USER MANUAL

Manual authors: Willem Ferguson, Jacco van Koll, Dirk Hohndel, Reinout Hoornweg, Linus Torvalds, Miika Turkia, Amit Chaudhuri, Jan Schubert, Salvador Cuñat, Pedro Neves

Version 4.5, October 2015

Welcome as a user of Subsurface, an advanced dive logging program with extensive infrastructure to describe, organise, interpret and print scuba and free dives. Subsurface offers many advantages over other similar software solutions:

Do you need a flexible way of logging dives using recreational equipment, even not using a dive computer?
Do you use two different dive computer brands, each with its own proprietary software for downloading dive logs? Do you dive with rebreathers as well as open circuit or recreational equipment? Do you use a Reefnet Sensus time-depth recorder in conjunction with a dive computer? Subsurface offers a standard interface for downloading dive logs from all these different pieces of equipment and to store and analyse the dive logs within a unified system.
Do you use more than one operating system? Subsurface is fully compatible with Mac, Linux and Windows, allowing you to access your dive log on each of your operating systems using a single application.
Do you use Linux or Mac and your dive computer has only Windows-based software for downloading dive information (e.g. Mares)? Subsurface provides a way of downloading and analysing your dive logs on other operating systems.
Do you need an intuitive graphical dive planner that integrates with and takes into account the dives that have already been logged?
Do you need a way of storing or backing up your dive log on the Internet, allowing you to view your dive log from anywhere, using an Internet browser?

Subsurface binaries are available for Windows PCs (Win XP or later), Intel based Macs (OS/X) and many Linux distributions. Subsurface can be built for many more hardware platforms and software environments where Qt and libdivecomputer are available.

The scope of this document is the use of the Subsurface program. To install the software, consult the Downloads page on the Subsurface web site. Please discuss issues with this program by sending an email to our mailing list and report bugs at our bugtracker. For instructions on how to build the software and (if needed) its dependencies please consult the INSTALL file included with the source code.

Audience: Recreational Scuba Divers, Free Divers, Tec Divers, Professional Divers

Table of Contents

1. Using this manual

When opened from within Subsurface, this manual does not have external controls. However, a SEARCH function is important. This is activated by pressing control-F or command-F on the keyboard. A text box appears at the bottom of the window. Use this to search for any term in the manual.

2. The user survey

In order to develop Subsurface in a way that serves its users in the best possible way, it is important to have some user information. Upon launching Subsurface after using this software for a week or so, a one-box user survey pops up. It is entirely optional and the user controls what, if any, data are sent to the Subsurface development team. Any data that the user chooses to send is extremely useful, and will only be used to steer future development and to customise the software to fit the needs of the Subsurface users. If one completes the survey, or clicks the option not to be asked again, that should be the last communication of this nature one receives. However, if one’s diving and/or subsurface habits change and one wishes to provide another survey, this can be done by launching Subsurface with the --survey option on the command line.

3. Start Using the Program

The Subsurface window is usually divided into four panels with a Main Menu (File Import Log View Help) at the top of the window (for Windows and Linux) or the top of the screen (for Mac and Ubuntu Unity). The four panels are:

The Dive List to the bottom left containing a list of all the dives in the user’s dive log. A dive can be selected and highlighted on the dive list by clicking on it. In most situations the up/down keys can be used to switch between dives. The Dive List is an important tool for manipulating a dive log.
The Dive Map to the bottom right, showing the user’s dive sites on a world map and centred on the site of the last dive selected in the Dive List.
The Info to the top left, giving more detailed information on the dive selected in the Dive List, including some statistics for the selected dive or for all highlighted dive(s).
The Dive Profile to the top right, showing a graphical dive profile of the selected dive in the Dive List.

The dividers between panels can be dragged in order to change the size of any of the panels. Subsurface remembers the position of the dividers, so the next time Subsurface starts it uses the positions of the dividers from when the program was last used.

If a single dive is selected in the Dive List, the dive location, detailed information and profile of the selected dive are shown in the respective panels. On the other hand, if several dives are selected, the last highlighted dive is the selected dive, but summary data of all highlighted dives are shown in the Stats tab of the Info panel (maximum, minimum and average depths, durations, water temperatures and SAC; total time and number of dives selected).

The user can determine which of the four panels are displayed by selecting the View option on the main menu. This feature gives the user several choices of display:

All: show all four of the panels as in the screenshot above.

Divelist: Show only the Dive List.

Profile: Show only the Dive Profile of the selected dive.

Info: Show only the Notes about the last selected dive and statistics for all highlighted dives.

Globe: Show only the world map, centred on the last selected dive.

