CD Direkt 1995 #6/CDD_6_95.ISO/cdd/winanw/us3d/us3d.doc

Text File | 1995-01-08 | 17KB | 376 lines

                   3D Atlas: Western United States

                 copyright 1994,  Salt Creek Software


The 3D Atlas gives you access to a database of elevations for the western
United States, specifically the mainland west of longitude 105 (Denver).
The goal in creating this program was to use the power of personal computers
and the Windows interface so that, instead of looking at American topography
via fixed maps or tables of elevations, the user can play with the data and
explore the landscape interactively.

The interface has been designed to give you as much say as possible over
how the data is displayed.  The 3D drawings and topographic maps are
under your control:  experiment with the colors, the scale and the size
of the display until you get the effect you want.  Set the 3D display
into "drift" mode to wander around the maps, or concentrate on a
specific city or region.  All drawings can be exported to other Windows
applications through the Clipboard, and the raw data itself can be
written to text files.  (Run "Help | Demo..." to see a demonstration of
the Atlas display modes.  Check out the "Location | Library..." window
for other examples.)

The elevations contained in this atlas were obtained from the U.S. Geological
Survey and National Geophysical Data Center.  The resolution used is 1-minute:
that is, 60 data points per degree latitude/longitude (3600 points per square
degree).  The values are accurate to the nearest 100 feet.


Registration:

The 3D Atlas is being distributed as shareware.  If you plan to keep this
software, please register with us.  The registration fee is $ 15.00.  Upon
registering, you will receive the latest version of the program, including
the expanded database of the entire mainland U.S.  (The land is a lot
flatter east of the Rockies, but there are still some interesting places!)
Unless requested otherwise, you will receive the update on 2 high-density
3.5" diskettes.

To register, send $ 15.00 to:

   Salt Creek Software             (Internet:  [e-mail])
   810 E. Division St.
   Lombard, IL  60148-3009

Or, if you are a member of CompuServe, just GO SWREG, ID # 2379.  The folks
at CompuServe will notify us and we'll send the disks out immediately.

Any comments/suggestions/complaints are welcome.  Thanks for your interest -
we hope you enjoy using the 3D Atlas.



INSTRUCTIONS   (this information is also available in on-line Help)
==========================================================================


VIEW MODES
----------

There are three display modes for the 3D atlas.  The mode can be changed
at any time by pulling down the "Display" menu, or clicking on the
display-mode buttons on the control bar.  (In each mode, the display will
automatically be rescaled if the window is maximized or resized.)

The Main View is the default display when the 3D Atlas is started.
This display shows:

  - a U.S. map in the upper right corner.
    The currently loaded 10 x 5 degree map section is outlined in red.
  - a topographic view of the current map section in the upper left corner,
    with a highlighted "focus area".
  - a 3D drawing of the current focus area (aerial view, looking North).

The Topographic View consists of an expanded topographic map.  Select the "
Display | Topo Display" menu to switch to this mode, or click the Topographic
View button on the option control bar.

From the topographic display you can pop up a Close-Up Window by double-
clicking on the area of interest.  This window will zoom in on a 1-degree-
square section of the topographic map, and allow you to create a text file
with the raw elevation data for that section.

The third display mode is the 3D Display.  This display shows just the 3D
drawing.  Select the "Display | 3D Display" menu to switch to this mode,
or click the 3D Display button on the option control bar.

Control & Palette Bars:

Regardless of which display mode you're in, an option control bar will be
drawn on the left side of the window, and a palette bar will be drawn on
the right.  The option control bar has an array of buttons you can use to
activate / deactivate options, change display modes, and control the 3D
drift direction.

The palette bar shows the current palette colors corresponding to the
indicated elevation ranges.  Elevation ranges are expressed in feet, starting
at 0 - 100, increasing by 100, 500, or 1000 foot increments.  Clicking the
mouse on any of the palette squares will pop up a Color Editor window, which
can be used to define a new color for that elevation range.  (See Palettes.)

Both the option control and palette bars can be deleted by un-checking the
"Show Control Bar" and "Show Palette Bar" entries in the "Display" pull-down
menu.  Use the same menu to restore one or both bars at any time.


SELECTING A LOCATION
--------------------

The 3D Atlas displays U.S. elevation data in 10 x 5 degree sections (10
degrees longitude by 5 degrees latitude - about 550 x 350 miles).  When you
start the program, it will automatically load the map section you were last
working in.  You can select a new location using the mouse, or by specifying
the city or latitude / longitude you want to see.  A library is also
available for saving and retrieving specific locations.

Mouse:

The easiest way to select and move to a location is by using the mouse.  To
load a new map section, click the mouse on the desired point in the Main
Display's U.S. map (the selected location must be in the highlighted
Western half of the country).

Once the new map has been loaded, select the specific focus area by clicking
on the topographic map in the left corner of the Main Display.  The 3D view
corresponding to the new focus area will be updated automatically.

To change to a new focus area in the same map section, just click on the
topographic map.  To increase the size of the focus square, click on the
"focus area" display on the control bar, or select the "Options | Focus
Dimensions" menu item.  Clicking the "+40" or "-40" buttons will increase
or decrease the focus square dimensions by 40 miles.

The focus area can also be changed by putting the 3D drawing into "drift"
mode.  Click on one of the N/E/S/W arrows at the bottom of the control bar.
The focus area will begin drifting in the indicated direction, until another
direction arrow is selected, or the "stop" button in the middle of the
direction arrows is clicked.  You may want to turn auto-scale off to make
sure the scale doesn't change while you're drifting.

Selecting a City:

The view location can be moved to a specific city by selecting the area of
interest from the City List.  To view the list, select the "Location |
Select City" menu item.  The cities are listed in alphabetical order,
grouped by state.  Use the mouse or arrow keys to highlight a city, then
press OK.  The map section containing that city will be loaded (if not
already loaded), the focus area will be centered on the city, and the
topographic/3D drawings will be updated.

Specifying Latitude and Longitude:

You can go to an exact latitude and longitude by pulling down the "Location |
Specify Lat/Long" menu.  The values should be entered in decimal format,
rather than degrees/minutes (e.g. "40.5" means 40 degrees, 30 minutes).  The
latitude and longitude specified must correspond to a location in the
mainland U.S west of Denver - that is, the longitude must be greater than 105.

Press OK when finished making the selection.  A new map section will be
loaded if necessary, and the topographic/3D drawings will be updated to focus
on the new coordinates.

Using the Library:

The 3D Atlas Library allows you to retrieve a previously-stored location
(along with its display settings).  To access the library, select the
"Location | Library" menu item.

All stored entries will be listed, with a short description for each.  To
retrieve an entry, use the mouse or arrow keys to highlight its desc