Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Micromine 2021
BEGINNER
MM 1000 – Introduction to Micromine
Email: mm@micromine.com
WWW: http://www.micromine.com
Licence Agreement
The use of the software described in this manual is subject to a licence agree-
ment with MICROMINE. The software may only be used or copied in accord-
ance with the terms and conditions of that agreement.
Disclaimer
MICROMINE Pty Ltd and its subsidiaries will not accept any liability whatsoever
for any loss or damage arising from the use of the software or any other soft-
ware product mentioned in this manual; nor for any technical or editorial errors
or omissions made in this manual.
The mention of any other computer software product within this manual does
not imply any endorsement of such product by MICROMINE.
Copyright
MICROMINE is the owner of the software, and of all icons and logos within the
software, together with all soft- and hard-copy documentation. This manual
contains information protected by copyright. No part of this manual may be
photocopied or reproduced in any form without prior written consent from
MICROMINE.
© Copyright 1999, 2001 –2021 by MICROMINE Pty Ltd and its subsidiaries. All
rights reserved.
Editor: Authors:
Frank Bilki David Bartlett Alan LeBlanc
Frank Bilki Deb Marriner
Andrew Greenhill Erik Scheel
Michael Haffenden Tenille Szolkowski
Trademark Acknowledgment
Micromine, Geobank Mobile, and Geobank are trademarks of MICROMINE Pty Ltd and its subsid-
iaries. Other brands and product names mentioned in this manual are trademarks or registered
trademarks of their respective owners.
Introduction
This course is designed to show you how to start using Micromine and to in-
troduce some of the program’s key features. To make it as realistic as possible
it’s based on a scenario that will be familiar to many Micromine users.
Purpose
Phase 1 of the drilling program indicated a substantial resource. Your task is
to integrate and process the original data in order to evaluate the prospect
with a view to designing the Phase 2 drilling program. The purpose of the new
drilling program will be to provide in-fill data to enable the classification of the
resource as inferred, indicated or measured. The lessons that follow describe
the tasks you’ll need to undertake to achieve your objective.
Objectives
As a result of this course, you’ll have learnt to:
Approach
This course will be predominantly hands-on. Each new topic will begin with a
brief introduction followed by a practical exercise. A small training database
will be used for all exercises.
Trainee Prerequisites
The following skills are essential for obtaining the maximum benefit from this
course:
Because each part is self-contained, the page, lesson, and exercise numbers
reset to 1 at the beginning of each document. Your trainer will introduce each
part to you at the appropriate time.
Getting Help
Where appropriate, references to topics in Micromine’s help system are in-
cluded. These references provide further information about the current task as
well as topics that are related to that task. They also give you an opportunity
to become familiar with the help system.
For example:
Micromine also includes an offline help system, which is accessible via Help |
Offline Help. We recommend using the web help when you are connected to
the internet and the offline help whenever you are in the field.
Icon Meaning
Exercises
For exercises, the text uses a combination of bold and italic type to indicate
the correct response:
Style Denotes
Bold type The names of menu items, dialog boxes and
prompts that invoke or contribute to the primary
process being undertaken.
Italic type Entries you must type, or items you select from a
list, in dialog box responses and table fields.
A screenshot of the relevant form or dialog box with the correct entries.
A tabular display. The first column contains the name of the dialog
prompt and the second column contains the text or value to be entered.
For example, this screenshot of a dialog box (form) contains parameters you
might need to enter:
The same information could also be presented within the text as a table:
Prompt Setting
Name Templates
Location C:\MmData\
Create folder for project Enabled
Title File Template Location
Units METRIC
Use existing project as Disabled
template
System Prerequisites
Licensing
You must have a valid Micromine licence to complete the exercises in this
training manual. If you don’t have a licence, your trainer may supply you with
a temporary training licence for the duration of the course.
If you have been issued a temporary training licence, you must return the
security key (dongle) and delete the licence file at the end of the course.
A GIS application such as QGIS should be installed in order to view a GIS file.
Micromine Options
Micromine automatically applies the relevant options when it is installed. If you
share your Micromine licence with another person, confirm the following op-
tions before you begin the course. Check that in:
English is selected.
Tables
Sidebars
Exercises
Duration: 20 minutes
In Micromine the project is the primary place for storing and organising your
data. This lesson introduces you to projects and how you use them.
Using Projects
Projects
Normally you store the data from an area in a Micromine project. This includes
surface samples, drilling data, property boundaries, aerial surveys, photog-
raphy and any other related information. In addition to information about the
area, other information such as scripts, macros and form sets, are also stored
as part of a project.
You must create at least one project to begin working with Micromine. A pro-
ject is a folder or directory where you store files containing related information.
Once more than one project has been created, you can select a project from
a list of all projects. When you select a project, the files, macros and form sets
stored with that project are made available to you.
When you’re working in a project there’s no need to enter a file path i.e.
C:\Projects\Tenement1\...) to create or open files. The only time you work
outside the project is when you need to access external data.
To create a project, you enter a path, a project name, and a project title.
You subsequently refer to that project by its name. A project may be located
on the computer you’re using or on a network. In either case, we recommend
that you place all projects under a single parent folder.
You must also set the units for a project to metric or imperial when you first
create it. The default is metric. Imperial is only used when rock densities are
measured with a tonnage factor.
Notes:
When you create a new project, you can optionally use file structures, form
sets and macros from a similar project. This is a good approach because it
means you can reuse existing work and promote consistency between projects.
Some Micromine users create a template project and save any reusable file
structures, macros and form sets within it.
Micromine does several different things when you create or attach a project:
it creates a corresponding project (.PRO) file in your Micromine user profile, it
optionally creates the new project folder, and it adds default template files to
the folder if they don’t already exist.
You can rename, move, delete and attach projects. Renaming simply changes
the project name, whereas moving a project manages the entire process of
moving the project files from one location to another.
Because files from different projects are stored in different folders, you can
use the same filenames in each. For example, the projects “Demo” and “Train-
ing” can both have files named Collar.dat, Survey.dat and Assay.dat.
By default, when you open Micromine it will automatically load the last project
you were using.
Make sure the training data is installed on your PC or some location on your
network. You’ll need this data throughout this training course. See Installing
the data set for details.
The following exercises assume the training data is in this folder: Notes:
C:\MmData\Training
3. Click the browse button in the Project path edit box and navigate
to the folder C:\MmData\Training. Click the Select Folder button to
select the folder.
4. Enter the Project name. Generally, this is the name of the folder
containing the project data. In this case, enter: Training
5. Enter Micromine Training in the Project title.
6. Click OK to attach the project.
You have just attached and opened the Training project. Note how the
Micromine title bar at the top of the screen displays the new project’s name
and title, along with Micromine’s version and build number.
7. From the Vizex Layer Types pane near the top left of your screen,
click the expand icon next to the Saved Layers form type. You
should see three entries, Introducing Vizex, String Editor, and Geological
interpretation immediately below the Saved Layers label:
8. If you don’t see the entries shown here, check with your instructor
before proceeding.
Notes:
Optional Exercise 1.2: Create a new project
In this exercise you’ll create a new project that could potentially be used as a
template for future projects. It’s not intended to store any real data, just the
various file structures that might be re-used elsewhere.
4. Click OK to create the project. Micromine will open the new project and
display its name and title at the top of the Micromine window.
5. Switch back to the Training project by selecting Project and selecting
and double click in the Training Project
Under normal circumstances you’d begin creating template files within the
Templates project. When you next create a project, you can enable Use
existing project as template and then enter this project’s name. You can
then choose which items you want to re-use from the template project by
selecting from the options shown in the group at the bottom of the dialog.
Micromine’s project management options are located on the Project page and
are essential for anyone who uses different Micromine projects. For example,
you might be a consultant with many clients, or a worker at a mine with several
satellite operations.
This page gathers the tools for managing projects. With it you can open,
create, attach, detach, delete, move, and rename projects. You can also view
extended metadata on each project, including its location or path on your file
system and the time you last used it. Metadata columns are sortable; to keep
the last-used project at the top of the list simply sort the Date opened column
in descending order.
The associated More option includes many of these tasks, along with direct
access to Windows/File Explorer, and special browse tools that step forward
or backward through the project list.
In the next exercise you’ll detach a Micromine project. This involves deleting
the project (.PRO) file, which contains the reference to the project folder. It is
rather like deleting a shortcut from your Windows desktop; you remove the
reference to the folder but keep the folder and its contents intact.
Alternatively, you may wish to delete a project. This method deletes the .PRO
file along with the project folder and its contents. By default, deleted files are
sent to the recycle bin.
To detach a project:
From now on, the Templates project won’t appear in the list when you select
Project from the menu.
To delete a project and the files it contains, follow the same procedure but
click the Delete button instead.
To attach a project:
Good Practice
If you created the project folder in Windows, disable the Create folder for
project option when you use Project |New | Project New.
Encourage consistency in the way you store and process your data, and
in the appearance of output.
Reduce set-up time because you won’t have to re-create data file
structures, colour sets, macro files and form sets.
Duration: 40 minutes
Data files are the basic data container in Micromine. In this lesson you’ll learn
about the different types of data files and how to create and work with them.
After this lesson you’ll be able to:
Micromine uses several types of tabular files. The main types are Data, Survey
and String. These files are differentiated by file extension. The data file has
the extension DAT, the survey file SVY, and the string file STR, but in practice
you refer to them by type rather than by their extensions. There are no other
fundamental differences between these types of file. In fact, a file with the
same structure could have any of these extensions.
The main reason for having the different extensions is so you can group similar
files in a project. For example, geological data is often stored in data files;
contour strings and other string type data is stored in string files; and survey
information from total stations or theodolites is stored in survey files. You can
also arrange files into project subfolders for greater clarity.
Micromine also uses some non-tabular file types, for example, grid surfaces,
annotations, and wireframes, however it handles their creation and manage-
ment for you.
You must create the tabular files needed for a project. To do this you give the
new file a name and then define its structure. That is, the names and char-
acteristics of the fields in the file and the order in which they are stored.
Binary and numeric fields both hold numerical data. A Binary number field
stores a number using binary zeroes and ones that are not human readable,
whereas a Numeric field stores readable text that represents that number.
Binary number fields usually have better numerical accuracy, may reduce file
size and may produce noticeable speed improvements over Numeric fields.
Micromine supports the following binary number types:
Real
Float
Long integer
Short integer
Real and Float fields may optionally be formatted using significant digits in-
stead of decimals, which is useful for data whose magnitude can vary by sev-
eral orders of magnitude.
Ideally, all numerical data should be stored in a Binary number field. However,
binary numbers cannot contain the character codes e.g. “LNR”) and below
detection values e.g. “< 0.05” used by assay laboratories. These codes are
known as numeric exceptions. The following rules will be applied if you add
data containing numeric exceptions to a Binary number field:
The data will not be altered in any way if it is held in a Numeric field, making
this field type ideal for assay information.
Table 2.1 summarises the properties of binary field types. Real and Float fields
can handle decimal values. The ranges listed in the table are not relevant;
what is important is the number of significant figures or digits) of precision;
Real fields have around twice the precision of Float fields. Using the wrong
type won’t affect the overall scale of a number but will affect its level of
accuracy.
Long and Short Integer are integral types that cannot handle decimals. They
do not use significant figures; instead they have very specific limits on the size
of numbers that can be stored, also listed in Table 2.1. Using the wrong type
can be a problem with integer fields because a Short Integer will simply ignore
data beyond its limiting value of ±32,767. When in doubt you should always
use a larger field type.
Binary precision
Binary fields are not precision-limited. For example, consider a Numeric field
defined with three decimals. When you perform a calculation, the result is
stored with exactly three decimals. All other decimals are discarded. The same
calculation carried out on a Real field stores the full 15 decimals of precision
in the file, even if only three decimals are displayed.
Backward compatibility
Binary field-enabled files can only be used in Micromine 2011 and later. How-
ever, these files are easily exported to earlier Micromine versions by using File
| Convert | Convert to Text Format.
The main file preparation and processing tool is the File Editor, which provides
many useful features and data processing tools.
One of Micromine’s strengths is that you can copy the contents of a file or
change its structure at any time. Such flexibility is very convenient. However,
if you’re not using a central database it’s very easy to create copies of master
files and mistakenly enter new data into the copy instead of the original. To
avoid this, be sure to establish a convention that clearly defines your file nam-
ing procedures. A better alternative is to store your master data in a geological
database management system such as MICROMINE’s Geobank.
Options on the New File dialog give you control over the level of automation:
For full control over the file’s structure and contents, enable Auto open
file for editing.
For complete automation, select the drop down below New and select
New from Template submenu, choose a template File, and then
disable Modify new file structure and Auto open file for editing.
Creating a file involves two steps. Firstly, you define the file's name and type,
such as data or string, and secondly you define the name, type, format and
width of each field column contained within it.
Type can be Character, Numeric, Real, Float, Long, Short, Date, Date/Time,
or Colour. Bold characters indicate the corresponding keyboard shortcuts.
Width can be up to 255 for character or numeric fields but should be kept as
short as possible without compromising the data. Binary fields have fixed
widths as listed in Table 2.1.
Decimals in numeric fields should be enough for your requirements; you gain
nothing by choosing more decimals than needed. The decimal point is counted
as one character in a Numeric field, so be sure to allow for this when you set
its width. Formatting and decimals in binary numbers are only used for display.
Because you’ll be using the data set supplied as part of this course you only
need to create a couple of new data files in later lessons. However, to reinforce
the idea of the template project this task will show you how to create a collar
file that could be used as a template.
Before you begin this exercise make sure that you are in the Training project.
The Micromine title bar at the top of the screen should display Training –
Micromine Training. If it doesn’t, select Project and open the Training project
that you attached earlier by clicking on the training Project and selecting
Open.
Prompt Setting
File Collar_Template
Type DATA
Title Collar Template
Auto open file for editing Enabled
Multi language content Disabled
In the workplace you’d typically disable the Auto open option unless you
wanted to immediately start entering data. However, you’ll leave it enabled for
this exercise so that you can see the newly created file.
Notes: You define the file structure in the lower part of the dialog. To do this you
must supply:
Press the Tab key to move right from field to field and Shift+Tab to move to
the left. You can also use the arrow keys to move up and down, or just click
on a cell with the mouse. Press Enter to create a new row, and press Ctrl+R
to replicate existing data onto the row below.
The new file will open into a File Editor window. You could now start entering
values, but for this exercise you’ll leave the file empty and close it instead.
5. Close the File Editor window by clicking the Close [ ] in the file Editor
Ribbon:
1. Select File then select the drop down below New. Select New from Notes:
Template from the drop down menu.
2. Enter the following values into the top half of the New File dialog:
Prompt Setting
File Test_Collar
Type DATA
Title From Template
Because you enabled Auto open and disabled Modify new, Micromine si-
lently created the file instead of requesting further input. You should only
enable Modify new file structure if you wish to control the structure of the
to-be-created file.
8. Inspect the content of this new file and note that it’s the same as the
original template.
9. Close the File Editor once you’re done.
You can see from this exercise how much time using templates can save, es-
pecially when you’re creating files with many fields. Additionally, using tem-
plates promotes consistent file structures within and across projects. In the
workplace you’d normally keep template files in a separate project, such as
the one you created in Optional Exercise 1.2.
Notes:
The Modify File Structure function is on the File Ribbon and on the File
Editor Ribbon. You can also right-click on a file field in a dialog box, as shown
above, and select Modify from the menu that appears.
If you add fields to a file using Modify File, no data will be lost. However, if
you delete a field that contains data, the data will be lost.
This task shows you how to add new fields to a soil geochemistry file, which
currently contains sample coordinates along with analytical results for gold and
silver. The new fields are needed for merging a new suite of base-metal
analyses recently received from the laboratory.
7. The file structure should look like this once you have finished editing:
Select File | New and enter the file’s name and type, then
Optionally, enable Auto open file for editing, and
Define the structure by specifying each field’s name, type, format,
width, and number of decimals.
Good Practice
Wherever possible, use templates or form sets to create new file structures.
Form sets are introduced in Lesson 3. Two options are:
Create a set of template files and store them in a folder that has been
set aside for that purpose. When you create a file using File | New,
retrieve a suitable template and use it to define the file structure.
Create a series of file definitions using File | New (dropdown) |
New\Modify File, saving each one as a form set. When you create a
file using File | New (dropdown) | New\Modify File, simply open
the appropriate form set and use it to define the file structure.
Duration: 15 minutes
So far, you’ve only seen the simplest of dialogs, but as you continue to learn
Micromine they will become increasingly complex. Lesson 4 and onwards rely
on your ability to work with Micromine’s dialogs, so now is a good time to learn
about the process of entering parameters.
One of Micromine’s greatest strengths is its ability to save dialog settings once
you’ve created them and recall those settings whenever they’re needed in fu-
ture. A simple analogy is using AutoComplete or Autofill on your web browser:
every time you visit, say, your online banking website this utility automatically
fills out the form for you, saving you time and effort. Micromine’s forms work
in much the same way.
Dialogs
Although Micromine is generally very easy to use, some advanced dialogs may
contain dozens of controls arranged in different groups. The best way to fill
out such a dialog is to work through it as if you were reading down the columns
of a newspaper: from the top down, working left-to-right. In a tabbed dialog
you can treat the tabs as if they were pages of a magazine. Using this system-
atic approach ensures that your responses are made in the right order, which
is important because other prompts on the dialog may change depending on
your earlier choices.
Once you choose a filename Micromine will try to select the required field-
names, so you may not have to do this yourself. If a numeric or binary field is
selected, Micromine will also automatically calculate the minimum and maxi-
mum values of that field.
Notes:
Fill out a complex dialog by starting at the top of the left-hand column and
working down and repeating for the right-hand column.
Use Ctrl+Z and Ctrl+Y undo and redo changes.
Click it to pick it
Some dialog prompts are highlighted in a different colour, usually red. These
prompts are compulsory: you must enter a value before continuing. Other
prompts may be left blank if they’re not relevant.
Form Sets
Micromine provides an elegant way to reuse dialog entries: You save them as
a form set, which you can easily recall for later reuse.
A form set contains the saved contents of a dialog. It does not include
any data.
Notes: To save the contents of a dialog as a form set you generally click the Forms,
Save or Save As button located at the right of the dialog. The exact layout
varies according to the context of the dialog, but in general Micromine provides
these ways to manage form sets:
Graphical windows that are not part of Vizex, such as graphs and charts,
have no buttons. Instead, form sets are accessed from the toolbar (e).
The chart toolbar only appears where relevant.
(e)
Clicking the Forms button will display the Forms dialog, allowing you to save
your entries with a Title of your choice. The title can be any descriptive text,
since Micromine only needs the form set’s ID Number, which must be unique.
Micromine automatically manages this number, which rarely needs changing,
although you may do so if you wish to control the ordering of form sets.
Each function keeps an independent list of form sets, avoiding duplication. For
example, more than one function could have a form set Number 1 with the
title “Testing”.
Clicking the small arrow at right of the Forms button will display a small
utility menu with options for managing previously saved form sets and saving
or clearing the current form.
Even if you forget to save a form set, every Micromine dialog is automatically
saved to a default form set. Re-opening a dialog will recall the default set;
your entries are always available even after restarting the computer. As soon
as you change a value, however, the previous entry will be lost.
Once you save a dialog as a form set, its Title will appear at the top of
the dialog. If you don’t see the title, you’re not working with a saved
form set! In Vizex, default or unsaved form sets are always marked as
Untitled, so you can see at a glance whether you’ve saved them.
In this exercise you’ll display some geochemical sample locations and save the
display parameters as a form set.
Assuming you’re happy with how the sample locations are displayed, you can
save the settings as a form set.
Notes: 10. Inspect the Save Current Values dialog and note how the form set
has automatically been given the Number 1.
11. Enter the Title Soil geochemistry, overwriting the default Untitled title,
and click OK. Note how the name Soil geochemistry now appears on the
title bar at the top of the dialog.
12. Click OK on the Point dialog and note how the name in the Vizex
Layer Display pane has now changed to Soil geochemistry.
You use the same process to make additional changes to the form set: Double-
click the form set in the Vizex Layer Display pane, make the changes on the
dialog, click Save, and lastly click OK.
To reuse a form set, redisplay the original dialog, click the Forms button at
right, and then Open the form set.
If you plan to use the entries on a dialog more than once, you should
save that dialog as a form set. The small effort of initially creating a form
set is more than compensated by the time saved in reusing it.
Form sets enable you to create libraries of Vizex display layers, consist-
ently reuse settings for repetitive tasks without re-entering values, and
automate Micromine by writing macros. These Are all covered in sub-
sequent lessons or courses).
For convenience you can also create form set folders to group related form
sets. Form set folders are essential in any complex project containing many
form sets and are introduced in MM 102 – Displaying and Manipulating Data.
Most of these options may also be accessed via the Forms button and its Notes:
utility menu at right of any Micromine dialog.
Form sets represent the saved contents of Micromine dialogs, and are
essential for speed, consistency, and automation of repetitive tasks.
Form sets allow you to automate the entry of settings within Micromine,
much like an AutoComplete utility on a web browser would do.
The Form Set Manager is essential for managing form sets in a large
project.
There are numerous form shortcuts, such as the right-click menu and
click it to pick it.
Compulsory prompts are highlighted in red; you must provide a value for
these before using the form. You can change the colour under Home |
Form Set Manager | Options
Good Practice
Anything worth doing more than once is worth saving as a form set.
For example, to import text files that all have the same format, create a form
set containing the import parameters. This will save you re-entering the import
parameters every time you need to import data in the same format.
The data that describes a prospect or mine can be collected and recorded in a
variety of ways. These include survey data from GPS’s and total stations, rock
sample data from geologists’ notebooks, drillhole logging data, compass trav-
erse notes, data files from aerial surveys and aerial photography, along with
digital data in a variety of third-party formats.
Getting this information from different formats into a project and into a coher-
ent and useful state can be challenging. This lesson describes some of the
processes that can be used to get data into a Micromine project.
Importing
Linking
Merging
When you import tabular data, you create a Micromine version of the source
data as it existed at that moment. The source data may be any supported
tabular format, and you control which fields are written to the Micromine target
file. The data must be re-imported if the source version changes.
When you link data, you create a permanent connection to the source data,
which may only originate from an ODBC data source or Microsoft Access data-
base. Linked data is easily refreshed to stay up-to-date whenever the source
version changes.
When you merge tabular data, you select fields in a source file and merge
them to the correct fields in the target file by matching values in a key field.
You can also append data. The source data may be a text or Micromine file.
Before you begin using these techniques, it’s worth reviewing the different
types of text file that you’ll meet when you undertake these processes.
If you use Geobank Mobile to collect field data, you can exchange files in Notes:
native Micromine format. Geobank Mobile and the Micromine File Editor
contain many data entry and processing functions created specifically for
geoscience data. It’s usually cheaper and more efficient to buy Geobank
Mobile or use the Micromine File Editor than to customise a non-geo-
logical spreadsheet or database application.
