WALLS - TOOLS FOR CAVE SURVEY DATA MANAGEMENT
Version 2 B8 Release, Build 2013-05-25
The Walls download site is hosted by the Texas Speleological Survey. Additional
program information, along with a link to the most recent Walls build, will
normally be available at the TSS Web site.
To review the changes in the most recent program update, see the
RECENT BUILD HISTORY section below. Because of the way Walls is being
developed, it's almost certainly the case that the latest build is an
improvement over the previous build and compatible with existing project data.
The build date is displayed in the program's About box.
DOWNLOAD INSTRUCTIONS
To download the Walls v2 B8 setup program, select this link:
Walls_setup. When the download is complete, run Walls_setup.exe and follow
the instructions. If upgrading, you can use your existing Walls program
directory without explicitly uninstalling the earlier version. You shouldn't
have to purge work files and lose project-specific option settings. The prior
official release is still available
here, but if you ever decide to revert back to an older version of Walls
you'll have to uninstall the newer version first.
A printable PDF manual, essentially a copy of the online help, is installed
during setup and is also available separately:
Walls manual. All that's missing in the manual are the pop-up windows with
short descriptions.
Also part of the installation are two sample data sets that demonstrate SVG
round tripping, perhaps the most significant new component of recent releases.
If you run the Walls setup under Windows Vista and choose the default program
location, the sample projects will be installed in Vista's public folder,
normally C:\Users\Public\Walls Projects. If you're running Windows XP they are
installed in Projects, a subfolder of the chosen application folder. After
opening Kaua North Maze.wpj (the setup should do this when it closes), read the
contents of the first project tree item, a text file that describes the sample
data and serves as a brief introduction to Walls2D and SVG map production.
A second sample project, Tutorial.wpj, can serve as a getting started guide.
While it also has an SVG source file, its main purpose is to illustrate basic
features of a georeferenced data set.
SVG VIEWER SETUP
Walls incorporates an SVG map viewer, Walls2D.exe, that's launched for viewing
exported SVG map documents. Much of its functionality, however, requires the
presence on your system of Adobe's free SVG viewer plug-in, ASV 3. If you don't
already have ASV installed, please download and run the executable setup file
using this direct link to Adobe's download area:
SVGView.exe. The setup is quick and there are no options.
IMPORTANT NOTE: Reinstallation of the plug-in will likely be required after a
first-time upgrade to Internet Explorer 9. Walls2D should inform you of this
requirement, in which case running SVGView.exe again is all that's necessary.
Although Adobe has ended official support of the viewer, the
ASV EOL FAQ states the following : Adobe does not currently have plans to
remove Adobe SVG Viewer from the Adobe.com download area. Adobe recognizes that
customers have built Web applications that depend on ASV being available for
download, and although Adobe does not plan to develop ASV further, we plan for
the existing versions to be available for download as long as our customers rely
on them.
The FAQ also suggests that the viewer may have limitations when running under
Windows Vista, such as the View Source context menu option not working. (This
feature has in fact worked on systems running Vista and Windows 7 64-bit.) The
limitations are apparently minor and don't affect the functioning of Walls2D.
RECENT BUILD HISTORY
Version 2, B8 Release, Build 2013-05-25
The VRML export function was modified to output point clouds defining cave
passage walls. The lines connecting the points to a station or measuring device
are also optionally exported. Joe Mitchell, who is developing an electronic cave
mapping device (Caveatron), assisted by designing a data format and providing
files generated by the prototype. The VRML viewer, Walls3D, was also updated to
display higher-quality (anti-aliased) lines and points.
Version 2, B8 Release, Build 2013-01-29
Following a suggestion by Peter Sprouse, the SVG export feature was enhanced to
support merging of artwork from two separate SVG files. This represents a major
upgrade to the program's roundtripping capability. For more information see "SVG
Export Dialog" in online help. Live paint objects in Adobe Illustrator documents
should now be adjusted properly during roundtripping. Aaron Addison's work
prompted this fix. Also, SVG's <pattern> element is finally supported thanks to
Jeff Bartlett. This allows use of pattern fills for objects in any adjustable
layer. See help topic "Live Paint and Pattern Support." In a merged SVG export,
if a source SVG contains identifiers for vectors missing in the survey data, up
to 500 such cases will simply be ignored. Whether or not this limit is reached,
the orphaned vectors are listed in a log file so they can be reviewed. It's
possible that surveys were inadvertently excluded from compilation. Or a few
vectors could have become obsolete due to data corrections, in which case
relying on the shifts in other vectors for artwork adjustment and touching up
manually is usually all that's required. Other SVG export improvements include
displaying adjustment details whether or not the Walls2D viewer is launched. As
suggested by Jeff Bartlett, the survey vector experiencing the greatest endpoint
coordinate change is listed along with the amount of shift. A bug was also fixed
that caused gradient fills to be removed if they were encountered in a sym
group, such as in passage cross sections. When the units of exported shapefiles
are specified as Lat/Long (the new default), the coordinates that appear in the
attribute table will have seven decimal places of precision. Also, the
elevations (Z components) of 3D shapefiles are scaled from meters to degree
units as required by the format definition. For best compatibility with other
software you should specify UTM units for 3D shapefiles.
