – Digital Elevation Model) and contours are
added to the map window. To make visualisation easier, you may want to
choose Query>Unselect All to remove the point selection.
Complete the exercise by closing all tables except for the one named Topo Grid.
Step 2. Create a Profile

Open the Topo Polys table. This table contains coloured polygons representing
elevation ranges. However, a polygon table containing geology could also be
used. When a profile is created, the surface line is coloured according to the
polygons intersected in the Topo Polys table.
Make the Cosmetic Layer editable, and with the Line tool, draw a line across
the centre of the image, from left to right. Then select the line.
Choose the Surfaces>Make Profile button, and enter information as below.
Specifying parameters for profile generation
A map window opens containing the profile. You may wish to repeat the
exercise and check the differences if Auto-scaling of z-axis is enabled, or
Smoothed Profile is chosen. If you want to save your profile, you should click
on the Save As button and choose an appropriate table name. Otherwise, the
temporary table Profile is always overwritten.
It is not necessary to enter polygon drape parameters. If left blank, a solid black
line is drawn which represents the surface profile. However, the polygon drape
option is useful for examining geology, tenements or vegetation crossed by the
profile.
Complete the exercise by closing all tables.
Step 3. Grid Queries

The surfaces module contains a powerful grid analysis tool that lets you select
portions of the grid that meets specific criteria for elevation, slope and aspect.
Grid cells that meet the specified criteria are saved as polygons in a new layer.
Open the table Topo Grid. Select Surfaces>Grid Query>Select by Elevation,

Slope, Aspect. In the dialog box, enter values as shown below. Choose a red fill
for the region style.
Grid query parameters for identifying areas by elevation, aspect and slope
This query returns polygons for all grid cells that are between 500 and 800
metres elevation, on a slope between 5 and 10 degrees, and whose aspect is to
the south. You may wish to verify the results by opening the Contours table
and adding it to the map window containing the Gridquery layer.
Experiment with other query parameters.
Note The previous query is overwritten unless you choose a new name for the output
table under Save Polygons to Table.
Close all tables except for Topo Grid before proceeding to the next exercise.
Step 4. Creating a Slope or Aspect Grid

You can easily create a new grid containing slope or aspect values derived from
an elevation grid using Discover.
Choose Surfaces>Grid Arithmetic>Horizontal Grid Arithmetic. In the

dialog box, enter Topo Grid as the name of the grid table, choose Slope as the
operation, and choose Percent of Slope. Click on the Save As button, and enter
the table name Slope Percent. Click OK to start processing.
A new map window opens containing a raster image showing the percent of
slope.
The grid can be queried using GridInfo tool. Click on the GridInfo button, and
then click on an area of the raster image that you wish to query.
Discover reports the value for the central grid cell selected, as well as the
surrounding eight grid cells. Repeat the exercise choosing Slope as the
operation, and choose Degrees of Slope. Now repeat the process using Aspect,
and create a grid illustrating the aspect of the DEM.
Step 5. Altering Grid Colours and Applying Sun Shading

Display the file Topo Grid in a new map window. It is currently displayed
using the rainbow colour scheme. The grid colour should be changed to an
elevation colour scheme with real-time sun-shading applied.
To alter the grid colour, choose Surfaces>Modify Grid Display>Alter Grid

Colours. Choose Elevation from the colour scheme list and full linear stretch.
The grid is now displayed with colours ranging from blue (lowest) through
brown to white (highest).
In this same dialog you have the option of applying various forms of grid
colouring, such as histogram equalisation, autoclip linear stretch, colour to
percentile breaks and colour to data breaks. These are more appropriate when
visualizing geochemical and geophysical grids.
Choose Surfaces>Modify Grid Display>Sun-shading. Check the turn Sun-

shading On option. Set the sun angle to NW with an elevation of 50º.
Experiment with other colour schemes, sun angles and elevations. You need to
set the sun-shading separately for each grid.
Complete the exercise by closing all tables, except Topo Grid.
Step 6. Clipping a Grid

Often you may need to clip a portion of a grid to a polygon boundary. For
example, you wish to have a geophysical grid clipped to a tenement boundary.
Open the table Ten Poly containing a polygon mask representing a tenement
boundary. Add it to the map window containing Topo Grid. Select the Ten
Poly polygon.
Choose Surfaces>Clip Grid to Region. Accept the default parameters, name

the output grid Surface Grid, and click OK. The resulting grid appears. All
steps covered previously may be applied to this new grid.
Step 7. Volume Calculations

