Other Link Issues.

With the DOS version of Compass, links were required if you were working with a large cave. This was because DOS had severe memory limitations. Linking saved memory because most of the stations were discarded between files, leaving space to process the next file. Linking also makes processing faster. Under Windows, memory is virtually unlimited, so there is little need to conserve memory. Linking can be ignored unless you are dealing with duplicate stations. Also, since Windows computers are usually much faster than the old DOS machines, there is little reason to worry about processing speed.

However, since the DOS version of Compass will run on even the most primitive computers, you might find some situations where you would need to use it instead of the Windows version. For example, you might be working in a third world country with a primitive infrastructure. If you are going to be working with large surveys in the DOS version, you may have to use linking. For more information, refer to the DOS manual called Compass.TXT.