The next two alternative exercises will teach you to import the analytical data
briefly mentioned in Exercise 2.3, in preparation for merging it into the existing
soil geochemistry file. Alternative Exercise 4.1 uses an Excel workbook and
Alternative Exercise 4.2 a text file. They create the same target file; the best
source file will depend on your preferences or workplace scenario. Your in-
structor will help you to choose a method.
In Exercise 4.3 you’ll merge the imported data into the geochemistry file.
Micromine treats the data in each worksheet as if it was a database table, and
it must therefore be correctly formatted. Each worksheet must contain a simple
header followed by columns of consistent data, with each column containing
the same data type from top to bottom. The worst possible data is a workbook
formatted to look like a traditional paper log, with a collar description, down-
hole survey data, and geological logging on a single worksheet.
The next exercise will teach you to import data from Excel.
In this exercise you’ll import the new analytical data from a Microsoft Excel
workbook. To import the data:
Notes: The .xlsx extension will not be visible if Windows is set to hide extensions
for known file types.
Import all fields is usually the best option unless you want to import specific
fields.
Importing from Excel is simple and straightforward, provided the data is cor-
rectly formatted. Excel data is imported as-is, with no validation.
Most applications can export and import CSV files, making it a popular ex-
change format. A typical scenario might involve recording field data using the
built-in software on a laptop or tablet. On return to the office it would most
likely be uploaded to a Micromine project. CSV is ideal for this situation.
You import text using File | Import | Text, and the easiest way to do so is
to automatically define the output file structure. You do this by choosing
Determine from Input file in the Output File Structure group, and then Notes:
using the Scan Rows or Scan File buttons to determine the structure.
Make sure you’re using the built-in file viewer. To ensure this is the case, select
Project | Options | Editor from the ribbon and check that Built-in is
selected in the Text Viewer group.
In this exercise you’ll import the new analytical data from a CSV file. To import
the text file:
The .csv extension will not be visible if Windows is set to hide extensions
for known file types.
3. Right-click the text file name to display it in the text viewer. Confirm that
it’s in comma-delimited format and note that the first row is a column
header for Sample number and the nine additional elements, Cu, Pb, Zn,
Ba, Mo, Sb, As, Hg, and Tl. Close the text viewer once you’re done.
4. Set the Format to COMMA DELIMITED.
5. Enable Field Name Header and choose One row.
This file contains no rows to ignore so there’s no need to apply any Rows To
Ignore options. You can use these options to ignore metadata, internal head-
ings or footers in a more complex file.
Mo, Sb, and Hg will be imported as Reals, and the others as Shorts. Mo and
Sb contain numeric exceptions, which will be converted to one-half of their
value on import, which is normal. In the workplace you would preserve the
11. Click Run to import the data. Micromine will report hundreds of errors.
12. Dismiss the warning.
13. Right-click the Report file and select View from the pop-up menu to
inspect its contents. Close the report once you are done.
The errors are of the type Input value missing. The reason will become clear
when you view the output file.
14. Right-click the Output File and select View from the pop-up menu to
verify the file contents. Most of the missing values originate from the Tl
(Thallium) column.
15. Close the dialog once you are done.
Importing from a text file requires a small amount of effort to determine the
file structure and configure the import options. However, as you saw in the
exercise it does offer a reasonable level of validation.
MM 102 introduces methods for exporting data from Micromine, and MM 103
covers some additional export options.
You may have noticed that the New_Assay_Results file contains another six
fields for elements associated with hydrothermal sulphide alteration. You’ll
learn to handle these fields in the following exercise.
Successfully merging the records in the two files requires a field with the same
values in both the target and source files. This is known as a key field. If the
key field in each file contains duplicate values, you must either:
The Merge function processes the target file record by record. It finds the key
field in each record and reads the value it contains. It then looks for the same
value in the key field in the source file. When it finds an equivalent value, it
takes the data from the fields you’ve chosen and writes it to the corresponding
fields in the target file.
The source and corresponding target field names must both be defined when Notes:
you set up the merge operation. However, Micromine will automatically create
the target fields if they don’t already exist.
You may alternatively use File | Merge | Text to merge fixed-width text data
instead of importing the text beforehand. This method is not suitable for the
CSV format and is not covered in this course.
In this exercise you’ll merge the new assay data into the soil geochemistry file.
The sample identifiers in both files are unique, which means you can use the
field containing the sample IDs in each file as the key field for the merge.
You know that the Sample field is common to both files. And, because there
are no duplicates in the Sample field in either the source or target files, you
can use Sample as the single key field.
1. Click the Key Fields button. If the button is disabled, select the Use
key fields option lower down the dialog.
2. Click the list ( ) button for Source Field for Key # 1 and choose
SAMPLE. Micromine will automatically find the matching Target Field
name.
3. Because the sample numbers consist of alphanumeric values, set the
Match to CHARACTER. Close the Key Fields dialog once you’re done.
Micromine will ignore the letter prefix of each sample number if you omit the
preceding step. You only need one key field so there’s no need to proceed to
the next row.
You must now define the merge fields, which is very similar to defining the key
field. However, Micromine simplifies the process whenever the field names are
the same in both the source and target file.
2. Click the small Autofill Grid button near the top right of the dialog.
3. Drag the mouse down the field list, starting with Cu and ending on Tl, to
highlight the nine geochemical fields, as shown in this screenshot. Click
Select once you’re done.
Alternatively, you can map individual source/target field pairs by clicking the
list ( ) button and choosing a Source field, then clicking and choosing the
matching Target field.
Because the base-metal field names are the same in both files, Micromine
automatically mapped each source field to its target field. Later in the exercise
you will see how it handled the unmapped fields.
1. The final stage of the process is to run the merge. Do this by clicking the
Run button on the dialog box.
2. Micromine will display a report describing the results of the process.
Inspect the numbers and then click Close to dismiss it.
3. Right-click | View the three output files.
The Merge_stats file reproduces the report window, and the Unmerged and Notes:
Duplicate files list any source sample numbers that were duplicated or not
merged. In this exercise there are none.
Although the merge succeeded, the hydrothermal alteration suite is out of se-
quence at the end of the file, and some of the imported fields may have been
allocated the wrong data type. You’ll fix these problems in the next exercise,
which builds on Exercise 2.3.
1. Select File | Modify File Structure from the File Editor menu, or
press F6 to modify the file.
2. Select the rows from Ba to Tl (hint: drag your mouse down the row
headings at left of the file).
3. Click the Move Row(s) Up button until Ba is immediately below Zn.
4. Optionally, change the newly added fields to Floats.
5. Click OK to close the structure editor.
6. To realign the cell boundaries, click the top-left corner cell of the editor
window to highlight the whole file, and double click the cell boundary
between Sample and AUAVE.
7. Close the File Editor and Merge Files dialog once you are done.
You can sometimes ignore the warning. For example, assay results usually
need fewer than seven digits of precision; converting a REAL to a FLOAT during
a merge won’t unduly affect the data. Always make this choice with care, and
when in doubt always use a larger data type.
Notes:
Exercise 4.5: Label the sample locality file
Now that you know a little more about the soil geochemical data you’ll add
labels for the Au1 geochemical data to the display:
2. The Point dialog will open back on the Points tab, which is where you
last left it. Switch to the Label tab and complete it as shown here:
Prompt Setting
Show labels Enabled
Labels (first row) Enabled
Text field (first row) AU1 (click the list button)
Position Right (double-click and choose
option 13)
Angle 45 (enter the number)
Decimals 0
Text properties Calibri, Scaled, 8 Grid units
(double-click the AaBbYyZz text)
You can quickly choose the Calibri font in the Text Properties dialog by typ-
ing the letter ‘c’. Micromine will jump directly to fonts beginning with that letter.
Notes:
GIS: Mapinfo TAB and MIF; Esri Shapefile, Personal and File
Geodatabase; SpatiaLite; and MapGIS
GNSS: GPS eXchange (GPX); GPS TrackMaker (GTM)
Google Earth (KML).
Mining: Surpac and Datamine strings
CAD: AutoCAD DXF and DWG; Microstation DGN
Although it’s possible to display most of these formats in Vizex without con-
version, in the following exercise you’ll import topographic contours from an
Esri Shapefile and convert them to a Micromine string file. Displaying GIS data
in Vizex is covered in MM 102 – Displaying and Manipulating Data.
In this exercise you’ll import and visually verify an Esri shapefile. Although this
importer has an auto-load option, you will manually load the imported data:
4. Enter NVG_Topo_Contours in the Output File name and set the Type to
STRING.
5. Ensure Auto load is disabled.
Micromine will automatically fill out most of the output field names for you.
6. In the Import Attributes group, set the mode to Select and then click
the Scan Attributes button. Select both layers.
9. Close the file editor and Import Vector dialog once you’re done. Notes:
1. Select Vizex | Display Layers| String from the ribbon to display the
String dialog.
2. Ensure that the Input Data tab is active and the file Type is set to
STRING.
3. Click the browse button in the File response and choose the
NVG_Topo_Contours file. Micromine will fill out the rest of this tab.
4. On the Display tab, set the Default colour to light brown.
5. Click the Save As button at the right of the dialog to save your settings
as a form set with the Title Topographic contours.
6. Click OK to apply the settings. Your display should now resemble the
screenshot overleaf.
7. Conclude this exercise by selecting Vizex | Display Layers | Remove
All from the ribbon and closing any open files.
The last two exercises have briefly introduced Vizex, which is fully explained
in MM 102 – Displaying and Manipulating Data.
Notes:
Importing or Linking Database
Data Using ODBC
ODBC is an acronym for Open Database Connectivity. It’s an industry standard
interface that provides access to a variety of database applications. ODBC isn’t
limited to a particular operating system or database program, but instead
allows you to see your data in the same way irrespective of the underlying
software. You’re able to link to the database of your choice simply by installing
the database drivers on your computer.
Database drivers are usually installed whenever you install a database product.
If your organisation uses Micromine 64-bit, you should obtain 64-bit drivers to
avoid compatibility problems. Alternatively, you can temporarily switch to
Micromine 32-bit to import data from an ODBC source without a 64-bit driver.
File, which is shared among all users on a network. It’s neither user-
dedicated nor local to an individual computer.
On most computers, the User and System DSN’s are grouped under the
category Machine Data Source.
In Micromine you can use an ODBC connection in two ways: you either import
the data or link to the database. When you import, Micromine creates a snap-
shot of the data. The files created in the Micromine project are ordinary data
files, the same as those you might create yourself. Because of this the newly
created files are independent of the database and can be used even if the
connection to the database is lost. However, you must re-import the data if
anything in the database changes.
You’ll connect to an Access database and import an example table in the next
two exercises. In the workplace you would usually create an ODBC link via File
| Link | ODBC so that Micromine always has access to up-to-date data from
Notes: your company’s database. However, because you may need to edit this file
later, you’ll import the data instead.
In this exercise you’ll create a user DSN to connect to the training Access
database, which contains drilling data. This step only needs to be done once;
from here onwards, you can simply reuse the data source when needed.
This exercise will fail if you don’t have the right database drivers installed.
However, the imported data is optional and may be safely omitted.
You’re now ready to import the table(s), which you must do every time you
update your Micromine data from the source database.
1. In Micromine, select File | Import | ODBC and click the Select Data
Source button.
2. Switch to the Machine Data Source tab, choose the Training
database, and click OK.
3. The Select Table dialog lists the available tables; select the Collar table
and click OK.
4. Fill-out the remaining prompts on the dialog as shown below:
Prompt Setting
Target File NVG_Collar_Import
Determine structure Selected
Fields to Import > Select all Enabled
Preview Enabled
5. Click Import. The contents of the Collar table will be previewed. If you
need to change the structure of the target file you can do so here.
6. Click OK. Micromine will import the contents of the Collar table from the
MS Access database, reporting the total number of records.
7. Dismiss the message box, and then confirm the import by right- Notes:
clicking the Target file and choosing View from the pop-up menu.
8. Close the file and Import ODBC dialog once you’re done.
The File ribbon has a collection of basic functions for importing, exporting and
merging data, sorting and validating files, and performing field-based
calculations.
Micromine files are displayed in a familiar grid layout. You navigate up and
down through the file by using the keyboard up and down arrow keys, as well
as Page Up and Page Dn to go one page at a time. Of course, you can scroll
using the mouse, too. To move from one field to the next, press Tab or
Shift+Tab, or click into the field with the mouse. To create a new record,
press Enter at the end of the file.
The File Editor supports standard Windows shortcuts for editing text:
Ctrl+C (Copy)
Ctrl+X (Cut)
Ctrl+V (Paste)
By using these shortcuts, you can easily transfer blocks of data between
Micromine and a spreadsheet application in either direction. However, the File
Notes: Editor also provides many other unique shortcuts that are designed to auto-
mate repetitive geological data entry tasks. You can access these shortcuts by
opening the Records menu, some of which are summarised in Table 4.1. Refer
to the lesson summary for a complete list of shortcuts.
The add (Ctrl+A), replicate (Ctrl+R) and execute (Ctrl+T) tools also
operate on multiple records, by pressing Ctrl+Shift+[Letter] instead of
Ctrl+[Letter]. These standard shortcuts all have a matching ribbon button
if you prefer to use the mouse instead of the keyboard.
Exercise 4.9: Use the File Editor’s data entry tools Notes:
You’ll put some of these tools to work. This exercise always refers to
the keyboard shortcut for each function, but you can also use the ribbon if you
prefer to use the mouse. The corresponding button icon is always shown. Refer
to Table 4.1 or the lesson summary to convert between keyboard shortcuts
and ribbon buttons.
1. From the main Micromine menu, select File | Open and open the
Example_Assay file. Alternatively, click the Open button.
2. Scroll to the bottom of the file and select (click) the last HOLE value,
which should read T17.
4. Now press Ctrl+R ( ) four or five times. Each time you choose this
command it replicates the T18 value to the record below.
Notes: 5. Select (click) the first blank FROM value in your new T18 hole and enter
in a value of 0 (zero).
8. Observe how Micromine has applied the new increment value to all
records below the selected cell.
9. Select the first blank TO value, type a 4 into that cell, and repeat the
Ctrl+Shift+A ( ) function. Your file should now resemble this:
That was quick, but it would be better if you could perform all actions at once.
Fortunately, there is a way.
Notes:
Copying the previous TO value into the FROM field is an excellent way to
ensure that your interval data has no gaps or overlaps. Even if you man-
ually edit a TO value, the next FROM value will always be correct.
7. With the TO field selected, click the Increment button and set the
increment value to 4. Your Execute Parameters dialog should now look
like this:
Notes:
Before you can use the execution parameters you must always have a
starting record containing actual values. The cursor must also be some-
where in this record before creating any new data.
11. Press Ctrl+T ( ) and observe the result: the rules are all applied at
once. Press Ctrl+T a few more times to add more records. Your file
should now look like this:
If you know how many records you need to add (you might be drilling a
series of 100 m Reverse Circulation holes, for instance), you can scroll to
the end of the file, press Ctrl+Shift+T, and type the number of new
records into the Execute Many dialog.
Calculator
You use the Calculator, via the two following options, to quickly perform
calculations ranging from simple algebra to complex data manipulation:
To define a calculation, choose a file and then write the calculation. Expres-
sions are like equations that use natural language to define a relationship
between one or more file fields, constants, functions and operators. In other
words, you would write the expression 1+2 to calculate one plus two.
The result can be written to a new or existing field. Each expression in a cal-
culation occupies a separate row in the dialog, and a toolbar provides options
for adding, removing, and moving calculation steps:
Notes:
The following exercises introduce some simple expressions; for more infor-
mation, including a getting started guide, please refer to the online help.
In this exercise you’ll calculate the INTERVAL lengths of the records you just
added to the Example_Assay file. You’ll also overwrite the interval lengths for
the existing records.
[TO]-[FROM]
6. Click the Check button at right of the dialog, followed by OK, to add it
to the calculation.
7. Click the Result list ( ) button and select the INTERVAL field. The
dialog should resemble this screenshot:
Now you’ll calculate the mid-point of each interval to illustrate a slightly more
complex calculation. The mid-point is simply the average of TO and FROM.
([TO]+[FROM])/2
Notes: This expression combines an addition and a division in one statement that
reads naturally: add TO and FROM, and then divide the result by two.
Source data for Micromine may originate from tabular data such as
spreadsheet files, text files, database tables and third-party formats, or
spatial data such as GNSS data, CAD drawings or GIS layers.
There are several ways to get tabular data into Micromine, namely
linking, importing, and merging. More than one method may suit a data
type – for example, text files may be imported or merged, whereas
database tables may be imported or linked.
You can merge analytical laboratory data into an existing Micromine file
by importing the data to a temporary Micromine file and then merging
that into the destination file. An alternative technique uses the File |
Merge | Lab Data function, which is described in MG 202 – Drillholes
1.
The File Editor understands the relationship between Hole ID’s and
From-To intervals and can be much more efficient than a spreadsheet
application for entering tabular data.
Use Calculate (Expression) to perform a calculation on a Micromine file.
Good Practice
If you’re importing text files that all have the same format, create a form set
containing the import parameters. This will save you re-entering parameters
every time you need to import data in the same format.
Whenever you import tabular data that did not originate in Micromine, right-
click and view the input file before importing it. After importing, right-click and
view the newly created Micromine file to ensure it’s correct. If not, you can
change settings and re-import without closing and re-opening the dialog.
Operate on multiple
Records |
fields to following Ctrl+Shift+T
Execute | Many
records
Notes:
Lesson 5 – Validating Data
Duration: 40 minutes
The first two options are designed to validate the contents of fields in a file,
whereas the last three are designed to validate drillhole and trench data.
File | Fields | Validate is more powerful because it can validate any number
of fields in one pass and you can set validation ranges on numeric fields. You’ll
use this function in this lesson.
The Validate function checks the specified fields in the target file for correct
values. If it finds an incorrect value it will write an error message to a report
file, along with the name of the field and the number of the record in which
the error was found.
A check file is used to validate the contents of fields where there’s a fixed set
of possible values, which most commonly applies to character fields. The Val-
idate function determines whether the values are correct by comparing them
against the check file. If a value exists in the target file but doesn’t exist in the
check file, it’s considered an invalid entry. You must have previously created
the check file.
Although it’s possible to use a check file to validate numeric fields e.g. 1 =
MINED, 0 = UNMINED, most numeric validation is done by range checking.
The Validate function determines which values are valid by testing if they fall
within the ranges that you specify. Range checking helps to eliminate typo-
graphical errors and other mistakes that often occur in data entry.
There are many ways to create a check file. If your company uses a cor-
porate database, you should be able to create one by importing the rele-
vant lookup table or pick list from the database. Otherwise you can use
File | Fields | Extract Unique to list all codes – including errors – that
exist in the main data table. Clearly you must correct the errors in the
extracted data before using it as a check file.
The Fields Validate dialog is split into two parts: The left-hand portion con-
trols the input, check, and report files, and you define the validation rules in
the Fields to Validate list on the right.
Prompt Setting
Input File NVG_Lith_with_Error
Type DATA
Data type DRILL HOLE
Check file NVG_Valid_Lith
Type DATA
Report file Invalid_Lith
The listed codes are all confirmed as being valid; therefore, any codes in
NVG_Lith_with_Error that are absent from the check file will be recorded as
invalid. Description and frequency are not needed here.
Both data types validate in the same way; only the way in which errors
are reported changes. If you use the GENERAL data type, errors are re-
ported as being on LINE x of the input file. If you use DRILL HOLE,
errors are reported as being on LINE x, HOLE y, FROM a TO b.
4. Now, set up the Fields to Validate list as shown here; press Enter to
create the second row:
When you enable Case Sensitive, values in the file you’re validating must
match the case of your check file or they’ll be recorded as invalid. For example,
ANDS would be different to ands or Ands.
5. Click the Run button on the dialog to run the process, and dismiss the Notes:
Errors were detected message box.
6. The Fields Validate window will disappear, leaving the Report Viewer
docked at the bottom of the window.
7. Double-click a record in the Report Viewer. This will take you to the
matching record in the Input File, which you can correct if necessary:
8. Close the file and Report Viewer window once you are done.
Hole ID Collar
Coordinates
Total Depth File
Hole ID Survey
Survey Depth
Azimuth/Inclination File
Max 3D deviation is measured in degrees per unit of length. For example, Notes:
suppose you surveyed a diamond drillhole at 30 metre intervals, and the drill-
ers guaranteed a maximum deviation between surveys of 1.5°. Then the max
3D deviation is 1.5 divided by 30, or 0.05 degrees per metre.
Alternatively, you can validate all files in one pass using Drillhole | Validate
| Drillhole Database. Creating and validating a drillhole database is ex-
plained in MM 102 – Displaying and Manipulating Data .
As you can see, drillhole data undergoes comprehensive testing. You should
always validate drillhole data to ensure trouble-free use in later processes.
Prompt Setting
File NVG_Collar
Type DATA
Hole field [Automatic]
Easting, Northing, Z field [Automatic]
Total depth field [Automatic]
3. Switch to the Survey File tab and make the following entries:
Prompt Setting
Use Survey File Enabled
File NVG_Survey
Type DATA
All other fields... [Automatic]
Azimuth correction [Blank]
Apply to 1st azimuth Disabled
Prompt Setting
Use Interval File Enabled
File NVG_Assay_with_Error
Type DATA
All other fields... [Automatic]
5. There are no event files to validate, so skip the Event File tab.
Prompt Setting
File DH_Valid
Check for missing intervals Enabled
Allow zero length intervals Disabled
Check for holes missing from survey file Enabled
Check for holes missing from interval file Enabled
Check for holes missing from event file Disabled
Check collar locations Disabled
Check deviation in 3D Not selected
Check maximum deviation Not available
Check inclination and azimuth Selected
Check inclinations/apparent azimuths Enabled
Check sample interval lengths Disabled
Valid inclination/azimuth change 5/5
Max 3D deviation (deg/m) Not available
Max interval length Not available
Grade field Not available
7. Click OK. You’ll receive a message saying, There were X errors found.
These errors are written to the Report File and will be shown in the
Report Viewer when you click OK to dismiss the message box.
8. Inspect the report file and note the errors, along with their severity
(STATUS). The file begins with some downhole survey errors caused by
consecutive surveys deviating by more than 5°.
These errors could consist of valid data and it’s entirely up to you to determine
whether corrections are required. For this exercise you’ll assume they’re valid.
9. Scroll to the bottom of the file and double-click the last record. Notes:
10. Close the file and Report Viewer in preparation for the next exercise.
You probably noticed that Micromine knew the names of the fields in the
drillhole files. You can set the fieldnames that Micromine allocates to dia-
log prompts by selecting Project | Options | Form Sets from the back
page and switching to the Defaults tab. Here you can enter the field-
names you use at your site.
To ensure consistent results you must validate data before using it.
Validation is important for data that will be stored in a central database.
The value of a resource project may depend on the validity of its data.
Validation processes can be automated on sites with consistent codes.
Drillhole data should be validated before using it in other drillhole
processes.