Version 2, B8 Release, Build 2011-04-12
This build was created with a new compiler version that targets only systems
running Windows XP SP2 or later. If setup tells you that your version of Windows
is incompatible, you can install the previous Walls build that's available on
the website. Please let me know if you found this to be necessary. The Walls2D
SVG viewer will notify you if a new install of Adobe's SVG viewer is required
due to Internet Explorer being pgraded to version 9. This IE upgrade,
infortunately, disables the viewer installation, causing the prior version of
Walls2D to produce a "script error" upon startup. A compiled dataset can
straddle UTM zone boundaries, with fixed points defined in more than one zone.
For completeness, the Universal Polar Stereographic (UPS) coordinate system is
also seamlessly supported. The geographical calculator has been enhanced in
multiple ways. It performs coordinate conversions across UTM/UPS, UTM zone, and
equatorial boundaries. The intensity of the magnetic field's horizontal
component is displayed alongside declination. You can transfer coordinate pairs
via the clipboard, the supported formats being suitable for pasting directly
into the search boxes of online mapping programs. The geodetic datum that's
initialized by default is WGS84 instead of NAD27. (See the new sections under
Geographical Calculator.)
Options to produce either UTM/UPS or Lat/Long coordinates has been added to both
the coordinate listing and shapefile export dialogs. For shapefiles, Lat/Long
degrees is now the default coordinate type. Miscellaneous fixes: An SVG export
involving a merged Illustrator 11 file could on occasion produce an invalid SVG
that Illustrator couldn't open. Thanks to Stan Allison for reporting the
problem. As suggested by Bob Osburn, gradient color assignments, such as
color-by-depth, are recognized when exporting SVG vector layers. Jason Richards
discovered that network pathnames were not being handled properly, preventing
access to project datasets on a local network.The undo/redo feature in the text
editor, if used in a certain way, could cause a program shutdown. The
Geographical Reference page would sometimes display the datum name incorrectly.
Modules wallmag.dll and wallzip.dll have been removed, the code now part of the
exe.
Version 2, B8 Release, Build 2010-05-14
The geographical calculator module included with the last build (wallmag.dll,
2010-01-14) has a defect that causes incorrect magnetic declinations to be
computed for a 5-year period beginning in 2005. The effect is that a correct
declination computed for Jan 2005 is also returned for subsequent dates, up
until Jan 2010. Thereafter, correct values based on the IGRF-11 model are
returned. The error introduced will depend on location. For example, in central
Texas the model's declination, instead of remaining constant, actually decreased
a total of 0.6 degrees over that period. This build includes a repaired
calculator module that should now agree with the
online implementation at the NGDC web site. Thanks to David S. Taylor and
Jeff Bartlett, respectively, for discovering and reporting the discrepancy.
Version 2, B8 Release, Build 2010-01-14
Igor Teleshman discovered that "percent grade" inclination units were being
incorrectly processed as proportional to the angle instead of proportional to
the tangent of the angle. The effect, unfortunately, was an easily overlooked
systematic error in situations where "Percent" was specified for a V, VB, IncV,
or IncVB units override. For example, a 5% grade is 2.86 degrees, not 2.25
degrees. This build incorporates the latest International Geomagnetic Reference
Field (IGRF) model, which covers the period Jan 1, 1900 through Dec 31, 2014.
Also, a problem was fixed that caused the geographical calculator to stop
working properly when the previous model expired on Jan 1, 2010. You can compare
the declinations computed by the calculator with output produced by the
IGRF calculator
at the National Geophysical Data Center (NGDC) web site. As suggested by Bob
Osburn, the Editor Options dialog now has settings to control the initial width
and height of an opened editor window. The default width was increased from 60
to 80 characters. Several minor bugs were fixed, one being the occasional
display of an empty or corrupted datum name on the Geographical Reference page
of the Properties dialog.
Version 2, B8 Release, Build 2008-12-26
Several Vista compatibility issues are addressed in this build. When run under
Windows Vista the Walls setup program stores the sample projects in Vista's
"Public" folder if the "Program Files" folder is chosen as the install location.
This is to allow read/write accessibility for all users. Also, the SVG map
viewer, Walls2D, no longer uses the application folder for temporary files.
Under Vista that would disable the toolbar buttons that control SVG layer
visibility. See the above note regarding the Vista
compatibility (and future availability) of Adobe's SVG viewer.
