QuickPlan 2.00 User Guide
QuickPlan 2.00 User Guide
QuickPlan 2.00 User Guide
Copyrights
© 1995, 1996 Trimble Navigation Limited. All rights reserved. No part of this manual may be
copied, photocopied, reproduced, translated, or reduced to any electronic medium or machine-
readable form without prior written consent from Trimble Navigation Limited.
Trademarks
4000A, 4000SE, 4000Si, 4000SL, 4000SLD, 4000SSE, 4000SSi, 4000SST, 4000ST, 4000SX,
4600LS, 7400MSi, Asset Surveyor, Geodetic Surveyor, Geodetic System Surveyor,
GIS Surveyor, GPLoad, GPS Pathfinder GeoExplorer, GPS Pathfinder Pro XL, GPS Pathfinder,
GPSurvey, GPTrans, Land Surveyor II, Land Surveyor IID, PFINDER, Quick Plan, Series 4000,
System Surveyor II, TDC1, and TRIMNET Plus are trademarks of Trimble Navigation Limited.
IBM is a registered trademark of International Business Machines, Inc. Microsoft is a registered
trademark, and MS-DOS and Windows are trademarks of Microsoft Corporation. All other brand
names are trademarks of their respective holders.
Disclaimer of Warranty
EXCEPT AS INDICATED IN “LIMITED WARRANTY” HEREIN, TRIMBLE HARDWARE,
SOFTWARE, FIRMWARE AND DOCUMENTATION IS PROVIDED “AS IS” AND WITHOUT
EXPRESS OR LIMITED WARRANTY OF ANY KIND BY EITHER TRIMBLE OR ANYONE WHO
HAS BEEN INVOLVED IN ITS CREATION, PRODUCTION, OR DISTRIBUTION INCLUDING BUT
NOT LIMITED TO THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A
PARTICULAR PURPOSE. THE ENTIRE RISK, AS TO THE QUALITY AND PERFORMANCE OF THE
TRIMBLE HARDWARE, SOFTWARE, FIRMWARE AND DOCUMENTATION, IS WITH YOU. SOME
STATES DO NOT ALLOW THE EXCLUSION OF IMPLIED WARRANTIES, SO THE ABOVE
EXCLUSION MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU.
Limitation of Liability
IN NO EVENT WILL TRIMBLE OR ANY PERSON INVOLVED IN THE CREATION, PRODUCTION,
OR DISTRIBUTION OF THE TRIMBLE SOFTWARE BE LIABLE TO YOU ON ACCOUNT OF ANY
CLAIM FOR ANY DAMAGES, INCLUDING ANY LOST PROFITS, LOST SAVINGS, OR OTHER
SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, OR EXEMPLARY DAMAGES, INCLUDING BUT NOT
LIMITED TO ANY DAMAGES ASSESSED AGAINST OR PAID BY YOU TO ANY THIRD PARTY,
RISING OUT OF THE USE, LIABILITY TO USE, QUALITY OR PERFORMANCE OF SUCH
TRIMBLE SOFTWARE AND DOCUMENTATION, EVEN IF TRIMBLE OR ANY SUCH PERSON OR
ENTITY HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF DAMAGES, OR FOR ANY CLAIM BY
Preface .................................................................................................................xiii
What You Should Know........................................................................................ xiii
About This Manual................................................................................................ xiv
Related Information................................................................................................ xv
Update Notes.................................................................................................... xv
Bulletin Board Service..................................................................................... xv
Technical Assistance........................................................................................ xv
FaxBack .......................................................................................................... xvi
Email ............................................................................................................... xvi
Internet FTP Address ...................................................................................... xvi
Reader Comment Form................................................................................... xvi
Document Conventions ....................................................................................... xviii
Tips, Notes, and Cautions.................................................................................... xviii
1 Introduction ...............................................................................................1-1
How Quick Plan and Plan Differ........................................................................... 1-1
When and Why to Use Quick Plan or Plan ........................................................... 1-2
What You Will Need ............................................................................................. 1-3
Hardware ......................................................................................................... 1-3
Software .......................................................................................................... 1-3
Installing Quick Plan and Plan .............................................................................. 1-4
2 Overview ....................................................................................................2-1
Sessions and Points ................................................................................................2-1
Starting Quick Plan or Plan....................................................................................2-2
Defining the Session in Quick Plan .......................................................................2-2
Step 1: Selecting a Date...................................................................................2-3
Step 2: Defining a Point ..................................................................................2-4
Step 3: The Status Box ....................................................................................2-5
The Main Menu Bar ...............................................................................................2-6
What Next? ............................................................................................................2-7
Index
List of Figures
Figure 1-1. The Almanac Update Parameters.................................................................1-7
List of Tables
Table 2-1. Plan Main Menu Commands .........................................................................2-6
Table 2-2. Useful Graph and Option Commands ...........................................................2-8
Table 7-2. Options in the Auto View Time Selection Dialog........................................ 7-4
Related Information
The following sections discuss other sources of information.
Update Notes
You will find a Warranty Activation Sheet with your GPSurvey
software. By sending in your Warranty Activation Sheet, you will
automatically receive update notes as they become available. When you
receive these packages, read them. They contain important information
about software and hardware changes. Contact your local Trimble
Dealer for more information about the support agreement contracts for
software and firmware, and an extended warranty programs for
hardware.
Technical Assistance
If you have problems and cannot find the information you need in the
GPSurvey manuals, please call the Trimble Technical Assistance Center
(TAC). The phone numbers are:
+1-800-SOS-4TAC (in North America)
+1-408-481-6940 (International)
+1-408-737-6020 (Fax)
You can call the Technical Assistance Center phones between 6 AM and
6 PM Pacific Standard Time. A support technician will take your call,
help you determine the source of your problem, and provide you with
any technical assistance you might need.