Good Practice
Lesson 6 – Filters
Notes:
Duration: 45 minutes
Micromine filters allow you to subset data of interest from a larger dataset
based on a condition that you specify. This might be useful if, for instance, you
only wanted to work with drillholes completed during 2018. Most functions
have a filter option, and filters can be saved as form sets. As you’ve already
seen, form sets allow you to re-use previous settings.
Once you enable the filter, you then edit the conditions by right-clicking or
pressing F4 on the filter number. The number is blank in the screenshot above
but will appear here once you save the filter as a form set. To choose an
existing filter, click the form button at right of the filter number or press
F3 and choose the form set from the list.
You edit embedded form sets by right-clicking the form set number on
the parent dialog.
The Filter dialog is divided into three areas: groups of settings at the top and
bottom of the dialog and a list of conditions in the Filter Conditions grid. If
you open a filter from within another function the filter will automatically
choose the correct filename. The rest is up to you.
The Records group allows you to subset by record numbers (say, records 0
to 100). It’s very easy to accidentally leave this option enabled, so please
remember to disable it afterwards! If a filter gives you exactly everything you
don’t want, enable the Reverse filter option to invert the filter result. You
should also remember to clear this option afterwards.
This filter condition only accepts records with a local easting greater than or
equal to 24900 and rejects records with an easting less than 24900. The field
name is EAST_LOCAL, chosen by clicking the list button, the operator is
Greater than or equal, and the value is 24900, entered by typing. Enabling the
Numeric checkbox against a binary field instructs Micromine to compare the
coordinates at the full precision of the field, ignoring the displayed decimals.
You preview the results of a filter by right-clicking the filename, or any field-
name, and selecting View from the pop-up menu. Records on a white or
striped background have passed the filter conditions and will be used in the
current operation, like a calculation or display. Records on a grey background
did not pass the filter and will be excluded from the operation.
You can simplify a large or complex filter result by enabling Hide Unfiltered
Records from the file editor’s Filter menu or via the pulldown menu on
the Use Filtered Records button. With this option enabled, records that
do not pass the filter will be hidden altogether.
You must use a filter equation or expression if a filter is too complex for a
simple AND/OR combination, which is covered in MG 201 – Surface Geology.
Wildcard Meaning
? Any single character
* Any characters (including blanks)
+ Any characters (excluding blanks)
! Everything except the filter value
(logical NOT)
$ Any string containing the filter value
You’ll put a filter to work in this exercise by revisiting the geochemical point
display from Exercise 4.5 and graphically illustrating the filtered results. Your
task is to create a filter to subset all geochemical samples whose coordinates
fall within the following ranges:
24900 – 25000E
15900 – 16000N
First, you need to reload the Point display you created earlier. To do this:
1. From the Vizex Layer Type pane at the top left of your screen, click
the expand icon next to the Point form set type. You’ll see a single
entry, Soil geochemistry, immediately below the Point label.
2. Right-click the Soil geochemistry form set and select Edit Form from
the pop-up menu. This will allow you to edit the form before displaying
it.
Now you’ll modify it to only show data falling within the coordinate ranges:
3. Switch to the Input Data tab and enable the Filter check box.
4. Right-click (or press F4) the blank filter number to edit it. The Filter Notes:
dialog will appear.
5. Click the list ( ) button in the first Field Name cell and choose
EAST_LOCAL from the list.
6. Set the Operator to Greater than or equal.
7. Enter 24900 into the Value cell and enable the Numeric check box.
8. Press Enter to create a new row, then repeat Steps 5 through 7 for the
remaining filter conditions. Your filter should look like the screenshot on
the facing page.
HINT: Use the replicate shortcut (Ctrl+R) to copy to the cell below.
13. Select Home | Display Layers | Remove All in preparation for the
next lesson.
Be sure to write the filter conditions using the same date format as your data.
Filters are an extremely versatile way to subset only the data of interest
from a larger dataset.
Most Micromine functions have a filter option.
Filters can be saved as form sets, allowing them to be re-used.
Multiple filter conditions must be combined using a Boolean operator.
Right-click the File response and choose View from the pop-up menu,
then
Observe the relationship between records on white (accepted) and grey
(rejected) backgrounds.
Good Practice
Understanding Clipping........................................................................................................................ 44
The Floating Toolbar ........................................................................................................................... 45
The Display Limits Dialog ..................................................................................................................... 46
DISPLAYING AN INCLINED VIEW ..................................................................................................................... 49
The Rotate Tool .................................................................................................................................. 50
Understanding Rotation ....................................................................................................................... 50
The Display Limits Dialog ..................................................................................................................... 50
SECTION CONTROL FILES ............................................................................................................................. 52
ADDING DOWNHOLE INFORMATION................................................................................................................. 53
Creating a Text Colour Set ................................................................................................................... 55
Creating an Interval Hatch Display ....................................................................................................... 58
CREATING A PLOT FILE ................................................................................................................................ 62
LESSON 4 – SPATIAL EDITING ........................................................................................................ 68
INTRODUCTION.......................................................................................................................................... 68
The user Interface .............................................................................................................................. 68
Using the Editing Tools ........................................................................................................................ 68
The Design Ribbon .............................................................................................................................. 69
Editing Strings .................................................................................................................................... 70
Creating New Strings (or Points or Polygons) ........................................................................................ 73
Snapping ............................................................................................................................................ 74
CREATING NEW FILES ................................................................................................................................. 76
Controlling the File Structure ............................................................................................................... 77
INTERPRETING GEOLOGICAL SOLIDS ............................................................................................................... 78
Naming the Interpreted Strings ............................................................................................................ 78
Interpretation Steps ............................................................................................................................ 81
LESSON 5 – DTMS ............................................................................................................................ 88
CREATING A DIGITAL TERRAIN MODEL............................................................................................................. 88
Draping Images onto DTMs ................................................................................................................. 91
Tables
Sidebars
Exercises
Lesson 1 – Vizex
Notes:
Duration: 45 minutes
Vizex is Micromine’s graphic environment and is what you see whenever you
open Micromine.
You use Vizex to display, edit, and interact with all Micromine data types, as
well as data from many mining, CAD, GIS, GPS and image processing appli-
cations. Micromine data types include basic elements like points, strings and
polygons, and compound information like downhole data, dynamic contours,
wireframes, block models and open pit or underground mine designs. The
broad range of editing tools includes snapping, smoothing, weeding, gradients,
curves and draping, along with CAD and wireframing tools. Vizex also supports
seamless transitions between plans, sections and inclined views.
Introduction
The Visual Explorer (Vizex) is an interactive viewing environment for all Micro-
mine and many third-party data types. You add data to Vizex in a few different
ways: by dragging-and-dropping it, by using the Vizex Layer Types pane
to configure its appearance before loading it, or by using the Vizex Layers
Display pane to change the properties of the visible layers.
Any Vizex display can be saved as a Saved Layers, which can easily be
recalled at a later stage. This gives you a way to quickly restore Layers without
rebuilding it from scratch. Vizex display layers can be exported or plotted to a
variety of formats including 3D PDF, simplifying the process of sharing 3D data
with colleagues who may not have access to Micromine.
Notes:
Exercise 1.1: Load a previously saved layer.
In this exercise you’ll load previously saved layers containing some example
display layers.
1. Expand the Saved Layers list by clicking the expand icon to the
left of the Saved Layers node. This node is located at the top left of your
screen, immediately under the ribbon.
2. Drag the Introducing Vizex saved view into the graphic display to load it.
You can read about saved layers and layer groups in Saved Views and Layer
Groups at the end of Lesson 2.
3. Vizex will load a few different layers into the window and change the
window extents to match those of the saved view:
Vizex Layer
Types pane Ribbon Area
Graphic Display
Vizex Layer
Display pane
Vizex consists of three main windows (Figure 1.1): the graphic display, which
covers most of the screen, the Vizex Layer Types pane, which normally
docks at the left edge of the screen, and the Vizex Layer Display pane,
which also normally docks at the left. If having these windows at the left is not
your preference you can easily dock them against any other window edge,
stack them over each other, float them over the graphic display, or drag them
onto a second monitor.
The Vizex Layer Types and Vizex Layer Display panes may be auto-hidden
by clicking the Auto Hide button at their top right-hand corners, temporarily
reducing them to a small tab at the docked edge and maximising the graphic
display area. Hover the mouse over a tab to restore it to the view.
You toggle the panes by clicking the Vizex Layer Types Pane and Vizex
Layer Display Pane buttons on the windows ribbon. To close the panes, click
the Close button at the top right-hand corner of each one.
There are numerous ribbons at the top of the screen, which provide a variety
of tools for selecting and manipulating data, and manipulating the view.
Depending on the specific options you select, Vizex will display different ribbon
with various tools.
You can also drag supported files directly into Micromine from Windows/File
Explorer, an email client, or a compressed file archive, and drop them into the
Vizex Layer Types pane, the Vizex Layer Display pane, the File Editor, or the
Script Editor. Certain file types will prompt you to choose from a collection of
items, and others may display a dialog for importing data that can’t be
displayed in its native format.
1. Display the Project Explorer pane by clicking the tab at the bottom of
the Vizex Layer Type pane.
2. Locate the Example_Topo_Contours.STR file.
3. Using the left mouse button, drag the file into Vizex.
Although the Vizex Layer Types pane and the Project Explorer pane will both
display data in Vizex, they have different purposes and workflows. The Project
Explorer is a convenient tool for displaying data without having to configure
it beforehand. But if you load the same data tomorrow you will lose any display
settings that you configured today. The Project Explorer can also target other
windows like the File Editor and Plot Editor.
In comparison, the Vizex Layer Types pane has a more formal workflow that
relies on creating, saving, and reusing form sets. Once you save a form set,
you can redisplay it at any time and instantly see your display settings. Unlike
the Project Explorer, the Vizex Layer Types pane only targets Vizex.
We recommend using the Project Explorer to display data you’re seeing for the
first time or only intend to use once, and the Vizex Layer Types pane to display
data you intend to reuse on an ongoing basis. In either case you can always
save a form set for any data you decide to reuse.
Notes:
To show or hide a layer, simply click the checkbox alongside it. When you
remove a layer by right-clicking it and choosing Remove from the pop-up
menu, or by clicking it and pressing the Delete key, it’s removed from the
graphic display and the Vizex layer Display pane. However, the form set you
used to load the layer is still available for selection in the Vizex Layer Types
pane.
In layer order, objects are drawn in order from the bottom of the Vizex
Layer Display pane upwards, like sheets of paper on a traditional light
table.
In 3D order, objects are drawn in 3D sequence from the most distant
to the closest, irrespective of their order in the Vizex Layer Display pane.
In layer order you modify the display by dragging the layers into the desired
order. The bottom layer is drawn first, the one above that is drawn next, and
so on. Conversely, in 3D order the distance from each individual object to your
viewpoint determines the drawing sequence; closer objects are always drawn
in front of more distant ones.
Vizex always defaults to 3D order, but you can switch between the two modes
by clicking the Toggle Depth Testing button near the top of the Vizex
Layer Display pane. The next exercise will introduce the Display plane and the
drawing order.
This exercise will show you how to manage the graphic display using the Vizex
Layer Display pane. First, you’ll edit and save a layer’s properties:
You’ll learn more about saving and using form sets throughout the course.
Now you’ll show a hidden a layer:
5. Click the check box next to the Aeromag data layer to show it. Make
sure it’s visible before proceeding to the next step.
The aeromag surface hides the other data because its values are so much
larger than the topographic elevation. You’ll fix this by changing the drawing
order:
6. Right-click the Aeromag data layer in the Vizex Layer Display pane
and choose Move to Bottom from the pop-up menu. Alternatively,
drag it to the bottom of the list.
Because Vizex is in 3D order, lowering the Aeromag data layer has no effect
on the display! In 3D order the spatial location of the data, not its position in
the layer list, controls its appearance. You can fix this by switching the display
to layer order instead.
7. Click a blank part of the Vizex Layer Display pane, below the listed
layers, to ensure there are no selected layers. Alternatively, click the
Vizex node at the top of the layer list.
8. Click the Toggle Depth Testing button near the top of the Vizex
Layer Display pane to disable depth testing.
Notes:
Now everything else is visible, and the Aeromag data appears below the other
layers because it’s below them in the Vizex Layer Display pane.
9. Select the Aeromag data layer in the Vizex Layer Display pane and press
the Delete key on the keyboard to remove it. Or, right-click and choose
Remove from the pop-up menu.
10. Leave the view open in preparation for the next exercise.
The Vizex ribbon includes several tools for zooming and panning, including a
zoom undo and redo memory. The remaining buttons are introduced in Lesson
3 – Drillholes.
This exercise will introduce you to the basic view tools. First, you’ll learn to use
the middle mouse button:
3. Click the Pan Tool and drag the mouse in the display.
6. Click the Pan Tool and hold the Ctrl key. Now drag the mouse
vertically in the graphic display to activate an alternative zoom.
7. With the view zoomed-in, right-click on the Example drillhole trace layer
in the Vizex Layer Display pane and choose View Selection from the
pop-up menu. The view will adjust to fit the drillhole trace layer into the
screen. Note how the drillholes are surrounded by a blue rectangle,
which indicates the layer is selected.
8. Lastly, click the View All button to restore the original view.
Vizex normally calculates the best grid spacing to present a reasonable number
of grid lines using spacing values that increase in a 1-2-5-10 sequence.
However, you can enable User-defined Line Spacing to control the spacing
yourself should you need a specific grid spacing.
Micromine ships with a variety of predefined coordinate grid settings form sets.
Alternatively, you can define your own settings as required. You’ll explore
these in the next exercise. The Coordinate Grid ribbon area also provides
control over other decorations including a scale bar and orientation axes.
This exercise will take you through the process of loading a predefined co-
ordinate grid using auto-spaced gridlines with mE, mN, and mRL labels.
3. Inspect the contents of the Grid Settings dialog, paying attention to Notes:
the Active Grids, Display Labels, and Line Settings groups.
4. Click OK to apply the grid. Your display should look like the screenshot
on the facing page.
5. Toggle the grid by clicking the Toggle Auto Working Plane button
on the Vizex | Auto Grid ribbon.
6. Select Vizex | Display Layers | Remove All to clean up in
preparation for the next exercise.
7. Answer Yes if prompted to save any changes.
The grid stays visible after you select Vizex | Display Layers |
Remove All because it’s a property of the view, not the data.
You create additional windows in one of two different styles: full-size windows
that are tabbed or tiled with the main window, or variable-size overviews that
can either be docked or floating.
Notes: tab and choosing New Horizontal Tab Group or New Vertical Tab
Group.
The Overview Window option creates an overview that may omit some
layers to simplify the overview. You set which layers are visible by clicking the
Toggle Object Overview Window Visibility button in the Vizex Layer
Display pane toolbar.
The two window conversion options maintain the original window contents.
You predefine which layer types appear in the overview window by selecting
Project | Options | Vizex, switching to the Layer Defaults tab, and then
selecting or de-selecting the desired Vizex form sets in the Overview list.
Whenever you open multiple full-sized windows, you can use Ctrl+Tab to
rapidly switch between them. This does not apply to floating windows, which
are excluded from the tab sequence.
To create a new Vizex document, click the Vizex | New Vizex Instance
button. In addition to the new window, you’ll also see an empty Vizex node in
the Vizex Layer Display pane. You’re free to choose data for that window.
Saved Vizex form sets must, however, originate from the same project as the
original window.
Click the Vizex | New Vizex Instance button. You can also use
this to create a completely new Vizex document
Load any form set or saved view from the Vizex Layers Types pane, or
Load any form set or saved view from the Vizex Layers Display menu.
Point: Point data classified by shape, String: Linework classified by line, colour,
colour, size and label. fill and label.
Spatially editable. Spatially editable.
Contour: Drawn directly from Drillhole: Drill data with many label,
wireframes, grids or strings. Classified by pattern and symbol options.
line, label and colour. Exploration module.
Drillhole solids and seam correlation in
Exploration module.
Pie Chart: Multivariate point data Image: Data from many source formats.
displayed as a pie segments, classified by May be aligned to any 3D orientation.
radius and colour. Exploration module.
2D Seismic: With automatic gain control, Grid Surface: Raster data classified by
vertical velocity adjustment and wiggle colour and displayed in 2D or 3D.
colouring. Exploration module. Display in Core. Creation in Exploration module.
Pit Design: Benches/berms, ramps, and Blasthole Design: Blast patterns and
roads Spatially editable. holes, firing sequence, charging.
Mining module. Spatially editable. Mining module.
This lesson has covered the fundamentals of Vizex and has shown you how to
work within it. Here’s what you’ve learnt so far:
Expand the Saved View list by clicking the expand icon to the left
of the Saved Views node in the Vizex Layer Types pane, and
Double-click or drag the saved view into the graphic display, or
Right-click | Load the saved view.
To save a view:
Double-click the form type in the Vizex Layer Types pane, then
Set up the dialog and click OK to display the data.
Expand the form set list by clicking the expand icon to the left of its
type in the Vizex Layer Types pane, then
Drag the form set into the graphic display, or
Double-click the desired form set to load it.
Double-click the layer in the Vizex Layer Display pane to open its
dialog, or
Right-click it and choose Properties from the pop-up menu, then
Make the necessary changes.
Double-click the layer in the Vizex Layer Display pane to open its
dialog, or
Right-click it and choose Properties from the pop-up menu, then
Click Save As, enter a Title, and click OK.
Click the layer in the Vizex Layer Display pane and then press the
Delete key, or
Right-click the layer in the Vizex Layer Display pane and choose
Remove from the pop-up menu.
Deselect all layers by clicking a blank part of the Vizex Layer Display
pane below the listed layers, or by clicking the Vizex node, and
Click the Toggle Depth Testing button.
To modify the display order of layers (only applies to layer order mode):
Drag the layers in the Display pane into the desired order, from the
bottom up, or
Right-click a layer and choose Move to Top or Move to Bottom.
Select the Pan Tool and hold the Ctrl key whilst dragging vertically.
Good Practice
Always load Vizex forms from the Vizex Layer Types pane and change the
properties of layers from the Vizex Layer Display pane. If you try to change
the properties of an Untitled layer from the Vizex Forms pane, you risk
duplicating the layer instead of changing its properties.
Use the Project Explorer to display data you’re seeing for the first time or only
intend to use once, and the Vizex Forms pane to display data you intend to
configure and reuse on an ongoing basis.
Display layers that haven’t been saved as form sets appear in the Display pane
as Untitled layers, whereas those that have been saved are listed by title. You
should only leave temporary, once-off layers Untitled.
Any layer worth viewing more than once is worth saving as a form set.
Duration: 60 minutes
Once you acquire and validate the data for a project, the next step is to
combine the different data sets into a multilayered display. The tasks in this
lesson demonstrate how to create a display in which all data sets in the project
can be integrated.
Symbolising Data
Vizex Layer Types include many symbology options, like foreground and back-
ground colour, symbol (marker), size (scaling), line style and pattern. Several
forms support compound symbology, such as combining colour, marker and
scaling using three different attribute fields. In most cases you create a specific
form set, such as a colour set or symbol set, to define each component of
your symbology. However, there are exceptions: colour can also be read
directly from a field containing appropriately formatted RGB values, and
scaling is defined using ranges or a simple equation.
The following topics and exercises introduce some of the Vizex form types and
their associated symbology by setting up an example of each. Because of
Micromine’s consistent design, you’ll be able to apply the techniques you learn
here on other Vizex Layer Types.
A colour set makes it easy to differentiate between values, regions and other
objects in the display. Micromine has many tools for creating colour sets, and
because they are saved as form sets you can use them anywhere in a project.
You can even export them to other projects. This promotes consistency and
saves time.
There are two types of colour sets: numeric and text. You use numeric colour
sets with numerical data and text colour sets with character data. In this lesson
you’ll create a numeric colour set.
Refer to the help for information on displaying colour directly from a file field.
Point symbol sizes in Vizex may either be fixed or scaled. Fixed symbol sizes
are stated in points. They always stay the same size regardless of the zoom
level; zooming in or out therefore changes the visual relationships between
neighbouring symbols.
Scaled symbol sizes are stated in real-world units (e.g. metres). They grow
larger when you zoom in and smaller when you zoom out, preserving the visual
relationships between them. This method generally produces a better display.
Vizex has two methods for varying the size of each symbol in a Point layer:
factor, which adjusts the size of each symbol based on the values in the scal-
ing field, and ranges, which limits the symbols to the sizes you specify. The
factor method works by multiplying the symbol sizes, either fixed or scaled by
the corresponding values in the scaling field. It takes some optional parameters
(base value, minimum radius and maximum radius), which may be needed if
the original symbol is fixed-size. These are described in the help.
A natural log transform may optionally be applied, which varies the symbol
sizes in proportion to the logarithms of the original values. It is generally only
needed for data with a strong positive skew, such as the assay values of many
precious metals.
Now is a good time to recap the ways to manage Vizex form sets and layers,
before you begin the next exercise.
To display a new Vizex form, double-click the required form type in the
Vizex Layer Types pane. For example, to display new strings, double-click
the String type. Alternatively, select the type from the Vizex Display Layer
menu.
To display a previously saved form set, click the expand icon next to the Notes:
matching form type in the Vizex Layer Types pane to expand its list, and
then drag the desired form set into the graphic display. For example, to load
the Topographic contours form set, click the next to the String type, and
then drag Topographic contours into the display.
Alternatively, you can double-click the saved form set to load it.
In this exercise you’ll use a combination of colour and size to symbolise (clas-
sify) the geochemical points according to their gold grades.
First, you’ll reload the Soil geochemistry form set you created in MM 101:
1. If the Point list is not already expanded in the Vizex Layer Types
pane, click the expand icon next to the Point form to expand it.
2. Drag the Soil geochemistry form set into the graphic display. You’ll see
the original labelled black circles in the graphic display and the Soil
geochemistry layer name in the Vizex Layer Display pane.
Next, you’ll open the Point dialog to change the properties of the layer:
The colour field is the one whose values will determine the symbol colours.
Now it’s time to create the colour set. First you get the numerical values:
There are three ways to assign values to a numeric colour set: RANGES, which
divides the data equally between the min and max values, PERCENTILE, which
splits the data into sorted groups containing the same number of values, and
STATISTICAL, which arranges the data by its mean and standard deviation.
Alternatively, you can enter your own values into the Value column.
6. Right-click the Colour set response. The Edit Colour Sets (Numeric)
dialog will appear.
7. Change the Decimals at the top right of the dialog to 2.
8. Click the Assign button at right to open the Assign dialog.
Because you opened this dialog from an existing form the File and Value field
responses are automatically filled in.
Five equal ranges are calculated. There’s also provision for values above and
below these ranges, which means the colour table contains seven entries.
There are three ways to apply colours to a colour set. You can choose a pal-
ette, manually select specific colours by double-clicking each colour swatch,
or create a colour ramp. To create a colour ramp, assign colours to specific
pivot values e.g. min, median, and max), then right-click > Colour Ramp
All. Micromine will smoothly blend the colours between pivot values.
