This section covers how to obtain the software, and how to unpack and install it, and how to configure it.
The latest version is available from the Survex website: http://survex.com/. If you do not have internet access or would prefer to get a copy by post, we are also happy to send out up-to-date copies on a floppy on receipt of a stamped, self-addressed envelope. See the end of this document for addresses.
There's also a CD containing versions of Survex for every supported platform. You can download an image for this from the website, or we'll send you a copy on a CD-R if you send us money to cover the costs.
The details of installation depend greatly on what platform you are using, so there is a separate section below for each platform.
We supply pre-compiled versions for x86 Linux machines in RPM format (suitable for Redhat, Mandrake, and some other distributions). Survex Debian packages are available from Debian mirror sites in the usual way.
You'll need root access to install these prebuilt packages. If you don't have root access you will need to build from source (see the next section).
For other UNIX versions you'll need to get the source code and compile it on your system. Unpack the sources and read the file called INSTALL in the top level for details about building from source.
This version comes packaged with an installation wizard. Just run the downloaded package and it will lead you through the installation process. If installing on MS Windows NT, 2000, XP, or newer we recommend you run the installer as administrator (or as a user with administrator rights) so that the file associations can be set up for all users.
The survey viewer that's part of Survex is called aven, and uses OpenGL for 3d rendering. OpenGL comes as standard as of Windows 98, and was included in the OSR2 update to Windows 95. It's also possible that you've installed OpenGL with another application already (especially a 3D game like Quake). If you can view a survey in aven, all is well. Otherwise you can download OpenGL drivers from Microsoft's website (or here's a direct link to the file you actually need).
If you find that 3D rendering is sometimes very slow (e.g. one user reported very slow performance when running full screen, while running in a window was fine) then try installing the OpenGL driver supplied by the manufacturer of your graphics card rather than the driver Microsoft supply.
The installer creates a Survex group in the Programs sub-menu of the Start menu containing the following items:
Aven
Documentation
Uninstall Survex
Icons are installed for .svx, .3d, .err, and .pos files, and also for Compass Plot files (.plt and .plf) (which Survex can read). Double-clicking on a .svx file loads it for editing. To process it to produce a .3d file, right click and choose "Process" from the menu. Double-clicking the resultant .3d file views it in aven. All the Survex file types can be right clicked on to give a menu of possible actions.
Load file into SvxEdit
Process file with cavern to produce .3d file (and .err file)
Load file into Aven
Send to the printer
Produce extended elevation
Convert to a DXF file (suitable for importing into many CAD packages)
Produce a .pos file listing all the stations and their coordinates
Load file into Notepad
Sort .err file by the error in each traverse
Sort .err file by the horizontal error in each traverse
Sort .err file by the vertical error in each traverse
Sort .err file by the percentage error in each traverse
Sort .err file by the error per leg in each traverse
Survex has extensive internationalisation capabilities. The language used for messages from Survex and most of the library calls it uses can be changed. By default this is picked up from the language the operating system is set to use (from "Regional Settings" in Control Panel on Microsoft Windows, from the LANG environment variable on UNIX If no setting is found, or Survex hasn't been translated into the requested language, UK English is used.
However you may want to override the language manually - for example if Survex isn't available in your native language you'll want to choose the supported language you understand best.
To do this, you set the SURVEXLANG environment variable. Here's a list of the codes currently supported:
| Code | Language |
|---|---|
| en | International English |
| en_US | US English |
| bg | Bulgarian |
| ca | Catalan |
| de | German |
| de_CH | Swiss German |
| de_DE | German German |
| el | Greek |
| es | Spanish |
| fr | French |
| id | Indonesian |
| it | Italian |
| pl | Polish |
| pt | Portuguese |
| pt_BR | Brazillian Portuguese |
| ro | Romanian |
| ru | Russian |
| sk | Slovak |
| zh_CN | Chinese (Simplified) |
Here are examples of how to set this environment variable to give messages in French (language code fr):
For MS Windows 95 and 98 (and probably ME), you'll need to add a line containing SET SURVEXLANG=fr to your AUTOEXEC.BAT script. You need to reboot for the change to take effect.
For MS Windows NT4, 2000, and XP, you should proceed as follows (this description is written from MS Windows 2000 - it should be similar on NT4 and XP): Open the Start Menu, navigate to the Settings sub-menu, and open Control Panel. Open System (picture of a computer) and click on the Advanced tab. Choose `Environmental Variables', and create a new one: name SURVEXLANG, value fr. Click OK and the new value should be effective immediately.
setenv SURVEXLANG fr
SURVEXLANG=fr ; export SURVEXLANG
If Survex isn't available in your language, you could help out by providing a translation. The initial translation is likely to be about a day's work; after that translations for new or changed messages are occasionally required. Contact us for details if you're interested.
Printing is now built into aven. The print.ini configuration file still exists, but is only useful if you want to configure the colours used if you have a colour printer.