Creating Custom Layouts

This guide explains how to create a new layout in the GeoDin graphics editor and link it to borehole data to generate a borehole log.

A custom layout is built in the GeoDin graphics editor in six steps: create the layout, define the page, draw an object frame, insert graphic elements, link the layout to data, and add header/footer information.

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Step 1: Create a New Layout

Open the GeoDin Graphics Editor by clicking the Edit Graphics button located at the bottom left of the GeoDin user interface.

This opens the layout editor where new layouts can be created, and existing layouts can be edited.

The Edit Graphics button at the bottom left of the GeoDin window opens the graphics editor.

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Step 2: Define the Page Layout

When the graphics editor opens, a blank A4 portrait page is created by default.

To adjust the page size or orientation:

1. Open the Object Properties window using F11.
2. Select Page layout at the top of the Object Properties panel.
3. Configure the required page size and orientation.

These settings define the overall layout format.

Page layout selected at the top of the Object Properties tree - page size and orientation are configured here.

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Step 3: Create an Object Frame

An object frame is required to link graphic elements to database data.

1. Select one of the following tools:

   • Single‑Object Frame - displays data for one object (e.g. one borehole)
   • Multi‑Object Frame - displays multiple objects simultaneously
2. Draw a rectangle on the page to define the object frame.

In most cases, it is recommended to draw the object frame to cover the entire page.

The object frame is the link between the layout and the GeoDin database. It retrieves the data that will be displayed in the graphic elements.

Drawing the object frame across the page with the Single-object frame tool (highlighted in the left toolbar). The Data source branch in Object Properties is still empty - no object is linked yet.

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Step 4: Insert Graphic Elements

In general, simple graphic elements can be added without the requirement of creating an object frame. However, for complex graphic elements, a multi-object frame as mentioned above must be created first before we add the graphic elements.

1. Select the object frame by:

   • Clicking its top‑left corner, or
   • Left‑clicking anywhere inside the layout while holding the Ctrl key
2. Choose the required graphic element (for example Borehole Log) from the left toolbar.
3. Draw the element as a rectangle inside the object frame.

At this stage, the layout is not yet linked to any database object. Graphic elements will therefore appear as gray and blue dashed placeholders.

Adding the Borehole log element: the tool in the left toolbar (1) and the element drawn inside the object frame (2). Its Scale, Data source, Drawing type and Text branches appear in Object Properties.

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Step 5: Link the Layout to Data

To display real borehole data:

1. Open the GeoDin Object Manager (tree view on the left side of the GeoDin interface).
2. Drag the required database object onto the layout using drag & drop.

The borehole log is now displayed based on the recorded layer data.

• If no layer data exists, an empty frame with a fuchsia dashed outline is shown.
• A small red circle in the top‑left corner of the object frame indicates that the layout is linked to database data.

Dragging borehole AE-BH-01 from the Object Manager onto the layout. The log renders from the recorded layer data; the small red circle in the top-left corner of the frame shows the layout is now linked to a database object.

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Step 6: Add Additional Information

Additional information such as headers, footers, and annotations can be added using graphic elements.

You can include:

• Project information
• Borehole metadata
• Company logos
• Titles, scale bars, and notes

Use:

• Basic graphic elements (lines, rectangles, static text)
• Variable text elements to display object‑related data directly from the database

This allows layouts to be reused as templates across different projects and databases.

Header/footer information added with basic graphic elements and variable text: the table at the bottom shows the project and location values (Lake Mackay Area East, AE-BH-01) pulled from the database.

Further Reading

More detailed information is available in the GeoDin Help (F1) under:

Create and Edit Graphics

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In this family

Deep reference for the layout editor lives in the subpages:

• Layout Editor Basics - editor mechanics: menus, drawing layers, snap, grouping, palettes, paper formats, interface settings
• Element Properties Reference - text, fonts, lines, fills, symbols, images, legends, labeling
• Layout Files and Lists - file formats, folders, snippets, lists and collections
• Construction and Alignment - projection model, cross-section alignment, layer joining, polylines, scale bar
• Element pages: Object Frames, Borehole Elements, Measurement Value Graphics, X-Y Diagrams, Report Elements, Text Macros, Cross Section Layouts