FaxBack
FaxBack is an automated fax response system for selecting documents
and catalogs (lists of available documents). You can order a variety of
documents, including: data sheets, application notes, technical
documentation, configuration guides, assembly drawings, and general
information.
Call from a tone-dialing phone. A recorded FaxBack message guides
you through the call. The FaxBack system is available 24 hours a day,
seven days a week.
To call the FaxBack service, dial +1-408-481-7704 and follow the
recorded instructions.
Email
You can send email to the Technical Assistance Center at any time.
A support technician will respond to your email questions or comments.
The email address is: [email protected].
Document Conventions
Italics identify software menus, menu commands, and dialog boxes.
Normal text is used for group boxes, options buttons, check boxes, text
boxes, and list boxes.
Bold face words identify push buttons in dialog boxes.
SMALL CAPITALS identify directories, filenames, and filename
extensions.
Courier represents what is printed on the screen by the application.
Courier Bold represents information that you must type.
or identify keys on your computer keyboard.
C TIP – Tips suggest quick steps for simplifying your work or describe
additional functions in the program.
! CAUTION -- Cautions alert you to situations that could cause loss of data
or software errors.
NOTES
¸ NOTE – For the sake of brevity, this manual uses the name Plan to refer
to both Quick Plan and Plan. In the few places where the manual
discusses features unique to one program or the other, it uses phrases
like Quick Plan only, or In Plan Only (not Quick Plan).
Quick Plan has essentially the same planning capabilities as Plan. Use it
for informal, preliminary work, and for on-the-spot field planning,
where the result will be used immediately and then will cease to be
important.
Hardware
Plan runs on IBM-compatible personal computers with at least an 386
processor. As a general rule, use the fastest processor available. Trimble
recommends that, at the minimum, you use a 386/25 and strongly
suggests that you use a Pentium (or the fastest processor available to
you), since this configuration significantly speeds up your processing
time.
Plan requires a math coprocessor. If you are using a 386 or 486
processor, which does not have this function built in, you must install a
80387 math coprocessor.
You need a minimum of 4 MB of RAM, a mouse, and a VGA monitor.
Trimble recommends at least 8 MB of RAM and a super VGA monitor
and display adapter (resolution 768 x 1024 or higher).
You must have about 2.5 MB of free space on your hard disk drive for
the program files. This amount of space is required whether you are
installing Plan, Quick Plan, or both. If you are installing a new version
of Plan and/or Quick Plan in place of an earlier version, you will not
need any significant amount of additional disk space.
Software
Plan and Quick Plan both require Microsoft® Windows® version 3.1 or
higher; Windows® NT Workstation 3.51 or higher; or Windows®95.
These products must be installed before Plan or Quick Plan is installed.
NOTE – To tell how old your most current ephemeris file is:
¸ 1. Get a listing of files with the extension EPH in the directory where
Plan is installed. (If you are not sure what directory this is, click the
Quick Plan or Plan icon in the File Manager window, then select the
File / Properties command to open the Program Icon Properties
dialog box. The program's pathname, including its directory name, is
in the Command Line box. Press to close the dialog box.)
2. The filename of each file should have the form Dyyddd, where yyddd
is the Julian date on which the ephemeris was decoded. For
example, an almanac file that was decoded on August 30, 1994 is
named D94242.EPH. If you are using GPSurvey, it creates one
additional file named CURRENT.EPH.
3. Look for the file with the most recent decoding date. Note that the
decoding date is not necessarily the same as the date in the file's
time stamp!
Once you have ensured that the receiver has a current almanac:
1. If you have downloaded data from this receiver to your computer
before, skip to step 6.
2. Configure the receiver and select an appropriate data cable.
For a Series 4000 receiver, see the Series 4000 Application Guide.
For a GPS Pathfinder receiver with data logger, see the TDC1 Asset
Surveyor Software User's Guide.
3. Open the Quick Plan program group, if necessary, and double-click
the Edit Almanac Update Parameters icon.
* This file can be edited to set the serial port and program configuration.
* Edit the values to the right of the colon, do not modify the strings to
* the left of the colon as they are used to identify each parameter. Valid
* values for each settable parameter are enclosed in square brackets: [value].
* Serial port settings
port: com1 [com1,com2]
baud: 9600 [1200,2400,4800,9600,19200,38400]
databits: 8 [7,8]
parity: odd [none,odd,even]
stopbits: 1 [0,1,2]
* Program options
verbose: yes [yes,no]
last error: 0
last almanac: d:\prog\geteph\d93235.eph
This runs the almanac update program, which downloads the current
ephemeris from the receiver and stores it in an EPH file.
¸ NOTE -- If the almanac update utility fails to download the almanac from
the receiver, be sure that:
• The parameter settings on the receiver are the same as the ones
specified in the almanac update parameters.
• You are using the correct type of data cable.
• The serial ports connected to the data cable on the computer and the
receiver are the ones you configured.
NOTES
¸ NOTE – GPSurvey can use coordinates entered with Plan (but not with
Quick Plan) for solving baseline and adjusting networks. If you plan to
use point coordinates in this way, they need to be more accurate than
coordinates used for planning alone.
You must define a point for every mark to be observed in the survey,
even if you are entering approximate point positions that are so close
together that they are equivalent. This is because each point's properties
When you start Plan, you go directly to Plan’s main menu. You must
define a session with the Session / New Session command.
Select Date requires you to select the date on which a session will be
conducted. Quick Plan will compute satellite visibility for that date.