Like many other functions that can be accessed via the Main Menu, these options can be triggered using keyboard shortcuts. The shortcuts for a particular system are shown with an underline in the main menu entries. Since different Operating Systems and the user chosen language may cause Subsurface to use different shortcut keys they are not listed here in the user manual.

When the program is started for the first time, it shows no information at all. This is because the program doesn’t have any dive information available. In the following sections, the procedures to create a new logbook will be described.

4. Creating a new logbook

Select File → New Logbook from the main menu. All existing dive data are cleared so that new information can be added. If there are unsaved data in an open logbook, the user is asked whether the open logbook should be saved before a new logbook is created.

5. Storing dive information in the logbook

Now that a new logbook was created, it is simple to add dive data to it. Subsurface allows several ways of adding dive data to a logbook, detailed in the following sections.

1) If the user has a handwritten divelog, a spreadsheet or another form of manually maintained divelog, dive data can be added to the logbook using one of these approaches:

Enter dive information by hand. This is useful if the diver did not use a dive computer and dives were recorded in a written logbook. See: Entering dive information by hand
Import dive log information that has been maintained either as a spreadsheet or as a CSV file. Refer to: APPENDIX D: Exporting a spreadsheet to CSV format and to Importing dives in CSV format.

2) If one has dives recorded using a dive computer, the depth profile of the dive and a large amount of additional information can be accessed. These dives can be imported from:

The dive computer itself. See: Importing new dive information from a Dive Computer or
Proprietary software distributed by manufacturers of dive computers. Refer to: Importing dive information from other digital data sources or other data formats.
Import from spreadsheet or CSV files containing dive profiles. See: Importing dives in CSV format from dive computers or other dive log software

5.1. Entering dive information by hand

This is usually the approach for dives without a dive computer. The basic record of information within Subsurface is a dive. The most important information in a simple dive logbook usually includes dive type, date, time, duration, depth, the names of your dive buddy and of the dive master or dive guide, and some remarks about the dive. Subsurface can store much more information than this for each dive. In order to add a dive to a dive log, select Log → Add Dive from the Main Menu. The program then shows three panels to enter information for a dive: two tabs in the Info panel (Notes and Equipment), as well as the Dive Profile panel that displays a graphical profile of each dive. These panels are respectively marked A, B and C in the figure below. Each of these tabs will now be explained for data entry.

When one edits a field in Notes or Equipment panels, Subsurface enters Editing Mode, indicated by the message in the blue box at the top of the Notes panel (see the image below). This message is displayed in all the panels under Notes and Equipment when in Editing Mode.

The Apply changes button should only be selected after all the parts of a dive have been entered. When entering dives by hand, the Info, Equipment and Profile tabs should be completed before saving the information. By selecting the Apply changes button, a local copy of the information for this specific dive is saved in memory. When one closes Subsurface, the program will ask again, this time whether the complete dive log should be saved on disk or not.

5.1.1. Creating a Dive Profile

The Dive Profile (a graphical representation of the depth of the dive as a function of time) is indicated in the panel on the top right hand of the Subsurface window. When a dive is manually added to a logbook, Subsurface presents a default dive profile that needs to be modified to best represent the dive being described:

Modifying the dive profile: When the cursor is moved around the dive profile, its position is indicated by two right-angled red lines as shown below. The time and depth represented by the cursor are indicated at the top of the black information box (@ and D). The units (metric/imperial) on the axes are determined by the Preference settings. The dive profile itself comprises several line segments demarcated by waypoints (white dots on the profile, as shown above). The default dive depth is 15 m. If the dive depth was 20 m then the user needs to drag the appropriate waypoints downwards to represent 20 m. To add a waypoint, double-click on any line segment. To move an additional waypoint, drag it. To remove this waypoint, right-click on it and choose "Remove this point" from the context menu. Drag the waypoints to represent an accurate time duration for the dive. Below is a dive profile for a dive to 20 m for 30 min, followed by a 5 minute safety stop at 5 m.

Specifying the gas composition: The gas composition used is clearly indicated along the line segments of the dive profile. This defaults to the first gas mixture specified in the Equipment tab, which was air in the case of the profile above. The gas mixtures of segments of the dive profile can be edited. This is done by right-clicking on the particular waypoint and selecting the appropriate gas from the context menu. Changing the gas for a waypoint affects the gas shown in the segment to the left of that waypoint. Note that only the gases defined in the Equipment tab appear in the context menu (see image below).

With the profile having been defined, more details must be added in order to have a fuller record of the dive. To do this, the Notes and the Equipment tabs on the top left hand of the Subsurface window should be used. Click on this link for instructions to use these tabs.

