MM12-0 Introduction To MICROMINE (2010-04)

Introduction to
MICROMINE
Version 2010 (12.0)
Introduction
Intermediate
Advanced
Masters
.
MICROMINE Version 2010 (12.0) Training Introduction to MICROMINE
Micromine (Head Office)

Level 2, 174 Hampden Rd
Nedlands WA 6009
Australia
Tel: +61 8 9423 9000

Fax: +61 8 9423 9001
Email: mm@micromine.com
WWW: http://www.micromine.com
To find your local office, please visit: http://www.micromine.com.au/contact
Licence Agreement
The use of the software described in this manual is subject to a licence
agreement with Micromine. The software may only be used or copied in
accordance with the terms and conditions of that agreement.
This manual assumes that MICROMINE Version 2010 (12.0) or above is

installed.
Disclaimer
Micromine will not accept any liability arising from the use of the software or
any other software 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 – 2010 by Micromine Pty Ltd and its subsidiaries. All
rights reserved.
Editor: Authors:
Frank Bilki David Bartlett
Frank Bilki
Michael Haffenden
Alan LeBlanc
Tenille Szolkowski
Trademark Acknowledgment
MICROMINE, FIELD MARSHAL, and GBIS are trademarks of Micromine Pty Ltd and its
subsidiaries. Other brands and product names mentioned in this manual are trademarks or
registered trademarks of their respective owners.
© Copyright Micromine 2010 Page i

Introduction to MICROMINE MICROMINE Version 2010 (12.0) Training
Before We Begin
Course Duration: 16 hours
For: New MICROMINE users
Introduction
This course is designed to show you how to start using MICROMINE and to
introduce 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.
The Scenario: Your Company is evaluating a prospect on which initial stream

sediment sampling indicated an anomalous area. You followed this with a
geochemical sampling programme over the area of interest. The sample
locations were recorded using a GPS and the data coordinates were recorded
in Lat/Longs. Finally, you further investigated the detected anomaly with
trenching and a subsequent two-phase drilling programme.
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 indicated, inferred 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:
· Use the MICROMINE user interface and its various tools;

· Manage MICROMINE projects;
· Create and manipulate MICROMINE files;
· Validate drillhole and general purpose data;
· Create lookup tables for rapid data entry and validation;
· Understand and use filters to subset the data of interest;
· Create and plot a multi-layered plan, vertical section, and 3D view;
· Interpret drillhole cross sections;
· Automate MICROMINE tasks with macros;
· (Optionally) Construct a 3D wireframe solid of an orebody.
Page ii © Copyright Micromine 2010

Approach
This course will be dominantly hands-on. Each new topic will commence with
a brief introduction, followed by a practical exercise. A small training
database will be used for all exercises.
How to Use This Manual

Course Content
The Introduction to MICROMINE course is divided into separate parts, each
of which is a self-contained document. The six parts that make up this course
are:
Part 1 – MICROMINE Basics

Part 2 – Displaying and Manipulating Data
Part 3 – 3D Presentation
Part 4 – Plotting 1
Part 5 – Macros 1
Part 6 – Wireframing 1
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.
Installing the Data Set

Your trainer will supply the data set for this training course and instruct you
on how to install it. The data must be present before you can commence the
course. You’ll need 20MB free space on the hard disk drive where the data
set is installed.
Using the Online Help with the

Training Manual
Where appropriate, references to topics in MICROMINE’s online help are also
included. These references provide further information about the current task
as well as topics that are related to the current task. They also give you an
opportunity to become familiar with the online help system.
© Copyright Micromine 2010 Page iii

Online help references will be displayed as italic in the following format:
Help Topic Topic Heading > Sub heading > Content
For example:
Importing ODBC Files > Import > ODBC
To browse to a reference using the online help:
1. Select Help | Contents from the MICROMINE menu.

2. When the Help window appears, click the Contents tab to select it.
3. Click the Topic Heading. In the above example, the Help Topic is Files
and the Topic Heading is Import. From there you can browse to the
subheading ODBC to find the content ODBC Import.
4. Alternatively, you can use the Index tab, enter a keyword, for example
ODBC, and click the Display button near the bottom of the index list. If
there’s only one topic with that keyword, it’ll be displayed immediately.
If the keyword is used in a number of topics, the titles of those topics
will appear in a list. Simply double-click a topic to display it.
Conventions Used in this Manual

This document uses a combination of visual and text indicators to make it
easier for you to identify different sections of the text.
Visual indicators use a combination of icon and colour:
Icon Meaning
Exercise. A series of steps that you can complete to help

understand the current topic.
Optional exercise. Additional practice for the current topic but not
needed to complete the basic training. The title is printed on a
shaded background.
Side-bar. Additional text that amplifies the current topic. The

text is printed on a shaded background.
Module required. A particular MICROMINE module is required to

complete this task. The title is printed on a shaded background.
For exercises, the text uses a combination of bold and italic type to indicate
the correct response:
Page iv © Copyright Micromine 2010

Style Denotes
Bold type Denotes the names of menu items, dialog
boxes and prompts when they invoke or
contribute to the primary process being
undertaken.
Italic type Denotes the entries you must type, or items
you select from a list, in dialog box responses
and table fields.
Referring to Entries in Dialog Boxes and Files

In many places you’ll need to make entries in dialog boxes or data files
(tables). In this manual, the text or values you need to enter as part of the
exercises will be illustrated in one of two ways:
· A screen-shot of the relevant dialog 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.
As an example, this is a dialog box (form) that contains parameters you

might need to enter:
The same information could be presented in a table:
© Copyright Micromine 2010 Page v

Prompt Setting
Project name TEMPLATES
Project path C:\MmData\Templates
Create directory for project Enabled
Project title Templates
Units METRIC
Use existing project as Disabled
template
For further study

While the primary purpose of this course is to introduce you to the key
features of MICROMINE, optional tasks are included to expose you to more
advanced features of the application.
In addition to these optional tasks, in-house experts at Micromine have

contributed their ideas on how to get the most from the application. You’ll
find these ideas at the end of many lessons under the heading Good
Practices.
System Prerequisites for this

Course
Licensing
You must have a valid MICROMINE licence in order 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 conclusion of the
course.
Printers and Plotters

There’s no need to connect to a printer or plotter to complete this course.
MICROMINE Options
MICROMINE automatically installs with the relevant options correctly set.
Page vi © Copyright Micromine 2010

However, if you’re using a MICROMINE licence that’s already been used by

another person, make sure you’ve checked the following settings before you
begin the training course.
Check that in:
Tools | Options | Default Language
English is selected.
Tools | Options | Colours & Fonts
Compulsory prompt is set to Red. (Choose bright red if your

screen does not clearly differentiate the standard red colour.)
Grid Text is set to 8 point Arial.
Display Text is set to 8 point Arial.
Tools | Options | Editor
Text Viewer is set to Built-in
Tools | Options | Vertical Exaggeration
Vertical exaggeration is not set
© Copyright Micromine 2010 Page vii

Page viii © Copyright Micromine 2010

MICROMINE
Basics
.
MICROMINE Version 2010 (12.0) Training Part 1 – MICROMINE Basics
PART 1 TABLE OF CONTENTS

MICROMINE Basics
LESSON 1 – PREPARING THE PROJECT DATA.............................................................................. 1

WORKING WITH PROJECTS .................................................................................................................................. 1
Projects...................................................................................................................................................... 1
Attaching an Existing Project ...................................................................................................................... 2
Creating a New Project............................................................................................................................... 4
Deleting a Project....................................................................................................................................... 5
LESSON 2 – WORKING WITH DATA FILES .................................................................................. 7
WORKING WITH TABULAR FILES ........................................................................................................................... 7
Files in MICROMINE ................................................................................................................................... 7
Creating a New Data File ............................................................................................................................ 9
Creating a New File Using a Template ...................................................................................................... 11
Modifying a File’s Structure ...................................................................................................................... 13
LESSON 3 – WORKING WITH DIALOGS AND FORM SETS........................................................... 17
Dialogs and Form Sets.............................................................................................................................. 17
LESSON 4 – DATA ENTRY AND FILE PROCESSING ..................................................................... 23
GETTING DATA INTO MICROMINE .................................................................................................................... 23
The Different Ways of Obtaining Tabular Data.......................................................................................... 23
IMPORTING DATA FROM TEXT FILES .................................................................................................................... 25
Importing CSV Text Files .......................................................................................................................... 26
Merging Assay Data.................................................................................................................................. 27
IMPORTING CAD OR GIS DATA .......................................................................................................................... 31
IMPORTING OR LINKING DATABASE DATA USING ODBC .......................................................................................... 33
MANUALLY ENTERING DATA ............................................................................................................................... 37
Calculator................................................................................................................................................. 42
LESSON 5 – VALIDATING DATA................................................................................................ 47
VALIDATING DATA IN A PROJECT ........................................................................................................................ 47
Validation ................................................................................................................................................. 47
Validating a Data File ............................................................................................................................... 48
Validating Drillhole Data ........................................................................................................................... 50
LESSON 6 – FILTERS ............................................................................................................... 55
WORKING WITH FILTERS................................................................................................................................... 55
Setting up a Filter..................................................................................................................................... 55
Multiple Filter Conditions .......................................................................................................................... 57
Using Wildcards........................................................................................................................................ 58
TABLES
Table 4.1: File Editor keyboard shortcuts......................................................................................................... 38

Table 6.1: Filter wildcards ............................................................................................................................... 58
© Copyright Micromine 2010 Revision 2010-04

Part 1 – MICROMINE Basics MICROMINE Version 2010 (12.0) Training
PART 1 TABLE OF CONTENTS (Continued)

MICROMINE Basics
SIDEBARS
Creating a project folder outside of MICROMINE ................................................................................................5

Field and data types in MICROMINE ...................................................................................................................8
Defining file fields ............................................................................................................................................10
The Relationship between WIDTH and DECIMALS ............................................................................................11
Creating a new file directly from a dialog .........................................................................................................12
The right-click file utility menu .........................................................................................................................13
Double-click it to pick it ....................................................................................................................................18
Identifying saved form sets ..............................................................................................................................20
Why use form sets? .........................................................................................................................................21
Checking the results of a function ....................................................................................................................29
Managing DSNs................................................................................................................................................35
Controlling the structure of the imported file ....................................................................................................37
Using the File Editor shortcuts on multiple records ...........................................................................................38
Creating validation check files ..........................................................................................................................48
Data type: GENERAL vs. DRILL HOLE...............................................................................................................49
What’s max deviation? .....................................................................................................................................53
How did MICROMINE know the right field names?............................................................................................53
Why should I save my filters as form sets?.......................................................................................................55
Right-click to edit .............................................................................................................................................56
Filtering date values .........................................................................................................................................59
EXERCISES
Exercise 1.1: Attach an existing project ..............................................................................................................3

Optional Exercise 1.2: Create a new project .......................................................................................................4
Optional Exercise 1.3: Delete an existing project ................................................................................................5
Exercise 2.1: Create a new data file .................................................................................................................10
Exercise 2.2: Create a new file using a template ..............................................................................................12
Exercise 2.3: Modify a file’s structure ...............................................................................................................13
Exercise 3.1: Explore dialogs and form sets......................................................................................................20
Exercise 4.1: Import assay data from a CSV file ...............................................................................................26
Exercise 4.2: Merge assay data from Exercise 4.1 into the sample locality file ..................................................28
Exercise 4.3: Label the sample locality file........................................................................................................30
Exercise 4.4: Import and display topographic contours from an ESRI Shapefile ................................................32
Exercise 4.5: Create an ODBC connection and import data ...............................................................................34
Exercise 4.6: Use the File Editor’s data entry tools............................................................................................38
Exercise 4.7: Use the File Editor Calculator.......................................................................................................42
Exercise 5.1: Validate fields in a file .................................................................................................................48
Exercise 5.2: Validate drillhole data ..................................................................................................................51
Exercise 6.1: Create a multiple condition filter ..................................................................................................58
Revision 2010-04 © Copyright Micromine 2010

Lesson 1 – Preparing the

Notes:
Project Data
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.
After this lesson you’ll be able to:
· Attach an existing project;

· Create a new project;
· Delete a project; and
· Delete a project without deleting the associated data.
Working with Projects

Projects
Normally you store the data from an area in a MICROMINE project. This
includes surface samples, drilling data, property boundaries, aerial surveys,
photography, and any other related information. In addition to information
about the area, other information such as macros and form sets are also
stored as part of a project.
A MICROMINE project represents a real-world project.
To begin working with MICROMINE you must create at least one project. A
project is a folder (or directory) where you store files containing related
information.
Once more than one project has been created, you can select the desired
project from a list of all projects. When you select a project, all the files,
macros and forms 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 “leave”
the project is when you need to access external data.
To create a project, you enter a project name, a path, and a project title.
You subsequently refer to that project by its name. A project may be situated
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 used when rock densities are
measured with a tonnage factor and plot scales like 1”:100’ are required.
© Copyright Micromine 2010 Page 1.1

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 re-use existing work and promote consistency between
projects. Some MICROMINE users create a template project and save any re-
usable file structures, macros and form sets within it.
You can rename, move, delete and attach projects. Renaming simply
changes the project name, whereas moving a project manages the entire
process of moving all the project files from one location to another.
If you regularly use different MICROMINE projects, for example as a

consultant with many clients, the Project toolbar provides ready access to
most project-related tasks. These include opening, closing, creating, and
attaching a project, and special browse tools that step forward or backward
through the project list.
Because files from different projects are stored in different folders, you can
use the same file names in each. For example, the projects “Demo” and
“Training” can both have files named collar.dat, survey.dat and assay.dat.
By default, MICROMINE will load the last project you were using.
Attaching an Existing Project

Because the data for this training course have already been prepared, you’ll
simply attach the project where the data are stored. Attaching a project is a
convenient way of working with existing projects and external data such as
old projects and data created using other applications. Once you’ve attached
a project, you can select it as though you had created it.
The following exercises assume the training data is in the folder

C:\MmData\Training. If your data are in a different location, substitute
the new location in the instructions that follow.
Page 1.2 © Copyright Micromine 2010

Exercise 1.1: Attach an existing project Notes:
To attach an existing project:
1. Start MICROMINE by clicking on the icon on your desktop, or select the

application name from the Start menu.
2. Select File | Project | Attach from the main menu.
3. Enter the Project name. Generally, this is the name of the folder
containing the project data. In this case, enter: Training
4. Click the Browse […] button next to the Project path response and
navigate to the folder C:\MmData\Training. Click OK on the Browse
dialog.
5. Enter MICROMINE Training in the Project title.
6. Click OK to attach the project.
You can start MICROMINE directly in any previously opened project by

using the Windows 7 jump list.
You’re now attached to the Training project. Note how the MICROMINE
window title bar (at the top of the screen) displays the new project’s name
and title.
Lastly, confirm that MICROMINE is attached to the correct folder:
7. Select File | Open from the main menu.

8. Assess the contents of the Open dialog. If you don’t see the files shown
here, check with your instructor before proceeding.
When a project is created or attached, MICROMINE copies default

template files to the new project (if they don’t already exist).

Notes: Creating a New Project

Although we’re using an existing project for this training, you still need to
know how to create a new project. Creating – instead of attaching – a
project allows you to set the units and optionally use an existing project as a
template.
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.
To create a new project:
1. Select File | Project | New from the main menu.

2. Fill-in the dialog box as shown below. To define the Project path, use
the browse […] button to navigate to the C:\MmData folder; once
you’ve done this, type the remaining \Templates text yourself.
3. Click OK to create the project. MICROMINE will open in the new project,
and the project name and title will appear at the top of the MICROMINE
window.
4. Switch back to the Training project by selecting File | Project | Open,
or clicking the Open Project toolbar button.
Under normal circumstances you’d now begin creating template files within
the project. When you next create a project you can select Use existing
project as template and then enter this project’s name. You can then

nominate which items you want to re-use from the template project by Notes:
selecting from the options shown in the group at the bottom of the dialog.
Creating a project folder outside of MICROMINE
Project | New usually creates the folder for you. If you previously
created the folder in Windows, clear the Create directory for project
option. MICROMINE will still add the appropriate files to the folder.
Deleting a Project
Deleting a project means removing the reference to the project (the folder
where the project data is located) from a special MICROMINE file. There are
two methods of deleting projects. The first method is to delete the link to the
project folder. This is like deleting a shortcut from your Windows Desktop.
The reference to the folder is removed but the folder and its contents remain
untouched. The second method is to remove the link and delete the project
folder and all the files within it.
Generally, you only want to remove the link to the project.
Optional Exercise 1.3: Delete an existing project
To delete a project:
1. Select File | Project | Delete from the main menu.

2. Choose the Examples project from the list that appears.
3. Make sure Detach only is selected (ticked).
4. Click OK.
From now on, the Examples project won’t appear in the list when you select
File | Project | Open from the main menu.
To delete a project and all the files it contains, follow the same procedure
but clear Detach only (remove the tick).
Note that this is a deliberate action. You can’t accidentally delete the files
in a project folder.

Notes: Lesson 1 Summary
These are the key points of this lesson:
· The project is the fundamental structure for organising data in

MICROMINE;
· To start working with MICROMINE you must create at least one project;
· Projects store data files, macros, and form sets;
· You can set the project units to metric or imperial when you create it;
· When you create a new project, you can use the file structures, form
sets and macros from a similar project as a template.
To attach a project:
Select File | Project | Attach, then

Type in a new Name and Title, plus
Browse to the project’s folder location (Path).
To create a new project:
Select File | Project | New and enter the settings.
To delete a project:
Select File | Project | Delete and choose the project. Set the Detach
only switch as appropriate.
Good Practice
If you created the project folder in Windows, clear the Create directory for
project option.
Consider using an existing project as a template whenever you create a new

project. Doing so will:
· 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.
Help Topics
For information on: See:
Projects Files > Project
Template projects Files > Project > Using project templates
Form sets Form Sets

Lesson 2 – Working with Data

Notes:
Files
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.
· Create a new file;

· Create a file using an existing file as a template;
· Modify a file’s structure.
Working with Tabular Files

Files in MICROMINE
Most files you’ll use as input to functions in MICROMINE have a tabular
structure. If you’re familiar with databases you’ll recognise this structure.
An example of a typical MICROMINE data file is shown below.
Each record of this file contains a sample number and the associated gold,
silver, and copper (amongst others) assay values.
MICROMINE uses several types of tabular file. The main input files 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 exactly the same structure could have any of these extensions.
The main reason for having the different extensions is so you can group like
files in a project. For example, geological data are often stored in DAT files;
while contour strings and other string type data are stored in STR files; and
survey information from total stations or theodolites is stored in SVY files.
You can also arrange files into project subfolders for greater clarity.

Notes: The data in most MICROMINE files is stored in ASCII format. This means
you can easily read the data with simple text editors and viewers. While
it’s possible to edit a MICROMINE file with a text editor, we recommend
that you don’t do so because the file format may become corrupted.
MICROMINE also uses many other non-tabular file types (for example,
outlines and wireframes); however it handles their creation and management
on your behalf.
You, as the user, 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 characteristics of the fields and the order in which they will be
processed and displayed.
There are two field types in a tabular file: character and numeric. In most
cases it’s easy to decide which type you should apply to a field:
· Data that’s essentially numeric should be in fields with the numeric type;
· Alpha and alphanumeric data is generally given the character type.
Field and data types in MICROMINE
Numeric: Any numeric value. Statistical functions are available. Colour

and hatch sets are defined using numeric intervals (e.g. 0.5 to 1.0).
You can still store non-numeric data in numeric fields, for example, “NS”
(not sampled) in an assay field.
Character: Any character value, with or without a numeric component.

Statistical functions are not available. Colour and hatch sets are defined
using a list of text strings (e.g. “ANDS” or “A*”). Some examples of
common character type fields are Hole Name, Sample Number, and
Lithology Type.
Date: MICROMINE has no specific date field. However, you can store
dates as numeric data in YYYYMMDD format (e.g. 20100331 represents
31-Mar-2010). Take care when importing dates from databases, as often
you can’t control the date format.
In general, MICROMINE processes data files to create output. You must tell a
function (in MICROMINE) the name of a file and the fields it should use from
that file. The function then loads data from the file and perform its task. This
is the fundamental operating paradigm of MICROMINE.

Notes:
The function takes values from the

nominated file and processes them
record by record
The main file preparation and processing tool is the File Editor. The File
Editor has many features and data processing tools that are useful to the
earth scientist.
One of MICROMINE’s strengths is that you can copy the contents of a file
or change its structure at anytime. 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 get into a situation where a colleague enters
new data into the copy. To avoid this, establish a convention that clearly
defines your file-naming procedures. For example, to make working
copies of files easy to recognise, use a prefix like “#” or “!”. The length of
the file name is not an issue. Similarly, with master files, you can include
“master” in the name of the file.
Before you begin this lesson…
Make sure the training data are 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.
Creating a New Data File

You create a new file in MICROMINE using the File | New menu option, the
New File toolbar button, or the Ctrl+N keyboard shortcut. 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 and clear Use Template.
· For complete automation, clear Auto open file for editing, enable Use
Template, and choose a template File.
Because you’ll be using the data set supplied as part of this course you only
need to create a couple 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.

Notes: Exercise 2.1: Create a new data file
To create a new collar file template:
1. Select File | New from the main menu. Alternatively, you can click the
New File toolbar button.
2. Enter the following values into the New File dialog box:
Prompt Setting
File COLLAR_TEMPLATE
Type DATA
Title Collar Template
3. Ensure Auto open file for editing is set.
In the workplace you’d typically disable the Auto open option unless you
wanted to immediately start entering data. However, we’ll leave it set for this
exercise so you can see the newly created file.
4. Don’t select Use template.

5. Click OK and the Create Structure file window will appear.
You define the file structure in this window. To do this you must supply:
· The names of the fields;

· The type (character or numeric) of each field;
· The width of each field;
· In the case of numeric fields, the number of decimal places.
Defining file fields
FIELD NAME can be up to 255 characters. Try to avoid using spaces in

field names. Best practice, unless there’s an overriding company
standard, is to keep field names simple. For example, use Sample rather
than Sample No., Sample_No or Sample #.
TYPE can only be C (Character) or N (Numeric).
WIDTH can be up to 255 characters but should be kept as short as

possible without compromising the data.
DECIMALS should be enough for your data requirements, but no more.

You’ll gain nothing by specifying more decimals than are needed. The
decimal point is counted as one character, so be sure to allow for this
when you set the WIDTH.

6. Type the following values in the table: Notes:
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, or press
Ctrl+R to replicate existing data onto a new row.
7. Once you’ve entered these values, click Close on the menu in the
Create Structure window.
8. Click Yes to confirm you want to create the file.
The new file will open into a File Editor window. You could immediately start
entering values, but for this exercise we’ll leave the file empty and close it
instead.
9. Close the File Editor window, either by clicking the [X] at the top of the
COLLAR_TEMPLATE.DAT tab or the top right of the Editor window (at
the same height as the tab!). Alternatively, click the Close toolbar
button.
The Relationship between WIDTH and DECIMALS
Consider a UTM northing, which might have a value like 6536302.34. The
integer part of this number consists of seven digits, and the DECIMAL
part consists of an additional two digits. Allowing space for the decimal
point would require a total WIDTH of 10, that is 7 (integers) + 1 (decimal
point) + 2 (decimals) = 10.
You would define this field in MICROMINE as TYPE = N, WIDTH = 10,

DECIMALS = 2, or in shorthand notation N 10 2.
Creating a New File Using a Template

Once you have suitable files in the current project (or a dedicated template
project), you can use their structures whenever you create new files.

Notes: Exercise 2.2: Create a new file using a template
To create a file using a template:
1. Select File | New from the main menu. Alternatively, you can click the
New toolbar button.
2. Enter the following values into the New File dialog:
Prompt Setting
File TEST_COLLAR
Type DATA
Title From Template
3. Clear Auto open file for editing.

4. Select Use template and Current project.
5. Double-click the File response and choose the COLLAR_TEMPLATE file,
which is the one you created in Exercise 2.1.
6. Clear Modify new file structure.
7. Click OK to create the new file.
Because we cleared the Auto open... and Modify new... options,

MICROMINE silently created the file instead of requesting further input. You
can use Modify new file structure to control the structure of the new file.
To confirm the structure of the new file:
8. Select File | Open and open the new TEST_COLLAR file. Inspect its
structure and note that it’s the same as the original template.
9. Close the File Editor once you’re done.
10. Select File | Project | Open, or click the Open Project toolbar button
and return to the TRAINING project.
You can see from this exercise how much time using templates can save,
especially when you’re creating files with many fields. Additionally, using
templates promotes consistent file structures both within and across projects.
Creating a new file directly from a dialog
An alternative way to create a new file is to use File | Create or

Modify File. With this menu option you can create a new file directly
from the dialog, without needing a template, which is especially useful
when you’re writing a macro. Macros are explained in more detail in Part
5 – Macros 1.

Modifying a File’s Structure Notes:
In MICROMINE you can add and delete fields from a file at any time. If a
field contains data when you delete it, the data will also be deleted. To add
fields to a file or delete fields from a file, use the Modify File function.
The Modify File function is located in the File menu of the main
MICROMINE window and the File Editor. You can also right-click (F6) on a
File field in a dialog box 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.
The right-click file utility menu
Modify is one of several functions found on the right-click file utility

menu. This menu is accessible from any file or field name response on
every MICROMINE dialog, and makes it possible to perform basic file
functions without having to close a partially completed dialog.
Exercise 2.3: Modify a file’s structure
This task shows you how to add new fields to a soil geochemistry file,
containing sample coordinates and some basic analytical results. The new
fields are needed for merging a broader suite of additional analytical results
from the laboratory.
To add the new fields, do the following:
1. Select File | Open from the main menu.

2. Select NVG_GCHEM from the window that appears. If you can’t see it,
make sure that Files of type is set to DATA.
3. Click OK to open the file in the File Editor.
4. Press F6 to modify the file, or alternatively select File | Modify File
from the File Editor menu to display the Modify Structure window.
5. Position the cursor in the EAST_GRID field and press Ctrl+I, or select
Records | Insert Records from the menu.
6. Enter 6 in the Insert Records dialog, and then click OK.

Notes: 7. Add the following fields to the file:
Field Name Type Width Decimals

Ba N 6 0
Mo N 6 0
Sb N 6 2
As N 6 0
Hg N 6 2
Tl N 6 0
When you’ve completed the process, the file structure should look like this:
8. Select Close once the modification is complete. You’ll be prompted to

Modify File? Select Yes.
The OLD_NAME, T, W, and D fields are system fields that MICROMINE

uses to track your changes. Don’t edit them!
9. MICROMINE automatically saves the modified file so there’s no need to

explicitly save it. Instead, simply Close the file editor.

Notes:
Lesson 2 Summary
This lesson has illustrated the following points:
· Most data in MICROMINE is stored in files with a table structure;

· When creating a file you must give the file a name and then define field
names, field types, field lengths and number of decimal places;
· You can use existing files as templates when creating new files. These
templates can be in the current project, in another project, or in a folder
on a local or shared drive. This promotes consistency and saves having
to repeat work.
To create a new data file from scratch:
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, Width, and
number of Decimals.
To create a new data file using a template without your intervention:
Select File | New and enter the file’s name and type, then
Clear Auto open file for editing, and
Enable Use template and choose the template file, and
Clear Modify new file structure.
To modify the structure of an existing file:
Select File | Modify File, or

Press F6, or
Right-click a filename on a form and select Modify from the pop-up
menu, then
Change the file’s structure.
To create a new data file directly from a form:
Select File | Create or Modify File, then

Type the new file’s Name, and
ADD each new Field Name, Type, Width and Decimals.

Notes: Lesson 2 Summary (continued)
Good Practice
Wherever possible, use templates or form sets to create new file structures.
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 | Create or Modify File,
saving each one as a form set. When you create a file using File |
Create or Modify File, simply open the appropriate form set and use it
to define the file structure.
Help Topics
Creating a file Files > New
Modifying a file Files > Modify File
Creating a file from Files > Create or Modify File

a form
Character and [Index] > File Types > Data files

Numeric fields (hyperlink on File types page)

Lesson 3 – Working with

Notes:
Dialogs and Form Sets

So far, we’ve only seen the simplest of dialogs, but as we continue to learn
MICROMINE we’ll encounter increasingly complex ones. Lesson 4 and
onwards will rely extensively 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 lies in its ability to save dialog

settings once you’ve created them, and recall those settings whenever
they’re needed in future. A simple analogy is using a form-management
utility on your web browser: every time you visit, say, your online banking
website, the form manager automatically fills out the form for you, saving
you time and effort. MICROMINE’s forms work in much the same way.
· Systematically fill out a form;

· Use the various mouse and keyboards to accelerate the process;
· Save settings as form sets and recall them whenever needed.
Dialogs and Form Sets

Dialogs
Some MICROMINE dialogs have over 50 individual controls arranged in

numerous groups. The best way to fill out such a complicated dialog is to
work through it as if you were reading down the columns of a newspaper:
top down, from left to right. In the case of a tabbed dialog, you can extend
the analogy to reading the pages of a magazine. Adopting a systematic
approach like this ensures that responses are made in the correct order,
which is important because other prompts on the dialog may change
depending on your earlier choices.
Much of MICROMINE’s user interface is geared towards maximising

productivity whilst minimising effort. To help achieve this, numerous dialog
shortcuts are available. We’ve already seen the right-click context menu,
which is one such shortcut. Another involves the way you specify file or field
names: Whenever MICROMINE prompts you for a file or field name, double-
click it (or press F3) to select it from a pop-up list. You should never type a
file or field name, since it’s very easy to mistype a name and produce an
error.
Once you’ve chosen a file name, MICROMINE will endeavour to automatically

select all of the required field names, so you may not have to do this
yourself. If a numeric field is selected, MICROMINE will also automatically
calculate the minimum and maximum values of that field.

Notes:
An example of a more complex MICROMINE dialog. To fill out this dialog,

start at the top of the left-hand column and work down, then repeat for the
right-hand column. Note – this is only an example; it’s not used in the
following exercises.
Double-click it to pick it
In general, if a particular piece of information, such as a file name or a

field name, already exists, you should choose it by double-clicking instead
of typing.
Some dialog prompts are highlighted in a different colour (usually red).

These are compulsory prompts: You must enter a value before proceeding.
Other prompts can be left blank if they’re not relevant.
Form Sets
MICROMINE provides an elegant way to save and re-use the parameters that
you’ve entered into a dialog: You save them as a form set, which can be
recalled for later reuse.

A form set represents the saved contents of a dialog. 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 will vary according to the context of the dialog, but in general
MICROMINE provides these ways to manage form sets:
· Dialogs used for Vizex graphic displays have a combination of Forms,

Save, or Save As buttons depending on how the dialog was opened,
shown on illustrations (a) and (b). Vizex is fully described in Part 2 –
Displaying and Manipulating Data.
· Filters, colour sets, and other embedded dialogs (that is, dialogs within
dialogs) use a layout consisting of Save and Close, Save As and
Forms buttons, as shown on illustration (c).
· Non-graphical dialogs that perform a calculation have the layout shown
on illustration (d), using just a Forms button. These dialogs also use
Run instead of OK, which signifies that they run a data process instead
of contributing to a display.
(a) (b) (c) (d)
· Graphical dialogs that are not associated with Vizex, such as graphs or
histograms, have no buttons. Instead, form sets are accessed from the
menu (e) or toolbar (f). However, these options only appear where
relevant.
(f)
(e)
Once you’ve clicked the appropriate forms button, MICROMINE will display
the Forms dialog, which gives you the opportunity to save the parameters
with a Title of your choice. The title can be any descriptive text, since all
that MICROMINE needs to internally reference the form set is its Number,
which must be unique. The Forms dialog also allows you to recall a
previously saved form set, and import or export form sets for sharing with
other users.

Notes: For convenience you can also group form sets into folders, which are
especially useful for managing complex projects that contain many form sets.
Form set folders are introduced in Part 2 – Displaying and Manipulating Data.
Identifying saved form sets
Once you’ve saved a dialog as a form set, the Title of that form set will
appear at the top of the dialog itself. If you don’t see the name, you’re
not working with a saved form set!
MICROMINE automatically manages the form set Number so you’ll rarely

need to change it yourself, although you can do so if you want to control
the grouping of form sets.
Each MICROMINE function maintains its own independent list of form sets,
so there’s no risk of duplication. For example, more than one function could
have a form set Number 1, with the title “Testing”.
Even if you forget to save a dialog as a form set, every MICROMINE dialog is
automatically saved to a ‘default’ form set. Simply re-opening a particular
dialog will automatically recall the default set, so your previous settings are
always available, even after restarting the computer. As soon as you change
a value, however, the previous value will be lost.
In Vizex, default form sets are always marked as Untitled, so you can
see at a glance whether or not you’ve saved them.
Exercise 3.1: Explore dialogs and form sets
In this exercise, we’ll display some geochemical sample locations and save
the display parameters as a form set.
1. From the main menu, select Display | Vizex | Points.

2. Ensure the Input Data tab is active (highlighted). Double-click the File
response, and choose NVG_GCHEM from the file list that appears.
3. Once you’ve chosen the file, note how the coordinate fields below the
file name have automatically been chosen. MICROMINE always
endeavours to complete as much of the form as it can on your behalf.
4. Click the Points tab to activate it, and then turn on the Show Points
and Use Symbols options.
5. Double-click the small blank square next to the Default symbol prompt
and choose the filled triangle ( ) symbol.
6. Click OK at the right of the dialog to display the points.
7. Inspect the Display window pane at the bottom left of the screen. Note
how it now contains a single entry called Untitled (NVG_GCHEM.DAT).

Notes:
Assuming you’re happy with how the sample locations are displayed, you can
save the settings as a form set.
8. Double-click the Untitled (NVG_GCHEM.DAT) entry in the Display pane,

at the bottom left of your screen, to redisplay the Points dialog.
9. Click the Save As button at the right of the dialog.
You can also right-click the Untitled (NVG_GCHEM.DAT) entry and choose
Save Form As from the pop-up menu.
10. Inspect the Save Current Values dialog and note how the form set
has automatically been given the Number 1.
11. Type in 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 Points dialog and note how the name in the Display
pane has now changed to Soil geochemistry.
You can use the same process to make further changes to the form set:
Double-click the form set in the Display pane, make the changes on the
dialog, click Save, and finally click OK.
If you wanted to re-use those settings, you’d simply click the appropriate
form set to select it, and then click Open to load the settings.
Why use form sets?
As a general rule, if you plan to use the settings on a particular dialog

more than once, it’s worth saving that dialog as a form set.
Form sets are the main driving force of MICROMINE. They enable you to
create libraries of display layers in Vizex, consistently re-load settings for
repetitive tasks without re-entering values, and automate MICROMINE by
writing macros. All of these techniques are covered in subsequent lessons
or courses.

The key points of this lesson are:
· 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 a form manager on a web browser would do.
· Form sets can be grouped into form set folders in a large project.
· There are numerous form shortcuts, such as the right-click menu and
double-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 Tools |
Options | Colours and Fonts.
To fill out a MICROMINE dialog:
Work through the settings as if you were reading columns in a

newspaper, filling out (at least) the compulsory prompts as you go.
To speed up filling out a dialog, most information is available from a list.
In other words, don’t type but “double-click it to pick it”.
To save a dialog as a form set:
Click Forms, followed by Save As.
To save a Vizex dialog as a form set:
Click the Save As button.
To recall a previously saved form set:
Open the relevant dialog, then

Click Forms, then locate the desired form set and click Open.
Good Practice
Any process worth doing more than once is worth saving as a form set.
For example, if you’re importing text files that 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.
Help Topics
Form sets Form Sets > ...
Vizex Display

Lesson 4 – Data Entry and

Notes:
File Processing
The data that describes a prospect or mine can be collected and recorded in
a variety of ways. These include survey data from total stations, rock sample
data from geologists’ notebooks, drillhole data from portable data entry
equipment, compass traverse notes, data files from aerial surveys and aerial
photography, along with existing data in a variety of third-party formats.
Getting all of this information from different formats into a project and into a
coherent and useful state can be challenging. This lesson describes some of
the processes that can be used to get data into a MICROMINE project.
· Import text files into MICROMINE files (tables);

· Merge assay results from a lab with their associated coordinates;
· Import data from a third-party GIS format (ESRI Shapefile);
· Import (or link to) data from a database table using ODBC;
· Spatially preview imported data in Vizex;
· Enter tabular data using the File Editor;
· Navigate through the records and fields in the File Editor.
Getting Data into MICROMINE

A geologist working on an exploration or mining project will typically
encounter four different data sources:
· Tabular data exported as a text file format from a third-party

application;
· Spatial data in a CAD or GIS format;
· An external relational database such as Microsoft Access®, SQL
Server®, or Oracle®. Data within these databases are normally managed
by a geologically aware system such as Micromine’s GBIS;
· Non-digital data such as paper-based field logging or printed logs and
reports.
An example of each data type is explored in the following topics.
The Different Ways of Obtaining Tabular Data

MICROMINE includes three different ways to get large quantities of tabular
data into a project with a minimum of effort. They are:

Notes: · 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 can be any
supported tabular format, and you can 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 can only originate from an ODBC data source or Microsoft Access
database. 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 can 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 FIELD MARSHAL to collect field data you can exchange files in
native MICROMINE format. FIELD MARSHAL and the MICROMINE File
Editor contain many data entry and processing functions created
specifically for earth science data. It’s often cheaper and more efficient to
buy FIELD MARSHAL or use the MICROMINE File Editor than to customise
a non-geological spreadsheet or database application.

Obtaining Data from Text Files Notes:
There are a numerous types of text file but in general they fall into two
groups: delimited and fixed width. A delimited file contains rows of values
separated by a separator or “delimiter”. Common delimited formats are
comma-delimited (using commas) and tab-delimited (using tabs). Each row is
terminated with a CR (carriage return) character and a LF (line feed)
character.
Fixed width files, sometimes known as column-delimited files, contain

values separated into columns made up of a fixed number of characters.
Delimited files are generally more space-efficient, but human operators can
more easily read fixed width files.
Example fixed width file
Example comma delimited file
You import text using File | Import | Text. Generally Import Text is used
to transfer independent data sets into a MICROMINE project. Alternatively
use File | Merge | Text to merge text data. The Merge Text function is
used to re-establish relationships within data sets, for example, merging
assay results with the coordinates at which the samples were taken. You can
also merge two MICROMINE files to achieve the same result.
The next two exercises will teach you to import a text file and then merge
the imported file (now in MICROMINE format) into another MICROMINE file.
Before you continue...
Make sure you’re using the built-in file viewer. To ensure this is the case,
select Tools | Options | Editor from the main menu and check that Built-
in is selected in the Text Viewer group.

Notes: Importing CSV Text Files

CSV (comma separated values) is a simple and popular text format well
suited to tabular data exchange. Most applications can export and import the
CSV format. A typical scenario might involve a geologist recording field data
using the built-in software on a notebook computer or PDA (personal digital
assistant). On return to the office he or she would most likely upload the
data to a MICROMINE project. CSV is an ideal format for this situation.
The simplest way to import a CSV (or any other text) file is to allow
MICROMINE to automatically define the output file structure. You do this by
choosing Determine from Input file in the Output File Structure group,
and then using the Scan Rows or Scan File buttons to determine the
structure.
You’ll explore these options in the next exercise.
Exercise 4.1: Import assay data from a CSV file
In this exercise we’ll import the new analytical data referred to in Exercise
2.3, in preparation for merging it into the existing soil geochemistry file.
These data were received as a Microsoft Excel workbook and were exported
from Excel in CSV format.
To import the text file:
1. Select File | Import | Text from the main menu.

2. Click the browse […] button next to the Input File response and
navigate to the Import folder (within your training project). Select the
file NEW_ASSAY_RESULTS.csv.
The .csv extension will be invisible if you have set Windows 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 six additional elements (Ba, Mo, Sb,
As, Hg, and Tl). Close the text viewer when you’re done.
4. Set the Format to COMMA DELIMITED.
5. Enable Field Name Header and choose the One row radio button.
This file contains no rows to ignore so there’s no need to set any Rows To
Ignore options. You can use these options to ignore metadata, internal
headings, or footers in a more complex file.
Define the structure of the output file
6. Select Determine from Input file in the Output File Structure

group.

7. Enter the Output File name NEW_ASSAY_RESULTS and ensure the Notes:
Type is set to DATA.
8. Enter the Report file name ASSAY_IMPORT.
9. Click the Scan File button to scan the input file and automatically
determine the structure of the output file.
In the workplace, if you have any doubt about the scan, right-click the input
file to view it and, if necessary, click the Preview button to alter the output
structure.
10. Click OK on the dialog box to run the function.
MICROMINE will report a large number of errors.
11. Right-click the Report file and select View from the pop-up menu to
inspect its contents.
All of the errors are of the type Value missing. The reason will become clear
when we view the output file.
12. Right-click the Output File and select View from the pop-up menu to
verify the file contents.
The missing values all originate from the Tl (Thallium) column. You can
confirm that these values genuinely are missing by viewing the input file.
Merging Assay Data

We added fields to the data file in Exercise 2.3 to prepare that file for the
merging process. The NVG_GCHEM file contains a sample number, co-
ordinates describing where the sample was taken, some existing geochemical
data, and new, empty fields for the additional geochemical elements. In
Exercise 4.1 we imported the additional data into a file called
NEW_ASSAY_RESULTS.
In this task we’ll merge the new geochemical data (NEW_ASSAY_RESULTS)

into the existing soil geochemistry file (NVG_GCHEM).
To successfully merge the records in two files there must be 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 use two or
more fields in each file to differentiate each record.
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 nominated and writes it to the
corresponding fields in the target file.

Notes: Exercise 4.2: Merge assay data from Exercise 4.1 into
the sample locality file
In this exercise the sample identifiers are unique. This means you can use
the fields containing sample identifiers in each file as the key field in the
merge. In cases where there are duplicates in the key field in the target file
you must use multiple fields to form the key.
Do the following:
1. Select File | Merge | MM from the main menu.

2. Double-click the Source File response and choose
NEW_ASSAY_RESULTS (ensure the file Type is set to DATA).
3. Double-click in the Target File response and select NVG_GCHEM.
Defining the Key Field
We 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.
To define the key field:
4. Click the Key Fields button. (If the button is disabled, select the Use
key fields option lower down the dialog.)
5. Double-click the Source Field for Key # 1 and choose SAMPLE.
MICROMINE will automatically set the matching field name for the
Target Field.
6. Because the sample numbers consist of alphanumeric strings, set the
Match to CHARACTER. If you omit this step MICROMINE will ignore the
letter prefix of each sample number. Close the Key Fields dialog when
you’re done.
We’re only using a single key field so there’s no need to proceed to the next
row.
Defining the Merge Fields
You must now define the merge fields, which is very similar to defining the
key field. MICROMINE does, however, greatly simplify the process whenever
the field names are the same in both the source and target file.
7. Click the Merge Fields button.