Version 2, B8 Release, Build 2008-08-22
The substantial change in release B8 is the use of a different file extension
for project script files. The required extension is now WPJ instead of PRJ. The
renaming was done to avoid conflicts with the projection files used by modern
GIS software. The transition should be entirely automatic. Walls will still
recognize the PRJ files created by earlier releases but will prompt for
confirmation and automatically change their extensions to WPJ in the process of
opening them. New compiler versions (both for code and online help) were used
for this release. Windows Vista compatibility has been improved, for example the
pop-up windows in online help should now function properly under Vista. You'll
find a printable version of the online help, Walls_manual.pdf, in the doc
subfolder. There are several new or revised topics, mostly related to SVG round
tripping. When exporting UTM shapefiles for datums NAD27, NAD83, and WGS-84, the
program now produces ESRI-compatible projection files with extension PRJ. The
presence of a PRJ component greatly simplifies adding shapefiles to GIS
projects, allowing for the automatic conversion of coordinates to a different
datum or map projection when it's required. Miscellaneous minor fixes. An option
to suppress the averaging of foresights and backsights was added to the data
format due to a suggestion by Bryan Signorelli.
Version 2, B7 Release, Build 2007-09-23
The SVG export function was revised to work around an annoying problem present
in all recent versions of Adobe Illustrator (especially CS3 it seems), which is
the tendency to occasionally rename an object or layer unnecessarily when
writing an SVG. For example, w2d Survey might be renamed w2d Survey_1_, even
when it isn't necessary for insuring ID uniqueness (an SVG requirement). This
would cause Walls error messages such as "invalid layer name" or "no vectors in
view", the easiest fix being to edit the SVG manually. To get around this bug,
suffixes like "_1_" are now removed during the processing of w2d layer names and
vector IDs. Two additional levels of prefixing were implemented with directives
#PREFIX2 and #PREFIX3. This simplifies the merging of large surveying projects,
where the original level-one prefixes (field book numbers, for example) are not
necessarily unique and would cause conflicts. Jim Borden suggested this
enhancement. Miscellaneous fixes. In earlier builds, clicking the "Data summary"
toolbar button without the review dialogs being open would cause the program to
close unexpectedly. The program should now start up noticeably faster.
Version 2, B7 Release, Build 2006-06-02
IMPORTANT: If you downloaded a copy Walls from this site anytime between
2006-05-23 and the time of this build, you must optain this update to correct an
issue with first-time project compilations (which would fail with an error
message). The SVG merge function was fixed to properly support character
entities representing Unicode characters. Stan Allison helped discover this
limitation. A few other improvements were made to the SVG export module, now at
version 1.13. The project management features were improved based on suggestions
from Jim Borden and Scott House. Duplicate shots are now optionally logged. It's
now possible to delete data files associated with project tree branches. The
text editor's search and replace dialog is now properly disabled for read-only
files. Miscellaneous fixes: The format of exported 3D shapefiles was not
strictly correct, potentially causing problems with readers. The button "Flag
Symbols" on the Segments page was re-enabled to open the Flag and Marker Symbols
dialog. The report option to organize stations by flag name now prints the flag
name headings correctly.
Version 2, B7 Release, Build 2005-12-01
The SVG-related features, including the tutorial project's source SVG,
Polygon_w2d_mrg.svg, were updated to support roundtripping with the latest
Illustrator version, 12 (or CS2). For details, see Roundtripping SVG Maps -
Instructions for Illustrator Users in the help file. The modules wallnet.dll and
wallsrv.dll were eliminated, their code now part of Walls32.exe. Also, to avoid
incompatibilities with some laptop versions of Windows, the program files are no
longer compressed. The link to the Walls home page in the About box was updated.
Version 2, B7 Release, Build 2005-03-10
This release fixes a bug (discovered by Jim Borden) that causes text to
sometimes not scroll properly in an editor window. Miscellaneous help file
changes were made. Victor Komarov corrected an error in the Data Screening
Tutorial topic.
Version 2, B7 Release, Build 2005-01-10
The latest version of the
International Geomagnetic Reference Field (IGRF) was incorporated. This is
the mathematical model used to estimate declination when the geographical
calculator is active or when declinations are computed automatically during data
processing. The model now covers the period Jan 1, 1900 through Dec 31, 2009. A
multi-level undo/redo capability was added to the text editor. This is accessed
in the standard way: from the toolbar, edit menu, or with keystrokes Ctrl-Z and
Ctrl-Y. It's now possible to reverse all changes made to a file since it was
opened. An option to enlarge LRUD polygons by a specified amount was added to
the Passage Display Options dialog as suggested by Mark Passerby. This can be
used in connection with SVG roundtripping to produce gradient-colored passage
floors. Making the polygons larger allows portions outside the drawn passage
walls to be clipped so that floor regions are entirely covered.
