Shading tab

The Shading tab lets you define how XPAC shades blocks in the plot based on a number of different attributes based on the plot type. You can also define legend details in this tab, for example, the title of the Legend View.

XPAC provides a number of shading options that you can choose from. For example, you can:

•	use the Legend Wizard to help you set up the shading and legend for the plot

•	display block outlines without shading

•	specify your own shading

•	set up an automatic database legend; or

•	use a default legend.

Legend types

The Legend Type controls how XPAC shades field/expression values for each block. Select the type of legend that you want to use from the drop-down list.

Legend Type

Description

None

Applies no shading to blocks; only outlines are visible. For example:

Shading tab - No Legend

User Defined Database Legend

Specify your own legend based on a database field or an expression that references a database field. For example, you may want to shade blocks by their coal thickness.*

Automatic Database Legend

XPAC automatically creates a legend based on a database field or an expression that references a database field. For example, you may want to shade blocks by their ore grade.*

XPAC shades blocks in the plot using a specific spectrum of colours (magenta is assigned to the smallest value, and red to the largest value). All values are assigned a colour interpolated between these two colours.

RGB Database Legend

Lets you use an XCM script containing the MakeRGB function to specify shading for blocks in your plot. See MakeRGB in the XCM programming guide for more information.*

DXF Database Legend

Lets you specify shading for blocks in your plot using a DXF database legend.

User Defined Activity Legend

Specify your own legend based on the activity of a block.

User Defined Period Legend

Specify your own legend based on the period in which a block is scheduled to be mined.

Schedule status legend

XPAC shades blocks according to their mining status, for example:

•	unavailable

•

available

•	constrained

•

current.

* You can specify shading using:

•	a single field (for example, a quantity or quality field)

•	an expression that references multiple fields (for example, a quantity and quality field to find the relative attractiveness)

•	the database hierarchy (for example, using the l<level>Num constants)

•	XCM functions (for example, looking up a curve based on a database field). See the XCM Programming guide for more information.

Selecting the legend to use

The table below displays the type of legend that you can create depending on the plot type you select in the ?General tab:

	Database plot	Mine Status plot	Period Progress plot	Schedule Status plot
User Defined Database Legend	Yes	Yes	No	No
Automatic Database Legend	Yes	Yes	No	No
RGB Database Legend	Yes	Yes	No	No
DXF Database Legend	Yes	Yes	No	No
User Defined Activity Legend	No	Yes	No	No
User Defined Period Legend	No	No	Yes	No
Schedule Status legend	No	No	No	Yes*

* The shading for the Schedule Status legend is fixed and cannot be changed.