8. Click the small Select Fields button near the top left of the dialog. Notes:
9. Drag the mouse down the field list, starting with Ba and ending on Tl, to
highlight the six geochemical fields, as shown on the following diagram.
Click OK when you’re done.
There’s no need to select SAMPLE because it’s already defined as the key
field.
10. Because the field names are the same in both files, MICROMINE will
complete the form, automatically mapping each source field to the
matching target field.
11. Optional: You can map source to target fields on an individual basis by
double-clicking and choosing a Source field, then double-clicking and
choosing the matching Target field.
12. Close the Merge Fields dialog once you’re satisfied with the field
mapping.
13. Set the Match to FIRST, which will only merge the first occurrence of
each key field value.
14. Enter Unmerged in the Unmerged file response, Duplicate in the
Duplicate file response, and Merge_stats in the Report file response.
These files will record the results of the merge process.
Running and validating the merge
15. The final stage of the process is to run the merge. Do this by clicking the
Run button on the dialog box.
When the process is complete, a report will appear describing the results of
the process, which is also reproduced in the Merge_stats file. You should also
right-click the Unmerged and Duplicate files to check their contents, which
list any source sample numbers that were duplicated or not merged. In this
example there are none and these files are not created.
Checking the results of a function
A useful check on any function that processes files is to right-click on the

output file (or files) and select View from the pop-up menu. Any
problems will become apparent and you can re-run the function after
making the necessary corrections. Report files are considered output and
should also be checked.

Notes: In the example above, the non-existence of the Unmerged and Duplicate
files is an indication of success, because they are only created when
unmerged or duplicate records exist.
Exercise 4.3: Label the sample locality file
Now that we know a little more about the soil geochemical data, we’ll add
labels for the Au1 geochemical data to the display:
1. Open the Soil geochemistry form set by double-clicking it in the Display

pane at the bottom left of your screen.
2. The Points dialog will open back on the Points tab, which is where we
last left it. Switch to the Label tab and complete it as shown here:
Prompt Setting
Show labels: Enabled
Text field (first row) AU1 (double-click to choose)
Position: Top-right (double-click to choose
option 12)
Angle: 45 (type the number)
Font: Tahoma, Size 8 (double-click the
AaBbYyZz text)

You can quickly choose the Tahoma font in the Font dialog by typing the Notes:
letter ‘t’. Windows will immediately jump to fonts beginning with that
letter.
3. Click the Save button at the right of the Points dialog to save the
alterations, and then click OK to redraw the labelled points. Your display
should look like this diagram:
Importing CAD or GIS Data

In addition to tabular data such as sample locations, drillhole information,
and geochemical results, MICROMINE also supports numerous graphical
formats from CAD (Computer Aided Drafting), GIS (Geographic Information
System), and general purpose mining applications.
Supported formats include:
· CAD formats: AutoCAD DXF and DWG, Microstation DGN;

· GIS formats: Mapinfo TAB, ESRI ArcView SHP, and MapGIS;
· Surpac Strings.
Although it’s possible to directly display many of these formats in Vizex

without conversion, in the following exercise you’ll import topographic
contours from an ESRI ArcView Shapefile and convert them to a MICROMINE
string file. Directly displaying CAD or GIS data in Vizex is covered in Part 2 –
Displaying and Manipulating Data.

Notes: Exercise 4.4: Import and display topographic contours

from an ESRI Shapefile
1. Select File | Import | CAD/GIS from the main menu.

2. Double-click the CAD/GIS file response and browse to the Import
folder (inside your project). Choose the nvg_topo_contours.shp file and
click Open.
3. Enable Import attributes.
4. Type NVG_TOPO_CONTOURS in the Output File name and set the Type
to STRING.
5. Set the field names as shown here:
Prompt Setting
East field EAST
North field NORTH
RL field RL
Join field JOIN
String field STRING
Layer field MM_LAYER (Don’t use LAYER – it’s
a reserved field name)
6. Click Run to import the contour data. Right-click | View the new
string file to confirm the import, and then Close the dialog once you’re
done.
As verification of the process we’ll display the imported contours in Vizex:
7. Select Display | Vizex | Strings from the main menu to display the
Strings dialog.
8. Ensure that the Input Data tab is active and the file Type is set to
STRING.
9. Double-click the File response to choose the NVG_TOPO_CONTOURS
file. MICROMINE will fill out the remainder of this tab for you.
10. Switch to the Display Options tab and ensure that only the Default
colour is set; use a light brown colour, and clear all other options on
this tab.
11. Click the Save As button at the right of the dialog to save your settings
as a form set with the Title Topographic contours.
12. Click OK to apply the settings. Your display should now resemble the
following diagram.
13. Conclude this exercise by selecting Edit | Remove All from the main
menu.
The last two exercises have provided an introduction to Vizex, which is fully
explained in Part 2 – Displaying and Manipulating Data.

Notes:
Importing or Linking Database

Data Using ODBC
ODBC is an acronym for the term Open Database Connectivity. It’s an
industry standard interface that provides data access to a variety of database
applications. ODBC isn’t tied 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 desired drivers on your computer.
Whenever you install a database product, the appropriate drivers are usually
installed along with it.
Setting up a new ODBC connection first involves creating a Data Source

Name (DSN). There are three types of DSN, so the choice of which to use
seems complex at first. In reality, they differ only in their degree of ‘visibility’
to the rest of the users on your computer or network. You need only create
the DSN once; from then on it’s constantly re-used each time you reference
the database.
The three types of DSNs are:
· User DSN, which is local to a computer and is accessible only by the

current user;
User DSN: One user on one

computer. Not available to other
users.

Notes: · System DSN, which is local to a computer but isn’t user-dedicated. In

other words, it’s shared amongst all users of that computer;
System DSN: Available to all users

on one computer.
· File DSN, which is shared among all users on a network. It’s neither
user-dedicated nor local to a particular computer.
File DSN: Available to

all users on a
network.
On most computers, the User and System DSN’s are grouped under the
category Machine Data Source.
You can use an ODBC connection two ways in MICROMINE: You either
Import the data or Link to the database. When you Import, MICROMINE
creates a ‘snapshot’ of the data. The files created in the MICROMINE project
are ordinary data files, exactly the same as any other data file you’d 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.
If you Link to an ODBC database, MICROMINE maintains a connection to that

database. This means that if anything changes within the database, you can
refresh your links simply by right clicking its name on any dialog that
references it and choosing Reload Link from the pop-up menu. However,
your access to the data will be lost if the connection to the database fails.
Additionally, the underlying database sets the structure of linked data, so you
can’t modify (or edit) the file.
If you rely on multiple ODBC links, you can use Tools | Macro Functions |
ODBC Link Update to simultaneously refresh them all.
You’ll create an ODBC connection name and import an example table in the
following exercise.
Exercise 4.5: Create an ODBC connection and import

data
In most cases you’ll probably want to create an ODBC link (by using File |
Link | ODBC) so that MICROMINE always has access to the most up-to-

date data from your company’s database. However, because we may need to Notes:
edit this file later we’ll import the data instead.
The training database contains four tables of drillhole data (collars, downhole
surveys, assays, and lithologies), but we’re only interested in one of those:
the Collar table. To import the other tables you simply repeat the steps in
Load Data from the External Database, below.
Create the ODBC connection
1. Select File | Import | ODBC.

2. Click the Select Data Source button.
3. Select the Machine Data Source tab and click the New button.
4. Select User Data Source and click Next >.
5. Choose Microsoft Access Driver (*.mdb, *.accdb) from the list that
appears, and then click Next > followed by Finish.
6. Enter TRAINING as the Data Source Name and Introductory Training
in the Description.
7. Click the Select… button and navigate to the folder
C:\MMDATA\TRAINING\IMPORT.
8. Select MMI_DrillholeData.mdb and then click OK.
9. Click OK on the ODBC dialogs until the Select Table dialog appears.
You’ve just created a new ODBC connection! You need only complete
Steps 3 to 10 once, and from now on you’ll be able to reuse the same
DSN each time you connect to the database.
Managing DSNs
Ask your system administrator for assistance if you run into trouble with
your ODBC settings. Connection problems often stem from not having the
correct versions of ODBC drivers installed on your computer.
System DSNs must be created by a system administrator in Windows

Vista or later.
To remove an unwanted DSN from your computer, select Start |

Control Panel | Administrative Tools | Data Sources (ODBC). You
need not be running MICROMINE to do this.
Load Data from the External Database
Whenever you re-use an existing DSN, you need to complete the first three
shaded steps in addition to the rest of the following procedure. However,
because the Select Table dialog is already open in this exercise, you don’t
need to complete them this time. Instead, go directly to Step 13.
10. Select File | Import | ODBC.

Notes: 11. Click the Select Data Source button.

12. Select the Machine Data Source tab and choose TRAINING (the DSN
you just created) from the list. Click OK.
13. The Select Table dialog box will appear. You’ll see the names of the
four tables in the database: Assay, Collar, Lithology and Survey.
14. Highlight the Collar entry and click OK.
15. Fill-out the remaining prompts in the dialog as shown below and on the
following diagram:
Prompt Setting
Target File NVG_COLLAR_IMPORT
Determine structure Selected
Preview Enabled
Number of records (optional) 20
Select all Enabled
16. Click Import. The contents of the Collar table will be displayed. If you
need to change the structure of the target file you can do so here.
17. Click OK. MICROMINE will import the contents of the Collar table from
the MS Access database, reporting the total number of records.
18. Dismiss the message box, and then conform the import by right-
clicking the Target file and choosing View from the pop-up menu.

19. Close the file and Import ODBC dialog once you’re done. Notes:
Controlling the structure of the imported file
You have three choices when it comes to importing a database table. If

you select Determine Structure MICROMINE will scan the table and
determine the optimal data structure for the new file. If you select Use
Database Structure MICROMINE will use the structure of the table to
create the new file. And finally if you select Use Current Structure
MICROMINE will force the data to fit into the existing target file.
Manually Entering Data

MICROMINE’s File Editor is an excellent data entry tool that’s specifically
designed to provide numerous tools for the rapid entry of spatial and drillhole
data. For example, by defining a series of rules, you can enter drillhole collar
coordinates and downhole sample data with a minimum of keystrokes.
Although many people use a spreadsheet application for data entry, you’ll
find that the File Editor provides a safer and more rapid data entry
environment.
The File Editor has a menu available under Edit | Tools that contains a
collection of basic functions for importing, exporting and merging data;
sorting and validating files; and performing field-based calculations. Many of
these tools also have toolbar buttons.
MICROMINE files are presented on-screen in a familiar grid layout. You can
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 desired 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, for
example:
· Ctrl+C (Copy)
· Ctrl+X (Cut)
· Ctrl+V (Paste)
Using these shortcuts, you can easily transfer blocks of data between
MICROMINE and, say, MS Excel, in either direction. However, the File Editor
also provides many other unique shortcuts that are designed to automate
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.

Notes: Table 4.1: File Editor keyboard shortcuts
To… Keyboard Menu Button
Increment contents Ctrl+A Records | Add | One

to the cell below
Set Increment value Ctrl+Shift+I Records | Increment
Copy contents to the Ctrl+R Records | Replicate | One

cell below
Operate on multiple Ctrl+T Records | Execute | One

fields to record below
Define execution Ctrl+Shift+ Records | Execute |

parameters P Parameters
Delete records Ctrl+D Records | Delete
Insert blank records Ctrl+I Records | Insert
Using the File Editor shortcuts on multiple records
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 toolbar
button if you prefer to use the mouse instead of the keyboard.
Exercise 4.6: Use the File Editor’s data entry tools
We’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 menu or
toolbar if you’d 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 menus or toolbar buttons.
Field-by-Field Data Entry
1. From the main MICROMINE menu, select File | Open and open the
NVG_ASSAY file. Alternatively, you can click the Open File toolbar
button.
2. Scroll to the bottom of the file and select (click) the last HOLE value,
which should read T17.

Notes:
3. Press Ctrl+A. Observe how MICROMINE creates a new record,

recognises that the existing text T17 contains a numeric component,
increments that component by one, and places the new value into the
new record.
4. Now press Ctrl+R four or five times. Each time you choose this
command it replicates the T18 value to the record below.
5. Select (click) the first blank FROM value in your new T18 hole and type
in a value of 0 (zero).
6. Press Ctrl+Shift+I and change the increment from 1 to 4. Click OK.

7. With the highlight still on the zero value, press Ctrl+Shift+A. The
Increment Many dialog will appear. Just click OK to accept the default
values.

Notes:
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 the following
diagram:
That was pretty quick, but wouldn’t it be good if you could perform all of
those actions simultaneously? Fortunately, there is a way.
Simultaneous Multiple Field Data Entry
10. Press Ctrl+Shift+P to display the Execute Parameters dialog. Using

this dialog, you can define a separate action for each field in the file.
Once they’re defined, you can apply them all simultaneously.
11. The HOLE field on the Execute Parameters dialog should already be
selected, but if it isn’t, click it to select it.
12. Click the Replicate button. Note how MICROMINE changes the Action
for the HOLE field from IGNORE to REPLICATE.
13. The SAMPLE field is now automatically selected, so just click the
Increment button. When the Increment dialog appears, leave the
value set to 1 and click OK.

14. The FROM field now becomes the selected field. It’s tempting to set an Notes:
increment value of, say, four, but there’s a much smarter way to handle
this field: Click the Copy button instead.
15. When the Copy Field dialog appears, select TO from the list and click
OK. This will take the TO value from the previous record and copy it into
the FROM field in the current record.
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
manually edit a TO value, the next FROM value will always be correct.
16. 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:
17. Click OK to close the Execute Parameters dialog.

18. Select the last T18 value in the HOLE field and press Ctrl+A. This will
start a new hole.
19. Manually type in a SAMPLE number of S00001, a FROM of 0 and a TO of
4. Your file should now look something like this:
Before you can use the execution parameters, you must always have a
“starter record” containing actual values. The cursor must also be
somewhere in this record before creating any new data.
20. Press Ctrl+T and observe the result: All of the rules have been applied
simultaneously. Press Ctrl+T a couple more times to add some more
records. Your file should now look like this:

Notes:
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 to quickly perform simple algebra or more complex
data manipulation. The calculator works by the following formula:
Input A à Calculation Function (i.e. Plus, Minus, etc.) à Input B = Result
Input A and Input B can be field names, numbers, or temporary variables.

The result can be a new field, existing field or a temporary variable.
To access the Calculator you can either select the File | Fields | Calculate
menu or click the Calculations button on the File Editor toolbar. Use File |
Fields | Calculate for complex calculations or macro automation, and the File
Editor Calculator for simpler interactive calculations.
Exercise 4.7: Use the File Editor Calculator
In this exercise you’ll use the File Editor Calculator to calculate the INTERVAL
value for the new records you’ve just added to the NVG_ASSAY file. You’ll
also instruct MICROMINE to overwrite the intervals for the existing records.
1. Click the Calculations button on the toolbar.

2. Double click the first Input response and select the TO field.
3. Click the Function response and select Minus.
4. Double click the second Input response and select the FROM field.
5. Double click the Result response and select the INTERVAL field.
6. Enable Overwrite result field. The dialog should resemble the
following diagram.

Notes:
7. Click OK to run the Calculator.
If you need to perform more complex calculations the temporary variables

become an invaluable tool. It’s useful to think of a temporary variable as
being the same as the Memory button on a standard calculator, the only
difference being that you have ten (labelled #0 to #9) instead of the
standard one.
Now we’ll perform an exercise to calculate the mid-point of each sample

interval.
8. Reopen the Calculator and change the Function from Minus to Plus.
9. Click the Result response, currently set to INTERVAL, and clear the field
name by pressing Shift+Space.
10. Type in #1 in its place to create a temporary variable.
11. Click the first Input on the second row and type in #1 to reference the
temporary variable.
12. Click the Function field on the second row and select Divide By.
13. Click the second Input and type in 2.
14. In the second Result field type in MidPoint. This will create a new field
in the data called MidPoint, which will be populated by the mid-point of
the hole interval.
15. Click OK to run the calculation. You’ll be prompted to create the new
field; answer OK to create it.
16. Close the File Editor once you’re satisfied with the result. Please answer
NO when prompted to save changes!

The key points of this lesson are:
· Source data for MICROMINE may originate from tabular data such as
text files, database tables, and third-party formats, or graphical data
such as CAD drawings or GIS layers.
· There are several ways to get tabular data into MICROMINE, namely
importing and merging. More than one method may suit a particular
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
Merge Lab Data function, which is described in Part 13 – Geology 2.
· The File Editor understands the relationship between Hole ID’s and
From-To intervals, and can be much more efficient than spreadsheet
applications for entering tabular data.
· Use the Calculator to perform a variety of calculations directly on a
MICROMINE file.
To import a text file:
Select File | Import | Text from the main menu, then

Select the desired Input File and Format, and
Enable the appropriate Field Name Header option, and
Select Determine from Input file, then
Enter the Output File name and Type, and
Click the Scan File button.
To merge data from one MICROMINE file into another:
Select File | Merge | MM, then

Set the Source and Target file names, and
Define Key Fields and Merge Fields.
To import CAD or GIS data:
Select File | Import | CAD/GIS, then

Select the input CAD/GIS file, and
Enable Import attributes, and
Enter the name of the output File, and
Enter the names of the output fields.
Don’t use LAYER as an output field name: it’s a reserved name in many
CAD/GIS file formats.

Lesson 4 Summary (Continued) Notes:
To access data via an ODBC connection:
Select File | Import | ODBC or File | Link | ODBC, then

Create or select a Data Source Name (DSN), then
Select the Table(s) and type a Target File name, and
Use the Preview option to assess the imported structure.
To calculate a value for a field:
Select File | Fields | Calculate or the Calculate toolbar button, then

Define the two Inputs and select a Function, and
Choose a Result field or a temporary variable.
Good Practice
If you’re importing text files that 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 data that did not originate in MICROMINE, right-click
and view the selected target file on the Import dialog 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.
Help Topics
Form sets Form sets
Importing text data Files > Import > Text
Merging MM files Files > Merge
Importing or Files > Import > ODBC

linking ODBC
Importing CAD/ GIS Files > Import > CAD/GIS
Displaying CAD/GIS Display > Vizex > CAD/GIS
The File Editor Files
The Calculator (Editor) Files > Calculations (link on page)
Calculations (Menu) Files > Fields > Calculate
Vizex Display

Notes: Lesson 4 Summary (Continued)
Important File Editor shortcuts:
To… Keyboard Menu Button
Cut values Ctrl+X Edit | Cut
Copy values Ctrl+C Edit | Copy
Paste values Ctrl+V Edit | Paste
Insert records Ctrl+I Records | Insert
Delete records Ctrl+D Records | Delete
Set Increment Ctrl+Shift+I Records | Increment =

value
Increment value Ctrl+A Records | Increment | One

to the cell below
Increment value Ctrl+Shift+A Records | Increment |

in following Many
records
Copy value to the Ctrl+R Records | Replicate | One

cell below
Copy value to Ctrl+Shift+R Records | Replicate | Many

following records
Define execution Ctrl+Shift+P Records | Execute |

parameters Parameters
Operate on Ctrl+T Records | Execute | One

multiple fields to
record below
Operate on Ctrl+Shift+T Records | Execute | Many

multiple fields to
following records

Lesson 5 – Validating Data

Notes:
Validation is an essential processing task, with two primary objectives:
· To eliminate incorrect values from a file;

· To enhance the consistency of the data.
Many companies use a centralised corporate database to store their

corporate and scientific data. If your company uses such a system, it places
increased pressure on you to ensure that your data are valid and consistent
before uploading into your Database Management System (DBMS).
Companies are also becoming increasingly aware of the value of their data,
which is encouraging good validation processes. At a simpler level, some
MICROMINE functions may produce undefined results if they encounter
invalid data.
· Validate fields in a data file;

· Validate drillhole data comprising collar, downhole survey, and interval
files.
Before you continue...
Make sure you’ve completed Lesson 2 – Working with data files.
Validating Data in a Project

Validation
MICROMINE supports the validation of nearly all types of codified data (with
the obvious exception of fields containing random comments) and can also
perform rigorous validation of drillhole data.
There are four validation functions in MICROMINE:
· Validate in the Tools menu of the File Editor

(File Editor: Edit | Tools | Validate)
· Validate under the Fields item in the File menu
(Main menu: File | Fields | Validate)
· Drillhole Database in the Drillhole menu
(Main menu: Drillhole | Validate | Drillhole Database)
· Drillhole in the Drillhole menu
(Main menu: Drillhole | Validate | Drillhole)
The first two validation options are designed to validate the contents of fields
in a file, whereas the last two are designed to validate drillhole data.

Notes: Drillhole database validation is covered in Part 2 – Displaying and

Manipulating Data.
Validating a Data File

You have two choices for validating fields in a file: Either Edit | Tools |
Validate or File | Fields | Validate. With Edit | Tools | Validate, you
can only validate one field at a time, but it’s easy to use because you can
validate at the same time as you’re editing the file.
File | Fields | Validate is a more powerful function because it can

simultaneously validate up to ten fields 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 in which the error was found and the
number of the record.
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
Validate 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
typographical errors and other mistakes that often occur in data entry.
Creating validation check files
There are many ways to create a check file. If your company uses a
corporate database you should be able to create one by importing the
relevant lookup table 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 should correct the errors in the
extracted data before using it as a check file.
Exercise 5.1: Validate fields in a file
Validation is often used to check the consistency of lithology codes used to

describe sample data. In this exercise, you’ll simultaneously perform
character validation using a check file and numeric validation using range
checking, to validate records in the NVG_LITH_WITH_ERR file. (This file
contains deliberate errors.) The numeric range checking will identify values
that fall outside the range of 0 (zero) to 75.
To validate the file:

1. From the main menu, select File | Fields | Validate. Notes:
The Fields Validate dialog is split into two halves: The upper half allows
you to set up the input, check, and report files, whereas you define the
various validation rules in the lower half.
2. Fill out the upper half of the Fields Validate dialog as listed:
Prompt Setting
Input File NVG_LITH_WITH_ERR
Type DATA
Data type DRILL HOLE
Check file NVG_VALID_LITH
Type DATA
Report file INVALID_LITH
3. Right-click the Check file NVG_VALID_LITH and inspect its contents.
The listed codes are all confirmed as being valid; therefore any codes that
occur in NVG_LITH_WITH_ERR but are absent from the check file will be
recorded as invalid.
Data type: GENERAL vs. DRILL HOLE
Both data types validate in exactly the same way; only the way in which
errors are reported changes. If you use the GENERAL data type, errors
are reported 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 lower half as shown:
When you select 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 seen as being different to ands or Ands.

Notes: 5. Click the Run button on the dialog to run the process, and dismiss the
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 File. This will automatically take
you to the matching record in the Input File, which you can correct if
necessary.
Validating Drillhole Data

The drillhole validation function (Drillhole | Validate | Drillhole) detects
a large number of errors and inconsistencies in collar, downhole survey,
interval, and event files.
It detects:
FROM < previous TO Duplicate collar entry

FROM >= TO Dips or Azimuths change by more than x
FROM or TO missing Surveys beyond total depth
Collar missing or incorrect Missing hole in interval file

Record beyond total depth Compulsory field blank
Hole excluded by collar filter Total depth missing
Duplicate hole Rate of Deviation
Non-consecutive surveys Sample Interval Lengths

MICROMINE performs this validation by checking the relationship between Notes:

the files and the relevant fields, as illustrated below. For example, it checks
for missing holes by listing the hole ID’s it finds in each file and then
checking to see if any are missing from any of the other files.
Hole ID
Coordinates
Collar
Total Depth File
Hole ID Survey
Survey Depth
Azimuth/Inclination File
Hole ID Interval Event

From/To or Depth File(s) File(s)
As you can see, drillhole data undergoes comprehensive testing. You should
always validate drillhole data to ensure trouble free operation in later
processes.
You must perform a separate validation run for each interval or event file
that you’re checking, using the same collar and downhole survey file in
each case. For example, if you have interval files for assays, lithologies,
and oxidation, you must perform three separate runs of Drillhole |
Validate | Drillhole, using a different file each time.
Alternatively, you can validate all files in one pass using Drillhole |
Validate | Drillhole Database. Creating and validating a drillhole
database is explained in Part 2 – Displaying and Manipulating Data.
Exercise 5.2: Validate drillhole data
To validate the drillhole data, do the following:
1. Select Drillhole | Validate | Drillhole from the menu.

2. Ensure the Collar File tab is active and make the following entries:
Prompt Setting
File NVG_COLLAR
Type DATA
Hole field [Automatic]
Easting, Northing, Z field [Automatic]
Total depth field [Automatic]

Notes: 3. Switch to the Survey File tab and make the following entries:
Prompt Setting
File NVG_SURVEY
Type DATA
All other fields... [Automatic]
4. Enter the following on the Interval File tab:
Prompt Setting
File NVG_ASSAY_WITH_ERR
Type DATA
All other fields... [Automatic]
5. There are no event files to validate, so skip the Event File tab.
6. Finally, set the following options on the Report tab:
Prompt Setting
File DH_VALID
Check for missing intervals Set
Check for missing holes Set
Check inclinations Cleared
Check azimuths Cleared
Check maximum deviation Set
Check sample interval lengths Cleared
Valid inclination change Disabled
Valid azimuth change Disabled
Max deviation 0.05
Max interval Length Disabled
Grade Field Disabled
7. Click OK. You’ll receive a message saying, “There were X errors found”.
These errors are written to the Report File; when you click OK to
dismiss the message box the Report Viewer will appear at the bottom of
the window.

What’s max deviation? Notes:
Max deviation is a smart validation tool that takes into account the
distance between successive downhole surveys as well as their varying
orientations. It will also handle sub-vertical holes with azimuths that vary
over the full 0 – 360° range, but which in reality may only deviate by one
or two degrees. The traditional dip/azimuth options poorly handle both of
these situations.
Max deviation is expressed in terms of degrees per linear unit, and a

good way to set an initial value is to consider the total amount of
deviation you would allow over a 100 m drillhole. If that amount is, say,
5 degrees, then the max deviation would be 5 / 100 or 0.05.
8. Inspect the report file and note the errors. The file begins with just over
30 downhole survey errors caused by consecutive surveys deviating by
more than 0.05° per metre. (These errors could in fact consist of valid
data, so it’s entirely up to you to determine whether or not corrections
are required. We’ll assume they’re valid for this exercise.)
9. Scroll to the bottom of the file and double-click the last record.
10. You’ll be taken to the matching record in the NVG_ASSAY_WITH_ERR
file, where you can see the offending interval. If this were a real project
you’d insert the missing data, but for the remainder of the training we’ll
use an alternative file, NVG_ASSAY, that contains no errors.
11. Close the Report Viewer and NVG_ASSAY_WITH_ERR file in preparation
for the next exercise.
How did MICROMINE know the right field names?
You’ve probably noticed that MICROMINE knew the names of the fields in
the drillhole files. You can set the field names that MICROMINE allocates
to dialog prompts by selecting Tools | Options | Forms from the main
menu. Here you can enter the names you use for the fields at your site.
However, it’s still good practice to click each of the Fields buttons to
check that the fields have been correctly allocated!

· To ensure consistent results you must validate data before using it.
· Validation is a prerequisite for data that will be stored in a central
repository.
· Validation processes can be automated on sites where code usage is
consistent.
· Drillhole data should be validated before using it in other drillhole
processes.
To validate the contents of a file:
Select File | Fields | Validate, and

Select the File to be validated, and the Check file, then
Define the validation rules.
To validate drillhole data:
Select Drillhole | Validate | Drillhole, and

Select the appropriate Collar, downhole Survey, Interval, and Event
files, then
Select the desired reporting options.
Good Practice
· If you’re processing many files containing similar codes, you can create
validation files and re-use them.
· You should always run drillhole validation after adding any new drilling
data or after importing it or reading it from other systems. Most drillhole
display problems are caused by data errors that Validate will easily
identify.
· If you use multiple interval files (such as separate assay and lithology
files), or multiple event files, you must do a separate validation run for
each interval file using the same collar and downhole survey file for each
run.
· Use Drillhole | Validate | Drillhole Database to simultaneously
validate all files in a drillhole database.
Help Topics
Field validation Files > Fields > Validate
Drillhole validation Drillholes > Validate

Lesson 6 – Filters
Notes:
Filters in MICROMINE allow you to subset data of interest from a larger

dataset. This might prove useful, for instance, if you only wanted to work
with drillholes completed during 2009. Most MICROMINE functions have a
filter option, and the filters themselves can be saved as form sets. As we’ve
already seen, form sets allow us to re-use previous settings.
Why should I save my filters as form sets?
Saving filters as form sets is an essential practice for macro writing, as it

allows for conditional execution – in other words, running a process only
on the subset records. Macro writing is introduced in Part 5 – Macros 1.
After this lesson, you’ll be able to:
· Set up a filter from within another MICROMINE function;

· Preview the filter result in the File Editor.
Working with Filters

Setting up a Filter
If you’d like to work with filtered records instead of a complete dataset, just
set (turn on) the filter option on the appropriate dialog:
Once you’ve activated the filter, you can edit the filter conditions by right
clicking (or pressing F4) on the filter number. The filter number is currently
blank in the illustration above, but a number will appear in this response
once you save the filter as a form set. To choose an existing filter, double
click (or press F3) on the filter number and choose the form set from the list.

Notes: Right-click to edit
Filters are a type of embedded form set – that is, a form set that’s
referenced from within another dialog. Embedded form sets are always
marked on the referencing dialog with the Forms icon, shown here:
You edit embedded form sets by right-clicking the form set number on
the referencing dialog.
The Filter Dialog
The Filter dialog is divided into two main areas: A variety of settings at the
left and bottom of the dialog, and up to 10 filter conditions in the Filter
Conditions group. If you open a filter from within another function the filter
will automatically choose the correct file and place it into the appropriate
response. The remainder 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 set, so please
remember to clear it afterwards!
In the event that a filter gives you exactly everything you don’t want, use the
Reverse filter option to invert the filter result.
To specify a particular condition, you must provide three items of information

for each Filter Condition line: A Field Name, an Operator, and a Value. For
example, consider these settings:

This filter condition will return the points whose easting is greater or equal to Notes:
24900. The field name is EAST_GRID (chosen by double-clicking), the
operator is >=, and the value is 24900 (entered by typing). Setting the
Numeric switch instructs MICROMINE to ignore any character values that
may be in the field.
Matching Records
Once you’ve set up a filter, you can immediately preview the results in the
File Editor by right-clicking the file name, or any of the referenced field
names, and selecting View from the pop-up menu. The records on a white
background are those that matched the filter conditions. These are the ones
that will be used for further calculations. The records on a grey background
did not match the filter, and will be excluded from the calculation.
Multiple Filter Conditions

The Filter dialog allows you to define up to 10 filter conditions. If you’re
working with more than one condition, you must choose a Boolean operator
such as AND or OR. As soon as you define two or more conditions, the
Combine Lines group becomes active, which allows you to choose the
desired Boolean operator.
If you need a filter that’s too complex for a simple AND/OR combination
you’ll have to use a filter equation, which is covered in Part 13 – Geology 2.

Notes: Using Wildcards

In addition to using Boolean operators to combine filter conditions you can
also use wildcards to catch a variety of different values.
Wildcards supported by the filter are:
Table 6.1: Filter wildcards
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
Exercise 6.1: Create a multiple condition filter
We’ll put a filter to work in this exercise. We’ll revisit the Points display from
Exercise 4.3 so that we can graphically illustrate the results of our filters.
Our task is to create a filter to subset all geochemical samples whose

coordinates fall within the following ranges:
· 15900 – 16000N
· 24900 – 25000E
First, we need to reload the Points display we created earlier. To do this:
1. From the Vizex Forms pane at the top left of your screen, click the
small plus [+] icon next to the Points form set type. You’ll see a single
entry, Soil geochemistry, immediately below the Points label.
2. Drag the Soil geochemistry form set onto the graphic display to open it.
The Points display from Exercise 4.3 will appear.
Now we’ll modify the Soil geochemistry form set so it only includes the data
falling within the specified coordinate range:
3. Double-click Soil geochemistry in the Display pane near the bottom left
of your screen. MICROMINE will re-display the Points dialog with the
Label tab selected, which is where we last left it.

4. Click the Input Data tab to select it, and click the Filter check box to Notes:
activate the filter option.
5. Right-click (or press F4) the blank filter number to edit the filter. The
Filter dialog will appear.
6. If the filter dialog already contains previous settings, click the Clear
Table button at the top left of the filter dialog to remove them before
continuing.
7. Double-click the first Field Name response and choose NORTH_GRID
from the list.
8. Set the first Operator to >=.
9. Type 15900 into the first Value response and set the Numeric check
box.
10. Repeat Steps 6 through 8 for the remaining filter conditions. Your filter
should now look like this:
11. Set Combine Lines to And.

12. Preview the filter by right clicking on the File response and choosing
View from the pop-up menu. Scroll through the file and confirm that
most of the records are on a grey background, with a small number of
matching records on a white background. If this isn’t the case, you’ll
have to correct your filter.
13. Close the File Editor window and then click Save and Close to close the
filter.
14. Click OK on the Points dialog to display the filtered data. Your display
should resemble the diagram on the following page.
15. Select Edit | Remove All to clean up the display in preparation for the
next exercise.
Filtering date values
Although MICROMINE has no date data type it’s still easy to filter on
dates that have been stored as numeric values in YYYYMMDD format. A
date in this format can be treated as an ordinary base-10 number for the
purpose of filtering. So, a filter to extract all records from the 2009
calendar year would look like this:
DATE >= 20090101 (numeric)

DATE <= 20091231 (numeric)
Combine Lines = And

Notes:

Lesson 6 Summary Notes:
· 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, which allows them to be re-used.
· Multiple filter conditions must be combined using a Boolean operator.
To create or edit a filter:
Turn on the Filter option on the appropriate dialog, then

Right-click the filter number to edit it.
To define a filter condition:
Specify a Field Name, an Operator, and a Value.
To preview the filter result:
Right-click the File response and choose View from the pop-up menu,
then
Observe the relationship between records on white (selected) and grey
(not selected) backgrounds.
To combine multiple filter conditions:
Set Combine Lines as desired.
Good Practice
· Saving common filters as form sets allows you to re-use them

throughout your project.
Help Topics
Filters Files > Filter > Using Filters
Filter wildcards Files > Filter > Filters in the File Editor > Wildcards
(hyperlink on Edit filter page)

Notes:

Displaying and
Manipulating Data
.
MICROMINE Version 2010 (12.0) Training Part 2 – Displaying and Manipulating Data

Displaying and Manipulating Data
LESSON 1 – INTRODUCING VIZEX ............................................................................................. 1

INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................................................. 1
THE USER INTERFACE......................................................................................................................................... 3
MANIPULATING THE VIEW ................................................................................................................................... 8
Grid Settings .............................................................................................................................................. 9
MANAGING MULTIPLE VIZEX WINDOWS................................................................................................................ 11
Opening a New Window ........................................................................................................................... 11
Creating a New Vizex Document............................................................................................................... 12
LESSON 2 – CREATING A MULTI-LAYERED DISPLAY ................................................................. 16
ADDING LAYERS TO THE VIZEX DISPLAY ............................................................................................................... 16
Points: Displaying Geochemical Samples .................................................................................................. 16
Revision: Using the Vizex Forms and Display panes.................................................................................. 17
Outlines: Displaying Property Boundaries ................................................................................................. 21
Image: Displaying an Aerial Photograph ................................................................................................... 23
Supported Image File Formats ................................................................................................................. 25
CAD/GIS: Displaying Geological Polygons ................................................................................................. 26
Completing the Picture ............................................................................................................................. 27
CREATING A PLOT FILE ..................................................................................................................................... 28
LESSON 3 – WORKING WITH DRILLHOLES............................................................................... 32
INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................................................... 32
THE DRILLHOLE DATABASE................................................................................................................................ 32
Creating a New Database ......................................................................................................................... 34
Adding Event and Interval Files ................................................................................................................ 35
REFRESHING A DRILLHOLE DATABASE .................................................................................................................. 37
VALIDATING A DRILLHOLE DATABASE................................................................................................................... 38
Automatically ........................................................................................................................................... 38
Manually .................................................................................................................................................. 38
DISPLAYING DRILLHOLE DATA ............................................................................................................................ 39
Displaying Drillhole Traces........................................................................................................................ 40
DISPLAYING VERTICAL SECTIONS........................................................................................................................ 42
The Sections Toolbar and Sections Window.............................................................................................. 43
Understanding Clipping ............................................................................................................................ 45
The View Toolbar ..................................................................................................................................... 46
The Display Limits Dialog ......................................................................................................................... 46
VIEWING IN 3D............................................................................................................................................... 50
The Rotate Tool ....................................................................................................................................... 50
The Display Limits Dialog ......................................................................................................................... 51
SECTION CONTROL FILES .................................................................................................................................. 53
ADDING DOWNHOLE INFORMATION ..................................................................................................................... 55
Creating a Text Colour Set ....................................................................................................................... 58
Creating a Hatch Display .......................................................................................................................... 60
CREATING A PLOT FILE ..................................................................................................................................... 65

Part 2 – Displaying and Manipulating Data MICROMINE Version 2010 (12.0) Training
LESSON 4 – SPATIAL EDITING ................................................................................................. 69

INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................................................69
The user Interface ....................................................................................................................................69
Using the Spatial Editing Tools ..................................................................................................................69
The Editing Toolbars .................................................................................................................................70
Editing Strings...........................................................................................................................................72
Creating New Strings (or Points or Polygons) ............................................................................................74
Snapping and Following ............................................................................................................................75
CREATING NEW FILES .......................................................................................................................................79
INTERPRETING 3D SOLIDS .................................................................................................................................80
Naming the Interpreted Features ..............................................................................................................80
Interpretation Steps ..................................................................................................................................82
LESSON 5 – WORKING WITH DTMS ......................................................................................... 88
INTRODUCING DIGITAL TERRAIN MODELS (DTMS) .................................................................................................88
Draping Images onto DTMs.......................................................................................................................91
TABLES
Table 1.1: Supported data types ........................................................................................................................4

Table 3.1: Drillhole data types..........................................................................................................................33
Table 3.2: The correct section parameters for Exercise 3.6...............................................................................65
Table 4.1: Context edit modes .........................................................................................................................72
SIDEBARS
Displaying a Vizex form set ................................................................................................................................3

Changing the properties of a display layer..........................................................................................................6
Understanding the Vizex drawing order (depth testing) ......................................................................................8
Middle-button shortcuts .....................................................................................................................................9
Restoring the Vizex window .............................................................................................................................15
Adding numeric values to a colour set ..............................................................................................................19
Adding colours to a colour set ..........................................................................................................................20
Form sets: untitled and unsaved?.....................................................................................................................21
Outline vs. string files.......................................................................................................................................22
Revision: The Vizex drawing order (depth testing) ...........................................................................................25
Use saved views to create predefined layer groups ..........................................................................................27
Don’t use saved views to define multiple views containing the same data ........................................................28
Save your form sets! ........................................................................................................................................31
Behind the scenes: How does MICROMINE calculate drillhole trajectories? .......................................................35
Refreshing a drillhole database containing ODBC or MDB links .........................................................................38
Orientation, location, thickness ........................................................................................................................43
Displaying ‘Plane of the Vein’ with the Section Tool ..........................................................................................44
The physics of 3D rotation ...............................................................................................................................51

Constraining 3D rotation.................................................................................................................................. 51
Perspective Mode and Depth Testing............................................................................................................... 53
Hatch field vs. Colour Control .......................................................................................................................... 62
How big is the hatch?...................................................................................................................................... 63
Where do new features go?............................................................................................................................. 70
Need a reminder to set properties? ................................................................................................................. 75
Setting the default snap status ........................................................................................................................ 76
Save a mouse click: Keep the Properties window visible .................................................................................. 77
Layer precedence and Follow Mode ................................................................................................................. 78
Controlling the newly created file structure...................................................................................................... 79
Wireframes, triangulations, DTMs, DEMs, surfaces, TINs, 3D solids – what’s with all the names? .................... 89
Plotting views containing wireframes ............................................................................................................... 92
EXERCISES
Exercise 1.1: Load a previously saved view ....................................................................................................... 2

Exercise 1.2: Use the Display pane to manage the display................................................................................. 6
Exercise 1.3: Use the view tools ........................................................................................................................ 9
Exercise 1.4: Set up a coordinate grid ............................................................................................................. 10
Exercise 2.1: Symbolise the points display....................................................................................................... 18
Exercise 2.2: Display property boundaries as outlines ...................................................................................... 22
Exercise 2.3: Display an aerial photograph ...................................................................................................... 24
Exercise 2.4: Display a geological map in GIS format....................................................................................... 26
Optional Exercise 2.5: Save, remove, and then reload the display ................................................................... 27
Exercise 2.6: Create a plot file......................................................................................................................... 28
Exercise 3.1: Create a new drillhole database .................................................................................................. 36
Exercise 3.2: Manually validate a drillhole database......................................................................................... 39
Exercise 3.3: Set up a drillhole trace display.................................................................................................... 40
Exercise 3.4: Display data in cross section....................................................................................................... 48
Exercise 3.5: View data in 3D .......................................................................................................................... 51
Exercise 3.6: Visually create a section control file ............................................................................................ 53
Exercise 3.7: Add drillhole assay values to the trace display ............................................................................ 56
Exercise 3.8: Add drillhole lithology labels to the display.................................................................................. 57
Exercise 3.9: Create a text colour set .............................................................................................................. 58
Exercise 3.10: Add a hatch pattern to the display ............................................................................................ 61
Exercise 3.11: Create a plot file ....................................................................................................................... 65
Exercise 4.1: Edit features in a string file......................................................................................................... 73
Exercise 4.2: Snap to features ......................................................................................................................... 76
Exercise 4.3: Set up a new string file............................................................................................................... 81
Exercise 4.4: Interpret the quartz vein, making use of all available data .......................................................... 83
Exercise 5.1: Create a topographic DTM .......................................................................................................... 89
Exercise 5.2: Drape an air photo onto the topographic DTM ............................................................................ 91


Lesson 1 – Introducing Vizex

Notes:
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 CAD, GIS, and Image Processing applications.
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, draping, and wireframing. Vizex also supports seamless
transitions between 2D and 3D views.
· Work with the Vizex user interface;

· Manage Vizex Forms and Display Layers;
· Manipulate the view by using the zoom and pan tools.
Introduction
The Visual Explorer (Vizex) provides a fully interactive display environment
for all MICROMINE and many third-party data types. You interact with these
data types in two ways: using the Vizex Forms pane to load the desired
objects as layers in the display, and using the Display pane to change the
properties of the displayed layers.
Interactive spatial editing tasks such as sectional interpretation, mine design,

or wireframe construction, are performed within Vizex.
Vizex is a multiple-document and multiple-window environment, which

means you can simultaneously view the same data in different windows at
different orientations, or completely different data in different windows. You
can set additional windows to be overviews, which can be floating or docked,
or as full-size windows that are tabbed with the main window and are
accessible with a single keystroke.
Any Vizex display can be saved as a Saved View, which can easily be
recalled at a later stage. This gives you a means of quickly restoring a view
without having to rebuild it from scratch.