Assume you wish to determine the total volume of regolith in your tenement
area. To do this, subtract the surface elevation grid from the regolith elevation
grid and calculate the volume contained in the resulting regolith thickness grid.
The table Spot Heights contains columns for surface elevation and the regolith
RL (Relative Level or elevation) value. We need to create two grids based on
these surfaces, subtract the surface from the regolith surface (to get regolith
thickness), and calculate a volume on the resulting area.
Repeat Step 1 to create two grids, one grid based on the surface RL and one grid
based on the Regolith RL column. Choose Inverse Distance Weighting using 6
nearest neighbours. Name the output grids Surface Grid and Regolith Grid
respectively.
Then execute Step 6 to clip the grids to the Stripping Poly boundary (in the
Discover_Tutorial\Surfaces directory). Call the output tables Surface RL
Grid and Regolith RL Grid.
Subtract the two grids (Surface RL Grid as Input #1 and Regolith RL Grid as
Input #2) using Surfaces>Grid Arithmetic>Merge Grids.
Subtracting 2 elevation grids to generate a thickness grid
The resulting grid contains the regolith thickness.

To calculate the volume of regolith, choose Surfaces>Grid

Arithmetic>Calculate Volume for a Level. Choose>0 for the level to
calculate the volume to. The resulting answer is displayed in a MapInfo
message box. The value is based on the grid Z scale as well as the map units, in
this case, metres, thus the answer is in cubic metres.
Step 8. Points to Regions (Voronoi Polygons)

A set of Voronoi polygons can be created from point data and then mapped
thematically.
Open the table Spot Heights and choose Map>View Entire Layer. Select all
points in the table with Query>Select All from Spot Heights.
From the Surfaces menu, choose Surfaces>Points to Regions. In the dialog

box that appears, specify an output table (call it Voronoi). Choose the default
option of Clip Polygons to Convex Hull. Click OK.
A new layer containing the polygons will be created. Each polygon has an
elevation associated with it. Producing a thematic map allows you to visualize
the results.
Choose Map>Create Thematic Map. For users of MapInfo Professional

version 4.5 and later, choose Region Ranges Default. Otherwise, select a
Range option. Click Next and ensure that the table Voronoi and the column
Elevation are selected. Click Next.
The resulting default ranges are not what we require, so press the Ranges
button and choose Custom as the method. Choose five ranges and break them
down as shown. After entering the ranges, press the Recalc button prior to
clicking OK.
Creating thematic map ranges for Voronoi Polygon elevations
Click on the styles button and choose a colour for each of the five ranges. A
suggestion is (from low to high values): blue, dark green, light green, yellow
and red. Click OK twice. You may wish to overlay the Contours table to
observe the relationship between these two derived datasets.
Complete the tutorial by closing all tables and choosing Exit Surfaces from the
Surfaces menu.
3D Display Tutorial 37
5 3D Display of Grid Data Tutorial

The objective of this tutorial is to show you how to produce a 3D display of
Grid Image data using Discover and MapInfo. You will also register a GeoTiff
raster image for use in 3D display.
In the previous tutorial you created a surface from point data using triangulation
gridding. Such surfaces (or imported grids) could be used in this tutorial where
we investigate 3 dimensional displays with overlays from other surfaces and
data.
An Exercise in Grid Display and 3D Map Creation

The data for this tutorial is located in the Discover_Tutorial\3D directory.
Step 1. Setup Grid Configuration

Choose the Discover>Grid Configuration menu item and make sure the Use
MapInfo Grid handlers (when possible) option is set enabled. This option
ensures that the internal operations of surfaces uses the Grid Handlers supplied
by Discover plus enables the use of grid handling for use in 3D. Note that the
grid format selection is not relevant at this stage since it applies only to defining
output formats. See the Discover Reference Manual for more information on
Grid Image Formats.
Grid Format configuration enabling the Grid Handlers.

Step 2. Register a Grid

From the Discover menu, choose Create and Analyse Surfaces. The Surfaces
menu is added to the MapInfo toolbar. Select Surfaces>Register Grid
File>ER Mapper Grid. Select and open the grid file DTM.ERS. The ER
Mapper Grid Registration dialog is populated with the registration information
contained in the header file of the grid.
Registering the ER Mapper grid and with its appropriate projection category.
Click the CoordSys button and select the Projection Category (Australian Map
Grid AGD66) and Category Member (AMG Zone 52 (AGD66)). Click OK to
assign the correct MapInfo projection to the grid image table and display the
surface in a Map Window. This processing also creates a .TAB file with the
necessary surface registration information for the image data imported in the ER
Mapper image file.
Step 3. Alter Grid Colours and Modify the Grid Histogram

