read evs field

read evs field reads a dataset from the primary and legacy file formats created by write evs field.

• .EF2: The only Lossless format for models created in 2024 and later versions
• .eff ASCII format, best if you want to be able to open the file in an editor or print it. For a description of the .EFF file formats click here.
• .efz GNU Zip compressed ASCII, same as .eff but in a zip archive
• .efb binary compressed format, the smallest & fastest format due to its binary form

Output Quality: An important feature of read evs field is the ability to specify two separate files which correspond to High Quality (e.g. fine grids) and Low Quality (e.g. coarse grids a.k.a. fast).

You can see that read evs field is specifying two different EFB files. The Output Quality is set to Highest Quality and is Linked (black circle). The viewer shows:

If we change the Output Quality on the Home Tab

It changes the setting in read evs field and the viewer changes to show:

Though you “can” change the Output Quality in read evs field, it is best to change it on the Home Tab to make sure that all read evs field modules in your application will have the same setting. This is not relevant to this simple application, but if we were using a cutting surface (saved as fine and coarse EFBs) and doing distance to surface operations on a very large grid, this synchronization would be important.

read evs field effectively has explode_and_scale and an external_faces module built in. This allows the module to perform:

• Z Scaling
• Exploding
• Nodal or Cell data selection
• Selection of cell_sets

Module Output Ports

• Geologic legend Information [Geology legend] Supplies the geologic material information for the legend module.
• Output [Field] Outputs the saved field.
• File Notes [String / minor] Outputs a string to document the settings used to create the field.
• Output Object [Renderable]: Outputs to the viewer.

• EFF File

  EVS Field File Formats and Examples EVS Field file formats supplant the need for UCD, netCDF, Field (.fld), EVS_Geology by incorporating all of their functionality and more in a new file format with three mode options. .eff ASCII format, best if you want to be able to open the file in an editor or print it

import vtk

import vtk reads a dataset from any of the following 9 VTK file formats. Please note that VTK’s file formats do not include coordinate units information, not analyte units. There is a parameter which allows you to specify coordinate units (meters are the default).

• vtk: legacy format
• vtr: Rectilinear grids
• vtp: Polygons (surfaces)
• vts: Structured grids
• vtu: Unstructured grids
• pvtp: Partitioned Polygons (surfaces)
• pvtr: Partitioned Rectilinear grids
• pvts: Partitioned Structured grids
• pvtu: Partitioned Unstructured grids

Module Output Ports

• Output [Field] Outputs the saved field.
• Output Object [Renderable]: Outputs to the viewer.

import cad

General Module Function

The import cad module will read the following versions of CAD files:

• AutoCAD DWG and DXF files through AutoCAD 2021 (version 24.0)
• Bentley Microstation DGN files through Version 8.

This module provides the user with the capability to integrate site plans, buildings, and other 2D or 3D features into the EVS visualization, to provide a frame of reference for understanding the three dimensional relationships between the site features, and characteristics of geologic, hydrologic, and chemical features. The drawing entities are treated as three dimensional objects, which provides the user with a lot of flexibility in the placement of CAD objects in relation to EVS objects in the visualization. The project onto surface and geologic_surfmap modules allow the user to drape CAD line-type entities (not 3D-Faces) onto three dimensional surfaces.

Virtually all AutoCAD object types are supported including points, lines (of all types), 3D surface objects and 3D volumetric objects.

AutoCAD drawings can be drawn in model space (MSPACE) or paper space (PSPACE). Drawings in paper space have a defined viewport which has coordinates near the origin. When read into EVS this creates objects which are far from your true model coordinates. For this reason, all drawings for use in our software should be in model space.

Module Side Port

• Z Scale Use the Global Z Scale and avoid using this port in general: [Number] Accepts Z Scale (vertical exaggeration) from other modules.

Module Output Ports

• Output [Field] Outputs the CAD layers.
• Output Object [Renderable]: Outputs to the viewer

import vector gis

The import vector gis module reads the following vector file formats: ESRI Shapefile (*.shp); Arc/Info E00 (ASCII) Coverage (*.e00); Atlas BNA file (*.bna); GeoConcept text export (*.gxt); GMT ASCII Vectors (*.gmt); and the MapInfo TAB (*.tab) format.