The colours are completed, so now you can scale the symbols. Begin by con-
figuring the original symbol to use a scaled size:
Prompt Setting
Default size factor [Blank]
Scaling field AU1 (click the list button)
Natural log transform Enabled
Method Factor
7. Click the Factor Values button and inspect the options on the dialog.
They are not needed for this display, so simply close the dialog once you
are done.
Now that the Point layer is completed, it makes sense to save the changes for
later re-use:
8. Click the Save button on the Point dialog. Micromine will save the new
settings, overwriting the previous version.
9. Click OK to close the Point dialog.
10. Lastly, select the Soil geochemistry layer in the Vizex Layer Display
pane and click the Colour Legend button to display the point
colours. Your display should now resemble the screenshot overleaf.
11. Close the floating Soil geochem Au1 window once you’re done.
Notes:
It’s important to save form sets if you plan to use them more than once,
but how do you know if they’ve been saved? Micromine gives you three
indicators:
The Title of a saved form set appears at the top of the dialog. If you
don’t see the name, you’re not working with a saved form set.
In Vizex, new and unsaved form sets are marked in the Vizex Layer
Display pane as Untitled, so you can see at a glance if you’ve saved
them.
If you’ve modified a layer but haven’t saved it, the layer name will be
shown in blue instead of black text.
You’ll learn to display and label property boundaries in the next exercise.
Notes:
Exercise 2.2: Display property boundaries
In this exercise you’ll display a string file containing property boundaries. First,
select the data and set the display options:
1. Double-click the String form type in the Vizex Layer Type pane to
open the String dialog. Or, select Vizex |Display Layers | String
from the ribbon.
2. Ensure that the Input Data tab is active, and the file Type is set to
STRING.
3. Click the browse button in the File response and choose
Properties.STR from the list.
4. Switch to the Display tab and set these Line Style options:
Prompt Setting
Line field: SURVEYED (list button)
Property survey status
Line set:
(form button)
Line type: Solid
Line width: 0.13 mm (THIN)
5. Remove any Colour field and Colour set entries and set the Default
colour to dark green.
6. Switch to the Polyline Labels tab and set the following options:
Prompt Setting
Label Polylines Enabled
Only display labels for
Enabled
polygons
Label Field (1) PROPERTY (list button)
Calibri Scaled 20 Grid units
Text properties
(double-click AaBbYyZz text)
7. Back on the String dialog, click the Save As button and set the Title to
Property boundaries.
Notes: 8. Click OK to save the form set. Note how its title now appears at the top
of the String dialog.
9. Click OK on the String dialog to return to Vizex and update your display.
10. To view the boundaries in full, right-click the Property boundaries layer
in the Vizex Layer Display pane and select View Selection from the
pop-up menu.
Most people use a GIS to manage their property boundaries and although you
used a string file in this exercise, in the workplace you should use the original
GIS file. You’ll learn about displaying GIS data later in this lesson.
Before an image can be viewed with other Micromine data it must be geo-
referenced. When an image is georeferenced it has a spatial reference that
relates pixel coordinates within the image to real-world coordinates. Minimal
georeferencing information comprises the real-world X and Y pixel dimensions
and the real-world X- and Y-coordinates of the top left pixel. (Some systems
use the top left corner of this pixel, whereas others use the centroid. Micromine
handles both standards.)
georeferencing the image will appear as if projected into a plan orienta- Notes:
tion whenever one of these files is used. 2D and 3D georeferencing are
detailed in MG 201 – Surface Geology.
Manually. Select Custom 2D from the Georeference Source list and en-
ter the coordinates at the top-left corner of the image, along with the X
and Y pixel sizes. These parameters are illustrated in Figure 2.1.
In the next exercise you’ll use an ER Mapper ECW image with georeferencing
data supplied in Micromine’s GRF format.
In this exercise you’ll drag the image into Vizex, and then configure the layer
and save it as a form set:
4. Inspect the contents of the Source list and note how it reports multiple
available header formats.
In addition to horizontally referencing the image, this GRF file also sets its
elevation to 1600 metres, which is the average elevation of the surface topog-
raphy in that area.
5. Switch to the Display tab and drag the Transparency slider to around
20% . This will stop the image overpowering the other information in the
display.
6. Ensure Interpolation is set to BILINEAR.
7. Click Save As to save a form set with the Title Air photo. Click OK on
the Save Current Values and Image dialogs to return to Vizex.
8. Observe the result. Some of the property boundaries and geochemical
samples have disappeared! However, if you look carefully, you’ll see they
are still there – they’re faintly visible below the image.
This is a plan view, essentially in 2D, so you can solve this problem by switching
from 3D order to layer order:
Notes: 9. Click the Vizex node in the Vizex Layer Display pane to deselect all
layers. Alternatively, click a blank part of the Vizex Layer Display pane,
below the layers.
10. Click the Toggle Depth Testing button to put Vizex in layer order.
Now everything is faintly visible, below the image.
11. Right-click the Air photo layer and choose Move to Bottom from the
pop-up menu. Alternatively, you can drag it to the bottom of the layer
list. The photo is now below the other layers.
In 3D order, objects are drawn in 3D sequence from the most distant to the
closest, irrespective of their order in the Vizex Layer Display pane. You
normally use 3D order when you’re working in an inclined view.
Lossless compression does not alter the image quality. However, the resulting
file may be larger than for lossy conversion. Additionally, compressing images
from another compressed format like JPEG may increase the file size,
depending on the original compression settings.
Notes:
Exercise 2.4: Display a geological map in GIS format
1. Switch back to the Vizex Layer Types pane and then double-click the
GIS form type.
2. Switch to the Input Data tab and click the browse button in the
File response.
3. Navigate to the Import directory and choose nvg_geology.shp.
The Layer option applies to spatial databases, which typically include multiple
layer and geometry types. It is not relevant to single-geometry data formats
like ArcGIS shapefiles and MapInfo Tab files.
This will set the elevation of the data to the average topographic elevation.
13. Click the Save As button to save a form set with the Title Surface
geology.
14. Click OK on the Save Current Values and GIS dialogs to display the
geology map.
15. The geology map appears above the geochemical points and property
boundaries, so drag the Surface geology layer between the Soil
geochemistry and Air photo layers.
You can demonstrate this by creating and then reloading a saved view.
1. Select View | Saved Layers | Save Vizex Layers from the ribbon or
double click the Saved Layers node in the Vizex Layer Types pane
and select Save As.
2. Enter the Title Regional plan and click OK to save the view.
4. Expand the Saved View list in the Vizex Layer Types pane by clicking
the expand icon to the left of the Saved View node.
5. Drag the Regional plan saved view onto the graphic display, or double-
click it, to open it.
Vizex has reconstructed your layers, achieving the same result as if you had
individually loaded each one by hand.
Notes:
Exercise 2.6: Create a plot file
Micromine will create a plot file and open a plot layout containing the plot
data. You’ll learn more about plotting in MM 104 – Plotting 1.
6. Close the Plot Editor window by clicking the Close button on the
Plan.PEX tab.
7. Lastly, select Vizex |Display Layers | Remove All to clean up the
display.
Although you might be tempted to save a single view containing all data from
every project area, and then toggle the individual layers as needed, it’s not a
good way to work. Each layer consumes memory, even when it’s hidden or
outside the current view, and loading many unused layers simply burdens your
computer for no real benefit. Saving a handful of different views gives you the
same convenience without wasting your computer’s resources.
To produce a series of drillhole cross-sections that share the same data, save
one view that contains the data for all sections within the project area, and
then define a series of named sections in a section control file, as de-
scribed in the next lesson. Don’t save different views for each section; although
saved views do store view orientation parameters, it’s not their main purpose.
There are two ways to save a view, by select Vizex | Saver Layers | Save
Vizex View from the ribbon, or by double-clicking the Saved View node and
choosing Save As from the dialog. Whenever you save a view you also save
edit locking, snap status, depth testing, perspective, and overview visibility.
Similarly, there are several ways to load a saved view; by dragging it into
Vizex, by double-clicking it, via right-click | Load, or via right-click |
Add as Group.
There are several ways to create a layer group, which involve right-clicking
multiple selected items in the Vizex Layer Types pane or Vizex Layer Display
pane; hold the Ctrl key to select them, and then choosing an option from the
menu. The Vizex Layer Types pane includes options to Display as Group.
The right-click options in the Vizex Layer Display pane comprise Create
Group, with a corresponding Ungroup.
This lesson has taught you to construct a basic Vizex display, as well as create
and modify colour sets. Here’s what you’ve learnt so far:
Double-click the desired form type in the Vizex Layer Types pane,
or
Select the form type from the Vizex | Display Layer menu, then
Set up the display parameters and click OK.
Click the expand icon next to the appropriate form type in the
Vizex Layer Types pane to expand its list, then
Drag the form set into the graphic display, or
Double-click the form set.
Inspect the layer name in the Vizex Layer Display pane, and
If it’s listed as Untitled (FILENAME) it’s never been saved, or
If it’s listed in blue text it has unsaved modifications.
Right-click the layer in the Vizex Layer Display pane and choose
Save Form As, or
Double-click the layer in the Vizex Layer Display pane to open its
form, then
Click Save As to create a new form set or Save to overwrite an existing
form set.
Deselect all layers: click a blank part of the Vizex Layer Display pane
below the listed layers, or click the Vizex node at the top of the Display
pane, and
Click the Toggle Depth Testing button.
To modify the display order of layers (only applies to layer order mode):
Drag the layers in the Vizex Layer Display pane into the desired
order, from the bottom up, or
Right-click a layer and choose Move to Top or Move to Bottom
from the pop-up menu.
To save a view:
Good Practice
Because Vizex form sets are so simple to create, it’s easy to create multiple
versions of the same information. For example, you could create a String form
set for topographic contours coloured by elevation, and another with the same
contour data coloured according to whether they’re index or intermediate
contours.
Saving Display Layers as form sets is one of the key concepts for effi-
ciently using Vizex. Doing this allows you to very quickly rebuild a com-
plex display without redefining each layer.
A simple rule is: Any layer worth displaying more than once is
worth saving as a form set.
Lesson 3 – Drillholes
Notes:
Lessons 1 and 2 focused on the basics of Vizex and introduced a few Vizex
Layer types. Drillholes are an integral part of Vizex and this lesson will teach
you to manage drillhole data and display the holes in plan, section and inclined
views.
Introduction
Micromine uses an efficient method called a drillhole database to handle the
underlying data, allowing you to easily manage all drilling data related to your
project. Once you’ve created the database, simply use Vizex to display any
combination of downhole information in any view orientation. Table 3.1, at the
end of the lesson, illustrates the available Vizex drillhole forms.
This lesson will introduce the drillhole database and teach you how to create
and manage your drilling data. You’ll also learn to create and display a variety
of downhole information.
A simple drillhole database could consist of only one data file, but a typical
drillhole database uses three or more data files related to one another by the
ID of each drillhole. The files you’re most likely to use are:
Begin by specifying a collar file. Most modern drill data includes downhole de-
viation survey data, so a downhole survey file is also needed. Together these
files control the location and trajectory of each drillhole.
Consequently, straight holes only need two points – at the collar and the end
of hole. Curved holes are given a trace interval that varies according to the
curvature of the hole; the more curved the hole, the shorter the trace interval
and the more points required to draw it.
Vizex automatically tracks the relationship between event and interval files and
the associated collar and survey files, which means you don’t have to do it
yourself. The advantages of this system are:
You can refer to the drillhole database by one name instead of remem- Notes:
bering three or more individual file names.
You aren’t distracted by dozens of irrelevant files – instead, only the files
you added to the database are available.
In this exercise you’ll learn to build a drillhole database. The database has
some errors, which you’ll manage in the next exercise.
First, create the new database and specify the collar and survey files:
Collar attribute fields are used for labelling and filtering drillholes. You’ll learn
to label drillholes in the next exercise and to filter them in MG 202 –
Drillholes 1.
The survey file contains LOCAL and UTM azimuth fields, which is normal for a
resource project that uses a local grid. Clearly you must choose the right one
Notes: when creating the database. Alternatively, you can use the Azimuth cor-
rection to convert between different north orientations without relying on du-
plicate fields.
Now it’s time to add the related downhole files (events and intervals):
7. Click the Event Files tab and then click the Add button.
8. A new dialog will appear; select the Event File NVG_Structures. As
before, Vizex will automatically fill out the compulsory fields.
9. Click OK. Vizex will add the file NVG_Structures.DAT to the database.
You’ve now set up the files for the new drillhole database. The last step is to
have Vizex validate and relate them and then build the database.
13. Click on the Output Database tab, Enter the name Training.
14. Click OK to build the database. Vizex will scan and validate the input
files, calculate the drillhole traces and then create the database.
you can right-click a Vizex drillhole layer in the Vizex Layer Display pane Notes:
and choose Refresh DHDB from the popup menu.
Whenever the source data for a drillhole database includes underlying ODBC
or Access links Micromine will automatically refresh the links along with the
drillhole database, ensuring the drillholes are fully updated. See MM 101 –
Micromine Basics),
If your project contains multiple drillhole databases, you can use Drillhole |
Refresh | Refresh Databases to refresh them all.
Automatic Validation
Micromine provides an auto-validation option that addresses the dynamic na-
ture of most drillhole databases, which is accessible via Drillhole |
Validation | Auto-Validate Options. This function automatically performs
the default validations you learned about in MM 101. However, you can also
optionally check for missing holes and missing intervals, as shown in this
screenshot:
Manual Validation
Along with the auto-validation option Micromine provides a manual version,
accessible from the ribbon via Drillhole | Validation | Drillhole Database.
This version is different from the validation you performed in MM 101 because
it validates the entire drillhole database in one pass, instead of validating
individual files in multiple passes. Think of it as a time-saving shortcut,
especially for an existing database containing multiple interval or event files.
3. Click OK to run the validation; close the Report Viewer once done.
As with previous validation runs, Micromine opens the Report Viewer. For the
most part the errors are identical to those of the original validation; however,
you’ve also discovered an unexpected error in the NVG_Structures event file.
A hole with no event file records isn’t a critical error and can be safely ignored,
but you would not have discovered it without performing this step.
ribbon. The Trace dialog has seven tabs that you use to customise your Notes:
drillhole traces. Each tab controls one aspect of the display.
In the following exercise you’ll use the first four tabs to set some basic drillhole
trace properties.
1. Click the expand icon next to the Drillhole folder on the Vizex
Layer Types pane, and then double-click the Trace form type. Or,
choose Vizex | Display Layers | Trace from the ribbon.
With the database selected and the trace enabled you can now set some visual
properties of the traces. You’ll colour them according to their assay values,
display the Hole ID at the top and drill date at the bottom of each hole, and
symbolise the collars. You’ll use a previously calculated colour set to colour the
traces.
6. Enable Colour Coding and then click the browse button in the
Interval file response. Note how only the two interval files you added
to the database are listed. Select NVG_Assay.DAT.
7. Click the list ( ) button in the Colour field and choose AU1 PLOT.
8. Click the form button in the Colour set and select Drillhole Au1
(deciles) from the list.
Notes:
9. Switch to the Hole Name tab and enable Show Hole Name.
10. Fill out the Top Label and Bottom Label groups as listed here:
Prompt Setting
Top Label > Location AUTO
Top Label > Label HOLE
Top Label > Text Properties Calibri Scaled 4 Grid units
Bottom Label > Location CENTRE
Bottom Label > Label DATE
Bottom Label > Text Properties Calibri Scaled 2 Grid units
11. Switch to the Depth tab and enable Show Hole Depth.
12. Type a space followed by a lower-case m into the Label suffix
response. The text will be appended to each end of hole depth, e.g.
102.3 m, in the display.
13. Set the Location to CENTRE.
14. Set the Text properties to Calibri Scaled 3 Grid units.
15. Switch to the Collar tab and enable Show Collar.
16. Double-click the blank Default symbol box about half way down the
form, choose the large circle-dot symbol, and set its size to scaled 3
grid units. Click OK to apply the change.
These settings are worth reusing so you’ll save them as a form set:
17. Click the Save As button at right of the dialog and Title the new form
set Simple assay display.
18. Lastly, click OK on the Save Current Values and Trace dialogs to load Notes:
the traces, which should look something like this:
Vizex creates each new view in plan orientation. However, a vertical section,
which may be orthogonal or oblique to the coordinate grid, is the usual way to
view subsurface drillhole information. Oblique sections are also known as
transform sections in Micromine.
Micromine provides three ways to set the orientation, location and thickness
of a vertical section: the Vizex | Sections of the ribbon and associated
Notes: Sections, the Vizex (Viewpoint) |Display Limits button, and via a
Section Control File.
Use the Towards Distance and Away Distance boxes to control the
section thickness.
Optionally, use the Step to define a custom step distance between
sections.
Use the Enable Clipping button to enable or disable section
clipping.
The Sections window, shown overleaf, contains other tools for working with
sections. It provides direct access to the Display Limits dialog and any pre-
viously saved Display Limits form sets, and a short-cut to Standard Sections
such as PLAN or LOOKING NORTH.
The following topics explain the two main ways to use the Vizex Sections
ribbon and Sections window. The remaining tools in the Sections window are
dedicated to section control files, which are introduced later in this lesson.
Notes:
The Section Tool gives you a quick way to define a vertical section in any
orientation. Simply click the Define Section button and drag a section line
across the display. Alternatively, click the section’s start and end points. You
can optionally restrict the line to multiples of 30° or 45° by holding the Ctrl
key as you drag.
When you release the mouse, Vizex will draw the section defined by the line.
This tool also clips the view using the current towards and away distances. See
Controlling the thickness and Understanding Clipping for more information on
clipping.
You can use the Define Section even when the view is already a
section, making it very useful for setting up a ‘plane of the vein’ display.
For example, to view a long section through a dipping vein, start with a
plan view and drag a section parallel to the dip direction of the vein, fol-
lowed by a second section down-dip. Lastly, change the Roll to zero via
the Display Limits to correctly orientate the view.
Notes: The box remembers previous entries, and once a section number has been
entered you can quickly access it again using the pull-down list as shown on
the facing page.
If you inspect the status bar cursor coordinate after using Section (or
Elevation), you’ll notice that one of the coordinate values remains fixed based
on the value you entered.
This control is not available for oblique or transform sections; you should use
the Define Section tool instead.
You set thickness of the section corridor in any view orientation with the
Towards Distance and Away Distance boxes, which remember previous
settings in the same way as the Section or Elevation box. By optionally enabling
Shadow Sections , you can extend the corridor by faintly displaying the
sections either side of the current section. For safety, shadowed data cannot
be edited. Once the corridor has been defined you can switch clipping on and
off by clicking the Enable Clipping button.
When Clip View is enabled you can use the Previous Section and Next Sec-
tion buttons to browse through your data:
The default step size applied by the Previous and Next buttons is equal to the
total thickness of the section corridor, which is the sum of the towards and
away distances. It’s shown on the ribbon as a number in square brackets, as
illustrated above. You can use a custom step size by entering a different value
in the Step box, which will be shown without the square brackets. Delete the
custom step size or re-enter the default value to restore the default step size.
Understanding Clipping
As you’ve seen, there are many ways to define the orientation and location of
a vertical section. However, you always use the towards and away distances
to define the thickness of the slice or corridor that will be displayed, by entering
values in the Towards Distance and Away Distance boxes. These values
represent the thickness of the corridor either side of the section plane, as il-
lustrated in Figure 3.1.
Whenever you enable Enable Clipping , only the data falling within the Notes:
corridor defined by the distance values will be visible. So, if only part of a
drillhole falls within the data corridor, only that part will be visible, and the
remainder of the hole will be excluded.
You can use the dropdown to access standard views. Their function differs
from the corresponding standard sections in the Sections window because they
don’t automatically apply Clip View when they are used. Instead they take
whatever default clipping settings were applied beforehand. The Plan
standard view is useful for returning to a plan view after having displayed a
section.
You will need to go to the vizex ribbon to access the isometric buttons for
quickly setting up an oblique and inclined view
The Display Limits dialog has three tabs, two of which are relevant to vertical
sections: Orthogonal and Transform (oblique). You can also define the
thickness of section corridor on the Display Limits dialog. The settings that are
applied will depend on which tab is active when you click the OK button.
The Orthogonal tab contains three main groups that allow you to vary the
View Type, view Limits, and clipping Window. The three groups are:
For example, for a Plan view, only the Z Section response is enabled and
the value you enter will set the screen elevation. Similarly, for a Looking
North view only the North Section response is enabled and the number
you enter will set the screen northing, or, if you’re Looking West, the
Section you enter will set the easting.
The Transform tab allows you to define an oblique cross section, controlling
orientation and location together. You do this by entering the endpoint
coordinates that define the section into the Section group; Vizex calculates
the bearing and length of the section based on those numbers. Vizex also
provides a preview window so you can see how the section will relate to the
real world.
Although this technique gives you very precise control of settings that can also
be saved as a form set, the Define Section tool is a faster way to draw a
transform section.
Notes:
Exercise 3.4: Display data in cross section
In this exercise you’ll set up a Looking North cross section at 15900mN, fol-
lowed by a Transform section, then return to the looking north section.
First, load a ground surface profile to provide some context for the drillholes:
1. Click the expand icon next to the Wireframe form in the Vizex
Layer Types pane to expand its list and drag the DTM (2D slice) form
set into the graphic display.
Next, set up the section display using the Sections Window and Vizex
Sections ribbon:
2. Click the Sections tab underneath the Vizex Layer Types pane to
reveal the Sections Window.
Vizex will switch the view to looking north orientation and apply clipping. How-
ever, the section number and towards and away distances are set to default
values that are not what you need for this display.
4. Enter the value 15900 into the Section (Elevation) box on the
Sections ribbon.
5. Enter 15 for both Towards Distance and Away Distance. Micromine
will apply each change as you move off the box.
Now that the section is set up you can browse through the data:
Note how the value in the Section or Elevation box automatically updates each
time you change section. Moreover, the status bar at the lower right corner of
the screen shows the current 3D cursor coordinate, which incorporates the
section number when the view is orthogonal.
7. Click the Plan View button on the Vizex ribbon to return to a plan
view.
8. If necessary, reset the plan view by right-clicking the Simple assay
display layer in the Vizex Layer Display pane and choosing View
Selection from the pop-up menu.
9. Click the Define Section button on the Vizex ribbon and drag an
oblique (transform) section at an angle to the drillholes.
Observe how Vizex shows the section extents as you drag the mouse, as shown
overleaf. When you release the mouse, Vizex displays the transform section.
Notes:
10. Click the Display Limits button under on the Sections ribbon to
open the Display Limits dialog.
11. Note how the contents of the Transform tab have been filled out, and
then close the Display Limits dialog.
12. Click the Next and Previous Section buttons to browse the
data. Observe how the oblique orientation is maintained as you go.
13. Click the Move Section Plane button and drag the mouse vertically
within the graphic display.
Observe how this tool allows you to smoothly move the section plane through
your data instead of jumping in regular steps.
14. Click the Plan View on the floating toolbar to return to a plan view
(you may need to click in the Vizex window to see the floating toolbar).
Right-click the Simple assay display layer and choose View Selection.
If you’re in a clipped section view while rotating, the section corridor will rotate
with the data, allowing you to view your section from different angles.