5.2. Importing new dive information from a Dive Computer

5.2.1. Connecting and importing data from a dive computer.

The use of dive computers allows the collection of a large amount of information about each dive, e.g. a detailed record of depth, duration, rates of ascent/descent and of gas partial pressures. Subsurface can capture this information and present it as part of the dive information, using dive information from a wide range of dive computers. The latest list of supported dive computers can be found at: Supported dive computers.

Several dive computers consume more power when they are in their PC-Communication mode. This could drain the dive computer’s battery. We therefore recommend that the user checks if the dive computer is charged when connected to the USB port of a PC. For example, several Suunto and Mares dive computers do not recharge through the USB connection. Users should refer to the dive computer’s manual if they are unsure whether the dive computer recharges its batteries while connected to the USB port.

To import dive information from a dive computer to a computer with Subsurface, it is necessary that the two pieces of equipment communicate with one another. This involves setting up the communications port (or mount point) of the computer with Subsurface that communicates with the dive computer. In order to set up this communication, one needs to find the appropriate information to instruct Subsurface where and how to import the dive information. Appendix A provides the technical information to help the user achieving this for different operating systems and Appendix B has dive computer specific information.

After this, the dive computer can be hooked up to the user’s PC, which can be achieved by following these steps:

The interface cable should be connected to a free USB port (or the Infra-red or Bluetooth connection set up as described later in this manual)
The dive computer should be placed into PC Communication mode. (Refer to the manual of the specific dive computer)
In Subsurface, from the Main Menu, select Import → Import From Dive Computer. Dialogue A in the figure below appears:

Dive computers tend to keep a certain number of dives in their memory, even though these dives have already been imported to Subsurface. For that reason, if the dive computer allows this, Subsurface only imports dives that have not been uploaded before. This makes the download process faster on most dive computers and also saves battery power of the dive computer (at least for those not charging while connected via USB).

The dialogue has two drop-down lists, Vendor and Dive Computer. On the vendor drop-down list select the make of the computer, e.g. Suunto, Oceanic, Uwatec, Mares. On the Dive Computer drop-down list, the model name of the dive computer must be selected, e.g. D4 (Suunto), Veo200 (Oceanic), or Puck (Mares).
The Device or Mount Point drop-down list contains the USB or Bluetooth port name that Subsurface needs in order to communicate with the dive computer. The appropriate port name must be selected. Consult Appendix A and Appendix B for technical details on how to find the appropriate port information for a particular dive computer and, in some cases, how to do the correct settings to the operating system of the computer on which Subsurface is running.
If all the dives on the dive computer need to be downloaded, check the checkbox Force download of all dives. Normally, Subsurface only downloads dives after the date-time of the last dive in the Dive List panel. If one or more of your dives in Subsurface have been accidentally deleted or if there are older dives that still need to be downloaded from the dive computer, this checkbox needs to be activated. Some dive computers (e.g. Mares Puck) do not provide a contents list to Subsurface before the download in order to select only new dives. Consequently, for these dive computers, all dives are downloaded irrespective of the status of this check box.
If the checkbox Always prefer downloaded dives has been checked and, during download, dives with identical date-times exist on the dive computer and on the Subsurface Dive List panel, the dive in the Subsurface divelog will be overwritten by the dive record from the dive computer.
The checkbox marked Download into new trip ensures that, after upload, the downloaded dives are grouped together as a new trip(s) in the Dive List.
Do not check the checkboxes labelled Save libdivecomputer logfile and Save libdivecomputer dumpfile. These are only used as diagnostic tools when problems with downloads are experienced (see below).
Then select the Download button. With communication established, one can see how the data are retrieved from the dive computer. Depending on the make of the dive computer and/or number of recorded dives, this could take some time. Be patient. The Download dialogue shows a progress bar at the bottom of the dialogue (for some dive computers the progress information could be inaccurate as we cannot determine how much downloadable data there is until all data have been downloaded). After successful download, Dialogue B in the figure above appears. After the dives have been downloaded, they appear in a tabular format on the right-hand side of the dialogue (see image B, above). Each dive comprises a row in the table, with the date, duration and depth shown. Next to each dive is a checkbox: check all the dives that need to be transferred to the Dive List. In the case of the image above, the last six dives are checked and will be transferred to the Dive List. Then click the OK button at the bottom of the dialogue. All the imported dives appear in the Dive List, sorted by date and time. Disconnect and switch off the dive computer to conserve its battery power.

After this has been completed, select the OK button. The checked dives are transferred to the Dive List.

