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1990-05-11
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*****************************************************************************
GEOPHYSICS OF NORTH AMERICA - CD-ROM ACCESS SOFTWARE
*****************************************************************************
Release Version 1.00 - May 25, 1990
*****************************************************************************
National Geophysical Data Center
NOAA / NESDIS / NGDC
Mail Code E/GC
325 Broadway
Boulder, CO 80303
*****************************************************************************
for software assistance call John Kinsfather (303) 497-6404, FTS 320-6404
*****************************************************************************
Version 1.10 notes
1. The maximum and minimum DNAG Gravity values have been corrected.
The previous incorrect values caused some very high or very low
values to display as black colored "no data" values.
2. When doing a Screen Restore function, all bit mapped (*.BMP) images
that were previously saved in the current working directory will be
displayed in a list. Position the highlight bar on the desired
image to restore and then press Enter. If the file is located in
another directory, then type in the complete path name.
3. Some images being displayed on the screen and/or output to disk
were offset by one row or one column. These offsets have been
corrected.
4. The Value (^V) and Profile (^P) functions now display moving values
of the base image file for the cursor position.
5. Abnormal spikes on the histogram in the new palette section have been
eliminated.
6. The image area limits can now be typed in with 3 decimal places to
be consistent throughout the software.
7. The file "contour.h" is now included on the software diskettes for
reference as specified in the .DOC files on the CD-ROM.
Version 1.00 notes September 27, 1989
1. The format of the label files (suffix .LBL) has been extensively
modified. Old format label files are not compatible with this
version of the program.
2. Users may select their own image files from the VIEW Image Select menu
if they are rectangular arrays of 16 bit integer data. A label (.LBL)
file must first be created to describe the file parameters. The utility
program MAKELBL will prompt you for the required information and
create the label file. MAKELBL can be run from the DOS prompt or it
may be called up from the utilities menu of the main GNA program menu.
3. The cursor latitude and longitude are displayed on screen while in
both the VALUE ( Ctrl-V ) and PROFILE (Ctrl-P ) modes.
4. Geographic grid lines are displayed with the Ctrl-G function only if
selected in the BOUNDARIES menu.
5. The image title is automatically displayed above the the color scale bar
when F3 is pressed while an image is on the screen.
6. Profile images can now be saved to EGA bit mapped files (.BMP extension)
using the SAVE (Ctrl-S) function while viewing profiles.
7. The utility program SHOW is available for displaying a series of image
files (extension .BMP) in a slide show type of presentation on an EGA
graphics screen. This is a stand alone program that may be run from the
DOS prompt as follows :
SHOW Image1 Image2 ...
Note that the files to be displayed must have the saved bit map
extension (.BMP) but that the extension must not be entered on the
command line. This program may also be executed by selecting it from
the utilities menu of the main GNA program menu.
8. A TUTORIAL is now provided as part of the GNA system. This is callable
from the main GNA menu. It normally takes about 15 minutes to go
through the tutorial at which point most users are then able to run
the GNA system without referring to the user manual. The tutorial files
take up about 1 megabyte of space on the software diskettes. If you
do not have sufficient space for it or want to remove it after viewing
it once, delete all files with a .DBD extension from the directory that
includes the GNA software.
Version 0.70 notes
1. The GNA software uses L as the default CD-ROM drive letter. If your
CD-ROM driver software (Microsoft Extensions, Ref. Tech. Standard File
Manager, etc. ) uses other than L, you may change the GNA default by
issuing a DOS SET command prior to executing GNA. For example, if you
want the CD-ROM to be drive P :
> SET CDROMDRIVE=P
> GNA
2. The keyboard + and - keys are now interchangeable in function with the
keypad + and - keys
3. The color bar is now displayed on a screen image with F3. A second F3
or Esc will clear the color bar. To save the color bar as part of your
image, press Enter after displaying the color bar with F3.