Understanding Rotation
Although the visible objects appear to move when you use the Rotate Tool
, your viewing location, the camera position) is moving around the station-
ary objects. It pivots around an imaginary viewpoint, which is situated near
the centre of the screen.
Most people want to rotate the view sideways or towards and away. To carry
out these to actions, either drag your mouse horizontally through the centre
of the screen to rotate the view sideways, or vertically through the centre
of the screen to rotate it towards or away. The view will twist diagonally if
you drag from a corner.
Constrained rotation
Pressing the X, Y, or Z key whilst rotating the view will limit the rotation
to the corresponding real-world axis. For example, pressing the Z key will
rotate the data about the Z (elevation) axis.
Pressing the U, V, or W key will have a similar effect, limiting the rota-
tion to the X, Y, and Z axes of the screen, respectively.
You normally rotate the view using the Rotate Tool . However, the 3D
View tab on the Display Limits dialog allows you precisely control the rotation
parameters and then save them as a form set.
Most of the controls are beyond the scope of this training and should be left
at their current values, but you may alter the Inclination, Azimuth, and Roll
values if you’d like to view your data from a specific direction. Vizex will auto-
matically calculate the other parameters based on your changes.
2. Select the Rotate Tool and drag the mouse in the graphic display.
Observe how the view rotates around the data.
4. Once you finish viewing the inclined view, double-click the LOOKING
NORTH Standard Section to return to a cross-section view.
5. Click the pull-down button next to the Section (Elevation) box and
choose 15900 from the list.
A useful feature of Micromine’s rotation is its ability to rotate the section cor-
ridor along with the data. With clipping enabled, simply rotate the view and
the section corridor will follow. This is very useful for checking the relationship
between drillholes and the section corridor, especially while you’re interpreting
data. Interpretation is covered in Lesson 4.
6. Select the Vizex | Rotate Tool and drag the mouse in the graphic
display.
7. As you rotate from the looking north view, observe how the section
corridor, defined by a blue box, rotates with the data. Also note how the
section is highlighted as a pale blue plane.
Notes: 8. Once you’ve completed viewing the section, click the Vizex | Previous
View button until you return to the looking north view on a
northing of 15900. Alternatively, double-click the LOOKING NORTH
standard section and then choose 15900 from the Section (Elevation)
box.
9. Leave the display open in preparation for the next exercise.
Depth Testing : enabled for inclined views; disabled for plans and
vertical sections.
The Vizex Sections window discussed above provides the tools for creating
and managing section control files and named sections:
Sections within an SCF are known as named sections. You can use an SCF
to instantly move to any named section or browse through the sections, re-
gardless of their orientation and thickness.
You’ll use an existing SCF in the next exercise and learn to create a section
control file in MG 202 – Drillholes 1, which is part of the Exploration course.
2. Locate the NVG_Sections file and click the expand icon to reveal the
list of named sections. Alternatively, double-click it.
3. Double-click any named section to go immediately to that section.
This example should give you an idea of the versatility of section control files.
There are many other tools for working with SCFs, which are described in more
detail in MG 202 – Drillholes 1.
Now that you’ve set up a coloured trace display based on assay value; you’ll
place some assay labels using the same colour set:
1. Click the Vizex Layer Types tab underneath the Sections window to
redisplay the Vizex Layer Types pane.
2. Double-click the Drillhole > Interval Label form type.
4. Click the browse button in the Database response and choose your
Training database.
5. Click the browse button in the Interval file and choose
NVG_Assay.DAT.
Notes: 6. Click the list ( ) button in the first Label field and choose AU1 PLOT.
7. Click the form button in the Colour set and choose Drillhole Au1
(deciles).
8. Leave Width, Decimals, and Justify set to their default values:
If more than one Label Field is selected, they will appear in columns to
the right or left of the drillhole depending on the side you select.
9. Switch to the Display tab and set the label Side to RIGHT.
10. Set the Text Properties to Calibri Scaled 1 Grid unit.
11. Click Save As and save the form set with the Title Au Assay (deciles).
12. Click OK on both dialogs to load the labels.
Because the average interval length of the drillhole data is one metre, scaling
the text to that height reduces the potential for clashes with the preceding and
following labels. If the text is too small, simply zoom in to enlarge it.
With the assays labelled you’ll repeat the exercise to display lithology labels.
1. Double-click the Interval Label form type a second time and switch to
the Input Data tab.
2. The name of your Training database already appears in the dialog, so go
directly to the Interval file response.
3. Click the browse button in the Interval file response and choose
NVG_Lith.DAT.
4. Click the list ( ) button in the first Label field and choose LITH. You
have no lithological colour set at this stage, so blank out the existing
Colour set and ensure the default colour is BLACK :
Notes:
5. Switch to the Display tab and set the label side to LEFT.
6. Set the Text Properties to Calibri Scaled 2 Grid units.
7. Click Save As and save the form set with the Title Lithology (black).
8. Click OK on both dialogs to load the labels. You’ll see black labels
appear down the left-hand side of each drillhole trace.
To simplify your colour set you can group similar values in one of two ways:
Auto Group, which groups the codes by the first n characters, or manual
grouping, where you decide which codes will be gathered together. Auto
grouping is best for hierarchical codes, such as standard Geological Survey
codes, where there is a distinct hierarchy in the code structure. Non-
hierarchical codes are best handled using manual grouping. You’ll use manual
grouping in the following exercise.
Notes:
Exercise 3.9: Create a text colour set
In this exercise, you’ll create a text colour set, grouping related codes to sim-
plify the colours. To save time, you’ll start with the existing form.
5. Click once anywhere below the ANDS | DACT entry in the Text column
to deselect it.
Notes:
6. Repeat Steps 3 through 5, this time with the FAUL and FBX codes.
7. Lastly, disable Add selected items to group and click the double right
arrow to move the remaining codes (NC, SED, and VEIN) as separate
entries. Your Assign dialog should look like this:
8. Click OK to close the Assign dialog. Your newly created groups will be
transferred to the Edit Colour Sets (Text) dialog.
With the codes created you can now turn your attention to the colours.
2. Click Save As and save the colour set with the Title Basic lithology.
3. Click Save and Close to return to Vizex. Note how the form set ID
appears in the Colour set response of the Drillhole Values dialog.
4. Do NOT click OK on the Interval Label dialog!
You’ll use these Drillhole Value settings to create an alternative colour version
of the black labels form set you created earlier.
Note how the labels on the drillholes are no longer black, the layer name in
the Vizex Layer Display pane is now Lithology (coloured), and a new form
set appears under the Interval Label form type in the Vizex Layer Types
pane.
Had you not saved the Interval Label settings as a new form set, Vizex
would have listed the layer name in the Vizex Layer Display pane using
blue text, indicating it had been modified but not saved.
If you want to overwrite the old settings when you modify a Vizex form
set, click Save before you click OK.
Hatch sets allow you to place a fill pattern into any enclosed region. There are
three main uses for hatch sets:
Micromine includes large number of hatch patterns. However, you can use any
TrueType or OpenType font if you require additional patterns.
When you set up a hatch set you independently control the pattern, foreground
and background colours, symbol size and outline of each pattern. Additionally,
many Micromine functions allow you to independently control or override the
foreground and background colours.
With the Exploration module you can alternatively create a Solid Trace, which
draws the drillholes as 3D cylinders and is ideal for an inclined view or use the
Drillhole Imaging form to display cylindrically-wrapped images.
In a drillhole interval hatch, the filled regions are rectangles extending between
each FROM-TO interval, with widths specified in real-world units. So, a hatch
pattern with a width of four in a metric project is literally four metres wide.
Plotting it at 1:1,000-scale would produce a hatch width of 4 mm on the paper.
You can optionally use the contents of a numeric field to vary the hatch width.
In this exercise you’ll add a geological hatch pattern to each drillhole trace,
building on an existing hatch set that has some missing patterns.
1. Double-click the Interval Hatch Vizex form type and ensure the Input
Data tab is active.
Ignore the Colour Control group – it is not needed for this exercise.
Next, edit the hatch set and define the missing patterns:
7. Right-click the Hatch set number and choose Edit from the menu.
Notes: 8. You’ll see the partially completed hatch set with code groups that were
Assigned using the same procedure as Exercise 3.9.
9. Double-click the empty hatch pattern for the NC (No core) entry to open
the Fill Pattern dialog. Create a fill using a combination of pattern and
foreground, background, and border colours.
10. Repeat for the SED (Sedimentary Rocks) entry. Your hatch set should
resemble this. The labels are optional:
11. Click Save As to save the hatch set with the Title Basic lithology.
12. Click the New button next to the form set Number to pick up the first
available number (4) instead of 51.
13. Click OK followed by Save and Close.
The Colour Control option allows you to override the foreground and
background colours of a hatch set and is best used whenever your cat-
egories are too simple or too complex to use a hatch set.
A typical too-simple scenario arises when you want to display values with
different colours using the same hatch pattern. Here you would use a sin-
gle Hatch along with a Foreground colour set.
A too-complex scenario might arise when many rock types are subjected
to many alterations. Instead of creating a hatch set containing all pos-
sible rock/alteration combinations, create a rock type Hatch set and use
a Foreground colour set to overprint the alterations.
If you inspect the Side list, you’ll see that Vizex only provides options for LEFT
and RIGHT. Fortunately, there is an easy way to centre the hatch.
Lastly, save as a form set and then display the Interval Hatch settings: Notes:
4. Click Save As on the Interval Hatch dialog and save a form set with
the Title Drillhole lithology.
5. Click OK to return to Vizex. Your display should look like this:
Offset the two interval label layers so that they aren’t overlapped by the
hatch pattern.
Switch the display to layer order mode.
1. Double-click the Au assay (deciles) layer to open its dialog, and switch to
the Display tab.
2. Enter an Offset distance of 2 for the Labels group.
3. Enter an Offset distance of 2 for the Ticks group.
4. Click Save followed by OK to save the form set and update the display.
5. Repeat the Steps 1 through 4 for the Lithology (coloured) layer.
6. Click the Vizex node in the Vizex Layer Display pane to deselect all
layers. Alternatively, click a blank part of the Vizex Layer Display pane,
below all listed layers.
7. Click the Toggle Depth Testing button to put the display into layer
order mode.
Notes: Note how the drill traces, which were originally visible down the centre of the
hatch, have disappeared as shown here:
8. Zoom in on a drillhole and observe how the label ticks stop exactly at
the edge of the hatch polygons.
9. Restore the view by right clicking the Drillhole lithology layer in the
Vizex Layer Display pane and choosing View Selection from the
popup menu.
10. Keep the display open in preparation for the next exercise.
Naming the plot file with label text, such as 15900mN, will make it easier
to automate the plot title, which you’ll learn in MM 104 – Plotting 1.
6. Lastly, select Vizex | Display Layers | Remove All from the ribbon Notes:
to clean up the display.
The lessons and exercises you’ve covered so far are a preamble to sectional
geological interpretation, which is covered in Lesson 4.
This lesson has taught you to manage and display drillhole data. You’ve worked
with various kinds of downhole data, such as interval labels and hatch patterns.
Additionally, you’ve seen how to view data in cross section and inclined view
orientations, and how to set up text colour and hatch sets.
Double-click the Trace form type in the Vizex Layer Types pane, then
Select the Database and
Set up the display parameters.
Select the Standard Section from the Sections Window to set the
orientation, then
Enter the Section (Elevation), Towards Distance, and Away Dis-
tance on the Section ribbon to set the location and thickness, and
Optionally set the Step value.
Good Practice
The standard views on the View Vizex ribbon are different from the standard
sections on the Sections Window. Choosing a standard view only changes
the view orientation, taking whatever default clipping and towards/away
distances were set beforehand, whereas choosing a standard section always
applies clipping. Use View Vizex ribbon, particularly Plan, to reset the view
without applying clipping, and use the standard sections to view a new
section orientation. Use drillhole hatches to emphasise downhole variations.
You can add as many hatches as needed, for example for lithology,
groundwater, oxidation state, each of which would be offset from the others
for clarity, to produce an informative 3D graphic log. Optionally, use a numeric
field to control the hatch width.
It’s common for Micromine projects to contain many plot files. You can auto-
mate the process of titling plots if you name the files with text that could
appear on the plot title, for example a file name of 15900mN representing the
section at 15900mN. This technique is covered in MM 104 – Plotting 1.
Notes:
Lesson 4 – Spatial Editing
Duration: 120 minutes
Much of the information in a mineral project is spatial data that you create
through the process of spatial editing. Geological examples include heads-up
air-photo or geophysical interpretations and sectional drillhole interpretations.
In engineering spatial editing is most often used for planning and design.
Introduction
Vizex contains a suite of tools for editing many form types. With these tools
you can create points, lines, and polygons; smooth and simplify strings; define
gradients and curves; drape strings onto a wireframe and snap to any other
object in the display. You can also easily insert, move and delete points, as
well as move, copy and delete entire strings. A range of CAD tools provides
advanced editing options.
Activate the Select Tool , click the object, and then make some
changes to it. For example, you could move a point.
New objects are always added to the active layer. If you haven’t chosen
an active layer, or if it’s the wrong type; for example, you can’t add a
string to a wireframe, Vizex will prompt you to choose an active layer.
You can change more than one layer at a time. Edited layers are marked with
an asterisk (*) in the Vizex Layer Display pane, but the files aren’t saved
until you save or attempt to remove or refresh them. Micromine provides a
few ways to save your edits, which also depend on your preferences and the
task at hand.
If you forget to save your work, you’ll be prompted to save when you remove
or refresh an unsaved layer. However, we recommend that you always explic-
itly save each file.
Select Active Layer pull-down list: Allows you to set an editable layer
as the active layer or create a new editable layer on-the-fly.
Active layer: Provides an alternative way to set an active layer.
Editing Strings
During a spatial editing session, the edit mode changes according to whether
your mouse pointer is above a point or a string, and whether that string is
already selected. You also control the edit mode by holding the Ctrl key. Vizex
gives you visual feedback on the selected editing mode by changing the shape
of the mouse pointer.
(1) (2)
Mouse Over… Key Editing Function Cursor
Nothing (New/Extend None New/extend
mode only)
String None Select; Drag to move
selected string
String Ctrl Multi-select; Drag to copy
selected string
Point None Drag to move point in
selected string
Point Ctrl Delete point from selected
string
(1) Italicised editing functions apply when string is not yet selected; the remaining
(2) Cursors are only shown for editing modes. Selection modes (italicised) use the
Notes:
standard Windows cursor.
Some edit modes, for example extending, closing or reversing a string, are
available from the right-click context menu. Like the context editing modes,
the functionality changes according to what you’re doing at the time. Table 4.1
summarises the mouse context edit modes.
Many edit modes are only accessible when the Select Tool is active.
You use three main tools to control most of the editing process:
The Enable Snapping pull-down list allows you to snap to points, lines,
surfaces, coordinate gridlines, the intersection between two lines, or
perpendicular to a line. Click the small arrow at the right of the button to
select from the list. Or, press Shift+S to cycle through the snap modes.
You’ll learn to use and combine these modes in the next exercise.
In this exercise, you’ll load a saved view containing several layers that you
might use for a sectional drillhole interpretation. You’ll then explore the edit
modes listed in Table 4.1, along with snap and insert modes.
1. Expand the Saved View list by clicking its expand icon in the Vizex
Layer Types pane.
Notes: 2. Drag the String Editor saved view into the graphic display.
Vizex will load four layers, with only the Geological Section layer shown.
5. Place the mouse pointer over a string segment and drag to move the
entire string.
6. Hold the Ctrl key, place the mouse pointer over a string segment, and
drag to create a copy of the string.
7. Release the Ctrl key, place the mouse pointer over a point and drag to
move it.
8. Hold the Ctrl key and click on a point to delete it.
9. Click the Enable Snapping button and ensure that it’s set to Snap
to Object . Alternatively press the S key to activate Snap Mode.
10. Click on a point and drag to move it. Note how Vizex snaps to other
points and string segments as you drag.
Snap mode only applies within a certain tolerance; move closer to an obvious
polygon corner if you don’t see any snapping.
Zoom in using the mouse wheel if you need a smaller snap tolerance.
11. Click the Snap Mode button to deactivate it and then click the Insert
Mode | Insert Points button to activate insert points mode. Or,
press the S key to deactivate Snap Mode and the I key to activate Insert
Points.
12. Click on a string segment to insert a point.
13. Inspect the Geological Section 15900mN layer in the Vizex Layer Notes:
Display pane and note that it has an asterisk next to it indicating it’s
been edited.
14. Right-click the Geological Section 15900mN layer in the Vizex Layer
Display pane and choose Refresh from the pop-up menu. Answer No
when prompted to save your edits. The layer will revert to its unedited
state.
To draw the new object, click the New Points , New String or New
Polygon button based on the object type you wish to create. (Only New
Points will be available for a point file.) Or, right-click anywhere in the graphic
display and choose New String or New Polygon from the pop-up menu.
Vizex will change the mouse pointer to a precise crosshair cursor to indicate
the change of mode. You can now add points as required.
You finish a new string in several different ways, depending on whether you
want to leave it open or closed. To finish the string and leave it open:
Vizex will change the mouse pointer back to the Select Tool to indicate the
new string is finished. To close the string:
Choose New Polygon when you create it and use one of the above
methods to finish it. The string will automatically close.
Digitise the last point over the first. Provided you’re reasonably accurate
Vizex will automatically snap the two points.
If you used New String , create an open string as above and then
right-click and choose Close String from the pop-up menu.
Closing a string automatically finishes it and changes the mouse pointer back
to the Select Tool.
Notes: edit any property that is not shown in grey text. Use the Window | Property
Window button to reopen the Properties window if you can’t see it.
You can optionally configure Vizex to prompt you for the properties every
time you create a new string. To enable this option, select Project |
Options | Vizex (per project) from the back page and switch to the
String Editor tab on the Vizex Options dialog. Enable Prompt to edit
properties on adding a new string to activate this option.
Snapping
Most on-screen digitising incorporates pre-existing data. For example, you
would typically interpret cross-sections from existing drillhole information or
draw a geological map over satellite imagery or geophysics. With Vizex you
can snap to virtually any visible object; thus, you can improve the accuracy of
a cross-section interpretation by snapping to true 3D drillhole intervals.
Although snapping works for nearly every layer type, it is not appropriate, and
isn’t enabled for types like images and grids. Additionally, you might want to
display a layer but intentionally avoid snapping to it. You control the snap
status of a layer by selecting it in the Vizex Layer Display pane and clicking
the Toggle Snap Status button. When this button is down the layer can be
snapped-to; when the button is up it can’t.
To snap to a point, activate Snap Mode and move the mouse near that point.
You’ll see a small square, the snap cursor, following your mouse pointer.
Once the snap cursor is in the right place, click the mouse to snap to that
point. Don’t move your mouse pointer over the point as it will hide the snap
cursor and make it harder to tell which point is being snapped.
Snap Mode works in two ways: you either click the mouse to a snap single
point or you drag the mouse to follow a string. Vizex always displays a snap
cursor showing the currently-snapped point and highlights the currently-fol-
lowed string segments with a dashed line.
You control the default snap status on a layer type-by-type basis by se-
lecting Project | Options | Vizex and switching to the Default Layer
Options tab. Here you can set the default snap status for each new layer
type that you might load.
In this exercise you’ll create a couple of new polygons and experiment with
Snap Mode and following a string.
4. Click the New Polygon button to create a new polygon in the string
file. Vizex will change the mouse pointer from the selection cursor to the
precise cursor, indicating that you’re now ready to digitise.
5. Move the mouse pointer around the graphic display and note how the
snap cursor jumps to points and lines from all visible layers.
A dark green rock unit has been logged at the western side of the drilling, and
now you’ll produce a simple interpretation of this unit.
6. Move the mouse onto a drillhole until the snap cursor finds one of the
dark green contacts, taking care to not hide it with your mouse pointer.
Click to add a point.
7. Repeat for the remaining five points that define the green unit – but
don’t try extending the interpretation beyond the drillholes at this stage.
8. Once you’ve digitised the sixth point, without closing the polygon,
Right-click the mouse. Vizex will automatically close the polygon.
9. Switch to the Properties window and set the String value to ANDS.
Your display should resemble this:
Notes:
Optionally, the next part of this exercise will briefly show you how to follow a
string. This action is discussed in detail in MG 201 – Surface Geology.
10. Click the Design | New Polygon button to create another new
polygon.
11. Click and drag the mouse down the western side of HW1 (the red
polygon). As you proceed, you’ll see a faint line appear along that edge.
When you’ reach the bottom of HW1, release the mouse. Vizex will
immediately draw the shared line.
12. Experiment with following other boundaries or lines.
13. Once you’re satisfied with your digitising, press Ctrl+S to save the
edits.
14. Leave the display in preparation for the next exercise.
Creating new point or string files in Vizex is straightforward: pull down the
Select Active Layer list on the Vizex Layers Display toolbar and choose
[New] (Layer type) from the list. For example, you create a new string file by Notes:
pulling down the list and choosing [New] String.
Once you’ve made the selection Vizex will place a new layer in the Vizex Layer
Display pane, named Untitled (Untitled.EXT) and automatically set as the
active layer. (EXT varies according to the layer type you requested – DAT for
points and STR for strings.) Untitled appears twice because the form set and
the underlying file both have no title.
Create a layer using Select Active Layer. As soon as it’s created, right-
click it in the Vizex Layer Display pane and choose Open Input File
from the pop-up menu. Then modify the file using the method you
learned in MM 101.
Open the Vizex Point or String dialog (as required). Right-click the File
response in the Input Data tab and choose New from the pop-up
menu. Enter the file name, choose the file type, then manually define
the structure.
A minimal point file should contain the 3D coordinate fields described above.
Notes: Both file types may contain as many additional fields as needed. Consider cre-
ating a template to simplify the process if you regularly use this method.
Although we recommend naming the fields as listed you may use any field
names that suit the purpose. For example, it’s common to use a LABEL field
as a string field.
You can set the view to any orientation, including oblique/inclined, for in-
terpretation. Additionally, you can simultaneously edit in multiple win-
dows, such as in plan and cross section.
Give each object a unique name wherever there’s more than one object in a
section. For example, if a lode is bifurcated or splayed by a fault use a suffix
e.g. NO4_F for Number Four Lode Footwall to keep the names unique, as
shown in the three example sections overleaf.
Notes:
Although you don’t have to name the strings this way, your workflow will go
more smoothly if you do. It will also simplify the wireframing stage.
Notes:
Optional Exercise 4.3: Set up a new string file
In Exercise 4.1 you edited an existing string file. In this exercise, you’ll create
a new string file, which will comprise a simple bounding box that defines the
limits of the to-be-created geological model.
2. Pull down the Select Active Layer list in the Vizex Layers Display
toolbar and choose [New] String from the list. Note how Vizex places a
new layer called Untitled (Untitled.STR) in the Vizex Layer Display
pane.
Notes:
In the next exercise you’ll continue the quartz vein geological interpretation.