Notes:
Vizex Forms pane Toolbar Area
Display pane Graphic Display
Exercise 1.1: Load a previously saved view
In this exercise you’ll load a previously saved view containing some example
Display layers.
1. Expand the Saved Views list by single-clicking the plus [+] icon to the
left of the Saved Views node. This node is located at the top left of your
screen, immediately under the menu and toolbar.
2. Drag the Introducing Vizex object into the graphic display to load it.
Alternatively, you can load the Introducing Vizex saved view by double-
clicking it.
3. Vizex will load a number of different display layers into the window and
change the window extents to match those of the saved view.

The User Interface Notes:
Vizex consists of three primary windows: the graphic display, which

occupies the bulk of the screen, the Vizex Forms pane, which normally
docks at the left edge of the screen, and the 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 Properties and Sections windows appear as tabs underneath the

Vizex Forms pane. You’ll explore these in later lessons.
The Vizex Forms and Display panes can be auto-hidden by clicking the small
thumb tack icon at their top right hand corners, temporarily reducing them to
a small tab at the docked edge and maximising the graphic display area. To
restore them to the view, hover the mouse over the appropriate tab.
You can toggle the panes on and off by clicking the

Form Sets Pane and Display Pane buttons on the
main toolbar. Alternatively, you can open these panes by selecting View |
Display Pane or View | Vizex Form Sets Pane from the menu. To close
the panes, click the Close button at the top right-hand corner of each one.
There are numerous toolbars at the top (and possibly right) of the screen,
which provide a variety of tools for selecting and manipulating data, and for
manipulating the view. Depending on the specific menu options you select,
Vizex may also display or remove additional toolbars.
Vizex Forms Pane
You use the Vizex Forms pane to select the Vizex form sets to view in the
graphic display. Before you load a form set as a display layer, you can
modify its properties to control the way it will appear in the display.
If you see no objects displayed under the Vizex node in the Vizex Forms
pane, click on the plus [+] icon to its left to expand the list.
Displaying a Vizex form set
To display a particular Vizex form set type, double-click the desired

type under the Vizex node (the folder icon) in the Vizex Forms pane.
Alternatively, you can select from the Display | Vizex | … menu.
You can load virtually all MICROMINE data types, and a variety of third party
formats, into Vizex using the Vizex Forms pane. You’re not limited to one
occurrence of each type, but can add as many as your computer will allow.

Notes: No matter what MICROMINE module configuration you have, you’ll be

able to display most of the data types shown below, but you won’t be
able to spatially edit some of them without the appropriate module.
The currently supported Vizex form sets are illustrated in Table 1.1.
Table 1.1: Supported data types

Points: Simple point data such as soil
samples or rock-chip samples,
classified by shape, colour, size, and
label. Spatially editable.
Strings: Linear data such as roads,

rivers, or contours, classified by
colour, fill pattern, and numerous
labelling options. Spatially editable.
Outlines: Polygonal data such as

geological units or property
boundaries, classified by pattern and
colour. Spatially editable.
Contours: Labelled 3D contours

derived on-the-fly from wireframes,
grids, or strings. Classified by line,
label, and colour.
[Requires the MICROMINE Exploration module.]
Profiles: Ordered two-dimensional

data such as geochemical or magnetic
sample lines.
Drillhole … : Drilling data with

numerous options for label, pattern,
and symbology.

Table 1.1: Supported data types (continued) Notes:

Pie Chart: Multivariate point data
with each variable displayed as a pie
segment, classified by radius and
colour.
[Requires the Exploration module.]
Image: Raster data such as aerial

photographs, from a variety of file
formats, and positioned in any 3D
orientation.
CAD/GIS: Data from many common

CAD and GIS formats, classified by
symbol, colour, and pattern.
Geographic data, optionally projected
to UTM on-the-fly.
Grid File: Interpolated surfaces

consisting of regular arrays of blocks
or cells, displayed in 2D or 3D.
[Display only in Core. Grid creation requires the
Exploration module.]
Wireframes: 3D surfaces and solids

consisting of meshes of
interconnected triangles, with various
drawing styles. Spatially editable.
[Display only in Core. Wireframe creation
requires the Wireframing module; DTM creation
requires the Exploration module.]
Block Model: Interpolated solids

consisting of arrays of 2D or 3D
blocks, classified by colour and label,
with various drawing styles.
[Requires the Resource Estimation module.]
Design: Open pit and underground

mine design and ring/blasthole
designs. Spatially editable.
[Requires the Mining module.]

Notes: Display Pane
The Display pane lists the currently loaded display layers, and you use it to
manage those layers. From here you can temporarily hide or show a
particular layer, permanently remove it from the display, or change its
display properties.
Temporarily hiding a layer is useful when you’re displaying multiple data

layers, since it gives you a clearer view of the objects you’re interested in. To
hide a layer, simply uncheck the checkbox alongside it.
To show a previously hidden layer, check the checkbox alongside the layer
and it will be re-drawn. Whether it’s visible or not will depend on whether it
falls within the current display limits.
In comparison, 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 both the graphic display and the Display pane.
However, the form set you used to load the display object is still available for
selection in the Vizex Forms pane.
Changing the properties of a display layer
You change the properties of a layer in the current display by double-

clicking it in the Display pane. Alternatively, you can right-click it and
choose Properties... from the pop-up menu.
The Display pane also allows you to control the order in which layers are
drawn, as explained in the sidebar Understanding the Vizex Drawing Order.
Exercise 1.2: Use the Display pane to manage the

display
This exercise will show you how to manage the graphic display using the
Display pane.
First, we’ll show and hide a layer:

1. Click the check box next to the Aeromag image layer a couple times Notes:
(slowly!) to alternately show and hide it. Make sure it’s showing before
proceeding to the next step.
Now we’ll edit a layer’s display properties:
2. Double-click the Example topo contours layer name or icon to open the
Strings dialog.
3. Switch to the Display Options tab and double-click the Colour field
response (half way down the dialog). Choose RL from the list that
appears.
4. Double-click the Colour set response and choose set number 3, which
has the title NVG_TOPO DTM Colours.
5. Click Save, followed by OK, on the Strings dialog to save and apply the
changes.
Next, we’ll change the drawing order:
6. Click a blank part of the Display pane (below the listed layers) to
deselect Topographic contours in preparation for the next step.
Alternatively, you can click the Vizex node at the top of the displayed
layers.
7. Click the Toggle Depth Testing button near the top of the Display
pane to turn off depth testing.
The image now hides the remaining data. You’ve just switched the display
from 3D order to layer order; the image covers the other data because it’s
above the other layers in the Display pane.
8. Click the Aeromag image layer in the Display pane and drag it to the
bottom of the list. When you release the mouse, Vizex will re-draw the
display with the magnetic image below the other layers.
And, finally, we’ll remove a layer:

Notes: 9. You’ll notice that the Aeromag image layer is still highlighted, which
means it’s still selected. Press the Delete key on the keyboard to
remove it. Alternatively, you can right-click and choose Remove from
the popup menu.
10. Leave the view open in preparation for the next exercise.
Understanding the Vizex drawing order (depth testing)
Vizex displays layered data in two different ways:
In layer order, objects are drawn in sequence from the bottom of the
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 Display pane.
In layer order you modify the display by dragging the layers into the
desired sequence. The bottom layer is drawn first, the one above that is
drawn next, and so on. Conversely, in 3D order the distance between
each individual object and your viewpoint determines the drawing
sequence; closer objects are always drawn in front of more distant ones.
Vizex defaults to 3D order, but you can switch between the two modes
by clicking the Toggle Depth Testing button near the top of the Display
pane.
Manipulating the View

Vizex is fully interactive, providing you with a suite of tools that allow you to
easily view and manipulate your data. Many of these tools are dedicated to
manipulating the view itself, which is the focus of the next few topics.
The View Tools
The View toolbar gives you access to numerous tools for zooming and
panning, including a generous zoom undo and redo memory.
There are many other buttons on the View toolbar, which will be introduced
in Lesson 3 – Working with Drillholes.

Exercise 1.3: Use the view tools Notes:
This exercise will quickly introduce you to the basic view tools. First, we’ll
look at the tools provided by the middle mouse button, which are available at
all times:
1. Drag with the middle button (the wheel on a standard mouse also
doubles as a button). This shortcut gives you immediate access to pan
mode without having to select it from the toolbar.
2. Roll the mouse wheel to invoke the dynamic zoom shortcut. Like the
Pan shortcut, this gives you immediate access to dynamic zoom mode
without having to specifically select it.
Middle-button shortcuts
These middle-button shortcuts (pan by dragging and zoom by rolling) are

always available, no matter what tool is active. This is invaluable when
you’re spatially editing because you can manipulate the display without
closing the current editing tool.
And now, the pan and zoom tools:
3. Click the Pan Tool and drag the mouse in the display.
4. Click the Zoom Tool and drag a medium-sized rectangle in the middle
of the screen. When you release the mouse, Vizex zooms to the extents
of that rectangle.
5. Click the Undo Zoom button to return to the previous extents.
6. Click the Pan Tool and hold the Ctrl key. Now drag the mouse vertically
in the Graphic Display to activate an alternative dynamic zoom.
7. With the view zoomed-in, right-click on the Example drillhole trace
object in the Display pane and choose View Selection from the pop-
up menu. The view will adjust to fit the drillhole trace display into the
screen. Note how the drillholes are surrounded by a blue rectangle,
which indicates the layer is selected.
8. Finally, click the View All button to restore the view to its original state.
Grid Settings
Vizex gives you very good control over the way your coordinate grid is
displayed, and provides you with a variety of 2D and 3D grids. You can
change the grid settings by selecting View | Grid | Grid Settings… from
the menu or clicking the Grid Settings button on the Grid toolbar.

Notes: Vizex automatically calculates the best grid spacing to keep an appropriate
number of grid lines in the display, using a spacing values that increase in a
1, 2, 5 sequence. However, you can switch to the User-defined Line
Spacing option and control the spacing yourself should you need a specific
grid spacing.
MICROMINE ships with a variety of predefined grid settings form sets.

Alternatively, you can save your own grid settings as required.
Exercise 1.4: Set up a coordinate grid
This exercise will take you through the process of loading a predefined “auto-
everything” grid using dotted gridlines and mE, mN, and mRL labels.
1. Click the Grid Settings button on the Grid toolbar. Alternatively, select
View | Grid | Grid Settings from the menu.
2. Click the Forms button at right of the Grid Settings dialog, and double-
click the Dots [mE, mN, mRL labels] form set to apply it to the dialog.
3. Inspect the contents of the Grid Settings dialog, paying particular
attention to the Active Grids, Label Annotation, and Line Settings
groups.
4. Click OK to apply the grid. Your display should look like this:
5. If desired, you can toggle the grid on and off by clicking the Toggle
Auto Working Plane button on the Grid toolbar.
6. Once you’re satisfied with the result, select Edit | Remove All to clean
up the display in preparation for the next exercise.
7. Answer Yes if prompted to save any changes.

The grid stays displayed after you select Edit | Remove All because it’s Notes:
a property of the view, not a property of the data.
Managing Multiple Vizex Windows

Vizex supports multiple documents and multiple windows, allowing you to
simultaneously view the same data in different windows, which can be at
different orientations, or completely different data in different windows.
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 be either docked or floating.
Opening a New Window

There are three ways to open a new full-sized Vizex window containing the
same data as the current window:
· Click the Open Additional Vizex Window toolbar button;

· Right-click the tab at the top of the existing window and choose New
Window from the pop-up menu. You can subsequently tile the windows
by right-clicking the tab and choosing New Horizontal Tab Group or
New Vertical Tab Group;
· Select Window | New Window from the menu. From here you can
either select Window | Tile Horizontally or Window | Tile
Vertically to display them side-by-side.
Similarly, there are three ways to create a new overview window:
· Click the New Overview Window toolbar button;

· Convert an existing window to a dockable window by right-clicking the
tab at the top of the window and choosing Dockable;
· Convert an existing window to a dockable window by selecting Window
| Dockable from the menu.
The New Overview Window option creates an overview that may omit
some layers to simplify the display. You set which layers are displayed by
clicking the Toggle Object Overview Window Visibility button in the
Display pane toolbar.
You can also predefine which layer types appear in the overview window by
selecting Tools | Options | Vizex, switching to the Layer Defaults
option, and then selecting or de-selecting the desired Vizex form sets in the
Overview list.
The two window conversion options maintain the original window contents.

Notes: Whenever you’ve opened multiple full-sized windows, you can use Ctrl+Tab
to rapidly switch between them. This does not, however, apply to dockable
windows, which are excluded from the tab sequence.
Creating a New Vizex Document

In addition to opening multiple windows into the same data you can also
create an entirely new Vizex document containing completely different data.
To create a new Vizex document, click the Open New Vizex Instance
toolbar button. In addition to the new window you’ll also see an empty Vizex
node in the Display pane, and you’re free to choose the appropriate data.
Saved Vizex form sets must, however, originate from the same project as the
original window.

This lesson has covered the fundamentals of Vizex and has shown you how
to work within it. Here’s what we’ve learnt so far:
To load a saved view:
Expand the Saved Views list by clicking the [+] icon to the left of the
Saved Views node in the Vizex Forms pane, and
Drag the desired saved view into the graphic display, or
Double-click the desired saved view.
To save a view:
Set up the display as desired, then

Select View | Save Vizex View from the menu, or
Double click the Saved Views node and choose Save on the Forms
dialog.
To display a new Vizex form set:
Double-click the desired form set type in the Vizex Forms pane, then
Set up the dialog and click OK to display the data.
To display a previously saved form set:
Expand the appropriate form set list by clicking the [+] icon to the left
of its type in the Vizex Forms pane, then
Drag the form set into the graphic display, or
Double-click the desired form set to load it.
To hide or show a display layer:
Check or uncheck its checkbox in the Display pane.
To change the properties of a display layer:
Double-click the layer in the Display pane to open its dialog, or

Right-click it and choose Properties from the pop-up menu, then
Make the necessary changes, and
Click Save, followed by OK to accept the changes.
To remove a layer from the display:
Click the layer in the Display pane and then press the Delete key, or
Right-click the layer in the Display pane and choose Remove from the
pop-up menu.

To switch between Layer order and 3D order:
Deselect all layers (by clicking a blank part of the 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 objects in the Display pane into the desired order, from the
bottom up.
To use the middle-button mouse shortcuts:
Drag with the middle button to pan, or

Roll the mouse wheel to zoom.
To use the Pan Tool:
Select the Pan Tool and drag with the mouse.
To use the alternative dynamic zoom:
Select the Pan Tool and hold the Ctrl key whilst dragging vertically.
To set up a coordinate grid:
Select View | Grid | Grid Settings from the menu, or

Click the Grid Settings button on the Grid toolbar, and
Click Forms followed by Open to load the appropriate form set, or
Enter the desired grid parameters.
To display a new full-sized window:
Click the Open Additional Vizex Window toolbar button, or

Right-click the tab at the top of an existing window and choose New
Window from the pop-up menu, or
Select Window | New Window from the menu.
To display a new overview window:
Click the New Overview Window button, or

Right-click the tab at the top of an existing window and choose
Dockable from the pop-up menu, or
Select Window | Dockable from the menu.

To create a new Vizex document:
Click the Open New Vizex Instance button, and

Load the appropriate Vizex form sets into the display.
Good Practice
Any layer worth displaying more than once is worth saving as a form set.
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.
Always load Vizex form sets from the Vizex Forms pane and change the
properties of display layers from the Display pane. If you try to change the
properties of a display layer from the Vizex Forms pane (particularly with
Untitled layers), you run the risk of duplicating the layer instead of changing
its display properties.
Restoring the Vizex window
Vizex normally opens a single window whenever you start MICROMINE.

However, if you’ve been switching between multiple windows it’s possible
to close them all and be left with a blank MICROMINE screen. If this
happens, you can easily restore Vizex using one of these options:
· Click the Open New Vizex Instance toolbar button (you can also
use this to create a completely new Vizex document);
· Load any form set or saved view from the Vizex Forms pane; or
· Load any object or saved view from the Display | Vizex | ... menu.
Help Topics
Vizex Display
Vizex Forms pane View > Vizex Form Sets Pane
Display pane View > Display Pane
Depth testing View > Display Pane > Depth testing

(link on page)
Vizex windows Display > Vizex

Notes:
Lesson 2 – Creating a Multi-
layered Display
Once you’ve acquired and validated the data for a project, the next step is to
combine the different data sets into a multi-layered display. The tasks in this
lesson demonstrate how to create a display in which all data sets in the
project can be integrated.
· Classify surface geochemistry using size and colour in proportion to the

values of the underlying data;
· Display property boundaries as labelled outlines;
· Display an aerial photograph of the area;
· Create a colour set and save it as a form set;
· Combine these displays into an integrated view of the project area.
Adding Layers to the Vizex Display

The view you used in Lesson 1 contained several different display layers.
Vizex displays multiple layers of information, and this ability to
simultaneously display multiple data sets as layers helps you to form an
overall idea of the area of interest. Vizex is also capable of displaying
drillholes in plan, section, and 3D, although this functionality won’t be
introduced until Lesson 3.
The following topics introduce some of the form set types supported by Vizex
by setting up an example of each.
Points: Displaying Geochemical Samples

Most surface geochemistry data can be displayed as points. Colouring and
sizing the point symbols according to their geochemical value increases the
visual effectiveness of the geochemical display, in much the same way as
you would when using a GIS.
Varying the symbol colour
You add colour to any MICROMINE display by creating a colour set. Colour
sets make it easy to differentiate between values, regions and other objects
in the display. MICROMINE provides you with numerous tools for creating
colour sets, and because colour sets can be saved as form sets you’re able to
use them anywhere in a project and 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 Notes:
colour sets with numeric data and text colour sets with character data. In
this lesson you’ll create a numeric colour set.
Varying the symbol size
Vizex provides two different scaling methods for varying the symbol size:
Factor, which scales each symbol based on the values in the chosen
Scaling field, and Ranges, which limits the points to the sizes you specify.
When you use the factor method, the function reads the value in the scaling
field for each point and performs the following calculations:
· If it’s less than or equal to the Base value (a cut-off), the point is
ignored.
· Otherwise, the difference between the value in the scaling field and the
base value is multiplied by the Scaling factor to determine the radius
of the shape.
· If the radius is less than the Minimum radius, then the minimum
radius is applied, preventing the symbol from becoming too small.
· If the radius is greater than the Maximum radius, then the maximum
radius is applied, preventing the symbol from becoming too large.
When Natural log transform is enabled, the log transformation is applied

after the base value is subtracted from the value in the scaling field, but
before the scaling factor or range calculation.
Before commencing the next exercise, it’s appropriate to recap the ways to
manage Vizex form sets and display layers:
Revision: Using the Vizex Forms and Display panes

You use the Vizex Forms pane to display and save Vizex form sets, and the
Display pane to configure or remove display layers. Depending on your
exact task, you do so in one of three ways:
To display a new Vizex form set, double-click the appropriate form set
type in the Vizex Forms pane. For example, to display new Strings, double-
click the Strings type. Alternatively, select the appropriate type from the
Display | Vizex menu.
To display a previously saved form set, click the plus [+] icon next to the
appropriate form set type in the Vizex Forms 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 Strings type,
and then drag Topographic contours into the display.
Alternatively, you can double-click the saved form set to load it.
To change the properties of a layer already in the display, double-click it

in the Display pane. Alternatively, you can right-click it in the Display pane
and choose Properties from the pop-up menu.

Notes: Exercise 2.1: Symbolise the points display
In this exercise you’ll use a combination of colour and size to display the
geochemical points according to their gold grades.
First we’ll load the Soil geochemistry form set we created in Part 1:
1. If the Points list is not already expanded in the Vizex Forms pane,
click the [+] icon next to the Points form set to expand it.
2. Drag the Soil geochemistry form set into the graphic display. You’ll see
the original labelled black triangles in the graphic display and the Soil
geochemistry layer name in the Display pane.
Next we’ll open the Points dialog to change the properties of the display
layer:
3. Double-click the Soil geochemistry layer in the Display pane to open the
Points dialog.
4. Click the Points tab to activate it.
5. About half-way down the Points tab, double-click the Colour field
response and select AU1 from the field list that appears. The colour field
is the one whose values will be used to determine the symbol colours.
Now it’s time to create the colour set. First we get the numeric values:
6. Right-click the Colour set response. The Edit Colour Sets (Numeric)
dialog will appear.
7. Click the Assign button near the bottom right corner to display the
Assign dialog. Because you opened this dialog from an existing display
the File and Value field responses will be automatically filled out.
8. Set Calculate mode to RANGES and enter 5 as the Number of
ranges.
9. Click OK. Your dialog should look like this:

Five equal numeric ranges are calculated for the colour set. There’s also Notes:
provision for values above and below these ranges, which means there’s a
total of seven entries in the dialog.
Adding numeric values to a colour set
There are three methods for assigning 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 the mean and standard deviation.
Alternatively, you can type your own values into the Value column.
Next we allocate a colour to each numeric range, which we’ll do in this

exercise by creating a gradational colour ramp between blue and red:
10. Double-click the colour box beside the first entry in the table of ranges
(labelled < 3.00).
11. Select a dark blue colour and click OK, or double-click dark blue.
12. Move to the last completed row in the table (>= 726.00) and do the
same, this time selecting red.
13. Return to the first row and check the Ramp checkbox beside it.
14. Do the same for the last row. Note how MICROMINE automatically
checks the intermediate values.
15. Click the Colour Ramp button at the right of the dialog. The
intermediate ranges will receive colours that gradually vary between red
and blue.
Now that the colour set is created it’s time to save it:
16. Click the Save As button (on the Edit Colour Sets dialog).
17. Enter Soil geochem Au1 as the colour set Title. There’s no need to
change the number of the colour set; MICROMINE automatically finds
the next available number.
18. Click OK. Note how the title Soil geochem Au1 now appears at the top of
the Edit Colour Sets dialog.

Notes: 19. Return to the Points dialog by clicking Save and Close. The number
allocated to the colour set will appear in the Colour set response.
Adding colours to a colour set
In addition to colour ramping, MICROMINE provides two other ways to

add colours to a colour set. You can either double-click each colour box
and choose a specific colour from the colour selection, or Select a
standard colour palette from the palette well towards the right of the Edit
Colour Set dialog.
The colours are completed, so we can shift our attention to sizing the
symbols:
20. Check the Scale option to activate it.

21. Set up the Scale options as shown here:
Prompt Setting
Default size factor: Blank
Scaling field: AU1 (double-click to choose)
Natural log transform Set
Method Factor
22. Click the Factor Values button and fill out the following prompts:
Prompt Setting
Base value: 3
Scaling factor: 0.5
Minimum radius: 1
Max radius: 100
Now that the Points display is completed, it makes sense to save the
alterations for later re-use:
23. Click the Save button (on the Points dialog). MICROMINE will save the
new settings, overwriting the previous version.
24. Click OK on the Points dialog to update the display, which should now
resemble the following diagram.

Notes:
Form sets: untitled and unsaved?
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
items of confirmation:
The Title of a saved form set will appear at the top of the dialog itself. If
you don’t see the name, you’re not working with a saved form set.
In Vizex, new (and unsaved) form sets are always marked in the Display
pane as Untitled, so you can see at a glance whether or not you’ve
saved them. This is like creating a new document in any Windows
application, which might display a name like Document1 until you’ve
specifically saved it.
If you’ve modified a display layer but haven’t saved it, the layer name will
be displayed in blue instead of black text.
Outlines: Displaying Property Boundaries

Most exploration and mining activities take place within specified properties,
the boundaries of which usually comprise polygonal regions of varying
shapes and sizes. Mineral properties are customarily labelled with the
property name, which is usually displayed at the centre of each property.
MICROMINE uses either string or outline files to draw closed polygons, and
each format is suited to certain purposes. We’ll use an outline file in the
following exercise.

Notes: Exercise 2.2: Display property boundaries as outlines
In this exercise, you’ll display an outline file containing property boundaries.

First, we’ll select the data and set the display options:
1. Double-click the Outlines form set type in the Vizex Forms pane to
display the Outlines dialog. Or, if you’d prefer, you can select Display |
Vizex | Outlines from the menu.
2. Ensure that the Input Data tab is active. Double-click the Outline file
response and choose the PROPERTIES file from the list.
3. Set the Orientation to PLAN.
There’s no need to set any Restrictions, which provide a way to filter

outlines. In this exercise we’ll be displaying all of the properties and can skip
this option.
4. Switch to the Display Options tab and enable the Name option.
5. Double-click the font preview box and set the font to Tahoma, 12 point
regular and the Label Position Method to Optimised.
Outline vs. string files
Outline and string files both display filled polygons with centroid labels.
However, outline files have certain advantages over strings: They support
point-in-polygon assignment and simple polygonal grade/tonnage
calculations.
They do, however, have some disadvantages: The outline format is fixed
and can’t be user-modified, and the data will be incorrectly displayed if
the wrong orientation setting is used.
Ultimately the decision to use a particular format is yours to make, based

on your individual requirements. However, it’s easy to convert between
the two formats: just select File | Utilities | Conversions from the
menu, choose the appropriate input file, and enter the name of the
converted file. You’ll also have to specify field names if you’re converting
from string to outline.
Now we’ll save these settings as a form set:
6. Click the Save As button on the Outlines dialog and set the Title to
Property boundaries.
7. Click OK to save the form set. Note how its title now appears at the top
of the Outlines dialog.

8. Click OK on the Outlines dialog to return to Vizex and update your Notes:
display.
9. To view all of the property boundaries, right-click the Property
boundaries layer in the Display pane and select View Selection from
the pop-up menu.
Image: Displaying an Aerial Photograph

The next layer you’ll add to the Vizex display is an aerial photograph.
MICROMINE supports a wide range of common image formats from the
graphics, GIS, and CAD communities. The Aeromag image from Lesson 1 is
an example of a JPG file.
Before an image can be displayed with other MICROMINE data it must be

georeferenced. 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 will handle both standards.)
There are three ways to georeference an image:
· Using existing data (preferred). MICROMINE supports

georeferencing information from ArcView World, MapInfo TAB, ESRI
HDR, and ER Mapper ERS files, and inbuilt ECW and GeoTIFF headers
(as well as its own 3D GRF format). If you’re purchasing image data, ask
your vendor to provide you with georeferencing in one of the above
formats.
· Interactively. You identify up to 10 control points in the image and

enter the X, Y, and optionally, Z coordinates of each. Vizex will use these
to calculate the georeferencing information. The control point list shows
the RMS errors of each point and allows you to turn individual points off
if the error is too high.
This technique allows you to georeference an image in any 2D or 3D

orientation. MICROMINE will create World, TAB, and GRF files for an
image georeferenced in 2D, however if the image is georeferenced in 3D
it will only create the GRF file. Thus, 3D georeferencing is not compatible
with CAD and GIS standards.
To interactively georeference an image, select File | Image |

Georeference or click the Georeference button on the Image dialog.
· Manually. Select Custom 2D from the Georeference Source list and

enter the coordinates at the top-left corner of the image, along with the
X and Y pixel sizes. These parameters are illustrated below.

Notes:
In the next exercise, you’ll use an ER Mapper ECW image with

georeferencing data supplied in MICROMINE’s 3D (GRF) format.
Exercise 2.3: Display an aerial photograph
First, set up the image display properties:
1. On the Vizex Forms pane, double-click the Image form set type to
display the Image dialog.
2. Ensure the Input Data tab is active. Click the browse […] button next
to the File response, browse to the Import folder, and select the
MMI_IMAGE.ECW file.
MICROMINE will automatically load the georeferencing information and

display the selected header in the Georeference group.
In addition to horizontally referencing the image, the Micromine (GRF) file

also sets its elevation to 1600 metres, which is the approximate elevation of
the surface topography in that area.
3. Open the Georeference Source list and note the presence of other
available formats.
4. Switch to the Display Options tab and drag the Transparency slider
to around 20%. This will stop the image overpowering the other
information in the display.
5. Ensure Interpolation is set to BILINEAR.
Bilinear interpolation ensures the image is displayed smoothly even if it’s

zoomed in beyond 1:1 pixel scale.
Now, save the settings as a form set:

6. Click Save As to save a form set with the Title Air photo. Click OK on Notes:
the Save Current Values and Image dialogs to return to Vizex.
7. Observe the result. Half of the geochemical samples have disappeared!
However, if you look carefully you’ll see the missing samples are still
there – they’re faintly visible below the image.
This is essentially a 2D display, so you can eliminate this problem by

switching from 3D order to layer order:
8. Click the Vizex node in the Display pane to deselect all display layers.
Alternatively, click a blank part of the Display pane, below all of the
layers.
9. Click the Toggle Depth Testing button to put Vizex in layer order. Now
all of the geochemical samples appear faintly below the image.
10. Drag the Air photo object to the bottom of the layer list. When you
release it, the display will refresh with the photo beneath the other
layers.
Revision: The Vizex drawing order (depth testing)
In Layer order, layers are drawn in sequence from the bottom of the
Display pane upwards, like sheets of paper on a traditional light table.
You modify the display by dragging the layers into the desired sequence.
You normally use layer order when you’re working on a 2D display like a
plan or cross section.
In 3D order, objects are drawn in 3D sequence from the most distant to

the closest, irrespective of their order in the Display pane. You normally
use 3D order when you’re working on a 3D display.
Supported Image File Formats

MICROMINE supports most common image formats, including JP2, JPG, TIF,
ECW, SID, and others. If you have an image in an unsupported format, use a
graphics conversion program to convert the file into a compatible format.
If the image is large (hundreds of MB uncompressed), convert it into the

JPEG 2000 (JP2) format before displaying it. You can perform this conversion
in MICROMINE by selecting File | Image | Convert to JPEG2000 from
the main menu.
JP2 conversion can either be lossy or lossless. Lossy compression sacrifices

some image quality in exchange for a greater reduction in file size. Ratios of
20:1 to 50:1 are common for colour images, and ratios of 10:1 to 15:1 are
common for greyscale images.
Lossless compression does not alter the image quality. However, the
resulting file may be larger than for lossy conversion. Additionally, converting
from another compressed format (such as JPEG) to JP2 may increase the file
size, depending on the original compression settings.

Notes: CAD/GIS: Displaying Geological Polygons

MICROMNE supports CAD data from Microstation and AutoCAD, and GIS data
from ArcView, MapInfo, and MapGIS. You can even display 2D data in 3D by
nominating an orientation and 3rd coordinate value.
In the following exercise you’ll display GIS data consisting of geological

polygons in ArcView format, in a plan view.
Exercise 2.4: Display a geological map in GIS format
First, set up the CAD/GIS dialog:
1. Double-click the CAD/GIS form set type in the Vizex Forms pane.
2. Ensure the Input Data tab is active. Double click the File response,
navigate to the Import directory, and choose nvg_geology.shp.
3. Ensure the Orientation is set to PLAN and enter 1600 into the Z value
response.
This will set the elevation of the data to the approximate elevation of the
surface topography.
4. Switch to the Polygons tab and enable the Use Hatch field response.
5. Click the Hatch Field pull-down arrow and select GEOL_CODE from the
list.
6. Double click the Hatch set response, select ArcView surface geology
map, and click the Select button.
7. In the Polygon Labelling Display field list select the GEOL_CODE field.
8. Set the Label Position Method to Optimised.
Next, save the form set:
9. Click the Save As button to save a form set with the Title Surface
geology (AV).
10. Click OK on the Save Current Values and CAD/GIS dialogs to display the
geology map.
Finally, set the drawing order:
11. The geology map now appears above the geochemical points and
property boundaries, so drag the Surface geology (AV) layer between
the Soil geochemistry and Air photo layers.

Completing the Picture Notes:
This display is now complete, and if you inspect the Vizex Forms pane you’ll
notice that the Points, Outlines, Image, and CAD/GIS form set types all
have a plus [+] icon next to them, indicating they contain at least one saved
form set. Because you’ve saved these form sets you can quickly reload them
any time you wish to re-use them.
We can illustrate this by creating a Saved View and then using it to reload
the layers.
Optional Exercise 2.5: Save, remove, and then reload

the display
First, create a Saved View:
1. Select View | Save Vizex View from the main menu. Alternatively,
double click the Saved Views node in the Vizex Forms pane and choose
Save on the Forms dialog.
2. Enter the Title Regional plan and click OK to save the view.
Next, remove the display layers:
3. Select Edit | Remove All from the menu.
Finally, reconstruct your display:
4. Expand the Saved Views list in the Vizex Forms pane by single-clicking
the small plus [+] icon to the left of the Saved Views node.
5. Drag the Regional plan saved view onto the graphic display (or double-
click it) to open it.
Vizex has reconstructed all of your layers. You’d achieve essentially the same
result if you individually loaded each layer.
Use saved views to create predefined layer groups
Saved views provide an excellent means for creating pre-defined layer

groups, which you can use to quickly build a complex display. For
example, you could combine a view called Topography – containing
contours, roads, creeks and so on – with another called Geology –
containing rock unit polygons, fault and contact lines, and structural
symbols, to build a combined topographic/geological view.
Saved views also store edit locking, snap status, depth testing,
perspective, and overview visibility.

Notes: Don’t use saved views to define multiple views containing

the same data
Although saved views also store view orientation parameters, this is not
their primary purpose. If you need to define a number of different views
containing the same data, for example a series of cross sections, create
one saved view to load the data, and a series of Display Limits form
sets or entries in a section control file to define the sections. Display
limits and section control files are described in detail in the following
lesson.
Creating a Plot File

You’ll now create a plot file of the display, to be later used in the plotting
exercises later in the course.
Exercise 2.6: Create a plot file
To create a plot file:
1. Click the Generate Plot File toolbar button. Or, select Plot |
Generate Plot File from the menu.
2. Enter the Plot file name PLAN.
3. Enable Auto load into Plot Editor, and leave the other responses as
they are.
4. Click OK to make the plot file.
MICROMINE will write a plot file and display a plot layout containing the
plot data. You’ll learn more about plotting in Part 4 – Plotting 1.
5. Close the Plot Editor window by clicking the [X] on the PLAN.PEX tab.
6. Finally, select Edit | Remove All from the menu to clean up the
display.

This lesson has taught you to construct a basic Vizex display, as well as
create and modify colour sets. Here’s what we’ve learnt so far:
To display a new Vizex form set:
Double-click the desired form set type in the Vizex Forms pane, or
Select Display | Vizex | … from the menu, then
Set up the display parameters and click OK.
To display a previously saved form set:
Click the plus [+] icon next to the appropriate form set type in the
Vizex Forms pane to expand its list, then
Drag the form set into the graphic display, or
Double-click the form set.
To change the properties of a current display layer:
Double-click the layer in the Display pane, or

Right-click the layer and choose Properties from the pop-up menu,
then
Make the necessary changes, and
Click Save, followed by OK to apply the changes.
To recognise an unsaved display layer:
Inspect the layer name in the Display pane, and

If it’s listed as Untitled (FILENAME) it’s never been saved, or
If it’s listed in blue text it’s been modified but the modifications haven’t
been saved.
To save a display layer as a form set:
Right-click the layer in the Display pane and choose Save Form As, or
Double-click the layer in the Display pane to open its dialog, then
Click Save As to create a new form set, or Save to overwrite an
existing form set.
To create a numeric colour set:
Right-click the Colour set response on the appropriate dialog, then

Set the numeric ranges (by typing or using Assign), and
Set the colours (by double-clicking, selecting a palette, or by creating a
ramp).

To choose between outline and string files:
Use outline files if you need point-in-polygon assignment or polygonal

grade/tonnage calculation.
Use string files if you need format flexibility or simpler file management.
To convert between outline and string files:
Select File | Conversions from the menu, and

Choose the to-be-converted file and enter a name for the new file, then
Set the conversion options and Run the function.
To switch between layer order and 3D order:
Deselect all layers (by clicking a blank part of the Display pane, below
the listed layers, or by clicking the Vizex node near 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 objects in the Display pane into the desired order, from the
bottom up.
To plot a Vizex display:

Select Plot | Generate Plot File from the menu, or
Click the Generate Plot File toolbar button, then
Enter the Plot file name, and
Optionally, enable Auto load into Plot Editor.
To save a view:

Select View | Save Vizex View from the menu, or
Double click the Saved Views node and choose Save on the Forms
dialog.

Good Practice
Save your form sets!
Saving Display Layers as form sets is one of the key concepts for
efficiently using Vizex. Doing this allows you to very quickly reconstruct a
comprehensive display without re-defining each display object.
A simple rule is: Any layer worth displaying more than once is
worth saving as a form set.
Because form sets are so easy to create in Vizex it’s possible to create
multiple versions of the same information. For example, you could create a
Strings object for topographic contours coloured by elevation, and another of
the same contours coloured according to whether they’re index or
intermediate contours.
Help Topics
Displaying points Display > Vizex > Points
Displaying strings Display > Vizex > Strings
Displaying outlines Display > Vizex > Outlines
Displaying images Display > Vizex > Image
Image file formats Display > Vizex > Image > Raster image files
Georeferencing Display > Vizex > Image > Georeferencing
Depth testing View > Display Pane > Depth Testing

(link on page)
Displaying CAD/GIS Display > Vizex > CAD/GIS

Notes:
Drillholes
Lessons 1 and 2 focussed on the basics of Vizex and introduced you to

various Vizex form set types. Drillholes are an integral part of Vizex, and this
lesson will teach you to manage and display drillhole data in 2D and 3D.
Vizex supports numerous down-the-hole object types, such as values

(labels), hatch patterns, graphs, events, and structures. You construct your
drillhole display by adding as many of these objects as required. When you
use these in conjunction with other object types, such as sectional
geophysical images, DTMs of topography or oxidation surface boundaries,
and polygonal geological interpretations, you can produce a rich and
informative drillhole display.
· Create and manage a drillhole database;

· Display drillhole traces and their associated down-the-hole data;
· View drillholes in plan, orthogonal or oblique (transform) cross sections,
and in 3D;
· Work with display limits form sets and section control files;
· Create a text colour set and a text hatch set.
Introduction
Vizex uses a highly efficient method for handling drillhole data, called the
drillhole database. You can easily manage all drilling data related to a
particular project using a drillhole database. Once you’ve created a drillhole
database, use Vizex to display any combination of downhole information in
any 2D or 3D orientation.
Vizex supports numerous types of downhole data, summarised in Table 3.1.
This lesson will introduce you to 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.
The Drillhole Database

Before you can display drillhole data in Vizex you must construct a drillhole
database. A drillhole database isn’t a database in the traditional sense
because it doesn’t store raw data (you can delete a drillhole database and
not lose the underlying data). Instead, it manages the relationship between
individual tables containing different drillhole data types.

Table 3.1: Drillhole data types Notes:

Drillhole Trace: Trajectory of the
holes, displayed as a simple or colour-
coded line, with collar and end-of-hole
symbology and annotation.
Drillhole Values: Labelled FROM-TO

data. Multiple fields may be positioned
either side of the drillhole traces,
individually coloured.
Drillhole Hatch: Rectangular bars

positioned relative to the drillhole
trace, with various fill patterns and
widths.
Drillhole Graph: Various

presentation techniques for numeric
downhole data such as recovery,
magnetic susceptibility, etc.
Drillhole Events: Downhole data

that occurs at a set DEPTH, with
numerous symbology options
including rotation and scaling.
Drillhole Structures: Shows the true

or apparent dip of oriented diamond
core data (alpha/beta).
[Requires the Exploration module.]

Notes: A simple drillhole database could consist of only one table, but a typical
drillhole database uses three or more tables, the contents of which are
related by the ID of each drillhole. The tables you’re most likely to use are:
· Collar (mandatory): Must contain 3D coordinates of the collar

locations and the total depths of the holes. For straight holes, may
optionally contain the azimuth and inclination.
· Downhole survey: For holes where deviation surveys have been
completed, must contain the survey depths and azimuth/inclination at
those depths.
· Events: Contains down-the-hole data where individual features are
positioned at single DEPTHs. The database may contain as many event
files as needed, e.g. structures, groundwater horizons, oxidation state
transitions, etc.
· Intervals: Contains down-the-hole data where individual features are
positioned between FROM and TO depths. The database may contain as
many interval files as needed, e.g. assays, lithologies, oxidation states,
stratigraphic horizons, etc.
Creating a New Database

You create a drillhole database from either the main menu (Drillhole |
Database | Create), or from Vizex. To create a new drillhole database
within Vizex, double-click any Drillhole form set, then right-click the
Database response and select New Database from the pop-up menu.
Begin by specifying, at a minimum, a collar file. However, most modern drill

data also contains downhole deviation survey data, so a downhole survey file
is usually present. Together these files determine the location and trajectory
of each drillhole.

Behind the scenes: How does MICROMINE calculate Notes:

drillhole trajectories?
Most drillholes describe a curved trajectory (known in MICROMINE as the

trace). When you construct or modify a drillhole database, MICROMINE
mathematically renders each hole by linking successive downhole surveys
with a series of 3D spherical arcs. However, to simplify the trace display,
MICROMINE approximates those arcs with a series of straight-line
segments.
MICROMINE automatically varies the length of each straight-line segment

(the trace interval) on a hole-by-hole basis, always keeping the displayed
trace location within 5 cm of the mathematical location.
Consequently, straight holes are always depicted with two points – one at
the collar, and another at the end of hole. However, 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.
Adding Event and Interval Files

Once the collar and survey files for a drillhole database are defined, you may
optionally add as many event or interval files as needed. As we’ve already
seen, event and interval files describe related downhole data, such as rock
unit names, assay values, groundwater horizons, or structures, that are
relevant to a given drillhole database.
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

remembering 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.

