July 2026 - Therion

th_formdef.tex runaway text error
by bruce＠tomo.co.nz 12 Aug '26

12 Aug '26

Hello I've just created an error, due I believe to particular layout changes I've made to a couple of exported elevations, but I'm yet to isolate which changes are the culprits. (It's not related to recent posts I've made on therion/therion: therion <https://github.com/therion/therion> - cave surveying software, and it is consistent across all recent Therion versions) Perhaps someone may know if I can use the therion log information to track down the cause? Using the below information I checked in file thTMPDIR /th_formdef.tex .and found the string \PL{9178.94 283.21 m}% on line 165540. There are 220130 lines overall, and the file seems to end without obvious truncation. That in itself does not help much. I'm sure I'll be able to isolate the cause by other means, but I'm just wondering if anyone knows if I could use this information to locate a cause? Bruce #################### end of metapost log file #################### converting scraps ... done making map ... done ######################## pdftex log file ######################### This is pdfTeX, Version 3.141592653-2.6-1.40.22 (TeX Live 2021/W32TeX) (preloaded format=pdfetex 2023.12.2) 30 MAR 2026 14:09 entering extended mode **data.tex (./data.tex (./th_enc.tex) (./th_texts.tex) (./th_resources.tex (c:/Program Files/Therion/texmf/tex/glyphtounicode.tex)) (./th_fontdef.tex{c:/P rogram Files/Therion/texmf/fonts/pdftex.map}) (./th_formdef.tex Runaway text? 9178.9 ! TeX capacity exceeded, sorry [main memory size=3500000]. l.165540 \PL{9178.94 283.21 m}% If you really absolutely need more capacity, you can ask a wizard to enlarge me. Here is how much of TeX's memory you used: 263 strings out of 95671 3772 string characters out of 1192323 3500001 words of memory out of 3500000 1667 multiletter control sequences out of 15000+50000 16503 words of font info for 54 fonts, out of 1000000 for 2000 844 hyphenation exceptions out of 5000 5i,1n,6p,289b,36s stack positions out of 5000i,500n,10000p,200000b,50000s ! ==> Fatal error occurred, no output PDF file produced! ##################### end of pdftex log file ##################### C:\Program Files\Therion\therion.exe: error -- pdftex exit code -- 1 writing xtherion file ... done

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Convert .th to .svx?
by Francesco Serafin 30 Jul '26

30 Jul '26

I would like to convert the attached th survey into a survex txt file. I manually set the standard deviation for distance and compass in the th and I want to see if it is translated correctly into an svx file. In the thcfg file I tried an export command to svx but it didn't give a readable output. Would anyone know how to convert the th into svx please? Thank you Francesco

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ThIDE - a Therion IDE and a structural geology module
by Alex Pologea 17 Jul '26

17 Jul '26

Started a new application a few months ago, initially as a new Therion parser dedicated for extracting measurements from the entire cave survey to continue a prototype desktop tool made some years ago for calculating structural planes. It evolved to an IDE / workbench for Therion projects, an older desire, with semantic editing features including syntax checking and symbol navigation, compilation features, 3D and other embedded viewers, scrap editing via Mapiah, and survey analytics, multi monitor support, plus some experimental features like an AI assistant (local LLM via MCP) and Blender export. It is cross-platform (Windows, Linux, macOS), but serious testing has been done only on Windows and sparsely on Linux. It is now in an alpha dev stage, with an evolving UI and bugs expected. https://github.com/apgeo/ThIDE/ The structural geology module calculates planes (dip and strike values) for geological structures in caves (joints, fault determined fractures, and bedding planes) have implemented a module in ThIDE. The original idea was to measure these planes by using a DistoX (or similar laser survey device) to shoot splays on that feature, then to use them to determine a fitting plane. It's a debatable alternative approach we came up for helping researchers instead of using a geologic compass, useful especially on wide pits where you cannot reach the walls. https://github.com/apgeo/ThIDE/blob/main/docs/structural-geology.md Now this process is fully automated and included in ThIDE. The structural calculated planes in the cave are shown overlaid over a 3D model or over the mainline view. It can be tested by renaming a few stations in a Therion project to include the "geo" or other specified text. Alex

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XTherion - Mapaih - Therion Studio
by bruce＠tomo.co.nz 06 Jul '26