Interpretation Steps
At this point it’s tempting to just jump in and start drawing the geology, but
as with most tasks a systematic approach will produce a better result. Gen-
erally, you should use a two-stage workflow for a geological interpretation.
Notes: First, digitise the Facts by Snapping to the available data, as shown
on Figure 4.1.
You need this approach because drillholes are rarely, if ever, located exactly
on the plane of the section. The slight mismatch between the holes and the
section plane means some intervals will fall slightly off the section. Initially
concentrating on the facts by snapping to existing points creates a 3D co-
ordinate framework for your new string. By inserting the interpreted points
into this framework, you allow Vizex to interpolate their 3D locations from the
surrounding data, which produces a more accurate result. If you had started
freehand digitising, Vizex would always put the new points exactly on the plane
of the section instead of the drillholes.
In this exercise you’ll complete the quartz vein interpretation, working north-
wards and southwards from section 15900mN. The aim here is to understand
how to carry out an interpretation using the tools and techniques you’ve learnt
so far, so don’t worry if your new polygons look a little … creative.
4. Click the Design | New Polygon button to start drawing a new Notes:
polygon.
In this lesson you learned to do spatial editing in Vizex using various editing
modes, editing tools and context menus. You also learned to perform a sec-
tional interpretation.
To start editing:
Right-click the layer in the Vizex Layer Display pane and choose
Save or Save As from the pop-up menu, or
Highlight the edited layer in the Vizex Layer Display pane and choose
File | Save or File | Save As from the menu, or press Ctrl+S, or
Select File | Save | Save All from the menu, or press Ctrl+Shift+S.
Create a new editable layer choosing [New] (Layer type) from the
Select Active Layer list, or
Double-click the Vizex form in the Vizex, then right-click the File
response and select New from the pop-up menu.
Click the Design | New Points, New String or New Polygon button,
or
Right-click, or
Press Esc, or
Double-click the last point, or
Close the string by clicking the last point over the first.
To copy a string:
Hold the Ctrl key, then click and drag the string to produce a copy.
To delete a point:
To delete a string:
To follow a string:
With snap mode enabled, drag the mouse along the object boundary.
Good Practice
Become familiar with the keyboard and right-click shortcuts so you can speed
up the editing process. For example, it’s quicker to toggle snap mode and
insert points mode by pressing S and I than it is to move the mouse to the
toolbar each time.
Notes:
Lesson 5 – DTMs
Duration: 20 minutes
Interactively select the points and strings from the display and select
Grid/DTM | Interactive New DTM .
Select Grid/DTM | Interactive New DTM and then follow the
instructions in the Selection Assistant.
Select Grid/DTM | New DTM from the ribbon. This option takes
place outside of Vizex and is ideal for process automation.
When you use an interactive method, the Selection Assistant will prompt you
to optionally use another string to restrict the extents of the DTM and will then
open the Build DTM dialog. You must supply the output wireframe’s Type,
Name and Colour. The wireframe Type gives you a convenient way to group
similar wireframes; for example, you might have DTMs of pre- and post-mining
topography, which could be placed in the DTM wireframe type. The Name is
any name you specify. Enabling the Auto load option will immediately display
the newly created DTM in Vizex.
The Options tab provides many advanced construction options. Use Define
Projection Plane to build the DTM in a direction other than PLAN. Use
Generate Terrain Features to build a DTM from topographic contours:
Simple mode prevents contour lines from being self-connected, minimising Notes:
flat triangles, while Advanced mode creates topographic relief in otherwise
flat areas. Disabling Generate Terrain Features (the default setting) allows the
creation of flat triangles for pit designs with haul roads.
These names are generally interchangeable, and represent shapes made from
triangles. Micromine uses Wireframe as a generic word for any shape made of
triangles. A DTM , DEM or TIN cannot enclose a volume or fold back over
themselves, whereas a surface and solid can be any shape.
In this exercise you’ll use the topographic contours you imported from ArcGIS
to produce a topographic DTM.
First, create the view and select the Create DTM option:
1. Expand the String form by clicking its icon in the Vizex Layer Types
pane.
2. Drag the Topographic contours form set into the graphic display. Vizex
will load the contours you created earlier.
Step 1 of the Selection Assistant is highlighted, asking you to select the strings
from which to create the DTM. It has also automatically activated the Select
Tool. You’re now ready to select the contour lines:
4. Drag a rectangle that encloses the contour lines. The selected lines will
be highlighted when you release the mouse. Drag a larger rectangle if
you didn’t select them all. You can repeat this step as often as needed to
get the right selection.
5. Right-click the mouse or click the Accept Selection button to go
to Step 2, which asks you to specify an optional restriction string.
6. Right-click or Accept Selection ) to skip the restriction string.
7. Ensure the Output Wireframe tab is visible, then click the Type
browse button and choose DTM.tridb from the list
Notes: 8. Enter the Name Topo and change the Colour from black to green.
Although this dialog includes an auto-load option, you need to learn about
manually loading a wireframe, so we won’t use it here.
1. Double-click the Wireframe form type in the Vizex Layer Types pane.
2. Ensure that the Input Data tab is active, and the Wireframe group is
set to Single.
3. Click the Type browse button and choose DTM.tridb from the list. If
you see Example wireframes, go up one folder level.
4. Click the Name list ( ) button and choose Topo from the list.
Micromine automatically chooses the name when the tridb file only contains
one wireframe.
5. Switch to the Display tab and set Draw Style to 3D Shaded (Hollow).
6. Enable 3D Colour coding and click the Colour set form button.
7. Choose NVG_TOPO DTM Colours from the list of available colour sets.
8. At this point the DTM is worth seeing, so click OK to display it. Your
display should look like this screenshot:
In this exercise you’ll drape an air photo onto the DTM. Begin by reopening
the Wireframe dialog and choosing the image file:
1. Double-click the Untitled (DTM Topo) layer in the Vizex Layer Display
pane. The form will open back on the Display tab, which is where you
last left it.
2. Switch to the Draping tab and choose Image.
3. Click the Image file browse button and navigate to the Import
folder. Select the MMI_Image.ecw file.
4. Ensure the Georeference option is selected.
5. Click the Save As button and save a form set with the Title Topo DTM
with airphoto.
6. Click OK on the Save Current Values dialog and Wireframe form to
display the modified DTM.
Optional: Change the transparency of the DTM via the Advanced tab.
Notes: 7. Double-click the Topo DTM with airphoto layer in the Vizex Layer
Display pane to reopen the form.
8. Switch to the Advanced tab and drag the Transparency slider to
about 20%. Click OK to apply the changes without saving them to the
form set.
9. Once you’re finished experimenting with the transparency, select Vizex
Display Layers| Remove All from the ribbon to clean up the display,
answering No when prompted to save changes.
If you generate a regular plot file the Plot Editor won’t be able to cor-
rectly interpret the wireframe and it may be drawn poorly, if at all.
To create a DTM:
Select the input strings and points from the display and click the
Grid/DTM | Interactive New DTM button, or
To load a DTM:
Double-click the Wireframe form type in the Vizex Forms pane, and
Set up the Wireframe form.
Good Practice
Always choose a default colour when you create a new DTM. If you don’t it
will be displayed in solid black and no texture will be visible when you view it.
You should not use a colour set to change the default colour of a DTM. Instead,
right-click its name on any dialog that references it and change the colour on
the Wireframe Properties dialog. Or, use the Wireframe Manager
(Wireframe | Manage Wireframes| Wireframes Manager) to change
colours.
MM 103 – Wireframing 1
Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................................................ 1
LESSON 1 – GETTING STARTED..........................................................................................................2
THE BASIC WORKFLOW.................................................................................................................................. 2
LOADING THE INPUT DATA.............................................................................................................................. 3
DATA QUALITY CONTROL ............................................................................................................................... 4
Maintain Quality from the Start .............................................................................................................. 4
Additional reading: the difference between a DTM, a surface and a solid .................................................. 6
LESSON 2 – CONSTRUCTING THE WIREFRAME .................................................................................9
BUILDING THE WIREFRAME ............................................................................................................................. 9
Making a Wireframe the Active Layer .................................................................................................... 10
Building a Wireframe ........................................................................................................................... 10
VALIDATING THE WIREFRAME ........................................................................................................................ 13
FIXING VALIDATION ERRORS ......................................................................................................................... 15
Validating Multiple Wireframes ............................................................................................................. 15
Swapping Triangle Edges ..................................................................................................................... 15
Adding Tie Lines .................................................................................................................................. 16
CLOSING ENDS .......................................................................................................................................... 19
Creating Intermediate Sections ............................................................................................................ 20
LESSON 3 – SAVING YOUR WORK ................................................................................................... 26
SAVING THE WIREFRAME .............................................................................................................................. 26
SAVING TIE LINES ...................................................................................................................................... 27
SAVING MODIFIED INPUT STRINGS ................................................................................................................. 28
Sidebars
Tables
MM 103 – Wireframing 1
Table of Contents
Exercises
Notes:
Introduction
This session introduces the process of creating a wireframe solid that you can
use to model 3D shapes such as geological units or structures, ore grade
envelopes or underground mine workings.
However, before you learn about wireframe solids, it’s useful to revise the
process of carrying out a drillhole interpretation. Starting with a series of
vertical cross-sections, you correlate the object of interest, perhaps a
mineralised vein, between holes to produce essentially 2.5-dimensional
interpretations on each section.
Clearly the mineralised vein exists in three dimensions and the drillholes should
therefore be correlated in 3D. You do this in Micromine by linking a polygon
from one section to the matching polygon on the next, creating a three-dimen-
sional shape as you go. This process, called building a wireframe or simply
wireframing, produces a mesh of interconnected triangles that can represent
a surface like a fault plane or weathering horizon, or a solid like a rock unit or
ore grade envelope. Because wireframes are constructed from triangles they
are also known as triangulations.
Notes:
Lesson 1 – Getting Started
Duration: 15 minutes
In this lesson you’ll learn about the overall wireframing process along with the
specific steps you should carry out before starting.
Load Quality
Build* Close Save
strings control
The Build step, marked with an asterisk in the preceding diagram, is usually
the most time-consuming part of the procedure because it’s a recurring sub-
process. It can be further broken into three steps:
Build
Fix Validate
Much of the wireframing workflow is non-linear: you load and check your Notes:
strings once and then spend some time iterating through the build-validate-fix
cycle, periodically saving your work, until achieve a suitable result. Only then
will you have a closed and validated wireframe solid. Although the following
pages present these steps in a linear fashion, you’ll need to repeat some of
them often before you complete your wireframe.
The differences between solids, surfaces and DTMs are explained in the
additional reading at the end of this lesson.
1. Display the Project Explorer pane by clicking the tab at the bottom of
the Vizex layer Type pane.
2. Locate the Example_Qtz_Vein_Interp.STR file and drag it into Vizex.
3. Double-click the Untitled (Example_Qtz_Vein_Interp.STR) layer in the
Vizex Layer Display pane and then switch to the Display tab.
4. Click the list ( ) button in the Colour field response and choose
STRING.
5. Click the Colour set form button and choose Orebody names.
6. Click Save As at right of the String dialog and enter a form set Title of
Qtz Vein interp. Click OK on the Save Current Values and String
dialogs to display the input strings.
7. With the Qtz Vein interp layer highlighted in the Vizex Layer Display
pane, click the Colour Legend button to display the string colours.
Make note of the colours used for each mineralised zone.
8. Dock the floating dialog under the Vizex Layer Display pane as shown
overleaf.
Notes:
Position: Display your strings and drillholes together and compare their
positions. Are they in the same coordinate space? Performing a
coordinate transformation on one dataset but not the other can produce
this problem. Correct any coordinate discrepancies before continuing.
Snapping: Do your string vertices snap to the tops and bottoms of
drillhole intervals? If not, is it important for your project that they do?
You can snap un-snapped vertices by nudging each one with Snap
Mode enabled.
Closure: Are your strings closed? Mistakenly including an open string in
a wireframe will produce a surface instead of a solid. To close an open
string, select the offending string and then right-click and choose Close
String from the pop-up menu.
Viewpoint: Set the view orientation so you can easily see the front and
back of each section as well as separately seeing each section. It may
not be possible to find a single view that works for the entire project so
change it as often as needed. A confusing viewpoint with overlapping
strings will make it hard to know exactly what you’re linking.
Once you’ve established the quality of the input data, you’re ready to start Notes:
wireframing. Detailed quality control is beyond the scope of this manual and
is covered in MG 211 – Wireframing 2. At this stage you’ll assume the input
data is valid and will perform a simple visual check of the match between the
strings and drillholes.
1. Expand the Drillhole Trace list in the Vizex Layer Types pane by
clicking the expand icon to the left of the Trace form in the Drillhole
folder.
2. Drag the Example drillhole lithology form set into the graphic display.
3. Vizex will display the drillhole data from which the interpretation was
created; even a casual glance will show that the strings are in the same
coordinate space as the drillholes.
4. Using the Vizex |Pan Tool , (drag with the middle mouse button),
dynamic zoom (roll the mouse wheel), and Vizex | Rotate Tool ,
zoom in on each section and slowly rock the view back and forth,
inspecting the interpreted strings and their relationships with the
drillholes. Look for incorrectly snapped points and any other obvious
errors.
5. Once you’re done, click the check box next to the Example drillhole
lithology layer in the Vizex Layer Display Pane to hide the drillholes.
6. Click the Plan View and View All buttons, on the floating
tools bar to reset the view.
Keeping the Select Tool active and using the middle mouse to pan
and zoom, and Shift+middle mouse to rotate, will enable you to quickly
switch between view manipulation and string selection without wasting
time moving the mouse to the ribbon area and back.
Notes:
Additional reading: the difference between a DTM, a
surface and a solid
In MM 102 you worked with a DTM, which is one kind of wireframe. In this
document you’re working with a solid, and you’ve read references to a third
kind of wireframe, a surface.
In other words, how many times would a vertical hole drilled at a random X-Y
location intersect the wireframe? The wireframe is a DTM if the answer is al-
ways one no matter where the hole is drilled. If the drillhole ever intersects
the wireframe more than once it’s a surface or solid.
Does the wireframe have an outside edge with some triangle edges not con-
nected to other triangles? It’s a DTM or surface if it does. Otherwise, it’s a
solid.
There are many ways to build wireframes in Micromine and identifying the
right kind of wireframe will help determine the best tool for the job. As a guide
Table 1.1 summarises the various kinds of wireframe and lists the best way to
construct each kind.
DTM Topography
Recumbent
Surface fold surface
Ore grade
Solid envelope
Kind of
Best Construction Method
Wireframe
This lesson has covered the basic workflow of wireframing and has introduced
you to basic visual quality control.
Use the Project Explorer or Vizex String form to load a string file.
Load the original drillholes along with the strings and check:
Position – are the drillholes and strings in the same coordinate space?
Snapping – do the string vertices snap to drillhole intervals?
Closure – are the strings closed?
Viewpoint – choose a view that gives you a clear view of the strings.
Good Practice
Perform your quality control checks right at the beginning by interpreting your
open or closed strings with wireframing already in mind. Ensure that you sys-
tematically check the naming, snapping and closure of each string before mov-
ing onto the next one. By doing this you’ll be less reliant on performing a
specific QC step before wireframing.
Keep the Select Tool active and use keyboard and mouse combinations
to switch between the Select Tool and view manipulation. With the Select Tool
enabled you can still pan and zoom using the middle mouse wheel and button,
and you can rotate by using Shift+middle mouse button.
Wireframe
Duration: 45 minutes
Build
Fix Validate
This lesson will cover the build-validate-fix cycle in more detail. Once you’re
finished, you’ll be able to:
Notes: The manual method gives you complete control over the process, and you’ll
learn this method in the next few lessons. Automatically building a wireframe
is very fast but is based on mathematics and may not represent the reality
you’re trying to model. The implicit modelling workflow uses radial basis
functions (RBFs) to model surfaces or solids. Although it is heavily mathe-
matical, its many options give you a large amount of geological control.
Building a Wireframe
You use Wireframe | New (build Wireframe) mode to build a wireframe.
This process involves clicking a string on one section and then clicking the
matching string on the adjacent section. Vizex will link the two strings with a
series of triangles. Continue by clicking the matching string on each following
section.
If you refer to Lesson 1, you’ll recall that one of the quality control checks was
to choose the correct viewpoint. This is especially important when you’re
wireframing because you must be able to easily visually identify each string
before you click it. Take time to adjust the view, as a poor viewpoint that
obstructs your view of the strings will make wireframing more difficult.
In the following exercise you’ll build the MV2 wireframe, represented by the
green strings.
Notes:
Exercise 2.1: Build a solid
1. Pull down the Select Active Layer list and choose [New] Wireframe
from the list. Vizex will create a new display layer called New Wireframe.
This tool interactively selects objects that match the conditions you specify. In
this exercise you will select all strings that are not MV2* (green) so that you
can use a visibility tool to hide them.
Prompt Setting
Method: New selection
Layer (1): Qtz Vein interp
Field (1): STRING
Operator (1): Not equal
Value (1): MV2* (note use of wildcard)
Numeric (1): Disabled
3. Click OK to apply the selection and inspect the result: everything but the
green strings are highlighted.
Although they are still loaded in memory the non-essential strings are now
invisible.
Notes: Click the Vizex | All Visible button to redisplay the hidden strings.
Now it’s time to set the viewpoint and build the wireframe:
1. Rotate the view until you can clearly see each string and can also clearly
see the front and back of each.
2. Click the Wireframing | New button to activate Build Wireframe
mode. Note how the cursor now shows an icon that matches the current
triangulation method.
3. Click the first (southern-most) string to select it.
4. Now click the string in the next section and observe the result: Vizex
links the two strings with triangles. Your screen should look like this:
Notes:
Validating the Wireframe
Micromine automatically validates the wireframe each time you link a new
section, instantly alerting you to new problems. If your wireframe is simple
this level of validation may be enough.
Visual validation is very important and simple to do: turn the wireframe
around and look at it from all directions. Does it make geological sense? Does
it accurately represent the shape you’re trying to create? Has it left out
required volume or included unnecessary volume?
If the wireframe is complex, you may need to visually validate every link. On
the other hand, if the wireframing is simple you can link several sections before
validating. No matter how simple the wireframe, you should mathematically
validate it at least once at the end of the construction process, or more often
if there’s a risk of interaction between different wireframe parts.
In the following exercise you’ll validate the work you’ve completed so far.
1. Rotate the view and inspect the solid. Look for sections where
volume may be lost or where the wireframe is geologically nonsensical.
You can ignore the 2 open section(s) since they are normal for a solid whose
ends haven’t been closed yet. Your validation report should find no other
errors. Ultimately, Micromine should find zero problems, proving that the solid
is closed and valid.
Whenever you need to fix an invalid wireframe, you nearly always start by
removing the invalid link(s) that caused the problem. You do this in different
ways depending on where they occur within the wireframe:
Undo: If the invalid link is the last one you created, undo it by pressing
Ctrl+Z, or right-click | Undo, or by clicking the Undo Quick
access Toolbar button. This simple method works best when you
validate often.
Select Triangles by Construction String: If the invalid link is
surrounded by valid links and can be identified by the strings used to
create it, delete the offending triangles by selecting the two strings, then
right-clicking and choosing Select Triangles by Construction String
from the pop-up menu.
Select Triangles by Line: If the geometry of the invalid link is
complex, you can delete the offending triangles by right-clicking and
choosing Select Triangles by Line button or pressing K, dragging
a line through the triangles to highlight them, and then pressing Delete
on the keyboard.
Once you’ve deleted the invalid links in a problem wireframe, you must
consider how to replace them with valid links. There are many ways to correct
a wireframe, two of which are described below. Advanced remediation
methods are covered in MG 211 – Wireframing 2.
To validate multiple wireframes, simply select them from the wireframe man-
ager, and then click the Validate button. Ctrl+click to select wireframes across
multiple types. Alternatively, right-click a selected wireframe and choose
Validate from the pop-up menu.
Notes:
Adding Tie Lines
Tie lines are construction lines that control how the wireframe is linked from
one section to the next. Whenever Micromine finds a tie line it will position a
pair of triangle edges on that line, which means you can use tie lines to control
how points are connected between two sections.
Add tie lines sparingly. Creating too many tie lines not only wastes time but
can increase the number of problems instead of reducing them.
Less is more: use the fewest tie lines needed to fix the problem.
Pick the worst problem: focus on the most invalid parts first.
Pick obvious vertices: focus on the sharpest corners.
You add tie lines with the Wireframe| New Tie Line button. When you
first click this button, you’ll be asked to Select Active Tie Lines. If you
already have a tie line file loaded choose that from the list. If not, choose
[New] String and create the file. Once you’ve chosen the tie line file Micromine
will automatically switch to string edit mode with Vizex | Enable Snapping
enabled.
To build a tie line, click a vertex in one section and then click the matching
vertex in the next section. Micromine will join them with a line segment, which
constitutes a single tie line. To continue with this or any other tie line, click the
start and end vertices for each segment.
To preserve the integrity of the input data, always edit tie lines in a
separate layer. Don’t add them to the original input string file.
The validation you carried out in Exercise 2.2 identified one minor problem: a
small amount of lost volume in the links between sections 15790 and 15820.
In this exercise, you’ll use Swap Triangle Edge to fix the lost volume south
of 15820. You’ll then repair a fictional error north of 15820 by deleting triangles
and adding a tie line. You’ll finish by rebuilding the solid.
1. Reset the view by clicking the Plan View button followed by the Notes:
View All button.
2. Zoom and pan the display to focus on the region between sections
15820 and 15850.
3. Turn the view so you can clearly see the crease just south of 15850.
5. Click the mouse once and observe the effect on the wireframe. The
crease has been removed, overleaf.
Notes: Now you’ll delete triangles and add a tie line to fix a fictional error in the link
north of 15820:
6. Switch to the Select Tool and select the strings at 15820 and 15850
North. Hold the Ctrl key as you select the second string.
7. With the strings selected, right-click in the graphic display and choose
Select Triangles by Construction String from the pop-up menu, as
shown here:
9. Right click and choose New Tie Line from the pop-up menu, or
alternatively click the New Tie Line button.
10. On the Select Active Tie Lines dialog, choose [New] String.
11. Click OK. Micromine will create a new layer called Untitled (Untitled.STR)
and switch to string edit mode with Snap Mode enabled.
12. Rotate the view sideways slightly so you can clearly identify the Notes:
vertices that make up the top of the vein.
13. Click near a string vertex at the top left of the gap to start a tie line,
ensuring that the tie line snaps to the correct point.
14. Click near the matching vertex in the next section. Micromine will join
the two vertices with a tie line segment.
15. Repeat Steps 12 to 14 to add a tie line to the bottom of the vein. Your
display should look like this screenshot:
16. Press Esc or click the New Tie Line button to finish adding ties.
Closing Ends
A wireframe is not a solid until you close the ends. Otherwise, it is only a
complex surface that can’t be used for volume or grade/tonnage calculations.