Notes: Exercise 3.1: Create a new drillhole database
In this exercise, you’ll learn to build a drillhole database from within Vizex.
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:
1. Select Drillhole | Database | Create from the menu.

2. On the Create New Drillhole Database dialog, select the Drillhole
database option, type in the name TRAINING, and click the Create
button. The Drillhole Database dialog will appear.
3. Double-click the Collar file response and choose NVG_COLLAR from the
file list. Vizex will automatically complete the remaining responses in this
group.
4. In the Define Surveys group, ensure that Downhole surveys is
enabled.
5. Double-click the survey File response and choose NVG_SURVEY from
the list of files. Vizex will again automatically complete the remainder of
this group.
6. Enter an Azimuth correction of 40 degrees and enable Apply to first
azimuth.
The Azimuth correction is useful when downhole surveys are logged in

a different north orientation to the current data, for example magnetic vs.
grid north. In this exercise, the declination between the surveyed values
and the project grid is 40°. Your own projects will require a different
value, or most likely no correction at all.
Now it’s time to add the related downhole files (events and intervals):
7. Click the Event Files button.

8. On the dialog that appears, click the Add button.

9. A new dialog will appear; double-click the Event File response on this Notes:
dialog and choose NVG_STRUCTURES from the list.
10. Check that the Hole field is set to HOLE and the Depth field to DEPTH
and click Close. Vizex will add the file NVG_STRUCTURES.DAT to the list
of event files.
11. There are no more event files, so click OK to close the event files dialog.
12. Now click the Interval Files button, followed by Add on the dialog that
appears.
13. Double-click the Interval file response and choose NVG_ASSAY from
the list. Click Close to add the file.
14. Click Add a second time and add the NVG_LITH file to the database.
15. There are no more interval files, so click OK to close the interval files
dialog.
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.
16. Click OK to build the database. Vizex will scan and validate the input
files, calculate the drillhole traces, and then finally construct the
database.
Refreshing a Drillhole Database

Databases are dynamic objects, and the data they contain often undergoes
regular updates: new drillholes are added, corrections are made, and so on.
Although Vizex doesn’t automatically update the drillhole database after
you’ve changed the underlying data, you don’t have to go through the
process of re-creating the database every time you add a new drillhole.
To refresh a drillhole database, choose Drillhole | Database | Refresh

from the main MICROMINE menu and select the appropriate database.
MICROMINE will recognise that the underlying data have changed and
refresh the database accordingly. Alternatively, you can right-click the
Database response on any Vizex drillhole dialog and choose Refresh from

Notes: the popup menu. If your project contains multiple drillhole databases, you
can use Tools | Macro Functions | Drillhole Database Refresh to
simultaneously refresh them all.
Refreshing a drillhole database containing ODBC or MDB

links
Whenever you use ODBC or MDB links as source data for a drillhole
database, you must use the correct sequence for refreshing the data.
Refresh the ODBC/MDB links before refreshing the drillhole database. (If
you refresh the drillhole database first it won’t see the updates to the
underlying ODBC/MDB links.)
Validating a Drillhole Database

We learned to validate drillhole data back in Part 1 – MICROMINE Basics,
where we used Drillhole | Validate | Drillhole to relate the collar and
downhole survey files with one interval file and one event file to establish the
accuracy of the data at that time. However, as we’ve seen, drillhole
databases are dynamic and each update introduces the risk of invalidating
the data.
Validation should always be an integrated part of the drillhole database

update cycle, using one or both of the following options.
Automatically
MICROMINE provides an auto-validation option for drillhole databases to
address the dynamic nature of most drillhole databases, which is accessible
via Tools | Options | Drillhole Database. This function automatically
performs all of the default validations we learned about in Part 1. However,
you can also optionally check for missing holes and missing intervals:
Manually
Together with the auto-validation option, MICROMINE provides a manual
version, accessible from the main menu via Drillhole | Validate |
Drillhole Database. This function is different from the validation we
performed in Part 1 because it validates the drillhole database in its entirety,

rather than as individual files. Think of this function as a shortcut (you need Notes:
only specify the database name) that will save a great deal of time if your
database contains multiple interval or event files. This function is especially
useful if your database contains multiple event or interval files.
You’ll set up drillhole database validation in the next exercise.
Exercise 3.2: Manually validate a drillhole database
To manually validate the newly-created drillhole database:
1. Select Drillhole | Validate | Drillhole Database from the menu.

2. Fill out the Drillhole Database Validation dialog as shown here (the
options are identical t those we used in Part 1):
3. Click OK to run the validation.

4. Inspect the contents of the Report Viewer window, and then close it
once you’re done.
As with previous validation runs MICROMINE displays the Report Viewer. For
the most part the errors are identical to those of the original validation;
however we’ve also discovered an unexpected error in the
NVG_STRUCTURES event file. A missing hole ID in an event file isn’t a critical
error and can be safely ignored, but we would not have discovered it without
performing this validation.
Displaying Drillhole Data

Vizex can display drillhole data in a variety of ways, as listed in Table 3.1.
Over the next few exercises we’ll learn to set up a drillhole trace, along

Notes: with drillhole values and a drillhole hatch. We’ll begin with the drillhole
trace, which is a representation of the trajectory of the drillholes.
Displaying Drillhole Traces

To display drillhole traces in Vizex, either load a Drillhole Trace form set
from the Vizex Forms pane, or select Display | Vizex | Drillhole | Trace
from the main menu. The Drillhole Trace dialog has six tabs, which you
use to customise your drillhole trace display. Each tab controls a particular
aspect of the display.
In the following exercise you’ll use the first four tabs to set some basic
drillhole trace properties.
Exercise 3.3: Set up a drillhole trace display
To set up the trace display:
1. Double-click the Drillhole Trace form set in the Vizex Forms pane.
Alternatively, you could choose Display | Vizex | Drillhole | Trace
from the menu.
2. On the Drillhole Trace dialog, ensure the Input Data tab is active.
3. Double-click the Database response and choose TRAINING.dhdb from
the list.
4. Enable Display Trace.
With the database selected and the trace enabled we can now set some
cosmetic properties of the display. We’ll colour the traces according to their
assay values, display the Hole ID at the top and bottom of each hole, and
symbolise the collars. We’ll use a previously calculated statistical colour set to
colour the traces.
5. Set the Trace thickness to MEDIUM and enable Colour Coding.

6. Double-click the Interval file response. Note how only the two interval
files we added to the database are available for us to choose. Select the
NVG_ASSAY.DAT file.
7. Double-click Colour field and set it to AU1.
8. Double-click Colour set and select Drillhole Au1 (statistical) from the
list. When you return to the Drillhole Trace dialog it should appear as
shown below:

Notes:
9. Switch to the Hole Name tab and enable Show Hole Name.
10. Set the Top Label Location to AUTO and the Bottom Location to
CENTRE.
11. Optional: Double-click the Hole name font responses and change the
font to Tahoma, 12 point regular.
12. Switch to the Hole Depth tab and enable Show Hole Depth.

Notes: 13. Type a lower-case m into the Label suffix response. This letter will be
appended to each end of hole depth, e.g. 102.3m, in the display.
14. Finally, switch to the Collar tab and enable Show Collar. Double-click
the blank Default symbol box (about half way down the form) and
choose the double concentric circle ( ) symbol.
These settings are worth re-using, so we’ll save them as a form set before
continuing:
15. Save these settings as a form set by clicking the Save As button at the
right of the dialog. Title the new form set Simple assay display.
16. Lastly, click OK on the Save Current Values and Drillhole Trace dialogs
to load the traces, which should look something like this:
Displaying Vertical Sections

The lessons we’ve completed so far have only concentrated on two-
dimensional Vizex views, largely because we’ve only been using 2D data.
Vizex is, however, a 3D environment and the drillhole database we’ve just
created contains true 3D data. Now is a good time to learn about working
with other display orientations, before we explore the more advanced
drillhole displays.
By default, Vizex creates new views in plan view orientation. However, a

vertical section, which may be orthogonal or oblique to the coordinate grid, is
the standard method for displaying subsurface drillhole information.
(Oblique sections are known as transform sections in MICROMINE.)
Setting up a vertical section requires three pieces of information:

· Section orientation (orthogonal or oblique, and at what azimuth). Notes:

· Location of the section plane (often called the section number).
MICROMINE will draw the section by literally positioning the screen at
this location.
· Thickness of the section corridor (data falling outside this corridor will
be excluded from the section).
Orientation, location, thickness
Orientation, location, thickness is a useful mnemonic for remembering

the parameters for producing a vertical section.
MICROMINE provides three ways to set the orientation, location, and

thickness of a vertical section: the Sections toolbar and associated
Sections window, the Display Limits dialog, and via a Section Control
File.
The Sections Toolbar and Sections Window

The Sections toolbar contains tools for setting up and browsing vertical
sections in any orientation:
With this toolbar you can use:
· The Section Tool to draw a section in any orientation (setting both the
location and orientation of the section), or
· The Section or Elevation box to enter the location of an orthogonal
section. (You use the Sections window to set its orientation, explained
below.)
In both cases you also use:
· The Towards Distance and Away Distance boxes to control the

section thickness.
· Optionally, the Step box to define a custom step distance between
sections.
· The Clip View tool to enable or disable section clipping.
Along with the Sections Toolbar, the Sections window contains other tools
for working with sections. It provides direct access to the Display Limits
dialog and any previously saved Display Limits form sets, and a short-cut to
Standard Sections such as PLAN or LOOKING NORTH.
The remaining tools in the Sections window are dedicated to section control
files, which are introduced later in this lesson.

Notes:
The following sections describe in detail the two main ways to use the
Sections toolbar and Sections window.
Defining a section in any orientation with the Section Tool
The Section Tool gives you a quick way to define a vertical section in any
orientation. Simply click the Section Tool button and drag a section line
across the display. You can optionally constrain the line to an orthogonal
orientation (a multiple of 90°) 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.)
Displaying ‘Plane of the Vein’ with the Section Tool
You can use the Section Tool even when the view is already in a section
orientation, making it extremely useful for setting up a ‘plane of the vein’
display.
For example, to display a long section through a dipping vein, start with a
plan view and drag a section parallel to the dip direction of the vein,
followed by a second section down-dip.
Defining an orthogonal section with the Sections Window
To set an orthogonal orientation with the Sections window, begin by double-

clicking a Standard Section such as PLAN or LOOKING NORTH. Vizex will
align the view to that orientation and automatically clip the view using the
current section location and towards and away distances.
The Section or Elevation box is enabled whenever an orthogonal view is

set. Use this box to quickly change the location of the section by typing in a
new value. You must press Enter for the new value to be applied. The box
remembers previous entries, so once a section number has been entered you
can quickly access it again using the pull-down list as shown here:

Notes:
If you inspect the cursor coordinate display at the right of the status bar
after using the Section or Elevation box, you’ll notice that one of the
coordinate values (depending on the view orientation) remains fixed at the
value you entered.
This control is not available for oblique (transform) sections; instead you
should use the Section Tool described above.
Controlling the thickness
You set thickness of the section corridor (in any view orientation) with the
Towards Distance and Away Distance boxes, which also remember
previous settings in the same way as the Section or Elevation box. Once the
corridor has been defined you can switch clipping on and off by clicking the
Clip View toolbar button.
When Clip View is enabled you can use the Previous Section and Next
Section 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 toolbar as a number in square brackets, as
illustrated above. However, you can override the default step size by entering
a different value in the Step box, which will be shown without the square
brackets. Re-enter the default value to restore the default step size.
Understanding Clipping
As we’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 illustrated in Figure 1.
Whenever you enable Clip View, only data falling within the corridor defined
by the distance values will be displayed. 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.
On the other hand, no corridor is defined if Clip View is not enabled. In this
case all of the data will be displayed, and will appear as if projected against
the section plane.

Notes:
Figure 1: Clipping parameters
The View Toolbar

The View toolbar provides an alternative way to switch between view
orientations without using the Sections Window:
The first six view buttons highlighted above correspond to orthogonal

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. In particular, the Plan standard view is
useful for returning to a plan view after having displayed a section.
There is one extra standard view icon than there are standard sections
because Looking Up is included as a standard view.
This portion of the View toolbar also includes four isometric buttons,
primarily for quickly setting up a 3D view. On all buttons the shaded side of
the cube indicates the viewing direction.
The Display Limits Dialog

The second way to set up a vertical section is by using the Display Limits
dialog, which you can access by:
· Clicking the Display Limits button on the Sections toolbar.

· Double-clicking the Display Limits node in the Sections window.
· Right-clicking in the graphic display and choosing Display Limits
from the pop-up menu.
· Choosing View | Viewpoint | Display Limits from the menu.

The Display Limits dialog has three tabs, two of which are relevant to vertical Notes:
sections: Orthogonal and Transform (oblique). You can also define the
thickness of section corridor on the Display Limits dialog. The settings that
Vizex applies will depend on which tab is active when you click the OK
button.
Defining an orthogonal section
The Orthogonal tab contains three main groups that allow you to vary the
View Type, view Limits, and clipping Window. The three groups are:
· View Type: controls the section orientation, allowing you to choose

from six orthogonal standard views.
· Limits: controls the section location. You set the section number by
entering the desired value in the appropriate Section response. The
controls in this group automatically enable or disable according to the
view type. There’s no need to enter Minimum and Maximum values;
they’re set by the view itself.
· Window: controls the section corridor thickness and, optionally, the
step size.
MICROMINE automatically enables and disables the appropriate Section

responses whenever you change display orientation.
For example, for a Plan view, only the RL (elevation) Section response is
enabled, and the value you enter will set the Elevation of the display.
Similarly, for a Looking North view only the North Section response is
enabled, so the number you enter will set the Northing of the display, or,
if you’re Looking West, the Section you enter will set the Easting of the
display.

Notes: Defining an oblique (transform) section
The Transform tab allows you to define an oblique cross section,

simultaneously controlling orientation and location. You do this by entering
the endpoint coordinates that define the section into the Section group;
Vizex will calculate the bearing and length of the section based on those
numbers. Vizex also provides you with a preview window so you can see how
the section will relate to the real world.
The Window group on the Transform tab is identical to the Orthogonal

version.
Although this technique gives you very precise control of settings that can
also be saved as a form set, the previously-described Section Tool is a
faster option for drawing a transform section.
You’ll explore the section drawing tools in the next exercise.
Exercise 3.4: Display data in cross section
In this exercise, you’ll set up a Looking North cross section at 15900mN,

followed by a Transform section, and then return to the looking north
section.
First, load a ground surface profile to give the display more context:
1. Click the plus [+] icon next to the Wireframes from set (in the Vizex
Forms pane) to expand its list, and double-click the DTM 2D slice mode
object to display it.

Next, set up the section display using the Sections Window and Sections Notes:
Toolbar:
2. Click the Sections tab underneath the Vizex Forms pane to display the
Sections Window.
3. Click the plus [+] icon next to the Standard Sections node to display
the list of standard sections, and double-click LOOKING NORTH.
Vizex will switch the display to looking north orientation and clip the view.
However, the section number and towards and away distances are set to
default values that are not what we require.
4. Enter the value 15900 into the Section or Elevation box on the
Sections toolbar, and press Enter apply it.
5. Enter 15 for both Towards Distance and Away Distance, pressing
Enter to apply each change.
Now that the section is set up you can browse through the data:
6. Click the Next Section and Previous Section buttons to browse

between sections.
Note how the value in the Section or Elevation box automatically updates
each time you change section. Moreover, the status bar displays the current
3D cursor coordinate (which incorporates the section number when the view
is orthogonal) at the lower right corner of the screen.
7. Click the Plan View button on the View toolbar to return to plan view.
8. If necessary, reset the plan view by right-clicking the Simple assay
display layer in the Display pane and choosing View Selection from
the pop-up menu.
Finally, create an oblique section:
9. Click the Section Tool and drag an oblique (transform) section at an

angle to the drillholes.
Observe how Vizex displays the section extents as you drag the mouse, as
shown on the following page. When you release the mouse, Vizex displays
the transform section.
10. Click the Display Limits button on the Sections toolbar to display the
Display Limits dialog.
Note how the contents of the Transform tab have been filled out.
11. Click the Next Section and Previous Section buttons to browse the
data. Observe how the oblique orientation is maintained as you browse.
12. Click the Plan View button to return to plan view and, if needed, right-
click the Simple assay display layer and choose View Selection to reset
the view.

Notes:
Finally, restore the Looking North view:
13. Double-click the LOOKING NORTH Standard Section to return to a cross-

section view. Note that the value in the Section or Elevation box no
longer reads 15900.
14. Click the pull-down button next to the Section or Elevation box and
choose 15900 from the list.
15. Leave the view open in preparation for the next exercise.
Viewing in 3D
In addition to the standard orthogonal and transform displays, Vizex allows
you to seamlessly rotate your view to any desired 3D orientation. Clipping is
still available if you need it, and all editing tools are also available.
The Rotate Tool

The quickest way to view your data from any 3D orientation is to select the
Rotate Tool and drag the view with the mouse.
If you’re in a clipped section view while rotating, the section corridor will be
rotated along with the data, allowing you to view your section from different
angles.
To return to 2D, just click a standard view button.

The physics of 3D rotation Notes:
Although the displayed objects appear to rotate when you use the
Rotate Tool, in reality your viewing location (the camera position) is
rotating around stationary data. It does this around an imaginary pivot
(the viewpoint), which is initially situated near the centroid of the data.
To understand the effect of the Rotate Tool, imagine a cardboard model

of your data balanced on the head of a pin (the viewpoint). Just like the
cardboard model, the position and direction from which you push or pull
the view will determine how it rotates. If you push from a corner, the
view will rotate with a twisting motion, but if you push from the middle of
an edge, it will rotate in a much more controllable way.
Constraining 3D rotation
Pressing the X, Y, or Z key while you’re rotating the view will constrain
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, this time

constraining the rotation to the X, Y, and Z axes of the screen,
respectively.
The Display Limits Dialog

Normally you interactively rotate the view in 3D using the Rotate Tool.
However, the 3D View tab on the Display Limits dialog allows you precisely
control the rotation parameters and also 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
automatically calculate the other parameters based on the changes you
make.
The Window group in this tab is identical to the Orthogonal and Transform
versions.
You’ll learn about 3D displays in the next exercise.
Exercise 3.5: View data in 3D
In this exercise we’ll view our data in 3D:
1. Click the Clip View button to disable clipping.

2. Select the Rotate Tool and drag the mouse in the graphic display.
Observe how the view rotates around the data in 3D.

Notes: 3. Click the Display Limits button to open the Display Limits dialog, and
note how the contents of the 3D View tab have been filled out.
4. Once you’ve completed 3D viewing, double-click the LOOKING NORTH

Standard Section to return to a cross-section view.
5. Click the pull-down button next to the Section or Elevation box and
choose 15900 from the list.
A useful aspect of MICROMINE’s 3D rotation is its ability to rotate the section

corridor along with the data. If you’re viewing with clipping enabled, simply
rotate the view and the section corridor will follow. This is particularly useful
for checking the relationship between drillholes and the section corridor,
especially while you’re interpreting data. (Interpretation is covered in Lesson
4.)
We’ll demonstrate that now:
6. Select the 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 as a blue box, rotates with the data. Also note how the
section is highlighted as a pale blue plane.
8. Once you’ve completed viewing the section in 3D, click the Undo zoom
button to return to the looking north view on a northing of 15900, or
9. Alternatively, click the pull-down button next to the Section or
Elevation box and choose 15900 from the list.
10. Leave the display open in preparation for the next exercise.

Perspective Mode and Depth Testing Notes:
MICROMINE’s view tools allow you to construct 2D and 3D views in a

variety of ways. Some combinations that you might consider are:
Depth Testing: turn on for 3D views; turn off for 2D plans and vertical
sections;
Perspective Mode: turn on to enhance 3D views using vanishing-point

perspective; turn off for 2D plans and vertical sections, especially if you
are interpreting cross-sections. Perspective mode is explained in Part 3 –
3D Presentation.
Section Control Files

A section control file (SCF) provides a way to save section parameters in a
standard MICROMINE file without using numerous Display Limits form sets.
Although a detailed explanation is beyond the scope of this introductory
training, we’ll introduce some basic concepts here as they complete the
selection of tools that can be used with drillhole and related data.
The Vizex Sections window (discussed above) and the accompanying

Section Control File toolbar provide the tools for creating and managing
section control files and named sections:
An SCF defines the orientation, location, and thickness of a section by storing

those parameters directly within the file. When you first save an SCF it is
automatically placed within the SECTIONS subfolder within your project,
which is created if it doesn’t exist. You can edit SCFs in a variety of ways,
either visually or using the File Editor, offering clear advantages over the
Display Limits workflow.
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,
irrespective of their orientation and thickness.
Sections in an SCF can be defined in any view orientation.
You’ll visually create an SCF and named sections in the next exercise.
Exercise 3.6: Visually create a section control file
We’ll begin by setting the view at the first (southern-most) cross section in
the project, which is 15760mN. To do this:

Notes: 1. Enter 15760 in the Section or Elevation box and press Enter to apply
the change.
2. Ensure the Towards and Away distances are both set to 15, and Step
is set to its default value of [30].
3. Right-click the Simple assay display layer in the Display pane and choose
View Selection from the pop-up menu to reset the view extents.
Now we can create the section control file:
4. Click the Create Section Control File button in either the Sections
toolbar or window. Alternatively, right-click the Vizex node in the
Sections window and choose New Section Control File from the
pop-up menu.
5. Enter the name TRAINING and click Save.
With the file saved we can create the first named section.
6. Click the Create Named Section button on the Sections toolbar.

Alternatively, right-click the TRAINING node in the Sections window
and choose Create Named Section from the pop-up menu.
7. Enter the Section name 15760mN and click OK to create the named
section.
8. Click the [+] next to the TRAINING file to expand the list, noting the
newly-created section:
In reality the sections in this project are variably spaced. However, we’ll use
a File Editor shortcut to quickly define the remaining sections on the basis of
a regular (but not strictly accurate) 30 m spacing.
9. Right-click the TRAINING file or 15760mN section and choose Edit from
the pop-up menu.
10. Select Records | Execute | Parameters (or press Ctrl+Shift+P, or
click the Execute Parameters Options toolbar button) and define the
parameters shown on the following page.
Note how only the NAME and Y_CENTRE will be incremented by a value of
30, which represents the assumed line spacing. All other parameters will be
replicated and will retain the same values as the initial section.

Notes:
11. Repeatedly press Ctrl+T (or click the Execute One toolbar button)
until the section NAME reaches 16000mN and the Y_CENTRE reaches
16000. Your file should look like this:
12. Save the file and Close the File Editor. Note how all named sections
now appear in the TRAINING list.
13. Double-click any named section to go immediately to that section.
14. Use the Previous and Next Section buttons on the Section Control
File toolbar to browse the sections.
15. Optionally, refine the section control file so that it contains the correct
section parameters listed in Table 3.2 at the end of this lesson.
16. Use the Section or Elevation box to return to the 15900 section.
17. Leave the display open in preparation for the next exercise.
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 Part 7 – Drillholes 1.
Adding Downhole Information

With Vizex you can add as much information to your drillhole traces as
clarity, common sense, and your computer’s resources will allow. We’ll
explore some of the various drillhole object types in the next few exercises.

Notes: Exercise 3.7: Add drillhole assay values to the trace

display
Now that we’ve set up a coloured trace display based on assay value, we’ll
place some assay labels using the same colour set:
1. Click the Vizex Forms tab underneath the Sections window to

redisplay the Vizex Forms pane.
2. Double-click the Drillhole Values form set type.
3. In the Drillhole Values dialog, make sure the Input Data tab is
active.
4. Double-click the Database response and choose your TRAINING
database.
5. Double-click the Interval file and choose NVG_ASSAY.DAT.
6. Double-click the first Label field and choose AU1, and then double-click
the Colour set and choose Drillhole Au1 (statistical).
7. Leave Width, Decimals, and Justify set to their default values.
If more than one Label Field is selected they will display in columns to
the right or left of the drillhole depending on which side you select.

8. Switch to the Display Options tab and set the label Side to RIGHT. Notes:
Ignore all other options on this tab.
9. Click Save As… and save the form set with the Title Au Assay
(statistical).
10. Click OK on both dialogs to load the labels.
Exercise 3.8: Add drillhole lithology labels to the

display
With the assays labelled we’ll repeat the exercise to display lithologies.
1. Double-click the Drillhole Value form set type a second time and
activate 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. Double-click the Interval file response and choose NVG_LITH.DAT,
then double-click the first Label field and choose LITH. We have no
lithological colour set at this stage, so blank out the existing Colour set
and set the default colour to BLACK.
4. Click the Display Options tab and set the label side to LEFT.
5. Click Save As and save the form set with the Title Lithology (black).
6. Click OK on both dialogs to load the labels. You’ll see black labels
appear down the left hand side of each drillhole trace.

Notes: Creating a Text Colour Set

So far we’ve created a numeric colour set, which assigned groups of numeric
ranges to specific colours. We can use a similar technique to create a text
colour set.
Text colour sets work with unique character codes instead of numeric ranges.
When you use the Assign button, MICROMINE finds all unique values in the
selected field.
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 what codes will be gathered together.
Auto grouping is best for hierarchical codes, such as standard Geological

Survey codes, where there’s 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.
Exercise 3.9: Create a text colour set
1. Double-click the Lithology (black) layer in the Display pane to open its
dialog, and activate the Input Data tab.
2. Right-click the LITH Colour set response to edit the colour set. The
Edit Colour Sets (Text) dialog will appear.
3. Click the Assign button at the right of this dialog.
4. MICROMINE automatically identifies the file and field we’re working on,
so just click OK on the Assign dialog when it appears.
Grouping and assigning codes
5. A second Assign dialog will appear, containing two columns. The

Found column contains all unique codes in the file, and the Text
column will contain our newly created groups.
6. Highlight the ANDS code in the Found column and, ensuring that
Group is turned off, click the right single arrow button. The code will be
moved to the Text column.

Notes:
7. Turn on the Group option, highlight the DACT code, and click the right
arrow button a second time. Observe how the two codes now appear on
a single line in the Text column.
8. Turn Group off and move the FAUL code. Now turn Group back on and
move the FBX code. Again, observe how they appear on the same line in
the Text column.
9. Finally, turn Group off 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:
10. Click OK to close the Assign dialog. Your newly created groups are
transferred to the Colour Sets dialog.
Allocating colours and saving the colour set
11. Double-click each colour and choose a colour that you feel is appropriate
for each code group. If you’d like, you can also type in a more

Notes: descriptive Label for each. Once you’re finished, your dialog should
resemble the following:
12. Now, click Save As and save the colour set with the Title Basic
lithology.
13. Once you’ve saved the form set, click Save and Close to close the
Colour Sets dialog and return to Vizex. Note how your new form set
number appears in the Colour set response of the Drillhole Values
dialog.
Saving a new Drillhole Value form set
We’ll save these Drillhole Value settings as an alternative form set to the
black labels we created earlier.
14. On the Drillhole Values dialog, click Save As.

15. In the Save Current Values dialog, observe how Vizex has allocated a
new form set number.
16. Set the Title to Lithology (coloured) and click OK.
17. Finally, click OK on the Drillhole Values dialog to accept the changes.
Note how the labels on the drillholes are no longer black, the layer name
in the Display pane has changed to Lithology (coloured), and a new
form set has appeared under the Drillhole Values Vizex form set in the
Vizex Forms pane.
Had you not saved the Drillhole Values settings as a new form set Vizex
would have displayed the layer name in the Display pane with 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.
Creating a Hatch Display

The drillhole display is becoming informative, but the very skinny drillhole
traces are still somewhat unsatisfactory. We can improve the visual
appearance of the drillholes by placing a hatch display along the drillhole
trace.
Hatch sets allow you to place a fill pattern into any enclosed region. There
are three main applications for hatch sets:

· Downhole hatches (lithology, oxide, etc.). Notes:

· Downhole graphs (assay, recovery, etc.).
· Polygonal interpretations.
MICROMINE ships with a large number of hatch patterns. However, if you

require additional patterns, you can use any TrueType font.
When you set up a hatch set, you can independently control the pattern,
foreground and background colours, symbol size, and outline of each
pattern. Additionally, many MICROMINE functions allow you to further
control the allocation of foreground and background colours.
Exercise 3.10: Add a hatch pattern to the display
In this exercise, you’ll add a geological hatch pattern to each drillhole trace.
To save time you’ll use an existing hatch set to complete the display,
although some of the patterns have intentionally been left blank to give you
practice at creating them.
Setting up the fill patterns
First, set up the Drillhole Hatch dialog:
1. Double-click the Drillhole Hatch Vizex form set type and ensure the
Input Data tab is active.
2. Double-click the Database response and choose your TRAINING

database.
3. Double-click the Interval file response and choose NVG_LITH.DAT.
4. Ignore the Colour Control group – this advanced functionality is not
needed for this exercise.
5. Activate the Hatch Options tab and enable Use hatch field.
6. Double-click the Hatch field and choose LITH from the list.

Notes: 7. Double-click the Hatch set response and select Sample downhole
lithology from the list. When you return to the Drillhole Hatch dialog
you’ll see the number of this hatch set in the Hatch set response.
Next, edit the hatch set and define the missing patterns:
8. Right-click the Hatch set number and choose Edit from the pop-up
menu.
9. You’ll see the partially completed hatch set. The code groups were
Assigned using exactly the same procedure as Exercise 3.9.
10. Double-click the empty hatch pattern for the NC (No core) entry to
display the Fill Pattern dialog. Create a fill using a combination of
pattern and foreground, background, and border colours.
11. Repeat for the SED (Sedimentary Rocks) entry. Your dialog should
resemble this:
Finally, save the changes as a new hatch set:
12. Click Save As to save the new hatch set with the Title Basic lithology.
Click OK followed by Save and Close to return to Drillhole Hatch
dialog.
Hatch field vs. Colour Control
The Colour Control option gives you independent control of the

foreground and background colours, which override any colours in the
hatch set.
This is very useful if you have, say, six different rock types, all of which
could be subjected to the same five alteration patterns. Clearly this would
result in 30 possible rock type/alteration combinations. Instead of
creating a hatch set containing 30 entries, you could create a hatch set
containing the six rock types, and use foreground colour control to
represent the five alterations.
Choosing a size and position for the hatch display
If you display the Side list, you’ll see that Vizex only provides options for
LEFT and RIGHT. What if you’d like to centre the hatch? Fortunately, there is
an easy way.

13. Leave the Side set to LEFT. Notes:

14. Set Offset distance to –2, and Hatch width to 4.
15. Set the Border to 4 SIDES.
Finally, save the Drillhole Hatch settings as a form set and display them:
16. Click Save As… on the Drillhole Hatch dialog and save a form set
with the Title Drillhole lithology.
17. Click OK to return to Vizex. Your display should look like the following
diagram:
How big is the hatch?
Hatch widths are always measured in real-world units. So, a hatch

pattern with a width of four is literally four metres wide. Plotting this at
1:1,000-scale would result in a hatch width of 4 mm on the paper.
You can also use the contents of a numeric field to vary the hatch width.
Offsetting the value displays
If you zoom in on a drillhole, you’ll notice an unfortunate side effect

produced by the hatch display: It overlaps the value labels and the drill trace
is still visible in the middle of it. In order to produce an elegant display we
need to make two alterations:
· Offset the two drillhole value displays so that they aren’t overlapped by
the hatch pattern.

Notes: · Switch the display to layer order mode.
First, offset the value displays:
18. Double-click the Au assay (statistical) display layer to display its dialog,
and activate the Display Options tab.
19. Enter an Offset distance of 2 for the Labels group.
20. Do the same for the Ticks group.
21. Click Save followed by OK to save the modified form set and adjust the
display.
22. Repeat the above steps for the Lithology (coloured) display layer.
Now, switch the display to layer order:
23. Click the Vizex node in the Display pane to deselect all layers.
Alternatively, click a blank part of the Display pane, below all listed
layers.
24. Click the Toggle Depth Testing button to place the display in layer
order mode. Note how the drill traces, which were originally visible down
the centre of the hatch, have disappeared.
25. Zoom in on a drillhole and observe how the value ticks stop exactly at
the edge of the hatch display.
26. Restore the view by right-clicking the Drillhole lithology layer in the
Display pane and choosing View Selection from the popup menu.

Notes:
Creating a Plot File
The final step in your work with drillholes is to create a plot file of the cross
section display, to be later used in the plotting exercises in conjunction with
your earlier plan plot.
Exercise 3.11: Create a plot file
1. Click the Generate Plot File toolbar button. Or, select Plot |
Generate Plot File from the menu.
2. Enter a Plot file name of 15900mN. Don’t change any of the other
responses.
3. Click OK to make the plot file.
4. MICROMINE will write a plot file and display a plot layout containing
the plot data.
Naming the plot file with label text, such as 15900mN, will make it easier
to automate the plot title, which you’ll learn in Part 4 – Plotting 1.
5. Close the Plot Editor window by clicking the [X] on the 15900mN.PEX
tab.
6. Finally, select Edit | Remove All from the menu to clean up the
display.
The lessons and exercises we’ve covered so far are preamble to sectional
geological interpretation, which is covered in Lesson 4.
Table 3.2: The correct section parameters for Exercise 3.6

Section Towards Away Step
15760 15 15 30
15790 15 15 30
15820 15 12.5 27.5
15845 12.5 12.5 25
15870 12.5 15 27.5
15900 15 12.5 27.5
15925 12.5 12.5 25
15950 12.5 15 27.5
15980 15 15 30
16010 15 15 30

This lesson has taught you to manage and display drillhole data. You’ve
worked with various items of downhole data, such as values and hatch
patterns. Additionally, you’ve seen how to view data in cross section and 3D,
and how to set up text colour and hatch sets.
To create a drillhole database:
Select Drillhole | Database | Create from the main menu, or

Double-click a Drillhole Vizex form set, then
Right-click the Database response and choose New Database from
the popup menu, and
Enter the database name, and
Select the desired file names.
To refresh a drillhole database:
Select Drillhole | Database | Refresh from the main menu, or

Right-click the Database response on a Drillhole dialog and choose
Refresh Database from the popup menu, or
Select Tools | Macro Functions | Drillhole Database Refresh to
refresh multiple databases.
To validate a drillhole database:
Select Tools | Options | Drillhole Database and enable the

appropriate auto-validation options, or
Select Drillhole | Validate | Drillhole Database to manually validate
it.
To display a Drillhole form set:
Double-click the desired Vizex form set type in the Vizex Forms pane,
then
Select the Database and appropriate files, and
Set up the display parameters as required.
To display an orthogonal section using the Sections window and toolbar:
Select the Standard Section from the Sections Window to set the
orientation, then
Enter the Section or Elevation, Towards Distance, and Away
Distance on the Sections toolbar to set the location and thickness, and
Optionally set the Step value.

To display a transform section using the Section Tool:
Use the Section Tool to drag an interactive section, which will

simultaneously set the orientation and location, then
Enter the Towards Distance and Away Distance to set the thickness,
and
To display an orthogonal section using Display Limits:
Open the Display Limits dialog, then

Choose a View Type to set the orientation, then
Enter the Section number to set the location, then
Enter the Window Towards and Away values to set the thickness,
and
To change view orientations using the View toolbar:
Click the desired Standard View to set the orientation.
To display in 3D:
Select the Rotate Tool.
To restore the view to 2D:
Click a Standard View button on the View toolbar.
To add downhole data to a drillhole display:
Double-click the desired Drillhole Values, Hatch, Graph, Event, or

Structures Vizex form set type in the Vizex Forms pane, then
Select the Database and appropriate files, and
Set up the display parameters as required.
To create a text colour or hatch set:
Right-click the Colour set or Hatch set response to open the editor,
then
Use the Assign button to find the appropriate codes, then
Set the codes or patterns.

To centre a hatch pattern along a drillhole trace:
Set the Offset to minus one-half of the Hatch width.

Select Plot | Generate Plot File from the menu, or
Click the Generate Plot File toolbar button, then
Name the Plot file in a way that could be literal label text, and
Optionally, enable Auto load into Plot Editor.
Good Practice
The standard views on the View toolbar 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 standard views, particularly Plan, to reset the view
without applying clipping, and use the standard sections to display 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 is offset by the appropriate amount) to produce an
informative graphic log in the 3D space. Optionally, use a numeric field to
control the hatch width.
It’s common for MICROMINE projects to contain numerous cross-section plot

files. If you name the plot files with text that could appear on the plot title,
for example a plot file name of 15900mN literally represents the section at
15900mN, you can automate the process of titling plots. This technique is
covered in Part 4 – Plotting 1.
Help Topics
Drillhole Database Drillhole > Databases > ...
Validating a database Drillhole > Validate > DHDB
The Section tools View > Sections & section control files
Display Limits View > Viewpoint > Setting display limits
Displaying Values Display > Vizex > Drillhole > Values
Displaying Hatches Display > Vizex > Drillhole > Hatch

Lesson 4 – Spatial Editing

Notes:
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,
whereas in engineering spatial editing is most often used for design.
· Use the Vizex Layers, Edit Strings, and Vizex Tools toolbars;
· Move and copy a string;
· Insert, delete, and snap points;
· Create a new string file for a sectional interpretation;
· Create and name polygons within that string file;
· Interpret features using both fact and interpretation.
Introduction
Vizex provides you with a broad suite of editing tools and many form set
types can be edited. With these tools you can create points, lines, and
polygons; smooth and weed 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.
The user Interface

You access the spatial editing tools through the Vizex Layers, Edit Strings,
and Vizex Tools toolbar. If you regularly perform spatial editing you should
always keep these toolbars visible. In addition to the toolbars Vizex provides
numerous context editing modes, where the exact function depends on the
type of feature under the mouse cursor. There’s also a right-click context
menu that contains additional tools.
Using the Spatial Editing Tools

Because the editing toolbars are always visible there’s no need to explicitly
activate a stand-alone editor. Instead, you simply start editing.
There are three ways to begin editing, the choice of which depends on your
preferences and the task at hand. They are:
· Edit an existing feature

Activate the Select Tool, click the feature, and then make some
changes to it. For example, you could move a point;

Notes: · Add a feature to an existing layer

Make the layer the Active Layer, either by using the Select Active
Layer pull-down list, or by right-clicking the layer in the Display pane
and selecting Active Layer from the pop-up menu. For example, you
could add a new polygon to a geological interpretation;
· Create a new layer and add features

Choose [New] (Layer type)... from the Select Active Layer list. The
new layer will automatically become the Active Layer. For example, you
could create a new file for heads-up digitising over a scanned map.
Where do new features go?
New features are always added to the active layer. If you haven’t
nominated 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 make changes to more than one layer at a time. Layers that you’ve
edited will be marked with an asterisk (*) on the Display pane, but the files
won’t be saved until you specifically do so, or attempt to remove or refresh
them. MICROMINE provides three ways to save your edits, the choice of
which is once again based on your preferences and the task at hand.
The three ways to save files are:
· Right-click an edited layer in the Display pane and choose Save or

Save As from the pop-up menu;
· Click an edited layer in the Display pane to highlight it, then choose
File | Save or File | Save As from the menu, or press Ctrl+S;
· Select File | Save All from the menu, or press Ctrl+Shift+S, to save
all edited files.
There’s actually a fourth way – if you attempt to remove or refresh an

unsaved layer you’ll be prompted to save the edited file, but we recommend
that you always explicitly save your work.
The Editing Toolbars

The Vizex spatial editing interface consists of three toolbars, the functions of
which are described here for your reference. However, for this lesson you’ll
concentrate on the Vizex Layers toolbar and the first five buttons of the Edit
Strings toolbar.
Vizex Layers

· Select Active Layer pull-down list: Allows you to set an editable layer Notes:
as the active layer, or to create a new editable layer on-the-fly;
· Active layer: Provides an alternative way to set an active layer.
Edit Strings
· Snap Mode: Toggles snapping on and off, also allows you to set
snapping to point, line, grid, or intersection;
· New Points: Begins digitising new points;
· New String: Begins digitising a new string, which may be open or
closed;
· New Polygon: Begins digitising a new closed string;
· Insert Points: Toggles the insertion of points into existing strings;
· Between Snap Tool: Toggles the creation of points by snapping
between two selected points;
· Follow String: Creates new strings following an existing string, or to
create copies of a string or a section of a string;
· Extend String: Adds points to the end of a string;
· Split String: Splits a string into two separate strings at a position you
nominate;
· Close String: Closes a string, connecting the start and end points with
a new segment;
· Curve: Extends a string by appending a curve to the end point;
· Gradient: Sets the gradient for a string;
· Bearing/Distance: Adds a point at the specified bearing and distance;
· Enter Point From Keyboard: Adds a new point to a string by typing
its coordinates;
· Use Digitiser: Toggles between a digitising tablet and the mouse.
Vizex Tools
· Join Strings: Joins two or more strings;

· Expand String: Expands a string based on the Expansion distance
defined in the Options dialog;
· Create DTM: Generates a DTM (Digital Terrain Model) based on the
selected strings;
· Drape on Wireframe: Drapes a 2D string onto a wireframe, making it
a 3D string;
· Smooth: Inserts a regular spread of points and removes any
unnecessary sharp corners in a string;
· Simplify String: Reduces the number of points in a string;

Notes: · Replicate String: Duplicates a string by making horizontal or vertical

copies of it;
· Fix Crossover: Detects and attempts to resolve loops in a string;
· Polygon Boolean Operation: Performs spatial union, intersection or
difference operations on overlapping or adjacent polygons;
· Clip Strings: Clips data falling inside or outside a selected string;
· Cut Wireframe: Cuts a wireframe along a polyline you draw;
· Interactive Wireframe Boolean: Performs spatial operations on
intersecting wireframes, allowing you to save the desired components.
Editing Strings
During the spatial editing process Vizex alters the edit mode according to
whether your mouse cursor is above a point or a string, and whether that
string is already selected. You can further control the edit mode by holding
the Ctrl key. Vizex gives you visual feedback on the selected editing mode
by varying the shape of the mouse cursor.
Some edit modes, for example extending, closing, or reversing a string, are
accessible from the right-click context menu. Like the context editing modes,
the available functionality will vary according to what you’re doing at the
time. Table 4.1 summarises the context edit modes.
Table 4.1: Context edit modes
Mouse Over… Key Editing Function (1) Cursor (2)
Nothing (New/Extend None Freehand digitise

String 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
functions apply to selected strings.
(2)
Cursors are only shown for editing modes. Selection modes (italicised) use the
standard Windows cursor.
Many edit modes are only accessible after you activate the Select Tool,
so it’s a good idea to keep this tool active while you’re editing.
You use three main tools to control the bulk of the editing process:
· New Points/String/Polygon: Begins digitising new points, or a new

string or polygon. To finish, press Esc after the last point, or double-
click the last point, or right-click | Close String;

· Snap Mode: Turns snap mode on and off. Alternatively, press the S key Notes:
to toggle snapping from the keyboard;
The Snap Mode button has a pull-down list that allows you to snap to
points, lines, coordinate gridlines, or the point of intersection between
two lines. Click the small arrow at the right of the button to select from
the list. Alternatively, press Shift+S to cycle through the snap modes.
· Insert Points: Turns insert points mode on and off. Alternatively, you
can toggle this mode by pressing the I key.
Exercise 4.1: Edit features in a string file
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.
First, load the view and select an object for editing:
1. Expand the Saved Views list by clicking its plus [+] icon in the Vizex
Forms pane.
2. Drag the String Editor saved view into the graphic display. Vizex will load
four display objects, but only one, a string file containing a series of rock
unit interpretations, will be visible.
3. Activate the Select Tool.
4. Click any polygon in the display to select it. Vizex will highlight the points
that define the polygon, as shown below. You’re now ready to edit it.
Now you can explore the basic edit modes:
5. Position the mouse cursor over a string segment and drag to move the
entire string.