If there is a problem in communicating with the dive computer, an error message will be shown, similar to this text: "Unable to open /dev/ttyUSB0 Mares (Puck Pro)". Refer to the text in the box below.

PROBLEMS WITH DATA DOWNLOAD FROM A DIVE COMPUTER?

Check the following:

Is the dive computer still in PC-communication or Upload mode?
Is the battery of the dive computer fully charged? If not then the battery must be charged or replaced.
Is the connecting cable faulty? Does the cable work perfectly using other software? Has it worked before, or is this the first time the cable is being used? Are the contacts on the dive computer and the cable clean?
Consult Appendix A and make sure that the correct Mount Point was specified (see above).
On Unix-like operating systems, does the user have write permission to the USB port? If not, consult Appendix A

If the Subsurface computer does not recognise the USB adaptor by showing an appropriate device name next to the Mount Point, then there is a possibility that the cable or USB adaptor is faulty. A faulty cable is the most common cause of communication failure between dive computer and Subsurface computer. It is also possible that the Subsurface computer cannot interpret the data. Perform a download for diagnostic purposes with the following two check boxes checked in the download dialogue discussed above:

Save libdivecomputer logfile
Save libdivecomputer dumpfile

Important: These check boxes are only used when problems are encountered during the download process: under normal circumstances they should not be checked. When checking these boxes, the user is prompted to select a folder to save the information to. The default folder is the one in which the Subsurface dive log is kept.

Important: After downloading with the above checkboxes checked, no dives are added to the Dive List but two files are created in the folder selected above:

subsurface.log
subsurface.bin

These files should be send to the Subsurface mail list: subsurface@subsurface-divelog.org with a request for the files to be analysed. Provide the dive computer make and model as well as contextual information about the dives recorded on the dive computer.

5.2.2. Connecting Subsurface to a Bluetooth-enabled dive computer

Bluetooth is becoming a more common way of communication between dive computers and Subsurface, for instance, the Shearwater Petrel Mk2 and the OSTC Mk3. Subsurface provides a largely operating system independent Bluetooth interface. Setting up Subsurface for Bluetooth communication requires four steps:

Ensure that Bluetooth is activated on the host computer running Subsurface.
Ensure that Subsurface sees the Bluetooth adapter on the host computer.
Ensure the Bluetooth-enabled dive computer is Bluetooth-discoverable and in PC upload mode.
Ensure that Subsurface is paired with the Bluetooth-enabled dive computer.

Select the Download dialogue by selecting Import → Import from dive computer from the Main Menu. If one checks the check box labelled "Choose Bluetooth download mode", the dialogue below appears.

On Linux or MacOS:

On the Linux or MacOS platforms the name of the Subsurface computer and its Bluetooth address are shown on the right-hand side, On the lefthand side, if the computer has connected more than one local Bluetooth devices the user can use the list box to indicate which one needs to connect to Subsurface. The power state (on/off) of the Bluetooth adapter is shown below the address and can be changed by checking the Turn on/off check box.

If the Bluetooth address is not shown, then Subsurface does not see the local Bluetooth device. Ensure that the Bluetooth driver is installed correctly on the Subsurface computer and check if it can be used by other Bluetooth utilities like bluetoothctl or bluemoon. This achieves the first two steps above.

Ensure that the Bluetooth-enabled dive computer is in PC-upload mode and that it is discoverable by other Bluetooth devices. Consult the manual of the dive computer to perform this. Now the third item in the list above has been achieved.

Select the Scan button towards the bottom left of the dialogue above. After searching for a small amount of time, the dive computer should be listed (perhaps as one of a number of Bluetooth devices) in the main list box on the lefthand side of the dialogue (see image above). If this is not achieved, select the Clear button and then scan again for Bluetooth devices using the Scan button. After performing these actions Subsurface should see the dive computer. The label of the discovered dive computer contains the name of the device, its address and its pairing status. If the device is not paired and has a red background colour, a context menu can be opened by selecting the item with a right-click. Select the the Pair option and wait for the task to complete.

Currently Subsurface does not support Bluetooth pairing with dive computers that require a custom PIN code. In order to pair the devices, use other OS utilities as suggested below.

One way to achieve this is to use bluetoothctl:

$ bluetoothctl
[bluetooth]# agent KeyboardOnly
Agent registered
[bluetooth]# default-agent
Default agent request successful
[bluetooth]# pair 00:80:25:49:6C:E3
Attempting to pair with 00:80:25:49:6C:E3
[CHG] Device 00:80:25:49:6C:E3 Connected: yes
Request PIN code
[agent] Enter PIN code: 0000

After the devices are paired the Save button of the dialogue can be pressed. This closes the Bluetooth dialogue. Now select Download in the Download from dive computer dialogue which should still be open. The downloaded dives are shown on the righthand side of the download dialogue.

