The Plots Window

Introduction to the Plots Window

The Plots window with its comprehensive suite of data source drivers, can use data from a huge variety of sources and bring it all together into a single model showing all the characteristics and properties you choose, and in whatever format you select to maximize the presentational impact.

This will enable you to produce stunning representations of your underground data in sections, plans and 3D views but it also provides peerless possibilities for pictorial core logging. The Plots window allows you to:

Import drillhole data with many formats, from different sources, including: text, SQL/ODBC database tables, spreadsheets and other third party formats.
Verify the data then combine and process it to create drillhole traces indexed to multiple tables for downhole intervals and Depth logs.
View, format and print the downhole data tables in tabulated sheets.
Plot drillhole traces and indexed sample data values in plan, section or any three-dimensional view desired. A complete family of sections can be defined from a single section definition using a single dialog.
View the same section in multiple views controlled by a section master.
Plot all downhole data as scaled drillhole log sheets. A wide selection of presentation styles are available including text, line graphs, histograms and bars with optional color fill and pattern fill.
Embed plot projections containing either 2D or 3D overlay representations. See Projection Overlay Types.
Graphically interrogate and composite the drillhole data in table, section, 3D or log views. All views can be linked dynamically so that samples selected in any one view are selected in all linked views.
Draw interpretations directly onto section plots then save them as 3D polygons which can be exported.
Select and save ore zone intersections which can then be displayed in section and log plots, reported and exported.
Insert smart plot items like text boxes, coordinate grids, scale bars, tables and title blocks which automatically adjust as you change the position, orientation and scale of plot sheets.
Insert parameter profiles which dynamically re-intersect the surface model as the section is rotated or re-positioned.
Import and format other 3D objects from CAD drawings and other 3D data sources using the Data Source Drivers.
Select different paper sheet sizes, orientations, margins and scales for each view type, all within the same document.
Use Page Layout mode to display and edit interactively page borders, sheet margins, plot frames, coordinate grids, plot items and parameter profiles. See Page Layout Mode.
Use templates to automate repetitive plot and log view layout projects and maintain consistency across presentation projects.

Tip: If a 2D or 3D projection is selected and Page Layout Mode is not active, pressing "za" on the keyboard is a useful quick key to automatically zoom the data within the target projection to fit it within the boundaries of the projection. A similar quick key combination exists in the 3D windows.

Displaying the Plots Window

The Plots window can only be displayed if a project is active, and if the window is in view, it will be displayed as a tab along the top of the data window area:

The Plots window is visible by default when a project is created, but it can also be hidden and shown using the Home ribbon's Show menu.

Click the tab to show the window, and if present, loaded data in the last selected viewing plane.

Tip: Use "za" to maximize the view of any selected projection.

Tip: Use the mouse wheel to zoom either the selected page (if no projection is selected) or the contents of a projection. The view will always zoom around the position of the cursor.

"Plot Items"

A plot item is any isolated data object of a plot sheet. There are lots of plot items available and each have their own properties.

A projection (a view of loaded 3D data) is a plot item, as is a north arrow.

Plot items, once selected, can provide context menu items. You can select any plot item or toggle its selection status using the <CTRL> + click key combination.

See Inserting and Manipulating Plot Items.

See Plot Item Library.

Plots Window Context Menus

The Plots window features a context-menu system to allow you to perform specific operations on window items . The menu that appears depends on your current Page Layout Mode.

For more information on Plots window context menus, see Plot Window Menus.

Scaling Data in the Plots Window

The Plots window has a suite of scaling functions that you can use to ensure that the data is presented as you want it.

Scale is represented in the Plots window as a ratio, for example '1:1000'. To specify a scale, use the Plot View ribbon's drop-down Scale menu.

Using "Sheet Templates"

A Sheet Template is a file (.dmtpl) which stores information about the layout and data used by a single sheet. It remembers the layout and formatting of all your plot items, and also remembers which data and legends were used by those plot items.

Once you have created a sheet template, you can use it to create a sheet in any project as many times as you wish, thus avoiding the hassle of re-creating new sheets from scratch.

Note: With regards to the Plots window (and to a lesser extent, the Logs window), much of the hierarchical structure of a particular sheet can be stored in template form. This minimizes the effort required to generate a consistent look and feel across a range of presentation projects by automatically generating a standard arrangement of sheets, projections and, if required, data object overlays.