Options - General

Set defaults (e.g. open/save paths and undo levels) on the General page in the Options dialog.

Options Dialog

Click the File | Options command or the button to open the Options dialog. Click on the General option on the left side of the dialog to open the General page.

Customize General options in the Options dialog.

Project Folder

Enter a path into the Project folder box to set the default path for opening and saving files. Alternatively, click the button to browse for a path. This option sets the initial directory displayed in all the open, import, save as, and export dialogs. Surfer must be closed and reopened for the Project folder change to take effect. This option can also be set with the Set Project Folder button in the Welcome to Surfer dialog. If the Project folder is set in the Welcome to Surfer dialog, it is not necessary to restart Surfer.

To set the Project folder to the Windows default path, delete the current path and leave the option blank. Click OK , and the default Windows path will be used for the Project folder.

Temporary Path

Enter a path into the Temporary path box to set the default path for temporary files. Alternatively, click the button to browse for a path. To set this to the default path, delete the current path and leave the option blank. After OK is clicked, the default Windows path will be written to the Temporary path.

Undo Levels

Set the number of commands to undo in the Undo levels box. The maximum number of Undo levels is 100. Once the maximum number of actions has been performed, the oldest action is dropped off the list as new actions are added. Undo can consume significant amounts of memory, so this option should probably be left between 3 and 10 if memory is at a premium. Set the undo levels to 0 to disable Undo completely. Use the to increase or decrease the number of undo levels or highlight the existing value and type a new value between zero and 100.

Maximum Number of Processors to Use

The Max number of processors to use option sets the maximum number of processors Surfer can concurrently use during multi-threaded operations. The minimum value is 1 and the maximum value is the number of physical processors on the PC. The Max number of processors to use is set to the maximum value by default. Reduce the Max number of processors to use value if you wish to reserve some of your PC's processing power for other applications during processor-intensive processes, such as gridding.

Image Threshold (MB)

The Image threshold (MB) option controls the number of megabytes that can be used before switching images to disk-based images. This option can be set to a value between 0 and 16384. If an imported image is larger than the image threshold, it will be stored in a tiled bitmap format which uses minimal internal memory but can result in some performance degradation. Increase this value if your computer has a lot of internal RAM. Lower this value if you are experiencing very sluggish performance, "Out of memory" errors, or crashes when using large images. Any images already imported must be re-imported to change their internal storage format. Use the to increase or decrease the number of megabytes used or highlight the existing value and type a new value between zero and 16384.

Backup Files Before Saving

If Backup files before saving is checked, a backup copy of an existing file is created before saving the document. The backup copy is saved with a .BAK extension. If an identically named backup file already exists, it will be overwritten.

Save Auto Recovery Information

Select the Save auto recovery information option to periodically save changes to a temporary file that is automatically restored if Surfer closes unexpectedly. Large files may take a moment to save and can result in periodic slowdowns while using Surfer with this option enabled.

Auto Recover Save Interval

Specify the number of minutes between auto-recovery saves in the Auto recover save interval option. The interval can be a number between 1 and 30 minutes.

Delete Empty Maps

Check the Delete empty maps option to delete empty map frames after combining the map layers with other maps. When this option is not checked, the empty map object and axes are still drawn after the map layers are moved. By default, Surfer checks this box so that empty maps are automatically deleted.

Track Map Coordinates

The Track map coordinates of option controls which map is used to display the XYZ coordinates and units in the status bar and which map is used when the Track Cursor option is enabled. The options are Topmost map/layer or Selected map/layer. When the Topmost map/layer is chosen, the coordinates and units being shown in the status bar and by the Map Tools | Layer Tools | Track Cursor command or the button are those for the top layer of the map at the top of the Contents window. When Selected map/layer is chosen, the coordinates and units being shown are those for the selected map or layer.

Prompt For Missing Coordinate System

The Prompt for missing coordinate system option controls whether Surfer prompts for a coordinate system if an unreferenced data file, grid, or base map is loaded. Check this option to enable the prompt for a coordinate system. Uncheck this option to disable the dialog prompt when loading data, grids, and base maps that are unreferenced.

Regardless of whether the Prompt for missing coordinate system is checked or not, loading a file with the Map Tools | Reload | Map Data command or by clicking the button in the Properties window for the map layer will not prompt for the coordinate system. The coordinate system for the original map layer is used after updating the file. If this is not the correct coordinate system, click on the map layer to select it. In the Properties window, click on the Coordinate System tab and set the coordinate system to the appropriate new system.

Page Units

Page Units are the units used to measure distances on the printed page. Set Page Units to Inches or Centimeters. The location of the cursor on the page is listed in page units in the status bar. The page units are displayed on the Rulers.

Track Usage

Check the box next to Track usage to allow Surfer to send anonymous usage data to Golden Software. Sending usage data will help improve Surfer to meet our users' needs. This property does not have a default setting; its initial setting is determined based on your selection to opt-in or opt-out of the Customer Experience Improvement Program during the Surfer install process. Surfer must be restarted for this setting to be applied. A message is displayed reminding you to restart Surfer after changing this setting.

Include Header/Footer in Export and Print

Check the Include header/footer in export/print check box to include the header/footer when printing or exporting the plot window. By default the header and footer are not included in printed and exported output. Clear the Include header/footer in export print check box to only display the header/footer in the plot window.

On Grid File Open

The On Grid File Open option controls the map type that is opened in the plot window when a grid file is selected by clicking the File | Open command. The default is set to the Color Relief Map. Click the to see the list of seven different map types and click on the map type to change the default and then click OK.

On Data File Open

The On Data File Open option controls what file type opens when a data file is selected by clicking the File | Open command. Either one of three map types opens in a plot window or a worksheet editor is opened. The default is set to the Post Map and can be changed by clicking the drop down arrow . Click on a file type and then click OK.