Notes: 6. Hold the Ctrl key, position the mouse cursor over a string segment, and
drag to create a copy of the string.
7. Release the Ctrl key, position the mouse cursor over a point and drag to
move it.
8. Hold the Ctrl key and click on a point to delete it.
Next, try Snap Mode:
9. Click the Snap Mode button, and ensure that it’s set to Snap to Point.
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 in this layer as you drag.
Snap Mode only applies within a certain tolerance, so try moving the point
near an obvious polygon corner if you don’t see it snapping.
11. Change the Snap Mode to Snap to Line using the pull-down menu at the
right of the Snap Mode button.
12. Click on a point and drag to move it. Note how Vizex now snaps to
lines.
Finally, switch to Insert Points mode:
13. Click the Snap Mode button to deactivate it, and then click the Insert
Points button to activate Insert Points mode. Alternatively, you could
press the S key to deactivate Snap Mode, and the I key to activate
Insert Points mode.
14. Click on a string segment to insert a point.
15. Inspect the Sectional geology interp layer in the Display pane, and note
that it has an asterisk next to it, indicating it’s been edited.
Once you’re finished experimenting with the String Editor, refresh the layer
to restore it to its previous condition:
16. Right-click the Sectional geology interp layer in the 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.
Creating New Strings (or Points or Polygons)

So far we’ve only edited existing strings in the Sectional geology interp layer.
To create a new feature, begin by making the target layer the Active Layer.
You can do this by right-clicking the layer in the Display pane and
choosing Active Layer from the pop-up menu, or by choosing it from the
Active Layer list in the Vizex Layers toolbar. There can only be one active
layer at any time, which is displayed in bold text in the Properties window
(although you can modify multiple layers at one time).
To draw the new feature, click the New Points, New String, or New
Polygon toolbar button, depending on your requirements. (If you’re editing
a Points file only New Points is available.) Alternatively, you can right-click

anywhere in the graphic display and choose New String or New Polygon Notes:
from the pop-up menu. Vizex will change the mouse cursor into a filled
crosshair to indicate the change of mode. You’re now free to add points as
required.
You can finish a new string in several different ways, depending on whether
you want to leave it open or close it.
To finish the string and leave it open:
· Double-click as you add the last point;

· Press the Esc key after adding the last point.
Vizex will change the cursor 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 either 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;
· Right-click and choose Close String from the pop-up menu without
digitising the last string segment.
Closing a string will automatically finish it, and Vizex will change the cursor
back to the Select Tool.
To set the properties of a new string, keep it selected and switch to the
Properties window (tabbed with the Vizex Forms and Sections panes).
You can edit any property that is not displayed in grey text. Use the
Property Window toolbar button to display the Properties window if you
can’t see it.
Need a reminder to set properties?
You can optionally configure Vizex to prompt you for the properties every
time you create a new string. To do this, select Tools | Options |
Vizex from the menu and switch to the String Editor node on the Vizex
Options dialog. Select Prompt to edit properties on adding a new string to
enable this option.
Snapping and Following

Most of your on-screen digitising will probably take place within a framework
of existing data. For example, you would typically interpret cross-sections by
using existing drillhole information. You can improve the accuracy of your
interpretation by snapping to true 3D drillhole intervals whilst digitising. With
Vizex you can snap to any object in the display.

Notes: By default, nearly every form set type can be snapped-to. To snap to a point
in a display layer, activate Snap Mode and move the mouse near that point.
You’ll see a small black square, the snap cursor, highlighting the target
point. Once the snap cursor is in the right place, click the mouse to snap to
that point. You don’t need to move the mouse cursor over the point; in fact
doing so will obscure the snap cursor, making it harder to tell which point is
being snapped.
Snapping is inappropriate for some form set types, such as images or grids,
and by default isn’t enabled for those types. Additionally, you might want to
display a layer but not snap to it. You can control the snap status of a layer
by selecting it in the 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.
Snap Mode works in two ways: You can either click the mouse to snap single
points, or you can drag the mouse to follow an entire string. In either case,
Vizex will display a snap cursor showing the currently selected point.
Setting the default snap status
You can control the default snap status on a layer type-by-layer type
basis by selecting Tools | 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.
Exercise 4.2: Snap to features
In this exercise, you’ll create a couple new polygons and experiment with
Snap and Follow modes.
1. Display the remaining layers by clicking their checkboxes in the Display

pane.
2. Set the Sectional geology interp layer as the Active Layer by right-
clicking it in the Display pane and choosing Active Layer from the
pop-up menu. Alternatively, select Sectional geology interp from the
Select Active Layer list on the Vizex Layers toolbar.

3. Click the New Polygon button to create a new polygon in the string Notes:
file. Vizex will change the cursor from the selection cursor to the filled
crosshair, indicating that you’re now ready to digitise.
4. Click the Snap Mode button to activate Snap Mode, ensuring Snap to
Point is selected.
5. Move the mouse cursor around the graphic display and note how the
small black square, the snap cursor, finds points in all of the displayed
layers.
A dark green rock unit has been logged at the western side of the drilling,
and it’s now appropriate to produce a simple interpretation of this unit.
6. Move the mouse until the snap cursor is at one of the dark green
contacts, taking care to not obscure it with the mouse cursor. 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), press
the Esc key. Vizex will automatically close the polygon.
9. Display the Properties window and set the String value to ANDS. Your
display should resemble the following diagram.
Save a mouse click: Keep the Properties window visible
The Properties window is a dockable window that behaves in exactly

the same way as the Vizex Forms and Display panes. Keep it visible if
you’re doing a lot of editing. Provided it’s visible you only need to single-
click an object to change its properties.

Notes: In the next part of this exercise you’ll use Follow mode to create a hanging
wall unit west of the red HW1 polygon.
10. Click the New Polygon button to create another new polygon.
11. Position the mouse so that the snapping cursor highlights the upper,
westernmost point in the red HW1 unit.
12. Drag the mouse down the western side of HW1. As you proceed, you’ll
see a faint line appear along that edge. When you’ve reached the
bottom of HW1, release the mouse. Vizex will immediately draw the
shared line.
13. Click the next point in the MV1 (blue) unit and drag downwards so that
your new hangingwall unit extends to the bottom of the existing rocks.
14. Optional: Move (don’t drag) the mouse to the eastern side of the ANDS
unit you just created, and continue creating the polygon by dragging
the mouse up that side. Finally, drag the mouse along the ground
surface profile, back towards the HW1 unit.
15. Press Esc to finish and close the polygon.
16. Optional: Double-click it to set the properties; give it the String DACT.
17. At this point your new polygon should resemble this:
18. Once you’re satisfied with your digitising, press Ctrl+S to save the edits.
Leave the display intact for the next exercise.
Layer precedence and Follow Mode
Vizex uses layer precedence to determine which line to follow, which is

important whenever there are coincident points in multiple layers. If
Vizex won’t follow the correct lines, move the target layer to the top of
the layer list in the Display pane.

Creating New Files Notes:
You often need to create new files for editing within Vizex, for example to
start a new sectional drillhole interpretation, an air-photo interpretation, or
heads-up digitising over a scanned paper map.
Creating new point, string, and outline files in Vizex is straightforward: pull
down the Select Active Layer list on the Vizex Layers toolbar and choose
[New] (Layer type)... from the list. For example, to create a new string file,
pull down the list and choose [New] String....
Once you’ve made the selection, Vizex will place a new layer in the Display
pane, which is named Untitled (Untitled.ext) and is automatically set as
the active layer. (Ext varies according to the layer type you requested – DAT
for points, STR for strings, and OUT for outlines.) Untitled appears twice
because the form set and the underlying file both have no title at this point.
Controlling the newly created file structure
Vizex creates a file with a default structure when you use the Select
Active Layer list to create a point or string file. If you want to create a file
with a custom structure, use this alternative method:
Double-click the Points or Strings form set (as required) in the Vizex
Forms pane to display the appropriate dialog. Next, right-click the File
response on the dialog and choose New from the pop-up menu. Enter the
file name, choose the file type, and then manually define the structure
using the method you learned in Part 1.
A minimal string file should contain these five fields:
· EASTING, NORTHING, and RL (ELEVATION): Numeric fields with

widths and precisions appropriate for your project.
· STRING: A character field with a width of between 5 and 20
characters. Use this as a label field to identify what a particular string
represents (such as a road, fence, oxidation surface boundary, fault,
etc.).
· JOIN: A numeric field with a width of about 8 characters and zero
decimals. Vizex automatically places values into this field, which it
uses to identify when one feature ends and another begins.
A minimal point file should contain the 3D coordinate fields.

Notes: Both file types can have as many optional fields as needed. If you
regularly create files using this method, consider creating a template and
using that to speed the process. Although we recommend naming the
fields as listed, you can use any field names that suit the purpose. For
example, it’s common to use a LABEL field as a string field.
Interpreting 3D Solids
One of the primary reasons for displaying drillhole data is for interpretation.
Normally you display your drillholes in a vertical section along with ancillary
data such as faults and oxidation surface boundaries, and do your
interpretation right on the screen.
Before we start an interpretation exercise we need to summarise the

prerequisites and conventions that you should use.
The prerequisites are:
· You’ve validated your drillhole data (see Part 1 – MICROMINE Basics);

· You’ve loaded the appropriate information into the display (assays,
lithologies, existing wireframes or interpretations, block models, or pit
shells as required). You’ll use these objects as snapping targets while
digitising;
· The display is set to the correct orientation, location, and thickness.
You can set the display to any orientation, including 3D, for
interpretation. Additionally, you can simultaneously edit in multiple
windows, say in plan and cross section.
Naming the Interpreted Features

Within a given file, you should name each feature according to the real-world
object you’re drawing. If you’re digitising Number Four Lode, then give it a
name like NO4. As you progress from one section to the next, if it’s the same
feature, keep giving it the same name.
Whenever there’s more than one feature in a particular section, give each
one a unique name. So, if a particular feature is bifurcated or splayed, for
example by a fault, use a suffix (e.g. NO4_F for Number Four Lode Footwall)
to keep the names unique.
Although you’re not forced to use this convention for naming interpreted
strings your workflow will proceed more smoothly if you do. It will also
pay dividends when you turn your attention to wireframing.

Notes:
Main Main Main Main_F
Exercise 4.3: Set up a new string file
In Exercise 4.1 we edited an existing string file. In this exercise we’ll create a
new string file, and use that to make a 3D geological interpretation of a
quartz vein that extends through the entire project.
Before we create the new file and begin our interpretation, we’ll prepare the
display:
1. Right-click the Sectional geology interp layer in the Display pane and
choose Remove from the pop-up menu.
2. Repeat for the Base of oxide layer.
3. Double-click the named section 15760mN in the Sections window to go
directly to that section.
4. Alternatively, choose the LOOKING NORTH standard section and then
choose 15760 from the Section or Elevation box on the Sections
toolbar. This is the first (southern-most) section in the project.
Now create the new string file:
5. Pull down the Select Active Layer list in the Vizex Layers toolbar and
choose [New] String... from the list. Note how Vizex places a new layer
called Untitled (Untitled.str) in the Display pane.
In the next exercise you’ll start editing the new file to produce a geological
interpretation.

Notes: Interpretation Steps

At this point it’s tempting to just jump in and start interpreting the geology,
but as with most tasks a systematic approach will produce a better result.
Generally, you should use a two-stage approach for your interpretation:
· First, digitise the Facts by Snapping to all available information;
· Then, digitise the Interpretation by using Insert Points mode, which you
normally use with Snap Mode turned off.
Why should you use this approach? Initially concentrating on the facts by
snapping to existing points will provide Vizex with a 3D coordinate framework
for your new feature. By inserting the interpreted points into this framework,
you allow Vizex to place points at their true 3D coordinate, which produces
the most accurate possible result. If you had started freehand digitising,
Vizex would be forced to put the new points exactly into the plane of the
section, which might not correspond to the plane of the drillholes.

Exercise 4.4: Interpret the quartz vein, making use of Notes:

all available data
In this exercise you’ll create an interpretation of the quartz vein shown in red
on the cross section. The aim here is not to produce a geologically
meaningful result, but to understand how to set up a new interpretation
using the tools and techniques you’ve learnt so far. Therefore, don’t worry if
your new polygon looks a little ... creative.
1. Click the New Polygon button to start drawing a new polygon.
First, digitise the facts:
2. Click the Snap Mode button (or press the S key) to enable Snap Mode,
ensuring that it’s set to Snap to Point.
3. Digitise a polygon around the red drillhole intervals to produce a basic
quartz vein shape, observing the location of the snapping cursor as you
go. Don’t extend beyond the drillhole data at this point.
4. Press Esc to finish and close the polygon.
Now you can focus on the interpretation:
5. Click the Insert Points button (or press the I key) to activate Insert
Points mode.
6. Click the Snap Mode button (or press the S key) to turn off Snap Mode.
7. Insert points wherever you’d like by clicking on a string segment and
dragging each newly created point to its final location.

Notes: Finally, name the string:
8. With the string still selected, click the String response in the
Properties window and enter the name VEIN. Press Enter to apply the
change. It should resemble the preceding diagram.
Optional: Continue the interpretation:
9. Move to section 15790mN in your section control file and repeat the
above steps to interpret the vein on the new section.
10. If time permits, interpret the vein on other sections in the SCF.
Now, save your work (you may need it for wireframing elsewhere in your
training):
11. Once you’ve completed the interpretation, right-click the Untitled

(Untitled.str) layer in the Display pane and choose Save As from the
pop-up menu.
12. Enter the File Name Geology and set the File Type to STRING. Click
OK to save the file.
13. Right-click the just-saved Untitled (Geology.STR) layer in the Display
pane and choose Save Form As from the pop-up menu.
14. Enter the Title My geology interpretation and click OK to save the form
set.
15. Select Edit | Remove All from the main menu to clean up the display
in preparation for the next exercise.

In this lesson you learned to do spatial editing in Vizex, including using the
various editing modes, the editing tools, and context menus. You also
learned how to perform a sectional interpretation.
To start editing:
Make changes to an editable layer, or

Set a layer as the active layer using the Select Active Layer list, or
Set a layer as the active layer by right-clicking it and choosing Active
Layer from the pop-up menu, or
Create a new editable layer on the fly by choosing [New] (Layer type)...
from the Select Active Layer list.
To save changes to a layer:
Right-click the layer in the Display pane and choose Save or Save
As... from the pop-up menu, or
Highlight the edited layer in the Display pane and choose File | Save
or File | Save As... from the menu, or press Ctrl+S, or
Select File | Save All from the menu, or press Ctrl+Shift+S.
To create a new file:
Create a new editable layer on the fly by choosing [New] (Layer type)...
from the Select Active Layer list, or
Double-click the appropriate Vizex form set in the Vizex Forms pane,
then right-click the File response and select New from the pop-up
menu.
To create a new point, string, or polygon:
Click the New Points, New String, or New Polygon button, or
Right click and choose New String.
To finish a new feature:
Double-click the last point, or

Press Esc, or
Close the string by clicking the last point over the first, or
Right click and select Close String.
To move a point or string:
Click the point or string and drag it to its new location

To copy a string:
Hold the Ctrl key, then click and drag the string to produce a copy.
To delete a string:
Select the string, then press the Delete key, or

Right-click and choose Delete String from the pop-up menu.
To toggle Insert Points mode:
Click the Insert Points toolbar button (or press the I key) and click a
string segment.
To delete a point:
Hold the Ctrl key and click the point.
To toggle Snap Mode:
Click the Snap Mode toolbar button (or press the S key).
To select a snapping method:
Select Snap to Point, Snap to Line, Snap to Grid, or Snap to Intersection

from the pull-down menu at the right of the Snap Mode button, or
Press Shift+S to cycle through the snap modes.
To follow an object:
With Snap Mode enabled, click and drag the mouse along the object
boundary.
If Vizex won’t follow the object boundary, move that object’s layer to the
top of the Display pane layer list.
To interpret a new feature:
Digitise the facts using Snap Mode, and then

Digitise the interpretation using Insert Points mode.
To name a new feature in a file:
Display the Properties window.

Name it according to the real-world object you’re digitising.
If it’s the same feature from section to section, give it the same name.
Use a suffix to name bifurcations and splays.

Lesson 4 Summary (continued) Notes:
To be automatically prompted to set properties whenever you create a new

feature:
Select Tools | Options | Vizex from the menu, and

Activate the String Editor tab, then
Set Prompt to edit properties on adding a new string.
Good Practice
Always keep the three editing toolbars (Vizex Layers, Edit Strings, Vizex
Tools) visible so that you can begin editing at any time. Similarly, keep the
Properties window visible open so that you can set the properties of a
newly-created feature by single-clicking it.
Become familiar with the keyboard and right-click shortcuts so you can
accelerate 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.
If you require a different file structure to the default structure produced by

the [New] (Layer type)... option, create an appropriate file template and use
that to create a new file using the right-click | New method.
A useful way to systemise the sectional interpretation process is to break it

down to a few lines:
· Same feature, same name

· Facts by snapping (Snap Mode on)
· Interpretation by inserting (Insert Points mode on)
Help Topics
Spatial editing toolbars [Index] > Edit Strings > Toolbar
Spatial editing functions [Index] > Edit Strings > Menu Options
Vizex Layers View > Toolbars > Vizex Layers (link on page)
The Active Layer [Index] > Active Layer
Property window View > Property Window
Displaying points Display >Vizex > Points

Notes:
DTMs
A Digital Terrain Model (DTM) is a means of representing a 3D surface using

a network of connected triangle facets. DTMs, also known as DEMs (Digital
Elevation Models) and TINs (Triangulated Irregular Networks), are usually
used to represent real physical surfaces like topography, open pits, waste
dumps, and so on.
· Build a DTM from a string file of topographic contours;

· Apply a colour set to a DTM;
· Drape an image on a DTM;
· Adjust the transparency of a DTM.
Introducing Digital Terrain Models

(DTMs)
Vizex allows you to generate a DTM directly from strings or points in the
display, which is especially useful if you’ve just finished a pit design and want
to produce a pit shell, or if you’ve edited some photogrammetric data and
want to produce a topographic surface.
There are two ways to create a DTM, depending on your preferences:
· Select the desired strings from a display layer and click the Create DTM
button;
· Click the Create DTM button and then follow the instructions in the
Selection Assistant.
You’ll optionally be asked to use another string to restrict the extents of the
DTM, and will then be asked for a wireframe Type and Name, after which
Vizex will produce the new DTM. The wireframe Type gives you a convenient
way to group similar wireframes; for example, you might have DTMs of pre-
and post-mining topography, along with a proposed pit shell, all of which
could be grouped under the DTM wireframe Type. The Name is any name
you specify.
Creating a DTM requires the MICROMINE Exploration module.
Create DTM automatically treats the input strings as break-lines, which

means the resulting wireframe will exactly honour the input data. The
Process as contours option is set by default and prevents contour lines
from being connected back to themselves, avoiding flat triangles in the

process (which is best for topographic contours). Disabling this will allow the Notes:
creation of flat triangles (suitable for pit designs with haul roads).
Wireframes, triangulations, DTMs, DEMs, surfaces, TINs,

3D solids – what’s with all the names?
All of these objects represent 3D shapes constructed from networks of

connected triangle facets, and the names are generally interchangeable.
Wireframe and triangulation are catch-all terms for any 3D shape made
of triangles. By definition, DTMs, DEMs and TINs represent simple
surfaces that cannot fold back over themselves. On the other hand, 3D
solids can be any shape.
Exercise 5.1: Create a topographic DTM
In this exercise you’ll use the topographic contours you imported from
ArcView to produce a topographic DTM.
First, create the view and select the Create DTM option:
1. Expand the Strings form set type by clicking its [+] icon in the Vizex
Forms pane.
2. Drag the Topographic contours form set into the graphic display. Vizex
will load the contours you created earlier.
3. Click the Create DTM toolbar button to display the Selection Assistant.
The Selection Assistant will begin with Step 1 highlighted, asking you to
select the strings from which it can create the DTM. It’s also automatically
activated the Select Tool. You’re now ready to select the contour lines:
4. Drag a rectangle that encompasses all of the contour lines. The selected
lines will be highlighted when you release the mouse,. If you didn’t
select all of the lines, drag a larger rectangle. You can repeat this
process as often as needed.
5. Click the Accept Selection button to proceed to Step 2, which asks you
to specify an optional restriction string.
6. There is no restriction string, so click Accept Selection again to
proceed to the Build DTM dialog.
7. On the Build DTM dialog, double-click the Type response and choose
DTM.tdb from the list, then enter the Name TOPO.

Notes: 8. Click the Attributes... button and change the Colour from black to
green. Close the Wireframe Properties dialog once you’ve done this.
Although there is an Auto-load option on this dialog, we need to learn

about the options for manually loading a wireframe so we won’t use it here.
9. Ensure Auto-load the created wireframe is disabled.

10. Ensure Process as contours is enabled.
11. Click OK to build the DTM.
Now you can manually load the newly created DTM:
12. Double-click the Wireframes form set type in the Vizex Forms pane.
13. Ensure that the Input Data tab is active and the Wireframe group is
set to Single.
14. Double-click the Type response and choose DTM.tdb from the list.
15. Double-click the Name response and choose TOPO from the list.
16. Switch to the Draw Options tab and set the Draw Style to 3D
Shaded.
17. Enable Use Colour coding and double-click the Colour set response.
18. Choose NVG_TOPO DTM colours from the list of available colour sets.
19. At this point the DTM is worth inspecting, so click OK to display it. Your
display should look like the following diagram.

Notes:
Draping Images onto DTMs

Using a DTM in combination with a georeferenced air photo makes it possible
to display a semi-realistic representation of a topographic surface. The
technique of positioning an image on a 3D surface is known as draping.
Exercise 5.2: Drape an air photo onto the topographic

DTM
In this exercise you’ll drape an air photo onto the DTM. Begin by opening the
Wireframes dialog and specifying the name of the image file:
1. Double-click the Untitled (DTM TOPO) layer in the Display pane to open
its dialog. It will open back on the Draw Options tab, which is where you
last left it.
2. Switch to the Drape Options tab and choose Image.
3. Click the browse […] button next to the Image file response and
navigate to the Import folder. Select the MMI_IMAGE.ECW file.
4. Ensure the Georeference option is enabled.
Vizex will automatically choose Micromine (GRF) georeferencing from the

Source list.
Now save the settings as a form set:
5. Click the Save As button and save a form set with the Title Topo DTM
with airphoto.

Notes: 6. Click OK on the Save Current Values and Wireframes dialogs to display
the modified DTM.
At this point the display should resemble the following illustration:
Optional: If needed, change the transparency of the DTM by changing the

Transparency slider on the Display Options tab.
7. Double-click the Topo DTM with airphoto layer in the Display pane to
open the dialog.
8. Switch to the Advanced Options 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 Edit |
Remove All from the menu to clean up the display, answering No
when prompted to save changes.
Plotting views containing wireframes
To plot a view containing an image draped on a wireframe, first save the

view as a Saved View, and then select Plot | Generate Vizex 3D
Plot from the menu. A 3D Plot is drawn directly from a Vizex view and
can correctly handle the draping, texturing, and shading of a wireframe.
If you generate a regular plot file instead, the Plot Editor won’t be able to
correctly interpret the wireframe and it may be drawn poorly, if at all.
More information on plotting is in Part 4 – Plotting 1.

In this lesson you learned to create and work with DTMs.
To create a DTM:
Select the desired strings from a display layer and click the Create DTM
button, or
Click the Create DTM button and then follow the Selection Assistant.
To load a DTM:
Double-click the Wireframes Vizex form set in the Vizex Forms pane,
and
Set up the Wireframes dialog as needed.
To drape an image on a DTM:
Switch to the Drape Options tab on the Wireframes dialog, then

Select Image mode, and
Browse to the desired Image file, then
Choose the appropriate Georeferencing options.
Good Practice
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
when you display it.
You should not use a colour set to change the default colour of a wireframe.
Instead, right-click its Name on any dialog that references it and change the
colour on the Wireframe Properties dialog.
Use 3D Shaded display mode to display a DTM in 3D, particularly if you want
to drape an image on it. However, switch to 2D Slice mode whenever the
DTM needs to appear as a profile in a vertical section. You can change the
draw style of a wireframe at any time by right-clicking the layer in the
Display pane and choosing Draw Style from the pop-up menu.
Auto draw style will automatically switch between 3D Shaded mode in plan
view and 2D Slice mode in section view.

Help Topics
Building a DTM [Index] > Vizex > Tools >

Generate a surface DTM (link on page)
Loading a wireframe Display >Vizex > Wireframe
Draw Style Display >Vizex > Wireframe > Draw options
Draping an image Display >Vizex > Wireframe > Drape options

3D
Presentation
.
MICROMINE Version 2010 (12.0) Training Part 3 – 3D Presentation

3D Presentation
INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................................................. 1
LESSON 1 – CREATING A REALISTIC DISPLAY ............................................................................ 2
DRAPING AN IMAGE ONTO A DTM ......................................................................................................................... 2
ENABLING PERSPECTIVE MODE ............................................................................................................................. 4
SETTING THE BACKGROUND COLOUR ..................................................................................................................... 4
CONTROLLING THE LIGHTING ............................................................................................................................... 6
PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER.................................................................................................................................. 8
Hiding the Horizon ..................................................................................................................................... 8
CHANGING SURFACE SHININESS............................................................................................................................ 9
LESSON 2 – CREATING A FLY-THROUGH ANIMATION ............................................................... 13
INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................................................... 13
CREATING A FLIGHT PATH ................................................................................................................................. 14
SETTING FLIGHT PATH OPTIONS......................................................................................................................... 16
REFINING A FLIGHT PATH.................................................................................................................................. 17
RENDER A FLY-THROUGH AS A WINDOWS MEDIA FILE............................................................................................. 19
LESSON 3 – SAVING AND CREATING OTHER OUTPUT ............................................................... 25
INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................................................... 25
SAVING A 3D VIEW.......................................................................................................................................... 25
LOADING A SAVED 3D VIEW .............................................................................................................................. 26
CREATING A VIZEX 3D PLOT .............................................................................................................................. 26
GENERATING A SCREENSHOT.............................................................................................................................. 26
PRODUCING A VIRTUAL REALITY FILE .................................................................................................................. 27
SIDEBARS
Limitations of image draping ............................................................................................................................. 4

Sky blue? .......................................................................................................................................................... 6
Restoring classic MICROMINE lighting ............................................................................................................... 7
Record viewpoints first .................................................................................................................................... 14
Creating a fly-through: art or science?............................................................................................................. 19
What size should I make my video?................................................................................................................. 21
What’s video compression, what’s a video codec and how do I choose one? ................................................... 21
Choosing a virtual reality viewer ...................................................................................................................... 28
TABLES
Table 2.1: Common TV video sizes and frame rates ........................................................................................ 24

Table 2.2: Common computer video sizes and frame rates .............................................................................. 24

Part 3 – 3D Presentation MICROMINE Version 2010 (12.0) Training

3D Presentation
EXERCISES
Optional Exercise 1.1: Drape an image onto a DTM............................................................................................2

Exercise 1.2: Enable Perspective Mode ...............................................................................................................4
Exercise 1.3: Set the background colour.............................................................................................................5
Exercise 1.4: Add a light ....................................................................................................................................7
Exercise 1.5: Create a realistic 3D view ..............................................................................................................9
Exercise 2.1: Create a fly-through ....................................................................................................................14
Exercise 2.2: Set flight path options .................................................................................................................16
Exercise 2.3: Refine the flight path by making direct edits to the string............................................................18
Exercise 2.4: Render the fly-through as a Windows media file..........................................................................20
Exercise 3.1: Save the 3D view ........................................................................................................................25
Exercise 3.2: Load a Saved View ......................................................................................................................26
Exercise 3.3: Create a Vizex 3D Plot .................................................................................................................26
Exercise 3.4: Generate a high-resolution screenshot.........................................................................................27
Exercise 3.5: Export a virtual reality file............................................................................................................28
Exercise 3.6: Restore the original lighting and background ...............................................................................28

Notes:
Introduction
Communicating complex 3D ideas to non-technical audiences is an important
part of the resource development workflow. Whether your audience includes
joint venture partners, potential investors, or local townsfolk, they’re unlikely
to have ever used 3D modelling software and most probably lack the 3D
acuity to mentally convert a printed plan or cross section into a 3D model.
For example, the two images below cover essentially the same area.
Although an earth scientist could easily interpret the upper image and
mentally picture the data in 3D, the lower image will have a far greater
impact on a non-technical person. The people who invest in a project or
approve project funding are often non-technicians so it quite literally pays to
present your project data in a format they can understand.
The following lessons will teach you the basics of creating a realistic display,
creating and rendering a fly-through animation as a Windows media file, and
saving the display in a variety of 3D formats.

Notes:
Lesson 1 – Creating a
Realistic Display
One of the simplest ways to produce a semi-realistic 3D display is to take an

air photo or satellite image and drape it onto a digital elevation model
(DTM). The 2D image will mould to the 3D shape of the DTM, increasing the
realism of the DTM. Doing this in a 3D perspective view with the appropriate
lighting and background options will further enhance the realism of the
display.
· Drape an image onto a DTM;

· Toggle between perspective and orthogonal display modes;
· Set a realistic sky background colour, and
· Control lighting and surface shininess.
Draping an Image onto a DTM

In the following exercise, which is revision of Exercise 5.2 in Part 2 –
Displaying and Manipulating Data, you’ll drape an image onto your DTM as
the first step towards producing a pseudo-realistic display.
Optional Exercise 1.1: Drape an image onto a DTM
To drape an image we begin by loading the DTM wireframe:
1. Double-click the Wireframes object in the Vizex Forms tree.

2. Switch to the Input Data tab on the Wireframes dialog, and ensure
the Single option is selected.
3. Double-click the Type response and choose DTM.tdb from the list. Next,
double-click the Name response and choose TOPO from the list.
4. Switch to the Draw Options tab. Ensure the Draw Style is set to 3D
Shaded and Use Colour Coding is disabled.
With the DTM loaded we can now drape the image:
5. Switch to the Drape Options tab and select the Image option.
6. Double-click the Image file response (or click the browse [...] button)
and navigate to the Import folder. Select MMI_IMAGE.ecw from the list.
7. Vizex will automatically set the Georeference Source to Micromine
(GRF). The dialog should resemble this:

Notes:
Now that the settings are defined we can save them as a form set:
8. Click the Save As button and save a form set with the Title Topo DTM
with airphoto.
9. Click OK to display the draped image on the wireframe.
At this point the display should resemble the following illustration:
The draped appearance of the image will be more realistic if the image and
DTM both contain enough detail. You must also ensure that the image is
referenced to the same coordinate system as the DTM, otherwise it won’t
drape properly.
You can optionally control the transparency of the DTM by changing the
Transparency slider on the Advanced Options tab. This tab also allows
you to control the amount of smoothing in the triangle edges by adjusting
the Smooth Wireframe slider.

Notes: Limitations of image draping
Your graphics card controls the amount of detail that can be draped onto
a wireframe. To inspect this amount, select Tools | Check Graphics
Configuration from the main menu. The Maximum texture size
shows the maximum amount of detail that can be draped. Images larger
than this will be sub-sampled to fit.
Enabling Perspective Mode

If you’ve ever stood on a set of railway tracks you’ll know they appear to
converge over distance even though they are actually parallel. Tracks that
are straight over a long distance, such as on Australia’s Nullarbor Plain or the
North American prairies, will ultimately appear to converge at a point near
the horizon. This is known as vanishing point perspective and is one of
the visual cues that we use to judge distance and depth in the real world.
Vizex uses the same principle for producing a realistic 3D view: features that
are further from the current viewpoint will be smaller than features close to
it, and parallel lines will appear to converge over distance. You achieve this
by selecting Perspective Mode on the View toolbar. Without it your 3D
data will be drawn in orthogonal mode and will appear as a magnified view
seen from a great distance.
However, Perspective Mode can be distracting when viewing a plan or

vertical section, and can be downright misleading when you’re drawing
interpreted or design strings. Because if this, is not enabled by default.
You’ll inspect the effect of Perspective Mode in the next exercise.
Exercise 1.2: Enable Perspective Mode
To enable Perspective Mode:
1. Click the Perspective Mode button on the View toolbar and inspect its
effect on the data.
2. Use the Rotate Tool to turn the view in 3D so you are looking at the
DTM from a low angle.
3. Toggle Perspective Mode on and off and inspect its effect. Note how
the sense of depth is severely diminished when it’s turned off.
4. Leave it turned on in preparation for the next exercise.
Setting the Background Colour

The background colour is an important aspect of any realistic 3D display. The
outdoor sky generally doesn’t appear black, white, or grey, so it’s desirable to
use a sky-blue colour instead.

Vizex offers three different background colour modes, which are accessible Notes:
from the View | Vizex Background Options menu:
· Simple: Displays a single background colour;

· Gradient: Smoothly grades between two colours from the top to the
bottom of the screen. This mode is useful for lessening the visual impact
of using a single colour;
· Sky and Ground: Uses any combination of colour ramps or colour sets
to independently control the sky and ground colours.
You’ll use Sky and Ground in the following exercise.
Exercise 1.3: Set the background colour
To set the background colour using Sky and Ground mode:
1. From the main menu, select View | Vizex Background Options.

2. Select the Sky and Ground option.
The colours for Sky and Ground mode are already set by default, but it’s
useful to inspect them before applying them to the view.
3. Right-click the Colour set response for the Sky Hemisphere and
choose Edit from the pop-up menu.
Sky colours are defined in terms of altitude above the horizon, measured in
degrees from zero (the horizon) to 90 (the zenith). Note that 0 and 90 do not
appear as they are implied by the first and last ranges in the colour set. Also
note how the sky is pale near the horizon, becomes darker as the altitude
increases, and then becomes pale again approaching the zenith.
4. Click Cancel to close the colour set.

5. Inspect the Ramp settings for the Ground Hemisphere.
Ground colours are defined very simply, using a pale brown at the nadir
(directly below) and slowly grading to a darker brown at the horizon.
6. Click OK to apply Sky and Ground mode to the display.

7. Use the Rotate Tool to turn the view in 3D so that the horizon crosses
near the middle of the screen. Your display should resemble this:

Notes:
Sky blue?
The sky is a much lighter blue than many people realise, especially near
the horizon. Additionally, the gradation of colour in the sky is not linear;
instead the colour changes quickly within about 15° of the horizon, and
much more slowly as the altitude increases towards the zenith (90°).
The Sky Hemisphere colours have been created to accurately simulate

this change of colour.
Controlling the Lighting

Lighting is another important aspect of producing a realistic 3D display.
Select View | Vizex Lighting Options from the main menu to control the
lighting in Vizex.
Vizex provides two types of light:
· Scene Light: One or more point lights that cast a glow evenly in all
directions, which can be positioned anywhere relative to the data;
· Head Light: A point light that illuminates the data from the viewing
position, literally like the headlights of a vehicle. Because it always
originates from the viewing position, shadows and highlights will change
as you rotate the data in 3D.
In the following exercise you’ll add a third light to illuminate the hillsides
from the south, which currently appear a little too dark.

Exercise 1.4: Add a light Notes:
To add the light:
1. From the main menu, select View | Vizex Lighting Options.

2. On the Vizex Lighting dialog, select Enable Light 3 and enter the
following values:
Prompt Setting
Azimuth: 180
Altitude: 60
3. Click OK to apply the new light and note the effect on the DTM as you
do so. Your display should resemble the following diagram (compare this
with Exercise 1.3):
4. Keep the view open in preparation for the next exercise.
Restoring classic MICROMINE lighting
Earlier MICROMINE versions used a different lighting model, which you

may want to restore under some circumstances. For compatibility the
Vizex Lighting dialog contains form sets for both Version 11 and 2010
default lighting. You can easily switch between them by clicking the
Forms button and choosing the desired form set.

Notes:
Putting it all Together
Producing a visually appealing 3D scene is as much art as it is science. In
addition to controlling technical aspects like draping, perspective,
background, and lighting it’s also important to consider the artistic
appearance of the view.
The most important technique for improving the appearance of a 3D view is

to always use Perspective Mode and Sky and Ground lighting.
For an above-ground view it’s also essential to create an illusion of a real

aerial view. Useful ways to do this are:
· Get close to the data so the screen hides the front, left- and right-hand
edges of the DTM, creating the illusion that the DTM continues forever;
· Position the viewpoint as if you were realistically flying above the data
at low altitude to create a sense of depth and drama, and
· Position the viewpoint so that the DTM hides the horizon, giving the
illusion that it is the horizon.
The horizon that MICROMINE draws (between the sky and ground
hemispheres) is situated at an infinite distance and an altitude of zero, just
like the real horizon. You can’t change its position (just like the real horizon),
so you may need to use other methods if you can’t hide it using the tips
above.
You’ll apply the techniques for creating an aerial view illusion in the next
exercise.
Hiding the Horizon

The best way to hide the horizon is to extend your DTM well beyond the
project area. If you don’t have enough data to do this you can either “invent”
temporary data just for the 3D presentation, or download regional digital
elevation data from an online source. Government organisations like
Geoscience Australia (GA), the United States Geological Survey (USGS), and
the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM), amongst others, are good
sources of free elevation data, although you may need to use GIS software
to convert them into a format that MICROMINE can understand.
SRTM data are available for most of the earth’s surface within 60° north
or south latitude.
Sky and Ground lighting may be inappropriate for an underground view

depending on the extents of the surface DTM. However, you can still create a
sense of depth and drama by positioning yourself next to and looking along a
drive, heading, or stope to make use of the converging parallel lines.

Exercise 1.5: Create a realistic 3D view Notes:
We’ve already done the preparatory work for the 3D view so the only
remaining task is to position the viewpoint in such a way that we create the
illusions described above.
1. Rotate, pan, and zoom the data until you produce a satisfactory view.
Your display might resemble this:
2. Compare this view with the one shown in Exercise 1.4, and keep it open
in preparation for the next lesson.
Although the change in viewpoint is subtle it has a major effect on the

illusion of reality. Within the limits set by the available data this view does
almost look like a photograph from the window of a low-flying aircraft, even
though we know the DTM stops just beyond the screen. In comparison,
because the edges of the DTM are visible in Exercise 1.4, that view looks
more like a model in a transparent box.
Changing Surface Shininess

The Vizex Lighting dialog also allows you to set the surface shininess of
objects such as grids, block models, and wireframes. Shininess is of limited
value when you’re creating a realistic 3D display but it is very useful for
revealing subtle texture in surfaces with little relief.
For example, consider the following scene (containing a topographic DTM

from a different project), which uses a headlight with no shininess. This
lighting model clearly reveals large features in the hilly terrain, but the flat
terrain to the right is almost completely featureless.

Notes:
In comparison, the scene below uses directional lights with around 30%
surface shininess. Note how a great deal more texture is visible in the flat
area to the right.
If these images had been of geophysical data you would expect to derive a
great deal more structural information from the second image, especially in
areas with low geophysical relief.

In this lesson you learned to create a realistic display.
To load a DTM and drape an image:
Double-click the Wireframes object in the Vizex Forms tree, then

Choose the appropriate Wireframe, and
Switch to the Drape Options tab, then
Load the image file, and
To enable Perspective Mode:
Click the Perspective Mode button on the View toolbar.
To change the background colour:
From the main menu, select View | Vizex Background Options, then
Choose the appropriate background mode, and
Set the appropriate colour(s) or colour set(s).
To control the lights:
From the main menu, select View | Vizex Lighting Options, then
Enable or disable a Scene Light or the Head Light as needed, and
Enter the Azimuth and Altitude of the desired Scene Light.
To change surface shininess:
From the main menu, select View | Vizex Lighting Options, and
Drag the Object Shininess slider to the appropriate level.
To produce a visually pleasing 3D view:
Always use Perspective Mode and Sky and Ground backgrounds,

and
Create an illusion of realism by getting close to the data, so that:
The edges of the screen hide the edges of the DTM, and
The DTM hides the horizon.

Good Practice
Remember that creating a pleasing 3D view is as much art as it is science, so

take some time to consider the best viewpoint.
Many organisations provide free elevation data, so consider searching online

if you need to extend your DTM to create a better 3D view.
Help Topics
View toolbar View > Viewpoint > View toolbar
Creating a DTM (Vizex) View > Toolbars > Vizex Tools (link on page)
Creating a DTM (Menu) DTM > Creating a surface
Images Display > Vizex > Image >

Loading and displaying images
Background options View > Vizex Background Options
Lighting options View > Vizex Lighting Options

Lesson 2 – Creating a
Notes:
Fly-through Animation
Nowadays virtually every proposed highway or urban redevelopment is

shown in the mass media using a fly-through animation. Similarly, programs
like Google Earth™ make it possible for anyone to produce a fly-through
animation. In this lesson you’ll learn to create a fly-through in Vizex and
render it as a Windows media file.
· Understand some of the art behind creating a fly-through animation;

· Create a fly-through, and
· Render it as a Windows media file.
Introduction
A fly-through serves the same purpose as the 3D view we created in
Lesson 1 – it presents complex data in a realistic and easily digestible format.
The camera movement in a fly-through creates an enhanced sense of depth
— nearby objects move past more quickly than distant ones — and an
enhanced sense of drama. It also allows you to naturally direct the viewers’
attention from one part of your project to another.
Creating a fly-through involves two tasks:
· Defining the path along which the camera will fly, called the flight
path. Each point in the flight path is called a viewpoint.
· Setting the direction in which the camera will look at each viewpoint in
the flight path, called the view direction.
The actual flight path and changes in view direction are smoothed on-the-fly,
requiring only a few viewpoints to create an entire fly-through. Once the
flight path file has been created it can be reloaded and replayed using any
data that exist within the same coordinate space as the original data.
Vizex will display the Flight Path toolbar while you’re editing or displaying a
fly-through. This toolbar is split into three sections and contains all of the
tools that you need to create or open, record, modify, play back, and create
a movie from a fly-through.
You use the buttons near the centre-left of the toolbar, highlighted below, to
manipulate the flight path.

