April 2024 - Therion

kml color
by Philippe Vernant 25 Oct '25

25 Oct '25

Hi guys, I can’t find a way to change the light greyish color of the kml export except by going into the kml file and change it after it has been created. Is there a way to specify the color when creating the kml ? Thanks, Phil

3 3

More thoughts on Therion grids
by A Gott 30 Apr '24

30 Apr '24

HI Therion Mailing list, I have spent a couple of days looking over a few options with getting a grid onto the survey I sent around last week. below are the things I have tried. 1. Manipulating Freq of grid spacing 2. Looking at C++ Therion code 3. Creating a Grid.pdf plan file - To save reading, my take away was give up 4. Drawing Gridlines on .th2 for inclusion Two options now being considered: 1. using microsoft excel to create grid.th file 2. One for those with experience - Creating a script (Python?) to make the grid My findings on 1-4 are: 1. *Manipulating Freq of grid spacing* I did this as this had been suggested to me and was a good solution, but at the 40-50m spacing required to get the grid to show in full this left the top right and bottom right corners with duplicate coordinates written over each other. for a finished survey, this would not be an optimal solution to the problem. 2. *Looking at C++ Therion code* I'm not a coder but I tried to look at the C++/Cxx code for therion to try and make some amendments, but didn't realise when I tried to use it in the thconfig file, that it doesn't work the same as "code metapost". but when taking a look at it I found chunks of the code which I thought were relevant, and include these below my signature. 3) *Creating a Grid.pdf plan file* - To save reading, my take away was give up As the Manipulation of the frequency of the Grid spacing went ok, I decided I could potentially use this to create a background for the survey but including it in the files, I didn't make a plan (and wouldn't repeat) but this went along the lines of: 1. screenshot Survey, include image of survey in th2 file, place survey points at TR (top right) and BL coordinates required of the th2 file, set scrap scale as per survey scale. 2. create .th file which includes the two points as grid reference points, create .thconfig file to replicate the grid formation with no survey in it. 3. export to pdf, use online pdf converter to create .jpg file, and then use paint to remove the overlapping coordinates in the top right and bottom right of the grid. 4. use jpg as a background image in a .th2 file, include the coordinates etc in the main survey master .th file. 5. attempt to use "sketches on" to import this grid into the lowest part of the survey to ensure it is shown on the bottom. 6. give up waiting, as it was taking an age to 'warp' the sketch - abandon this as an idea. 4) *Drawing Gridlines on .th2 for inclusion* I think I could have skipped some of the above steps and used John Stevens example of drawing gridlines on a .th2 file earlier, advantages - get gridlines where you want, disadvantages - time consuming and potential for gridlines which don't look as polished as if a piece of software were doing it for you. I'm now considering 1. *using microsoft excel to create grid.th <http://grid.th> file* creating a microsoft excel file to create a grid.th file which will use one scrap for each vertical gridline and one for each horizontal gridline. something along the lines of: survey gridlines scrap Vert1 point 1 -1 station -name BotVert1 point 1 0 station -name TopVert1 line u:grid -clip off -place bottom 1 -1 1 0 endline endscrap scrap Vert2 point 2 -1 station -name BotVert2 point 2 0 station -name TopVert2 line u:grid -clip off -place bottom 2 -1 2 0 endline endscrap map scrap verticals Vert1 Vert2 endmap map grid scrap verticals scrap horizontals scrap labels endmap centreline cs OSGB:SK station BotVert1 fix BotVert1 realX realY 0 station TopVert1 fix TopVert1 realX realY1 0 ...etc... endcentreline 2. *One for those with experience - Creating a script (**Python?)