06 Jul '26

Mōrena (Good Morning) Yes, two new children on the street! Mapiah and Therion Studio are looking like viable alternatives to XTherion. My journey… * Nineteen years learning to love XTherion * Six months occasionally playing with Mapiah * Three weeks dabbling with Therion Studio I haven’t seriously tried to learn the latter two, just kept banging my head against them to see what it feels like. Both could do with searchable help files. Where I’ve ended up. * Using my favourite text editor to have all the Therion files I might need ready to edit or launch in an app (a 17 year habit) * Mapiah is my compiler every time – faster and cleaner than XTherion * XTherion is my drawing editor – familiar, object parameters are efficiently typed in * Mapiah is my drawing editor if I want to move, stretch rotate a bunch of objects or background image, then I save and head back to XTherion * Studio is what I look at in awe – but apart from the obvious, have not figured it out yet Below is a gut feel comparison, based on dabbling only, and without bothering to read all the instructions and learn the capabilities. Using Windows 11… Characteristic XTherion Mapiah Therion Studio Development repo therion/therion: therion – cave surveying software <https://github.com/therion/therion> https://github.com/rsevero/mapiah https://github.com/ladislavb/therion-studio Speed Slow to load and redraw th2 files Long delay before compile on some devices Very fast th2 rendering and fast compilation. Mapiah’s strength Slow to load the App, fast th2 rendering and compilation Version control friendly (does not rewrite th or th2 file structure if was edited by another App) Mostly compliant if edited with other apps Yes, minor exceptions Yes, as far as I’ve tested Drawing interface Not consistent with modern capabilities and norms (cannot move or transform whole objects, must be moved point by point). Modern capabilities (move and transform whole objects and collections of objects). Mapiah’s strength but Bewildering array of line object editing capabilities An improvement on traditional XTherion capabilities. Yet to explore the capabilities in this respect It might well be Studio’s strength Freehand line drawing No No Yes Facilitates everything Therion can do, and supports legacy workflows such as interactive manual survey data entry. Yes No, or at least not yet Unsure, although it expands on XTherion’s functionality in many areas Can use multiple instances to work on same or multiple projects and multiple applications (eg text editors) simultaneously. Yes Yes Initial experiments suggest multiple instances OK, but only one project at a time Can be used as a compendium single instance editor (th, th2, compiler). Yes Yes, except for general text (th) files Yes, and seems not to like NOT being used this way. Includes error detection & correction, live access to object parameter help. Studio’s strength Most objects can be created efficiently with minimum clicks and maximum typing. Yes, XTherion’s strength No, very very clicky Haven’t used enough to know. Not yet figured out how to draw within the bounds of a scrap object, for example Object visualisation only as points, lines and (if you hold your tongue right) areas Better symbolisation Astounding th2 visualisation. All Therion conceptual objects can be viewed (and edited) as symbolic blocks. Studio’s strength Live update if another App changes open file on disk No No Yes Development pace Steady consistent improvement over 30 years Recent rapid development until 2 months ago Recent rapid development So there it is. Tell me what I’ve missed and where I’m wrong. I’m pretty excited about both Mapiah and Studio. Thanks Rodrigo and Ladislav, your efforts are much appreciated. Bruce Mutton From: Therion <therion-bounces(a)speleo.sk> On Behalf Of ladislav(a)lblazek.cz Sent: Wednesday, 1 July 2026 21:34 To: Therion List <therion(a)speleo.sk> Subject: [Therion] Therion Studio 2026.6.9 Hi all, New version of Therion Studio (https://github.com/ladislavb/therion-studio) is out, with lot of quality-of-life improvements, bugfixes and performance improvements. See https://github.com/ladislavb/therion-studio/releases/tag/v2026.6.9 I would like to thank all the testers who tested the app, reported issues and suggested improvements. Especially Martin Sluka, Bruce Mutton, Axel Hack and Alex (apgeo) and Therion devs (Stacho, Martin). I recently noticed that the Mapiah project (https://github.com/rsevero/mapiah) is attempting to address the same issue: creating a modern replacement for Xtherion. Unfortunately, I encountered difficulties in running the project on my Mac or even building it from an Xcode project. Despite these challenges, But I’ve heard good things about Mapiah and it seems to be quite mature. Therefore, my objective is to maintain maximum interoperability between Xtherion, Mapiah, and Therion Studio, enabling seamless transitions between these tools. I’m genuinely curious to know the differences between Mapiah and Therion Studio. Has anyone use both? L.

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Therion Studio 2026.6.9
by ladislav＠lblazek.cz 01 Jul '26

01 Jul '26

Hi all, New version of Therion Studio (https://github.com/ladislavb/therion-studio) is out, with lot of quality-of-life improvements, bugfixes and performance improvements. See https://github.com/ladislavb/therion-studio/releases/tag/v2026.6.9 I would like to thank all the testers who tested the app, reported issues and suggested improvements. Especially Martin Sluka, Bruce Mutton, Axel Hack and Alex (apgeo) and Therion devs (Stacho, Martin). I recently noticed that the Mapiah project (https://github.com/rsevero/mapiah) is attempting to address the same issue: creating a modern replacement for Xtherion. Unfortunately, I encountered difficulties in running the project on my Mac or even building it from an Xcode project. Despite these challenges, But I’ve heard good things about Mapiah and it seems to be quite mature. Therefore, my objective is to maintain maximum interoperability between Xtherion, Mapiah, and Therion Studio, enabling seamless transitions between these tools. I’m genuinely curious to know the differences between Mapiah and Therion Studio. Has anyone use both? L.

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