Notes:
Play
Stop Playback
Move First
Move Previous
Move Next
Move Last
Insert After
Insert Before
Delete Current
Modify Current
Before creating a fly-through animation it’s important to plan the overall
flight path and the view direction of key viewpoints in the animation. This
process is known as storyboarding the fly-through. Work on the flight path
can begin once the storyboard is created.
Creating a Flight Path

As we’ve seen, creating a fly-through involves setting the location of
viewpoints in the flight path and the viewing direction of the camera at each
viewpoint. You can define these using any combination of:
· Recording viewpoints using the standard View controls to position the

camera, and then using one of the Insert buttons to record the
viewpoint, or
· Making direct edits to viewpoint coordinates and view directions as if the
flight path were an ordinary string file.
The easiest way to begin a fly-through is by recording viewpoints. You’ll

automatically produce the flight path as you define the key viewpoints from
your storyboard; from here you can make adjustments using direct edits on
the flight path string. In the next exercise you’ll explore the basic tools by
creating a simple fly-through using recorded viewpoints.
Record viewpoints first
Recording viewpoints is the safest way to begin a fly-through. It’s a visual

process that works well with the storyboard concept and produces a
ready-made flight path string. Once the basic flight path is recorded you
can finesse it by directly adjusting the string.
Exercise 2.1: Create a fly-through
Before we begin the fly-through we’ll storyboard its key viewpoints. This fly-
through will be a simple south-to-north “loop”. We’ll start with an overview,
fly in from the south, and then fly low over the hills towards the north. As we
reach the northern edge of the data we’ll look back towards the south but
continue flying upwards and away from the data in a northerly direction.
We’ll finish the flythrough where we began, giving us the opportunity to play
it as a continuous loop. The six key viewpoints are shown here:

Notes:
1 2 3 4 5 6
To give the flight path some context and give you the opportunity to fly
below-ground, we’ll begin by adding some drillhole data to the display:
1. Expand the Drillhole Trace list in the Vizex Forms pane and drag the
Example drillhole lithology form set into the display.
To create the flight path:
2. From the main menu, select View | Flight Path | New.
Vizex will add a Flight Path layer to the Display pane and display the
Flight Path toolbar.
Our first task is to create a viewpoint at the beginning of the fly-through.

We’ll also re-use it at the end so we’ll save it as a Display Limits form set
before continuing.
3. Click the Plan View button followed by the View All button (both on
the View toolbar) to reset the view. If necessary, manually adjust the
zoom level so the data resembles Viewpoint 1 of the storyboard.
4. Right-click anywhere within the Vizex window and choose Display
Limits from the pop-up menu.
5. On the Display Limits dialog, ensure the 3D View tab is active, then
click Forms followed by Save As. Set the Title to Flythru start-end and
click OK on both dialogs to return to Vizex.
6. Click the Insert After button on the Flight Path toolbar to record the
first viewpoint.
Now that the start (and end) viewpoint is defined we can record the rest of
the fly-through.
7. Rotate the view downwards (by pushing the data away) about 45° to
resemble Viewpoint 2, and click Insert After a second time.
8. Now zoom in and rotate the view until it resembles Viewpoint 3. Click
Insert After to record it.
9. Using the Seek Tool, click a point on the far side of the DTM to
immediately fly to it. Rotate the view horizontally by 180° so that it
resembles Viewpoint 4. Click Insert After to record it.
The Seek Tool is an excellent way to move beyond the middle of your
data.
10. Repeat the above steps to record Viewpoint 5.
Viewpoint 6 is the same as Viewpoint 1, so we’ll re-use the Display Limits

form set that we created earlier.

Notes: 11. Click the Sections tab at left of the screen to display the Sections
window, and then expand the Display Limits list.
12. Double-click Flythru start-end to apply it to the display, and then click
Insert After to record Viewpoint 6.
13. Save your work by clicking the Save toolbar button, or by selecting File
| Save from the main menu. Name the file TRAINING.
14. Finally, click the Play button to test your fly through.
You can reload a previously saved fly-through by selecting View | Flight

Path | Open from the menu, or by clicking the Open Flight Path File
toolbar button.
Note that the number of markers on the Flight Path Slider (to the right of
the toolbar buttons) corresponds to the number of viewpoints that you
recorded. If necessary, you can use this to advance to a particular viewpoint
in the fly-through.
Setting Flight Path Options

You probably noticed a black line trailing behind you when you recorded
Viewpoints 4, 5, and 6. This line is the flight path that you recorded, but it is
not the line that Vizex flew when you tested it. Instead, Vizex flew a
mathematically smoothed or splined version of the flight path.
You control the display of the spline, and other properties of the flight path,
through the Flight Path Options dialog, which you can display by clicking
the Flight Path Options toolbar button.
In addition to displaying the spline you can also control the Spline Tension.
Minimum tension produces a very smooth but ‘loose’ spline whereas
maximum tension forces the spline to closely follow your original flight path.
You control the duration of the fly-through using the Time option. The
number you enter here either represents the duration of the fly-through
(TOTAL FLIGHT PATH mode) or the time between viewpoints (BETWEEN
EACH VP mode). Use TOTAL to hold a constant flight speed, or BETWEEN to
vary the flight speed according to the distance between viewpoints: the
further apart they are, the faster the flight.
You’ll explore some of these options in the next exercise.
Exercise 2.2: Set flight path options
To set flight path options:

1. Click the Flight Path Options toolbar button, or alternatively, select Notes:
View | Flight Path | Flight Path Options from the menu.
2. Change the time value to 45 seconds and ensure that Mode is set to
TOTAL FLIGHT PATH.
3. Enable Display Spline and set the following options:
Prompt Setting
Colour: Red
Width: THIN
Type: DOT
4. Click OK to apply the changes.

5. Note the appearance of the spline, which is most easily seen if you click
the Looking West button followed by the View All button.
You can see that even with only six viewpoints the splined flight path is still
very smooth.
6. Play the fly-through and inspect the effect of the new time value.
7. Drag the Flight Path Slider back to Viewpoint 1 in preparation for the
next exercise.
Choose a time value that matches the amount of available time within
which to show the fly-through, for example to synchronise to a recorded
voiceover. But don’t make it too short or the fly-through will be too fast,
potentially nauseating your audience.
Refining a Flight Path

Creating a flight path by recording viewpoints, like we did in Exercise 2.1, is
a useful beginning, but the resulting flight path will most probably need some
refinement before it is considered a finished product. Refinements might
include:
· Adding or deleting viewpoints;

· Changing the location of a viewpoint;
· Changing the view direction of a viewpoint.
These changes can be made by either editing the flight path string with the
regular Vizex editing tools, or interactively using the tools on the Flight Path
toolbar; we’ll make the changes to the string in the next exercise. As you
adjust each viewpoint, the spline will automatically recalculate to show the
final result on the flight path.
Whenever you need to move a viewpoint set the view orientation so that
the intended movement is in the plane of the screen.

Notes: Exercise 2.3: Refine the flight path by making direct

edits to the string
In this exercise we’ll begin by modifying Viewpoints 3 and 4 so that the flight
path passes very close to the hillside.
We want to change the heights of these viewpoints so we’ll view the flight
path from one side to simplify the edits. To modify the viewpoints:
1. Using the Section Tool, draw a cross section parallel to the flight path
loop, so that you can see the entire loop from one side as shown here:
2. Adjust the position of Viewpoints 3 and 4 so that the spline (not the
original string) just grazes the top of the DTM.
Note how the spline automatically adjusts itself to the new viewpoint
locations. You may need a couple attempts to avoid sending the spline
below-ground.
3. Once you’re finished editing the flight path, click the Clip View button
to disable clipping.
4. Play the fly-through and inspect the effect of the changes.
You could also interactively make the same changes with the following
Flight Path tools:
· To interactively add a viewpoint, position the Flight Path Slider at the

viewpoint before it, then position the view as desired, and click the
Insert After button;

· To interactively delete a viewpoint, position the Flight Path Slider on Notes:

that viewpoint and click the Delete Current button;
· To interactively change the location of a viewpoint, position the Flight
Path Slider on that viewpoint, then position the view as desired and click
the Modify Current button to apply the change;
· To interactively change the view direction of a viewpoint, position the
Flight Path Slider on that viewpoint, then select the Rotate Tool and
point the camera as desired. Finally, click the Modify Current button to
apply the change.
Creating a fly-through: art or science?
Creating a fly-through is conceptually simple: You set up a series of

viewpoints and let MICROMINE fly between them. However, getting the
art right can be time-consuming so be prepared to invest some time if
you want to produce a quality result. Here are some suggestions:
· Always begin by recording storyboarded viewpoints so you can

literally see where you’re going. You can adjust the flight path string
later.
· When recording viewpoints always change two axes of movement at
a time. For example, simultaneously rotate the data away and move
inwards. Changing two axes eliminates the “robotic” effect that
occurs if only one axis is changed.
· You can use the Vizex editing tools to modify the flight path string.
For example, to simulate a “driver’s eye” view of an open pit mine,
digitise points along the haul road, drape them on the pit DTM, and
finally add 4 m to their elevations.
· By default the camera looks along the direction of flight. However,
you can use the Rotate View Direction tool to look in a different
direction. Be sure to use the Modify Current button to apply the
changes.
· You can also change the view direction directly within the VFLY file.
In ANGLE mode (the default) VALUE1 is the azimuth and VALUE2 the
inclination of the view. You can enter new values here, or leave them
blank to reset the view back to the direction of flight.
Render a Fly-through as a
Windows Media File
Although it’s easy to play a fly-through animation in MICROMINE, it can also
be played outside MICROMINE by rendering the fly-through as a Windows
media file. This makes it extremely versatile for events such as trade shows,
board meetings, or in-house presentations. Click the Create Movie button
to render a fly-through as a media file.

Notes: Exercise 2.4: Render the fly-through as a Windows

media file
To render the fly-through as a Windows media file:
1. In the Display window, click the checkbox next to the Flight Path
(TRAINING) layer to hide the flight path.
Clearly you don’t want to see it in the movie.
2. Click the Create Movie toolbar button, or alternatively select View |

Flight Path | Create Movie from the main menu.
3. Fill out the Create Movie dialog as shown:
Prompt Setting
File: TRAINING
Type: AVI
Compression method: Cinepak Codec by Radius
Quality: Around 80%
Width: 640
Height: 360
Frames/second: 30
Show live preview: Set
4. Click OK to render the video.

5. Let the video render for a minute, then press Esc to stop the process.
Answer Yes when prompted to interrupt processing.
6. To play the video, select File | Explore | Current Project and then
double-click the TRAINING.avi file. Windows will launch a media player
and play the video.
7. Close the media player when you’re done. However, keep Windows
Explorer open in preparation for the next lesson.
8. Right-click the Flight Path (TRAINING) layer and choose Remove from
the pop-up menu.
9. Optionally, close the Flight Path toolbar by right-clicking anywhere in a
blank toolbar area and deselecting it from the toolbar list.
10. Keep the display open in preparation for the next lesson.
Although you requested 30 frames per second when you rendered the movie,
this applies only to playback. The video will be recorded at the best frame
rate your computer can manage. If the data are complex this might be only
one or two frames per second; thus it might take several hours to render a
complex video.

What size should I make my video? Notes:
In the preceding exercise setting the dimensions to 640 x 360 produced

16:9 widescreen output in a relatively small window. For full high-
definition output you should set the dimensions to 1920 x 1080, but be
aware this will produce a much larger file – up to nine times larger.
Consider the destination use of the video when you choose a size and
frame rate. If it will be distributed online choose a small size and low
frame rate to keep the file size manageable. On the other hand, choose a
full high-definition (HD) widescreen format for maximum impact in a
boardroom presentation.
You should also consider the final output device. There is no point
rendering a full HD video if it will be shown on a 1024 x 768 projector;
you will only be wasting rendering time and disc space.
Table 2.1 and Table 2.2 at the end of the Lesson Summary list some
suggested video sizes and frame rates.
What’s video compression, what’s a video codec and how

do I choose one?
Video compression is a process that makes a video file small enough to

be manageable. Consider a four-minute full HD video: uncompressed it
would be nearly 42 GB (Gigabytes) in size! (If you don’t believe this, the
calculation is below.) Compressed, it will easily fit on a CD.
A video Codec (coder-decoder) carries out the compression process. The

codecs available to you will depend on your individual computer; be
aware that a video may not be compatible with other computers if you
render it using an obscure codec.
For maximum compatibility choose Cinepak Codec by Radius, which has

been available on all Windows computers and media players since 1993.
For a modern and higher-quality alternative consider DivX, which you can
download from: http://www.divx.com/divx/windows/codec/. However,
you’ll need to install this codec on any other machines required to play
your video.
(Note, although listed here, Micromine does not warrant or otherwise endorse this
product.)
Here’s the calculation:

1920 x 1080 (pixels) x 3 (colours) x 30 (frames/sec) x 60 (secs/min) x 4 minutes =
44,789,760,000 bytes. Divided by 10243 = 41.7 GB.

In this lesson you learned to create, modify, and render a fly-through

animation. These are the topics that we’ve covered:
To create a fly-through animation:
Storyboard the key viewpoints beforehand, optionally saving them as

Display Limits form sets, then
Select View | Flight Path | New from the menu, and
Visit each key viewpoint and click the Insert After button to add it to
the flight path.
To control the display and tension of the spline:
Click the Flight Path Options button, and

Enable Display Spline, then
Set the appropriate display properties
To edit a flight path directly on the string:
Set the view orientation so the edit will be applied in the plane of the
screen, then
Use the Select Tool to select to move a viewpoint, or
Ctrl+click a viewpoint to delete it, or
Use the Insert Points tool to add a viewpoint.
To interactively edit a flight path viewpoint:
To add a viewpoint, position the Flight Path Slider at the viewpoint

before it, position the view, and click the Insert After button, or
To delete a viewpoint, position the Flight Path Slider on that viewpoint
and click the Delete Current button, or
To change the location of a viewpoint, position the Flight Path Slider on
that viewpoint, position the view, and click the Modify Current button,
or
To change the view direction of a viewpoint, position the Flight Path
Slider on that viewpoint, select the Rotate View Direction tool, point
the camera, and click the Modify Current button.
To render a flight path as a Windows media file:
Turn off the Flight Path layer to hide the flight path, then
Click the Create Movie toolbar button, and
Enter the appropriate filename, type, compression (codec), size, and
frame rate settings.

To choose a video codec:
Use a widely available codec such as Cinepak for maximum

compatibility, or
Use a modern codec such as DivX, and
Distribute the appropriate codec to the destination computer(s).
To choose a video size and frame rate from the tables below:
Consider the video’s final use, and

Choose small dimensions and a low frame rate for online distribution, or
Choose full HD for a boardroom-style presentation on HD-capable
equipment.
Good Practice
Check the lighting and background beforehand. Ensure that all parts of your
data are adequately lit by adding lights if needed, and use the Sky and
Ground background to add realism to the fly-through.
Plan a storyboard of the key viewpoints before you start editing, saving each
viewpoint as a Display Limits form set if desired. Having an idea of the order
in which you visit different parts of your project will make it easier to create
the flight path afterwards.
Always begin a flight path by recording the key viewpoints from your
storyboard. This will give you visual control over the fly-through as you’ll
literally be able to see where you are going. The flight path string will be
automatically created as you go.
Display the spline so you can see the path that will actually be flown.
Whenever you need to move a viewpoint, set the view direction so that the
intended movement is in the plane of the screen.
Help Topics
Flight Paths View > Flight Path > ...
Lighting View > Vizex Lighting Options

Table 2.1: Common TV video sizes and frame rates

Width Height Frame Quality Name
Rate
320 240 30 70 VHS quality video
720 480 30 80 DVD quality video (NTSC)
720 576 25 80 DVD quality video (PAL)
1280 720 25 80 HD 720/25p quality video
1920 1080 30 85 Full HD 1080/30p quality video
1920 1080 60 85 Full HD Blu Ray quality video
Table 2.2: Common computer video sizes and frame rates

Width Height Frame Quality Name
Rate
320 180 15 75 CGA as widescreen
320 200 15 75 CGA
640 360 25 80 VGA as widescreen
640 480 25 80 VGA
800 450 25 80 SVGA as widescreen
800 600 25 80 SVGA
1024 576 30 80 XGA as widescreen
1024 768 25 80 XGA
1280 720 30 80 SXGA as widescreen
1280 1024 25 80 SXGA
1366 768 30 80 WXGA quality video
1680 1050 30 80 WSXGA quality video

Lesson 3 – Saving and

Notes:
Creating Other Output

In this lesson you’ll learn to create plot, image, and virtual reality output of
your 3D view, which can be used in other applications.
· Save and reload a 3D view;

· Create a Vizex 3D Plot;
· Generate a high-resolution screenshot for display in a report or
presentation;
· Export the view to a virtual reality file for display in a browser.
Introduction
The 3D views that we created in the preceding lessons serve many
communication purposes ranging from reports and presentations, to posters
and wall charts, to interactive virtual reality files. MICROMINE also provides
numerous tools to save or export a 3D view into a variety of formats that suit
these and other purposes.
Saving a 3D View
You often need to save a 3D view so that you can re-open it for later use.
This is easy in to do Vizex using the same Saved View concept you learned in
Part 2 – Displaying and Manipulating data. You simply choose View | Save
Vizex View from the menu. Alternatively, double-click the Saved Views
node in the Vizex Forms tree and then click the Save As button.
Exercise 3.1: Save the 3D view
To save the view:
1. Select View | Save Vizex View from the menu.

2. Enter the Title DTM and drilling, and click OK to save the view.
3. Select Edit | Remove All to remove all of the data from the display.

Notes:
Loading a Saved 3D View
Loading a saved view gives you a quick way to reload your data.
Exercise 3.2: Load a Saved View
To load a previously saved view:
1. Expand the Saved Views list in the Vizex Forms tree.

2. Drag the DTM and drilling saved view onto the graphic display.
Creating a Vizex 3D Plot

Any Vizex display, especially those in 3D, can be printed by creating a Vizex
3D Plot. These plots are covered in detail in Part 4 – Plotting 1, so this
exercise will only give you a preview of their capabilities. 3D Plots have the
advantage of remaining 3D, even in the Plot Editor, and being able to
correctly render the texture and shading of views containing wireframes,
draped images, grids, or block models.
Exercise 3.3: Create a Vizex 3D Plot
To create a Vizex 3D Plot:
1. Select Plot | Generate Vizex 3D Plot from the main menu.

2. Click once anywhere within the plot area to select the plot frame. Its
borders will be highlighted in red.
3. Select the Pan Data Within Frame button on the Plot Editor toolbar.
4. Hold the Shift key and drag the mouse around within the plot. Note
how the view can be rotated as if you were still in Vizex.
5. Hold the Ctrl key and drag the mouse vertically within the plot. Note
how the view can also be zoomed as if you were still in Vizex.
6. Close the Plot Editor window by clicking the [X] on the tab or upper
right corner of the window once you’re done.
Generating a Screenshot
Screenshots are frequently used in reports and presentations, and the Vizex
Generate Screenshot option offers one significant advantage over regular
Windows screen capture tools: you can adjust the resolution from 72 dpi to a
maximum of 600 dpi. To generate a Vizex screenshot, either click the

Generate Screenshot toolbar button or select View | Generate Notes:

Screenshot from the main menu.
Exercise 3.4: Generate a high-resolution screenshot
To generate the screenshot:
1. Rotate the view in 3D until it’s visually pleasing. Consider the techniques
covered in Lesson 1 as you do so.
2. Click the Generate Screenshot toolbar button. Alternatively, select
View | Generate Screenshot from the main menu.
3. Enter a Screenshot file name of Training_hires and set the Type to
JPEG (*.jpg).
4. Set the Background colour to white, and the Resolution to 150 DPI.
The Background colour is ignored if the Vizex background is set to

Gradient or Sky and Ground.
5. Redisplay Windows Explorer and then double-click the Training_hires.jpg

file. Windows will launch a picture viewer to display the image.
6. Display the image at 100% scale and note how it’s larger than the
original MICROMINE window.
7. Close the picture viewer when you’re done. However, keep Windows
Explorer open in preparation for the next exercise.
MICROMINE also saves a 3D georeferencing (.GRF) file with the image,

which means you can re-load it in Vizex. It will appear exactly where the
screen plane was when you generated the screenshot.
Producing a Virtual Reality File

Vizex allows you to export a 3D view as a virtual reality file, which you can
send to colleagues who have an Internet browser equipped with a virtual
reality plug-in. Your colleagues can then display the 3D view in their browser
in much the same way as you displayed it in Vizex.
This technique is excellent for sharing 3D models with remote site offices or
head offices where people may not have access to a MICROMINE licence.
VRML (Virtual Reality Markup Language) has been the standard virtual
reality format for many years, although it was recently replaced by the X3D
(eXtensible 3D Graphics) format. MICROMINE supports the creation of both
formats, although fewer plug-ins appear to support X3D.

Notes: Exercise 3.5: Export a virtual reality file
To export a virtual reality file:
1. With the 3D view displayed, select View | Export Vizex Scene to |

Virtual Reality File from the menu.
2. Enter an Output Name of TRAINING and set the Type to WRL.
3. In the Viewpoint Options group, enable Include current viewpoint
position.
4. Click OK to create the virtual reality file.
5. Redisplay Windows Explorer and then double-click the TRAINING.WRL
file. If a virtual reality plug-in is installed Windows will launch it and
display the view.
6. Inspect the tools provided by the plug-in and use them to pan, rotate,
and zoom around the data.
7. Once you’re done, close the virtual reality plug-in and Windows Explorer,
and then select Edit | Remove All from the MICROMINE menu.
Choosing a virtual reality viewer
The appropriate viewing software needs to be installed in order to display

a virtual reality file. Many viewers are freely available for download;
simply search for “VRML plug-in”.
Two useful plug-ins are:
Cortona3D Viewer, which is widely used but only supports VRML

(WRL) format. It can be downloaded from:
http://www.cortona3d.com/cortona.
Bitmanagement Software BS Contact, which supports both VRML and

X3D format. It can be downloaded from:
http://www.bitmanagement.com/en/download.
(Note, although listed here, Micromine does not warrant or otherwise endorse these
products.)
Exercise 3.6: Restore the original lighting and

background
Before moving to the next lesson it’s important to restore the lighting and
background to their original settings:
1. Select View | Vizex Background Options and change the

background back to Simple.
2. Select View | Vizex Lighting Options and turn off Enable Light 3.

In this lesson you learned to save and export a 3D view into a variety of
formats. The topics that we’ve covered are:
To save a 3D view:
Select View | Save Vizex View from the main menu, and
Enter the appropriate Title.
To load a 3D view:
Expand the Saved Views list in the Vizex Forms tree, and
Drag the appropriate view into the graphic display.
To create a Vizex 3D Plot:
Select Plot | Generate Vizex 3D Plot from the main menu.
To generate a high-resolution screenshot:
Click the Generate Screenshot toolbar button, and

Enter a Screenshot file name and set the desired Type, and
Set the Background colour and Resolution as needed.
To export a virtual reality file:
Select View | Export Vizex Scene to | Virtual Reality File from the
main menu, and
Enter the appropriate Output Name and set the Type to the desired
format, then
Optionally, enable Include current viewpoint position.
Good Practice
Creating a Saved View of an important 3D scene will allow you to revisit it in

future.
Vizex 3D Plots can be used in two ways: either directly from the current
Vizex view (the default), or referencing a Saved View. The current Vizex view
option allows you to immediately place any Vizex view into a 3D Plot.
You can interact with the data in a 3D Plot as if you were still in Vizex, which
is useful for refining the plot before printing it. See Part 4 – Plotting 1 for
more information on 3D Plots.
Use Generate Screenshot instead of a Windows screen capture utility so that

you have better control over the resolution and output file format.

Help Topics
Saving and loading View > Save Vizex View

a Vizex view
Vizex 3D Plots Plot Editor > Generating a Plot >

Generating a 3D Plot
Screenshots View > Generate Screenshot
Virtual reality files View > Export Vizex Scene to
VRML plug-ins http://cic.nist.gov/vrml/vbdetect.html
VRML standard http://www.web3d.org/x3d/vrml/
X3D standard http://www.web3d.org/x3d/

Plotting 1
.
MICROMINE Version 2010 (12.0) Training Part 4 – Plotting 1

Plotting 1
LESSON 1 – INTRODUCING THE PLOT EDITOR ........................................................................... 1

INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................................................. 1
INTRODUCING THE PLOT EDITOR .......................................................................................................................... 1
OPENING A 2D PLOT LAYOUT............................................................................................................................... 2
CHANGING THE PAPER SIZE ................................................................................................................................. 3
SCALING AND POSITIONING THE DATA ................................................................................................................... 4
CHANGING THE TITLE ......................................................................................................................................... 6
On the Plot Layout ..................................................................................................................................... 6
Using a Plot Form....................................................................................................................................... 7
SAVING A PLOT LAYOUT ...................................................................................................................................... 7
Revision: Automatically loading a plot file into the Plot Editor ..................................................................... 8
PRINTING A PLOT LAYOUT ................................................................................................................................... 8
SUPPORTED FRAME TYPES................................................................................................................................... 9
LESSON 2 – MODIFYING A PLOT LAYOUT ................................................................................. 13
INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................................................... 13
USING A TEMPLATE TO DISPLAY A PLAN VIEW ON A CROSS SECTION.......................................................................... 13
MODIFYING THE COORDINATE GRID .................................................................................................................... 15
ADDING A COMPANY LOGO ................................................................................................................................ 16
LESSON 3 – 3D PLOT LAYOUTS ................................................................................................ 20
INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................................................... 20
CREATING A 3D PLOT LAYOUT ........................................................................................................................... 20
MANIPULATING THE DATA IN 3D ........................................................................................................................ 22
SAVING THE 3D PLOT LAYOUT ........................................................................................................................... 22
OTHER USES FOR 3D PLOT LAYOUTS................................................................................................................... 23
LESSON 4 – WORKING WITH OLD PLOT FILES.......................................................................... 25
INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................................................... 25
DISPLAYING OLD PLOTS.................................................................................................................................... 26
Opening a Plot File ................................................................................................................................... 26
Importing an Old Plot Editor Form Set ...................................................................................................... 27
Loading a Plot File into an Existing Layout ................................................................................................ 28
CHOOSING THE B EST METHOD ........................................................................................................................... 30
SIDEBARS
The files that make a plot layout ....................................................................................................................... 2

Changing other Plot Settings ............................................................................................................................. 4
Putting plot content ‘in the frame’ ..................................................................................................................... 4
Dynamically rescaling a layout........................................................................................................................... 5
Creating a logo file .......................................................................................................................................... 19
3D Plot templates supplied with MICROMINE .................................................................................................. 21
3D Plot layouts plot direct from the data ......................................................................................................... 23

Part 4 – Plotting 1 MICROMINE Version 2010 (12.0) Training

Plotting 1
TABLES
Table 1.1: Supported Plot Editor frame types .....................................................................................................9
EXERCISES
Exercise 1.1: Open a plot layout.........................................................................................................................2

Exercise 1.2: Change the paper size ...................................................................................................................3
Exercise 1.3: Set the plot scale...........................................................................................................................4
Exercise 1.4: Position the data ...........................................................................................................................5
Exercise 1.5: Change the title on the plot layout ................................................................................................6
Exercise 1.6: Change the title using a plot form .................................................................................................7
Exercise 1.7: Save the plot layout ......................................................................................................................8
Exercise 1.8: Print the plot layout.......................................................................................................................8
Exercise 2.1: Display a plan view on the cross section ......................................................................................14
Exercise 2.2: Modify the coordinate grid display ...............................................................................................15
Exercise 2.3: Add a company logo....................................................................................................................17
Exercise 3.1: Create a 3D plot layout ...............................................................................................................20
Exercise 3.2: Pan, rotate, and zoom the data in 3D ..........................................................................................22
Exercise 3.3: Save the 3D Plot layout ...............................................................................................................22
Exercise 4.1: Open a plot file ...........................................................................................................................26
Exercise 4.2: Import an old plot editor form set ...............................................................................................27
Exercise 4.3: Load a plot file into an existing layout .........................................................................................28

Lesson 1 – Introducing the

Notes:
Plot Editor
In this lesson you’ll learn to open, modify, and print a plot layout that you
created in Part 2 – 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 (if available).
· Load a plot layout into the Plot Editor;

· Change the paper size of the plot layout;
· Change the scale and position of the plot data;
· Enter title text;
· Modify the title using a pre-existing plot form;
· Print your layout to PDF (if available), and
· Save your plot layout to a new file.
Introduction
The Plot Editor allows you to create plot layouts of your project data and
then print them to a plotter or other output device. Plot layouts can 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 advanced layouts such as displaying a cross-section and plan on the
same layout.
Introducing the Plot Editor

You work within the Plot Editor window whenever you interact with a plot
layout. This window provides a separate interactive environment similar to
Vizex. Like Vizex, the Plot Editor window includes plotting-related toolbars
and a set of docking windows through which you interact with your plot data.
The Plot Editor toolbar contains essential tools for interacting with a plot
layout and the Layout toolbar provides the tools necessary to design a plot
layout. Docked at left of the Plot Editor window are the Plot Frames
window, through which 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:
Main Toolbar Layout Toolbar
Plot Frames
Window
Plot Forms Tab
Properties
Window
Opening a 2D Plot Layout

You open a plot layout by selecting Plot | Open from the main menu. In
the following exercise you’ll open one of the layouts that you created in Part
2 – Displaying and Manipulating Data.
Exercise 1.1: Open a plot layout
To open a plot layout:
1. Select Plot | Open from the main menu. Alternatively, click the Open
button on the Main toolbar.
2. Ensure the file type is set to Plot Document (*.PEX).
3. Select the file 15900mN.PEX and click Open. You screen will resemble
the diagram on the following page.
The files that make a plot layout
A complete plot layout consists of two files: a plot document (.PEX) file,
which contains the cosmetic settings of the layout, and a plot (.PEL) file,
which contains the plot data. MICROMINE automatically creates the plot
document and gives it the same name as the plot file whenever you
generate a plot file using Auto load into Plot Editor.
Although it’s not compulsory to use Auto load..., doing so makes the
two files easier to manage. The relationship between them is fully
explained in Part 9 – Plotting 2.
To open a plot file without a matching plot document, change the file
type to PLOT (*.PEL) when you use Plot | Open.

MICROMINE will display the plot layout using the default 2D layout template, Notes:
which was automatically applied when you created the file in Part 2 –
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.
Changing the Paper Size

Layouts are created by default on A3 (420 x 297mm) paper so your first task
when working with a new layout is usually to change the paper size. This is
introduced in the following exercise, in which you’ll change the paper size to
A4 so that the layout can be included in a report.
Exercise 1.2: Change the paper size
To change the paper size:
1. Double-click anywhere in the paper margins (on the page but outside
the plot area) to display the Page Setup dialog. The margins will also
be highlighted in red. Alternatively, select Plot | Print | Page Setup
from the main menu.
2. On the Plot Settings dialog, click the Forms button and browse to the
Metric | Landscape | A4 Landscape form set (it’s easier if you collapse
the Imperial node first).
3. Double-click the form set, or click Open, to apply it to the layout.

Notes: 4. Click the Zoom to Full Page button in the Plot Editor toolbar to zoom
the layout to the new paper size:
5. Click anywhere outside the page (on the window background) to

deselect the paper margins. The red highlight will disappear.
Changing other Plot Settings
The Plot Settings dialog also allows you to change the measurement
units and default substitutions. Substitutions are covered in Part 9 –
Plotting 2.
Scaling and Positioning the Data

Now that the layout is on the correct paper we can turn our attention to
editing it to suit our requirements. Our first task is to correctly scale and
position the data within the plot frame.
Setting the Plot Scale
Scales in a metric layout are always expressed as a representative fraction,

or RF, such as 1:1000. Imperial layouts have access to other scales, such as
inches-to-mile or foot-to-miles.
Exercise 1.3: Set the plot scale
To set the plot scale:
1. Click within the plot frame (the box containing the plot data) to select it.
You’ll see its border highlighted in red.
Putting plot content ‘in the frame’
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 layout
other frames might contain title text, a scale bar, a legend, or a company
logo. Managing the frames on a plot layout is covered in Part 9 –
Plotting 2.
2. The Properties window should be visible. If not, click the Properties

button in the Plot Editor toolbar to display it:

Notes:
3. Select the X Scale value in the Properties window and change it to

1500.
4. Select the Y Scale value and set it to the same value.
Now that the scale is correct you can position the data.
Positioning the Data
Positioning the data is an interactive process that involves dragging the

contents of a plot frame until they are correctly located within that frame.
Exercise 1.4: Position the data
To position the data within the plot frame:
1. Click the Pan Data Within Frame button in the Plot Editor toolbar:
2. Ensuring the plot frame is selected (its border should be highlighted in

red), drag the data until it is appropriately positioned within the frame.
3. Note the changes to the X Centre and Y Centre values in the
Properties window.
Dynamically rescaling a layout
You can also dynamically rescale the data using the Pan Data Within
Frame button by Ctrl+dragging the mouse vertically within the frame.
Once the scale is visually correct, re-enter the nearest sensible scale 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.

Notes:
Changing the Title
The new layout includes several frames containing title text, but they
currently display default placeholders. Our next task is to change the title
text to something more appropriate.
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.
On the Plot Layout

To change the contents of a text (or any other) frame on a layout, select the
frame (so that its borders are highlighted in red) and then double-click it to
display its dialog.
Exercise 1.5: Change the title on the plot layout
To change the title text on the layout:
1. Click anywhere in the title area at the bottom of the layout to select it.
You’ll see its outer border highlighted in red.
2. Double-click the TITLE frame (containing the text Plot Title / Description
of Plot Title) to display the Text dialog. The frame border highlight will
also change to include just this frame.
3. 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.)
4. Click OK to apply the new title. Your TITLE frame should resemble this:

Using a Plot Form Notes:
Although it’s possible to manually enter your own text, numerous plot forms
are provided to give you a head start towards customising your layouts.
You’ll use a plot form to create automatic title text in the next exercise.
Exercise 1.6: Change the title using a plot form
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.
You’ll learn to manage plot forms in Part 9 – Plotting 2.
To change the title text using a plot form:
1. If the TITLE frame is still highlighted, double-click it to redisplay the

Text dialog. Otherwise repeat Steps 1 and 2 from Exercise 1.5.
2. At the right of the dialog, click the Forms button and browse to the Title
| Auto [+projtitle+plotfile] form set.
3. Double-click the form set or click the Open button to load it into the
dialog:
The text @projtitle is a predefined substitution that instructs MICROMINE to

display the project title (which appears in the MICROMINE title bar) on the
layout. Similarly, @plotfile will display the name of the plot file. You’ll learn
about substitutions in Part 9 – Plotting 2.
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 can change the contents and properties of any frame in a plot layout
by double-clicking it.
Saving a Plot Layout

To save a layout, select File | Save or File | Save As from the main menu.
Alternatively, you can click the Save button on the Plot Editor toolbar, or
press Ctrl+S.

Notes:
Exercise 1.7: Save the plot layout
To save the plot layout:
1. Click the Save button in the Plot Editor toolbar, or select File | Save
from the main menu, or press Ctrl+S.
2. Leave the layout open in preparation for the next exercise.
Revision: Automatically loading a plot file into the Plot

Editor
In Part 2 – Displaying and Manipulating Data you used Auto load into Plot
Editor to automatically load a generated plot file into the Plot Editor. Be sure
to select this option whenever you use Plot | Generate Plot File. This
option saves time through not having to manually open the layout, and it
also automatically creates and names the plot document (.PEX) file.
Printing a Plot Layout

On the main menu, Plot | Print | Print Setup allows you to choose the
desired printer and paper size. You must ensure that the paper you choose
here matches the one used by the layout.
Plot | Print | Page Setup gives you a second opportunity to configure the
page. It’s exactly the same as double-clicking somewhere in the paper
margins.
To send the layout to the printer, select Plot | Print | Print. Alternatively,
you can click the Print button on the Plot Editor toolbar, or press Ctrl+P.
In the next exercise you’ll print the layout to PDF.
Exercise 1.8: Print the plot layout
To print the layout:

1. Select Plot | Print | Print Setup and choose the appropriate PDF Notes:
printer. Choose Microsoft XPS Document Writer if no PDF printer is
installed.
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 toolbar and then click OK on
the Print Setup dialog to print the layout.
4. If prompted for a filename, navigate to your project folder, enter
15900mN and click OK or Save.
5. If a preview or PDF window appears, confirm that the layout was printed
correctly and then close the window when done.
Supported Frame Types

In the preceding lessons we interacted with two different frame types: a 2D
Plot frame and a Text frame. The Plot Editor supports a variety of other
frame types including:
Table 1.1: Supported Plot Editor frame types
2D Plot: Contains spatial data

supplied by a plot file. Can be
interactively zoomed and panned.
3D Plot: Contains spatial data

supplied by a Vizex Saved View. Can
be interactively rotated, zoomed, and
panned.
Empty: Contains no information.

Background and border can be set,
making it ideal for grouping other
frames, for example to construct a
neatline or title block.
Image: Contains image data in a

wide variety of file formats. Ideal for
displaying a company logo or site
photograph.

Notes:
Table 1.1 (continued): Supported Plot Editor frame types
Legend: Contains legend items. Can

be constructed from colour, hatch, or
symbol sets, or manually.
Text: Contains any combination of

literal text, predefined substitution
parameters, or user-defined
substitution parameters. Can also
reference pre-Version 2010 plot text
files.
North Arrow: Displays a variety of

different north arrow symbols.
Scale Bar: Displays a scale bar

showing the current scale of the
reference plot. Dynamically adjusts to
changes in paper size or plot scale.
Different styles are available.
Table: Displays data from any tabular

MICROMINE file with a variety of
formatting options.

This lesson has introduced you to the Plot Editor and the process of editing a
layout. Here’s what we’ve learnt:
To open a plot layout:
Select Plot | Open from the main menu, and

Ensure the file type is set to Plot Document (*.PEX), then
Select the desired file and click Open.
To change the paper size of a layout:
Double-click anywhere in the paper margins, or

Select Plot | Print | Page Setup from the main menu, then
Click the Forms button and browse to the desired paper size, and
Double-click it to apply it to the layout.
To set the scale:
Select the plot frame, and

Enter the X and Y Scale in the Properties window.
You can also use the Auto Scale option on the 2D Plot dialog, which is
covered in Lesson 4.
To reposition the data in the layout:

Click the Pan Data Within Frame button, and
Drag the data to the correct location.
To dynamically rescale the data in the layout:

Click the Pan Data Within Frame button, and
Ctrl+drag the mouse to rescale the data.
To change the text in a title frame:
Select the appropriate frame, then

Double-click the frame to display the Text dialog, and
Enter the desired Free Text.

To change text using a plot form:
Select the appropriate frame, then

Double-click the frame to display the Text dialog, and
Click the Forms button and select to the appropriate plot form.
To save a plot layout:
Click the Save button in the Plot Editor toolbar, or

Select File | Save (or Save As) from the main menu, or
Press Ctrl+S.
To print a plot layout:
Select Plot | Print | Print Setup and choose the appropriate paper
and printer, then
Click the Print button on the Plot Editor toolbar, or
Select Plot | Print | Print to print the layout.
Good Practice
Always select Auto load into Plot Editor whenever you use Plot |
Generate Plot File. This option saves time through not having to manually
open the layout, and it also automatically creates and names the plot layout
(.PEX) file.
Help Topics
The Plot Editor Plot Editor > Getting started
Creating a layout Plot Editor > Generating a plot

Lesson 2 – Modifying a Plot

Notes:
Layout
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 template. The lesson covers two important techniques: using a layout
template to change the entire design, and modifying a plot frame to
change the contents of a specific plot element.
· Apply a template to a layout to change its overall design;

· Add a plot file to a 2D Plot frame;
· Modify the contents of a coordinate Grid frame;
· Add a company logo to an Image frame.
Introduction
A plot layout consists of one or more plot frames containing data and one or
more frames of other types containing the various pieces of information that
make up the marginalia of a layout. Modifications can be as broad as
applying a completely new template to a layout or as subtle as changing
the properties of a single plot frame.
To speed up both processes MICROMINE ships with a variety of pre-defined

layout templates and plot forms (a plot form defines the properties for a
plot frame), and you’ll learn to use both of these in this lesson.
Using a Template to Display a Plan

View on a Cross Section
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 encompasses the entire project area. To incorporate the plan plot, apply
a Section+Plan layout template and then specify the name of the plan plot.
The following exercise demonstrates this process.

Notes: Exercise 2.1: Display a plan view on the cross section
To display the plan view:
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.
4. Browse to the Layout Templates \ Section+Plan folder.
5. Select Section+Plan Bottom.ptx and click Open to apply it.
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
entire layout has been reformatted by the new template.
Bottom refers to the location of the title frame, not the plan window.
6. Double-click anywhere within the Plan Plot frame to display the 2D Plot
dialog.
7. Double-click the Plot file response and choose PLAN from the list.
8. Click OK to apply the settings.
9. Optionally, change the Paper Size back to A4 and reselect the Auto title
text.
10. Your display should resemble the illustration on the following page.
11. Using the Pan Data Within Frame button, drag the data within the
section view. Note how the plan view updates once you release the
mouse.
By using a template it was possible to add the plan plot with minimal effort.
There are many other templates in the Layout Templates folder and we
encourage you to explore them. You’ll learn to manage your own templates
in Part 9 – Plotting 2, which is part of intermediate-level training.