4. The color palette used to create an image is now saved with a screen
save command and automatically restored with screen restore
5. The view menu screen was modified to clear selected data sets
6. Output files are now all written to the default working directory
or to the selected output directory path as specified by the user
7. Control Value (Ctrl-V) function changed. After moving the cursor to
desired location and pressing Enter, the point value information will
be displayed as before. Any key will clear the cursor and restore the
screen. The next time that Ctrl-V is pressed, the cursor will appear at
its previous location.
8. The screen should be restored to the correct video mode on normal exit
from the program. Previously the screen would sometimes be blank until
you entered a command such as CLS or MODE CO80
Getting Started
Setting Up Your Computer
Any IBM PC/AT (286 or 386) or compatible personal computer with a EGA
graphics board and a CD-ROM reader can operate with this software.
NGDC uses CD-ROM drives made by Hitachi and SONY, with controller
board, connecting cable, and applications software by Reference
Technology Inc. This applications software is a standard file manager
(STDFMAN) that interacts with the resident PC Disk Operating System
(DOS) to make the CD-ROM drive appear as a read-only disk drive.
Microsoft extensions to DOS are also used on some systems. These
readers are used with a variety of PCs, AT compatibles, and 80386
systems running at speeds up to 25 MHz. Various EGA/VGA graphics
boards are used at NGDC. Any card with a standard EGA mode is
adequate.
A single, high-density floppy disk drive and 3 megabytes of hard disk
space are required to load and execute the software. A large-capacity
hard disk is needed if large files are to be copied from the CD, or if
many screen images are to be saved. We recommend using a PC/AT with
at least 640K RAM and a 20 megabyte hard disk.
The Geophysics of North America software requires 450 kilobytes of
free RAM after loading the CD-ROM access software (Microsoft, Reference
Technology, etc.). The amount of available RAM can be checked by
issuing the DOS command CHKDSK. Depending on the software configurations
for your PC, you may not have 450 kbytes available even though there is
640 kbytes or more installed. This can often be corrected by altering
parameters in your CONFIG.SYS file, AUTOEXEC.BAT file, or in STDFMAN.EXE .
Reducing the number of assigned buffers and files in CONFIG.SYS will free
up some RAM but a minimum of 10 files and 10 buffers are recommended.
The program will not run or the run will lock up with too low a DOS file
number. Also, the I/O can be very slow with too few buffers.
STDFMAN.EXE (Reference Technology's Standard File Manager software for
CD-ROM) uses a default of 4 buffers of 5,000 bytes each. The recommended
values for use with the GNA software are 1 buffer (ndbuf=1) and buffer size
16,000 (dbsiz=16000). Other ways to free up RAM are to remove from CONFIG.SYS
any device drivers not needed while running the GNA software and by removing
from AUTOEXEC.BAT any resident software that gets loaded automatically at
boot time.
Be sure to reboot your PC after making any of the above changed and before
running the GNA software.
There are many possible PC, EGA graphics board, and CD-ROM reader
configurations; some trial-and-error may be necessary to get a
compatible configuration. This may require restrapping the CD-ROM
interface board to change the I/O address and/or interrupt; the driver
software will then have to be modified to match the hardware con-
figuration. A special AUTOEXEC.BAT and/or CONFIG.SYS file may be
needed on some PCs.
Anyone who purchases a personal computer, CD-ROM reader, and supporting
hardware and software is advised to check how these will work together
as a system. Each PC can present a slightly different problem to be
solved before the complete system works successfully. We have no
experience with using these devices with any PCs other than IBM
compatibles that operate under DOS version 3.0 or higher (3.XX or
4.xx).
Using the Compact Disc
The Geophysics of North America compact disc contains about 588
megabytes (588 million characters) of data and information compiled
from many different source tapes available at NGDC and the World Data
Center A for Solid Earth Geophysics (both in Boulder, Colorado). The
data are on the CD-ROM in the ISO 9660 standard format. Mastering of
the CD-ROM disc and replicating the copies were done by Discovery
Systems, Inc., Dublin, Ohio.
