Geomap

23rd
Annual
Seminar Geomap
Overview
The Geomap functions provide a method for quickly digitizing geologic lines and
symbols, plus some more exotic elements collectively called “geomap elements”.
Elements
The elements can be lines (polylines or
polygons), symbols, rulers (polyline with
ticks), labels, or face pictures.
All the geomap elements are 3-D and
are best viewed in a 3-D viewer.
Each element is attributed with a name
and material.
Standard geologic elements that are
put on a geologic map are provided
with this MineSight® tool; polylines
represent geologic contacts and faults;
polygons outline rock units; various
strike and dip symbols represent the
structural attitude of, for example,
bedding, fault planes, or veins.
Components
There are three Geomap components:
1) The Geomap Tool is the function
geologists use to digitize elements
in the MineSight® 3-D viewer.
2) The Geomap File contains
the definitions for the line and
symbol elements (e.g., line
thickness, color, symbol shape).
There is one Geomap File
assigned to the entire project by
the Administrator. This is the only
file that can be accessed by the
Geomap Tool. A default Geomap File is provided with MineSight® 3-D.
3) The Geomap File is managed by the Administrator using the Geomap Editor.
The Geomap Editor can add, delete, or modify elements in the Geomap File.
Geomap Tool
The Geomap Tool is intended as a convenient way for geologists to digitize lines,
symbols, labels, and other geomap elements.
Activate the tool via Tools | Geomap Tool on the MineSight® 3-D desktop.
The tool operates on the Open Edit (geometry) Object. Elements digitized in the
viewer are inserted into the Open Edit Object.
The elements can be positioned in the viewer using any of the usual MineSight® 3-D
snapping functions. Alternatively, the elements can be snapped to the Geomap Grid
Plane (discussed below).

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As the elements are inserted, they are placed in the selection buffer until saved in the 23rd
Open Edit Object. While in the selection buffer, the elements can be either highlighted
or displayed using their material properties depending on the settings in Selection |
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Properties on the MineSight® 3-D desktop. A shortcut button (Selection Props) to this Seminar
function is provided at the top of the Geomap Tool dialog.
The elements can be manipulated using any of the usual CAD functions.
Grid Page
The first time a geometry object is opened in the Geomap Tool, a default grid will be
created for you. If you don’t like this grid, define another using any of the options on the
grid page.

A new grid will be generated any time you choose a new plane (e.g., attach a grid set)
or choose to digitize a grid origin. If you change any parameters (e.g., the Length or
Rotation Angle) you must click Apply Grid to generate the new grid.
Note that the grid is a convenience not a requirement. You can choose to snap
geomap elements to the grid plane if you like. Also the grid provides a default
orientation for the symbols and face pictures. If you don’t want to see the grid, set the
Show grid toggle to OFF.
The geomap grid is only visible when the Geomap Tool is open and is part of the
geometry object.
Different geometry objects can have different grids, but each geometry object can have at
most one grid.
The grid plane is defined either by attaching a grid set, an edit grid, or an orthogonal
plane. If you choose to attach a grid set, all the set’s planes are available in the popdown.
Each time you change the plane, the geomap grid will be updated; the grid center will
automatically be moved to the closest point on the new plane.
The grid center can be defined either by specifying its coordinates or by digitizing in the
viewer. If you specify the coordinates, click Apply Grid to update the grid. If the specified
coordinates are not on the plane, the grid center will be moved to the closest point on the

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23rd plane. If you digitize in the viewer, the digitized point will be snapped to the specified
plane and the grid will be automatically updated.
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Changing the plane or digitizing the grid center automatically updates the grid.
Seminar Otherwise you need to click Apply Grid to implement the current grid parameters.
The grid has axes that provide the default orientation when digitizing a symbol (the
symbol orientation can be overridden on the Symbols page). A face picture always uses
the grid orientation and will always be inserted in the grid plane.
The grid extent is defined using the Length and Cell Interval fields. Unlike snapping
to the Edit Grid, snapping to the geomap grid plane only snaps to the plane, not the grid
nodes. So the grid extent is only a visual aide.
There are several grid Options. As mentioned above, you can hide the grid by
setting the Show grid toggle to off. All the grid properties will still be utilized (e.g., the
orientation or grid snapping), even if the grid is not be visible.
The visibility of the grid axes is controlled with the Show axes toggle. The color of the
axes can be changed by choosing a different Primary Highlight color from the Selection
Props | Color Preferences dialog. All other grid properties are controlled by the
Geomap Grid material.
The Snap to grid plane toggle will snap any digitizing done in the Geomap Tool to
the grid plane. Snapping to the grid plane overrides any other active snapping option.
Lines Page
To digitize a polyline or polygon,
go to the Lines page and click the
button corresponding to the polyline or
polygon you want.
Line elements come in two types:
polylines and polygons. In this tool,
polylines represent geologic contacts,
such as faults or unconformities.
Polygons can be used to outline
geologic rock types.
The icon displays the line as it will
be drawn using the material assigned
in the Geomap File. The polygon
symbols also show the fill color and
hatch pattern.
The line’s attributed name and
material is set by the Administrator
in the Geomap File via the Editor
and cannot be changed in the
Geomap Tool.
Tool tips display the attributed name and material, plus a comment if any, for each line.
Click a line button to start digitizing.
Lines are digitized in the same manner as Polyline | Create | Polyline or Polygon
and will respect any snapping modes including snapping to the geomap grid plane. You
can use the delete key to remove the last digitized point. Right click to end a line. Start a
new line or right click again to end line digitizing.

