View your drillholes in 3D, using Surfer's 3D view. The 3D view gives you the ability to visualize the wells in true 3D, along with its data content (e.g. contaminant concentration, mineralization concentration, assay results, geophysical properties, etc.) Drillhole paths, data points and intervals can be displayed and colorized by data values.

The options to visualize drillhole data in the 3D view depend on the type of data you imported (e.g. interval data, point data, Log ASCII LAS files, etc). To see these options, create a Drillhole map in Surfer, then right click over the Drillhole layer in the Contents window, and click 3D View to create a 3D view of the layer. In the 3D view, select the Drillhole layer and use the four pages in the Properties window to refine the 3D view. You can also add color scales to the 3D view to show the color scales for the drillhole points and/or intervals.

1. Points

If point data were imported in the 2D view, these data can be displayed as point symbols in the 3D view.


To display points:

1. 1. Select the Drillhole layer in the Contents window of the 3D view.
   2. On the Points page in the Properties window, check the Show points check box. 
   3. Select the data the points should display from the Field list.
   4. Set the Frequency of point symbols to display. For example, 50% displays half of the points.
   5. Select the symbol to use for the points from the Symbol list. 
   6. Select either Fixed or By data for the Sizing method. This sets the size of the symbols, which ranges from 0 to 1.
      • Fixed creates point symbols that are the same specified size. After selecting Fixed, use the Size property to define the point size.
      • By data creates point symbols using data in the field selected in the Field property. After selecting By data, use the Minimum Size and Maximum Size properties to set the size range.
   7. Select either Fixed or By data for the Color method. This sets the color of the symbols.
      • Fixed makes all symbols the same specified color. After selecting Fixed, select a color from the Color property. 
      • By data uses the data in the field selected in the Field property to color the point data. After selecting By data, use the Colormap property to select the colormap. 

2. Intervals

If interval data were imported in the 2D view, these data can be displayed in colored intervals in the 3D view.

To display intervals:

1. Select the Drillhole layer in the Contents window of the 3D view.
2. On the Intervals page in the Properties window, check the Show intervals check box to display the intervals.
3. Select the data the intervals should display from the Field list.
4. Select either Fixed or By data for a Sizing method for the radius/width of the cylinder. The size range is 0-100, and the units are proportional to the map’s x-axis range.
   • Fixed makes all intervals the same specified size. After selecting Fixed, define a size in the Size control.
   • By data uses the data in the field selected in the Field property. After selecting By data, use the Minimum Size and Maximum Size properties to set the size range.
5. Select either Fixed or By data for the Color method. This sets the color of the intervals.
   • Fixed makes all intervals the same specified color. After selecting Fixed, select a color from the Color property.
   • By data uses the data in the field selected in the Field property to color the point data. After selecting By data, use the Colormap property to select the colormap. 

3. Path

These properties define the path of the drillhole using the depth, azimuth, and inclination values specified in the collars and survey data.

To display paths: 

1. Select the Drillhole layer in the Contents window of the 3D view.
2. On the Path page in the Properties window, check the Show paths check box to display the path of the drillholes. This is checked by default when the 3D view is created. The paths are calculated using the depth, azimuth, and inclination values specified in the collars or survey tables imported into the Drillhole Manager. If point and interval data were not imported along with the path data, only the paths of the drillholes are displayed (no points or intervals). 

3. Select the Color of the path. 

4. Set the Size of the path. The path is the radius of the path cylinder in a 0-100 scaling, where the units are proportional to the map’s x-axis range. 

4. Label

Use the Label properties to define the paths for identification or annotation.

To display labels: 

1. Select the Drillhole layer in the Contents window of the 3D view.
2. On the Label page in the Properties window, check the Show labels check box to display labels.
3. From the Field list, select the field to display as the label. The list of available fields are taken from the data imported into the Collars table.
4. In the Position list, select a Left, Center, or Right position of the label relative to the drillhole. Use the X offset, Y offset, and Z offset boxes to enter a specific, user-defined position. 
5. Use the Font properties to define the font of the label. 
6. Use the Label format properties to define the format of the labels in the map.
7. Check the Show leader lines check box to create a tie line between the label and the center top of the drillhole it is attached to.
8. Use the Width control to set the width the leader line.
9. Use Color to define the color of the leader line. 

Updated November, 2021