Getting Started
This section covers how to obtain the software, and how to unpack and install it, and how to configure it.
Obtaining Survex
The latest version is available from the Survex website: http://survex.com/. If you do not have internet access or would prefer to get a copy by post, we are also happy to send out up-to-date copies on a floppy on receipt of a stamped, self-addressed envelope. See the end of this document for addresses.
There's also a CD containing versions of Survex for every supported platform. You can download an image for this from the website, or we'll send you a copy on a CD-R if you send us money to cover the costs.
Installing Survex
The details of installation depend greatly on what platform you are using, so there is a separate section below for each platform.
Linux
We supply pre-compiled versions for x86 Linux machines in RPM format (suitable for Redhat, Mandrake, and some other distributions). Survex Debian packages are available from Debian mirror sites in the usual way.
You'll need root access to install these prebuilt packages. If you don't have root access you will need to build from source (see the next section).
Other versions of UNIX
For other UNIX versions you'll need to get the source code and compile it on your system. Survex uses GNU automake and autoconf to streamline the compile process, so all you need to do is unpack the sources, then simply type ./configure followed by make to build the programs and then make install to install them.
 | If you're building to install in your home directory (for example if you don't have root access on the machine you wish to install Survex on) configure and build with ./configure --prefix=/home/olly/survex then make to build and make install to install. |
There's a GUI cave viewer called aven, which needs wxWidgets to build, which in turn needs GTK+ (or Motif or just X11, but we only regularly test with the GTK+ version).
Microsoft Windows 95/NT and successors
This version comes packaged with an installation wizard. Just run the downloaded package and it will lead you through the installation process. If installing on MS Windows NT, 2000, or XP we recommend you run the installer as administrator (or as a user with administrator rights) so that the file associations can be set up for all users.
This version includes a GUI cave survey viewer called aven, and a Survex printer driver (printwin) which uses the Windows printer system.
The installer creates a Survex group in the Programs sub-menu of the Start menu containing the following items:
Aven
Documentation
Uninstall Survex
Icons are installed for .svx, .3d, .err, and .pos files, and also for Compass Plot files (.plt and .plf) (which Survex can read). Double-clicking on a .svx file loads it for editing. To process it to produce a .3d file, right click and choose "Process" from the menu. Double-clicking the resultant .3d file views it in aven. All the Survex file types can be right clicked on to give a menu of possible actions.
- .svx
- Open
Load file into SvxEdit
- Process
Process file with cavern to produce .3d file (and .err file)
- .3d
- Open
Load file into Aven
Send to the printer
- Extend
Produce extended elevation
- Convert to DXF
Convert to a DXF file (suitable for importing into many CAD packages)
- Convert for hand plotting
Produce a .pos file listing all the stations and their coordinates
- .err
- Open
Load file into Notepad
- Sort by Error
Sort .err file by the error in each traverse
- Sort by Horizontal Error
Sort .err file by the horizontal error in each traverse
- Sort by Vertical Error
Sort .err file by the vertical error in each traverse
- Sort by Percentage Error
Sort .err file by the percentage error in each traverse
- Sort by Error per Leg
Sort .err file by the error per leg in each traverse
MS Windows 3.1 and DOS (Intel 80386 or newer CPU)
For MS Windows 3.1 we suggest using the DOS version. This version is compiled with the free DJGPP C compiler (http://www.delorie.com/djgpp/) which uses DPMI to access memory above DOS's 640k. Windows has DPMI services built in, as do QEMM and Novell DOS 7. For those situations where DPMI services aren't available, we include the free cwsdpmi.exe, which will be used automatically if it's needed.
DOS (Intel 80286 or earlier CPU)
We also supply a version suitable for use on pre-386 machines. You might wonder why - the reason is that many surveying projects have little or no budget and can acquire such machines for free. This version is suitable for caves up to medium size - a few thousand stations - which typically equates to a few kilometres of survey. A very loopy cave may need more memory.
This version is built with Borland C. A feature of this is that the best way to force a program to terminate is with Ctrl-Break. Ctrl-C sometimes works, but is less reliable.
RISC OS
Survex for RISC OS comes in a zip archive. Installation is just a matter of opening the archive with !SparkPlug, !SparkFS, or similar and dragging the contents to where you want them installed. This version is known to work with RISC OS 3.1 or newer. We are unable to test compatibility with earlier versions of RISC OS.
Configuration
Selecting Your Preferred Language
Survex has extensive internationalisation capabilities. The language used for messages from Survex and most of the library calls it uses can be changed. By default this is picked up from the language the operating system is set to use (from "Regional Settings" in Control Panel on Microsoft Windows, from the LANG environment variable on UNIX, from the value passed to COUNTRY in CONFIG.SYS on MSDOS (but this doesn't distinguish between the different languages used in a country in most cases), or from the configured Territory on RISC OS). If no setting is found, or Survex hasn't been translated into the requested language, UK English is used.
However you may want to override the language manually - for example if Survex isn't available in your native language you'll want to choose the supported language you understand best.
To do this, you set the SURVEXLANG environment variable. Here's a list of the codes currently supported:
| Code | Language |
|---|---|
| en | International English |
| en_US | US English |
| ca | Catalan |
| de | German |
| de_CH | Swiss German |
| de_DE | German German |
| es | Spanish |
| fr | French |
| it | Italian |
| pt | Portuguese |
| pt_BR | Brazillian Portuguese |
| sk | Slovak |
Here are examples of how to set this environment variable to give messages in French (language code fr):
- DOS
Put SET SURVEXLANG=fr in your AUTOEXEC.BAT script. You will need to restart DOS before it notices this setting - to set it for the current DOS session enter SET SURVEXLANG=fr at the MSDOS command prompt.
- Microsoft Windows
For MS Windows 95 and 98 (and probably ME), you'll need to add a line containing SET SURVEXLANG=fr to your AUTOEXEC.BAT script. You need to reboot for the change to take effect.
For MS Windows NT4, 2000, and XP, you should proceed as follows (this description is written from MS Windows 2000 - it should be similar on NT4 and XP): Open the Start Menu, navigate to the Settings sub-menu, and open Control Panel. Open System (picture of a computer) and click on the Advanced tab. Choose `Environmental Variables', and create a new one: name SURVEXLANG, value fr. Click OK and the new value should be effective immediately.
- UNIX - csh/tcsh
setenv SURVEXLANG fr
- UNIX - sh/bash
SURVEXLANG=fr ; export SURVEXLANG
- RISC OS
Hold down Shift and double-click on !Cavern, then hold down Shift again and double-click on !Boot. Edit the line which says Set SurvexLang en and change the value to the code for the language you want from the table above. Save the file, and double-click on !Boot. This sets the language for all the Survex programs.
If Survex isn't available in your language, you could help out by providing a translation. The initial translation is likely to be about a day's work; after that translations for new or changed messages are occasionally required. Contact us for details if you're interested.
Configuring the Printer Drivers
- Table of Contents
- print.ini -- survex printer settings
On Microsoft Windows, we recommend you print using printwin which uses the built in drivers and so requires no separate configuration - if you can print from other programs, you can print from Survex. The only thing you may want to configure is the colours used if you have a colour printer.
The drivers used for other platforms may require a small amount of configuration, which is described in the following section.