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What is COMPASS? |
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COMPASS is a cave mapping software package designed to edit,
process, analyze and view cave survey data using an IBM PC
compatible computer. The programs in the system allow you to
enter cave data, revise the data, generate statistics on the
cave, close loops, view plots from various angles on the screen
and finally, print finished quality plots on almost any of dot
matrix, laser, ink jet printer and a variety of line plotters.
COMPASS has hundreds of powerful features, including a configurable
survey editor, high speed real-time 3D passage wall modeling, GIS and
data base compatibility, sophisticated loop closure and blunder
detection. COMPASS is extremely fast capable of animating of
caves in excess of 150 miles in length. It is also very easy to use,
with built-in wizards and tools that make it easy for novice users to
manage and work with large cave systems. COMPASS
will run on any modern version of Windows ranging from Windows 95 to
Windows-7. COMPASS
is constantly being refined to add new features and take advantage of the
latest technologies.
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Latest Revisions and Features. |
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Major Update -
3-20-10 |
This is a major update for
Compass. Here is a description of the newest
features.
I. Cartography Tools.
The Compass Cartography Tools are a new set of tools that helps you
create presentation quality digital survey map from Compass files. The
tool kit consists of the two basic pieces: the Sketch Map Editor and the
SVG Exporter/Merge/Morph (round-trip) Tool.
To download these programs, go to the Compass
Download Page.
| A. Sketch Map Editor.
The Sketch Map
Editor helps you to take the sketch maps you generate in the
cave and use them as the basis for your finished maps. The
Editor allows you to take a scanned bitmap image and edit it to
remove flaws, align it to north, scale it to a standard scale, and
trim the image to size. It also allows you to merge multiple
images into single image, using transparency to precisely align
the passages. Finally, it allows you to warp or "morph" the image so station
positions in the sketch map, precisely match the positions in
the cave data. |
| Once a combined image has been created in
the Editor, the image can be loaded into a drawing program for tracing.
Having a precisely aligned, single image makes producing a map much
quicker and easier because you don't have to load and align individual
images. Also, since the image has been warped to match the survey shots,
you don't have to constantly shift the image as you are tracing.
To guide you through the
process of using the Sketch Map Editor, I have created a detailed
tutorial that will walk you through the process:
Click here to view the
Sketch Map Editor Tutorial. |
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| B. SVG Exporter.
SVG is a widely used file format for drawing
programs. Because it is so widely used, it is an ideal format for
exporting cave data. For example, programs like Adobe Illustrator and
Corel Draw will read and write these file. Even more important there are
Freeware programs like Inkscape that can read and write SVG files. |
| The SVG Exporter allows you to export cave
survey data as SVG files. The SVG files contain a complete cave
map on multiple "layers" that include stations, shots, passages,
LRUD marks, a grid, a north arrow, a scale bar, a frame, and a colored
background. The exported map also contains empty layers into
which you can place your hand-drawn passage walls, floor
details, a legend, notes, etc. This allows you to use the SVG
map as the starting point for a high quality, finished digital
map. |
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For a complete tutorial on using
the SVG Exporter click here.
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| C. Converting And Adopting.
The SVG Converter has special tools that allow
you to use maps that were generated with different drawing
programs. For example, Inkscape has different layering system
than Adobe Illustrator so Illustrator layers do not show up in
Inkscape. In addition, programs like the
Compass SVG Exporter and Walls, require certain layers to be in
place before they can be merged, morphed, or round tripped. The
SVG Exporter can add these layers to any SVG file, whether it
was originally generated by cave survey program or not. As a
result, the SVG Exporter can "adopt" an existing cave map even
if it wasn't originally generated by Compass (or Walls.) Once
the map has been "adopted," it can be treated like
just like a map that was generated by Compass or Walls. In other
words, It can be merged, morphed or round tripped.
Click here for a
detailed explanation of the Converting and
Adopting Process. |
| D. Using Inkscape. One of the big advantages of SVG is the fact that there are
several Freeware drawing programs that support it. One of the best is
Inkscape, a drawing program that is very similar to Adobe Illustrator.
Since Illustrator can costs hundreds of dollars, Inkscape is a
perfect alternative for cavers on a budget.
Because Inkscape is free and works well for cave
mapping, I have developed the Exporter to be compatible with
Inkscape. (It will also work fine with other programs such as
Illustrator.)
Because all sophisticated drawing programs require a lot work to
learn, I have designed a detail tutorial on making cave maps using
Compass and Inkscape. Here is a link to the
Compass Inkscape Tutorial.