On Windows:

On Windows platforms the Local Bluetooth device details section on the right is not displayed. To successfully initiate a scan (by pressing the Scan button) check that the Bluetooth device on the Subsurface computer is turned on.

The pairing step is checked and done automatically during the download process. If the devices have never been paired the system will ask for your permissions and put a message on the right side of the screen: Add a device, Tap to set up your DC device. Always allow this pairing. After a discovered item is selected, select the Save button. Finally select the Download button on the Download dialogue and wait for the process to complete.

Be aware that currently Subsurface works only with local Bluetooth adapters which use Microsoft Bluetooth Stack. If the local device uses Widcomm, Stonestreet One Bluetopia Bluetooth or BlueSolei drivers it will definitely not work.

A log messageOn the bottom left of the Remote Bluetooth device selection shows details about the current status of the Bluetooth agent. To select another dive computer for download using the "Remote Bluetooth selection dialogue" press the three-dots button from the "Choose Bluetooth download mode" option.

IN CASE OF PROBLEMS: If the Bluetooth adapter from the Subsurface computer gets stuck and the Download process fails repeatedly, unpair the devices and then repeat the above steps. If this is not successful, Appendix A contains information for manually setting up and inspecting the Bluetooth connection with Subsurface.

5.2.3. Changing the name of a dive computer

It may be necessary to distinguish between different dive computers used to upload dive logs to Subsurface. For instance if one’s partner’s dive computer is the same make and model as one’s own and dive logs are uploaded from both dive computers to the same Subsurface computer, then one would perhaps like to call one dc "Alice’s Suunto D4" and the other one "Bob’s Suunto D4". Alternatively, consider a technical diver dives with two or more dive computers of the same model, the logs of both (or all) being uploaded. In this case it might be prudent to call one of them "Suunto D4 (1)" and another one "Suunto D4 (2)". This is easily done in Subsurface. On the Main Menu, select Log → Edit device names. A dialog opens, indicating the current Model, ID and Nickname of the dive computers used for upload. Edit the Nickname field for the appropriate dive computer. After saving the Nickname, the dive logs show the nickname for that particular device instead of the model name, allowing easy identification of devices.

5.2.4. Updating the dive information imported from the dive computer.

With the uploaded dives in the Dive List, the information from the dive computer is not complete and more details must be added in order to have a fuller record of the dives. To do this, the Notes and the Equipment tabs on the top left hand of the Subsurface window should be used.

Notes

To have a more complete dive record the user needs to add additional information by hand. The procedure below is virtually identical for hand-entered dives and for dives downloaded from a dive computer.

In some cases, one has to provide the date and time of the dive, e.g. when entering a dive by hand or when a dive computer does not provide the date and time of the dive. (Usually the date and time of the dive, gas mixture and water temperature are shown as obtained from the dive computer) If the contents of the Notes tab is changed or edited in any way, the message in a blue box at the top of the panel indicates that the dive is being edited. If one clicks on the Notes tab, the following fields are visible (left hand image, below):

The right hand image, above, shows a Notes tab filled with dive information. The Time field reflects the date and time of the dive. By clicking the date, a calendar is displayed from which one can choose the correct date. Press ESC to close the calendar. The time values (hour and minutes) can also be edited directly by clicking on each of them in the text box and by over-typing the information displayed.

Air/water temperatures: Air and water temperatures during the dive are shown in text boxes to the right of the Start time. Many dive computers supply water temperature information and this box may therefore contain information. If air temperature is not provided by the dive computer, the first temperature reading might be used for the air temperature. Generally this is close enough to the real air temperature as the change in the temperature sensor reading is quite slow to follow the changes in the environment. If editing is required, only a value is required, the units of temperature will be automatically supplied by Subsurface (following the Preferences, metric or imperial units will be used).

Location:

Dive locations are managed as a separate part of the dive log. The dive information in the Notes and Equipment tabs can therefore not be edited at the same time as the dive site information. Save all the other dive information (e.g. divemaster, buddy, protective gear, notes about the dive) by selecting Apply changes on the Notes tab before editing the dive site information. Only then, supply a dive site name in the textbox labelled Location on the Notes tab.