The ER Mapper DTM.ERS grid is initially displayed in the Map Window using
a greyscale colour scheme. To alter the colour or histogram stretch of the
surface display, choose Surfaces>Modify Grid Display>Alter grid colours.
Choose newgrey from the colour pattern list and set Autoclip linear stretch to
99% of the data range.
Grid Display Colouring dialog to control the image appearance.
In this dialog you have other options of applying various forms of grid
colouring. Options include histogram equalisation, full linear stretch, colour
percentile breaks and colour to data breaks. The most appropriate for displaying
digital terrain data is using a linear stretch. Click OK after setting the Autoclip
option. The grid is now displayed with grey colouring (the newgrey look-up
table) ranging from dark grey (lowest) through to white (highest).
As a variation of the displayed surface you could also choose the

Surfaces>Modify Grid Display>Sun-shading. Enable the Sun-shading on
option and leave the sunangle position as default.
Sun-shading dialog to modify the appaerance of the grid surface.
Note that the digital terrain surface indicates some areas of elevated topography
surrounded by a relatively flat plain with occasional east-west sand dune ‘lines’.
Step 3. Drape Vector Data over Raster Data in 3D

Open the table Geology and select Current Mapper as the preferred view. The
Geology table contains polygons of the various geological units within this area.
Also open the table Faults into the Current Mapper in the same manner.
Note that the layering order (as indicated in

the Enhanced Layer Control is Faults,
Geology and DTM. This order (as for any
Map Window), ensures that the faults and
geology drape over the DTM surface. If one
of the vector layers (Faults or Geology) were
displayed below the DTM, it would not be
visible.
From the MapInfo menu, select Map>Create 3DMap. Alter the appearance of
the 3D map by selecting Units as meters and change the Scale to 0.5. The Scale
factor determines the extent of vertical exaggeration of the resulting 3D display.
Leave the Camera and Light Position as default and click OK.
Dialog to create and control the appearance of 3D displays.
Once the 3D Map has been generated you can easily alter the properties of the
3D display. Click the right mouse button in the 3D Map window and select
Properties.
Figure showing the resulting 3D Image
To learn about navigation of the 3D display, try pressing and holding the left
mouse button while moving the cursor in the display window. Also select the
Zoom in, out and Pan MapInfo buttons and similarly use the cursor to alter the
view position.
GeoTiff Registration and 3D Map Display

The DTM surface used in the example above is derived from an ER Mapper
grid file. In the following section, a registered TIFF file (a GeoTiff) is used as
input. GeoTiff images can be created in software packages such as ER Mapper
or supplied from remote sensing vendors.
Step 4. Register a Raster Image

Select Tool Manager from the MapInfo Tools menu. Place a tick beside the
GeoTiff Registration in the column labelled Loaded. This allows you to
access the GeoTiff Registration processing.
Note If the GeoTiff Registration option is not available in the Tools>Tool Manager,
it needs to be added. Select the Add Tool button and provide a Title and
Description of the application. From the Location browse button, navigate to
the MapInfo Tools directory and select the GEOREG.MBX application. By
specifying this .MBX file and clicking OK, the tool is then available for loading
by the Tool Manager.
Adding the GEOREG.MBX application to the MapInfo Tools list.
When available, select Tools>Georeg>Register a raster image and choose and

open the RADIOMETRICS.TIF in the Discover_Tutorial\3D directory. A map
window displaying the registered tiff is displayed.
Registered image of the Radimetrics.tif GeoTiff file.
Step 5. Create 3D Display

Open the DTM table into the Current Mapper displaying the radiometrics. Alter
the display order moving the Radiometrics table above the DTM table using the
drag and drop method of the Enhanced Layer Control (not in Grouped view).
Enhanced Layer Control with order of layers repared for 3D display of DTM and Radiometrics layers.
From the MapInfo menu, select Map>Create 3DMap. Alter the appearance of
the 3Dmap. Select Units as meters and change the Scale to 0.5. Leave the
Camera and Light Position as default and click OK.
Figure showing the resulting 3D image
The resulting image has the radiometrics tiff geo-referenced and draped over the
underlying DTM surface. As previously, you can manipulate the view of the 3D
display as desired.
Also included in the Discover_Tutorial/3D directory are a Total Magnetic

Intensity ER Mapper grid (TMI.ERS) and a GeoTiff file (TMIRAS.TIF). You may
wish to experiment further with these files in a similar way to the DTM and
radiometrics surfaces.
Complete the tutorial by closing all tables and choosing Exit Surfaces from the
Surfaces menu.
6 Drillhole Display Tutorial

