GEOrient©

An application to plot and analyse stereographic and equal area projections, and rose diagrams of geological structural data, copied and pasted from other applications, or read from text files. Wind rose options include plotting mean wind data (wind speed/wind frequency/wind energy).

- see bugfix history for the most recent changes
What it does
  • GEOrient plots orientation diagrams (equal area, or equal angle stereographic projections, and rose diagrams) as shown in the composite image above (or this screenshot). Data is entered either by copying from other applications and pasting from the clipboard, or by opening ASCII text files. Data input formats are unconstrained, and can be in a range of orientation conventions. The prime purpose is for the plotting of geological structural data but the plots may be applied to a variety of spatial/orientation data, including wind data.
  • Data can be copied and pasted, for example, from external spreadsheets and databases. Using this system orientation data from tables displayed in a map in a GIS map databases (such as ArcGis, QGIS, or MapInfo) can be copied and pasted easily into GEOrient.
  • Data can be be plotted as: point symbols; great circles; beta intersections (not recommended); contours of gridded point density; intersection lineation plots; or as rose diagrams. The primary plot data can include appended numeric or non-numeric information (such as length, weighting factors, mean wind data, vein widths, assay values, etc) to allow either classification of the data within the plots, or for various rose diagram options (e.g. Length-Azimuth plots, Wind Energy plots, Mean Length/sector and Variance/sector plots). Corrections can be applied to frequency rose diagrams for linear data sampling bias.
  • Linked fault plane and slip data can be plotted as either slip arrow plots or as kinematic axes plots.
  • Data from multiple files can be merged as a single dataset, or can be overlaid as separate plots using different symbols. Multiple plot windows can be opened simultaneously and can be arranged on a page prior to printing.
  • Best-fit great circles, beta axes,  and vector mean and variance statistics are automatically calculated. Other girdles and small circles can be manually fitted to the data using the mouse to drag girdles into position. Data can be easily added with the mouse, or can be edited within, and between, plots using normal Cut/Copy/Paste mouse actions.
  • Annotated points using any symbol or colour can be overlain on the basic plot.
  • Data can be rotated in various ways, and linked data (such as sedimentary flow directions on bedding planes) can be rotated to the horizontal by rotating the associated bedding planes and fold hinges.
  • Plots can be linked to MapInfo mapper windows and data selected in one will be selected in the other.
  • The limit on the number of data is system memory and resources. Users can display up to 99 simultaneous plots (but more than 20 becomes unwieldy).
  • Download the compiled Help file for specific details. As part of Microsoft's security measures you now have to Unblock the .chm file in order view it. This site explains the procedure...
Notes
  • The software is specific to Microsoft Windows. (It usually will install and run under Windows emulations, although Help links within each application will not work).
  • From May 2023  GEOrient has become FREE. Restrictions on the number of simultaneously opened plots have been removed, although the user will still have to reset this limit (up to 99) in the General tab in the Preferences dialog accessed from the View… menu.
  • Please acknowledge the author in any publication or figure arising from its use.
  • GEOrient is now over 30 years old, and should be a stable application without bugs. However I cannot guarantee that it is without error, and assume no responsibility for its use, or for interpretations based on its use. How long it will continue to work under future Windows versions is unknown and unpredictable. It currently will work under Windows 11.
  • Frequent field work commitments may occasionally delay my ability to handle email queries promptly
Download:

GEOrient10_setup_Package.zip
Zip file (.zip) containing the full set of installation files for the free version of GEOrient [v10; ~8.6Mb]. Apart from the removal of the  registration page and any restrictions, this version is identical to the previous versio, v.9. If installation dificulties are encounterd during the release period please contact Rod Holcombe or download and use the previous version from the link on the right.
The setup package also includes copies of the compiled help file (GEOrient_Help.chm) as well as a copy of the GEOrient .exe file for those who already have version 9 on their computer and don't want to do a full install of version 10. 

Using GEOrient - an example.pdf
Short .pdf manual containing an example of opening and plotting data. Includes Classified Sterenet and Rose plots. Complements the in-app Help or the stand-alone .chm Help file below [466 Kb]
GEOrient_Help.chm [~2Mb]
From v9.5.0, GEOrient contains a compiled HTML Help file as the default Help menu item. This file can be downloaded from the link above and run independently. Open with Internet Explorer if it won't open directly by double clicking.
Note 1: As part of Microsoft's security measures you now have to Unblock the .chm file in order view it. This site explains the procedure...
This link is to another site that discusses the issues with viewing .chm files across networks.
Note 2: The integrated menu Help will also not work unless your system has been set up to read .chm files, as above.
Georient32v9_zip.zip
Zip file (.zip) containing the full set of installation files for version 9, the last  version of GEOrient requiring a license [~7.3Mb]
This is the last version that will display the owners's name and is retained mainly for registered corporate entities that wish to retain their displayed corporate name. No new registrations will be provided after the release of the free version (v10)
Download the bugfix history (.txt file)
Download the 38+yr development history of GEOrient (.pdf file)