You can select a date with any of these methods:
• Click one of the date buttons, Today, Tomorrow, or Day After
Tomorrow.
• Click a date in the calendar. Use the Prev Month or Next Month
button, if necessary, to display the required month.
• Enter the Julian date in the lower left corner, or the calendar date
in the lower right corner.
After you have selected the date, click OK to close the dialog box.
The Select Date dialog box is described more completely in the section
New Session: Creating a New Session in Chapter 4.
Many of the commands you can select from the main menu bar display
dialog boxes and other windows in Plan's main window.
The main menu commands and functions are listed in Table 2-1.
File Print graphs, optimal observation time lists, and observation reports;
exit Plan. (See Chapter 3.)
Session Create and modify sessions and points within sessions. (See
Chapter 4.)
Note: You can select different dates within a single planning session by
opening the Select Date dialog box, and you can select different points
by opening the Edit Point dialog box. These dialog boxes are
accessible through the Session / New Session and Session / Edit
Session commands.
Graphs Create and display graphs of satellite data. (See Chapter 5.)
View Resize, zoom, and pan graphs. The View menu is available only when
at least one graph window is open. (See Chapter 6.)
Options Select available satellites, time zone, program status, elevation mask,
and almanac. (See Chapter 7.)
Help Display information about how to use the program.
What Next?
Once you reach the main menu, you are ready to begin planning.
• If you are using Plan, use Session / New Session to define the
sessions and points you need, and add the appropriate points to
each session.
• If you are using Quick Plan, you have already defined one session
and one point, and have added the point to the session.
- Use Session / Edit Session to define and add additional points.
- Use Session / New Session, if necessary, to define additional
sessions and add points to them.
After you have defined the sessions and points you need, experiment
with different observation schedules and session parameters:
• Session / Edit Session lets you vary the schedule.
• The Options menu commands let you vary parameter settings such
as the elevation mask.
• Options / Auto Time controls the minimum required observation
period, the minimum required number of satellites, and the
PDOP mask.
The commands listed in Table 2-2 on page 2-8 display and print
information that can help you define the best plan for your needs.
There are essentially two ways to use Plan:
• You can let the program do the planning. Enter appropriate
parameter settings, then select Options / List Times to produce a
list of observation times that meet the criteria you have specified.
• You can do the planning yourself. Use any combination of
commands to display information that helps you visualize satellite
availability over the period of time when the observations must be
made, and decide on a plan.
Graph / Number of SVs Find observation periods that offer the best combination of
and PDOP satellite availability and high PDOP.
Graph / Elevation Determine how many satellites (and which ones) will clear site
obstructions at any time.
Graph / Azimuth Find safe observation periods for a site in which an entire part of
the sky is obstructed. At any time, satellites with azimuths in that
part of the sky may be unavailable.
Graph / Number of Make preliminary studies of satellite availability; help you find
Satellites observation times when many satellites will be available.
Graph / Satellites Find observation periods when particular satellites are available.
Helpful if you know which satellites you want to observe.
Graph / PDOP Select a set of satellites to observe. You can enable and disable
specific satellites and see the effect on PDOP.
Graph / Status Put graphic displays in context by providing data about the
ephemeris file, time zone, etc. This helps you avoid making
plans based on obsolete or inappropriate data.
Options / Auto Time Compute and display list of optimal observation times, given
specified criteria.
The File menu has three commands for printing various types
of information:
• Print Graph: Print the current graph
• Print Auto Time: Print the optimal observation time list
• Print Report: Print the satellite visibility report
The File menu also has one command that ends a run of Plan:
• Exit: Terminate Plan and return control to GPSurvey or to the
Program Manager
File / Print Auto Time presents the Auto Time List Destination
dialog box, which prompts you to choose whether to print the List
Time box to the printer or an ASCII (text) file.
3. Click the appropriate button to close the dialog box and proceed.
1. Choose the destination for the file using the Drives and Directories
lists.
2. Specify the file type using the Save File as Type list. The default file
type is REP (a Plan report file).
3. Type the name of the file into the File Name edit box.
If you do not add an extension to the file name, it defaults to a value that
depends on the type of file you are saving. The default type for a
Plan report file is REP.
4. Click OK to write the report to the file.
You normally should click Yes, so that the changes you have made will
not be lost.
NOTES
¸ NOTE – Because Quick Plan does not save information from run to run,
you must create a new session before it will let you use the main menu.
In effect, it selects Session / New Session for you when you start the
program.
You may use Session / New Session to define additional sessions, but
remember that none of the sessions you create will be saved.
Display session's
combined curtains Edit selected
point's curtain
Set receiver ID
(Plan only)
2. Double-click the session you want to edit, or select the session and
click OK.
• Plan closes the Choose a Session dialog box and displays the Edit
Session dialog box (not shown here, but very similar to the Add
New Session dialog box, Figure 4-2). Use the dialog box to:
- Create a new point by clicking Create (see Creating a New
Point on page 4-8).
3. When you are done, click OK to close the Edit Session dialog box.
C TIP – You can also edit a point by highlighting the point from the list box
on the left side of the Add New Session or Edit Session dialog box, then
clicking the Edit Pt button.
City nearest selected point Click mouse to select point Name of city
All of the procedures for adding or editing a point lead to the Edit Point
dialog box, from which you can open a world map by clicking the World
Map button.
World Map opens the Select Pt dialog box, which displays the map in a
Mercator projection, with a panel of buttons at the right and a status bar at
the bottom. The dialog box has two variations, as shown in Figure 4-5 and
Figure 4-6. One displays a Mercator projection, the other an global view.
In the map, a colored block marks the city nearest the selected point.
