Surfer Tutorial

You may want to print these instructions and refer to them as you go through the Surfer tutorial.  You can download the Surfer demo software from our "software download page" page.

The Surfer for Windows Demo

Thank you for your interest in Surfer for Windows. The short procedures presented in this demo are designed to introduce you to some of the features of Surfer for Windows.

The topics covered are:

• Understanding How to Use Surfer

• Starting the Surfer for Windows Demo

• Creating a Grid File

• Creating a Contour Map

• Creating a Surface Plot

• Posting Data Points and Working with Overlays

• Using On-line Help

• Exiting the Surfer for Windows Demo

Understanding How to Use Surfer

The most common application of Surfer is to create a contour map or surface plot from an XYZ data file. The Data command from the Grid menu uses an XYZ data file to produce a grid [.GRD] file. The grid file is then used by the Contour command to produce a contour map, or used by the Surface command to produce a surface plot.

Starting the Surfer for Windows Demo

1. To install the Surfer for Windows demo, make sure that Windows 3.1, Windows 95 or Windows NT is installed and running properly.

2. Download the Surfer Demo self extracting executable file from our website.

3. Double click on the .exe icon, then follow the setup instructions.

After you have followed the demo installation procedure, a Golden Software group is created in the Windows Program Manager.   To begin a Surfer Demo session:

1. Double-click the Surfer Demo icon in the Golden Software group.

2. The Surfer Demo is started, and a new empty Plot window is displayed.   This is the work area where you can produce grid files, contour maps, surface plots, or any other map type.

3. A number of Surfer samples are included with the demo. To view the sample files, choose the Open command from the File menu, and double-click any of the SAMPLEx.SRF files.

Creating a Grid File

Grid [.GRD] files are required to produce a contour map or surface plot. Grid files are created using the Data command from the Grid menu. The Data command requires data in an XYZ data file. We have included a sample XYZ data file (TUTORWS.DAT) with Surfer, so you can see how to produce a grid file. This is the grid file used in subsequent sections of this demo tutorial.

You can also create a grid file from your own XYZ data file. Surfer for Windows can use comma or space delimited ASCII data files, Microsoft SYLK [.SLK] files, Excel [.XLS] files, or Lotus [.WK1] or [.WKS] files.

To produce a grid file from "TUTORWS.DAT":

1. Choose the Data command from the Grid menu. The Open Data dialog box is displayed. This allows you to select the XYZ data file from which you will produce a grid [.GRD] file.

2. In the list of files, click the file "TUTORWS.DAT", and the name appears in the File Name edit box above the list of data files. Click OK and the Scattered Data Interpolation dialog box is displayed. Alternatively, you can double-click the data file name to display the Scattered Data Interpolation dialog box.

3. The Scattered Data Interpolation dialog box allows you to control the gridding parameters. Take a moment to look over the options in the dialog box.  You don't need to make any changes at this time, because the default parameters create an acceptable grid file.  The Data Columns group specifies the columns containing the X and Y coordinates, and the Z values in the data file.  The Grid Line Geometry group specifies the XY grid limits, the grid spacing and the number of grid lines (also referred to as rows and columns) to include in the grid file.  The Gridding Method group specifies the interpolation method to use and the parameters controlling the interpolation.  The Output Grid File group specifies the path and file name for the grid file to be created.

4. Click OK, and a Status dialog box is displayed, indicating the progress of the gridding procedure. When gridding is complete, the grid file "TUTORWS.GRD" is created, and Surfer beeps to indicate that the grid file has been created.  By accepting the defaults, the grid file uses the same name as the data file, but with a [.GRD] extension, and it is written to the same drive and directory as the data file.

Creating a Contour Map

The Contour command from the Map menu creates a contour map based on a grid [.GRD] file.

To create a contour map of the "TUTORWS.GRD" file you just created:

1. Choose the Contour command from the Map menu. The Open Grid dialog box is displayed. The grid file you just created (TUTORWS.GRD) is automatically entered in the File Name edit box. Click OK and the Contour Map dialog box is displayed. If you created the grid file in a previous session, click TUTORWS.GRD from the files list, and click OK.

2. The default parameters in the Contour Map dialog box create an acceptable contour map. We will return to this dialog box later. For now, click OK, and a contour map is created from "TUTORWS.GRD".

3. If you want the contour map to fill the window, choose the Fit to Window command from the View menu. The view of the contour map is magnified so the map fills the Plot window.

Changing Contour Levels

After you create a contour map, you can easily modify any of the map features.  For example, you might want to change the contour levels displayed on the map.  To change any of the map features, you can double-click the map to display the Contour Map dialog box.