** to make the grid* If anyone has any experience of it could they make a small script (like topparser is) that can make a .th file such as the above. My thoughts are that with a few small options this could be a quick win for a few people who are manually making their own grids. Therion already has an option to output coordinates for the bbox, these could be inputted into the script and then an option selected for the coordinate system, grid spacing, labeling frequency and placement Regards, Alastair Gott. ------------------- Therion source code I thought was most closely aligned to the above problem. *CXX to control grid formation and pattern* from line 775 on therion/thpdf.cxx GRIDLIST.clear(); if (LAYOUT.grid > 0) { converted_data scr; double a,b,c,d; parse_eps(LAYOUT.gridAA, "",0,0,a,b,c,d,scr,101); GRIDLIST.push_back(scr);scr.clear(); LAYOUT.gridcell[0].x = a; LAYOUT.gridcell[0].y = b; parse_eps(LAYOUT.gridAB, "",0,0,a,b,c,d,scr,102); GRIDLIST.push_back(scr);scr.clear(); LAYOUT.gridcell[1].x = a; LAYOUT.gridcell[1].y = b; parse_eps(LAYOUT.gridAC, "",0,0,a,b,c,d,scr,103); GRIDLIST.push_back(scr);scr.clear(); LAYOUT.gridcell[2].x = a; LAYOUT.gridcell[2].y = b; parse_eps(LAYOUT.gridBA, "",0,0,a,b,c,d,scr,104); GRIDLIST.push_back(scr);scr.clear(); LAYOUT.gridcell[3].x = a; LAYOUT.gridcell[3].y = b; parse_eps(LAYOUT.gridBB, "",0,0,a,b,c,d,scr,105); GRIDLIST.push_back(scr);scr.clear(); LAYOUT.gridcell[4].x = a; LAYOUT.gridcell[4].y = b; parse_eps(LAYOUT.gridBC, "",0,0,a,b,c,d,scr,106); GRIDLIST.push_back(scr);scr.clear(); LAYOUT.gridcell[5].x = a; LAYOUT.gridcell[5].y = b; parse_eps(LAYOUT.gridCA, "",0,0,a,b,c,d,scr,107); GRIDLIST.push_back(scr);scr.clear(); LAYOUT.gridcell[6].x = a; LAYOUT.gridcell[6].y = b; parse_eps(LAYOUT.gridCB, "",0,0,a,b,c,d,scr,108); GRIDLIST.push_back(scr);scr.clear(); LAYOUT.gridcell[7].x = a; LAYOUT.gridcell[7].y = b; parse_eps(LAYOUT.gridCC, "",0,0,a,b,c,d,scr,109); GRIDLIST.push_back(scr);scr.clear(); LAYOUT.gridcell[8].x = a; LAYOUT.gridcell[8].y = b; } PATTERNLIST.clear(); std::ifstream P("patterns.dat"); if(!P) therror(("Can't open patterns definition file!")); char buf[5000]; char delim[] = ":"; std::string line,num,pfile,bbox,xstep,ystep,matr; while(P.getline(buf,5000,'\n')) { num = strtok(buf,delim); pfile = strtok(NULL,delim); bbox = strtok(NULL,delim); xstep = strtok(NULL,delim); ystep = strtok(NULL,delim); matr = strtok(NULL,delim); // if (ALL_PATTERNS.count(num) > 0) { // changed to patt.used flag // because thsymbolset.cxx // calls eps_parse after // this function is called // and patterns referenced // there would be missing in this list pattern patt; patt.used = (ALL_PATTERNS.count(num) > 0); patt.name = num; matr.replace(matr.find("["),1,""); matr.replace(matr.find("]"),1,""); std::istringstream s1(matr); s1 >> patt.xx >> patt.xy >> patt.yx >> patt.yy >> patt.x >> patt.y; bbox.replace(bbox.find("["),1,""); bbox.replace(bbox.find("]"),1,""); std::istringstream s2(bbox); s2 >> patt.llx >> patt.lly >> patt.urx >> patt.ury; // F << "/Matrix " << matr << endl; // F << "/BBox " << bbox << endl; patt.xstep = atof(xstep.c_str()); patt.ystep = atof(ystep.c_str()); parse_eps(pfile , "", 0,0, patt.llx1,patt.lly1,patt.urx1,patt.ury1,patt.data,0); PATTERNLIST.push_back(patt); // } // patt.used } P.close(); } *Cxx for Bounding control* This was the first bit of code I noted down, before I kept proper refs of them, think it was Located in xtherion/thepsparse.cxx/from line 1336 if (J->second.minx > Llx) J->second.minx = Llx; if (J->second.miny > Lly) J->second.miny = Lly; if (J->second.maxx < Urx) J->second.maxx = Urx; if (J->second.maxy < Ury) J->second.maxy = Ury; *Cxx for Layout Calibration* two bits of code seem to be working together with the use of LAYOUT.calibration_hdist 1. code from Therion/thpdf.cxx/1620-1621 PAGEDEF << "\\pdfcatalog { /thCalibrate (HS=\\the\\adjustedHS, VS=\\the\\adjustedVS, HD=" << fmt::format("{}",thdouble(LAYOUT.calibration_hdist,10)) << ")}"; 2) code from therion/thexpmap.cxx/line 1862-1871 calpoint(0, lim.min.x, lim.min.y); calpoint(1, (lim.min.x + lim.max.x) / 2.0,lim.min.y); calpoint(2, lim.max.x, lim.min.y); calpoint(3, lim.min.x, (lim.min.y + lim.max.y) / 2.0); calpoint(4, lim.max.x, (lim.min.y + lim.max.y) / 2.0); calpoint(5, lim.min.x, lim.max.y); calpoint(6, (lim.min.x + lim.max.x) / 2.0,lim.max.y); calpoint(7, lim.max.x, lim.max.y); calpoint(8, (lim.min.x + lim.max.x) / 2.0, (lim.min.y + lim.max.y) / 2.0); LAYOUT.calibration_hdist = lim.max.x - lim.min.x; *Cxx for Adjustments* code from Therion/thpdf.cxx/1598-1608 PAGEDEF << "\\adjustedHS=" << fmt::format("{}",thdouble(HS,prec_xy)) << "bp" << "\\advance\\adjustedHS by \\extraE" << "\\advance\\adjustedHS by \\extraW" << "\\advance\\adjustedHS by \\overlap" << "\\advance\\adjustedHS by \\overlap" << std::endl; PAGEDEF << "\\adjustedVS=" << fmt::format("{}",thdouble(VS,prec_xy)) << "bp" << "\\advance\\adjustedVS by \\extraN" << "\\advance\\adjustedVS by \\extraS" << "\\advance\\adjustedVS by \\overlap" << "\\advance\\adjustedVS by \\overlap" << std::endl;