Type the name of the dive site, e.g. "Tihany, Lake Balaton, Hungary". If several dives are performed at the same location, the dive site information for the first dive is re-used. Existing dive location information can be edited at any time by selecting (on the Dive List panel) a dive performed at that site and by opening the location information by clicking the globe button on the right of the location name (see image on the right, above). When entering a dive location name, auto location of dive site names makes it easy to select an existing dive site name (i.e. when typing the name of a dive site, a dropdown list appears showing all sites with similar names). If the dive site has been used before, click on the already-existing name. The dive site names in the dropdown list contain either a globe symbol (indicating existing dive sites in the Subsurface database) or a + symbol (indicating dive site names that appear consistent with the current dive site name but which have not been added to the dive site database). Therefore, if the present dive site has not been used before, a message appears as follows (image A below):

Doubleclick on the new dive site name. A panel appears to enter the coordinates and other important information about the site (image B, above). The most important items are the coordinates of the site. There are three ways of specifying the coordinates:

One can find the coordinates on the world map in the bottom right hand part of the Subsurface window. The map displays an orange bar indicating "No location data - Move the map and double-click to set the dive location". Upon a doubleclick at the appropriate place, the orange bar disappears and the coordinates are stored.
The coordinates can be obtained from the Subsurface Companion app if the user has an Android or iPhone device with GPS and if the coordinates of the dive site were stored using that device. Click here for more information

The coordinates can be entered by hand if they are known, using one of four formats with latitude followed by longitude:

ISO 6709 Annex D format e.g. 30°13'28.9"N 30°49'1.5"E
Degrees and decimal minutes, e.g. N30° 13.49760' , E30° 49.30788'
Degrees minutes seconds, e.g. N30° 13' 29.8" , E30° 49' 1.5"
Decimal degrees, e.g. 30.22496 , 30.821798

Southern hemisphere latitudes are given with a S, e.g. S30°, or with a negative value, e.g. -30.22496. Similarly western longitudes are given with a W, e.g. W07°, or with a negative value, e.g. -7.34323. Some keyboards don’t have the degree sign (°). It can be replaced by a d like this: N30d W20d. If both a dive site name and coordinates have been provided, Save the dive site information by selecting the button Apply changes at the top of the panel.

Important: GPS coordinates of a dive site are linked to the Location name - so saving a dive site with only coordinates and no dive site name causes unexpected behaviour (Subsurface will think that all of these dives have the same location and try to keep their GPS coordinates the same).

Dive site name lookup: If coordinates have been typed into the appropriate text box, one can perform an automated name lookup based on the coordinates. This is achieved when Subsurface uses the Internet to find the name of the dive site based on the coordinates that were typed. If a name has been found, it is automatically inserted into the tags box. The list box (Titled Dive sites on same coordinates") at the bottom of the dive site panel contains the names of other dives sites used at the current location. For instance if the dive site is "Blue Hole" and there are several dive sites named "Blue Hole", all these sites are listed in this list box.

Enter any other textual information about the dive site (Description and Notes), then select Apply Changes to save the geolocation for this dive site. At a later stage the dive site information can be edited by clicking the globe icon to the right of the dive site name in the Notes tab.

Dive mode: This is a dropdown box allowing one to choose the type of dive performed. The options are OC (Open Circuit SCUBA, the default seting, meant for most recreational dives), Freedive (dive without SCUBA equipment), CCR (Closed-circuit rebreather) and pSCR (Passive semi-closed rebreather).

Divemaster: The name of the dive master or dive guide for this dive should be entered in this field which offers auto selection based on the list of dive masters in the current logbook.

Buddy: In this field, one enters the name(s) of the buddy / buddies (separated with commas) who accompanied him/her on the dive. Auto selection based on the list of buddies in the current logbook is offered.

Suit: Here the type of dive suit used can be entered. Auto selection of the suit description is available. Some dry-suit users may choose to use this field to record what combination of suit and thermal undersuit was used.

Rating: One can provide a subjective overall rating of the dive on a 5-point scale by clicking the appropriate star on the rating scale.

Visibility: Similarly, one can provide a rating of visibility during the dive on a 5-point scale by clicking the appropriate star.

Tags: Tags that describe the type of dive performed can be entered here (separated by commas). Examples of common tags are boat, drift, training, cave, etc. Subsurface has many built-in tags. If the user starts typing a tag, the program will list the tags that correspond to the typing. For instance, if the user typed cav, then the tags cave and cavern are shown for the user to choose from.

Notes: Any additional information for the dive can be entered here.

The Apply changes and Discard changes buttons are used to save all the information for tabs in the Info panel and in the Dive Profile panel, so there’s no need to use them until ALL other information has been added. The image at the beginning of this section shows an example of a Notes tab after completion of the dive information.

Equipment

The Equipment tab allows one to enter information about the type of cylinder and gas used as well as the weights used for the dive. The message in a blue box at the top of the panel:

indicates that the dive is being edited. This is a highly interactive part of Subsurface and the information on cylinders and gases (entered here) determines the behaviour of the Dive profile (top right-hand panel).