1. Place the pointer inside the limits of the contour map and double-click.  The Contour Map dialog box is displayed.

2. The Contour Levels group displays the contour levels and contour line attributes for the map. In this example, the contour levels begin at Z = 20, with a contour interval of 5.

3. You can easily change the contour range and interval. Click the Level button and the Contour Levels dialog box is displayed. This shows the Minimum and Maximum contour level for the map and the contour Interval.

4. Double-click in the Interval edit box and the value is highlighted. Type in the value 10 to change the contour interval for this map. Click OK and the Contour Levels list is updated to reflect the change.

5. Click OK in the Contour Map dialog box and the map is redrawn with the new contour levels.

Changing Contour Line Attributes

In the Contour Levels group of the Contour Map dialog box, you can double-click any of the elements in the list to modify the individual elements. For example, you can click an individual Z value in the list and change the Z value for that particular contour level. You can also double-click the line sample for an individual level to modify the attributes for the selected level. This provides a way to emphasize individual contour levels on the map.

1. Double-click the contour map and the Contour Map dialog box is displayed.

2. In the Contour Levels group, double-click the line sample for the contour level at Z = 70. The Line Attributes dialog box is displayed.

3. From here you can select any line color, style or width for the selected line. In the Width edit box, click the up arrow and change the width value to 0.030 in. Click OK and the Contour Levels list is updated to reflect the change.

4. Click OK in the Contour Map dialog box and the map is redrawn. The contour line at Z = 70 is drawn with a thicker line, and is emphasized on the map.

Adding a Color Fill Between Contour Lines

You can add color fill between contour lines. You can assign color fill to individual levels in the same way that you change line attributes for contour lines. You can also assign a gradational blend from one color to another.

1. Double-click the contour map and the Contour Map dialog box is displayed.

2. In the Contour Levels group, click the Fill button and the Fill Spectrum dialog box is displayed. The Minimum button displays the fill color for the minimum contour level, and the Maximum button displays the fill color for the maximum contour level.

3. Click the Minimum button and the Fill Attributes dialog box is displayed.  This allows you to specify the color and the pattern to assign to the minimum contour level on the map. Choose the color "Blue" from the color palette, and click OK. The Minimum button is now blue in the Fill Spectrum dialog box.   Click OK and the fill colors in the Contour Levels list are updated to reflect the change.

4. In the Filled Contours group, click the Fill Contours checkbox.

5. Click OK and the contour map is redrawn with color fill between the contours.

Creating a Surface Plot

Surface plots are three dimensional representations of a grid file. To create a surface plot in a new empty Plot window:

1. Choose the New command from the File menu. The New Window dialog box is displayed. Select the Plot option, and click OK. A new empty plot window is displayed.

2. Choose the Surface command from the Map menu. The Open Grid dialog box is displayed. Choose the grid file "TUTORWS.GRD" from the list of files, and click OK. The Surface Plot dialog box is displayed.

3. Click OK to accept all the defaults, and a surface plot based on "TUTORWS.GRD" is drawn. Surface plots are drawn with a Z axis in addition to the other axes.

Changing the Orientation of a Surface Plot

You can display any map at any orientation and tilt. Although this example uses a surface plot to illustrate this feature, you can perform this operation on any type of map in Surfer.

1. Click the surface plot and selection handles appear surrounding the surface.

2. Choose the 3D View command from the Map menu. The View dialog box is displayed. This gives you control over the tilt, rotation, and the projection type for the selected map or surface plot.

3. Use the Rotation scroll bar to change the rotation to 210o. As you change the rotation angle, the graphic image in the dialog box changes to indicate the orientation.

4. Use the Tilt scroll bar to change the angle to 40o.

5. Click OK in the dialog box and the surface plot is redrawn at the new orientation and tilt angles.

Posting Data Points and Working with Overlays

Post maps are created by placing points on a map, and labeling the points with any type of information. Data files contain the XY coordinates used to position the points on the map, and also can contain the labels to be placed at  each point. Posting data points on a map can be useful for determining the distribution of data points, as well as placing data or text information at specific points on the map.

When you post data points on a contour map or surface plot, you "overlay" the post map on the contour map or surface plot. Map overlays are not restricted to contour maps and post maps. You can overlay any combination of contour maps, base maps (maps containing boundaries), and post maps.

When you create a post map, you are creating a new map independent of any other maps in the current plot window. When the two maps are displayed, you will notice that there are two sets of axes, one set for each map. When you use the Overlay Maps command from the Map menu, the two maps are combined into a single map overlay with one set of axes.

1. Choose the Open command from the File menu to display the File Open dialog box. Choose "TUTORIAL.SRF" and click OK to display the contour map contained in TUTORIAL.SRF.

