Program Defaults Setup
Cardinals
The FCC requires radial lines on official coverage maps which represent the azimuths and the distances to the signal contour that are reported tabularly. Clicking the "Cardinals" radio button allows the user to choose from 8, 12, 24, or 36 radials. The radials will be plotted at evenly spaced azimuths from 3 to 16 kilometers.
Radial #
This set of radio buttons allows the user to select the number of contour distances the program will calculate when it draws a contour on the map. InterDLG uses to spline fitting (except within the Options module) so if you choose a small number of radial to be calculated such as eight you will get a spider web looking contour with flat sizes in an octagon shape. The more radials you use the truer the contour will look. We recommend at least 72. Most Pentium computers will do 360 radials in a split second. If you have a fast computer set the number of radials at 360.
Viewer
This radio button selects the type of HPGL viewer the program will use. All new programs are sold with the WPM32 viewer. This program affects the looks of the map shown on screen and sent to your printer.
Signal Elements
These radial buttons turn on or off call letters labeling, signal labeling and the reverse contours (drawn in the interference mode.)
Backups
When performing certain operations in INTERDLG (such as adding cities to your map), the system can make a backup copy of the frame/map so that you can undo the step. Check this box if you wish to have the backup/undo feature enabled. If no check is present, INTERDLG will allow modifications but will not allow undoing a step. This option can save disk space and/or time if turned off, but we recommend leaving it on because there will almost always be a time when you will want to erase the last step.
View Undo
After adding an overlay (such as adding another station contour), you can undo the step and take off that which you just added. You must have Backups "on" to use this option (See Default Screen... Settings... Backups check box is checked.). The "View undo" function will display your map after every undo.
After you gain confidence with INTERDLG, you may wish to save time when you undo a step by turning of the view option (no check).
Check U/D
INTERDLG will confirm the U to D values you wish to use.
When you make a frame for an "Interference Study," INTERDLG will display a screen that shows the computer selected "undesired to desired" relationships. You then have the opportunity to create a custom study by using the U/D screen's scroll sliders to change the selected contour values for the two stations.
Calculate Population
Turn on this selection to have InterDLG calculate the population and area of each contour it puts on a map. This option requires the population database.
Path Defaults
FM Files Path
Type in the drive and directory information indicating where INTERDLG will find the FCC FM Technical Data.
The UPDATE program installs the latest FCC FM Technical data into the directory you specify on the drive you indicate. By default, UPDATE will install the data into the C:\SEARCHFM\ directory.
TV Files Path
The TV files are used by INTERDLG to look up stations in the FCC TV Technical Database. (You can always specify exact latitude and longitude and other operating parameters if you do not wish to use the TV database or if you do not have the TV database. The default directory for TV data is C:\TV\ . If you use another directory you must enter in this text field.
Geofiles Path
The Geofiles are digital geographic overlays files. Examples include, state boundaries, counties and county names, 2-Lane and 4-lane highways, rivers & streams, and railroads, among others.
This path information tells INTERDLG where to find the GEOFILES (which by default are in the C:\Geofiles\ subdirectory).
Cities Path
The Cities information is used to place cities on your maps. The database has over 32,000 cities which can be added manually or automatically. See "Adding Cities " . The city files are normally located in the CT subdirectory under Geofiles. If your files are in a different location, you must specify the drive and subdirectory information here (i.e., C:\Geofiles\CT\).
Frame Path
The Frame path is where all of your frames (a.k.a. maps) are located. You can specify any valid directory (meaning it must exist if you tell INTERDLG to look there, INTERDLG will not create a directory for you).
The default directory is C:\INTERDLG\ however, for neatness and somewhat improved file access time many users establish a separate subdirectory such as C:\INTERDLG\FRAMES\. Remember, you must create the directory before telling INTERDLG to use it. (For information on creating directories see the Microsoft Operating System documentation.).
Backup Path
For just about every new step you undertake, INTERDLG creates a backup of your work. When you click UNDO the current work will be replaced by the backup frame. Backups are stored in the C:\INTERDLG\ subdirectory by default.
Terrain Drive Path
The Terrain Drive points INTERDLG toward the drive location where your terrain data is stored. Our 30 second NGDC data is shipped with the C: drive as the drive by default (however, during installation you may place the terrain on another drive such as D:\). Our 3 second data comes on CD-ROM and requires that you tell INTERDLG what the drive letter is for the CD player (such as D:\ or E:\, depending on how your system is configured).
Reference Storage
Set this default path to a folder on your hard drive. Many other V-Soft Communications programs have a store and load feature. If you set the reference defaults paths on the other programs to the same path location used by InterDLG the programs will talk to each other. After storing the reference information in InterDLG if you run another V-Soft Communications program the reference data will already be found inserted in the correct fields of the other program.
User Name
This is where you place a short name that represents you or your company. It will appear on all maps. It should be no longer than 14 characters or it will be truncated when the map is drawn.
FMOVER Name
This name can be longer and it will be used at the top of each FMOVER print-out.
PORT SETTINGS
Plotter
To tell INTERDLG which serial port your plotter is connected to, choose Off, Com 1, Com 2, or Com 3. This affects graphics printing (i.e., map printouts) only.
Parallel Printer
(For FPLOT only) INTERDLG can print to parallel port one or two. From the Defaults setup screen, select either LPT 1, or LPT 2 for sending maps to the printer connected to either port. This does not affect the hardware key (dongle). InterDLG is currently supplied with WPM32, older program may have been issued with FPLOT.