It’s tempting to simply close the wireframes along the existing sections at
either end of the model. However, if your sections originated from a drillhole
interpretation, this will close the wireframe straight down the drillhole traces
on the end sections and you’ll lose volume as a result. Additionally, you’ll
literally split the affected drill intervals lengthwise and won’t know if they fall
inside or outside the wireframe.
Instead, extend the wireframe by half a drill line spacing beyond the end
sections. This is a three-dimensional extension of how you normally terminate
polygons halfway between two holes on a 2D vertical section.
Notes:
The quickest way to extend a wireframe beyond the end sections is to create
intermediate sections. This technique is also essential for modelling splits or
bifurcations in a wireframe, which are covered in MG 211.
Closing the end of a wireframe is simple: you select the string that represents
the end, right-click in the graphic display, and choose Close End from the
pop-up menu. Alternatively, you can click the Close End button on the
Wireframe ribbon or use Close End to Point to create a conical end.
This option does not require an intermediate section.
Lastly, the Wireframe | Close Holes option is ideal for closing hard-to-
find openings in a large or complex wireframe.
All three options require a distance and direction, which may be specified in
terms of X, Y, Z offsets, azimuth / inclination / distance, or distance perpen-
dicular to the plane of the data or plane of the screen.
Whenever copy or replicate are used, the original strings are left in place
and the actions are applied to the copies. The strings may optionally be
resized to a percentage of their original sizes. This is useful if you wish to
taper the wireframe to, say, 80% of its original size to represent your
decreasing confidence in its shape beyond the drilling.
In the following exercise you’ll use Copy/Move String to create intermediate Notes:
sections and close the wireframe.
The average drill line spacing for this project is 30 m, so it’s logical to make
intermediate sections 15 m past the end sections. Because the intermediate
sections are not based on any real data, you’ll also resize them to 80% of their
original size. Once the sections are created, you’ll extend the solid to them and
then close ends.
1. Switch to a Plan view from the floating tool bar and pan to the
southern end of the solid.
2. Click the Select Tool and then click the string at the southern end of
the solid to select it.
Prompt Setting
Mode: Azimuth/Inclination/Distance
Azimuth: 220
Inclination: 0
Distance: 15
Copy: Selected
Resize: Enabled [80%]
If you don’t deselect the current string when you move to a different part
of the solid, Micromine will incorrectly link the two parts.
Notes: 9. Repeat Steps 3 through 8 at the northern end of the solid, using an
Azimuth value of 0.
10. Right Click and Validate Wireframe to ensure the solid is valid. It’s
only closed when the report shows zero invalid connections, zero open
sections, and zero intersecting triangles.
This lesson has extended the basic wireframing workflow to incorporate the
build–validate–fix cycle and has introduced a technique for creating inter-
mediate sections to close ends. Specifically, you’ve learned:
To validate a wireframe:
Use the Vizex | Measure Tool to draw a line to the rough position
of the new section, matching the known strike and dip of the wireframe,
then
Make note of the Length, Azimuth, and Inclination values in the
status bar or Properties window, and
Use those values in the steps below.
Good Practice
Validate often. It’s better to take a few seconds to validate than to spend days
building a wireframe only to discover it contains too many errors.
Keep data integrity in mind whenever you add tie lines or adjust the source Notes:
strings. Tie lines should always go in their own file.
Always deselect the last string of the current wireframe part if you plan to work
somewhere else, otherwise Micromine will try to join the two parts. This will
cause validation errors at worst and a visually invalid wireframe at best.
Notes:
Lesson 3 – Saving Your Work
Duration: 15 minutes
Saving your work is simply a matter of saving each of the files with which
you’ve been working (wireframe, tie lines, input strings). However, some data
management and integrity decisions are needed, especially if your work will
be audited against modern reporting codes.
Although it’s possible to save all files at once, it’s best to save them separately
so you can control the destination of each data element. You control which
layer is saved by selecting it in the Vizex Layer Display pane before saving.
Save a wireframe
Save tie lines, using a name that relates them to the wireframe
Save modified input strings without altering the original input data.
However, you’re not restricted to just these types. Faults or shear zones can
be modelled as surfaces or solids that you can group under the Fault type.
Similarly, for solids of underground workings you might use the Stope type.
If none of the supplied wireframe types suit your requirements, you can easily
create your own. Just select Wireframe | Manage Wireframes from the
ribbon and click the New Type button on the Manage Wireframe dialog.
Whenever you create a new wireframe type you must also define the attributes
for that type. The simplest way is to use another type as a template or disable
the template option to define your own attributes.
Always specify a default Colour when you create a new wireframe. If you
don’t, the wireframe will be displayed in black and no texture will be visible.
In the following exercise you’ll save the wireframe with the Type Ore and the
Name MV2.
You may alternatively select the layer and click the Home | Save button
on the ribbon or press Ctrl+S to save it.
2. Click the Type browse button and choose Ore.tridb from the list.
3. Enter the Name MV2 and set the Colour to pale green.
4. Click OK to save the solid.
In Optional Exercise 2.3 you learned about separating tie lines from the input
strings; when you save the tie line file you should name it in a way that relates
it to the wireframe. For example, if your wireframe is named Sth Lode v1, one
possible name for the tie line file might be Sth_Lode_v1_Ties. The tie line file
is still a string file, so although you’ve separated the tie lines from the input
strings you should still set the file Type to STRING when you save it.
In the following exercise you’ll save your tie lines as a string file with the Name
MV2_Ties.
To reload the tie line file, perhaps after shutting down Micromine for the even-
ing, load it as a String layer and then go to Wireframe | New Tie Line and
select the small triangle immediately to the right of the New Tie Line button.
Notes: Choose Select Active Tie Lines from the button menu and select the tie line
file from the list.
Because of this change in data origin you should consider saving modified
strings to a new file instead of saving them to the original one.
This does not apply to error corrections, which you should save back into
the original file whenever possible.
In the following exercise you’ll save the modified input strings to a new file
called MV2_Interp, which relates it to the solid.
1. Right-click the Qtz Vein interp layer in the Vizex Layer Display pane
and choose Save As from the pop-up menu.
2. Enter the File Name MV2_Interp. As you did with tie lines, naming the
file this way relates it to the wireframe.
3. Click OK to save the file.
4. Micromine will place the new file name (MV2_Interp) into the Qtz Vein
interp form set, protecting the original file from accidental modification.
5. To view the newly created wireframe in context, click the check box next
to the Example drillhole lithology layer in the Vizex Layer Display
Pane to show the drillholes. You may wish to also expand the
Wireframes form type and load Topo DTM with Airphoto.
In this lesson you learned to save the various files that contribute to a built
wireframe. Topics covered are:
Right-click the layer in the Vizex Layer Display pane and choose
Save from the pop-up menu, or
Click the Save button or press Ctrl+S, and
Name the file according to the wireframe it’s related to and, if necessary,
its version number.
Right-click the layer in the Vizex Layer Display pane and choose
Save As from the pop-up menu, or
Highlight the layer in the Vizex Layer Display pane and select File |
Save As from the menu, and
Name the file according to the wireframe it’s related to and, if necessary,
its version number.
Good Practice
Don’t rely on the Save All option to save your files, as you may unintentionally
overwrite an existing file, particularly if you’ve modified the input strings.
MM 104 – Plotting 1
Table of Contents
Sidebars
Tables
MM 104 – Plotting 1
Table of Contents
Exercises
Duration: 30 minutes
In this lesson you’ll learn to open, modify and print a plot layout that you
created in MM 102 – Displaying and Manipulating Data. The result will be a
drillhole cross section with an automatic plot title. You’ll also print the layout
to PDF.
Introduction
The Plot Editor is where you create plot layouts of your project data and
then print them to a PDF file, plotter or other output device. Plot layouts may
be as simple or as complex as you need, with multiple frames incorporating
other plots, coordinate grids, legends, images and tables.
This lesson will teach you the basics of the Plot Editor. In later lessons you’ll
create a more advanced layout that displays a cross-section and plan on the
same layout.
The Plot Editor ribbon contains essential tools for interacting with a plot
layout, the Layout section of the ribbon provides the tools necessary to design
a plot layout, and the Annotation section includes tools for marking-up a plot
layout. Docked at left of the Plot Editor window are the Plot Frames window,
where you manage the frames on a layout, the Plot Forms window, which
contains definitions for ready-made plot frames, and the Properties window,
with which you edit the properties of any frame on the layout. You’ll explore
many of these tools and windows over next few lessons.
Notes:
Plot Editor
Ribbon
Plot Frames
Properties
Whenever you generate a plot file using Auto load, Micromine creates the
plot document and gives it the same name as the plot file. Although Auto load
is not compulsory, it does make the two files easier to manage. The
relationship between them is explained in MG 204 – Plotting 2.
If you need to open a plot file without a matching plot document, just change Notes:
the file type to PLOT (*.PEL) when you use Plot | Open.
Micromine displays the newly opened plot layout using the default 2D layout
template, which was automatically applied when you created the file in
MM 102 – Displaying and Manipulating Data. You can see that much of the
configuration has already been done and only minor changes are needed.
Hide or close the Vizex docking windows to clear additional space for the
Plot Editor window.
1. Click the Plot Editor | Print | Page Setup button on the Plot Editor
Ribbon to open the Page Setup dialog.
2. On the Plot Settings dialog, click the Forms button and browse to the
Metric | Landscape | A4 Landscape form.
3. Double-click the form set, or click Open, to apply it to the layout, and
then click OK.
Notes: 4. Select the Plot Editor | (Zoom) One Page button to zoom the
layout to the new paper size.
1. Click within the plot frame (the box containing the plot data) to select it.
You’ll see its border highlighted in red.
2. The Properties window should be visible. If not, click the Properties
button in the Plot Editor ribbon to display it.
3. Select the X Scale value in the Properties window and change it to
1250.
4. Depending on the layout template, you may also need to change the Y
Scale. If it’s disabled, there is no need to set it.
The rectangular boxes on a plot layout are called frames, and the plot
frame is simply the one containing the plot data. Depending on the lay-
out, other frames might contain title text, a scale bar, a legend or a com-
pany logo. Managing the frames on a plot layout is covered in MG 204.
You can edit anything listed in the Properties window using black text. Items
listed in grey text must be edited from the relevant dialog.
Now that the scale is correct, you can position the data.
Positioning the data is an interactive process that involves dragging the con-
tents of a plot frame until they are correctly located within that frame.
1. With the plot frame selected (its border should be highlighted in red),
click the Pan Data Within Frame button on the Plot Editor
Ribbon.
2. Drag the data until it is centred within the frame.
3. Note the changes to the X Centre and Y Centre values in the
Properties window.
You can also use Pan Data Within Frame to rescale the data by Ctrl+
dragging the mouse vertically in the frame. Once you know the approximate
scale, enter the nearest sensible value in the Properties window.
With the data configured, it’s time to work on the marginalia – the information
around the margins of the plot frame.
There are two ways to supply title text for a layout: you can either enter it
yourself or you can use a plot form to quickly load predefined text. You’ll learn
both techniques in the next two exercises.
Notes:
Exercise 1.5: Change the title on the plot layout
1. Double-click the TITLE frame containing the text Plot Title / Description
of Plot Title to open the Text dialog. (You’ll also see the frame border
turn red.)
Hover your mouse over a frame to see its name in the status bar.
2. In the Free Text edit area, replace the existing text with Introduction to
Micromine / Training Plot. (The ‘/’ represents a line break. Press Enter
to create it.)
3. Click OK to apply the new title. Your TITLE frame should resemble this:
In this exercise, you’ll use a plot form to change the title text into an automatic
title that combines the project title and plot filename.
3. Double-click the form set or click the Open button to load it into the Notes:
dialog:
4. Click OK to apply the change to the layout. The title now contains text
automatically constructed from the project title and plot filename.
You change the contents and properties of any frame in a plot layout by
double-clicking it.
1. Click the Save button in the Plot Editor ribbon, select Home |
Save, or press Ctrl+S.
2. Leave the layout open in preparation for the next exercise.
Notes:
Printing a Plot Layout
On the ribbon, Plot Editor| Print | Print Setup is where you choose the
printer and paper size. You must ensure that this paper size matches the one
used by the layout.
To send the layout to the printer, select Plot Editor| Print | Print, or press
Ctrl+P.
1. Select Plot Editor| Print | Print Setup and choose an available PDF
printer. Alternatively, select the Windows 10 Microsoft Print to PDF.
2. On the Print Setup dialog, change the Paper Size to A4 and the
Orientation to Landscape, then click OK to return to the Plot Editor.
3. Click the Print button on the Plot Editor ribbon and then click OK on
the Print Setup dialog to print the layout.
4. If prompted for a file name, navigate to your project folder, enter
15900mN and click OK or Save.
If a preview or PDF window appears, confirm that the layout was printed
correctly and then close the window once done.
You can also use Plot Editor| Save to PDF to save a PDF directly.
Frame Types
In the preceding lessons you interacted with two different frame types: a 2D
Plot frame and a Text frame. The Plot Editor supports a variety of other frame
types, which are listed in Table 1.1.
Notes:
2D Plot: Displays a plot file. Can be Vizex Plot: Displays a Vizex View. Can
interactively zoomed and panned. be rotated, zoomed and panned.
Empty: Used for grouping other frames, Image: Supports many file formats.
such as a neat-line (border) or title block. Ideal for a company logo or site
photograph.
Legend: May be constructed manually Text: Any mixture of literal text and
or from colour, hatch, line or symbol predefined or user-defined substitution
sets. parameters.
North Arrow: Various north arrow Scale Bar: Shows reference plot scale.
symbols. Adjusts to changes in paper size or plot
scale. Different styles available.
This lesson has introduced you to the Plot Editor and the process of editing a
layout. Here’s what you’ve learnt:
You can also use the Auto Scale option on the 2D Plot dialog.
Select Plot Editor | Print | Print Setup and choose the paper size
and printer, then
Click the Plot Editor | Print button on the Plot Editor toolbar, or
Good Practice
Always enable Auto load whenever you use Vizex | Generate | Generate
Vizex Plot . This option saves time through not having to manually open
the layout; it also automatically creates and names the plot layout (.PEX) file.
An exception to this suggestion is when you are producing multiple plot files
from a macro and intend to print them using a master layout. In this situation,
which is introduced in MM 105 – Macros, you would typically disable Auto load.
Notes:
Lesson 2 – Modifying a Plot
Layout
Duration: 25 minutes
In this part of the training, you’ll learn to make simple modifications to a layout,
which are the first steps towards designing your own customised layout tem-
plate. The lesson covers two important techniques: using a layout template
to change the entire design and modifying a plot frame to change the con-
tents of a specific plot element.
Introduction
A plot layout consists of any combination of plot frames containing plot con-
tent, and other frame types containing supporting information or marginalia.
Modifications to a layout can be as broad as applying a completely new tem-
plate or as subtle as changing the properties of a single plot frame.
Using a Template
A common way of enhancing a drillhole cross section is to place a plan view of
the holes along one edge of the layout. The plan view is oriented parallel to
the section plane and matches the scale and location of the section. It shows
the location of the holes in relation to the section along with the thickness of
the clipping windows towards and away.
Micromine makes this process easy provided you’ve created a plan plot that
covers the entire project area. To incorporate the plan plot, apply a Section+
Plan layout template and then specify the name of the plan plot.
Notes:
Exercise 2.1: Display a plan view on the cross section
1. Ensure the Plot Frames window is visible. If it is not, click the Frames
tab to display it.
2. Right-click the 15900mN.PEX filename at the top of the tree.
3. Choose Apply Template from the pop-up menu:
Note how an empty plan window now appears at the top of the layout. The
grey text indicates that the frame is a 2D Plot frame called Plan Plot. The new
template has reformatted the entire layout.
Bottom refers to the location of the title frame, not the plan window.
6. Optionally, change the Paper Size back to A4 (use the paper size form
set, not the box on the dialog) and reselect the Auto title text.
7. Double-click within the Plan Plot frame to open the 2D Plot dialog.
8. Click the Plot file browse button and choose Example_Plan which
includes drillholes along with the information. Or, use the Plan plot file
you created earlier.
9. Click OK to apply the settings.
10. Your display should resemble the screenshot overleaf.
11. Using the Pan Data Within Frame button, drag the data within the
section view. Note how the plan view updates as you release the mouse.
Notes: Applying a template will remove the contents of any existing frames, so
be sure to choose the correct template before configuring the marginalia.
By using a template, it was possible to add the plan plot with minimal effort.
The Layout Templates folder contains many other templates, and you’ll learn
to manage your own templates in MG 204 – Plotting 2.
The Grid frame is subordinate to the Plot frame and is said to be a child of
the plot. There’s no direct way to modify the grid’s properties from the layout
so you must use the Plot Frames window to access it instead.
1. Ensure the Plot Frames window is visible. If it is not, click the Frames
tab to display it:
Notes:
2. Click the expand icon next to the Master Plot list to expand it. It
contains one child frame, the Master Plot Grid.
3. Double-click the Master Plot Grid frame to open the Grid dialog.
4. Click the Forms button at right of the Grid dialog and browse to the
Label Inside Border | Label=metres folder.
5. Choose Auto Spacing [DOTTED] from the list and click Open to apply it.
The spacing of the grid lines is currently automatic, but you’ll change it to a
fixed 100 m interval.
6. In the Line Settings group, enable Make all spacings the same and
change East Spacing to 100.
7. Click OK to apply the changes.
8. Optionally, repeat Steps 2 through 7 for the Plan Plot coordinate grid.
9. Your display should resemble this:
Notes:
10. Click the Save button on the Plot Editor ribbon to save your work.
Because a Grid frame is a child of its Plot frame, you can only modify its
properties from the Plot Frames window.
1. Double-click the [Image “LOGO”] frame to display the Image dialog. Its
border will be highlighted in red.
Notes:
5. Save and Close the layout (click the on the 15900mN.PEX tab) once
you’re done.
This lesson has introduced the basic ways to modify a plot layout. Here’s what
you’ve learned:
Click the Plot file browse button and choose the plot file.
Good Practice
Use pre-existing templates and plot forms where possible to speed up the
process of creating a plot layout.
Micromine supports popular image formats like JPG, GIF, TIF or PNG. When
making a logo file it’s important to ensure the image is large enough to make
high quality hardcopy output.
The largest paper you’re likely to use might be A0 or ARCH E, which means
the LOGO frame might be around 185 mm × 65 mm (7.2 × 2.5 inches). The
image should be big enough to accommodate this. A simple rule is: if you view
the logo at 100% scale on your computer screen it should just about fill the
screen. If it’s only 65 mm high on your screen, it’ll be too small to print at
maximum quality.
Notes:
Lesson 3 – Vizex Plots
Duration: 15 minutes
In this part of the training, you’ll learn to use a Vizex Plot layout to create a
plot of a Vizex view.
Introduction
A Vizex Plot layout is a layout that contains a Vizex Plot frame, which differs
from a 2D Plot frame in three key areas:
It gets its data directly from a Vizex View instead of a plot file.
It handles the texturing and shading required to draw wireframes, block
models, draped images and 3D interpolated grids in 3D Shaded mode.
It can be interactively rotated within the layout in addition to the inter-
active panning and zooming of a 2D Plot frame.
With a Vizex Plot layout you can interact with the view as if you were using
Vizex, and once it is positioned you can print the layout as normal.
Alternatively, you can create a layout containing one or more Vizex Plot
frames and then load a Vizex saved view into each frame. This method is best
suited to layouts containing multiple Vizex Plot frames or a combination of 2D
and Vizex Plot frames.
You’ll learn the Generate Vizex Plot option in the next exercise.
Notes:
Exercise 3.1: Create a Vizex Plot layout
3. Click the Perspective Mode button on the Vizex ribbon, and then
rotate the view into an inclined orientation.
4. Select Vizex | Saved Layers| Save Vizex Layers, or double-click the
Saved Layers node, and Save the view with the Title DTM and
drilling.
5. Select Vizex| Vizex Background Options and enable Sky and
Ground mode, then click OK.
9. Switch to the Frame tab and change the Fill colour to null colour.
Micromine will automatically load the view into a default Vizex plot layout.
10. Your display should resemble this screenshot. (Vizex windows have been
closed for clarity):
Notes:
In the workplace, you’d work on the layout, filling out the frames in the title
area, or perhaps by applying a different layout template. For brevity here,
you’ll complete the next exercise using the default layout.
1. Click anywhere in the Vizex Plot frame to select it. Its border will be
highlighted in red.
2. Click the Pan Data in Frame button on the Plot Editor ribbon. Notes:
Because the view was created in perspective mode it appears as if you are
flying above the data rather than panning a map.
4. Hold the Shift key and drag the mouse to rotate the data.
5. Hold the Ctrl key and drag the mouse to zoom the data.
1. Double-click in the Master Plot frame to open the Vizex Plot dialog. The
frame border will be highlighted in red.
2. On the Vizex Plot tab, choose the Saved Vizex view option.
3. Click the Saved Vizex view form button and choose the DTM and
drilling saved view.
4. Inspect the contents of the Override Display Limits group, which
were created the instant you started interacting with the view.
5. Click OK to apply the change.
6. Click the Save button in the Plot Editor ribbon or select Home |
Save from the ribbon, or press Ctrl+S.
7. Ensure Save as type is set to Plot Document (*.PEX).
8. Enter the File name Inclined_View and click Save to save the file.
9. Click the on the Inclined_View.PEX tab to close the Plot Editor window
once you’re done.
10. Back in Vizex, select Vizex| Vizex Background Options, change the
background back to Simple, and then click OK.
11. Select Edit | Remove All to clean up the display.
Notes: derived directly from your data. You can use Vizex Plot layouts for plotting
regular data as well as inclined Vizex views, which offers several benefits:
This lesson introduced the Plot Editor’s Vizex Plot layouts. Here’s what you’ve
learned:
Create a Vizex view containing the data you wish to display, and
Consider enabling Vizex | Vizex Background Options | Sky and
Ground mode and Vizex |Perspective Mode for a more realistic
view, then
Double-click the Vizex Plot frame to display the Vizex Plot dialog, then
On the Vizex Plot tab, select the Saved Vizex view option, and
Choose the Saved View.
Ensure you have completed the Saved View steps above, then
Good Practice
Vizex Plot layouts work directly from the current Vizex display (or a Saved
View) and can handle complex shading and texturing. Use a Vizex Plot layout
for creating quick plots, communicating complex ideas to non-technical au-
diences, whenever your data is rapidly changing, or if you need to support
shading or texturing.
MM 105 – Macros
Table of Contents
Sidebars
MM 105 – Macros
Table of Contents
Exercises
Lesson 1 – Introduction
Notes:
Duration: 10 minutes
This lesson will introduce the reasons for automating Micromine and will give
you an opportunity to run an example macro that demonstrates one of
Micromine’s automation methods.
Automating Micromine
Micromine includes many individual tools and functions; in your daily activities
it’s normal to combine two or more of them into a workflow that produces an
end result. For example, adding the latest drilling results to a database might
require you to import, merge and then validate the data, with each step in this
workflow using a different Micromine function. You would then re-run this
workflow every time you wished to add new data.