Major political boundaries are shown in several colors to make them
easier to distinguish. The coordinates of the mouse cursor are shown in
an inset box at the upper right.
In a Mercator projection, the status bar shows the map scale. In the
example above (Figure 4-5), each segment of the scale bar represents
5000 km. (The scale is subject to the usual distortions inherent in a
Mercator projection.) The inset box at the right end of the status bar
shows the name of the city nearest the selected point.
To define a point:
1. Move the mouse cursor to the point.
2. Click the mouse's left button.
The inset coordinates freeze at the point you clicked on. The
coordinates of the point are defined as the coordinates at the
mouse—not the coordinates of the nearest city. The point may be
given the name of the city, though. (See the description of the Take
City check box in Table 4-1.)
C TIP – If you make a mistake, just click the mouse button again. This frees
the colored block to follow the mouse cursor around the map.
When you have frozen the coordinates by clicking the mouse button,
Plan enables the Magnify and Demagnify buttons. You can use these
buttons to zoom in an area of interest (to magnify it) and to zoom
out again (demagnify). Zooming in makes it possible to define a
point more precisely than the world map would allow.
3. When you have defined the point to your satisfaction, click OK.
Plan defines the point and closes the Select Pt dialog box.
The controls to the right of the map are described in Table 4-1 below.
Rivers Display major rivers on the map. If you clear this box, rivers
will not display.
Take City Make Plan name the point the same as the nearest
(highlighted) city. If you clear this box, Plan will not name
the point; if you want the point to have a name, you must
edit it from the keyboard.
OK Accept the point definition you have made and close the
Select Pt dialog box.
Cancel Close the Select Pt dialog box without defining the point.
Press left and drag Zoom in to an area defined by the drag (the points
where you press the mouse button and release it
become diagonally opposite corners of the map).
¸ NOTE -- Political boundaries have changed since the world map was
created, and will continue to change. Trimble will update the map
periodically and will attempt to stay current with an ever-changing world.
All of the procedures for adding or editing a point lead to the Edit Point
dialog box.
To create or edit a point with the City List:
1. Click the City List button in the Edit Point dialog box (Figure 4-4) to
open the Select City dialog box.
Select City can display either of two lists of cities: a world list or a
local list. (The local list is initially a list of cities in the United
States, but can be changed; see the following section Editing a City
List.)
2. Select either list by clicking the World or Local button at the top of
the dialog box.
3. Once you have selected the appropriate list, double-click the city
you want, or highlight the city and click OK.
C TIP – You can also select a city by typing the first part of its name into the
Select City box. Plan highlights the first city name that begins with the
same letters. If you entered CA, for example, Plan would highlight Cairo;
add an N and it would highlight Canberra instead.
The name of the point is the name of the city. If the Take Country Name
Also box was checked, the name of the point is the name of the city
followed by the name of the country, state, or province in parentheses,
like this:
San Francisco(CA)
Cape Town(South Africa)
The city lists are stored in the same directory as the Plan program itself.
This is customarily C:\GPSURVEY\BIN (for Plan or Quick Plan used with
GPSurvey) or C:\QKPLAN (for a standalone version of Quick Plan). The
world list is kept in a file named CITY.WOR; the local list is in a file
named CITY.LOC.
You can use any editor that handles unformatted ASCII files. The
following illustration shows what a city list looks like when edited with
Microsoft Windows's Notepad editor.
If you add cities to either file, make sure that the city list remains in
alphabetical order, and that the information is placed into the file in the
format shown in Table 4-3.
Field Column
Name 1–21
State/Province 22–43
Minutes of longitude 44–50
Minutes of latitude 51–57
You can add a city to either city list from the world map in the Select Pt
dialog box. You cannot edit or delete a city list entry with this technique.
Instructions for using the world map to create or edit a point in a session
are given in Creating or Editing a Point with the World Map on
page 4-10.
To add new cities to the world map, open the Select Pt dialog box
(containing the map) and then:
1. Be sure that the Mercator map projection is displayed.
2. Magnify the map sufficiently to be able to locate the city with
reasonable precision.
3. Click the left mouse button on the city's location to fix the point on
the map.
4. Hold down and
, and click the right mouse button. Plan
5. Enter the city name, including the state, province, or country name
in parentheses.
6. Click OK.
Plan opens a message box which prompts you to select the list to
which the city is to be added.
7. Click Yes to add the city to the local list, or No to add it to the
world list.
Plan adds the city to the appropriate list and closes the message box.
To use the dialog box, fill in the fields as appropriate. You must supply a
name, a Latitude, and a Longitude. The other fields are optional.
The fields in the dialog box are described in Table 4-4.
Table 4-4. Edit Point Dialog - Station Identification and Station Position Fields
Name The point's name, as it appears in the world map and in Plan's
other dialog boxes. It is limited to 20 characters. It can be a
station name.
Long Name (in Plan only) A longer name (up to 50 characters) that will appear in certain
reports printed by GPSurvey.
ID (in Plan only) The point's station ID (up to 8 characters). The station ID is
intended to store a four-digit numeric code that is used to
identify stations on Trimble Series 4000SL and 4000SX
receivers or an eight-character alphanumeric code that is used
to identify stations in the Stop-and-Go kinematic software.
Latitude and Longitude The coordinates of the point. Note that the quadrant
(north/south or east/west) is specified by clicking the buttons to
the right of the coordinate numbers, not by entering a letter with
the number.
Height Height of the point above the ellipsoid, in meters.
Position Quality An indication of the type (source and precision) of the position.