Version 2, B7 Release, Build 2004-12-17
Support was finally added for the manipulation and highlighting of traverse
chains in the Geometry and Map review pages. If you're already somewhat familiar
with the data screening tools in Walls, you can review a documentation
excerpt to get a sense of what this entails. Improvements were made to the
report dialogs and their methods of access via tool bar and file menu.
Coordinate reports can be restricted to data appearing within the current view
frame. When the program sorts project tree branches and station names in
reports, strings of digits are handled properly -- for example, "A30" comes
before "A100". To help prevent inadvertent editing, project files can be
compiled, opened, and navigated in read-only mode. Jim Borden is largely
responsible for these changes. There is a new item on the right-click
context menu for screen maps named Resize map frame. It allows us to quickly
change the overall map size (resolution) without affecting the view or other map
attributes. The change can apply to just the active map window or can be saved
as the default for new map windows. To aid computer map drafting, an SVG export
option is now available that places cross section rectangles alongside LRUD
bars. This can occur only for LRUD specifications with a "C" argument following
the last dimension number or facing azimuth. Examples: *1,3,1,0,c*,
<.5,1,5,1,270,C>. The check box for this option is in the Advanced SVG Export
Settings dialog. (Thanks to Mark Passerby for detailing this feature.) Backup
archives now store items that were originally outside the project's folder tree
in suitably named subfolders. The stored PRJ file is modified accordingly,
preventing the "blank page icon" problem that sometimes occurred after
extraction. Bill Stone encouraged this improvement which simplifies transporting
large projects to different computers.
Version 2, B7 Release, Build 2004-08-19
This is a maintenance release of Walls with miscellaneous improvements to the
interface, help file, and error reporting. The search and replace functions were
significantly upgraded. See Program Operation - Search Operations in the help
file.
Version 2, B7 Release, Build 2004-05-20
SVG roundtripping now works with the latest Adobe Illustrator version (11 or
CS), which has improved support for the SVG format. Also, with both AI10 and
AI11 you can now decorate your maps with linked or embedded images, rotated or
path-aligned text, and SVG filter effects. Such artwork will correctly conform
to view or survey changes after processing by Walls. This processing has been
revised so that symbols, text, and unnamed groups of objects can be placed in
shp layers and their north-relative orientation will be preserved. (Unlike
passage outlines, for example, they will be translated and scaled but not
morphed.) As before, placing such objects in sym layers preserves their
page-relative orientation. Numerous other improvements were made to SVG
export/import operations. See SVG Layer Definitions in the help file and the
updated sample in the Walls\Projects\Tutorial Project folder.
The shadowed box at left was created with an SVG filter, which is more flexible
and efficient than an effect that has to be rasterized and embedded as an image.
The large rocks are symbol instances placed in layer w2d Detail shp. Their
positions might change with an adjustment, but their orientation with respect to
the rotated grid is preserved. This is also true for the path-aligned text. The
Color Gradient Dialog now has an "Apply to Map" button that updates (without
closing the dialog) all open map frames with the color gradient you've
temporarily defined. If you then cancel the dialog, the previously defined
gradient is preserved while keeping any changes to the map displays. This
feature (suggested by Jim Borden) makes it much easier to choose an effective
color range. Also, an "Apply to Map" button replaces "Update" on the Segments
page of the Review dialog. This refreshes all open map frames with the color
settings on that page. Miscellaneous improvements: The options to view
previously generated SVG and VRML files behave differently. If an SVG file is
highlighted in the project tree, the operation will open that specific file.
Otherwise, you'll pick from a date-sorted list of iles in the project folder.
Version 2, B7 Release, Build 2004-03-20
The most significant change with this build is that survey vectors and flagged
stations are automatically highlighted as you move the mouse pointer over a
displayed map. Upon selecting an object you can jump to either its definition in
the raw data or to its position in the statistics tables. Another choice is to
display all compiled information about the object. The information window is
also available from the editor and Traverse page context menus and has buttons
for copying coordinates directly to the geographical calculator. See topic
Vector Properties Window in the help file. Vector highlighting is enabled when a
screen pixel represents two meters or less. If an enclosing rectangle is
present, right-clicking displays a menu like the one at left. If the pointer is
not near an object when you click, a different menu appears -- one that supports
zooming, layer toggling, and other operations. The help file topic Accessing
Walls from Other Applications documents how an external program, such as Huw
Millington's Windows Grep,
can be tightly integrated with Walls to perform specialized searches (involving
wildcards, etc.) across project data files. Numerous minor improvements.
Examples: The display statuses of station notes and flags are preserved project
settings. Color selection buttons show the current color or gradient type when
the mouse pointer pauses over them. Rendering of gradient-colored LRUD passages
was improved. The tutorial sample project was expanded.
Thanks for taking the time to look the program over.
Please contact me if you have suggestions or need additional information.
David Mckenzie
davidmck@austin.rr.com