Presentation overview
By default, the display presentation covers the entire screen.
This M3 Sonar screen capture shows you a typical data replay situation.
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The presentation provides you with a lot of information. The sonar view presents sonar echo data. The 3D Point Cloud presents profile point data that can be rotated in three dimensions. The menu system on the top gives you easy access to all the functionality offered by the M3 software. The tool bar provides buttons for functions, filters, and sonar view overlays. The bottom Output Messages window and bottom status bar provide diagnostic messages.
You can resize a window by clicking on the window border, then dragging it to create a smaller or larger window. Click the pin icon on the window title bar to auto hide the window. To show the window, hover your mouse over the labelled tab that appears on the side of the presentation.
A Menu system
The menu system is located on the top of the presentation. To open any of the menus, click the menu title.
B 3D Point Cloud
Profiling mode allows you to view a real-time 3D point cloud of the sea bottom or structures under the water. You can zoom into or rotate the real-time 3D point cloud data, as well as switch to a project, top, or side view.
C Range slider bar
When the sonar is running, you can increase or decrease the range using the range slider bar to the left of the sonar view. Click the top arrows to increase or decrease the far range.
D Profiling Settings
In the Profiling Settings dialog box, you can choose to display only the sonar view, only the 3D Point Cloud, or both. The profile point data can be exported to a file so that third-party software can extract depth, distance, and volume measurements.
E Output Messages
The Output Messages window displays information, diagnostic, and error messages. There are two tabs in this window: one for host messages and one for head messages.
F Sonar view
All echo information offered by the M3 Sonar is shown in the sonar view.
G Tool bar
The tool bar provides access to useful functions, such as the ability to take a screenshot or change your TVG settings. In addition, several measuring tools are available.
H Information Widget
The Information Widget displays sonar pulse details as well as vessel speed, sound speed, heading, and latitude/longitude coordinates from external sensors.
I Menu Widget
The Menu Widget provides controls to record and export data, play or pause playback, and configure the grid.
J Display Widget
The Display Widget allows you to adjust the filter strength, change the display gain, and choose your echo colours. If you have a high-frequency M3 Sonar transducer, you can change the frequency using the Display Widget.
K Playback Console
Control playback using the Playback Console. You can stop, pause, fast forward, or advance through the recording one ping at a time. You can also repeat playback of the file on a never-ending loop.
L Status bar
The status bar is located at the bottom of the M3 Sonar presentation. It allows you to view the system status and disk space. You can also access detailed telemetry info.