(in Plan only) The Position Quality box provides a dropdown list of accepted
position types; you must select one of these types. For more
information about Position Quality, see Judging Position
Quality, below. This property is not used in Plan or Quick Plan,
but it is used by other pieces of Trimble surveying software.
Usable GPS Check this box to indicate that GPSurvey can use this point for
(in Plan only) subsequent processing (the usual setting). Clear it to indicate
that GPSurvey should not use this point.
The control buttons in the Edit Point dialog are described in Table 4-5.
OK Accept the point definition now shown in the dialog box, and
close the box.
Cancel Closes the dialog box without creating or editing the point.
Notes (in Plan only): Open a Windows Notepad window containing this point's
station notes. Use this window to enter, edit, or view notes.
Precision Description
Coordinates You don't know the position's coordinates, or you choose not to
Unknown/Undefined enter them.
Estimated Coordinates You estimated the coordinates, for example, by measuring the
position on a map.
Point Positioning This is the best position computed by the receiver using
pseudorange measurements (autonomous positioning). This is
the default Position Quality, since check-in retrieves this type of
position from the data file.
Differential Point Positioning You got the position from a GPS receiver using differential GPS
procedures.
Baseline Solutions You got the position from baseline processing using
TRIMMBP, GPSurvey, or some other postprocessing program.
The accuracy of a Base Solutions position depends on the
reference position from which it was derived.
Network Adjustment You are using results from TRIMNET Plus or some other
network adjustment program.
Baseline Processor The solution was derived from pseudorange measurements
Averaged using the baseline processor.
Fixed Control You are using a high-order control monument from which you
want to compute you relative GPS baselines.
• Click the date in the calendar in the middle of the dialog box.
If the date is not in the current month, click the Prev Month or
Next Month button to display the appropriate month.
• Type the date's day of year into the Date (Julian) field. Plan
assumes that the date is in the current year.
• Type the date itself into the Date field. Use the date format
selected by the Date Format field of Windows Control Panel's
International dialog box.
3. Click OK.
To specify the time:
1. Click the Time button. Plan displays the Enter Start and Stop Times
dialog box.
Curtains
Zenith
Save curtain
descriptions Elevation mask
Horizon
The curtain editor displays curtains from the perspective of a spot above
the observation point. The display resembles a graph in polar coordinates.
Directions are as on a conventional map; for example, up represents
north. A point's distance from the origin represents its elevation. The
outermost circle represents the horizon (elevation 0°); the middle circle
is 30°; and the inner circle is 60°. In addition, the standard value of the
elevation mask (15°) is marked by a circle drawn with a broken red line.
Each curtain is represented by a sequence of lines that trace the curtain's
upper edge. The obstructed area is shaded.
There are two types of curtains:
• A single curtain is defined by a left boundary and a right
boundary. Its sides are vertical; its top is a straight line.
• A continuous curtain is defined by a left boundary, a right
boundary, and any number of internal boundaries. Its sides are
vertical; its top is a zigzag line from the left boundary, through
each internal boundary, to the right boundary.
In both cases, left and right are defined from the perspective of an
observer at the origin. That is, from left to right means clockwise, or in
order of increasing azimuth values.
The Sky Coords box in the upper right part of the window displays the
coordinates of the mouse cursor, and also lets you define curtains by
editing boundary coordinates through the keyboard.
A status message often appears at the bottom of the window (but is not
shown in Figure 4-14 above); the message tells you what Plan is doing,
or suggests what you should do next.
Cursor Meaning
To define a second curtain for the same point, select the Edit /
Edit Continuous Curtains command. Then define the second curtain just
as you defined the first.
snap to the top of the curtain at that azimuth, and you can read azimuth
and elevation from the Sky Coords box.
You can adjust the mouse position by moving it in a circle around the
center of the curtain diagram. The mouse cursor will follow the curtain
around the diagram.
Correcting an Error
If you make a mistake while defining a curtain:
1. Complete the curtain.
2. Select Edit / Undo.
The curtain editor will undo the curtain definition you entered.
3. Enter the curtain correctly and proceed.
If you make an extensive mistake and want to discard all of the current
point's curtain definitions, select Edit / Clear. The curtain editor asks
you to confirm your intentions, then clears (deletes) all of the point's
curtains.
! CAUTION – If you select File / Exit without first selecting File / Save, the
curtain editor will exit and discard your work. The curtain's prior definition,
if any, will be retained. The curtain editor will not prompt you to confirm
that you want to discard your work.
The File menu contains commands that are used to save and clear
curtain definitions, and to exit the curtain editor.
File / New Prompts you to confirm your intentions, then deletes all curtain
definitions. This change will not become permanent until you
save. File / New and Edit / Clear are equivalent.
File / Exit Makes the curtain editor return control to the dialog box that
invoked it.
! CAUTION -- If you have edited the curtain definition since you last
saved it, File / Exit will discard your changes. It will not prompt you for
confirmation first.
The Edit menu contains commands that are used in the procedures for
defining curtains.
Edit / Continuous Lets you define a continuous curtain. To define the curtain,
Curtains click the left mouse button at the left boundary, then at each
internal boundary from left to right, then at the right boundary.
Complete the curtain by clicking the right mouse button or by
pressing .
Edit / Multiple Single Lets you define a series of single curtains. To define each
Curtains curtain, click the left mouse button at the left boundary, then at
the right boundary. You may terminate single-curtain mode by
clicking the right mouse button or by pressing .
Edit / Clear Prompts you to confirm your intentions, then deletes all of the
current point's curtain definitions. However, the deletion will not
become permanent until you save. Edit / Clear and File / New
are equivalent.
Options / Opens a dialog box that lets you define the use of Azimuth or
Azimuth/Bearing... A or B Bearing for your observation directions input.