This tutorial shows you how to produce drillhole cross-sections and plans using
Discover. You will look at the data format required, learn the procedures for
creating sections and learn how to produce a section layout. For more
information on the Drillhole Display module in Discover, refer to the Discover
Reference Manual.
In order to display the drillhole data you will follow these steps:
• Prepare downhole data
• Validate the downhole data
• Map the collar locations
• Generate an elevation plan for the collar map
• Create cross-sections
• Create colour patterns for the downhole data
• Display downhole data on the sections
• View individual drillholes in log style display
• Digitize sectional interpretation
• Calculate sectional resource
• Composite downhole data
• Add a section to the layout window and print.
An Exercise in Drillhole Display

The objective of this tutorial is to produce a series of east-west sections and a
plan section for inclusion in an assessment report. The dataset is a diamond
drilling program conducted on a gold prospect, consisting of 11 holes totalling
1585 m.
Data Sources
Drill data (collar, survey, lithology and sample data) have been entered in the
field into an Access database. Assay data have been returned from the
laboratory in Excel format. Surface geology has been previously digitized and is
in MapInfo format.
Note This tutorial uses an Access database, that can only be used with MapInfo
Professional version 4.1 or later.
These files are located in the Discover_Tutorial\Drillholes directory. The files

are named DRILL.MDB, ASSAYS.XLS, and SURFACE_GEOLOGY.TAB.
Preparing Data prior to Viewing Drillholes

• The Excel format assay data need to be merged with the assay intervals in
the Access database
• Other Access tables need to be registered in MapInfo
• Objects need to be created for the collar locations
• A DEM needs to be generated from the collar elevations.
Step 1. Merging of Sample Data and Assay Data

Start by opening the Excel spreadsheet for assay data in MapInfo.
Open the file of assay data by choosing File>Open Table and changing Files of
type to Microsoft Excel. Highlight ASSAYS.XLS and press Open. Under
Named Range, use the drop down menu to select Other. Change the start cell
row number from A1 to A2 to account for column titles in Row 1. The window
should now display Assays!A2:D318. Click OK. Put a checkmark in the box
stating Use Row Above Selected Range for Column Titles. Click OK. A
browser window opens displaying the columns SampNo, Au, As, Cu contained
within this database.
Open the Access database containing the sample data as follows:
Open the file of sample data by choosing File>Open Table and changing Files
of type to Microsoft Access Database. Highlight DRILLING.MDB and press
Open. Highlight the Samples table and press OK. A browser window appears
displaying the columns ID, HoleID, From, To and SampNo.
You will need to modify the table structure of the samples database to append
the assay information. Note that the original Access database is modified to
incorporate your changes.
Choose Table>Maintenance>Table Structure>Samples. Add the fields Au,

As and Cu, all of type Float. Also, place a checkmark in the Index column for
the field SampNo. Click OK and ignore the warning message that appears
regarding unsupported fields.
Now add the assay values to the samples database. Choose Table
Utilities>Multiple Column Update. We wish to Update values in Samples
and Get values from Assays. Complete the join condition where SampNo in
the update table matches SampNo in the join table. Choose three as the
Number of columns to update. Click OK. In the next dialog box that appears,
ensure that the Au, As and Cu columns match up accordingly in both tables.
Press the OK button. The assay information is added to the samples table. To
make the changes permanent, save the table from the file menu.
The Assays spreadsheet table can be closed.
Step 2. Opening the Remaining Access Tables in MapInfo

Open the collar, survey and lithology tables in MapInfo.
As before, choose File>Open Table and change Files of type to Microsoft

Access Database. Highlight Drilling.mdb and click Open. Highlight the Collars,
Lithology, and Survey table. Click OK.
Step 3. Create Objects for the Collars

From the MapInfo menu bar, choose Table>Create Points. In the dialog box
that appears, we want to Create points for table Collars. Click on the symbol
icon, and choose a Red Filled Circle, 8 point font size and OK. Enter Easting
for the x-coordinate and Northing for the Y-coordinate.
Press the Projection button to choose the appropriate AMG Zone. Under
Category, choose Australian Map Grid (AGD 66). Under Category
members choose AMG Zone 51(AGD 66) and click OK. Click OK in the
Create Points window. The collars can now be viewed by choosing
Window>New Map Window.
Note that if you don’t click on the Projection button MapInfo uses the default
longitude/latitude coordinate system. When viewed in a map window, the points
would be stacked upon each other at the north pole (360º, 90º). If this happens,
go back to Table>Maintenance>Table Structure and remove the check in the
box Table is Mappable. Then repeat the procedure outlined above.
Step 4. Generation of Contours from the Collar Elevations

