Log Body Items - Lithology Description Columns

How it's Used
How to Insert a Lithology Description Column into a Log Design
Menu Settings
How to Review the Settings



How it's Used: A Lithology Description Column is designed to contain textual descriptions that are listed in a Lithology datasheet in your data file. The patterns for any declared description keywords will be plotted in the associated Lithology Pattern Column, if any.

How it works: As the LogPlot program compiles your data file, it will look for keywords and descriptions entered into a Lithology datasheet. It will plot the text in the Lithology Description Column that has the same name.

Other Lithology Description column features:

Alternatives: There are a couple of other types of text-related columns you can also choose from:

Text Columns are used to plot general text that is not to be linked with lithology patterns. This text is entered with a single depth onlyl, is not bounded by contact lines, and cannot be automatically offset.

Interval Text columns are also used to plot general text that is not linked with lithology patterns. This text is entered with a top and base depth, can be separated by divider lines, and can be centered within the depth interval if desired.

! It is not required that each Lithology Description Column have an associated Pattern Column.

  1. Access the Log Designer program tab.
  2. Click in the log body design pane to make it active. (Use the Visible Sections check-boxes to show/hide the different design panes.)
  3. Click on the Lithology Description button in the tool pane .
  4. Position your mouse pointer where you want to put the column's left edge and click the left mouse button to place it.
  5. Enter the requested information:

    Name: Enter the name for this Lithology Description Column. Each description column must have a unique name so that you can refer to each one individually in the data file.

    ! If you want LogPlot to link the information in this Description Column with patterns to be plotted in a Lithology Pattern Column, then the two columns must share the same name.

    Position: These coordinates determine the horizontal placement of the Lithology Description Column in the body of the log. You can change the column's position by editing these values or by moving or resizing the column on the design screen itself. The horizontal coordinates are expressed in decimal inches or centimeters relative to the left edge of the design screen.

    Appearance:

    Font: Click on this button to access font type, style, size, and color.
    ! Note that you can assign formatting, such as italics or bold, to specific text in the data editor.

    Color: Use this button to select a color for the text. This may also be selected using the Font button, above.

    Horizontal Alignment: Choose Left, Right, or Center for the alignment of the description text within the column.

    Margin: Type in a margin (in inches or centimeters) to be enforced along the left, right, upper, and lower edges of the column and interval. You should probably start with "0" and then increase it as necessary.

    Interval Options: These settings will apply if you request the plotting of the top and/or base depths in the Options settings to the right (and explained below.)

    Decimals: Here you can type, or use the prompt's up- or down-arrows, to define how many decimal places you want displayed for the depth intervals, if you've requested the intervals be plotted (see below). The appropriate number to define will depend on the number of decimal places defined within your actual depth entries in the Lithology data tab. For example, if your lithology depth intervals are entered as integers, you should set this to 0. If your lithology depths are entered to 1 decimal place, you should set this to 1, and so on.

    Prefix/Separator/Postfix: These fields are only used if you turn on the "Prefix/Separator/Postfix" option on the right side of the dialog box (and explained below). These will surround the top and base depth labels which are plotted in the description column.

    Prefix: Type here the character(s) to be plotted before the top depth label. This defaults to "(".

    Separator: Type here the character(s) to be plotted between the top and base depth labels.

    Postfix: Type here the character(s) to be plotted after the base depth label. This defaults to ")".

    Thickness Prefix: Type here the character(s) to be plotted before the thickness label.

    Options:

    Note that these options will apply to all of the intervals being plotted in the Lithology Description column.

    Interval: Expand this heading to select whether the depth at the top of the interval and/or the depth at the base of the interval and/or the interval thickness (NEW!) are to be included in the description text. The example on the left side, below, shows the description text plotted with no depth intervals. The example on the right iillustrates both the top and the base depths displayed, separated with a "-" character, within parentheses.

    If you turn on either or both of the intervals, you can establish their appearance.

    Elevations: Check this box if you prefer to display the true elevations for the interval.

    Prefix/Separator/Postfix: Insert a check here to display the intervals inside a "Prefix" and "Postfix" with a designated separator character. The characters to use for these are defined in the Interval Options to the left. In the example above, the Prefix is set to "(", the separator to " - ", and the Postfix to ")".

    Thickness Prefix: Insert a check here to display the thickness with the designated "Thickness Prefix" (above).

    New Line: Insert a check here to display the start of the descriptive text on the line below the intervals.

    Keyword: Insert a check in this box to plot the keyword that is listed in the Lithology tab. Although the keyword is needed to link a description to a graphic pattern in the Lithology Pattern column, you may omit the plotting of the keyword's text in the description column by clearing this check-box.

    Bold, Italic, Underline: Check any of these options to apply this formatting to the keyword.

    Colon: If you've activated the plotting of the Lithology tab keyword, above, you can select here whether the keyword is to be separated from the extended description, if any, with a colon (":") character. Note that if the colon is activated but there is no extended description for an interval, the colon will be omitted.

    Description: Insert a check here to plot any extended text in the Lithology Description column. Omitting this information can be helpful if you want to display a "short" version of your data (e,g, keywords only). Be sure to have Keyword (above) turned on if descriptions are turned off.

    Offset descriptions: Insert a check-mark to activate automatic offsetting of description text. If activated, if a description is too large to fit within its depth interval when compiled in LogPlot, the program will shift the following descriptions down the log, so that all the text will be visible. In the example below, the log in the middle displays how the Claystone intervals are offset downward to make enough room for the Clay text. In the log on the right, the text overplots because Offset Description is turned off.

    Move Up: Insert a check in this option to allow offset descriptions to be moved upward, if there is room. This prevents continual downward-offsetting of the text. In the example above, the Clay interval in the log on the left has moved upward to make more room for the text that follows.

    Lines

    Column Outline: This option turns on and off a solid-line border around the entire description column.

    Interval Dividers: This option is used to turn on and off the lines that are drawn between lithologic description intervals.

  6. To accept the displayed information, click the Apply button. You will see the Lithology Description column placed in the design screen, in the selected font, color, and size. You may continue to adjust the settings if necessary; remember to click Apply any time you want your changes applied.
  7. To close the Description Column Setup window, click the Close button.

If you need to access the Setup window you can:


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