Drew started with a foundational step in creating visualizations that wow stakeholders: selecting a frame template, a preformatted layout that makes it easier to create polished outputs that follow consistent formatting. Once the frame template was open, Drew turned his attention back to the existing project and its coordinate systems and explained why they’re so critical in any mapping or modeling project. 

Simply put, every map frame contains a target coordinate system, which is the system you want your final map to display in. Each data layer, however, also has its own source coordinate system, which may differ from the map frame or other layers. Surfer automatically handles these reprojections and transformations under the hood, but only if the target coordinate system is correctly defined. Drew demonstrated how to set this up properly and adjust the map limits and scale afterward to bring the display back into focus. Once configured, the benefits became clear. 

Setting the correct coordinate system not only ensured all the layers aligned perfectly but also unlocked the opportunity to download imagery from WMS servers like OpenStreetMap and Google Maps. Drew also noted additional perks: once your coordinate system is defined, you can easily add a scale bar and use Surfer’s measuring tool for precise distance and area calculations.

Next, Drew walked through the new legend improvements in Surfer Beta. These enhancements give you far more flexibility to customize your map legends, making it easier to communicate data with precision and polish. Drew highlighted these updates by first focusing on contour layers. You can now display contour lines and labels directly in your legend. You can also include major or minor contours, specify exact levels to highlight key information, and even label whether the data represents elevation, depth, or concentration. This gives your map an extra layer of clarity and visual appeal for stakeholders.

Additionally, Drew showcased the flexibility to add additional map layers—like property boundaries or base layers—to the legend, giving you full control over what appears in your final output. One of the most exciting improvements he also highlighted was the ability to include drillhole symbols in your legend, even when symbology isn’t applied. This means your stakeholders can immediately recognize key elements like monitoring wells without confusion. And for maps with pie charts or other symbolized layers, these can now be added to your legend, ensuring complex datasets (like PFAS concentration charts) are displayed with clarity and consistency.

With the map polished and the legend fine-tuned, Drew shifted gears to focus on presentation, and specifically, how to assemble a clean, professional layout using Surfer’s frame templates. These templates make it easy to organize all your essential map elements (like the map itself, legends, titles, and scale bars) into a cohesive, publication-ready output.

To demonstrate, Drew opened a frame template and copied the completed map from the main plot window and pasted it into the frame. Once everything was pasted in, Drew resized and repositioned the components to achieve his desired layout and then customized the frame with company information and branding. 

From there, Drew showcased one of the most powerful tools for working efficiently across multiple figures: linked text tables from Excel. By linking fields like company name, address, or project title to a single Excel table, you can update all your frame templates automatically. If that information changes (say, a project number or contact name), every linked figure in your report or presentation will update instantly.

After walking through how to perfect the map, Drew wrapped up the session with one of the most important steps in any workflow: exporting the final output to share with stakeholders. Once your map or model and supporting elements are finalized in Surfer, it’s time to share them in a clean, professional, and easily viewable format.

The best way to do that? Export to Vector PDF.

Drew explained that exporting as a vector-based PDF ensures your map maintains crisp, publication-quality detail—no matter how much someone zooms in. Unlike raster exports (like JPEG or PNG), vector PDFs preserve line quality, text clarity, and symbol precision. This means features such as contour lines, annotations, and legends remain perfectly sharp and readable, even in large-format printing or digital presentations.