Using Frame Templates

It is common practice for regulatory agencies to require submissions in specific formats and with specific requirements.  For example, when applying for a building permit, you will likely be required to submit a PDF plot plan including your company name, date, project name, permit #, address, scale, compass, and several additional details.

Frame Templates make it easier to ensure that all required information is included in a clear and organized manner, decreasing the likelihood of error and unnecessary delays.

Open one of the sample frame template files, and update the map area and text with your own project information.

You can open any of the sample frame template files, add your map, update the text, add any other elements you wish (e.g. scale bars and legends), resave to a new file and be done! You can also create your own frames from scratch, or update any of the existing frames to meet your needs and resave.

This article covers

How to use a frame template

1. Open the frame template file you want to start with by:
   • Selecting Frame Templates from the drop down list in the Welcome to Surfer dialog, selecting one of the SRF files and clicking Open.
     Pro Tip: preview each file in the list by selecting it to find just the file you want
     
     
   • Or, clicking File | Open, navigating to C:\Program Files\Golden Software\Surfer\Samples\Frame Templates, selecting one of the SRF files and clicking Open.
      
     Pro Tip: preview the templates by changing your display in the Open dialog to Large icons or Extra large icons
     
     
2. Locate the User Edit Contents group in the Contents window.  This group contains all of the text items or images that you will need to update.
   Edit these contents, as needed by double clicking or editing directly in the Properties window
   
   Pro Tip: To easily replace the image rectangle placeholder with an image of the company logo, select the Company Logo Image polygon, and in Properties click the Fill page, then click the File button to upload the image file. The image will be loaded as the fill for the polygon. You can resize the polygon as needed to fit the aspect ratio of the image.
   
   
3. Now you can place maps in the center of the plot window. Create as many maps as you wish, position, resize, and update properties as needed.
4. Add any other features you wish (e.g. legends, color scales, map scales, etc).
5. Click File | Save | Save As and save your project file to a new location with an appropriate name.

How to customize a Frame Template

If you like the layout of one of the frame template but the information included does not match your needs, you can adjust the text, add fields, and even move or rearrange content until the frame aligns with your project requirements.

1. Open the desired frame template.
2. Right click over the Frame group in the Contents window and click Lock Position to allow objects in the group to move.
3. Edit these contents, as needed by double clicking or editing directly in the Properties window
4. Move, stretch, or add polylines and polygons as needed.
5. When finished, right click over the Frame group in the Contents window and click Lock Position to prevent objects in the group from moving.
6. Click File | Save | Save As and save your new template file to a new location with an appropriate name.

How to change a Frame Template page size

To update an existing template to a new page size, complete the steps below:

1. Open the desired frame template.
2. Click Layout | Page Setup | Size | and click the desired page size.
3. Right click over the Frame group in the Contents window and click Lock Position to allow objects in the group to move.
4. Right click over the Frame group and click Ungroup to make it easier to select multiple objects on the page. 
5. Select all the polylines and polygons (not the text or north arrow).
6. Use the selection handles to move and stretch the selected objects to fit the new page size.
7. Use the same process to reposition all the text items and the north arrow, and update their size as needed. 
   1. Tips:
      1. Do not drag/stretch the text. This can introduce a transform that can create issues, such as the text being squished in one direction.
      2. If you select something by clicking in the plot window, and something else keeps getting selected instead (like the user edit contents group), hold the CTRL key down and click again. Holding the CTRL key down will allow you to scroll through the selection boxes at the location you clicked, until the item you want is selected.
8. When all the text is repositioned and resized, select all the ungrouped objects and click Features | Group | Group to regroup them.
9. Press F2, enter Frame, and click OK to restore the original group name
10. Click Layout | Position | Lock and then click Layout | Move | To Back to lock the position of the group and moving it to the back.

How to add templates to the Welcome dialog list

To add templates to the Welcome dialog list they need to be saved to the Samples\Frame Templates directory. This process does require admin permissions.

1. Once you create a frame that you like, click File | Save | Save As and save it as an SRF file to your hard drive in some location with an identifying name. 
2. Open up Windows Explorer and navigate to where you saved the file. 
3. Right click over your frame SRF file and click Copy.
4. Navigate to the Surfer Samples\Frame Templates folder (by default this is C:\Program Files\Golden Software\Surfer Beta\Samples\Frame Templates), right click and click Paste.
5. If prompted that you need to provide administrator permission to copy to this folder, click Continue. The file should be pasted.
6. Once the file is in the Frame Templates sample folder, the next time you start Surfer, your file will be listed under the Files menu when Frame Templates is selected.