The Voxel Editor, accessible from the RockWorks | Utilities | Solid | Edit | 3D menu option, serves as an interactive editor that allows the user to change individual voxels by clicking on the new value within the "Index" and then selecting points within the model.
Here's a quick summary of the items in the Voxel Editor window:
- Menu Bar at the top of the screen. These menu items mimic the "ribbon menus" within selected Microsoft Office components.
- File Tab: Contains options to save, reload and exit the Model Editor
- Save: This option will save the currently displayed model using the current model name (i.e. the one you specified when you first activated the program). Notice that the name (and Windows path) of this model is displayed at the very top of the solid model editor.
- Save As: This option is used to save the current file with a different name. It is useful when you don't want to modify the original model that you started with.
- Reload: This will replace the currently displayed model within the original model.
! You will lose all editing changes that have not been saved. Thus, this is useful when you're unhappy with the changes that you've made and want to start over with the original model.
- Exit: This will exit the solid model editor.
- Edit Tab: Options to define how voxels will be changed.
- Replacement Value: When you click on a voxel within the model, the voxel's value will be replace by whatever value is defined within this block.
- Null: Voxel values will be replaced with the RockWorks universal "null" value (-1.0e27). This value will be interpreted by all other RockWorks programs as being "undefined".
- Other: If you click on this setting, a small window will appear. The value that you enter into this window will be the value that is used as a replacement value. For example, let's say that you're working with a geochemical model and you want to set a particular voxel to zero, you would enter zero for the "Other" value and click on the appropriate voxel(s).
You can either hand-type in the replacement value. Or, you can click on the Index (to the right) to pick a specific value. Or, for I-data or generic models, you can use the Index slider bar to define a specific replacement value.
- Mode: There are two ways to change voxels; identifying a single voxel or defining a region whose voxels should be changed to the designated Replacement Value.
- Single Point: Check this option if you want to click on individual voxels and change their values (to whatever value has been specified within the "Replacement Value" window).
- Multiple Points: Check this option to edit regions within the model rather than individual voxels. Once selected, two new buttons will appear next to the "Multiple Points" button:
- Done: Click this button when you are done editing a region. Once the Done button has been pressed, the program will perform the necessary (and often lengthy) process of identifying the nodes within the designated polyhedron and changing their g-values to the designated Replacement Value.
- Reset: Click this button if you are unhappy with the region that you have selected. The program will then discard any changes that you have made and restore the model to its state before you started identifying the multiple points.
- View Tab: The options within this ribbon menu are used to manipulate how the model will be displayed.
- Size: The size option is used to zoom in on a subset of the model for greater precision when making changes. Once the size has been increased beyond 100%, scroll bars will appear along the base and right-side of the Model Display Area. These scroll-bars provide a means for panning within the model.
- Visible Items:
- Voxels: Unchecking the voxel display provides a means for displaying just the polyhedron vertex connectors and/or the strip-logs.
- Voxel Borders: Turning the voxel borders off removes some of the clutter but may be undesirable when working within areas that have similar values (i.e. all voxels the same color - difficult to tell where the voxels begin and end).
- Log Titles: When plotting striplogs, it is sometimes useful to de-clutter the diagram by turning off the log titles. Conversely, log titles can be indispensible when trying to figure out why something doesn't make sense (e.g. logs with the wrong collar coordinates, incorrect picks, etc.).
- Model Borders: This option is used to plot a border around the model perimeter. By combining this option with the Voxel Borders option, it is possible to obtain four different combinations of display. Notice how turning off both options makes it difficult to understand the perspective.
- Tetrahedrons: When selecting regions of the model to be replaced with a designated value, it is possible to enable and disable the plotting of lines that connect the polyhedron vertices.
- Colors: This group of options determine the colors that are used to plot the voxel borders, model borders, and the lines that connect the tetrahedron vertices.
- Voxel Borders: Click on this button to change the voxel border color.
- Model Borders: Click here to change the model border color.
- Tetrahedrons: Click to change the color of the line segments that connect the polyhedron vertices.
- Stats: This ribbon bar is used to display various statistics for the model that is being edited.
- X-Nodes: Number of nodes/cells in the east/west direction.
- Y-Nodes: Number of nodes/cells in the north/south direction.
- Z-Nodes: Number of nodes/cells in the vertical direction.
- Nodes Per Layer: Number of nodes/cells within each horizontal layer (x-nodes multiplied by y_nodes).
- Total Nodes: Total number of nodes/cells within the model (x-nodes x y_nodes x z_nodes).
- Memory: Amount of memory (in bytes) required to store the model (total nodes x 8 bytes per real number).
- Model Display: This is the large area within the center of the dialog box where a color-coded display of your model will be depicted. As you move the cursor over the individual voxels, note how the voxel parameters are displayed at the bottom of the screen within the Status Bar. Clicking on a voxel will either change the voxel value (if the "Mode" has been set to "Single Point") or identify a polyhedral vertex (if the "Mode" has been set to "Multiple Points").
