One of the first innovative products that ES Designs developed was a spreadsheet template that could be used to generate a graphic log. This template utilized the robust scripting language and graphic capabilities of Resolve, a spreadsheet program developed by Claris. Using the template, a geoscientist could enter the top & bottom elevations of an interval, its USCS description, and other descriptive notes. Additional well information including total depth and screened intervals were also entered.
Once these data were entered, selecting a menu item would generate a graphic log for that boring. This log could then be copied and pasted into a report or into a graphics program to be used in a cross section.
This simple spreadsheet application really displays the power of Resolve. I have used it extensively over the last three years as a method for rapidly generating graphic logs of borings. Most often, I have used it as a starting point for generating "cross sections". I have also used it to describe core in the field as a boring is drilled. The graphic log is generated in real time as the boring progresses. This allows very rapid visualization of field conditions and can greatly assist the field and project geologist identify prospective sample locations.Unfortunately, very few other people found Resolve to be as powerful a spreadsheet solution as I have. As a result, Claris dropped development, support, and marketing of Resolve two years ago. Even with that, Resolve remains my spreadsheet of choice when I have to do something complex. It continues to run well and quickly, even though it does not run native on a PowerMac.
At the same time, Resolve will accept AppleEvents and can be told to run its internal scripts from an other program. This give Resolve remarkable flexibility and power, even though it hasn't seen an update in two years. For example, boring data residing in a database can be extracted and sent to Resolve for processing to generate a graphic log. The graphic log can then be returned to the database or transmitted over the web. This will be an integral part of our boring data application in the field data collection suite.
If you are interested in developing similar applications, you might try to find a copy of Resolve somewhere. Alternatively, you can use Wingz which is a multi-platform spreadsheet developed by Informix that Resolve was based on. If you have Resolve or Wingz and would like more information on how to develop custom spreadsheet applications with these programs, please contact me.