In order to use the Surfer link you need to have an existing copy of Surfer 7 or later.  Surfer is produced by Golden Software (http://www.goldensoftware.com).

ESdat has the ability to contour numeric data in Surfer.  During this process you also have an option to plot the points used in the contouring to show the degree of control used.

Contouring through ESdat can be done using any of the gridding methods available in Surfer.  If using Krigging the default Surfer parameters will be used.    If you wish to refine the Krigging parameters this must be done within Surfer using the text file produced by ESdat during the export.

ESdat produces either a temporary text file, or a permanent file (allowing you to specify a meaningful name), depending on your choice, and plots the points in either a new Surfer document, an open Surfer document, or a saved Surfer Document.  Typically a saved Surfer Document may be a report template with a basemap.

Layer Overlays

When a map already exists and additional layers are overlaid Surfer will automatically reset the limits and scale of the map; often an annoyance.

ESdat provides an option to prevent this during export.  A check box “Preserve Existing Map Limits and Scale” enables the current limits and scale to be retained.  Using this option will mean however that if any points or contours are outside the existing map limits they will not be visible unless the limits are expanded.