Notes:
Modifying the Coordinate Grid

A coordinate grid overlay, which is supported by a Grid frame, is always
associated with a 2D or 3D Plot frame. The coordinate grid supplied by the
template uses a combination of major and minor gridlines. However, you can
format a coordinate grid overlay in a variety of ways, which we’ll learn in the
next exercise by adding a more subtle dotted grid.
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 we’ll use the Plot Frames window to access it instead.
Exercise 2.2: Modify the coordinate grid display
To modify the coordinate grid display:
1. Ensure the Plot Frames window is visible. If it is not, click the Frames
tab to display it:

Notes: 2. Click the [+] icon next to the Master Plot list to expand it. It contains
one sub-item, the Master Plot Grid.
3. Double-click the Master Plot Grid frame to display the Grid dialog.
4. Click the Forms button at right of the Grid dialog and browse to the
Label Inside Border | Label=metres folder. It will be easier to locate if
you collapse the other folders.
5. Choose Auto Spacing [DOTTED] from the list and click Open to apply it.
The spacing of the grid lines is currently automatic, but we’ll change it to a
fixed 100 m interval.
6. In the Line Settings group, change the Spacing for all three axes
(East, North, and Z) to 100.
7. Click OK to apply the changes.
8. Optionally, repeat the above steps for the Plan Plot coordinate grid.
9. Click the Save button on the Plot Editor toolbar to save your work.
10. When you’re finished, click the [X] on the 15900mN.PEX tab to close the
Plot Editor window.
Because a Grid frame is a child of its Plot frame you can only modify its
properties from the Plot Frames window.
Adding a Company Logo

Even if you’re happy to use the layouts provided by MICROMINE you’ll still
need to add your own company logo to the title area. The simplest way to
add a company logo is to save it as a popular image file like TIF, JPG, or

PNG. Once it’s in that format it can be added to a layout using an Image Notes:
frame, which you’ll do in the next exercise.
Exercise 2.3: Add a company logo
To add a company logo:
1. Click anywhere in the title area at the bottom of the layout to select it.
You’ll see its outer border highlighted in red.
2. Double-click the [Image “LOGO”] frame to display the Image dialog.
The frame border highlight will also change to include just this frame.
3. Double-click the Image file response and choose MicromineLogo.jpg.
4. Ensure that Maintain aspect ratio is enabled.
5. Click OK to apply the new logo. Your display should resemble this:
6. Save and Close the layout once you’re done.

This lesson has introduced the basic ways to modify a plot layout. Here’s
what we’ve learnt:
To apply a template to a layout:
Ensure the Plot Frames window is visible, then

Right-click the layout filename at the top of the Plot Frames tree, and
Choose Apply Template from the pop-up menu, then
Select the desired template.
To modify a (Grid) plot frame that is a child of another frame:
Ensure the Plot Frames window is visible, then

Click the [+] icon next to the parent frame’s list to expand it, and
Double-click the child frame to display its dialog.
Modify the parameters on the dialog, or
Click the Forms button and select an existing plot form.
To load a plot file into a 2D Plot frame:
Double-click anywhere within the Plot frame to display the 2D Plot

dialog, then
Double-click the Plot file response and select the desired plot file.
To add an image file reference to an Image frame:
Select the Image frame, then

Double-click Image frame to display the Image dialog, and
Double-click the Image file response and select the desired image file,
and
Ensure that Maintain aspect ratio is enabled.
Good Practice
Use pre-existing templates and plot forms where possible to speed up the
plotting process.

Creating a logo file
MICROMINE supports all common image formats, such as 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 x 65 mm (7.2 x 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.
Help Topics
The Plot Editor Plot Editor > Getting Started
Templates Plot Editor > Working with files and templates >
Creating a layout from a template
Plot Forms Plot Editor > Working with plot frames >
Managing frame form sets
Parent/child Plot Editor > Working with plot frames >

relationships Managing plot frames
Adding a plot to a Plot Editor > Working with plot frames >
2D Plot frame Adding a 2D plot

Notes:
Lesson 3 – 3D Plot Layouts
In this part of the training you’ll learn to work with 3D Plot layouts.
· Create a 3D Plot layout;

· Manipulate the 3D layout, including rotating the data in 3D;
· Save the 3D layout, including updating the referenced Saved View;
· Understand the alternative uses for 3D Plot layouts.
Introduction
A 3D Plot layout is any plot layout containing a 3D Plot frame, and differs
from a 2D Plot frame in three key areas:
· It draws its data directly from a Vizex Saved View instead of a plot file;
· It can handle the complex texturing and shading required when
wireframes, block models, draped images, and 3D interpolated grids are
drawn in 3D Shaded mode;
· It can be interactively rotated in 3D within the layout in addition to the
interactive panning and zooming of a 2D Plot frame.
With a 3D Plot layout you can interact with the data as if you were using
Vizex, and once the data are positioned as desired you can print the layout
as normal.
Creating a 3D Plot Layout

You can create a 3D Plot layout in a variety of ways. The quickest way is to
create it directly from Vizex, using Plot | Generate Vizex 3D Plot. There’s
no need for an Auto load option here since 3D Plots are always immediately
loaded into the Plot Editor. This method is best suited to layouts containing
only one 3D Plot frame.
Alternatively, create a layout containing one or more 3D Plot frames and

then load the appropriate Vizex Saved View into each frame. This method is
best suited to layouts containing multiple 3D Plot frames or a combination of
2D and 3D Plot frames.
You’ll learn the Generate Vizex 3D Plot option in the next exercise.
Exercise 3.1: Create a 3D plot layout
To create the 3D Plot layout:

1. If you completed Part 3 – 3D Presentation, expand the Vizex Saved Notes:

Views list and reload the DTM and drilling saved view, then proceed
directly to Step 5.
2. If you did not complete Part 3, load the following Vizex form sets
instead:
· Wireframes > Topo DTM with airphoto
· Drillhole Trace > Simple assay display
· Drillhole Hatch > Drillhole lithology
3. Click the Perspective Mode button on the Vizex View toolbar to place
the view into perspective mode, and rotate the view into a 3D
orientation.
4. Select File | Save View, or double-click the Saved Views node, and
Save the view with the Title DTM and drilling.
5. Select View | Vizex Background Options and enable Sky and
Ground mode.
6. Select Plot | Generate Vizex 3D Plot from the main menu.
MICROMINE will automatically load the view into a default 3D plot
layout.
7. Your display should resemble this:
In the workplace you’d work on formatting the layout, filling out the frames
in the title area, or perhaps by applying a different layout template. For
brevity we’ll conclude this exercise here.
3D Plot templates supplied with MICROMINE
A range of 3D Plot layout templates is provided in the Layout

Templates\3D folder. In addition, the Layout Templates\Modern\Modern
Poster template is also a 3D Plot template.

Notes:
Manipulating the Data in 3D
One of the coolest features of a 3D Plot frame is its ability to rotate data in
3D as if you were still using Vizex. However, because the rotation is applied
to a frame within a window the keyboard and mouse combination is slightly
different to Vizex.
You’ll learn to use the correct keyboard/mouse combinations in the next

exercise.
Exercise 3.2: Pan, rotate, and zoom the data in 3D
To rotate the data in 3D:
1. Click anywhere in the 3D Plot frame to select it. Its border will be
highlighted in red.
2. Click the Pan Data Within Frame button in the Plot Editor toolbar.
3. Drag the mouse within the frame to pan the data.
Because the view was created in perspective mode it appears as if we are

flying above the data rather than panning a map.
4. Hold the Shift key and drag the mouse within the frame to rotate the
data.
5. Hold the Ctrl key and drag the mouse within the frame to zoom the
data.
Saving the 3D Plot Layout

When you first create a 3D Plot layout MICROMINE draws its information
from the currently displayed live Vizex view. Saving a layout in this
configuration gives you the flexibility to re-open it using any displayed Vizex
view. However, before saving this layout we’ll make a simple change that will
permanently associate it with the original saved view.
Exercise 3.3: Save the 3D Plot layout
1. Double-click in the Master Plot frame to display the 3D Plot dialog. Its
border will be highlighted in red.
2. On the 3D Plot tab, choose the Saved Vizex view option.
3. Double-click the Vizex view response and choose the DTM and drilling
saved view.
4. Click OK to apply the change.
5. Click the Save button in the Plot Editor toolbar, or select File | Save
from the main menu, or press Ctrl+S.

6. Ensure Save as type is set to Plot Document (*.PEX). Notes:

7. Enter the File name 3D View and click Save to save the file.
8. Click the [X] on the 3D View.PEX tab to close the Plot Editor window
once you’re done.
9. Back in Vizex, select View | Vizex Background Options and change
the background back to Simple.
3D Plot layouts plot direct from the data
3D Plot layouts have the advantage of not using a plot file. Instead, they
plot directly from the current Vizex display or a Saved View, which are in-
turn derived directly from your data. You can use a 3D Plot layout
whenever your data are rapidly changing since the layout will always
display the most up-to-date information.
Other Uses for 3D Plot Layouts

You can also display regular 2D data in a 3D Plot layout. Working this way
offers two benefits:
1. Up-to-date information: Because 3D plot layouts don’t use a plot file

they always display the most up-to-date information.
2. Complex shading: 3D plot layouts can handle complex texturing and
shading more efficiently than 2D layouts. Texturing and shading are
required for draped images, shaded wireframes, and shaded interpolated
grids.

This lesson introduced the Plot Editor’s 3D Plot layouts. Here’s what we’ve
learnt:
To create a 3D Plot layout:
Create a Vizex view containing the data you wish to display, and
Consider enabling Sky and Ground mode and Perspective Mode for
a more realistic 3D presentation, then
Select Plot | Generate Vizex 3D Plot from the main menu.
To manipulate data in a 3D Plot layout:
Select the 3D Plot frame, and

Click the Pan Data Within Frame button, then
Drag the mouse within the frame to pan the data, or
Shift+drag the mouse within the frame to rotate the data, or
Ctrl+drag the mouse within the frame to zoom the data.
To make a 3D Plot layout reference a Saved View:
Double-click in the 3D Plot frame to display the 3D Plot dialog, then

On the 3D Plot tab, choose the Saved Vizex view option, and
Choose the appropriate Saved View.
To save a 3D Plot layout:
Ensure you have completed the Saved View steps above, then
Click the Save button in the Plot Editor toolbar, or
Select File | Save from the main menu, or
Press Ctrl+S.
Good Practice
3D Plot layouts plot directly from the current Vizex display or a Saved View,
and can handle complex shading and texturing. Use a 3D Plot layout for
communicating complex ideas to non-technical audiences, whenever your
data is rapidly changing, or if you need to support shading or texturing.
Help Topics
Saving a Vizex view View > Save Vizex View
3D Plot frames Plot Editor > Working with plot frames >
Adding a 3D plot

Lesson 4 – Working with Old

Notes:
Plot Files
MICROMINE Version 2010 was released in February 2010. However, unless

you work for a company that purchased MICROMINE after that date chances
are you’ll have to work with pre-Version 2010 plot files.
This part of the training will teach you to work with these old plot files.
· Open a plot file directly into the Plot Editor;

· Import an old Plot Editor form set into the Plot Editor;
· Load a plot file into an existing layout;
· Assess the differences between the three methods.
Introduction
There was no plot layout concept before Version 2010. In earlier versions
cosmetic settings were spread between Plot Editor and layout definition form
sets, a plot parameters file (.PEP extension), and one or more plot data
files (.PED extension). A plot file with a .PEL extension provided the actual
plot data. Most of the layout definition form sets and some plot data files
were stored in a system area separated from the project data.
As we’ve seen, a Version 2010 plot layout is much simpler, consisting of a

plot document with a .PEX extension, which provides the cosmetic
settings, and a plot file with a .PEL extension, which provides the data.
The plot (.PEL) file is the only element common to both versions.
However, because of the vast differences between old plots and modern
layouts there are different ways to work with older plot files: you can either
open a plot file directly into the Plot Editor or you can attempt to import an
old Plot Editor form set (which automatically opens the plot file).
Both methods attempt to preserve the old plot’s cosmetic settings and are
suitable when you need to support highly customised plots that were created
before Version 2010. Importing an old form set may preserve more cosmetic
settings than opening the corresponding plot file although the quality of the
import will depend on the origin of the file. You’ll get the best results if you’re
still working in the original project on the original computer. However, old
COMPLEX frames are so different that they can’t be imported and will always
appear as Empty frames on the layout.
Otherwise, if you’re not interested in the cosmetics and only need the plot
data you can load the plot (PEL) file directly into an existing plot layout. The
next few exercises will provide you with an example of each method.

Notes: The old Plot Editor is still accessible within MICROMINE. To use it, select
Plot | Plot Editor. Because it’s tagged as an obsolete function you’ll
have to hover your mouse over the double chevron at the bottom of the
menu for a few seconds to reveal it.
Displaying Old Plots

Opening a Plot File
Opening a plot (PEL) file gives you direct access to the plot data and will also
attempt to source the cosmetic settings from the plot parameters (PEP) and
plot data files (PED) if they exist.
Use this method for old plots with little customisation or if you are no longer
working in the original project or on the original computer.
You can also use it for a Version 2010 (or later) plot file if you did not select
Auto load into Plot Editor when you generated it. In this situation the plot
file will be assigned the default 2D plot template and will appear in the Plot
Editor window as Filename.PEL. Once you have configured the layout you
can save it as a Plot Document (*.PEX) to create the matching PEX file.
To open a plot file, select Plot | Open from the main menu and set the file
type to PLOT (*.PEL).
Exercise 4.1: Open a plot file
To open a plot file:
1. Select Plot | Open from the main menu, or click the Open button on
the Main toolbar, and then set the file type to PLOT (*.PEL).
2. Load the file 19300mN.PEL (which comes from a different project area).
Depending on the history of your MICROMINE installation your display might

resemble the diagram on the following page.
The plot is converted to a layout and the plot data are correctly displayed.
However, many of the frames are incomplete. In the workplace you’d spend
a few minutes configuring each title frame to suit your requirements. For
brevity we’ll conclude this exercise here.
3. Select File | Save As and save the layout as a Plot Document with the
original file name (19300mN). Close the layout once you’re done.

Notes:
Importing an Old Plot Editor Form Set

Importing an old Plot Editor form set gives you access to cosmetic settings
beyond those stored in the various supporting files. Use this method for old
plots when you are working in the original project on the original
computer.
The plot will be rendered as closely as possible to its original appearance and
will appear in the Plot Editor window as Untitled.
To import an old plot editor form set, select Plot | Import and choose the
appropriate form set. The corresponding plot (PEL) file must also exist.
Exercise 4.2: Import an old plot editor form set
To import an old plot editor form set:
1. Select Plot | Import from the main menu and choose the MINE
Section 19300mN form set.
Depending on the history of your MICROMINE installation your display may

look something like the illustration on the following page, although it will
most likely appear considerably less complete.
Once again the plot is converted to a layout and the plot data are correctly
displayed. However, many of the frames are still incomplete. As in the
previous exercise you could remedy the problems by reconstructing the
previous layout design or by applying a template, but for brevity we’ll
conclude the exercise here.

Notes: 2. Select File | Save As and save the layout as a Plot Document with the
title PlotImport. Close the layout once you’re done.
Loading a Plot File into an Existing Layout

Loading a plot file into an existing layout is an excellent way to support old
plot files when a suitable layout already exists. It maintains the plot data but
completely discards any previous cosmetic settings, and it may be the only
way to display old plots that contain more than one plot frame.
This method also works if you did not select Auto load into Plot Editor
when you generated a modern plot file or if you need to load multiple plot
files onto a single layout. The plot will take the appearance of the existing
layout and will appear in the Plot Editor window with that layout’s name.
To load a plot file into a layout, create or open the desired layout, then
double-click within the appropriate 2D Plot frame to display the 2D Plot
dialog. Finally, double-click the Plot file response and choose the
appropriate plot (PEL) file.
Exercise 4.3: Load a plot file into an existing layout
To load a plot into a layout:
1. Select Plot | New Layout from the main menu, enable the From
Template option, and choose Default2DPlotTemplate.
2. Click OK to create the new layout.

3. Double-click anywhere within the Master Plot frame to display the 2D Notes:
Plot dialog.
4. On the 2D Plot dialog, double-click the Plot file response and choose
19300mN.PEL from the list.
5. In the Plot Definition group, click the Auto Scale button to choose
the correct scale, and click OK to load the plot file:
Unfortunately the auto scale calculation is skewed by the extents of the

ground surface profile and the scale is much too small.
6. To correct this, display the Properties window and manually set the X
and Y Scales to 1000.
7. Click OK to redisplay the plot.
8. Click the Pan Data Within Frame toolbar button and drag the data so
that it is correctly centred within the plot frame. Your layout should
resemble this:
Had we used a layout template specifically tailored to our workplace the

layout would probably require little other configuration. For this exercise we’ll
leave it as it stands.
9. Select File | Save As and save the layout as a Plot Document with the
title LoadIntoLayout. Close the layout once you’re done.

Notes:
Choosing the Best Method
Because the cosmetic information of pre-Version 2010 plots was stored in
many different places there are no guarantees that any one method will give
better results than another. Thus, you might need to try more than one of
them to find the best result. To a large extent the degree of success will
depend on the origin of the file, with the best chance if you’re still working
with the original project on the original computer. The typical conditions
you might encounter are listed below, in roughly decreasing order of
success:
· Still using the original project on the original computer, all PED files are
present, layout definition form sets are present, and a Plot Editor form
set or PEP file was created in the old version;
· Using the complete project, including a Plot Editor form set or PEP file,
but not on the original computer and have no access to layout definition
form sets or system PED files;
· Have the plot (PEL) file and PEP file, but using a different computer and
no PED file or form sets available;
· Just have the plot (PEL) file.
A simple try-it-and-see approach is:
· Try importing an old form set if you’re using the original project on the
original computer and the form set exists;
· Try opening the plot file if you know the PEP file is available but can’t
guarantee anything else;
· Otherwise, load the plot file into a modern layout and reconstruct the
cosmetic settings from scratch or using a template.

This lesson has taught you how to work with old (pre-2010) plot files. Here’s
what we’ve learnt:
To open a plot file:
Select Plot | Open from the main menu, then

Set the file type to PLOT (*.PEL) and load the file, then
Apply a template or configure the layout as desired.
To import an old Plot Editor form set:
Select Plot | Import from the main menu, then

Choose the form set, and
Apply a template or configure the layout as desired.
To load a plot into a layout:
Select Plot | New Layout and create a new layout, or

Select Plot | Open to open an existing layout, then
Double-click anywhere within a 2D Plot frame to display the 2D Plot
dialog, and
Double-click the Plot file response and choose the file, then
Configure the layout as desired.
Good Practice
You’ll have the best chance of successfully opening the old file if you’re still
using the original project on the original computer.
Old COMPLEX frames are incompatible with the new Plot Editor will always
open as Empty frames.
The old Plot Editor is still available via Plot | Plot Editor. Hover your mouse
over the double chevron at the bottom of the menu to reveal it.
Help Topics
Importing old files Plot Editor > Working with files and templates >
Importing older version plot files

Notes:

Macros 1
.
MICROMINE Version 2010 (12.0) Training Part 5 – Macros 1

Macros 1
LESSON 1 – MACROS ................................................................................................................. 1

INTRODUCING MACROS....................................................................................................................................... 1
WHY WRITE MACROS? ....................................................................................................................................... 1
CREATING A MACRO ........................................................................................................................................... 3
Creating Form Sets..................................................................................................................................... 4
Adding Default Values to Macro Dialogs ..................................................................................................... 4
Editing a Macro File .................................................................................................................................... 7
RUNNING A MACRO .......................................................................................................................................... 14
ALTERNATIVE MACRO (SECTION CONTROL FILE VERSION) ....................................................................................... 15
TOOLBOX ....................................................................................................................................................... 17
LESSON 2 – OPTIONAL: PLOTTING VIA A MACRO ..................................................................... 20
AUTOMATING THE PLOT EDITOR ......................................................................................................................... 20
SIDEBARS
Managing macro and interactive form sets ........................................................................................................ 7

Understanding the macro Plot File field ............................................................................................................. 9
Loading a Saved View vs. loading individual form sets ..................................................................................... 11
Editing form sets within a macro ..................................................................................................................... 12
EXERCISES
Exercise 1.1: Run an example macro................................................................................................................. 2

Exercise 1.2: Set up form sets for a cross-section plotting macro (Display Limits version).................................. 5
Exercise 1.3: Write a macro file ......................................................................................................................... 9
Exercise 1.4: Run a macro............................................................................................................................... 14
Exercise 1.5: Write and run a macro using a section control file ...................................................................... 15
Optional Exercise 2.1: Write a macro to plot cross sections using the Plot Editor ............................................. 20

Part 5 – Macros 1 MICROMINE Version 2010 (12.0) Training

Lesson 1 – Macros
Notes:
This lesson will teach you to write, test, and run a macro, which you can use
to automate a variety of MICROMINE tasks.
· Understand the macro writing process;

· Define replaceable parameters on dialogs;
· Save dialogs as form sets in preparation for macro execution;
· Write a macro file;
· Run a macro.
Introducing Macros
Macros are an important part of MICROMINE because they allow you to
automate MICROMINE processes. A macro is simply a file containing a list of
instructions that allow MICROMINE to perform a sequence of commands
without further input. Once a macro is set up you can run it repeatedly
without intervention.
You can include any function that appears on the MICROMINE menu as a
macro instruction.
Why Write Macros?

There are numerous reasons for writing macros, but they usually belong to
one of three primary tasks:
· Repetition. Macros allow you to perform the same operation many

times without having to sit at your computer. A classic geological
example involves plotting many cross sections at the conclusion of a
drilling programme. In this case the macro would repeat the same
display function as many times as there were cross sections.
· Perform Complex Tasks. It’s possible to perform a complex task with
a macro by stringing together a chain of simple commands. For
example, you might regularly extract assay files from a database,
perform a significant intersections grade calculation, and report the
results. These three simple commands could be combined into a single
macro that would automate this repetitive task.
· Auditability. Macros allow you to document your MICROMINE tasks by
listing each of the form sets, in sequence, that contributes to those
tasks.
You can combine repetition and complex tasks using advanced macro writing
techniques. You can also increase the flexibility of your macro by prompting
the user for values during execution. You’ll learn to write these advanced

Notes: macros in Part 8 – Macros 2, which is part of the Advanced MICROMINE

course.
Before learning to write a macro it’s useful to run a ready-made example so

you can see the result.
Exercise 1.1: Run an example macro
In this exercise you’ll run a macro that performs a task familiar to most
geologists: extracting significant intersections from an assay file and
formatting them into intervals labelled X m @ Y g/t. These intervals can
subsequently be displayed on cross sections or plans.
To run the macro:
1. Select Tools | Macros | Run from the menu. Alternatively, click the
Run Macro toolbar button.
2. On the Run Macro dialog, double-click the Macro Name at row
number 1 and choose Ag Composite Intervals from the list.
3. Type the name Ag Composite Intervals into the Reporting File response
at the bottom left of the dialog.
If you give the report file the same name as the macro you’ll be able to
track which reports correspond to which macros.
4. Click the Run button and observe the result.
You’ll see a series of dialog boxes and messages flash across the screen,
representing each process executed by the macro.
5. When the macro is finished, MICROMINE will return you to the Run
Macro dialog. Close the dialog once the macro is done.
6. Select File | Open from the main menu and open the
NVG_ASSAY_COMP file, which was created by the macro. If you can’t
see it, ensure that Files of type is set to DATA.
7. Inspect the data, noting the contents of the AG_COMP field towards the
right of the file.
8. Close the file when you’re finished.
Understanding the Example Macro
The example macro runs three separate processes:
· Grade compositing (Drillhole | Compositing | Grade): Extracts to a

new file all records from NVG_ASSAY whose silver grade is > 200 g/t,
combining adjoining records into single, length-weighted average
intervals;
· File modification (File | Create or Modify File): Adds file fields that
collectively define the label, populating some of them with literal text
such as m @;

· Field joining (File | Fields | Join): Concatenates (joins) the added Notes:
fields to build the final label.
Below: The input and output of the example macro.
The macro reads this…
…and creates this.
So, why should you automate a task like this with a macro?
· Repetition: The output intervals must be recalculated every time new

assays are received from the laboratory; clearly it’s much easier to run a
single macro than run the individual processes by hand.
· Complexity: The three steps are clearly denoted by the macro name, in
this case Ag Composite Intervals. On the other hand, manually stringing
together the individual tasks increases the risk of mistakes and makes
the process more difficult for inexperienced users.
· Auditability: At any time, if questioned about how the figures were
generated you can open the macro and step through the individual
forms.
Now that you’ve seen what a macro can do it’s time to create one of your
own.
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 in detail using a section plotting
example.

Notes: Creating Form Sets

The easiest way to create form sets for a macro is to use MICROMINE in the
normal way. In other words you choose a menu option, fill out the dialog,
and if possible run the function with some trial data. You should continue to
test the dialog until you’re satisfied with the result.
Once you’ve prepared the dialog, consider which responses on that dialog
will change each time it’s run from a macro. For example, if you were
plotting cross sections the Section coordinate would probably change each
time that function was run.
After you’ve identified the responses whose values will change, substitute the
trial data 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 dialog is run from the
macro. You can define replaceable parameters %1 through %15.
Not all macros require replaceable parameters.
Adding Default Values to Macro Dialogs

Once a dialog has been set up using replaceable parameters it can’t be used
interactively (that is, directly from the menu). However, you can make it
useable from the menu, perhaps for further testing, by adding default
values to all replaceable parameters using the notation in these examples:
For the Section: %1=”15760”

For Window Away: %2=”15”
For Window Towards: %3=”15”

Default values (in the form of %x=”value”) allow you to develop a macro Notes:
using real data, which will be automatically replaced with parameter values
at run-time.
You’ll use replaceable parameters with default values in the next exercise.
Exercise 1.2: Set up form sets for a cross-section

plotting macro (Display Limits version)
In this exercise you’ll set up an initial drillhole cross-section in preparation for

automatically plotting multiple sections. From our experience with the project
data we know that the sections will display the same data and will all be
oriented Looking North. Consequently, the only parameters that will change
within the macro are the Section (the northing), and the Away and
Towards distances (because the sections have variable spacing).
The Display Limits dialog controls all of these parameters, so this is the
only place where replaceable parameters will be needed.
For brevity we won’t set up all of the necessary display layers. Instead, we’ll
re-use existing form sets provided as part of the training data.
Set up the Vizex Display Limits
The Display Limits always adjusts the minima and maxima to suit the data,
so you must load some trial data before you can save a form set. This also
gives you an opportunity to test the settings and ensure they’re correct.
To set up the Display Limits:
1. Expand the Drillhole Trace list by clicking its [+] button in the Form
Sets pane, then double-click the Example drillhole lithology form set to
display it. This form set is enough to define the coordinate limits of the
display so there’s no need to load any additional data.
You’ll load the full display within the macro itself, using layers that you
created in Part 2 – Displaying and Manipulating Data.
2. Once you’ve loaded the trial data, click the Display Limits button (or
right-click and choose Display Limits from the pop-up menu) to open
the Display Limits dialog.
3. Set the View to Looking North, the Section to 15760, and the Windows
Away and Towards to 15 as shown here:

Notes:
4. Click OK to draw the cross-section and ensure that the settings are
appropriate.
Define Replaceable Parameters with Default Values
It’s time to consider which responses will change each time this dialog is run
from a macro. Given the macro’s intended function the Section, or northing,
is obviously going to change. Inspection of the data reveals that the drillhole
line spacing varies somewhat, so the Window Away and Window Towards
responses must also change.
Now we’ll set up the replaceable parameters:
5. Click the Display Limits button (or right-click and choose Display
Limits from the pop-up menu) to re-open the Display Limits dialog.
6. Replace the existing Section (currently set to 15760) with %1=”15760”.
7. Replace Window Away with %2=”15” and Window Towards with
%3=”15”. Your dialog should look like this:
These replaceable parameters serve as placeholders for real data, but the
default values mean we can still use the Display Limits dialog interactively.
When the macro is run, MICROMINE will search the macro file for data
values matching the various %-parameters and place them into the dialog.

Save the form set Notes:
Now we need to save the dialog as a form set so that it can be referenced
from the macro.
8. Click the Forms button at the right of the dialog, followed by Save As.
9. On the Forms dialog click the New Folder button and create a folder
called Macros.
10. Set the Title to Cross section.
Placing the form set in a folder keeps it separate from other Display Limits
form sets.
11. Click OK to save the form set, and OK to close the Display Limits dialog.
12. Inspect the contents of the Sections window and note the addition of
the Macros folder under the Display Limits node, containing the Cross
section form set.
13. Select Edit | Remove All from the main menu to clear the Vizex
display.
Managing macro and interactive form sets
It’s common for some MICROMINE projects to contain dozens of form

sets in any combination of interactive and macro configurations. A
systematic approach is essential in order to distinguish the two types –
the titles may make sense to you but will probably be meaningless to
your colleagues.
Saving macro form sets in a separate folder is an excellent way to

separate them from their interactive cousins. The folder structure will
allow you to easily separate the two types.
Editing a Macro File

Once you’ve defined the form sets that make up your macro it’s time to write
the macro file itself. To create a new macro file, either choose File | New
and set the Type to MACRO, or choose Tools | Macros | New. The macro
structure is well defined so there’s no need to use a template in either case.
Macro files are ordinary MICROMINE files so you can use all of the standard
data entry shortcuts like Ctrl+A (add) or Ctrl+R (replicate). Additionally,
the PROCESS and Form fields in the macro file have permanently attached
lookup tables to simplify the macro writing procedure. The PROCESS lookup
table reproduces the main MICROMINE menu and the Form lookup table lists
the saved form sets corresponding to the chosen process.
When you write a macro, each line represents a single step or “process”,
which usually requires you to specify three pieces of information:

Notes:
1. The Process, which corresponds to the menu item you’d have chosen if
you were performing the same task manually;
2. The Form, which allows you to choose the appropriate form set;
3. The values of any replaceable parameters (%1 to %15). These
represent the values you’d have typed into the dialog if you were
performing the task manually.
Special Macro Fields and Commands
Some functions can’t be saved as form sets in the normal way. However, you
can still use these special macro commands by selecting them from the
Tools | Macro Functions or Macro menus. Most PROCESS commands
correspond to main menu options, but there are a few special commands
that apply only to macros. Most are found under the Tools | Macro
Functions menu, and some common ones are:
· PRINTER (Tools | Macro Functions | Select Printer or Plot |

Print | Macro Select Printer): Allows the macro to choose a printer
without using the standard Windows Print Setup dialog.
· ODBCUPD (Tools | Macro Functions | ODBC Link Update):
Updates the selected ODBC links.
· ABORT (Macro | Abort): Type YES into the Form field to make the
macro terminate if an error occurs;
· COMMENT (Macro | Comment): Forces the macro to ignore all
subsequent text on that line. You can use this to label the fields in your
macro file. You can also use ‘!’ (exclamation mark) to comment out a
macro line.
If you’re writing a macro that involves creating plot files you must enter the
name of the output plot file into the Plot File field.

Understanding the macro Plot File field Notes:
The Plot File field serves two purposes:
· 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 when you create a plot file from a
graphic display.
· 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 will appear next to any PLOTPRINT processes,
simplifying the task of choosing a plot document.
During normal (interactive) use, when you type

a value directly into a dialog MICROMINE just
uses that value.
15760
During a macro, MICROMINE searches the

dialog for replaceable parameters. Values for
these are extracted from the matching %-fields
in the macro file.
Interactively entering values into a dialog versus using a

replaceable parameter and macro file
Exercise 1.3: Write a macro file
Now it’s time to write the macro itself:
1. Select Tools | Macros | New from the main menu.

Notes: 2. On the New Macro File dialog, enter the Name MAKE_DH_SECTION
and ensure Auto open file for editing is enabled.
3. Click OK to create and open the file.
You’ll see a blank macro file appear in the File Editor. Observe how the
Process and Form fields have lookup table buttons.
During normal use, MICROMINE asks you

for a file name when you create a plot
file.
During a macro, MICROMINE identifies

any display processes and reads the new
plot file name from the Plot File macro
field before creating the plot.
Interactively creating a plot file versus using the Plot File field in a
macro
Load the display layers
If you were producing this cross-section by hand the first thing you’d do is
load the desired display layers. You do the same within the macro:
4. Click the PROCESS lookup table button and note how the popup menu
reproduces the main MICROMINE menu.
5. Select Display | Vizex | Drillhole | Trace from this menu and note
how the command VXTRACE now appears in the PROCESS field.
6. Click the Form lookup table button and select Example drillhole lithology
from the list.
7. Press Enter to create the second line in the macro.
8. Click the PROCESS lookup table button and select Display | Vizex |
Drillhole | Values from this menu.
9. Click the Form lookup table button and select Au assay statistical from
the list.
10. Repeat Steps 7 to 9 and select Lithology (coloured) from the list.
11. Repeat the above, selecting Display | Vizex | Drillhole | Hatch and
the Drillhole lithology form set.
12. Finally, repeat the above selecting Display | Vizex | Wireframe and
the DTM – 2D Slice form set. Your macro should look like this:

Notes:
You’ve just instructed the macro to load five individual display layers, in
exactly the same way as if you’d loaded them by hand.
Loading a Saved View vs. loading individual form sets
Vizex also allows you to create a saved view containing all of the desired
display layers, and it’s easy to load a saved view in a macro. Loading a
saved view is initially quicker because the macro needs only one form set
– the saved view – instead of a separate form set for each layer.
However, loading individual form sets is better because you can control
each display layer in a separate macro process. You can 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.
Set up the cross-sections
If you remember the Display Limits dialog from the previous exercise,
Section corresponded to %1, Window Away was %2 and Window
Towards was %3. Knowing this, we’re now ready to place actual data
values into the matching fields of the macro.
13. Press Enter to add a new line to the end of the macro.
14. Click the Process lookup table button and select View | Viewpoint |
Display Limits from this menu.
15. Click the Form lookup table button and select Cross section from the
list.
16. Type the value 15760 in the %1 field, and 15 into both %2 and %3.
17. Type the name 15760mN into the Plot File field. Your macro file should
now look like this (we’ve hidden some fields to simplify the display):

Notes: At this point it’s worth exploring the similarities between this macro and
interactively performing the same task.
In an interactive process you:
· Select the desired form sets from the Vizex Forms pane to load the
required display layers.
· Select Display Limits from the toolbar or right-click menu
· Enter the Section coordinate.
· Click the Generate Plot File button and give the new plot file a name.
· Repeat the last three steps for each section.
In a macro you:
· Select the desired object type from the Display | Vizex | ... PROCESS
menu to load the required display layers. This is exactly like making the
same selection from the main menu. In other words, choosing a process
within a macro is the same as making a menu selection during a manual
process.
· Choose a saved Form set. This is just like selecting from the Form Sets
pane.
· Select View | Viewpoint | Edit from the PROCESS menu and choose
a saved Form set. This form set contains replaceable parameters (%-
values).
· Type values into the %-fields. This is equivalent to typing those values
directly into the Display Limits dialog. When you run the macro,
MICROMINE sees the %-values in the dialog and searches the matching
%-fields in the macro for actual data values.
· Type a Plot File name. This corresponds to typing the name in the
Generate Plot File dialog after clicking the Generate Plot File toolbar
button.
· Repeat the last three steps for each section.
Finish the macro
Our macro is well under way, but at this stage we’ve only instructed it to plot
one cross section. In the next stage we repeat the VXLIMITS command as
many times as there are cross sections.
Editing form sets within a macro
When you’re editing a macro you can view or edit a form set without
leaving the File Editor: simply right-click in the Form field on the desired
row. You can also create form sets for simple dialogs that don’t require
testing (for example File | New). Just choose the required PROCESS
and right click the Form field to display the dialog.

18. Select Records | Execute | Parameters from the File Editor menu Notes:
and set up the following parameters:
19. Highlight any cell in the VXLIMITS row and press Ctrl+T (or, click the
Execute One toolbar button).
20. Continue pressing Ctrl+T until you reach 16000mN. Your macro file
should now look like this:
21. Press Enter to add a new line to the end of the macro.
22. Click the Process lookup table button and select Edit | Remove All
from this menu. This will prevent multiple instances of each layer from
being loaded if you run the macro more than once.
You can also place this process at the beginning of your macro instead of
at the end, so that it clears the Vizex display before continuing.
23. Save the macro and close the editor. You’ve now written a macro that
will automatically make nine plot files.
In reality, the Section (%1) values don’t increase at regular 30 m intervals,

and the Window Away (%2) and Window Towards (%3) values vary

Notes: slightly from section to section. For this lesson we saved time by assuming
they’re all at regular intervals.
Running a Macro
Running a macro means executing the commands stored in the macro file.
You don’t run the macro file itself, but call the file from the Run Macro
dialog.
You can include up to 42 macro files in the one run. This allows you to create
smaller files, which are easier to test, and then combine them to create
complex operations.
To run a macro, select Tools | Macros | Run from the menu or click the
Run Macro toolbar button. You can enter the names of all the macro files
you want to execute into the Run Macro dialog. They’ll be processed in the
order you enter them. If you’d like to start with an intermediate macro,
select the Start At button next to the file where you’d like to begin. The files
before it will be ignored.
You must also enter a compulsory report file name. It’s essential that you
check this file after the macro has run, since 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 will always be
highlighted with blocks of hash ‘#’ symbols, like this:
Time: 08:48:48
#### ERROR IN COPY STRUCTURE ####
----------------------------
Exercise 1.4: Run a macro
Now you can check the result of your efforts:
1. Select Tools | Macros | Run from the menu, or click the Run Macro
toolbar button.
2. On the Run Macro dialog, double-click the Macro Name at row
number 1 and choose MAKE_DH_SECTION from the list.
3. Type the name MAKE_DH_SECTION 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.
4. Click the Run button and observe the result.

5. If you watch carefully you’ll see %1 being replaced with actual values on
the Display Limits dialog. You’ll also be able to see the sections changing
in the graphic display.

6. Once the macro is finished right-click the report file name and view the Notes:
contents. Any error messages will be reproduced here. Close the report
file once you’re satisfied.
7. Finally, close the Run Macro dialog.
Alternative Macro (Section Control

File Version)
The preceding exercise used the Display Limits dialog to control the section
position, but this was largely as a mechanism for teaching macro writing. In
reality you’d most probably use a section control file (SCF), assuming you
had created one. Using an SCF for macro plotting saves time and ensures
absolute consistency between interactively drawn cross sections and macro-
plotted ones.
In addition, a section plotting macro written to use an SCF is simpler than

the corresponding Display Limits version because virtually no replaceable
parameters are needed.
In the next exercise you’ll repeat the macro writing process, this time by
making use of the SCF you created in Part 2 – Displaying and Manipulating
Data.
Exercise 1.5: Write and run a macro using a section

control file
To write the macro:
1. Open your previous macro and then select File | Save As.
2. Save it as a new file with the File name MAKE_DH_SECTION_SCF.
We’ll begin by deleting the unnecessary form sets:
3. Click anywhere in the first VXLIMITS process and press Ctrl+D, or click
the Delete Record(s) button.
4. Enter 10 as the Number of records and click OK to delete them. Your
macro should look like this:

Notes: Now we can add the section control file processes. We’ll use default values
for all replaceable parameters to make the macro easier to understand and
test.
5. Press Enter at the end of the file to create a new record.

6. Click the PROCESS lookup table button and select Tools | Macro
Functions | Section Functions | Go to Section by Name from this
menu.
7. Right-click in the Form column in the NAME_IN_SCF process to display
the Go to Section by Name dialog.
8. Click the browse [...] button next to the File response, select the
TRAINING.DAT section control file, and then modify the text so it reads
%1=”TRAINING”.
9. Enter the Section Name %2=”15760mN”.
10. Click Forms followed by Save As, and enter a Title of First section in
SCF. Click OK to save the form. Your dialog will now look like this:
There’s no need to use form set folders here because this dialog has no
interactive equivalent.
11. Close the dialog and note how the form set number now appears in the
macro.
12. Although not strictly necessary, enter TRAINING in the %1 field and
15760mN in the %2 field of the NAME_IN_SCF process.
13. Also enter 15760mN in the Plot File field.
In future you may want to run this macro with a different section control
file containing different named sections. You can now do so by changing
the values in the macro without having to edit the form.
14. Press Enter at the end of the file to create a new record.
15. Click the PROCESS lookup table button and select Tools | Macro
Functions | Section Functions | Go to Next Section in Control
File from this menu.
This process does not have a form so there is nothing else to do.
16. Press Ctrl+R (or click the Replicate One button) seven times to add
the remaining sections (there are nine in the section control file).
17. Enter the appropriate Plot File name for each section.

You can increment (Ctrl+A), or copy and paste the names from the other Notes:
macro file, or copy them from the section control file itself. Given that the
sections might not be evenly spaced, copying the plot file names from the
named sections is safest.
18. Finally, add the VXREMOVEALL (Edit | Remove All) process to the end
of the macro, which should look like this:
19. Save and close the macro.

20. Display the Sections window and expand the TRAINING list to display
the named sections.
21. Run the macro and observe the Sections window as it runs.
As expected, you’ll see Vizex quickly stepping through the named sections as
well as momentarily displaying each section in the graphic display.
22. Right-click the Report file to view it, and note how the display
commands now contain the message Overwriting plotfile....
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.
Toolbox
The MICROMINE Toolbox is a project that is attached to MICROMINE
whenever you choose Install Toolbox Project from the MICROMINE installer.
It’s essentially a group of macros available to use with your own data.
The MICROMINE Toolbox provides a way to run processes that are not
available as a single function, and contains macros that can be used to
manipulate data in any of your working projects. You run a Toolbox process
by opening the Toolbox project and then running the appropriate macro.
To read about the Toolbox macros, select Help | Contents from the
MICROMINE menu and open the Macros > Toolbox topic.

This lesson has introduced the concepts of macro writing. The topics that
we’ve covered so far are:
Writing a macro involves three steps:
Create the form sets, with replaceable parameters;

Write the file;
Run it!
For each process in a macro file, you must generally provide three items of
information:
The PROCESS (i.e. what menu you’d have manually chosen);

The Form (i.e. which form you’d have manually loaded);
The replaceable parameter values (i.e. what you’d have manually typed
into the dialog).
To set up a form set:
Use MICROMINE as normal, then

Define the replaceable parameters, and
Save the form set.
To allocate a default value to a replaceable parameter:
Replace the original value with %x=”value”, where

%x is the name of the matching %-field and “value” is the default
value (including the quotes).
To set up a Display Limits form set in preparation for a macro:
Load some sample data, and

Set up the first section view, then
Open the Display Limits dialog, and
Substitute real values with replaceable parameters, and
Save the Display Limits form set to a different folder.
To write a plot file from a macro process:
Enter a name in the Plot File field for that process.