Module Input Ports

• Z Scale [Number] Accepts Z Scale (vertical exaggeration) from other modules

Module Output Ports

• Z Scale [Number] Outputs Z Scale (vertical exaggeration) to other modules
• Output [Field] Outputs the GIS data.
• Output Object [Renderable]: Outputs to the viewer

Properties and Parameters

The Properties window is arranged in the following groups of parameters:

• Properties controls Z Scale
• Data Processing: controls clipping, processing (Log) and clamping of input data

import raster as horizon

The import raster as horizon module reads several different raster format files in EVS Geology format. These formats include DEMs, Surfer grid files, Mr. Sid files, ADF files, etc.. Multiple import raster as horizon modules can be combined with combine horizons into a 3D geologic model. Alternatively, a single file can be displayed as a surface (with surfaces from horizons) or you can export its coordinates (with export nodes) to use the values in a GMF file.

Module Output Ports

• Geologic legend Information [Geology legend] Supplies the geologic material information for the legend module.
• Output Geologic Field [Field / minor] Outputs a 2D grid with data similar in functionality to gridding and horizons

buildings

The buildings module reads C Tech’s .BLDG file and creates various 3D objects (boxes, cylinders, wedge-shapes for roofs, simple houses etc.), and provides a means for scaling the objects and/or placing the objects at user specified locations. The objects are displayed based on x, y & z coordinates supplied by the user in a .bldg file, with additional scaling option controls on the buildings user interface.

Each object is made up of 3D volumetric elements. This allows for the output of buildings to be cut or sliced to reveal a cross section through the buildings.

Selecting the “Edit Buildings” toggle will open an additional section which provides the ability to interactively create 3D buildings in your project.

Module Input Ports

• Z Scale [Number] Accepts Z Scale (vertical exaggeration) from other modules
• View [View] Connects to the viewer to allow interactive building creation.

Module Output Ports

• Z Scale [Number] Outputs Z Scale (vertical exaggeration) to other modules
• Output [Field] Outputs the buildings as a field which can be sliced, cut or further subsetted.
• Output Object [Renderable]: Outputs to the viewer

Properties and Parameters

The Properties window is arranged in the following groups of parameters:

• Properties controls Z Scale and file input and output
• Default Building Settings: Defines the default values when a building is interactive created
• Building Settings: Shows the parameters for all buildings.

• Sample Buildings File

  Sample Buildings File Below is an example buildings file. Note that the last 4 columns are optional and contain RGB color values (three numbers from zero to 1.0) and/or a building ID number that can be used for coloring. If only color values are supplied (3 numbers) the ID is automatically determined by the row number. If four numbers are provided it is assumed that the last one is the ID. If only one number is provided it is the ID.

read_lines

The read_lines module is used to visualize a series of points with data connected by lines. read_lines accepts three different file formats, with the APDV file format the lines are connected by boring ID, with the ELF (EVS Line File) format each line is made by defining the points that make up the line, and with the SAD (Strike and Dip) file format, there is a choice to connect each sample by ID or by Data Value.

SAD files connect by ID – If a *.sad file has been read the lines will be connected by ID.

SAD files connect by Data – If a *.sad file has been read the lines will be connected by the data component.

Module Input Ports

• Z Scale [Number] Accepts Z Scale (vertical exaggeration) from other modules

Module Output Ports

• Z Scale [Number] Outputs Z Scale (vertical exaggeration) to other modules
• Output Field [Field] Outputs the subsetted field as faces.
• Output Object [Renderable]: Outputs to the viewer.

EVS Line File Example

Discussion of EVS Line Files

EVS line files contain horizontal and vertical coordinates, which describe the 3-D locations and values of properties of a system. Line files must be in ASCII format and can be delimited by commas, spaces, or tabs. They must have an .elf suffix to be selected in the file browsers of EVS modules. Each line of the EVS line file contain the coordinate data for one sampling location and up to 300 (columns of) property values. There are no computational restrictions on the number of lines that can be included in a file.

EVS Line Files

EVS Line Files consist of file tags that delineate the various sections of the file(s) and data (coordinates, nodal and/or cell data). The file tags are discussed below followed by portions of a few example files.

FILE TAGS:

The file tags for the ASCII file formats (shown in Bold Italics) are discussed below with a representative example. They are given in the appropriate order. If you need assistance creating software to write these file formats, please contact support@ctech.com.

COORD_UNITS “ft” Defines the coordinate units for the file. These should be consistent in X, Y, and Z.

NUM__DATA 7 1

Number of nodal data components followed by the number of cell data components.

NODE_DATA_DEF 0 “TOTHC” “log_ppm”

NODE_DATA_DEF specifies the definition of a nodal data component. The second value is the data component number, the third is the name, and the 4th is the units.