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| F. Merge/Morph Tool (Round-tripping). The final tool solves one of the biggest
problems for cave cartographers: updating an existing map as the data
changes. For example, if you survey a new passage, the new data will
need to be added to the existing map. If the passage is extensive, you
may have to reduce the scale, use bigger paper or even rotate the cave so
everything fits on a piece of paper. |
| In addition to adding new data, you may correct errors in the data or
improve the loop closure. When this happens, all the shots in the cave
may move. This may change the angle that shots come together and passage
intersect. When this happens all the carefully drawn wall details will
need to be moved, stretched, compressed or warped to match the new shot
position.
Normally these kinds of changes would require lots of painful and
tedious hand adjusting. If the changes are extensive enough, it may even
require starting a new map from scratch.
The image to the right shows a section of a cave map
before a 30-degree correction is made at Station B7. |
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| The Merge/Morph tool allows any SVG-based map to be adjusted even
after passage lines have been drawn, floor detail placed and the map has
been finished. It allows you to move, rotate and scale all the
hand-drawn elements of a finished cave map, so the map can be completely
re-configured without losing any of the hand-work in the map. The tool
will also smoothly warp (morph) the passage walls, floor details and
other hand-drawn elements so they track changes in the shot positions.
For example, if the angle at a passage junction becomes tighter, the
passage walls will be compressed to fit and still maintain the same
relative distances from the shot lines.
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| This image show how
the passage and details are warped to accommodate a 30 degree
change at B7. You will notice how the passage walls and details
are stretched right at the corner and the rest of the passage is
only moved and rotated, with no warping. |
| Click here for a complete tutorial on using
the SVG Exporter's
Merge/Morph Tools |
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| II.
Showing Loops. The Viewer now
allows you to select loops and highlight them in the
display. You can choose to highlight one or more loops
at the same time. The loops can be "natural loops" which
are the first loops in the sequence of surveying. They
can also be optimized loops, which are loops with the
smallest total length. |
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| III. Station
Coordinates: You now have the option of
displaying station coordinates next to each station. The coordinates
can be displayed as UTM (Feet or Meters) or Longitude and Latitude
in degrees or degrees minutes and seconds. |
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| IV. Zone Crossing.
In some rare instances, you may have two or more caves that aren't
in the same UTM zones. This usually occurs when you have a cave
system close to the Zone boundary.
Compass now allows you to handle that situation by
extending the base zone so it encompasses the caves beyond it. This
is standard practices in cartography. |
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| V. Latest Magnetic
Declination Models. This version of Compass has the newest
magnetic declination models covering the years 2010 through 2015. |
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7-20-08 Update |
| Google
Earth KML File Export.
Compass now supports the
export of cave data to Google Earth in
the form of KML files. This allows you
to place the passage foot print of your
favorite cave on the surface terrain and
display it in Google Earth. |
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The image to the above
shows Fulford Cave superimposed on the
terrain around the cave. Exporting KML
files makes it very easy to view the
relationship between the cave and the
surrounding terrain. It also allows you
to share the latest cave data with
project members without the delay of
drafting maps. This is perfect for
surveying and exploration projects.
KML files
can be embedded in web pages to allow
other people to view the cave. For
example, if you have Google Earth
installed on your computer, click on
either of these two links to view some
Colorado Caves:
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The image to the below
shows the image of another Colorado Cave
called the "Fault Caves". These caves
are associated with tectonic faulting
along the Front Range of Colorado and
viewing them in Google Earth makes it
possible to see how the caves relate to
the geology. |
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The
Compass KML exporter gives you complete
control over the Fill Color, the Outline
Color and the transparency of the
passages. By making the passage
partially transparent, you can see the
details of the terrain through overlay. |
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11-17-07 Update |
| There are now printable
manuals available for all the Compass programs.
They are in the Microsoft Word "doc" format and
can printed from Word Pad which comes free with
every copy of Windows. There are more than 270
pages of documentation and you can download
copies of the manuals by
clicking here.
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8-19-07 Update
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| With the release of Windows
Vista earlier this year, we are entering a new
phase in the development of PC. Unlike some
previous versions of Windows, Vista makes some
radical changes in the way programs work under
the operating system. All Compass programs work
fine with Windows Vista with one exception:
CaveXO.
CaveX uses DirectX "Retained Mode" to display
cave passages. Vista doesn't support "DirectX
Retained Mode" and so CaveX will not run
properly under Vista. To deal with this problem,
I have created a new version that uses OpenGL to
render the 3D passage models. OpenGL is widely
available across many computer platforms and
most graphic cards provide drivers for OpenGL
that will work under virtually any version of
Windows. The new version is called CaveXO and
can be downloaded by
clicking here.