You can optionally use a topographic surface with cross sections. If a
topographic surface is not used, then the surface topography is inferred by
joining together adjacent collars.
If topographic data is not available, or as in this exercise, collars are closely

spaced, the digital elevation model and associated contours can be generated
using Discover.
Choose Query>Select All from Collars. Next, choose Discover>Create and

Analyse Surfaces. From the Surfaces menu that is added to the menu bar,
choose Grid and Contour and Inverse Distance Weighting.
Choose RL for the Z parameter.
Press the Make Grid button and ensure the grid x, y cell size values are 5 m.
Place a checkmark in the Save grid as MapInfo polygons box and enter the
table name Surface_grid (save in the Discover_Tutorial\Drillholes directory).
Press OK and then press the Make Contours button.
We want to create Regular Contour Intervals, with 1 as the minor interval and
5 as the major interval. Place a checkmark in the box Specify
minimum/maximum interval to contour between. Enter 80 as the minimum,
and 90 as the maximum. Click the Output Contour Table button and enter
Surface_contours (save in the Discover_Tutorial Drillholes directory). Then
click Save, then OK twice, after which contours are drawn on the map window.
Close all tables before proceeding.
Creating Sections
Step 1. Setup Discover to Create Sections
Select Discover>DrillHole Display. A menu item named Drillholes is added to
the MapInfo menu bar, to the right of the Discover menu item.
Choose Drillholes>Setup. Click the New button and enter a name for the drill
project. For the tutorial, enter Drill Demo and click OK. Select the directory
that contains the data (Discover_Tutorial\Drillholes,) and then enter the
appropriate information in the Project Definition dialog as shown below. You
can open the tables directly from this dialog if necessary.
Defining a Drillhole project by selecting the data tables to use
When the OK button is clicked, the Assign Spatial Columns dialog appears.
Ensure that the columns match the entries required. If not, use the drop down
lists to match the appropriate columns. The sample dataset does not have a
negative sign in front of collar dips. Therefore, leave the Down Dip is negative
option unchecked. Depth units are metres.
Click OK followed by OK again on the Choose Project window to complete

the setup procedure.
Step 2. Validating your Database

Select Drillholes>Validate Database. In the dialog box that appears, choose
the option Validate all Drillholes. Click OK.
The data validation dialog allows you to specify the table to check and what
criteria to check for. Choose the table Samples. Place checkmarks beside all
options that have become enabled. In the Duplicate sample numbers in
column selection, specify the column SampNo.
Choose Output validation details to log file. Enter the file name
RESULTS.TXT. Click the Save button, followed by the OK button. The
validation results are also displayed in the message window.
Open RESULTS.TXT in Wordpad. The results show that there are no problems
with the data. If there were, problems would be listed, and it would be necessary
to return to the original Access database to make corrections.
Step 3. Select the Collars to Include in the Section

You can select drill collars to use for a cross-section by three different methods:
1. You type in values for the easting, northing, line orientation and line length
2. You select the collars using the SHIFT key and left mouse button
3. You draw a line, select the line and specify an envelope width.
You need to use the third method. Make the cosmetic layer editable, then select
the line tool from the drawing toolbar and draw a horizontal line (left to right)
through the bottom four collars. Your line should be drawn slightly north of the
collars, so that all contour lines are intersected (make sure the
Surface_contours table is open). If contour lines are not intersected, your
profile consists only of straight lines (representing topography) between collars.
Select the line you have just drawn. Choose Drillholes>Select New Section. In
the Hole Selection by control group, check the Use Selected Line option.
Specify an envelope width of 10 m. To produce a number of east-west sections,

click on the Multiple Sections button and check the Generate Multiple
Sections options. Choose 3 sections, with an offset to zero degrees of 20 m and
click OK.
Click on the Annotate button. Check the surface line display is turned on, and
that the hole label size is set to 6 for a scale of 1:1,000. Note that in order to
assist with file management you can save the sections to named sub-directories
under the main project directory to assist with file management.
Click on the Plot Now button to create the three sections, offset to the north in
20 metre increments.
Step 4. Editing Display Colour Patterns for Sections

Prior to displaying downhole data on the section, you need to create colour
patterns relevant to the data ranges. For this example we create an individual
pattern for lithology and a ranged colour pattern for grade-shading Au text
values.
Click on Drillholes>Edit Colour Patterns, select New Pattern in the Colour