2 3

A wtherion update
by Csongor Zih 23 Apr '24

23 Apr '24

Hi everyone! I have an update to share regarding wtherion, which you hopefully remember is my project for a web-based Therion map editor to replace XTherion's map editing capabilities: https://github.com/daem-on/wtherion I just spent the last two weeks rewriting the UI of wtherion, which was originally a fork of a vector editing application, migrating the parts that used jQuery to Vue. The canvas library and most of the editing logic are the same, this change just means the editor UI can be even more dynamic, complex and useful than before. This eliminated a lot of unnecessary or overly complex code left from the vector editor, and I hope in the future this will make it easier to maintain and add new features to. Some of the more visible changes include: - New layout and new UI styles - Shortcuts icons for common actions - Keybinds can be configured (this is not persisted yet) - All select lists (including points/symbols) have preview images - UI language can be changed at runtime - New rendering capabilities This last one I'm especially happy about, it's a step towards actual WYSIWYG editing, although that is not planned for this project. Currently you can see, in real time, while editing, what your 'slope', 'pit' or 'overhang' lines might look like when compiled. The main limiting factor here is performance, since I don't know how capable the average user's hardware will be, I tried to keep it optimised, and I added a toggle for it in the toolbar. I'm planning on releasing a 1.0 version of wtherion in the future, but I would like to hear feedback on this development version, which can be reached at beta.wtherion.daemonw.com (this is also linked in the GitHub repo). If you have suggestions on how it should work differently, if it's not working well for your workflow, or if you find a bug, please let me know here, or create an issue on GitHub. I can't make any guarantee as to the timeline of development, or how quickly I'll respond. Admittedly, I haven't worked on this project very actively in the last two years, but right now I want to spend more time on it. The scope of the project hasn't really changed, but I'd be interested to work on other projects that plan to replace the whole of XTherion, or even replace text based editing. Csongor