Options / Grid Changes the pitch of the display's grid. This command cycles
the grid through three states:
Options / gridSnaps Opens a dialog box (shown below) that displays and lets you
change the pitch of the curtain editor's snap grid.
Grid Snaps
Whenever you enter a curtain boundary with the mouse, the curtain
editor will snap the boundary's coordinates to the nearest intersection on
the snap grid. For example, if the snap grid's pitch is set to 5° azimuth
and 10° elevation, a curtain boundary entered with a mouse click at
26° azimuth, 16° elevation will be recorded as 25° azimuth,
20° elevation.
You can effectively turn the snap grid off by setting its pitch to
azimuth 1°, elevation 1° (its initial setting).
¸ NOTE – The snap grid is not the same as the visible grid set by the
Options / Grid command. Their functions are different and their pitches
are independent of each other.
The curtain editor's Help menu is identical to the Plan main menu bar's
Help menu.
NOTES
The Graphs menu produces Plan's graphical displays and controls their
appearance. The Graph commands fall into several groups, divided by
horizontal rules in the menu. Each group is described in Table 5-1.
Tile Arranges the open windows vertically, filling the screen in one
column. Each window is as wide as the screen, and all
windows are of equal height.
Tile 2 Column Arranges the open windows vertically, filling the screen in two
columns. Each window is half as wide as the screen, and all
windows are of equal height.
Close All Closes all open graphs in the Plan window. (To close individual
graphs, use the View / Close command.)
Time Locked Alternately sets and releases time interval locking among the
graphs in the Plan window. When time intervals are locked, all
of the graphs show the same time interval; when you change
one, Plan automatically changes others.
• Max Resolution
• Set Resolution
Graphs with finer resolution show more detail, but take much
longer to draw. Set Resolution lets you set resolution to a
specific value. Even if you select Min Resolution, resolution
becomes finer as you zoom in on the graph.
Number of SVs and Number of available satellites and PDOP plotted against time.
PDOP
Elevation Satellite elevations plotted against time.
PDOP, HDOP, VDOP, Separate displays plotting the respective types of dilution of
GDOP, and TDOP precision (DOP) against time.
SkyPlot Satellite tracks through the time interval being plotted, showing
elevations and azimuths in polar coordinates.
Notes on Graphs
All of the graphs present information for the last point added or edited in
the session. Open displays are updated when curtains are added or
removed from a session station, and when the set of enabled satellites is
changed. Thus, the displays always reflect the conditions of the current
session.
Most of the graphs plot one or more properties of satellites on the
vertical axis against time on the horizontal axis. The time interval shown
is initially the interval between the session's start and stop times. If the
session's start and stop times are not defined, the time interval is the
entire day of the session.
Color Meaning
Yellow 4 SVs
Green 5 SVs
Blue 9 SVs
Magenta 11 SVs
If you do not have a color monitor, you may use View / Force
Monochrome command to make Plan display the graphs with distinctive
patterns instead of colors. The conventions used to display graphs in
monochrome are described in Force Monochrome in Chapter 6.
Tile
Tile rearranges the graphs in the Plan window to fill the window in a
single column. Each display is as wide as the window and all are the
same height, as in Figure 5-2 below.
Each time that you create a new graph, you can re-tile the display so that
all of the graphs are visible.
Tile 2 Column
Tile 2 Column rearranges the graphs in the Plan window to fill the
window in two columns. Each display is as half as wide as the window
and all are the same height, as in Figure 5-3 below.
Each time that you create a new graph, you can re-tile the display so that
all of the graphs are visible.
Close All
Close All closes all of the graphs in the Plan window.
To close a single graph, double-click the system box in the window's
upper left corner.
Time Locked
Time Locked alternately sets and releases time interval locking among
the graphs in the Plan window. When time intervals are locked,
changing the time interval of one graph causes Plan to set all other
graphs to the same time interval.
When a check appears next to Time Locked in the Graphs menu, time
interval locking is set. When no check appears, time interval locking is
released.
Resolution
The Resolution command controls the resolution of the graphs.
When you select this command, Plan opens a submenu next to the
command name in the menu.
When you select Set Resolution, Plan opens a dialog box that
prompts you to enter a resolution setting. Enter a number between
0 (the lowest resolution) and 100 (the highest) and click OK.
¸ NOTE -- When you print a graph, the maximum resolution is always used,
regardless of the resolution setting.
Elevation
Elevation plots the elevation of each visible satellite over time.
Satellite rising above the horizon Thicker lines represent curtains Elevation mask
Azimuth
Azimuth plots the azimuths of visible satellites against time. The vertical
axis represents the azimuth of a satellite (0° to 360°).
You can also use the Azimuth graph to see when satellites pass due
north from the current point. This causes the azimuth to change from
360° to 0°, represented by a vertical drop in the line on the graph.
Another, perhaps more intuitive, way to view both elevation and
azimuth with respect to a point is via a skyplot. This graphical
representation is discussed in SkyPlot Graph in this chapter.
Number Satellites
Number Satellites plots the number of available satellites against time.
Optimal survey period: more than 4 SVs Not able to survey: less than 4 SVs
If the # SVs Receiver Can Track option is set (see Chapter 7), the setting is
shown by a broken line across the graph. If one of the bars extends above
this line, at that time more SVs will be visible than the receiver can track.
You can use the Number SVs and PDOP graph to plot both the number
of available satellites and PDOP against time.
Satellites
Satellites plots available satellites against time. Each healthy satellite
present in the almanac is graphed when it rises above the local horizon.
Note that satellites may rise and set once or twice during a day. In this
case, breaks in tracking are represented by gaps in the satellite
availability bar chart.