Lesson 1 Summary (continued) Notes:
Good Practice
Keep your macros short and restrict them to achieving a single outcome
whenever possible. Short macros are much easier to maintain, and you can
string them together in the Run 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.
Use default values (in the form of %1=”15760”) so that macro form sets can
still be used interactively.
Always view the report file after running a macro.
Giving report files the same names as the macros will allow you to track the
relationship between them.
If you’re writing a macro incorporating a section control file, copy and paste
the section names from the control file into the Plot File field of the macro.
Help Topics
Macros Macros > Steps in running a macro
Macro functions Macros > Macro functions
Macro processes Macros > Macro processes
Display Limits View > Viewpoint > Setting display limits
Execution parameters [Index] > Execute Parameters
Toolbox Macros > Toolbox

Notes:
Lesson 2 – Optional:
Plotting Via a Macro
This lesson will teach you to automate the Plot Editor using a macro.
· Define replaceable parameters on a Plot Editor layout;

· Write a macro that plots multiple cross sections;
· Output those cross sections to PDF.
Automating the Plot Editor

Making the plot files is clearly only half of this story; the plots must also be
configured and sent to an output device via the Plot Editor.
You automate the Plot Editor using the same technique you learned in
Lesson 1:
· Set up a plot layout and save it with replaceable parameters;

· Write a macro file incorporating the Plot Editor;
· Run the macro.
In the following exercise you’ll learn to set up a Plot Editor macro.
Optional Exercise 2.1: Write a macro to plot cross

sections using the Plot Editor
In this exercise you’ll write a macro that sends your cross sections to PDF
software, if installed.
Step 1: Set up and save the layout
First, set up a trial plot:
1. Select Plot | Open from the main menu. Alternatively, click the Open
button on the View toolbar.
2. Browse to the 15900mN.PEX file you created in Part 4 – Plotting 1.
3. Ensure that the cosmetic settings for this layout are correct (scale, grid,
etc.). In particular, confirm that the Title text uses the @projtitle and
@plotfile substitutions for ease of automation.

Next, define the replaceable parameters: Notes:
4. Once you’re satisfied with the result, double-click anywhere within the
Master Plot frame to display the 2D Plot dialog.
5. On the 2D Plot tab, replace the Plot file value (currently 15900mN) with
the replaceable parameter %1=”15900mN”.
Keeping the original file name as a default value makes it easier to work
with the layout.
6. Replace the X- and Y-Centre values with the replaceable parameters

%2=”25000” and %3=”1500” (rounding your existing centre values to
the nearest 5 metres).
7. Enable Retain Plot Definition when loading new plot file. Your
dialog should resemble this:
Now, save and close the layout:
8. Click OK to dismiss the 2D Plot dialog.

9. Select File | Save As from the main menu, and save the layout as a
Plot Document (*.PEX) with the File name Macro DH section.
10. Close the layout.
Step 2: Write the macro
Create the new macro file:

Notes: 11. Select Tools | Macros | New and name the file PLOT_DH_SECTION.
Ensure Auto open file for editing is enabled and click OK to create
the file.
Next, choose a printer:
12. Click the PROCESS lookup table button and select Plot | Print |
Macro Select Printer from this menu.
Any macro that incorporates the Plot Editor should always execute this
process.
13. At this point there’s no existing Printer form set so right-click the Form
field (avoiding the lookup table button) to open the Select Printer
Parameters dialog.
14. Set up the dialog as shown below. Be sure to choose the same paper
size and orientation as those in your plot layout.
Prompt Setting
Mode: Plot Editor Printer
Printer name: Any installed PDF software,
Microsoft Office Document Image Writer, or
Microsoft XPS Document Writer
Paper size: A4 (must match the layout paper size)
Orientation: Landscape
15. Click Forms, followed by Save As, to save these settings as a form set
with the Title PDF A4 Landscape.
Omit Steps 12 to 15 if you don’t have any of the printers listed in the
table. If you’ve already completed these steps, close the Printer
Parameters dialog and press Ctrl+D to delete the PRINTER process from
your macro. You can complete the remainder of the exercise without
referencing a specific printer.
There’s no need to use form set folders because this dialog has no interactive
equivalent.
16. Close the Printer Parameters dialog. Note how MICROMINE has
automatically placed the new form set number in the Form field.
Now, set up the individual plots:
17. Press Enter to add a second line to the macro.

18. Click the Process lookup table button and select Plot | Print | Print
from this menu.
19. Click the Plot File lookup table button and select the Macro DH
section.PEX layout from the list.

20. Instead of re-typing the plot file names into the %1 field, copy and Notes:
paste them directly out of your earlier macro. To do this, select File |
Recent Files from the main menu and open MAKE_DH_SECTION.MCR.
21. In the MAKE_DH_SECTION editor window, drag the mouse down the list
of Plot File names to highlight them, and then press Ctrl+C to copy
the values. Close this window when you’re done.
22. In the PLOT_DH_SECTION editor window, place the typing cursor in the
%1 field on the PLOTPRINT line (line 2) and press Ctrl+V to paste the
file names. Note how MICROMINE automatically creates the necessary
rows.
23. Enter a value of 25000 (the X Centre) into the %2 field on the
PLOTPRINT line, and then press Ctrl+Shift+R to replicate it to the end
of the macro.
24. Enter 1500 (the Y Centre) into the %3 field on the PLOTPRINT line and
press Ctrl+Shift+R.
25. Click the cursor onto the PLOTPRINT process and press Ctrl+Shift+R
to replicate it to the remaining rows.
26. Repeat for the Plot File Macro DH Section. Your macro should look like
this:
27. Save and Close the macro.

Notes: Step 3: Run the macro
28. Select Tools | Macros | Run, double-click the Macro Name at row 1,
and choose PLOT_DH_SECTION.
29. Change the Report File name to PLOT_DH_SECTION.
30. Click Run to run the macro.
The MICROMINE window title will display [Executing Macro Process X/Y from
PLOT_DH_SECTION], where X is the current process and Y the total number
of processes.
The process number corresponds to the line number in the macro,

making it easy to determine which one to correct.
31. Use the installed PDF or XPS software on your computer to view the PDF
file(s), inspecting the location of each plot’s data with respect to the
frame.
Sending the plots to PDF as we did here provides a simple way to preview
them before committing the output to paper.

This lesson has shown you how to use a macro to automate the Plot Editor.
The topics covered are:
To reference the plot file within the macro:
Set the Plot file response on the plot layout to a replaceable

parameter, e.g. %1, and
Use a default value (e.g. %1=”15900mN”) to make the layout easier
to develop and maintain.
To control the choice of destination printer:
Make PRINTER the first PROCESS (Plot | Print | Macro Select

Printer), and
Create a Select Printer Parameters form set.
To preview the results before sending the plots to a physical printer:
Use a PDF printer as the output device (via the PRINTER process), and
Confirm, and correct if necessary, the layouts by inspecting the PDFs.
To send the plots to the destination printer:
Change the PRINTER process to use the destination printer, and

Re–run the macro.
Good Practice
Plotting to PDF is useful even if the final destination of the plot is a physical
hardcopy, because it gives you a human-readable digital record of your
output through time.
Many PDF plotting programs are available; one such program is FinePrint
PDF Factory Pro, which can be downloaded from:
http://www.fineprint.com/products/pdffactory/index.html
(Note, although listed here, Micromine does not warrant or otherwise endorse this
product.)
Help Topics
Macros Macros
PRINTER process Macros > Macro functions

Notes:

Wireframing 1
.
MICROMINE Version 2010 (12.0) Training Part 6 – Wireframing 1

Wireframing 1
INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................................................. 1
LESSON 1 – GETTING STARTED ................................................................................................. 2
THE BASIC WORKFLOW ...................................................................................................................................... 2
LOADING THE INPUT DATA .................................................................................................................................. 3
DATA QUALITY CONTROL .................................................................................................................................... 4
Additional reading: the difference between a DTM, a 3D surface, and a 3D solid ........................................ 6
LESSON 2 – CONSTRUCTING THE WIREFRAME ........................................................................... 9
B UILDING THE WIREFRAME.................................................................................................................................. 9
Making a Wireframe Object the Active Layer ............................................................................................ 10
Building a Wireframe ................................................................................................................................ 10
VALIDATING THE WIREFRAME............................................................................................................................. 13
FIXING VALIDATION ERRORS.............................................................................................................................. 15
Adding Tie Lines....................................................................................................................................... 15
CLOSING ENDS................................................................................................................................................ 18
Creating Intermediate Sections................................................................................................................. 19
LESSON 3 – SAVING YOUR WORK ............................................................................................ 25
SAVING THE WIREFRAME................................................................................................................................... 25
SAVING TIE LINES ........................................................................................................................................... 26
SAVING MODIFIED INPUT STRINGS...................................................................................................................... 27
SIDEBARS
Checking outline orientation .............................................................................................................................. 5

Maintain quality from the start .......................................................................................................................... 5
Rock the boat to see better 3D.......................................................................................................................... 6
Keep the Select Tool active ............................................................................................................................... 6
Choosing a triangulation method ..................................................................................................................... 10
Keep tie lines and input strings in separate files .............................................................................................. 16
Positioning intermediate sections..................................................................................................................... 20
TABLES
Table 1.1: Kinds of wireframe ........................................................................................................................... 7

Part 6 – Wireframing 1 MICROMINE Version 2010 (12.0) Training
PART 6 TABLE OF CONTENTS (continued)

Wireframing 1
EXERCISES
Exercise 1.1: Load a string file for wireframing...................................................................................................3

Exercise 1.2: Perform a visual quality control check............................................................................................5
Exercise 2.1: Build a 3D solid ...........................................................................................................................10
Exercise 2.2: Validate the wireframe ................................................................................................................13
Optional Exercise 2.3: Fix the validation error and finish building the wireframe ...............................................16
Exercise 2.4: Close the ends of the 3D solid .....................................................................................................19
Exercise 3.1: Save the wireframe .....................................................................................................................26
Exercise 3.2: Save the tie lines .........................................................................................................................26
Exercise 3.3: Save the modified input strings ...................................................................................................27

Notes:
Introduction
This document introduces the process of creating a wireframe solid, which
you can use to model 3D shapes such as geological units or structures, ore
grade envelopes, or underground mine workings.
However, before we 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.
A vertical cross-section showing drillholes

and the polygons interpreted from them.
Clearly, the object 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-dimensional shape as you go. This process, called building a wireframe
or simply wireframing, produces a mesh of interconnected 3D triangles that
can represent a surface (such as a fault plane or weathering horizon) or a
solid (such as a rock unit or ore grade envelope). Because wireframes are
constructed from triangles they are also known as triangulations.
A 3D view of the same data after linking the sections to form

wireframe solids.
Additionally, you usually need a closed and validated wireframe solid of an

orebody before you can estimate its grade and tonnage, and because of this
requirement you should adopt a systematic approach to wireframing. Even if
you don’t need to calculate a grade/tonnage estimate you should still adopt
the systematic workflow explained on the following pages.

Notes:
Lesson 1 – Getting started
In this lesson you’ll learn about the overall wireframing process, along with
the specific steps you should carry out before starting.
· Understand the wireframing workflow;

· Load input strings in preparation for wireframing;
· Perform visual quality control on the input strings;
· Understand the difference between a DTM, a 3D surface, and a 3D solid.
The Basic Workflow

Building a wireframe can be described by a simple workflow consisting of
loading and checking the input strings, constructing and closing the
wireframe, and then saving the result. More formally, the steps are:
Load Quality
Build* Close Save
strings control
The basic wireframing workflow
The Build step, marked with an asterisk in the preceding diagram, is usually
the most time-consuming part of the procedure. That’s because it consists of
a recurring sub-process that can be further broken into three steps:
Build
Fix Validate
The Build step expanded into its recurring sub-steps
Consequently, much of the wireframing workflow is non-linear: you load and

check your strings once and then spend a period of time iterating through
the build-validate-fix cycle until you’re happy with the result. Only then will
you consider saving your work as a closed and validated wireframe solid.

So, although the following pages present these steps in a linear fashion you’ll Notes:
need to repeat some of them as needed before you complete your
wireframe.
This document assumes you’re building a 3D solid. If you’re building a 3D

surface such as a fault plane you can freely substitute the word surface for
the word solid throughout the text. There is, however, one exception: a
surface is always open and you should not try to close it.
The differences between 3D solids, 3D surfaces, and DTMs are explained in

the additional reading at the end of this lesson.
Loading the Input Data

Before you can begin wireframing you must load the input strings. If you’re
building a 3D solid these will come from one of two sources:
· A single string file containing all sections to be wireframed

(recommended);
· A series of outline files with one section per file (not recommended, but
backward compatible with early MICROMINE). You can Ctrl+Click or
Shift+Click to load multiple outline files in Vizex.
If needed you can convert and append multiple outline files into a single
string file. You do this by loading the outline files into Vizex, dragging a
rectangle with the Select Tool to select them, then right-clicking and
choosing Selection | Save Strings As from the menu. Or, you can convert
the files via a macro (macros are covered in Part 5 – Macros 1).
In the following exercise, which is revision of Part 2 – Displaying and

Manipulating Data, you’ll load input strings from a string file.
Exercise 1.1: Load a string file for wireframing
To load the input string file:
1. Double-click the Strings form set type in the Vizex Forms pane to
display the Strings dialog.
2. Ensure the Input Data tab is active. Double-click the File response, set
Files type to STRING, and choose EXAMPLE_VEIN_INTERP from the
list.
3. Switch to the Display Options tab and ensure the Line type is SOLID
and the Line width is THIN.
4. Double-click the Colour field response and choose STRING from the
list.

Notes: 5. Double-click the Colour set response and choose Part 6 – Wireframe
input strings from the list.
6. Click Save As at the right of the Strings dialog and enter a form set
Title of Vein interp. Click OK on the Save Current Values and
Strings dialogs to display the input strings.
7. Highlight the Vein interp layer in the Display pane and then click the
Display 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 Display pane as shown:
Data Quality Control

Once the strings are loaded you should visually inspect them before
commencing wireframing. In particular, check:
· 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. You must 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 turned on;
· 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, 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 Notes:
back of each section as well as seeing each section as an individual item.
It may not be possible to find a single view orientation that works for the
entire project so be prepared to change the view as often as required. A
confusing viewpoint showing overlapping strings will make it hard to
know exactly what you’re linking.
Checking outline orientation
The position check is especially important if you use outline files. Because
they rely on an orientation flag (PLAN, LOOKING NORTH, or LOOKING
WEST) you must load them with the same flag value as when you
created them. Loading them with the wrong flag value will place the
outlines—and the constructed wireframe—in the wrong location.
Once you’ve established the quality of the input data you’re ready to start
wireframing. Detailed quality control is beyond the scope of this manual and
is covered in Part 9 – Wireframing 2. At this stage we’ll assume the input
data are valid and will perform a simple visual check of the match between
the strings and drillholes.
Maintain quality from the start
Although quality control is presented here as a part of the wireframing

process, a far better alternative is to keep an eye on quality while you’re
digitising or interpreting the original strings. If you’re systematic about
how you create the strings you won’t need to run these checks as a
separate step.
Exercise 1.2: Perform a visual quality control check
To perform a visual quality control check on the input strings, start by

loading the drillhole data:
1. Expand the Drillhole Trace list in the Vizex Forms pane by single-
clicking the small plus [+] icon to the left of the Drillhole Trace node.
2. Double-click the Example drillhole lithology object to open it.
3. Vizex will display the drillhole data from which the interpretation was
created; even a casual glance will reveal that the strings are in the same
coordinate space as the drillholes.
4. Using the Pan Tool (drag with the middle mouse button), dynamic
zoom (roll the mouse wheel), and 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. Be on the
lookout for incorrectly snapped points and any other obvious errors.

Notes: 5. Once you’re done, click the check box next to the Example drillhole
lithology layer in the Display Pane to turn off the drillholes.
6. Click the Plan View button, followed by View All, to reset the view.
You’re now ready to begin wireframing.
Rock the boat to see better 3D
Gently rocking the view back and forth is a great way to establish the 3D
depth relationship between objects. The subtle differences in movement
between them will enhance the 3D cues sent to your brain, making the
3D relationships much easier to see.
Keep the Select Tool active
Keeping the Select Tool active and using the middle mouse to pan and
zoom, and Shift+middle mouse to rotate, will enable you to rapidly switch
between view manipulation and string selection without wasting time
moving the mouse to the toolbar area and back.
For example, you can display the points that define a particular string by
clicking that string. However, if the Select Tool isn’t active you’ll need an
extra few seconds to click it and then return to the string. The wasted
time will add up if you repeat this for a few hundred strings.
Additional reading: the difference between a DTM, a

3D surface, and a 3D solid
In Part 2 – Displaying and Manipulating Data you worked with a DTM, which
is one kind of wireframe supported by MICROMINE. In this document you’re
working with a 3D solid, and you’ve read references to a third kind of
wireframe, a 3D surface.
All three consist of networks of interconnected triangle facets. However,

MICROMINE uses the following criteria to differentiate between them:
Is there a single Z value at any X, Y coordinate?
In other words, how many times would a vertical hole drilled at a random X,
Y location intersect the wireframe? If the answer is always one no matter
which X, Y coordinate is chosen, the wireframe is a DTM. If the drillhole
intersects the wireframe more than once, it’s a 3D surface or 3D solid.
Is it open at the edges?
Does the wireframe have an outside edge, with some triangle edges not
connected to other triangles? If it does, it’s a DTM or 3D surface. If it
doesn’t, it’s a 3D solid.

Does it enclose a volume? Notes:
Does the wireframe enclose a volume? Could a random 3D point be

considered as falling inside or outside it? If the answer is yes, the wireframe
is a 3D solid. If the answer is no, it’s a 3D surface or DTM.
The right tool for the job
There are many ways to build wireframes in MICROMINE and identifying the
right kind of wireframe will determine the best tool for the job. As a guide
Table 1.1 summarises the various kinds of wireframe and lists the most
appropriate method for constructing each kind.
Table 1.1: Kinds of wireframe
Kind of Single Open at Encloses a

Example
Wireframe Z value edges volume
DTM ü ü û Topography
3D Recumbent
surface û ü û fold surface
Ore grade
3D solid û û ü envelope
Table 1.1: Kinds of wireframe (continued)
Kind of
Best Construction Method
Wireframe
Use DTM | Create Surface (menu) or the Create DTM

DTM button (Vizex Tools toolbar). See Part 2 – Displaying and
Manipulating Data for more information on creating DTMs.
3D Follow the techniques described on the following pages, using

surface open strings as the input data to create an open surface.
Follow the techniques described on the following pages, using

3D solid
closed strings as the input data to create a closed solid.

This lesson has covered the basic workflow of wireframing and has
introduced you to basic visual quality control.
Here’s what you’ve learned so far:
To load input strings:
Use the Vizex Strings or Outlines form set to load either a single string
file or a series of outline files.
To perform visual data quality control:
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 an unobstructed view of the
strings.
Good Practice
Perform your quality control checks right from the beginning by digitising
your open or closed strings, or outlines, with wireframing already in mind.
Ensure that you systematically check the naming, snapping, and closure of
each string before moving 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.
Help Topics
Vizex Display > Vizex
Displaying strings Display >Vizex > Strings
Displaying drillholes Display > Vizex > Drillhole > ...

Notes:
Lesson 2 – Constructing the
Wireframe
Lesson 1 introduced you to the basic wireframing workflow and briefly

described the build-validate-fix cycle:
Build
Fix Validate
This lesson will cover the build-validate-fix cycle in more detail. Once you’re
finished, you’ll be able to:
· Build a 3D solid by linking each section to the next;

· Optionally choose a triangulation method for optimal results;
· Use select by condition and object visibility to control which strings are
displayed;
· Visually and mathematically validate a 3D solid;
· Use tie lines to control the triangulation process;
· Create intermediate sections and close the ends of a 3D solid.
Building the Wireframe

In MICROMINE you can build a 3D solid one of two ways, each of which has
advantages and disadvantages. The two methods are:
· Automatically, using the Auto Build Wireframe option;

· Manually, by linking each section to the next in Build Wireframe
mode.
Automatically building a wireframe is very fast but is based on mathematics

and may not represent the reality you’re trying to model, whereas the
manual method is slightly more time consuming but gives you complete
control over the process. You’ll learn the manual method in the next few
exercises.

Notes:
Making a Wireframe Object the Active Layer
The wireframing process begins by making a wireframe object the Active
Layer. How you do this depends on your personal preference and the task at
hand, but there are three alternatives:
· Allow Vizex to prompt you to choose an existing or create a new Active

Layer when you first activate either Build Wireframe option;
· Right-click an existing wireframe layer in the Display Pane and choose
Active Layer from the pop-up menu;
· Pull down the Active Layer list and choose [New] Triangulation….
The Active Layer is described at length in Part 2 – Displaying and

Manipulating Data.
Building a Wireframe
You use 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. If
you’re satisfied with the result, continue by clicking the matching string on
each subsequent section.
The Build Wireframe button is a combination button offering a variety

of triangulation methods. To choose from the list, click the small triangle
at the right of the button.
If you refer to Lesson 1 you’ll recall that the 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 often as needed, since
using a poor viewpoint that obstructs your view of the strings will make the
wireframing process more difficult.
In the following exercise you’ll build the MV2 wireframe, represented by the
green strings.
Choosing a triangulation method
In normal operation you should use the default Maximum Volume

triangulation method, which automatically selects the most suitable of the
remaining three methods and nearly always gives the best result.
Exercise 2.1: Build a 3D solid
We’ll begin the wireframing process by creating a new triangulation to use as

the active layer. We’ll then hide any non-essential strings so that they don’t
obstruct the view.
To create the active layer:

1. Pull down the Select Active Layer list and choose [New] Notes:
Triangulation… from the list. Vizex will create a new display layer called
New Wireframe.
To hide the non-essential strings:
1. Click the Selection by Condition button on the View toolbar.
This tool allows you to interactively select all strings matching the conditions
you specify. In this exercise we need to select all of the strings that are not
MV2* so that we can use a visibility tool to hide them.
2. Fill out the Selection Condition dialog as shown here:
Prompt Setting
Method: New selection
Layer (1): Vein interp
Field (1): STRING
Operator (1): != (not equal to)
Value (1): MV2* (note use of wildcard)
Numeric (1): Cleared
3. Click OK to apply the selection and inspect the result: everything but the
green strings is highlighted.
4. Click the Invisible button on the Vizex Object Visibility toolbar.
If you can’t see this toolbar, right-click a blank part of the toolbar area and
choose Vizex Object Visibility from the list of available toolbars. Alternatively,
select View | Toolbars | Vizex Object Visibility from the menu.
5. Although they are still loaded in memory the non-essential strings are
now invisible.
Click the All Visible button to reinstate the hidden strings.
Now it’s time to set the viewpoint:
6. Rotate the view until you can clearly see each string as an individual
object and can also clearly see the front and back of each.

Notes: 7. Click the Build Wireframe button to activate Build Wireframe mode.
Note how the cursor now shows an icon that matches the current
triangulation method.
8. Click the first (southern-most) string to select it.
9. Now click the string in the next section and observe the result: Vizex
links the two strings with a series of triangles. Your screen should look
like this:
10. Click each section in sequence, extending the 3D solid to each new
section. Your display should resemble this once you’re done:

Validating the Wireframe

Notes:
MICROMINE automatically validates the wireframe each time you link a new
section, immediately alerting you to new problems. If your wireframe is
simple this level of validation may be sufficient.
However, a mathematically valid wireframe may still be geologically invalid.

Additionally, the automatic validation only concentrates on the latest link and
ignores all previous links; because of this it won’t identify errors caused by
interaction between separate wireframe parts. Such unexpected interaction is
often the cause of triangulation errors.
Because of the potential for geological invalidity or unexpected errors you

should still perform two types of validation over and above the automatic
version:
· Visual validation;
· Mathematical validation.
Visual validation is extremely important but simple to carry out: 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
excluded required volume or included unnecessary volume?
It’s easy to produce a mathematically valid but visually invalid wireframe,

so perform this step regularly even if the automatic validation reports no
errors.
Mathematical validation rigorously checks the relationships between

triangle facets, edges, and vertices throughout the wireframe. However, it
knows nothing about the shape you’re trying to create, which is why it’s also
important to regularly perform visual validation.
If the wireframe is complex you may need to visually validate every section.
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.
Periodic validation will alert you to potential problems before they

become too deeply entrenched.
In the following exercise you’ll visually and mathematically validate your work
so far.
Exercise 2.2: Validate the wireframe
Visual validation is simple and intuitive and is a sensible place to begin. To

perform a visual validation:

Notes: 1. Rotate the view and inspect the 3D solid. Look for sections where
volume may be lost or where the wireframe is geologically nonsensical.
In this example a crease representing small amount of missing volume
appears between sections 15900 and 15920 north.
Visual validation will reveal the creases highlighted above
We’ll also perform a mathematical validation:
2. Right-click in the graphic display and choose Validate Wireframe from

the pop-up menu. Alternatively, click the Validate Wireframe toolbar
button.
3. Turn on both validation options and set the two Highlight colours to
bright but different colours.
4. Click OK to run the validation.

5. Assess the validation report.
You can ignore the 2 open section(s) – they’re normal for a 3D solid whose
ends haven’t been closed yet.

Your validation report should find no errors other than the two open ends. Notes:
Ultimately MICROMINE should find zero problems, proving that the solid is
closed and valid.
Fixing Validation Errors

Whenever you need to fix an invalid wireframe you nearly always start by
removing the invalid link(s) that created the problem in the first place. You
can do this in different ways, based 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 clicking the Undo toolbar button.
The ease of this method is one of the main reasons to validate regularly.
· Select Triangles by Construction String: If the invalid link is
surrounded by valid links but can be identified by the strings originally
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: If the geometry of the invalid link is complex you can
delete the offending triangles by clicking the Select Triangles button,
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, but tie lines are the easiest tool to use. Advanced
remediation methods are covered in Part 11 – Wireframing 2.
Adding Tie Lines

Tie lines are construction lines that control how the wireframe will be linked
from one section to the next. Whenever MICROMINE finds a tie line it will
position a pair of triangle edges either side of that line, which means you can
use tie lines to control how points are connected between two sections.
However, don’t get carried away with adding tie lines. Creating too many tie
lines not only wastes time but can increase the number of problems instead
of reducing them.
Some key points to consider when positioning tie lines are:
· Less is more: use the fewest tie lines needed to fix the problem;
· Pick the worst problem: in other words concentrate on the most invalid
parts first;
· Pick obvious vertices: in other words concentrate on the sharpest
corners.
You add tie lines with the 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 Snap Mode enabled.

Notes: 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.
Keep tie lines and input strings in separate files
In order 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.
Why? The input strings represent your raw interpretation based on

drillhole or other subsurface data. Each point in the interpretation is there
because it’s somehow related to those data. On the other hand, tie lines
extend between sections and do not represent the original interpretation.
Logically they have no place in the original strings.
Optional Exercise 2.3: Fix the validation error and

finish building the wireframe
The validation you carried out in Exercise 2.2 identified one minor problem: a
small amount of lost volume in the link between sections 15900 and 15920
North. In this exercise you’ll remove the triangles between those sections,
repair the error by adding a tie line, and rebuild the 3D solid.
1. Reset the view by clicking the Plan View button followed by the View
All button.
2. Zoom and pan the display to focus on the region between sections
15900 and 15920.

3. Switch to the Select Tool and select the strings at 15890 and 15920 Notes:
North. Use the Ctrl key to select the second string.
4. With the strings selected right-click in the graphic display and choose
Select Triangles by Construction String from the pop-up menu, as
shown in the diagram on the preceding page.
5. Press the Delete key on your keyboard to delete the triangles.
Now, add two tie lines:
6. Right click and choose New Tie Line from the pop-up menu, or
alternatively click the New Tie Line toolbar button.
7. On the Select Active Tie Lines dialog, choose [New] String....
Don’t choose the existing Vein interp layer!
8. Click OK. MICROMINE will create a new layer called Untitled

(Untitled.str) and switch to string edit mode with Snap Mode enabled.
9. Rotate the view sideways slightly so you can clearly identify the vertices
that make up the top of the vein.
10. 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.

Notes: 11. Click near the matching vertex in the next section. MICROMINE will join
the two vertices with a tie line segment as shown in the diagram on the
preceding page.
12. Press Esc or click the New Tie Line button to finish adding ties.
Finally, replace the missing section of the 3D solid:
13. Click the Build Wireframe button to return to Build Wireframe mode.
14. Click a string segment in the section either side of the opening to rebuild
that link.
15. Validate the 3D solid both visually and using Validate Wireframe,
noting that the errors have been corrected.
Closing Ends
A wireframe is not a 3D solid until you close the ends. Until you do so the
wireframe is merely a complex 3D surface that can’t be used for volumetric
or grade/tonnage calculations.
It’s tempting to simply close the wireframes across 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 intervals on the end sections lengthwise and won’t know if
they fall inside the wireframe or not.
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 half way between two holes on a 2D vertical section.
2D close. The polygons are 3D close. The wireframe is extended

extended by half a drillhole spacing by half a drill line spacing before
before closing closing
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 is covered in Part 11 – Wireframing 2.
Closing the end of a wireframe is a trivial process: 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 toolbar Notes:
button.
On the other hand you can use Close End to Point to create a conical end.
There’s usually no need to create an intermediate section in this case.
Creating Intermediate Sections

Use the Copy/Move String option to create an intermediate section. To do
this, select a string, right-click in the graphic display, and choose
Copy/Move String from the pop-up menu.
Copy/Move String executes three tasks:
· Move the string by a given distance in a given direction. Distance and

direction can be specified in terms of X, Y, Z offsets, azimuth /
inclination / distance, or distance perpendicular to the plane of the data
or plane of the screen;
· Optionally, Make a copy of the selected string;
· Optionally, Resize the string to a percentage of its original size. 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.
Whenever Make a copy is selected the original string is left in place and
Move and Resize are applied to the copy.
In the following exercise you’ll use Move String to create intermediate

sections and close the wireframe.
Exercise 2.4: Close the ends of the 3D solid
The average drill line spacing for this project is 30 m, so it’s logical to make
intermediate sections 15 m beyond the end sections. Because the
intermediate sections are not based on any real data we’ll also resize them to
80% of their original size.
Once the sections are created we’ll extend the 3D solid to them and then
close ends.
First, close the southern end:
1. Switch to a Plan view and pan to the southern end of the 3D solid.
2. Click the Select Tool to take MICROMINE out of Build Wireframe mode.
3. Click the string at the southern end of the 3D solid to select it;
4. Right-click in the graphic display and choose Copy/Move String from
the pop-up menu;
5. Fill out the Move String dialog as shown below to move the string 15 m
south and resize it to 80%.

Notes:
Prompt Setting
Mode: Azimuth/Inclination/Distance
Azimuth: 220
Inclination: 0
Distance: 15
Copy: Selected
Resize: Enabled [80%]
6. Click OK to produce the new end string.
Positioning intermediate sections
The Azimuth/Inclination/Distance option is best when you’re

working with conventional geological data such as an orebody or rock
unit model. An easy way to determine the appropriate azimuth,
inclination, and distance values is to use the Measure Tool to draw a
line to where you think the new section should go. Make note of the
measurement values in the status bar and use them on the Move String
dialog.
7. Switch back to Build Wireframe mode and extend the 3D solid to the
new string.
8. Right-click and choose Close End from the pop-up menu. Alternatively,
click the Close End toolbar button.
Next, close the northern end:
9. Click a blank part of the graphic display to ensure there are no selected
strings.
If you don’t deselect the current string when you move to a different part
of the 3D solid MICROMINE will attempt to (incorrectly) link the two
parts.
10. Repeat Steps 4 through 9 at the north end of the 3D solid, using an
Azimuth value of 0.
11. Validate the 3D solid. It’s only closed when the validation report shows
zero invalid connections, zero open sections, and zero intersecting
triangles.

Notes:
This lesson has introduced the basics of wireframing. Advanced wireframing

is covered in Part 11 – Wireframing 2.

This lesson has extended the basic wireframing workflow to incorporate the
build–validate–fix cycle and has introduced a technique for creating
intermediate sections to close ends. Specifically, you’ve learned:
To make a wireframe object the Active Layer:
Allow Vizex to prompt you when you first start wireframing, or

Right-click an existing wireframe in the Display Pane and choose
Active Layer from the pop-up menu, or
Pull down the Active Layer list and choose [New] Triangulation…
To manually build a wireframe:
Click the Build Wireframe button, then

Click a string segment on one section to highlight it, and
Click the matching string segment on the adjacent section, then
Continue clicking the matching string on each subsequent section.
To validate a wireframe:
Rely on MICROMINE’s on-the-fly validation to check each link, and

Periodically rotate the 3D model and inspect it from all sides to perform
a visual validation, then
Right-click the graphic display and choose Validate Wireframe from
the pop-up menu, or
Click the Validate Wireframe button.
To remove validation errors:
If the last link is invalid, press Ctrl+Z, or right-click | Undo, or click

the Undo button to undo it, or
If the errors are within the wireframe, click the Select Triangles button
and drag to select the offending triangles, then
Press the Delete key to delete them.
To fix validation errors using tie lines:
Click the New Tie Line button, and

Nominate a tie line file using either a new or existing file, then
Click a vertex in one section and click the matching vertex in the next
section, and
Continue until all tie lines are added, then
Click the Build Wireframe button to rebuild the deleted triangles.

To determine the position of an intermediate section:
Use the Measure Tool to draw a line indicating 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.
To produce an intermediate section:
Click the Select Tool, then

Select the nearest string (whether by proximity or shape), and
Right-click in the graphic display, then
Choose Copy/Move String from the pop-up menu.
To close the end of a 3D solid:
Click the Select Tool, then

Select the string that represents the opening, then
Right-click in the graphic display, and
Choose Close End from the pop-up menu, or
Click the Close End toolbar button.
Alternatively, click Close End to Point to create a conical end.
Good Practice
If you’re dealing with a multiple strings, use the Selection by Condition

option to restrict the view to just the relevant strings. This is more efficient
than using a filter.
Validate often. It’s better to take a few seconds to validate than to spend
days building a wireframe only to discover it contains numerous errors.
Keep data integrity in mind whenever you add tie lines or adjust the source
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 attempt to join the two
parts. Needless to say this will cause numerous validation errors at worst and
a visually invalid wireframe at best.
If you’re building a 3D solid of a drillhole interpretation, never close the 3D

solid on the end sections. You’ll lose volume and may not know if intervals
right at the edge will fall inside or outside the 3D solid.

Help Topics
Wireframes Display > Vizex > Wireframe
The Active Layer [Index] > Active Layer
Select by Condition [Index] > Select by Condition, Vizex
Building Wireframes Wireframing
Wireframe validation Wireframing > Validation
Tie lines Wireframing > Wireframing tools >

Working with tie-lines (link on page)
Close End Wireframing > Wireframing tools >

Close End, Close End to Point (topics on page)
Move String [Index] > Edit Strings > Menu options >
Copy/Move String (topic on page)

Notes:
Lesson 3 – Saving Your Work
Saving your work is simply a matter of saving each of the files on which
you’ve been working (wireframe, tie lines, input strings). However, some
data management and integrity decisions are needed, particularly if your
work will be audited by banks, clients, or consultants.
Although it’s possible to simultaneously save all of the files 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 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.
Saving the Wireframe

The finished wireframe is clearly the ultimate result of this process and
saving it is as simple as clicking the Save button. Your only major
consideration will be where to save the wireframe and what to name it.
As you learned in Part 2, Lesson 5, you can group wireframes into wireframe
types, which provide a convenient way to classify wireframes. If you’re
building 3D geological solids the Types you’re most likely to use are ORE,
ROCK MODEL, or MINERALISATION.
However, you’re not restricted to just these types. Fault or shear zones can
be modelled as 3D surfaces or solids and you can group them under the
FAULT type. Similarly, for 3D solids of underground workings you might use
the STOPE type.
If none of supplied wireframe types suit your requirements you can easily
define your own. Just select Wireframe | Utilities | Types from the main
menu and click the New button on the Wireframe Type Definition dialog.
Whenever you create a new wireframe type MICROMINE will ask you to
create user defined attributes for that type. However, they’re generally not
needed unless you’re an advanced user so you can dismiss that dialog box
once it appears. Or, you can use another wireframe type as a template.
The wireframe Name can be anything meaningful. However, consider

building version information into the name if you plan to work through
multiple iterations of a particular wireframe. For example, STH_LODE_V1
might represent the first version of South Lode.

Notes: 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.
Exercise 3.1: Save the wireframe
To save the wireframe:
1. Single-click the New Wireframe layer in the Display pane to select it.
2. Click the Save button on the toolbar. Alternatively, press Ctrl+S, or
right-click the layer in the Display pane (or anywhere in the graphic
display) and choose Save from the pop-up menu.
3. Double-click the Type response and choose Ore.tdb from the list.
4. Enter the Name MV2 and set the Colour to darkgreen.
5. Click OK to save the 3D solid.
6. Right-click the Ore MV2 layer in the Display pane and choose Refresh
from the pop-up menu to redraw the 3D solid in your chosen colour.
Saving Tie Lines

Tie lines are an essential part of wireframing and it’s important to save them
in a way that relates them to their associated wireframe. This is especially
the case if your wireframes will take longer than one day to build, or if you’re
producing a reportable resource and will need to justify your result.
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.
Exercise 3.2: Save the tie lines
To save the tie lines:
1. Single-click the Untitled (Untitled.STR) layer in the Display to select it.

2. Click the Save button on the toolbar. Alternatively, press Ctrl+S, or
right-click the layer in the Display pane and choose Save from the pop-
up menu.

Remember to keep tie lines separate from your interpretation strings. Notes:
3. Enter the File Name MV2_TIES and set the File Type to STRING.
Naming the tie line file this way indicates that it contains tie lines and
relates it to the 3D solid.
4. Click OK to save the file. Note how the display layer is now named
Untitled (MV2_TIES.STR).
Saving Modified Input Strings

The input strings you use for a wireframing project most probably represent
the result of a series of sectional interpretations made by snapping to
drillholes. However, if you modify the strings whilst wireframing, for instance
to add end or intermediate sections, the data no longer consist of a pure
sectional interpretation. This is because the new sections did not originate
from actual drillholes and therefore no longer represent the raw drillhole
information.
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 3D solid.
Exercise 3.3: Save the modified input strings
To save the modified input strings to a new file:
1. Single-click the Vein interp layer in the Display pane to select it.
2. Select File | Save As from the menu. Alternatively, right-click the layer
in the Display pane and choose Save As from the pop-up menu.
3. Enter the File Name MV2_INTERP and set the File Type to STRING. As
you did with tie lines, naming the file this way relates it to the
wireframe.
4. Click OK to save the file.
5. Answer No when prompted to save EXAMPLE_VEIN_INTERP.STR.
6. MICROMINE will place the new file name (MV2_INTERP) into the Vein
interp form set, protecting the original file from accidental modification
at a later date.

Notes:
Lesson 3 Summary
In this lesson you learned to save the various files that contribute to a built
wireframe. Topics covered are:
To save a modified wireframe, tie line, or string file:
Single-click the relevant layer in the Display pane to select it, then
Click the Save button, or press Ctrl+S, or right-click the layer in the
Display pane and choose Save from the pop-up menu, and
Name the file according to the wireframe it’s related to and, if necessary,
its version number.
To save modified input strings to a new file:
Click the relevant layer in the Display pane to select it, then
Select File | Save As from the menu, or right-click the layer in the
Display pane and choose Save As from the pop-up 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 simultaneously save your files as you
may inadvertently overwrite an existing file, particularly if you’ve modified
the input strings.
Consider building version information into the name if you’ll be performing

multiple iterations of a particular wireframe. For example, STH_LODE_V1
might represent the first version of South Lode.
In addition to using Wireframe | Utilities | Types to create a new type

you can also create one while you’re saving the wireframe. To do this, right-
click the Type on the Wireframe Properties dialog, which will open the
Wireframe Type Definition dialog.
Help Topics
Wireframe types Wireframe functions > Utilities > Types
Displaying drillholes Display > Vizex > Drillholes

MM12-0 Introduction To MICROMINE (2010-04)

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Introduction to

Micromine (Head Office)

Tel: +61 8 9423 9000

To find your local office, please visit: http://www.micromine.com.au/contact

This manual assumes that MICROMINE Version 2010 (12.0) or above is

© Copyright Micromine 2010 Page i

For: New MICROMINE users

The Scenario: Your Company is evaluating a prospect on which initial stream

· Use the MICROMINE user interface and its various tools;

Page ii © Copyright Micromine 2010

How to Use This Manual

Part 1 – MICROMINE Basics

Installing the Data Set

Using the Online Help with the

© Copyright Micromine 2010 Page iii

Online help references will be displayed as italic in the following format:

Help Topic Topic Heading > Sub heading > Content

Importing ODBC Files > Import > ODBC

To browse to a reference using the online help:

1. Select Help | Contents from the MICROMINE menu.

Conventions Used in this Manual

Visual indicators use a combination of icon and colour:

Exercise. A series of steps that you can complete to help

Side-bar. Additional text that amplifies the current topic. The

Module required. A particular MICROMINE module is required to

Page iv © Copyright Micromine 2010

Referring to Entries in Dialog Boxes and Files

As an example, this is a dialog box (form) that contains parameters you

The same information could be presented in a table:

© Copyright Micromine 2010 Page v

For further study

In addition to these optional tasks, in-house experts at Micromine have

System Prerequisites for this

Printers and Plotters

Page vi © Copyright Micromine 2010

However, if you’re using a MICROMINE licence that’s already been used by

Check that in:

Tools | Options | Default Language

Tools | Options | Colours & Fonts

Compulsory prompt is set to Red. (Choose bright red if your

Grid Text is set to 8 point Arial.

Display Text is set to 8 point Arial.

Tools | Options | Editor

Text Viewer is set to Built-in

Tools | Options | Vertical Exaggeration

Vertical exaggeration is not set

© Copyright Micromine 2010 Page vii

Page viii © Copyright Micromine 2010

PART 1 TABLE OF CONTENTS

LESSON 1 – PREPARING THE PROJECT DATA.............................................................................. 1

Table 4.1: File Editor keyboard shortcuts......................................................................................................... 38

© Copyright Micromine 2010 Revision 2010-04

PART 1 TABLE OF CONTENTS (Continued)

Creating a project folder outside of MICROMINE ................................................................................................5

Exercise 1.1: Attach an existing project ..............................................................................................................3

Revision 2010-04 © Copyright Micromine 2010

Lesson 1 – Preparing the

After this lesson you’ll be able to:

· Attach an existing project;

Working with Projects

A MICROMINE project represents a real-world project.

© Copyright Micromine 2010 Page 1.1

If you regularly use different MICROMINE projects, for example as a