Cylinders: The cylinder information is entered through a dialogue that looks like this:

For hand-entered dives, this information needs to be typed in. For dive computers, Subsurface often obtains the gas used from the dive computer and automatically inserts the gas composition(% oxygen or % helium) in the table. The + button at the top right allows the user to add more cylinders for this dive. The dark dustbin icon on the left allows the deletion of information for a cylinder. Note that it is not possible to delete a cylinder if it is used during the dive. A cylinder might be implicitly used in the dive, even without a gas change event.

The user should start by selecting a cylinder type on the left-hand side of the table. To select a cylinder, the Type box should be clicked. This brings up a list button that can be used to display a dropdown list of cylinders:

FIGURE: The cylinder drop-down list button

The drop-down list can then be used to select the cylinder type that was used for this dive or the user may start typing in the box which shows the available options for the entered characters. The Size of the cylinder as well as its working pressure (Work.press) will automatically be shown in the dialogue.

Next, indicate the starting pressure and the ending pressure of the specified gas during the dive. The unit of pressure (metric/imperial) corresponds to the settings chosen in the Preferences.

Finally, provide the gas mixture used. If air was used, the value of 21% can be entered or this field can be left blank. If nitrox or trimix were used, their percentages of oxygen and/or helium should be entered. Any inappropriate fields should be left empty. After typing the information for the cylinder, save the data either by pressing ENTER on the keyboard or by clicking outside the cell containing the cursor. Information for any additional cylinders can be added by using the
button at the top right hand. Following is an example of a complete description for a dive using two cylinders (air and EAN50):

FIGURE: a completed cylinder dive information table

Weights: Information about the weight system used can be entered using a dialogue very similar to that of the cylinder information. If one clicks the + button on the top right of the weights dialogue, the table looks like this:

By clicking on the Type field, a drop-down list becomes accessible through a down-arrow:

FIGURE:Weights type drop-down list button

This can be used to select the type of weight system used during the dive or the user may start typing in the box to specify a different weighting mechanism that will be saved by Subsurface. In the Weight field, type in the amount of weight used during the dive. After specifying the weight system, save the data by either pressing ENTER on the keyboard or by clicking outside the cell with the cursor. It is possible to enter information for more than one weight system by adding an additional system using the + button on the top right hand. Weight systems can be deleted using the dustbin icon on the left hand. Here is an example of information for a dive with two types of weights: integrated as well as a weight belt:

FIGURE: A completed weights information table

5.2.5. Editing several selected dives simultaneously

METHOD 1: After uploading dives from a dive computer, the dive profiles of each uploaded dive is shown in the Dive profile tab, as well as a few items of information in the Notes tab (e.g. water temperature) and in the Equipment tab (e.g. gas pressures and gas composition). However the other fields remain empty. It may be useful to simultaneously edit some of the fields in the Notes and Equipment tabs. For instance, it is possible that a diver performed several dives during a single day, using identical equipment while diving at the same dive site or with the same dive master and/or buddy or tags. Instead of completing the information for each of these dives separately, one can select all the dives for that day in the Dive List and insert the same information in the Notes and Equipment fields that need identical information. This is achieved by editing the dive notes or the equipment for any one of the selected dives.

The simultaneous editing only works with fields that do not already contain information. This means that, if some fields have been edited for a particular dive among the selected dives, these are not changed while editing the dives simultaneously. Technically, the rule for editing several dives simultaneously is: if the data field being edited contains exactly the same information for all the dives that have been selected, the new, edited information is substituted for all the selected dives, otherwise only the edited dive is changed, even though several dives have been selected in the Dive List. This greatly speeds up the completion of the dive log after several similar dives.

METHOD 2:There is a different way of achieving the same goal. Select a dive with all the appropriate information typed into the Notes and Equipment tabs. Then, from the main menu, select Log → Copy dive components. A box is presented with a selection of check boxes for most of the fields in the Notes and Equipment tabs. Select the fields to be copied from the currently selected dive, then select OK. Now, in the Dive List, select the dives into which this information is to be pasted. Then, from the main menu, select Log → Paste dive components. All the selected dives now contain the data initially selected in the original source dive log.

5.2.6. Adding Bookmarks to a dive

Many divers wish to annotate their dives with text that indicate particular events during the dive, e.g. "Saw dolphins", or "Released surface buoy". This is easily done:

Right-click at the appropriate point on the dive profile. This brings up the dive profile context menu. Select Add bookmark. A red flag is placed on the dive profile at the point that was initially selected (see A below).
Right-click on the red flag. This brings up the context menu (see B below). Select Edit name.
A text box is shown. Type the explanatory text for the bookmark (see C below). Select OK. This saves the text associated with the bookmark.
If one hovers using the mouse over the red bookmark, the appropriate text is shown at the bottom of the information box (see D below).

