Using Custom Setting Files
SET files allow custom settings to be saved and reused in Surfer each time the program is opened.
Creating a Custom .SET File
To create a custom setting file:
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Make a backup of the default SURFER.SET file. The SURFER.SET file is located in the User's AppData directory. This is C:\Users\<User Name>\AppData\Roaming\Golden Software\Surfer by default.
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Rename the new copy, keeping the .SET extension.
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Click the File | Defaults command.
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Click the
button next to the Current Setting File. -
Select the new .SET file and click Open.
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Modify the setting you wish to change.
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Save the changes to the file by clicking OK in the Options dialog.
Using the Custom .SET File
After the preferences are set, you can rename the set file, keeping the .SET extension. Multiple .SET files can exist on the same computer. Each setting file can use a different set of defaults. You can manually change the setting file Surfer uses by clicking File | Defaults. Click the button next to the Current Setting File field to select a different .SET file.
Alternatively, to use a different setting file with Surfer, start Surfer with the /SET switch on the command line. To do this, click the Windows Start button and select Run. Then, enter the following information:
"Path to Surfer.exe" /SET "Path to new .SET file"
An example may look like:
"c:\Program Files\Golden Software\Surfer\Surfer.exe" /SET "C:\Documents and Settings\<User Name>\Application Data\Golden Software\Surfer\custom.set"
To make this entire process easier, you can create a new shortcut on the desktop and specify the /SET switch in the Target: field of the shortcut properties dialog. See your Windows documentation for details on how to create shortcuts. To create a new shortcut:
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Right-click on the Windows Desktop and choose New | Shortcut.
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Type in the "Path to Surfer.exe" /SET "Path to new .SET file" in the box.
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Click Next.
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Type a name for the shortcut, such as Surfer.exe SET name.
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Click Finish and the icon is created.
Using Old .SET Files
You can also use old Surfer setting files. When using older Surfer setting files, the hierarchy displayed in the File | Defaults dialog is only a single level due to lack of nesting information in the old format.
Be sure you copy the [.SET] file in the correct place for it to be used, C:\Users\(username)\AppData\Roaming\Golden Software\Surfer.