Building Section Control Files from Strings in Micromine

Creating sections in Micromine is very useful, as it allows you to consistently refer to the same extent and location every time. This is crucial when performing interpretation or reviewing data, ensuring you are always working within a controlled and repeatable view.

In many cases, you may have strings that define your section locations, and you want to build a section control file based on those.

In the following example, we create sections with a fixed length and equal spacing between them.

Start by creating a new string. Click the first point to define the line. You can either manually pick points or use the available tools to define the azimuth and distance precisely.

To create multiple parallel sections, you can replicate the base string.

This can be done using Copy Move String from the Design tab, or by right-clicking on the string. From there, specify the number of copies and the azimuth (direction) to ensure the strings are created perpendicular (or as required).

Once your strings are ready, you can create a section control file:

• Right-click in the Vizex Sections window and select New Section Control File from Strings,
  or
• Use the dropdown menu from the Sections tools.

This will open a form where:

• The input strings are selected
• Required parameters are filled

One important field is the Section Field, which defines the section names.

Since the string field is not pre-named, use the Join Field (start and end point coordinates). While you can manually name each string beforehand, using Join field is a faster approach. You can always rename them later after the control file is created.

Once created, the section control file will include all sections along with their generated names.

Section control files are stored as .dat files. Like other Micromine table formats, they are editable. By right clicking the file, you can modify names and section length (which controls how zoomed in or out your section view appears) or other options.

Another option in Micromine is to create section control files directly from your database instead of strings.

However, this approach is limited to the structure and extent of the database, whereas using strings gives you more flexibility and control.

All section control files are saved in the SECTIONS folder within your main project directory.

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