CELL_DATA_DEF 0 “Indicator” “Discreet Unit”

Definition of cell data. Same options as NODE_DATA_DEF

LINE 12 1

Beginning of a line segment is followed on the same line by the cell data values.

Following this line should be the points making up the line in the following format:

X, Y, Z coordinates followed by nodal data values.

64718.310547 37500.000000 -1250.000000 1 -1250.000000

63447.014587 35101.682129 -2000.000000 2 -2000.000000

CLOSED

This flag is used at the end of a line definition to indicate the end of the line should be connected to the beginning of the line.

END

Marks the end of the data section of the file. (Allows us to put a password on .eff files)

EXAMPLE FILE

NUM_DATA 2 0

NODE_DATA_DEF 0 “Node_Number” “Linear_ID”

NODE_DATA_DEF 1 “Distance” “Linear_ft”

LINE

1900297.026154 677367.319824 72.000000 0.000000 0.000000

1900314.256775 677438.611328 72.000000 1.000000 73.344208

1900314.687561 677442.703522 72.000000 2.000000 77.459015

1900316.410645 677447.011261 72.000000 3.000000 82.098587

1900319.641266 677447.442018 72.000000 4.000000 85.357796

1900345.487030 677441.411530 72.000000 5.000000 111.897774

1900360.563782 677439.472870 72.000000 6.000000 127.098656

1900363.579193 677447.226807 72.000000 7.000000 135.418289

1900365.517822 677447.226807 72.000000 8.000000 137.356918

1900365.948608 677438.396118 72.000000 9.000000 146.198105

1900379.733032 677436.888245 72.000000 10.000000 160.064758

1900405.578766 677432.150055 72.000000 11.000000 186.341217

1900497.331879 677416.427002 72.000000 12.000000 279.431763

1900511.331512 677414.919464 72.000000 13.000000 293.512329

1900525.762268 677411.257721 72.000000 14.000000 308.400421

1900527.269775 677405.442444 72.000000 15.000000 314.407898

1900524.900696 677399.411926 72.000000 16.000000 320.887085

1900522.531311 677391.012024 72.000000 17.000000 329.614746

1900517.362366 677357.196808 72.000000 18.000000 363.822754

1900501.854828 677266.951569 72.000000 19.000000 455.390686

1900501.639282 677262.213379 72.000000 20.000000 460.133789

1900500.777710 677255.321014 72.000000 21.000000 467.079773

1900496.470306 677250.151733 72.000000 22.000000 473.808472

1900487.208862 677241.751816 72.000000 23.000000 486.311798

1900450.378204 677201.906097 72.000000 24.000000 540.572083

1900403.568481 677152.368134 72.000000 25.000000 608.727478

1900356.758759 677102.830177 72.000000 26.000000 676.882874

1900309.949036 677053.292221 72.000000 27.000000 745.038269

1900286.257172 677028.523243 72.000000 28.000000 779.313721

1900278.718445 677022.923517 72.000000 29.000000 788.704651

1900269.672546 677024.431061 72.000000 30.000000 797.875305

1900217.334717 677035.200397 72.000000 31.000000 851.309631

1900232.196075 677097.230453 72.000000 32.000000 915.095154

1900247.057434 677159.260513 72.000000 33.000000 978.880615

1900252.226715 677179.937317 72.000000 34.000000 1000.193787

1900267.159851 677242.326401 72.000000 35.000000 1064.345215

1900282.093018 677304.715485 72.000000 36.000000 1128.496460

1900297.026154 677367.104584 72.000000 37.000000 1192.647827

END

read strike and dip

General Module Function

The read strike and dip module is used to visualize sampled locations. It places a disk, oriented by strike and dip, at each sample location. Each disk is probable and can be colored by a picked color, by Id, or by data value. If an ID is present, such as a boring ID, then there is an option to place tubes between connected disks, or those disks with similar Id’s.

Strike and dip refer to the orientation of a geologic feature. The strike is a line representing the intersection of that feature with the horizontal plane (though this is often the ground surface). Strike is represented with a line segment parallel to the strike line. Strike can be given as a compass direction (a single three digit number representing the azimuth) or basic compass heading (e.g. N, E, NW).

The dip gives the angle of descent of a feature relative to a horizontal plane, and is given by the number (0°-90°) as well as a letter (N,S,E,W, NE, SW, etc.) corresponding to the rough direction in which feature bed is dipping.