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Example: 23rd
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Seminar

This example shows how polylines and polygons can represent the geology on a face
picture. The thick green polylines represent faults. Polygons with fill patterns represent
different rock types.
Symbols Page
To digitize a symbol, go to the
Symbols page. Click on the button
representing symbol to digitize and
click in the viewer to insert the symbol.
The symbols are defined by the
project Administrator in the Editor. The
symbol properties (e.g., attributed name
and material, the size) are stored in the
Geomap File.
Except for the size and orientation,
the symbols are displayed on the
Geomap Tool buttons as they will be
shown in the viewer.
Tool tips will display the symbol
attributed name and material, plus a
comment, if any.
You can use any of the usual
snapping modes, including geomap grid
snapping, to position the symbol.
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23rd The default size of the symbol is set in the Editor, but can be overridden in the Geomap
Tool by toggling on the Symbol Size option at the bottom of the Symbols page.
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By activating the Orientation toggle, you can set the symbol Strike azimuth and Dip.
Seminar If this option is disabled, the Default Strike azimuth and Dip based on the grid plane
will be used.
Example:

This picture
shows the
Symbols page
and three
commonly used
geologic symbols
displayed in two
MineSight® 3-D
viewers. The
symbols are 3-D
elements. Note
that one viewer
has a horizontal
orientation
showing the strike
azimuth on the
horizontal plane.
The other viewer
has an oblique
orientation
showing the
symbol dipping
down.

Label Page
On the Label page you can add multi-
line, non-transformed labels. These labels
will always appear upright in the viewer.
Provision is made for wildcard tokens
(azimuth=$az, dip=$dip, and attributed
name=$name) and for attributing the label
with the name and material of the last-
digitized line or symbol.
There are three options for the Label
azimuth and Dip; each displays the value
to be used in the Az and Dip fields.
The values for AZ and Dip do not affect
how the label is displayed – the label will
always be upright. The values only affect
what is displayed for the wildcard tokens,
$az and $dip.

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The Use symbol option will get the azimuth and dip values that would be used for 23rd
a symbol. This means if the Symbols page Orientation toggle is OFF, the Default
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Strike azimuth and Dip (see definition in Symbols page section) will be used. If the
Orientation toggle is ON, then that orientation will be used. Seminar
Use the Set option to enter values to be used for $az and $dip.
The Use Grid option will get the azimuth and dip from the Default Strike azimuth
and dip on the Symbols page.
The label attributed name and material can either be set on the Labels page or gotten
from the previously digitized line or symbol. Note that the value for Name will be used
for the wildcard token $name.
Example:

This picture shows

a label using a strike
and dip symbol for
bedding. By toggling
Use symbol, the
wildcards $az and $dip
get their token values
from the strike and
dip values defined on
the Symbols page.
Viewer 1 shows the
strike and dip symbol
on a horizontal plane.
The other viewer has
an oblique orientation
to show the labels
are non-transformed
(always upright).

Ruler Page
A ruler is a polyline with tick marks. It is useful
for accurately locating geologic information on the
map. A ruler is digitized in the same manner as a
line and respects all snapping modes, including
snapping to the geomap grid plane.
The size of the tick marks and the tick spacing
are user-defined.
You can divide the distance between ticks into
smaller subdivisions. Setting the Subdivision
count to 1 disables the subticks.
The ruler attributed name and material can also
be modified on this page.

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23rd Example:
Annual
Seminar

Here a ruler is laid out along the floor in underground mine workings (blue outline),
and is snapped to survey points (also shown in blue).
Face Picture Page
The face picture is a flat parallelogram defined by a Horz Length, a Slant height, and
a Slant angle. The face picture can slant either right or left. The face picture is always
oriented in the direction of the geomap grid: the x-axis of the grid corresponds to the
horizontal axis of the face picture, and the y-axis corresponds to up on the face picture. The
face picture is positioned by digitizing it in the viewer. All snapping modes are respected
including snapping to the geomap grid.

