Add XY points to a map in Surfer

Updated

There are many ways to add XY points to a map in Surfer. Which way is best depends on the data you have (e.g. if you have a DAT, CSV, TXT or Excel file, or no file) and your own personally preferred workflow.


If you are adding the points from a data file, and the data file is georeferenced (e.g. has a PRJ file), then the layer it creates is also georeferenced.


The methods to create a map or layer from point data are:


1) Simply open the data file. This will open the data file as a new post map in Surfer 19 and above.

  1. Click File | Open.
  2. Select the data file.
  3. Click Open. The map is created.

2) Use the Map Wizard.

  1. Click Home | Wizard | Map Wizard.
  2. Select your data file, verify the X and Y columns are correct, and click Next.
  3. On the next page, at the top, you can choose to add the points as a layer to a new map or as a layer to an existing map.
  4. Select the type of map you wish to create from the data. In this example, check Post (other data point options include Base and Classed Post).
  5. Click Finish and the map or layer is created.

3) Load a data file containing the point locations directly as a base layer. Base layers are a good choice if you wish to apply symbology to a layer, or manually edit some points (e.g. delete, add, move, etc):

  1. Save the XY coordinates to a data file, like an Excel file (or DAT, CSV, TXT, etc), with the X coordinate in one column and the Y coordinate in another column.
  2. To add the points as a layer to a new map, click Home | New Map | Base | Base from Data. To add the points as a layer to an existing map, then select the existing map and click Home | Add to Map | Layer | Base from Data.
  3. Select the data file and click Open.
  4. Select the X and Y data columns and click OK. The base layer is created.

4) Load a data file containing the XY point locations directly as a post or classed post layer. Post layers are a quick and easy way to view XY points:

  1. Save the XY coordinates to a data file, like an Excel file (or DAT, CSV, TXT, etc), with the X coordinate in one column and the Y coordinate in another column.  
  2. To add the points as a layer to a new map, click Home | New Map | Post. To add the points as a layer to an existing map, select the existing map and click Home | Add to Map | Layer | Post.
  3. Select the data file and click Open. The post layer is created. By default it uses column A as the X coordinate column and column B as the Y coordinate column (you can change this later).
  4. To make any changes (e.g. X column, Y column, symbol properties, labels, etc) select the Post layer in the Contents window and make any changes in the Properties window.

5) Draw the point manually in a new empty base layer:

  1. Select the existing map.
  2. Click Home | Add to Map | Layer | Empty Base.
  3. Click the new Base layer in the Contents window to select it.
  4. Click Home | Insert | Point and draw the point at the location you want.
  5. If desired, adjust the position of a drawn point by selecting the point in the Contents window and adjusting the X and Y values in the Coordinates tab of the Property window.
  6. Press ESC to stop drawing.

To add these map types to an existing map:

  1. Click the existing Map object in the Contents window. 
  2. In the ribbon, click Home | Add to Map | Layer then choose one of the map types listed above. 

Updated February 2024

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2 comments
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  • Avatar
    Andrew Sayce

    How is this done in scripter ?

    0
  • Avatar
    Jennifer Woodson
    (Edited )

    @Sayce,

    You can add a post layer to a map using the AddPostLayer method. You can read more in the help: AddPostLayer. You may also want to review the sample script that comes with Surfer, PostMap.bas. By default, this script is located at C:\Program Files\Golden Software\Surfer 13\Samples\Scripts\PostMap.bas.

    Thanks,

    Jennifer

    0

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