The latest version of CaveXO has most of the
features of CaveX. It also has Vista-compatible
help files. The only features that aren't
available are Joystick control and the ability
to load and save X files. These featues will be
added over the next few months
Help Files.
The help files that were shipped with previous
versions Compass don't work with Vista. The
latest version of Compass now has all the help
file converted to a Vista-compatible format. If
you don't have the latest version, you can
download it by clicking
here.
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New Release on
6-1-07 - Over 26 Combined Changes |
| Unfolded
Profiles or Developed Profiles |
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Normally, when
you view a cave in profile, some
parts of the passage will run
directly toward or away from the
screen. In this case, the
passage will appear to be just a
short segment even though it
could be thousand of meters
long. You could rotate the cave
to get a better view of the
passage, but, at the same time
you are likely to rotate other
passages so their length becomes
invisible. |
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The cave passage to the right is
a good example. Basically, the
passages form a descending
spiral. Viewing it in profile,
you cannot see three passage
segments that pass directly
toward or away from the screen.
Because of the spiral shape, no
matter how you rotate cave, some
part of the cave will be hidden.
To solve this
problem, Compass has a feature
called “Developed Profiles” or
“Unfolded Profiles.” The program
basically unfolds or flattens
out the cave so you can see the
full length of every passage.
This will distort some parts of
the cave, but it will allow you
to see the full lenght of every
passage. |
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The image to the
right shows the same passage as
an Unfolded Profile. You can now
see a full profile of every
shot. Before, you could not tell
anything about the slope of the
hidden shots. With the new
image, you can see the full
length of every shot and see
that cave slopes evenly down the
entire spiral. (Note, the image
has been scaled down so the
unfolded length will fit on the
web page.) |
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Compass gives you
several options for controlling
the way the profiles are
produced. For example, passages
can be flatten using the
"nearest-angle" method or the
"fixed-angle-method." You can
also control the angle of the
plane to which the cave is
flattened. Unfolded profiles are
useful for maps of deep, winding
pits where you want to display
as much detail as possible. |
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Entrance Distance |
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| This new option
allows you to color the passage
according to the distance from the
entrance. This is not the straight line
distance, but the actual travel distance
required to reach a certain point in the
cave. You have complete control over the
colors and how much distance is covered
by an individual color. This allows you
to setup zone maps of the distance from
the entrance that are perfect for
expedition planning. For example, the
map above shows the entrance distance in
Lechuguilla Cave. Each color is
represent 1/2 mile distance from the
entrance. In this picture the green zone
would be appropriate for day trips,
whereas the purple zone would probably
require overnight camping. |
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Italian Tutorial |
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| Thanks to Andrea
Maconi, we have a very nice
Compass tutorial in Italian.
The tutorial is a well produced, PDF
file complete with screen shots. It
should make it a lot easier for Italian
cavers to learn and use Compass. |
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| Precise
Distance Displays |
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You can also displays the
precise entrance distance at each survey
station. Again, this is not the
straight-line distance, but the travel
distance through the passages to get to
the station. Like the Color-by-Distance,
it is useful for estimating the
difficulty of reach a certain point in
the cave. |
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| It is also useful for
orienting yourself in the cave by
finding the direction back to the
entrance. You have the choice of either
meters or feet and the size, font and
color of the distance-labels is
configurable. |
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| Displaying Shot
Azimuth, Inclination and Length |
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| You now have the option
of displaying the Azimuth, Inclination
and Length of each shot. The image to
the right shows a display of the Azimuth
for each shot. Again, you have the
choice of fonts, size and color. |
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| Block Modify
Options |
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The
Block Modify Option in Compass
allows you to make complex changes to
survey data across a range of shots and
surveys. This is useful repairing
problems where large blocks of data were
entered incorrectly. It is also useful
for reorganizing the data. Text items
can be selectively modified. Station
names can be selectively prefixed or
post-fixed. Numerical items can be
modified. Shot flags can be selectively
set or cleared. All these options can
save hundreds of hours of manual labor. |
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| Fit Cave to
Screen |
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| The Compass Viewer
now has a special tool that will
automatically fit the cave display to
the current window size. This makes it
easy to view the whole when you have
resized the window to take up only part
of the screen. This is particularly
useful when you are looking at several
caves at the same time. |
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More New Features >> |
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