Low PDOP, adequate number of SVs High PDOP, marginal number of SVs
(green, cyan, blue, or magenta) (red or yellow)
SkyPlot Graph
SkyPlot produces a polar graph that plots the paths of available satellites
throughout the graph's time interval, with each satellite's elevation
represented by the radial dimension, and its azimuth represented by the
angular dimension. The result is roughly equivalent to showing the
satellites' paths as they would appear to an observer looking down from
a place that is directly above the current survey point and far beyond the
orbits of the GPS satellites.
Thick lines
represent curtains
The background of the plot is divided into three primary circles at the
horizon (0°), 30°, and 60°. Note that the horizon is the extreme outside
circle. The zenith (90°) is at center of the graph. The elevation mask is
also displayed.
The skyplot representation is particularly useful because it is the same as
the representation used to show curtains. The skyplot shows the current
survey point's curtains as well as the satellite paths. Where a satellite's
path is obstructed by a curtain, it is represented by a thicker line.
Each SV's number is drawn at the end of its sky track.
As with all of the other graphs available within Plan, the SkyPlot graph
can be zoomed in time by using the time ruler slides. Note that unlike
most of the other graphs, the skyplot's time line is not a label on one of
the graph's axes; it simply describes the time interval represented by
the graph.
NOTES
This chapter describes the View commands and several related features,
such as use of the time ruler slides.
Redraw
View / Redraw redisplays the selected graph with its time interval set to
match the current session. If you have not defined start and stop times
for the session, Redraw displays the entire day of the session.
There are two ways to redraw a graph:
• Select View / Redraw from the menu bar.
• Select the graph and then press the key.
Mag
View / Mag restricts the time interval represented by the selected graph.
In effect, the graph is magnified. Each time you select Mag, the graph's
time interval is roughly halved. The start and end times both change,
while the center point remains the same.
There are three ways to magnify a graph:
• Select View / Mag from the menu bar.
• Select the graph and then press the key.
• Select the graph and double-click the left mouse button.
Demag
View / Demag expands the time interval represented by the selected
graph. In effect, the graph is demagnified. Each time you select Demag,
the graph's time period is roughly doubled. The start and end times both
change, while the center point remains the same.
There are three ways to demagnify a graph:
• Select View / Demag from the menu bar.
• Select the graph and then press the key.
• Select the graph and double-click the right mouse button.
Pan
View / Pan centers the selected graph on a specified time.
There are two ways to use the Pan command:
• Click on a point over the desired time on the graph, then select
View / Pan.
• Click on a point over the desired time on the graph, then press
the key.
Close
Close closes the selected graph.
There are three ways to close the graph:
• Select View / Close from the menu bar.
• Double-click the system box in the upper left corner of the graph’s
window frame.
• Select the graph, then press the key.
To close all of the open graphs, select the Graphs / Close All command.
Force Monochrome
If you do not have a color monitor, the color coding used in many of
Plan's graphs is not useful. You can use the Force MonoChrome
command to make Plan present these displays with distinctive
crosshatched patterns instead of colors. Figure 6-2 and Figure 6-3
illustrate the difference between the two types of displays.
The other graphs use black lines to represent satellite location and
availability. The Satellites graph uses a hatching pattern for its bar chart,
but the pattern has no special significance.
¸ NOTE -- If you hold the left mouse button down as you move the mouse
cursor around a graph, the time value at the cursor position is displayed
in the graph title.
You can also control a graph's time interval with the Redraw, Mag,
Demag, and Pan commands, described earlier in this chapter.
NOTES
The Options menu controls the settings of several options that affect
various aspects of Plan's operation.
The Options menu commands described in Table 7-1 below.
Auto Time Create a list of optimal observation times, given the specified
PDOP mask, session time, and available satellites.
List Times List the optimal observation times computed by Options / Auto
Time.
Time Zone Specify the time zone for the current session.
SV Sample Rate Specify the sample rate for satellite azimuth and elevation;
indicate that Plan should compute satellite visibility at intervals
of n minutes in the almanac.
Show Status Show the Status message box. This box shows the satellites
used for computations, the current almanac, the time zone, the
sample rate, and the elevation mask.
Report Type Change the type of report displayed by Options / Show Report.
The report may be Azimuth Elevation Table or Constellation
Changes Only.
Elevation Mask Change the elevation mask: the lowest elevation at which you
plan to collect data.
#SVs Receiver Can Track Set the maximum number of satellites your receiver(s) can
track.
The Options / Auto Time command opens the Auto View Time Selection
dialog box, which lets you set several parameters that affect the
calculation of optimal times. They are described in Table 7-2 below.
Number Sats The minimum number of satellites required. (The default, shown
above, is the recommended value.)
Working Hours The time period during which observations must be performed.
Once you have calculated the optimal observation times, you can display
them with the Options / List Times command and print them with the
File / Print Auto Time command.
You can close the List Times box by double-clicking the system box at
the left end of its title bar. This does not affect the calculated
observation times; you can reopen the List Times box by selecting
Options / List Times without recalculating the optimal observation times
first.
You can also print the list of optimal observation times by selecting the
File / Print Auto Time command. You must select Options / Auto Time
before you print the list of times, but the List Times box need not be
open when you print it.
In addition to the observation location, the Time Zone dialog shows the
name of the selected time zone and the Time Difference from GMT
(difference between local time and GMT). Plan checks the selected time
zone against the longitude of each point in the session. If any point is
more than two hours away from the selected time zone, Plan displays a
warning message. Note that this calculation does not consider changes
due to daylight savings time.
2. Click the appropriate time zone to select it. (Notice that the Time
Difference from GMT changes accordingly.)
