Dips > Stereonet Plots > Symbolic Plot

# Lock Symbols

The Lock Symbols option allows the user to automatically ensure that the same symbols are used for the same data on QUALITATIVE Symbolic Pole Plots, across all Dips files.

To use Lock Symbols:

1. Select Lock Symbols from the View menu. (A Pole Plot view must be the active view in order for Lock Symbols to be enabled).

2. In the Symbol Locker dialog, select the Column name and the Data for which you would like to lock the symbol type. See Notes 1 and 2 below for additional important information.

3. Select the Symbol Style, Border Color and Fill Color that you would like to use.

4. Select the Add button, and you will see the Symbol, Column and Data that you have selected, in the list area at the left of the dialog.

5. Repeat steps 2 to 4, for each Column / Data combination that you would like "locked".

6. NOTE: Once you have locked a Symbol / Column / Data combination, it CANNOT be edited. If you would like to modify an existing locked symbol, you must first delete the existing locked symbol (select from the list at the left of the dialog and select the Delete button), and then repeat steps 2 to 4 to add the desired symbol.

7. When you have entered all of the desired Symbol / Column / Data combinations, select OK.

8. Dips will then create a file called "locked.dls" (.dls stands for "Dips Locked Symbols"). This file records all of locked symbol information you have created in the Symbol Locker dialog.

9. Only one "locked.dls" file can be created. Each time that OK is selected in the Symbol Locker dialog, the existing "locked.dls" file is overwritten with the latest information.

How Lock Symbols Works

When a QUALITATIVE Symbolic Pole Plot is generated, Dips will check for the existence of the "locked.dls" file. If this file exists, and if any data in the column currently being plotted matches any of the locked data in the "locked.dls" file, the locked symbols will be used to plot the data. The information in the "locked.dls" file overrides all previous symbol assignments. You will notice that if you use the Symbol Editor option, you will NOT be able to edit any symbols that correspond to locked data.

The symbol locking in Dips is global, and applies to all files with the specified "locked" data.

NOTE that symbol locking in Dips is ONLY applicable to QUALITATIVE Symbolic Pole Plots. It does NOT apply to QUANTITATIVE Symbolic Pole Plots or Scatter Plots.

Unlocking Symbols

If you wish to unlock any previously locked symbols, then you will have to delete the locked symbols in the Symbol Locker dialog. (Select the data that you would like to "unlock" from the list at the left of the dialog, and select the Delete button).

Column and Data Names – Note 1:

The contents of the Column and Data list boxes are based on the current file. However, you may type any Column name or Data that you would like to lock. This allows you to create a master list of locked symbols, even if the current Dips file does not contain all of the data that you would like to lock.

Column and Data Names – Note 2:

The symbol locking in Dips is case sensitive, so if you are typing in Column or Data names, you must type them in exactly as they are recorded in the files you will be working with. For example, "JOINT", "Joint" and "joint" would be considered three different data labels.