- The Tilt Adjuster: This is a vertical slider bar located along the left side of the dialog box. Notice the "T" (for "Tilt") at the top of the bar. Try sliding this up and down. Notice how it is used to tilt the model toward you (moving downwards) or away from you (moving the slider bar upwards). The Tilt Adjuster does not alter the numerical model in any way. It just controls how the model is currently being viewed.
- The Skew Adjuster: There is a horizontal slider bar located along the base of the dialog box. Notice the "S" (for "Skew") at the left edge of the slider bar. Try sliding this bar left and right. Notice how it is used to rotate the model about the z-axis such that the model can be viewed from the southwest or the northeast. The Skew Adjuster does not alter the numerical model in any way. It just controls how the model is currently being viewed.
- The Vertical Exaggeration Adjuster: There is a vertical slider bar located along the right side of the dialog box just to the left of the "Index" box. Notice the "V" (for "Vertical exaggeration") at the top of the slider bar. Try sliding the bar up and down. Notice how it is used to vertically stretch and compress the model. The Vertical Exaggeration Adjuster does not alter the numerical model in any way. It just controls how the model is currently being viewed.
- The X-Plane Adjuster: There is a horizontal slider bar located along the base of the screen just above the Skew Adjuster. Notice the "X" (for X-plane adjuster) at the left edge of the slider bar. Try sliding the bar left and right. Notice how it is used to adjust the interior north/south vertical plane to provide a "bench view" whereby the user can view voxels within the interior of the model. The X-Plane Adjuster does not alter the numerical model in any way. It just controls how the model is currently being viewed.
- The Y-Plane Adjuster: There is a vertical slider bar located along the left side of the screen just to the right of the Tilt Adjuster. Notice the "Y" (for Y-plane adjuster) at the top of the slider bar. Try sliding the bar up and down. Notice how it is used to adjust the interior east/west vertical plane to provide a "bench view" whereby the user can view voxels within the interior of the model. The Y-Plane Adjuster does not alter the numerical model in any way. It just controls how the model is currently being viewed.
- The Z-Plane Adjuster: There is a vertical slider bar located along the right side of the screen just to the left of the Vertical Exaggeration Adjuster. Notice the "Z" (for Z-plane adjuster) at the top of the slider bar. Try sliding the bar up and down. Notice how it is used to adjust the interior horizontal plane to provide a "bench view" whereby the user can view voxels within the interior of the model. The Z-Plane Adjuster does not alter the numerical model in any way. It just controls how the model is currently being viewed.
- Index Column: The vertical strip that is located along the right side of the dialog box contains a color index that shows what the various colors represent.
- The Index also serves as a selection whereby the user can click on a color and the corresponding numeric value will become the new replacement value (see the Edit / Replacement Value description above).
- For real number or generic models, there is a slider bar next to the Index column which you can use to select a specific value.
- Notice the Color Index G-Value at the base of the Index strip. As you move the cursor over the color index above, the associated "G" value will be displayed below.
- Color Intervals: Use this setting to increase/reduce the number of color intervals displayed in the index.
- There are two buttons at the base of the Index column:
- The Expand-Index Button: This will expand the width of the Index column
- The Reduce-Index Button: This will reduce the width of the Index column.
- Edit Button: When editing lithology and stratigraphy models, a button labeled "Edit" will appear at the base of the Index Column. This button will activate the lithology or stratigraphy tables such that the user may add or modify the appropriate lithotypes or stratatypes without leaving the program.
- Status Bar: The horizontal region at the very bottom of the dialog will list all of the properties for each voxel as the cursor is moved within the Model Display Area. As you move the mouse around the model, you'll see these numbers change.
- X-Node: This number represents the number of nodes to the east of the origin (lower southwest corner) at the current mouse location. Note that the origin node is listed as node zero. The x-node is a positive integer based on a Cartesian coordinate system.
- Y-Node: This represents the number of nodes to the north of the origin (lower southwest corner) . The origin node is listed as node zero. The y-node is a positive integer based on a Cartesian coordinate system.
- Z-Node: This is the number of nodes above the origin (lower southwest corner). Notice that the origin node is listed as node zero. The z-node is a positive integer based on a Cartesian coordinate system.
- X-Global: This number represents the easting coordinate (e.g. UTM easting, longitude, local minesite x-coordinate, etc.) for the voxel at the currentl cursor position.
- Y-Global: This number represents the northing coordinate (e.g. UTM northing, latitude, local minesite y-coordinate, etc.) for the voxel at the current cursor position.
- Z-Global: This number represents the elevation for the voxel at the current cursor position.
- G-Value: This number represents the "G" (Grade) value for the voxel at the current cursor position. These are the numbers that this program is designed to selectively modify.
- Editing Voxels: There are two methods for modifying the voxel values:
- Single Point: Click on a color cell within the index and then click on a voxel. The voxel will change to the associated color. Behind the scenes, the numeric value that is associated within this color is changed to the current replacement value.
- Multiple Points: Click on a color cell within the index and then click on the vertices for a polyhedral region. When you are done drawing the polyhedral shape click the Done button, and after a few seconds, the model will be updated.
Back to Editing Solid Models in 3D
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