3. Confirm that the time difference from GMT is correct.
4. Click OK to set the time zone and close the Time Zone box.
To modify an existing time zone.
1. Select the time zone to be modified from the list.
2. Make the appropriate changes in the Time Difference from GMT.
a. Place the cursor in the highlight the current time box (hours or
minutes) or highlight the time.
b. Use the buttons to change the displayed time or enter the time
from the keyboard.
c. Specify the correct sign. East longitudes will generally be
positive and west longitudes will generally be negative.
Plan opens the Status box automatically when you create or edit a
session. Thus you never need to select Options / Show Status unless you
have closed the Status box.
The Status box displays information about:
• The selected point and the current session: point name, point
coordinates, and session date
• Important Plan options: elevation mask, ephemeris file name and
date collected, time zone, sampling rate, and set of selected
satellites
The default (the recommended value for most types of work) is 15°. The
minimum value is 0°; the maximum value is 90°.
If the elevation mask is set too low, your receivers will waste memory
storing measurements from low-elevation satellites whose signals are
probably not useful. If these measurements are not discarded in
postprocessing, they will expose your observations to atmospheric
distortions and interference from distant obstructions.
If the elevation mask is set too high, it will unnecessarily reduce
satellite availability.
The dialog box contains a dropdown list of values that have been
selected in the past.
You can open the dropdown list by clicking the down-arrow (ò), then
select a value, or you can type a value into box that heads the list.
# City List
editing with a text editor, 4-16
# SVs Receiver Can Track dialog box, 5-16, editing with the world map, 4-18
5-19, 7-17 City list for editing points, 4-14
CITY.LOC and CITY.WOR files, 4-16
A Closing a graph, 5-8, 6-3
Combined curtains, 4-35, 5-13
Add New Point dialog box, 4-8, 4-35
Constellation Change Report, 7-14, 7-15
Add New Session dialog box
Continuous curtain, 4-29, 4-30
Curtain editor, 4-27
Coordinates, accuracy required of, 2-1, 4-20
Date and time, 4-25
Curtain
Editing points, 4-8, 4-9, 4-24
Combined, 4-35
Session / New Session command, 4-3
Defined, 4-27
Almanac, 1-5, 7-8
Defining with the keyboard, 4-31
Almanac Update icon, 1-8
Defining with the mouse, 4-30
ALMUPDT file, 1-7
Editor, 4-28
ASCII (text) file, printing to, 3-5, 3-8
summary of commands, 4-36
Auto Recalc option, 7-3, 7-7
Elevation graph shows combined
Auto Time List, 3-4, 7-4, 7-5, 7-7
curtains, 5-13
Auto View Time Selection dialog box, 7-3
Reading elevation of, 4-33
Azimuth Elevation Report, 7-14
Saving definition of, 4-34
Azimuth graph, 5-14
Skyplot graph shows, 5-21
B D
Bulletin Board Service (BBS), xv
Date and time of session, 2-3, 4-25
Date, internationalized format, 4-26
C Demagnifying a graph, 6-2
Check-In program, 1-6 Disclaimers, iii
Choose a Point dialog box, 4-9 DOP (Dilution of Precision) graphs, 5-18
Choose a Session dialog box, 4-5
Map for editing points, 4-11 Plan, distinguished from Quick Plan
Mercator projection, 4-11 Curtains saved in database, 4-34
Mission planning, 1-2, 2-7 File / Exit command asks if you want to save
Monochrome graph display, 6-4 changes, 3-9
GPSurvey required, 1-4
N Point
Accuracy required, 2-1
Notepad file editor, 4-17 Adding and deleting in session, 4-24
Number Satellites graph, 5-16 City list for editing, 4-14
Number SVs and PDOP graph, 5-12 Creating a new, 4-8
Defined, 2-1
O Defining initial, in Quick Plan, 2-4
Observation times, optimal, 3-4, 7-3 Editing a, 4-7, 4-9
Options menu Entering through the keyboard, 4-20
# SVs Receiver Can Track command, 7-17 Keyboard for editing, 4-20
Almanac command, 7-8 World map for editing, 4-10
Auto Time command, 3-4, 7-3, 7-5, 7-7 Position Quality of point, 4-22
Elevation Mask command, 7-16 Printing graphs and reports, 3-2
List Times command, 7-4, 7-5
Report Type command, 7-14 Q
Show Report command, 3-8, 7-14, 7-15 Quick Plan
Show Status command, 7-13 Defining session at startup, 2-2
SV Sample Rate command, 7-12 Differences from Plan, 1-1
SVs command, 7-6 Starting, 2-2
Time Zone command, 7-9
Orthographic projection, 4-11
R
P REP (report) files, 3-7
Report Format dialog box, 3-5
Panning a graph, 6-3 Report Type dialog box, 7-14
PDOP, 5-12 Resolution of graphs, 5-10
PDOP graph, 5-18
PFINDER software, 1-9
Plan
S
Differences from Quick Plan, 1-1 Sample rate for visibility calculations, 7-12
Purpose of, 1-2 Satellite health, 7-7
Starting, 2-2 Satellite Visibility report, 3-8
Satellites graph, 5-17
Satellites, selecting and deselecting, 7-6
Select City dialog box, 4-14
Select Date dialog box, 2-3
Select Pt dialog box, 4-11, 4-18
U
Update notes, xv
We welcome your evaluation of our publications. Your comments and suggestions help us
improve them. Contributors of particularly helpful comments will receive a thank-you gift.
In the United States or Canada, mail this form to the address on the back of this form. From other
countries, mail it to the Trimble field office address printed in the front of this manual.