6 8

Geographical Coordinates on grid
by A Gott 14 Apr '24

14 Apr '24

HI Therion users, I am really struggling to get coordinates to show on the edges of the Plan pdf when generated. There *has* to be something I'm missing! Does anyone have any examples where they have implemented coordinates on the border of the PDF so I can take a look? The two models I have tried this on are the Peak speedwell model in Castleton, Derbyshire, UK and also the Agua/Naciemiento Model in Tresviso, Cantabria/Asturias, Spain I really would like to see it on the Peak speedwell model and now realise we tried it on the Agua model but decided against it due to deadlines. We set a deadline for this one, but including the coordinates are a must! Peak speedwell - cave-registry.org.uk/svn/PeakDistrict/Castleton/castleton_model_thconfig <https://www.cave-registry.org.uk/svn/PeakDistrict/Castleton/castleton_model…> The things I've tried to include in the above which I hoped would help the coordinates to generate, at one point I did get the coordinates to generate only on the west side of the pdf, but now it's failing to show anywhere: page-setup 118.9 84.1 114.9 80.1 1.5 1.5 cm overlap 3 cm #size 110 75 cm size 105 75 cm grid bottom grid-coords border grid-size 250 250 250 m cs OSGB:SK grid-origin 14865.01 82575.16 193.75 m I also tried implementing the full grid, in the hope that this would help, but also didn't. layout custom_grid ##change default cross hair grid to grid code metapost def s_hgrid (expr xpos, ypos, xsize, ysize) = pickup PenD; if ( xpos >= -xsize ) and ( ypos >= -ysize ): draw ( -xsize/2, 0) -- ( xsize/2, 0); draw ( 0, -ysize/2) -- ( 0, ysize/2); fi enddef; endcode endlayout For Ref, the Tresviso model, but we wiped any reference to including a grid on this one. cave-registry.org.uk/svn/Andara/Tresviso/Nacimiento/therion/Nacimiento2020/Nacimiento2020_master.thconfig Regards, Alastair Gott.

4 3

Re: [Therion] Geographical Coordinates on grid
by Alastair Gott 14 Apr '24

14 Apr '24

Thank you Tarquin and thank you Bruce. I will check out some mods to the numbers, thanks Bruce, it’s a head scratcher and I’m not sure I would have thought of that. Ps Bruce, part of one of the Spanish caves is named alien weaponry, hail to the Māori! Tarquin, if Bruce’s fix doesn’t work I’ll jump on John Steven’s, he’s not the hardest to get hold of. Al. Sent from my iPhone > On 13 Apr 2024, at 21:24, Tarquin Wilton-Jones via Therion <therion(a)speleo.sk> wrote: > I know John Stevens did this ages ago - he does read this mailing list sometimes, maybe he can say how he did it. > > I rather suspect he manually specified the grid lines and crosses, and point labels for the numbers. > _______________________________________________ > Therion mailing list > Therion(a)speleo.sk > https://mailman.speleo.sk/listinfo/therion

1 0

Metapost for sump/syphon hazard symbol
by Bruce Mutton 13 Apr '24

13 Apr '24

Hello I'm looking for a Therion map symbol to emphasize the hazard posed by a localised low roof in passages (typically 2m to 5m in diameter) that are usually inaccessible due to water, but in dry conditions appear innocuous to the unwary. Currently I'm using an empty placeholder symbol, point u:sumphazard, but want to upgrade! I've been using the SBE point danger symbol to identify hazards such as zones of active passage collapse. One approach for sumping hazard would be to use the same symbol, and change the colour to blue, but I would like the distinction to be available for black and white outputs as well as colour outputs. Since I'm not very good at metapost, I'm looking to see if anyone has anything they'd be willing to share, or perhaps write! What I have in mind is something like an exclamation mark over top of some water squiggles. Maybe like one of these? The links behind the images below might have some useful elements. <https://i.pinimg.com/originals/02/4a/bc/024abcc38e0f1601c40650f0795948c7.jp g> <https://static.vecteezy.com/system/resources/previews/000/112/522/original/ flat-water-icon-vector-set.jpg> Thanks in advance. Bruce

5 4

Placing labels or symbols over top of labels
by Bruce Mutton 13 Apr '24

13 Apr '24

Hello everyone Is it possible to draw line arrow (or other symbols) over top of areas clipped by the 'shadow' of labels? Or if not, would it be desirable to be able to draw some symbols over top of labels? One use case would be as below, ensuring the line arrow shown in red below could extend over the area clipped by the label 'shadow' (which I have sketched in green). I could have drawn this example as two labels, thus making the shadow smaller, but then it is more complicated getting appropriate line spacing if the map is exported at a variety of scales. I tried -place top and -place bottom without any luck, then studied how maps are put together (Therion Book pages 45-47) and realised that only grids, surface bitmaps and previews are likely to overwrite labels. Any suggestions? Regards Bruce

2 1