Saving these steps as form sets avoids the need to re-enter the settings each
time, but you would still need to run them manually whenever you received
new data. Running anything manually increases the risk of human error, so a
much better alternative would be to somehow make them run automatically.
Micromine’s automation methods serve this purpose.
There are two ways to automate Micromine: macros and the Python pro-
gramming language. Although either method may be used to automate a
given workflow, macros are better suited to simple workflows and Python pro-
gramming is better suited to more complex workflows in workplaces where
maintainability and distribution are important.
Introducing Macros
A macro is a file containing a list of instructions that Micromine performs in
sequence without further input. Each instruction is defined by its process
(menu) name, form set ID and optional parameters. Any function that
appears on the Micromine ribbon may be used as a macro instruction, and
once a macro is set up you can run it repeatedly without intervention.
Before learning to write a macro, you’ll run a ready-made example in the next
exercise, so you can observe the result.
In this exercise you’ll run a macro that performs a task you carried out earlier
in the Introduction course: Removing everything from the Vizex window and
then loading a drillhole trace and a digital terrain model.
If you give the report file the same name as the macro, you’ll be able to
track which reports correspond to which macros.
Anything loaded into Vizex will be removed and the drillhole trace and digital
terrain model layers will then be loaded to replace them.
5. Micromine will return you to the Run Macro dialog once the macro is
finished. This gives you an opportunity to review the report file and
confirm that the macro was successful.
6. Close the Run Macro dialog and retain the view for the next lesson.
This simple example shows how quickly a task, such as loading display layers,
can be carried out using a macro. Whilst you would not typically use these
steps on their own as shown here, loading data into Vizex does form the be-
ginning of virtually every macro for plotting drillhole sections. You will reuse
this knowledge in an upcoming exercise.
This lesson has introduced the concept of macros and their purposes:
Good Practice
Always consider automating any workflow that consists of more than two
steps, and that you need to run more than two or three times.
Notes:
Lesson 2 – Writing a Macro
Duration: 50 minutes
This lesson will teach you to write, test and run a macro, which you can use
to automate a variety of Micromine tasks.
Creating a Macro
Writing and using a macro is a three step process:
1. Create, test, and save all form sets that will be accessed by the macro.
2. Write the macro file, referencing the previously saved form sets.
3. Run the macro and check the result.
The following topics describe these steps using a section plotting example.
Once you’ve defined the form sets that make up your workflow, it’s time to
write the macro file. To create a new macro file, choose Script | New Macro
from the ribbon, or choose Home | New | New Macro. The macro structure
is predefined so there’s no need to use a template in either case.
Macro files are ordinary Micromine files, so you can use standard data entry
shortcuts like Ctrl+A (add) or Ctrl+R (replicate) while you are editing
them. The macro PROCESS and Form fields incorporate permanently at-
tached lookup tables that assist with selecting a process and its corresponding
form set; the PROCESS lookup table reproduces the main Micromine ribbon
(as shown below) and the Form lookup table lists the saved form sets
corresponding to each process. Simply click the corresponding button to
display either lookup table.
Each line in a macro file represents an individual step or action, which usually
requires you to select values for both the PROCESS and Form fields:
1. The process corresponds to the ribbon item you would have chosen if
you were performing the same task manually.
2. The form corresponds to the matching saved form set.
Script | File: A collection of tools for creating and managing files via a
macro.
Script | Wireframe: A similar collection of tools for creating and
managing wireframes.
Notes: Script | Section: Options for working with section control files and the
named sections within them.
Script |Utilities: an option for choosing a printer without using the
standard Windows Print Setup dialog, along with options for creating
and using a macro substitution table.
Abort: Typing YES into the PAR field (see below) will terminate the
macro if an error occurs. Otherwise, the macro will ignore each error
and proceed to the next step as if nothing is wrong.
Comment: Ignores all other text on that line, making it useful for
labelling the fields in a macro. You can also use an exclamation mark (!)
to comment out an existing macro line.
In any process that makes a plot file it reproduces the output Plot file
response of the Generate Plot File dialog, equivalent to manually
entering the name whenever you create a plot file.
In the Plot Editor (PLOTPRINT) process it contains the name of the
plot document that controls the appearance of the plot. A lookup table
button (the Plot File button) will appear next to each PLOTPRINT
process, simplifying the task of choosing a plot document.
You’ll write a new macro containing the Abort and Comment commands in the
next few exercises. Although the initial steps in this macro duplicate those of
the preceding example, recreating them will give you an opportunity to see
how the example was created.
Notes:
Exercise 2.1: Create and test form sets
Most of the form sets you will be using have already been created, but you do
need to create and test the form set that displays the first section. In Exercise
3.6 of MM 102 you interactively displayed the sections by opening a section
control file and selecting a named section from the Sections window.
You can alternatively display a section from the ribbon by selecting Script |
Sections | Go to Section by Name. You’ll save this dialog as a form set for
the macro.
2. Click the Section Control File browse button and select the
NVG_Sections file.
3. Click the Name Browse button and select 15760mN as shown here:
4. Click Forms followed by Save As and enter the Title Section 15760mN.
5. Click OK to save the form.
There’s no need to use form set folders here because this dialog has no
interactive equivalent.
Notes: 6. Click Run to test the form set by applying the change to Vizex.
Note how the view now displays section 15760mN as if you had selected it
from the Sections window. If it did not work, then you should re-do the pre-
ceding steps and check the file and section names.
With the form sets created you can now turn your attention to the macro.
You’ll see a blank macro file appear in the File Editor. Observe how the
PROCESS and Form fields have lookup table buttons.
This macro can be divided into four steps, which are detailed below:
The first lines of any well-written macro should add the Abort command and
include comments that describe the field contents:
1. Click the PROCESS button and note how the popup menu reproduces
the main Micromine menu.
2. Select Macro | Comment from this menu. Note how the COMMENT
command now appears in the PROCESS field.
3. Enter Output plot file in the Plot File field and Stop on error in the PAR
field.
4. Double-click the right-hand borders of the headings to widen the
columns and display the full comment text.
6. Click the PROCESS button and select Macro | Abort from this menu. Notes:
Note the addition of the ABORT command to the macro.
7. Enter the word YES in the PAR field.
If you were producing these cross-sections by hand you would begin by re-
moving any previous data and then loading the new display layers. You do the
same within the macro:
12. You’ve just instructed the macro to load five individual display layers in
the same way as if you’d loaded them by hand.
Notes: 2. Click the PROCESS button and select Script | Macro Commands |
Go to Section by Name.
3. Click the Form button and select Section 15760mN. This is the form set
you previously created and tested.
4. Press Enter at the end of the file to create a new line.
5. Click the PROCESS button and select Script | Macro Commands |
Go to Next Section in Control Files.
This process does not have a form so there is nothing else to do.
6. Press Ctrl+R (or click the Replicate One button) eight times to add
the remaining sections (there are ten in the section control file and
you’ve already created processes for the first two).
If you were to run the macro now, Micromine would display every cross section
without creating the matching plot files. Your final task is to instruct it to create
a plot file for each section.
Every macro process that adjusts the Vizex view can be made to create a plot
file by simply entering the appropriate name in the Plot File field for that
process. To save time and prevent data entry errors you will copy the names
from the section control file.
6. Save the macro and close the editor. You’ve just written a macro
that will automatically make ten plot files.
Creating a saved view containing several layers is a normal part of using Vizex,
and it’s easy to load a saved view via a macro. This may initially seem quicker
because the macro needs only one form set – the saved view – instead of a
separate form set for each layer.
Notes:
However, loading individual Vizex forms is usually better because you can con-
trol each one in a separate macro process. You can also add or remove layers
by adding or removing (or temporarily commenting out) lines in the macro
without having to recreate the saved view each time.
Running a Macro
To run a macro, select Script| Run Macro from the ribbon. Running a macro
means executing the commands stored in the macro file, which you do via the
Run Macro dialog. Micromine will step through the commands as if you were
operating it.
You may include any number of macro files in one macro run. This allows you
to create smaller macros that are easier to develop and test, and then combine
them on the Run Macro dialog to perform complex operations. The dialog
may be saved as a form set to simplify the creation of macro libraries.
You add a macro to the form by selecting a Macro Name. Pressing Enter
within the Macro Grid will create a new line, allowing you to run multiple mac-
ros. They are run in the order you list them. To start from an intermediate
macro, click the Start At button next to the file where you’d like to begin. The
files before it will be ignored. Click the Delete Row(s) button to delete a line
and its corresponding macro. The right-click menu and Macro Grid toolbar
(on the Run Macro dialog) provide other options for managing multiple macros.
You must enter a compulsory Report file name. It’s essential that you check
this file after the macro has run because any pop-up messages that would
have been displayed during a manual run will be written to this file. At the very
least you should scan the report for errors, which are always highlighted with
blocks of hash ‘#’ symbols, like this:
Time: 08:48:48
#### ERROR IN COPY STRUCTURE ####
----------------------------
1. Ensure the Sections window is visible and expand the NVG_Sections list
to display the named sections.
2. Select Script | Run Macro from the ribbon.
3. On the Run Macro dialog, click the Macro Name browse button and
choose Make_Dh_Sections from the list.
4. Type (or copy and paste) the name Make_Dh_Sections into the Report
file response.
If you give the report file the same name as the macro, you’ll be able to
track which reports correspond to which macros.
As expected, you’ll see Vizex loading the layers and then quickly stepping
through the named sections, as well as momentarily displaying each section in
the graphic display.
Any messages that would have appeared as pop-up dialogs during interactive
use are written to the macro file instead. It’s important to check for warnings
such as these to ensure the macro behaved as intended.
This lesson has introduced the techniques for writing and running a macro.
The topics that you’ve covered so far are:
For each process in a macro file you must generally provide at least two items
of information:
Good Practice
Keep your macros short and limit them to achieving a single outcome when-
ever possible. Short macros are easier to develop and maintain, and you can
combine them in the Run Macro dialog to perform a more complex task.
Use a systematic approach for managing form sets saved for macros. Consider
prefixing their titles, for example with (M), or saving them in subfolders so
they are separated from other interactive form sets.
Well-written macros usually include the ABORT command and always include
comments.
Giving report files the same names as the macros will allow you to track the
relationship between them.
If you’re writing a macro that incorporates a section control file, copy and paste
the section names from the control file into the Plot File field of the macro.
Notes:
Lesson 3 – Plotting Via Macro
Duration: 30 minutes
This lesson will teach you to automate the Plot Editor using a macro. Auto-
mating the Plot Editor makes it easy to send multiple plots, such as drill sec-
tions at the end of a drilling programme, to an output device without having
to sit at your computer.
1. Create a master plot layout and save it with replaceable parameters. The
plot layout acts as the “form set” in a Plot Editor macro.
2. Write a macro file incorporating the Plot Editor.
3. Run the macro.
A Plot Editor-based macro is intended for sending plots to a device, and be-
cause it is tied to that device it can’t be run in preview mode. Instead, you
preview each individual plot by right-clicking its layout in the macro file.
Notes:
Figure 3.1: Creating many plots using a master layout and macro
In the next exercise you’ll preview an example macro that shows how to create
multiple plots from a single plot layout with one replaceable parameter. In the
subsequent exercises you’ll then create, preview and run a more sophisticated
version of that macro that uses three replaceable parameters.
1. Select Script | Open from the ribbon and open the Plot to Device
macro.
Process 1 in this macro, which is currently commented out, chooses the desti-
nation device. Processes 2 through 11 then repeatedly run PLOTPRINT, each
time referring to the same Example_Master_Plot_Layout. In turn, the plot lay-
out obtains the plot file names from the %1 column of the macro file.
Right-clicking the Form column in a macro lets you preview that form without
running the macro. In the case of a PLOTPRINT process, the preview shows
the plot layout referenced in the Plot File column. This is ideal for validating
the plots before sending them to a printer.
3. With the plot layout open, double-click anywhere within the master plot
frame, switch to the 2D Plot tab, and compare the Plot File response
with the plot filename shown in the layout’s Scale frame.
Although the Scale frame clearly includes an actual plot filename, the Plot File
response on the 2D Plot tab still shows “%1”. Whenever you preview a plot
Notes: layout, Micromine automatically replaces %1 with the current plot file name.
The same applies when you run the macro.
4. Close the layout and then repeat the preceding steps for other
PLOTPRINTs, noting the different plot filenames.
5. Close the layout(s) and Plot_to_Device macro once you are done.
To run this macro, uncomment the PRINTER line, modify the form set to suit
your output target device, and then run it via the Run Macro dialog.
Replaceable parameters are a key macro feature and may be used in any
macro to represent any value that changes from one process to the next.
Once you’ve identified the entries whose values will change you then substitute
those values with replaceable parameters. These parameters are identified
by a % (percent) symbol followed by a number, for example %3, and will be
replaced with actual values when the macro is run. You can define replaceable
parameters %1 through to %99 (although only %1 to %30 are present in the
default macro structure), and the actual values must be held within the cor-
responding fields in the macro file.
If you refer to the Make_Dh_Sections macro, it will be clear that not all form Notes:
sets need replaceable parameters. For example, form sets that load data into
Vizex don’t change from one run to the next and generally don’t need replace-
able parameters, whereas section numbers, view centre coordinates, and file
names usually do change and do need replaceable parameters. Thus, the
choice of whether to use replaceable parameters will depend on your
preferences and the complexity of the macro.
Default values (in the form of %x="value") are convenient for writing and
testing a new macro using real data. They will automatically be replaced with
parameter values at run-time. Default values aren’t compulsory, and, in some
situations, it may be safer to delete them once the macro is ready for regular
use. This usually applies wherever a default value is inappropriate or mislead-
ing; for example, your macro might require each step to use a different (and
unique) value. Clearly, a default value would increase the risk of duplicate
values. Or, you might require a process to fail if a compulsory value is missing,
which won’t happen when the macro can fall back to a default value.
In this exercise you’ll set up a master plot layout for a macro that sends your
cross sections to a PDF writer. You’ll add three replaceable parameters to the
plot layout, assign default values to two of them, and define the individual plot
file names in the macro.
Notes: 5. On the 2D Plot tab, replace the Plot file value (currently 15900mN) with
the replaceable parameter %1.
Deliberately leaving out the default value forces the macro to supply each file-
name. Otherwise, you could end up printing 10 copies of the same (default)
plot file. However, you will add default values to the X- and Y-centres:
9. Select Home | Save As from the ribbon and save the layout as a
Plot Document (*.PEX) type file with the File name Macro_Master.
10. Close the layout.
Notes:
Field Comment
Plot File: Master plot layout
PAR: Stop on error
%1: Input plot file
%2: X-centre
%3: Y-centre
Any macro that incorporates the Plot Editor should always use this process.
8. Right-click the Form field (avoiding the lookup table button) to open the
Select Printer Parameters dialog.
9. Set up the dialog as shown on the facing page. Be sure to choose the
same paper size and orientation as those in your plot layout.
10. Click Forms, followed by Save As, to save these settings as a form set
with the Title PDF A4 (or A3) Landscape.
There’s no need to use form set folders because this dialog has no interactive
equivalent.
11. Close the Printer Parameters dialog. Note how Micromine has
automatically placed the new form set number in the Form field.
Because you added default values to %2 and %3 in the master plot layout,
you only need to enter values in the macro whenever you need to override the
defaults. Otherwise, simply leave them blank.
Notes:
1. Click the cursor onto the PLOTPRINT process and press Ctrl+Shift+R
to replicate it to the remaining rows.
2. Repeat for the Plot File Macro_Master. Your macro should look like this
(some column widths have been reduced to fit the page):
3. Right-click in the Form field (within the grey editor cell) for any
PLOTPRINT process to preview that section as it appears in the master
layout. This is useful for checking the layouts for errors before
committing them to the output device.
Notes: 4. Optionally, refine the X- and Y-centres (in the %2 and %3 columns) for
any plots that don’t fit within the master layout.
With the macro written, the last remaining step is to run it.
1. Select Script | Run Macro, click the Macro Name select button and
choose Plot_Dh_Sections.
2. Change the Report File name to Plot_Dh_Sections.
3. Click Run to run the macro.
While the macro is running, the Micromine window title will display [Executing
Macro Process X/Y from Plot_Dh_Sections, where X is the current process and
Y the total number of processes.
The process number corresponds to the line number in the macro, mak-
ing it easy to determine which one to correct.
4. Use the installed PDF viewer on your computer to view the file(s),
inspecting the location of each plot’s data with respect to the frame.
Sending the plots to PDF like you did here creates a human-readable copy of
the plot layouts that is still suitable for hardcopy plotting.
This lesson has shown you how to use a macro to automate the Plot Editor.
The topics covered are:
Right-click the Form field for the plot you want to preview, and
Confirm, and correct if necessary, the layouts by inspecting the plots.
Good Practice
Plotting to PDF is useful even when the plot is destined for a physical hardcopy,
because it gives you a human-readable record of your data through time. Alt-
hough Microsoft Print to PDF is available on Windows 10 and onward, it is
limited to a maximum size of A3. Consider using pdfFactory Pro, which you
can evaluate free of charge from http://fineprint.com/pdfp/.
(Note, although listed here, Micromine does not warrant or otherwise endorse this
product.)
Notes:
Lesson 4 – External
Applications (Optional)
Duration: 15 minutes
This lesson will teach you to launch an external application from a macro,
which you can use to view the results of a macro outside of Micromine. After
this lesson you’ll be able to:
Introduction
Often the purpose of a macro is to prepare and export Micromine data for use
in another application such as a GIS. Part of this workflow might involve auto-
matically launching the target application so that it can manipulate or display
the data without user intervention. To simplify this process some of Micro-
mine’s export functions include an Open file option to automatically launch
the target application, namely:
File | Export | Microsoft Excel (and the Export Excel button in the
File Editor)
File | Export | Google KML
This lesson will teach you to launch any application from Micromine without
relying on the open file option.
Launching an Application
You launch an application via the Run External Program option on the
Script | Utilities ribbon. This function takes three groups of information, the
most important of which is the location and name of the program file
(application) that you wish to launch. You can optionally supply the path
(location) of the data if it is not held within the project folder, along with
optional program command arguments.
In some situations, Micromine will be locked until you close the external appli-
cation. This behaviour is normal and depends on how the application uses the
data. You should determine this behaviour in your workplace before relying on
the existence of the data elsewhere in the macro. Alternatively, you can force
this behaviour by enabling Wait until the program finishes on the Run
External Program dialog.
In the next exercise you’ll create a macro to export and display data in a GIS.
In this exercise you’ll write and run a short macro that exports a string file of
topographic contours to an Esri Shapefile, and then opens that file in QGIS.
(In your workplace you may substitute the program file name of your usual
GIS application.)
For brevity you’ll set up the form sets as you write the macro.
1. Select Script | New Macro and name the file View_In_GIS. Enable
Auto open file for editing and click OK to create it.
2. Click the PROCESS button and select Macro | Comment.
3. Enter Input strings into %1 and Output shapefile into %2.
You may not know how to label the fields right now. If so, just add an
empty comment line and enter the labels once the macro is more mature.
Observe how Micromine converts this to default value format and automatically
determines the input fieldnames.
Depending on how QGIS was installed, the program file path may be different
on your machine. Your trainer will provide the correct location or you may
substitute the path and filename of another GIS. Refer to Obtaining an
Application File Path for information on finding the location of an application.
5. Click the Forms button followed by Save As and enter a Title of View
exported shapefile.
6. Close (don’t run) the dialog.
1. Select Script | Run Macro (or click the Run Macro on the Macro
Editor ribbon), click the Macro Name select button and choose
View_In_GIS.
2. Change the Report File name to View_In_GIS.
3. Click Run to run the macro.
4. Click OK to dismiss any QGIS dialogs and note the appearance of the
contours in QGIS.
5. Close QGIS once you’re done.
This simple example (most of the work was in setting up the Export GIS dialog)
shows how easily a Micromine file can be handed off to an external application.
You can force the application to retain control over the macro by enabling
Wait until the program finishes. Furthermore, some printing applications
can optionally be configured to generate the output filename from the input
data, making them suitable for use within a macro. You should consult your
printing application’s documentation to see if it supports this feature.
This lesson has taught you to launch an external application from a macro.
The topics covered are:
To launch an application:
Good Practice
(Optional)
Duration: 10 minutes
This lesson will introduce Micromine’s second automation method, the Python
programming language, by comparing the load layers example macro with a
Python script version.
Introduction
Python is a popular and widely used programming language, the core features
of which are embedded in Micromine 2013 and onward. It encourages ad-
vanced users to develop and share custom automation workflows in a much
more rigorous way than macros.
The facing page illustrates a code snippet from a Python script. The MMpy
object shown in bold is the connection (or binding) between Python and
Micromine. This snippet also illustrates comments in green, a for-loop,
which repeats a series of actions, and an if-else statement, which executes
different parts of the script based on a condition. Macros do not support these
essential programming features.
Notes: AppendFiles.set_field("SRCTYPE","2")
Programming with Python isn’t for everyone, so don’t worry if the code snippet
scares you a little. Programming requires knowledge of (or a desire to learn)
concepts that are beyond the ability or interest level of many users. However,
having access to both simple and advanced automation tools gives you the
flexibility to choose between simplicity and power.
You can easily experiment with and learn about Python scripting by using
Micromine’s Record Script capability. Simply select Script | Record from
the ribbon to begin recording, and then carry out your task as normal. You can
even run an existing macro. Once the task is finished just reselect Script |
Record to stop recording. Micromine will prompt you to save the script as
a Python (.py) file, which you can run and re-run whenever you need to carry
out that task.
Notes:
Exercise 5.1: Run an example Python script
Before you run the script you’ll compare it with the original macro:
1. From the ribbon, select Script | Open (Script) and choose Load
Drillholes and DTM.MCR from the list.
2. Now select Script | Open (Script) and choose Load Layers into
Vizex.py from the list. For clarity you may prefer to dock the scripting
editor window against a side of the Micromine window.
3. Inspect the two files.
The files carry out similar actions (the Python version loads more layers than
the macro), and yet their appearance and functionality are very different.
4. Close the macro once you’re done, ensuring you leave the script open.
5. Click the Run Script button (or press F5) to run the script. As
expected it produces essentially the same result as the macro.
6. Close the Scripting Editor once you are done.
At first glance the example script probably looked overly complex, but much
of that complexity arose from another advantage scripts have over macros:
they don’t need form sets. Instead, every parameter of every form is listed
(along with its value) in the script. For example, these two lines of Python:
have the same meaning as these form set entries used by the macro:
Not relying on form sets makes it easy to share a script with other users with-
out having to worry about giving them the corresponding form sets.
Conclusion
This script could easily be shared with other users in your team who need to
display exactly the same data. Whether you choose to do so via a script or a
macro (like the one at the beginning of this session, along with its form sets)
is entirely up to you. However, if you see advantages in the script method then
we encourage you to attend the Python Scripting training course.
This lesson has introduced you to the Python programming language and
Python scripting within Micromine. The topics covered are:
About Python:
Good Practice
If all users in your team need access to the same custom automation, but
distributing form sets is a hassle, consider using Python scripting instead of
macros.