IMC Processing Modes Explanation ?

[siiverlce]

I sure hope I'm not going to become pain, but I'm just trying to learn the different aspects of IMC. Any help is always greatly appreciated.

I only have experience with the Keyhole and Raster modes. I know that I can export a map from SAS Planet, import it with the Keyhole mode, and then process it in Raster mode to get a final product for use on my Lowrance HDS unit.

What are the other three modes? Sonar, Vector, and Attribute.

Does the Sonar Mode allow me to take sonar recordings from my Lowrance unit and turn them into a map to be used on the Lowrance unit? For example, I could use sonar recordings and turn them into a Photo Overlay map?

[gregory]

The documentation should give you a good indication of what each mode is for.

Vector Mode is for creating vector maps.  Raster maps work by specifying individual pixels and vector maps work by attributing geometrical objects (areas/lines/points/etc.) in a way that tells the chart plotter how to render them.

Attribute Mode is for preparing data for the Vector Mode.  It has a lot of similarities to a field calculator.

Sonar Mode extracts a limited amount of data out of a log like depth, location, what channel it comes from, and the quality factor.  By itself, it isn't a map but can be used to create a map.

[siiverlce]

The documentation should give you a good indication of what each mode is for.

Vector Mode is for creating vector maps.  Raster maps work by specifying individual pixels and vector maps work by attributing geometrical objects (areas/lines/points/etc.) in a way that tells the chart plotter how to render them.

Attribute Mode is for preparing data for the Vector Mode.  It has a lot of similarities to a field calculator.

Sonar Mode extracts a limited amount of data out of a log like depth, location, what channel it comes from, and the quality factor.  By itself, it isn't a map but can be used to create a map.

Where can I find documentation for IMC? The only information that I can find are the tooltips. Looks like I need to do more research on those terms before I attempt to use the different modes. I feel like I'm not using IMC to its full potential.

Maybe you can help me at least understand Sonar Mode a little more? Sonar Mode extracts that data, so what can I do with that extracted data? How do we turn sonar logs into maps?

Currently, the only thing I know what to do with sonar logs is to upload them to Insight Genesis to create a map; but I cannot use those maps as an overlay with my satellite maps.

[gregory]

The IMC download has a single zip file which contains 6 zip files.  Documentation is one of these 6 zip files.

The Sonar Mode Processor is more for special processing.  Reefmaster is one application that supports loading data in this format (though they also have direct integration of a lot of the formats supported by the IMC).  You can also match the description string used by the Insight Genesis download to composite your own charts with Insight Genesis downloads.