Module Output Ports

• Z Scale [Number] Outputs Z Scale (vertical exaggeration) to other modules
• Output [Field] Outputs the subsetted field as edges
• Output Object [Renderable]: Outputs to the viewer

Properties and Parameters

The Properties window is arranged in the following groups of parameters:

• Properties: controls the Z scaling and edge angle used to determine what edges should be displayed
• Display Settings: controls the type and specific data to be output or displayed

Strike and Dip File Example

Discussion of Strike and Dip Files

Strike and dip files consist of 3D coordinates along with two orientation values called strike and dip. A simple disk is placed at the coordinate location and then the disk is rotated about Z to match the strike and then rotated about Y to match the dip. An optional id and data value can be used to color the disk.

Format:

You may insert comment lines in C Tech Strike and Dip (.sad) input files. Comments can be inserted anywhere in a file and must begin with a ‘#’ character.

Strike can be defined in the following ways :

1. For strikes running along an axis:

N, S, NS, SN are all equivalent to 0 or 180, and will always have a dip to E or W

E, W, EW, WE are all equivalent to 90 or 270, and will always have a dip to N or S

NE, SW are both equivalent to 135 or 315, and can have a dip specified to N, S, E, or W

NW, SE are both equivalent to 45 or 225, and can have a dip specified to N, S, E, or W

2. For all other strikes: any compass direction between 0 and 360 degrees can be specified, with the dip direction clarifying which side of the strike is downhill.

Dip can be defined only in degrees in the range of 0 to 90.0 followed by a direction such as 35.45E

There is no required header for this file type.

Each line of the file must contain:

X, Y, Z, Strike, Dip, ID (optional), and Data (optional).

NOTE: The ID can only contain spaces if enclosed in quotation marks (ex “ID 1”).

EXAMPLE FILE

x y z strike dip

51.967 10.948 26.127 35.205 59.8031E

50.373 33.938 26.127 13.048 68.49984E

51.654 60.213 26.127 139.18 76.74215E

50.529 83.203 26.127 213.50 62.94599E

64.358 76.634 11.471 114.23 80.38694E

66.430 33.938 -6.849 41.421 60.38837E

75.901 50.360 -21.505 60.141 72.88960E

72.943 7.663 -21.505 5.255 65.51247E

101.90 30.654 -72.801 77.675 65.9524E

81.339 50.360 -43.489 244.95 70.7079E

72.263 73.350 -21.505 82.929 69.3159E

89.897 73.350 -61.809 31.531 55.6570E

END

FILE TAGS:

The file tags for the ASCII file formats (shown in Bold Italics) are discussed below with a representative example. They are given in the appropriate order. If you need assistance creating software to write these file formats, please contact support@ctech.com.

COORD_UNITS “ft” Defines the coordinate units for the file. These should be consistent in X, Y, and Z.

END (this is optional, but should be used if any lines will follow your actual data lines)

read glyph

read glyph replaces the Glyphs sub-library that was in the tools library. It reads glyphs saved in any of the three primary EVS field file formats and allows you to modify the shape and orientation of the glyph to allow it to be used in various modules that emply glyphs in slightly different ways. These include glyphs at nodes, place_glyph,drive_glyphs, advector, post_samples, etc. Most modules EXCEPT post_samples will use the glyphs without chaning the default alignment. The supported file formats are:

1. .eff ASCII format, best if you want to be able to open the file in an editor or print it

2. .efz GNU Zip compressed ASCII, same as .eff but in a zip archive

3. .efb binary compressed format, the smallest & fastest format due to its binary form

For a description of the .EFF file formats click here.

The objects saved in the .efx files should be simple geometric objects ideally designed to fit in a unit box centered at the origin (0,0,0). For optimal performance the objects should not include nodal or cell data. You may create your own objects or use any of the ones that C Tech supplies in the ctech\data\glyphs folder.

Module Output Ports

• Output [Field] Outputs the saved glyph.
• Output Object [Renderable]: Outputs to the viewer.

General Module Function

The import geometry module will read STL, PLY, OBJ and .G files containing object geometries.

This module provides the user with the capability to integrate site plans, topography, buildings, and other 3D features into the EVS visualizations.

Properties and Parameters

The Properties window is arranged in the following groups of parameters:

Transform Settings: This allows you to add any number of Translation or Scale transformations in order to place your Wavefront Object in the same coordinate space as the rest of your “Real-World” model. It is very typical that Wavefront Objects are in a rather arbitrary local coordinate system that will have no defined transformation to any standard coordinate projection.

Generally you should know if the coordinates are feet of meters and if those are not correct, do that scaling as your first set of transforms.

It will be up to you to determine the set of translations that will properly place this object in your model. Hopefully rotations will not be required, but they are possible with the Transform List.