Pattern drop down menu and click Edit. .
Enter a Pattern Name of Au_Shading, select Pattern Type as Ranged and

number of ranges as 4. Click OK. Type in four from and to ranges and after
each range click on the line symbol icon and select a colour to associate with
the Au range. For example,
Range 1: From 0 To 1, Line colour blue

Range 2: From 1 To 3, Line colour green
Range 3: From 3 To 6, Line colour yellow
Range 4: From 6 To 100, Line colour red
When plotting downhole Au values in Step 4, simply select Au_Shading to

invoke the colouring scheme.
To create the colour pattern for lithology, proceed as above for a New Pattern,
but choose a Pattern Type of Individual, and check the Build colour pattern
from values in a table checkbox. Name this pattern Rock_Colours. Click OK,
and choose the Lithology table and the Rock column from which to get the
code list. Choose the codes to include in the colour pattern (maximum of 16)
and click OK.
From the Colour Pattern Definition dialog, you then need to assign colours to
each rock code. You can use a % in the code or value name to act as a wild
card. Alternatively, you can use an existing Discover colour table instead of
creating a new pattern.
Step 5. Annotate the sections

Select Drillholes>Display downhole data. A maximum of sixteen downhole
variables can be plotted. For this exercise, however, you only display three. The
sections are to be annotated with rock (trace shade centred on the drill trace),
gold (Au) values as text to the right and arsenic (As) values as a line graph to
the left of the drill trace.
To specify the Rock display, use the table list (beside the first row) to select the
table Lithology. Then pick the column name Rock from the next list, and
choose Trace Shade from the display type list.
Default parameters appears in a Trace Shade window and to select your

lithology colour look up scheme setup in Step 3, click on the Colour Pattern
drop down menu and chose Rock_Colours. Leave other settings so that the trace
shade is 1 mm wide at a scale of 1:1000 with an offset of 0 mm so that it is

centred on the drill trace. Then click OK.
To define the Au text labels, nominate Samples, Au and Text in the second row
of the dialog box. From the Text Labels dialog, select the Au_Shading colour
pattern setup in Step 4, and place a checkmark in the Auto scale labels to fit
intervals box. Leave the positioning set to display to the right of the drill trace.
Repeat the process for the third row, with Samples, As, and Linegraph. Note the
As values range between 20 and 3900 ppm. Given the wide data range, you
need to set an appropriate scale. Set the range to 0.02 for map scale of 1:1000.
If you use a higher value, a warning message suggests that you choose a smaller
value. Set the line to a red colour, by clicking on the line style button and select
red. Position the linegraph on the left side of the drill trace with an offset of
1 mm and click OK.
Part of the downhole data display definition dialog showing the current display scheme
Save this current data display setting, by clicking the Save button at the top of
the dialog. Save to a setting called Drill Demo. This setting can then be used in
future to ensure that sections are viewed with a consistent data display.
Check the Display Annotation - Data Legend option so that the ranged and
individual colour patterns are displayed as a key.
Press Apply and select the three sections that have been created in the Apply to
Sections box. Click OK. The selected downhole data is drawn on the three
sections.
Step 6 (optional). Using Previously Created Sections

The sections that we have just created have been saved with the drillhole
Section Manager. The section manager allows us to recall previously created
sections and open them from a list. If you did not previously set the sections to
be stored with the section manager, you can do this now.
Select the Setup menu option, choose the Demo Drill project and click the
Section Manager button. Click the Add button, select a section to add and
press OK. Repeat the process to Add the remaining two sections.
Press the Done button to finish.
Step 7. Producing a Log Display

Log displays can be used to display multiple columns of information for
individual drillholes in an easy to view display. Up to 24 different columns of
information can be displayed for a drillhole in a log.
To produce a log display, return to the drillhole location map window (with
geology, contours and collars) and select one drillhole. Then choose the
Drillholes>Log Display menu item.
The Global Settings button allows modification of a number of defaults,

including global dimensions, display styles and data handling. Many of these
settings can also be changed for individual columns.
From the Drillhole log display window, choose the Lithology table from the list
of tables at the top left. Now chose the Rock column from the Available
Columns window, and click the >> button. Then click on the Settings button to
choose the log display settings for this column.
Select the Trace Shade log type, with the Rock_Colours pattern, and click OK
twice.
Then choose the Samples table and Au, As and Cu columns. Click on the
settings button and choose Linegraph for the log type and the Fill from Trace
Shade option to fill the linegraphs with the lithology log defined above. Leave
the other settings and click OK twice.
The four columns chosen for the log are now listed in the main dialog. You can
alter the settings individually for these columns by clicking on the settings
button. You can save this log display setting so that it can be used again later.
Click OK and Discover creates the drillhole log for each of the columns. If you
selected more than multiple drillholes, then a log for each drillhole would be
created in a separate table.
Step 8. On-screen Interpretation

