Orient includes a spreadsheet interface for data entry, and reads and writes tab delimited files. These files normally have an extension of TSV (Tab Separated Value) or TXT. This is a standard text readable file format with each line of data separated by a CR character (or LF or CRLF), and individual fields separated by a TAB character (ASCII control code 9). To import spreadsheet data from Excel, your data must include identifying column headers. The following column headers may be used:
| Station X Y Z theta1 phi1 theta2 phi2 Type Domain Comment |
Station is an optional alphanumeric identifyer (string) for a station location.
X, Y, and Z are optional numeric locations. X and Y are required for domain analyisis. X should be a numeric value increasing west to east, and Y should be a numeric value increasing from south to north.
Type is an optional alphanumeric identifyer defining the type of data. Orient uses the Type value to assign plot symbols and calculate statistics. Geological types could incude, for example, S0, S1, and L for foliations and lineations.
Domain is used by Orient to assign a structural domain from 0 to 9. Domain 0 is used to signify the entire map area. Optional.
Comment is an optional user entered string.
The angles theta1 and phi1 are reserved for plane data, and theta2 and phi2 are reserved for line data. The theta (horizontal angle) and phi (vertical angle) columns may include:
| Theta | Phi | Notes |
| Planes | ||
| Strike | Right hand rule, dip is to right along strike | |
| Strike left | Dip is to left along strike | |
| Dip direction | Azimuth of dip line | |
| Dip | Angle from XY plane down toward -Z | |
| Lines | ||
| Azimuth | Clockwise (negative) angle from Y (North) | |
| Declination | Equal to azimuth | |
| Longitude | Counterclockwise (positive) angle from X | |
| Trend | Equal to azimuth | |
| Altitude | Equal to latitude | |
| Colatitude | Angle from Z | |
| Inclination | Angle from XY plane down toward -Z | |
| Latitude | Angle from XY plane up toward Z | |
| Nadir | Angle from -Z | |
| Plunge | Equal to inclination | |
| Zenith | Equal to colatitude |
Angles may be in degrees, gradians (grads), or radians, however the angle format must be correctly set in Orient before opening the file. Only one format for planes and one format for lines should be present in a file. Two dimensional data only require a theta value. Include a type value (such as "L", "S", "S0", "F", etc.) to specify multiple data types in a single file.
In some cases, for data conversion, the phi column may contain letters. These special cases include entering bearings, dip octants, rakes, and fault slip directions, and are described in Chapter 2.
Any additional columns are ignored by Orient. Orient will also read old format Orient DAT files. When Orient saves a file it includes one line below the header that starts with "Orient". This is not required, but may include additional settings in future releases, such as the angle format. Currently Orient does not use the Z, Station, and Comment columns.
Example Data Files
A simple data file could be:
| Strike | Dip |
| 179 | 29 |
| 173 | 25 |
| 171 | 25 |
| 168 | 09 |
| 010 | 19 |
A data file with map coordinates:
| X | Y | Strike | Dip |
| 34.5 | 196.3 | 179 | 29 |
| 45.7 | 184.4 | 173 | 25 |
| 123.3 | 111.7 | 171 | 25 |
| 58.2 | 162.4 | 168 | 09 |
| 66.7 | 201.0 | 010 | 19 |
A data file with multiple data types:
| Strike | Dip | Trend | Plunge | Type |
| 230 | 24 | S0 | ||
| 018 | 54 | S0 | ||
| 141 | 15 | S1 | ||
| 138 | 02 | L | ||
| 140 | 09 | L |
Bitmap Formats
Orient requires Quicktime or GDI+ for most bitmap export. Orient can save to the following bitmap (raster) graphics file formats:
Vector Image Formats
Vector based image formats can be imported into vector drawing programs such as Adobe Illustrator and AutoCAD. Most web browsers can display SVG (Scaled Vector Graphics) files. Orient does most drawing internally in vector format, with the exception of color gradient maps, which are bitmaps and can not be exported in vector format. Therefore when exporting SVG or PDF files the bitmap is saved separately. To Adobe Illustrator allows placing a bitmap image in an open vector drawing, by sending the bitmap to the back of the drawing, the vector image will overlay bitmap.
Orient can save to the following vector image formats, with limitations noted below:
DXF export does not support bitmaps, text, color, or clipping of symbols.