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The ticks and subticks on the parallelogram allow accurate placement of geologic 23rd
elements on the face picture. Note the parallelogram can be slanted to follow the geologic
structure or mine design.
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Ticks and subticks are defined the same as the ruler. The ticks are numbered using the
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Tick distance as the increment. The precision of the numbering is determined by the
number of decimal places given in the Tick distance.
The face picture attributed name and material are set on the Face Picture page.
Example:

Here is a face picture using a 90º (not slanted) parallelogram shown in green. The
parallelogram helps the geologist to accurately place geologic symbols, contacts, and other
information. In this example, there are multiple rock types separated by two generations of
faulting (one red, one green). The ore zone is outlined with the thick, dashed pink line.
Geomap File
The Geomap File contains line and symbol definitions: the attributed name and
material, symbol shape and size, etc.
A default Geomap File is provided with MineSight® 3-D. It can be customized or a new
Geomap File can be created using the Geomap Editor.
There can be many Geomap Files, but only one is assigned to the project at any time.
The Geomap Tool uses the single Geomap File assigned to the project. Everyone
working on the project will access the same Geomap File in the Geomap Tool, and will
thus be using the same lines and symbols.
Geomap Editor
The Geomap Editor is the administrative tool for managing the set of geomap lines
and symbols used by the project. The project’s line and symbol definitions are stored in a
Geomap File.
The attributed names and materials for line and symbol elements are defined by the
project Administrator in the Geomap File via the Geomap Editor. All other geomap
element names and materials are defined in the Geomap Tool.
Any two elements having the same attributed name will necessarily have the same
attributed material. The Geomap Tool and Geomap Editor will issue a warning if you
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23rd try to assign a name and material to an element when another element already exists
having the same name but a different material. Proceed at your own risk.
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Open the Geomap Editor via Tools | Geomap Editor on the MineSight® 3-D desktop.
Seminar Note the Geomap Tool and Geomap Editor cannot both be open at the same time.
The first time the Geomap Editor is opened it will be display the lines and symbols
in the file default file provided with MineSight® 3-D: $(medexe)\geomap.gm. This file
cannot be modified; it is intended as a starting point. Use File | Save As to save the file to
a new name.
The name of the Geomap File associated with the project is stored in the
dialogs.ptf file. There can be only one Geomap File assigned to the project at a time.
Use File | Assign to Project to assign a different Geomap File to the project. Every time
the Geomap Tool is opened in the project, this Geomap File will be used. There is no
way to access a different Geomap File from the Geomap Tool.
Each line and symbol has an attributed name and material. All lines and symbols having
the same attributed name must have the same material. You cannot save the Geomap
File unless the attributed names and materials are consistently specified for all lines and
symbols. Any conflicts must be resolved before the Geomap Editor will save the file.
Use the Apply or Ok button to save the current Geomap File. Or save the file to
another name using File | Save As.
Lines Page
The polyline and polygon definitions are displayed on the Lines page.

The defined lines are listed in the table. The Icon column shows how the line will appear
on its button in the Geomap Tool.
The toggle in the Polygon column determines if the line will be a polyline or polygon.
The line’s attributed name and material can also be reset in the table. Each line (and
symbol) having the same attributed name must have the same material. Tool tips will
display the name and material for each line in the Geomap Tool.
A comment describing the line can be added. Any comment will also be displayed in the
Geomap Tool via tool tips.

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The table right-click menu allows you to select (or unselect) all the 23rd
lines currently defined in the table, or you can individually select a
line by toggling Select in the table.
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The selected lines can be either copied or deleted using the right-
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click menu.
Also on the right-click menu is the option to Refresh table. Use
Refresh table to update the table column widths (if, for example,
you’ve added a comment that’s wider than the current Comment column) or to update
the Icon if you’ve changed the properties for a line’s material.

New lines can be added in the New Line container

under the table. Use the Add button to append the
new line and set its parameters in the table.

Symbols Page
The currently-defined symbols are listed in the table on the Symbols page.

Symbols have more properties than lines. The symbol default Size can be set in the table.
The symbol is a square and the Size corresponds to the larger of either its height or width.
Note this value can be overridden by the Geomap Tool when the symbol is digitized.
The two columns labeled X pct and Y pct define the insertion point of the symbol. These
are integer percentages between zero and 100. It’s easiest to see how these work by an
example. Say a symbol has X pct = Y pct = 0. Choose the symbol in the Geomap Tool
and drag the cursor across the viewer. Note that the symbol is being dragged by the lower
left corner. This point corresponds to (0,0) on the symbol. If you change Y pct to 100, the
same symbol will be dragged by the upper left corner: (0,100). If you are using snapping,
the insertion point of the symbol gets snapped.
The symbols table has the same right-click menu options as the lines table: Select all,
Unselect all, Copy selected, Delete selected, and Refresh table.

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23rd New symbols are created from existing 2-D geometry; In a geometry object, digitize
a new symbol in a 2-D viewer using any of the usual MineSight® 3-D CAD functions.
Annual Symbols can contain polylines and polygons. Make sure only the symbol geometry exists
Seminar on the 2-D plane.

Add new symbols from the New Symbol container below the table.
Using the OCB selector button choose the object containing the 2-D geometry elements
and select (highlight) the elements to be used in the symbol.

An image of the symbol is displayed using its material parameters at the bottom left. To
rotate or invert the symbol, use the arrow buttons.
Click the Add button to append the symbol to the table.

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