Geological interpretations of mineralization or lithological boundaries can be
digitized on screen from the sections that have been generated. Select one of the
sections created above and click Drillholes>Boundary Digitizing>Digitize
Boundaries. Discover automatically creates a new table to hold the digitized
information. The table is called <section_name>_B and is automatically added
to the section window and made editable.
Any type of object may be digitized. For this exercise, digitize high-grade Au
ore pods. From the Region Style button on the drawing toolbar, choose an
appropriate colour. Then with the Polygon button selected, proceed to digitize
the interpreted ore zones.
After each ore polygon has been closed, you need to add the attribute data in the
browser window in the column Feature_Code. Additional fields may be added
to this table if required.
Continue the on-screen interpretation for medium and low grade mineralization.
Remember to File>Save Table on a regular basis.
Once boundaries have been digitized, they may be exported as 3D DXF

coordinates for use in another software package. Choose Drillholes>Boundary
Digitising>Export Boundaries.
Step 9. Generating Sectional Resources

The resource calculator uses an inverse distance weighting interpolator to
generate a sectional resource for any numerical downhole data.
To create a sectional resource, you need to use one of the sections generated
above and into which you have digitized some mineralization boundaries. Click
on Drillholes>Sectional Resource Calculator. Choose one of the available
sections and click OK. From the Select a Table list, click on samples. Click on
Au in the From Column box and choose the option to use digitized boundaries.
Enter volume/mass parameters and then click OK.
Now select OK from the Gridding Section window to accept the grid defaults.
The sectional resource will be processed and displayed.
Step 10. Downhole Compositing of Attribute Data

The Discover data compositing feature allows the compositing of downhole
attribute data by attribute, cut-off grade, elevation or downhole depth.
You can composite by downhole depth by selecting Drillholes>Downhole

Compositing>By Downhole Depth. Select holes DDH5 and DDH6. Click OK
twice. In the dialog box that appears, select a 10 m composite interval and
highlight the table Samples. Click the OK button to start processing.
When processing is complete, you can observe the results by opening a new
browser window for Samplescomp. This composite data can now be displayed
in section just like any other downhole data table, as it is automatically added to
the project.
You may also wish to experiment with other methods of compositing.
Step 11. Display a Section Grid

To add a map grid to the section, make a section window the front map window.
The grid is drawn to fill the current map window view.
Choose Drillholes>Draw Section Grid. The x and depth spacing can be

specified independently of each other. Choose an X-value of 25 metres and
elevation of 20 metres. Use the default parameters of grid lines and labels at left
and top, and ensure a check mark is in the Place labels in mask polygon
outside map frame box. Click OK.
If you are not satisfied with the grid position relative to the section, you can
move the section and repeat the grid process. The previous section grid is
overwritten, unless you change the default table name into which the section
grid is created.
Step 12. Printing a Drillhole Section

The following assumes that the section is to be printed to A4 Landscape size
(29.7 cm wide by 21 cm high).
Choose Drillholes>Add Section to Layout. In the dialog, place a checkmark in
Add Plan of Collars to Layout box, which results in a geological map with
collar positions being drawn above the corresponding section. Enter the
following frame parameters.
Scale 1:1000
Frame Width (cm) 25
Frame Height (cm) 15
Frame Top (RL) 110
Frame Left 805585
Choose the section N8475240 and click OK. The section grid dialog box
appears again and you should enter suitable parameters as described in step 11,
then click OK.
Section 8475240N with data display legend printed from the layout window
A layout window containing the section will appear. Discover will have added
information about the section to the layout window. If you do not want this
information on the layout, select the text and press the Delete key.
Step 13. Printing a Drillhole Plan

