How to exchange borehole logs through the Internet

There are a number of methods that can be used to exchange borehole logs with clients or other offices. These logs can be exchanged by email, posting on the Internet, or by disk. The method used to exchange the log will depend upon whether the recipient has a copy of the WinLoG program or simply needs to be able to display and print the borehole log.

If the recipient has a copy of the WinLoG program, the borehole log can be exported to a Exchange format file. This file can then be imported into one of the recipient’s WinLoG projects. After the file has been imported, the borehole log can be displayed, edited, and printed. Alternatively, instead of exporting only the one borehole log, a copy of the entire project database could be sent to the recipient. The recipient could then import this project.

If the recipient does not have a copy of the WinLoG program and needs to be able to display and print the borehole logs, there are several alternatives. The simplest method would be to export the borehole log as a bitmap or metafile and then send this file to the recipient or post it on the Internet. Metafiles are better at maintaining the detail of the borehole logs, since fonts are not rendering until the file is displayed. However, bitmaps are better at maintaining the colors of the borehole logs, since metafiles sometimes distort the colors.

Another method is to save the borehole logs in an Adobe Acrobat file (PDF format). To do this you must have Adobe Acrobat installed on your computer (the complete program, not just the reader). If Adobe Acrobat is installed on your computer, you will have an Adobe Acrobat print device. To save the borehole log in an Adobe Acrobat file, all you need to do is print the borehole log and select the Adobe Acrobat print device. This method has a number of advantages:

• The Adobe Acrobat Reader is available for free off the Internet at and is already installed on many computers.
• All of the borehole logs for a project can be stored in one file.
• The Adobe Acrobat file can also contain reports, site maps, and AutoCAD drawings that can be hyperlinked.
• The recipient can not modify the reports and drawings in the Adobe Acrobat file.
• The reports and drawings in the Adobe Acrobat file are rendering at the same resolution as printers.