Handle the CD-ROM carefully to avoid damage. Dust, scratches, ink,
paint, and fingerprints may obscure some of the data. Given careful
handling, expect at least a 10-year lifetime for the data disc.
Loading Access Software
The access software is provided on high-density (1.2 megabyte) 5.25"
floppy diskettes or high-density (1.44 megabyte) 3.5" diskettes.
Detailed documentation for the access software may be found in the
README file contained on the floppy diskettes. Installation
instructions can also be found in the README file on the diskettes.
1. Create a subdirectory to hold the access software (i.e., MKDIR
C:\GNA)
2. Change your directory to the newly created subdirectory (i.e.,
CD C:\GNA)
3. Insert the access software diskette in the floppy drive (i.e.,
drive " A ")
4. Copy all the files from the diskette to the hard disk (i.e. COPY
A:*.*)
5. Remove the floppy diskette from the diskette drive.
6. Repeat steps 3 - 5 if you received the software on more than one
diskette.
7. Add the directory name that you created in step 1 to your DOS
search path. This will require you to edit your AUTOEXEC.BAT
file or other .BAT file where you store your search path. The
new directory name may be inserted anywhere in the path, but
normally at the end (i.e., C:\; C:\DOS; C:\BIN; .....; C:\GNA).
8. Be sure that all CD-ROM reader software (provided with the CD
reader) is loaded into the directory you created in step 2, or
another directory on the PC's DOS search path. This can be
either Reference Technology "STDFMAN" or a Microsoft extension
to DOS. The CD-ROM can then be accessed from any other directory
or subdirectory.
WARNING: STDFMAN may crash if Terminate and Stay Resident (TSR)
utilities are loaded first (e.g., Window DOS). The error message may
say "FLOATING POINT NOT LOADED." STDFMAN should be called from
AUTOEXEC.BAT before anything else gets loaded.
9. Place the CD-ROM into the reader unit, and power it on.
10. With the CD-ROM loaded into the reader unit, enter the command
<STDFMAN> (if this was used) to execute the standard file manager
program. [Note: The drive should not be opened when the "busy"
light is on.]
11. Execute the software from a separate directory other than the
directory created in step 1. To begin execution, enter the
command <GNA>.
12. The CD-ROM can also be a direct data source. Those who are able
to create their own access programs may choose to do this in
order to use the few parameters on the CD that are not accessed
by some of the standard programs provided. While some DOS
commands work on the CD-ROM drive and its contents, a few do not
(e.g. <DEL> or <WRITE>). This is explained in documentation
supplied with the CD-ROM drive.
Entering <DIR> causes the monitor to display the subdirectories into
which the compact disc is divided. Each contains further
subdirectories accessed by entering <CD subdirectory name>. Refer
to the tree-structure diagram in the Technical Specifications section
for more information on the directory structure.
The access software serves two primary purposes -- to support data
retrieval from the compact disc and to provide a facility for a graphic
"quick-look" at the data. The software emphasizes extracts of
latitude, longitude, and geophysical parameters from the archival
portion of the disc, all of which are stored in an ASCII format. The
quick-look facility emphasizes screen displays of data images (e.g.,
color raster representations), data contours, cross sections, and value
postings. Data supporting the display software are generally derived
data sets, stored in binary files on the disc.
Some corrections to the compact disc data may eventually be provided
on the access software diskette in a manner which should be transparent
to the casual user. In other words, the user of the access software
will be unaware that some corrected data values are actually on the
diskette instead of the compact disc.
The access software will be periodically updated; therefore, the user
should reference all inquiries to a specific release version number
(which appears in the title).
For Additional Help
If you have technical questions about the CD-ROM, the access software,
or equipment used with the disc, please contact John O. Kinsfather
[303-497-6404 or FTS 320-6404] or Carl Abston [303-497-6276].