Make the collar map window active. Select the collars of interest. Then choose
Drillholes>Select New Section. In the dialog box that appears, choose
Horizontal Plan (in the upper left corner). Type in a plan name and press Plot
Now. If you wish to plot the plan, use the Add Scaled Frame to Layout or the
Scaled Output function.
Alternatively, if you wish to create a level plan within a certain elevation range,
click on Use elevation range. Nominate the central elevation and an envelope
width. Thus if you choose a central elevation of 35, with an envelope width of
10, only that portion of the hole from 45 to 25 metres elevation is displayed.
Downhole data can be displayed on the plan section, using the same procedure
as outlined for sections in Step 5.
Index 59
Index
Add Scaled Frame to Layout, 16, 17, cleaning lines and building polygons,
42 22, 24
Colour Maps, 25 Draw by Coordinates, 16
creating a new colour table, 25 Polygonizer
Draw by Coordinates, 16 cleaning linework and building
Drillhole Display polygons, 22, 24
add section to layout, 41 Query
compositing downhole data, 40 by Graphical Style, 10
creating and using colour patterns, 36 Scaled Output, 14
data validation, 34 frame settings, 14
digitizing boundaries, 39 titleblock, 15
displaying downhole data, 36 user defined map position, 14
exporting boundaries to 3D DXF, 39 See-Thru Shading, 9
interpolating resources, 39 Select by Graphical Style, 10
log display, 38 Styles Library, 21, 26
section manager, 38 Surface Creation and Analysis
viewing drillholes in section or plan, changing grid colours, 47
35 colour stretching, 47
Geological Line Annotation, 10, 27 contours, 33, 44
Legend, 12 inverse distance weighted
re-ordering, 13 interpolation, 33
Line Annotation, 10, 27 merging and clipping grids, 47
Map Labelling Tools, 11, 28 profile over grid or contours, 45
Map Making query by elevation, slope and aspect,
Add Scaled Frame to Layout, 16 46
Colour Maps, 25 sun shading, 47
Labelling, 11, 28 triangulation, 44
Legend, 12 volume reporting, 49
Line Annotation, 10, 27 Table Utilities
Styles Library, 21, 26 Multi-column Update, 32
vector polygon fills, 9 tutorial, 7
Object Editing Voronoi Polygons, 49

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Discover

Integrated GIS for the Geosciences

Encom Technology Pty Ltd

Discover Release History

© Copyright 2001, Encom Technology Pty Ltd

2 Map Making Tutorial 9

3 Dataset Building Tutorial 19

4 Create and Analyse Surfaces Tutorial 29

5 3D Display of Grid Data Tutorial 37

6 Drillhole Display Tutorial 46

Discover has been developed by Encom Technology specifically for

The tutorials supplied for Discover are designed to be operated by either

2 Map Making Tutorial

An Exercise in Map Production

Step 1. Open Map Layers

Geology, Structures, Minerals and Tenements

Check the layer order in Enhanced Layer Control. It should be as follows:

Step 2. Apply See Thru Shading

From the Discover menu, choose Map Making>SeeThru Shading. A message

Step 3. Line Annotation

Adding annotation to selected lines

Step 4. Text Labels

The labels need to be saved to a new layer. Choose Map>Save Cosmetic

Step 5. Producing a Map Legend

Generating a legend for the geology map

Re-ordering legend entries for the geology layer

To place the lithologies in chronological order, order them as shown in the

When the OK button is pressed, the geological legend is displayed in a new

Step 6. Generating Scaled Hardcopy Output

You can determine if adjustment is required by completing the scaled output

Title Line 1 Tiger Snake Mining

The default Scalebar position is Show ScaleBar in Titleblock. Other options

Step 7. Add Scaled Frame to Layout

Adding a scaled frame for the legend into the layout

Step 8. Creating a Location Map

Corner 1 X = 121.41 Y = -26.81

Step 9. Adding the Location Map to the Layout Window

Step 10. Exit Scaled Output and Plot Map

Tiger Claim Group

7105000 m N 7105000 m N Pb Aplites, Diorites, Segmatites

Zn Basalts, Dolerites, Andesites

Fault Metagabbros Metadiorites

E98/457 Anticline Felsic Porphyry

Alluvium Gabbros, Microgabbros

7104500 m N 7104500 m N Quaternary

Tiger Snake Mining

Scale: 1:15000 Projection: AMG Zone 51 (AGD 66)

0 125 250 500

Scaled map with titleblock, scalebar, legend and location inset

3 Dataset Building Tutorial

An Exercise in Building a Geological Map

Decide what is to be digitized first, either a boundary or non-boundary, and

There are two tables named Bound and Line2 in the

Newly digitized linework split according to whether it forms a polygon boundary

Step 2. Cleaning Linework

Misclosures identified by the Polygonizer

This example is exaggerated. However, it does illustrate two common problems

Step 3. Smoothing Linework

.Newly digitized data – Bound Same area smoother – Boundsm

Step 4. Building Polygons

Table to Update polygon

Choose Table>Maintenance>Table Structure and rename the first column in

Step 5. Building a Colour Table