COMPASS For Windows
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MISC.


 
What is COMPASS?
COMPASS is a cave mapping software package designed to edit, process, analyze and view cave survey data using an IBM PC compatible computer. The programs in the system allow you to enter cave data, revise the data, generate statistics on the cave, close loops, view plots from various angles on the screen and finally, print finished quality plots on almost any of dot matrix, laser, ink jet printer and a variety of line plotters.

COMPASS has hundreds of powerful features, including a configurable survey editor, high speed real-time 3D  passage wall modeling, GIS and data base compatibility, sophisticated loop closure and blunder detection. COMPASS is extremely fast capable of animating of caves in excess of 150 miles in length. It is also very easy to use, with built-in wizards and tools that make it easy for novice users to manage and work with large cave systems. COMPASS will run on any modern version of Windows ranging from Windows 95 to Windows Vista. COMPASS is constantly being refined to add new features and take advantage of the latest technologies. This page has been accessed 71777 times since November 1, 2005.

Latest Revisions and Features.
11-17-07 Update
There are now printable manuals available for all the Compass programs. They are in the Microsoft Word "doc" format and can printed fromWord Pad which comes free with every copy of Windows. There are more than 270 pages of documentation and you can download copies of the manuals by clicking here. 
8-19-07 Update
With the release of Windows Vista earlier this year, we are entering a new phase in the development of PC. Unlike some previous versions of Windows, Vista makes some radical changes in the way programs work under the operating system. All Compass programs work fine with Windows Vista with one exception:

 CaveXO. CaveX uses DirectX "Retained Mode" to display cave passages. Vista doesn't support "DirectX Retained Mode" and so CaveX will not run properly under Vista. To deal with this problem, I have created a new version that uses OpenGL to render the 3D passage models. OpenGL is widely available across many computer platforms and most graphic cards provide drivers for OpenGL that will work under virtually any version of Windows. The new version is called CaveXO and can be downloaded by clicking here. The latest version of CaveXO has most of the features of CaveX. It also has Vista-compatible help files. The only features that aren't available are Joystick control and the ability to load and save X files. These featues will be added over the next few months

Help Files. The help files that were shipped with previous versions Compass don't work with Vista. The latest version of Compass now has all the help file converted to a Vista-compatible format. If you don't have the latest version, you can download it by clicking here.

New Release on 6-1-07 - Over 26 Combined Changes
Unfolded Profiles or  Developed Profiles
Normally, when you view a cave in profile, some parts of the passage will run directly toward or away from the screen. In this case, the passage will appear to be just a short segment even though it could be thousand of meters long. You could rotate the cave to get a better view of the passage, but, at the same time you are likely to rotate other passages so their length becomes invisible

The cave passage to the right is a good example. Basically, the passages form a descending spiral. Viewing it in profile, you cannot see three passage segments that pass directly toward or away from the screen. Because of the spiral shape, no matter how you rotate cave, some part of the cave will be hidden.

To solve this problem, Compass has a feature called “Developed Profiles” or “Unfolded Profiles.” The program basically unfolds or flattens out the cave so you can see the full length of every passage. This will distort some parts of the cave, but it will allow you to see the full lenght of every passage.
 

The image to the right shows the same passage as an Unfolded Profile. You can now see a full profile of every shot. Before, you could not tell anything about the slope of the hidden shots. With the new image, you can see the full length of every shot and see that cave slopes evenly down the entire spiral. (Note, the image has been scaled down so the unfolded length will fit on the web page.)

Compass gives you several options for controlling the way the profiles are produced. For example, passages can be flatten using the "nearest-angle" method or the "fixed-angle-method." You can also control the angle of the plane to which the cave is flattened. Unfolded profiles are useful for maps of deep, winding pits where you want to display as much detail as possible.

Entrance Distance
This new option allows you to color the passage according to the distance from the entrance. This is not the straight line distance, but the actual travel distance required to reach a certain point in the cave. You have complete control over the colors and how much distance is covered by an individual color. This allows you to setup zone maps of the distance from the entrance that are perfect for expedition planning. For example, the map above shows the entrance distance in Lechuguilla Cave. Each color is represent 1/2 mile distance from the entrance. In this picture the green zone would be appropriate for day trips, whereas the purple zone would probably require overnight camping.
Italian Tutorial
 
Thanks to Andrea Maconi, we have a very nice Compass tutorial in Italian.  The tutorial is a well produced, PDF file complete with screen shots. It should make it a lot easier for Italian cavers to learn and use Compass.
 Precise Distance Displays

You can also displays the precise entrance distance at each survey station. Again, this is not the straight-line distance, but the travel distance through the passages to get to the station. Like the Color-by-Distance, it is useful for estimating the difficulty of reach a certain point in the cave. It is also useful for orienting yourself in the cave by finding the direction back to the entrance. You have the choice of either meters or feet and the size, font and color of the distance-labels is configurable.
 Displaying Shot Azimuth, Inclination and Length

You now have the option of displaying the Azimuth, Inclination and Length of each shot. The image to the right shows a display of the Azimuth for each shot. Again, you have the choice of fonts, size and color
 Block Modify Options
The Block Modify Option in Compass allows you to make complex changes to survey data across a range of shots and surveys. This is useful repairing problems where large blocks of data were entered incorrectly. It is also useful for reorganizing the data. Text items can be selectively modified. Station names can be selectively prefixed or post-fixed. Numerical items can be modified. Shot flags can be selectively set or cleared. All these options can save hundreds of hours of manual labor.
Fit Cave to Screen

The Compass Viewer now has a special tool that will automatically fit the cave display to the current window size. This makes it easy to view the whole when you have resized the window to take up only part of the screen. This is particularly useful when you are looking at several caves at the same time.
More New Features >>