New Features of Strater 4: Coordinate System Support

Strater 4 includes coordinate system support (i.e. the ability to set and change coordinate systems) for the map view. Previous versions of Strater did not support coordinate systems, so whatever system your data was in was the only system you could use (unless you did the work to change your data). This was most inconvenient for users whose data were in lat/lon, since their between-well distances in the header of the cross section view were displayed in degrees. This new feature allows a user to import data in one coordinate system and change the system so their display is in a different coordinate system.

This feature works just like its counterpart in Surfer 10 and 11. From the Wells or Base layer, you will Set the original coordinate system for your map. If your data are in lat/lon, this will be lat/lon. From the Map object, you can Change the coordinate system to something else. This means that if your data are in lat/lon but you want to display your map in UTM, you will first Set the system of the Wells or Base layer to lat/lon and then Change the system of the Map to UTM. In order to Change the coordinate system of the Map, you will first have to Set the coordinate system of the Wells or Base layer, so the program knows what the original system is in order to convert it to a new system.

The general workflow for converting coordinate systems is:

1. Select your layer (Base or Wells) in the Object Manager.
2. In the Coordinate System tab of the Property Manager click the Set button if the Name is Unreferenced local system (if the name is the name of a coordinate system you can skip straight to step 4).
3. Navigate to your original coordinate system (i.e. the system your well data or base map are in to start with) and click OK once you've selected it. For example, WGS84 lat/lon would be Predefined | Geographic (lat/lon) | World Geodetic System 1984.

Now that Strater knows what coordinate system it's starting from, you can change it to something else if you wish.

1. Select your Map in the Object Manager.
2. In the Coordinate System tab of the Property Manager click the Change button.
3. Navigate to your desired coordinate system and click OK once you've selected it.