The TXT->SDV program converts a series of coordinates in a special form into a SURFdriver file. It can be used to import files created on a Windows version of SURFdriver to the Mac version, or to convert data from other files into SURFdriver object files.
Double-click on the program to initiate a conversion. Give the full path of the file name (e.g. Hard Drive:Desktop Folder:Files:The File Name). If you aren't familiar with the Macintosh path conventions, put the file in the same folder as TXT->SDV and just type in the file name.
Choose and output file name, again giving a full path. If no path is given, the output file will be saved to the directory containing TXT->SDV. If there are errors during the conversion, they will be stored in the file named "logfile.txt". This file can be read using SimpleText or TeachText.
A sample of the format is shown below, and in the file named "Sample".
The values at the beginning (i.e. First Image Name, Slice Width, etc) can be left out, but you will be prompted to enter them at conversion time if they are not in the file.
The Slice #'s must correspond to the z value (or depth) of the coordinates in that slice given the Slice Thickness value. So if your Z values are in multiples of 5 starting at 100, for example, you would set the Slice Thickness to 5, the Slice Interval to 1, and you could put the coordinates with Z values of 100 in Slice #1, the coordinates with Z values of 105 in Slice #2, etc. You can leave out any slices which do not contain any coordinates.
The Slice Width represents right-hand side of the screen; so if your maximum x value is 1000, you would set the Slice Width to a value just over 1000.
Each group of points must be organized into contours. If you have a split or join, start the splitting branch in a new contour number. A "Top Contour" indicates a top cap. A "Bottom Contour" indicates a bottom cap.
To create markers, use the "Markers" tag instead of the "Contour #" tag. Give the X,Y and Z coordinates, and the radius of the marker, on each line. If you don't know what radius to use, just give the X, Y and Z coordinates.
Your X and Y values should not be less than 0. If you have negative values, translate all points into positive values before doing your conversion.