2. Choose the Post command from the Map menu. The Open Data dialog box is displayed. This allows you to select the data file from which you will produce the post map.

3. In the list of files, click "TUTORWS.DAT", and the name appears in the File Name edit box. Click OK and the Post Map dialog box is displayed.

4. Click the Default Symbol button to display Symbol Attributes dialog box.

5. Choose the filled circle symbol from the Symbol palette and click OK. The symbol appears in the Symbol button. This is the symbol that will appear at the posted data points on the map.

6. In the Fixed Size edit box of the Symbol Size group, specify a size of 0.10 in.

7. Click OK and the post map is drawn over the contour map. The contour map and post map are two separate maps on the page. If you look closely at the X axis you will notice the two sets of axis tick labels for the two maps.

8. To see that there are two separate maps, place the mouse pointer in the center of the maps and click. Press and hold mouse Button 1 and move the pointer slightly in any direction. Release Button 1 and the two maps are offset. You might move either the contour map or the post map.

9. Press the F2 key on the keyboard to select both maps. The F2 key selects all objects in the Plot window.

10. Choose the Overlay Maps command from the Map menu and the two maps are combined in a single overlay.

Selecting a Map from the Overlay and Assigning an Object ID

After you create map overlays, you can still modify the individual maps in the overlay. There are two ways to select the maps in the overlay: You can double click the maps or you can select the overlay and choose the Edit Overlays command from the Map menu.

To select an overlapping map using the mouse, you often need to use the CTRL key. In fact, whenever two or more objects occupy the same position in the Plot window, you might have to use the CTRL key to select the desired object. The CTRL key allows you to cycle through the selection of overlapping objects. For example, if you want to select a text block behind a rectangle, or a surface plot behind a contour map, hold down the CTRL key and click until the object you want is selected. You can use the Status Bar to help you to select the object.

To select a map from the overlay, and assign an Object ID to the map:

1. Move the mouse pointer on top of the overlay and click. The selected map in the overlay is indicated in the Status Bar. For example, if the selected map is the contour map, the Status Bar would indicate "Map: Tutorial Contour Map".

2. To select the other map in the overlay, leave the mouse pointer over the maps, hold down the CTRL key on the keyboard, and click again. Check the Status Bar, and the other map should now be selected. For example, the Status Bar should now report "Map: Post".

3. When the Status Bar indicates that the post map is selected, choose the Object ID command from the Edit menu.

4. In the Object ID dialog box, type the name "Tutorial Post Map" and click OK. The Status Bar reflects the change to the ID for the post map.

Adding Posting Labels to the Post Map in the Overlay

You can add labels to the data points on the post map of the overlay. In this procedure we will select the post map using the Edit Overlays command. Alternatively you could select "Tutorial Post Map" from the overlay, and double-click to display the Post Map dialog box.

1. Select the overlay, and choose the Edit Overlays command from the Map menu. The Edit Components dialog box is displayed with a list of all the objects included in the overlay.

2. Select Tutorial Post Map from the Overlays list, and click the Edit button. The Post Map dialog box is displayed.

3. In the Worksheet Columns group, click the Label drop-down list, and a list of columns in "TUTORWS.DAT" is displayed.

4. Select Column C: Elevation from the list. This is the column containing the Z values from "TUTORWS.DAT".

5. Click the Format button and the Label Format dialog box is displayed. Change the Decimal Digits value to zero, because the precision of the elevation data points is to the nearest foot. Click OK to return to the Post Map dialog box.

6. Click OK and the overlay is redrawn with labels on each of the data points.

Using On-Line Help

The Surfer help system allows you to easily obtain information on any menu item or dialog box. There are several ways to obtain information within Surfer:

You can select a command from the Help menu. For example, the Contents command displays an index of help topics in the Surfer help system.

When you want information on a specific command, you can press SHIFT+F1 and the pointer changes to a question mark. When you select a menu command with this pointer, the Windows Help System is launched. Information on the selected command is displayed. For example, if you want to find out about the Overlay Maps command, press SHIFT+F1. Choose the Overlay Maps command from the Map menu. The Help System is launched and displays the Overlay Maps topic.

Pressing F1 while in a dialog box displays help on that topic. All of the parameters for the dialog box are included in the discussion. For example, when the Contour Map dialog box is displayed, you might want information on the Load button in the Contour Levels group. If you press F1, the Contour Map topic is displayed. You can use the scroll bar to move through the topic to find the discussion on the function of the Load button.

Exiting the Surfer for Windows Demo

To exit the Surfer for Windows demo, choose the Exit command from the File menu. Alternatively you can press ALT+F4.