5.2.7. Saving the updated dive information

The information entered in the Notes tab and the Equipment tab can be saved by using the two buttons on the top right hand of the Notes tab. If the Apply changes button is clicked, the dive data are saved in the memory image of the dive. If the Discard changes button is clicked, then the newly entered dive data are erased from the computer memory, although the dive profile is retained. When the user exits Subsurface there is a final prompt to confirm that the new data should now be saved permanently on the computer disk.

5.3. Importing dive information from other digital data sources or other data formats

If a user has been diving for some time, it is possible that several dives were logged using other dive log software. This information does not need retyping because these dive logs can probably be imported into Subsurface. Subsurface will import dive logs from a range of other dive log software. While some software is supported natively, for others the user has to export the logbook(s) to an intermediate format so that they can then be imported by Subsurface. Currently, Subsurface supports importing CSV log files from several sources. APD LogViewer, XP5, Sensus and Seabear files are preconfigured, but because the import is flexible, users can configure their own imports. Manually kept log files (e.g. a spreadsheet) can also be imported by configuring the CSV import. Subsurface can also import UDDF and UDCF files used by some divelog software and some dive computers, like the Heinrichs & Weikamp DR5. Finally, for some divelog software like Mares Dive Organiser it is currently suggested to import the logbooks first into a webservice like divelogs.de and then import them from there with Subsurface, as divelogs.de supports a few additional logbook formats that Subsurface currently cannot parse.

If the format of other software is supported natively on Subsurface, it should be sufficient to select either Import → Import log files or File → Open log file. Subsurface supports the data formats of many dive computers, including Suunto and Shearwater. When importing dives, Subsurface tries to detect multiple records for the same dive and merges the information as best as it can. If there are no time zone issues (or other reasons that would cause the beginning time of the dives to be significantly different) Subsurface will not create duplicate entries. Below follows more specific information to achieve data import to Subsurface.

5.3.1. Using the universal import dialogue

Importing dives from other software is performed through a universal interface activated by selecting Import from the Main Menu, then clicking on Import Log Files. This brings up dialogue A, below.

Towards the bottom right is a dropdown selector with a default label of Dive Log Files which gives access to the different types of direct imports available, as in dialogue B, above. Currently these are:

XML-formatted dive logs (DivingLog 5.0, MacDive and several other dive log systems)
Cochran dive logs
UDDF-formatted dive logs (e.g. Kenozoooid)
UDCF-formatted dive logs
Poseidon MkVI CCR logs
APD Inspiration/Evolution CCR logs
LiquiVision logs
divelog.de logs
OSTC Tools logs
JDiveLog
Suunto Dive Manager (DM3 and DM4)
CSV (text-based and spreadsheet-based) dive logs, including APD CCR logs

Selecting the appropriate format and then the specific log file in the large window containing the file list on the right of the dialogue opens the imported dive log in the Subsurface Dive List. Some other formats, not accessible through the Import dialogue are also supported, as explained below.

5.3.2. Importing from OSTCTools

OSTC Tools is a Microsoft-based suite of dive download and dive management tools for the OSTC family of dive computers. OSTC Tools downloads dive data from the dive computer and stores it as a binary file with file extension .dive . Subsurface can directly import these files when using the universal import dialogue. From the dropdown list at the bottom right select OSTCTools Files (.dive .DIVE). This makes the OSTC Tools dive logs visible in the file list panel. Select one or more dive, then click the Open button. The OSTC dives are shown in the Dive List panel.

Actually, all H&W devices supported by OSTCTools can be imported to Subsurface, this includes OSTC, OSTC Mk2, OSTC 2N/2C, OSTC3, OSTC Sport, and probably although untested, Frog, OSTC2 and OSTC CR.

Please, remember that OSTCTools is not a true diving log software, but a useful set of tools for analysis and management of OSTC devices. This way, only raw dive computer data will be performed with the import to Subsurface; one has to to manually complete the rest of data which may be important (buddies, equipment, notes, etc).

5.3.3. Importing from Mares Dive Organiser V2.1

Since Mares utilise proprietary Windows software not compatible with multi-platform applications, these dive logs cannot be directly imported into Subsurface. Mares dive logs need to be imported using a three-step process, using www.divelogs.de as a mechanism to extract the dive log information.

Export the dive log data from Mares Dive Organiser to the user’s desktop, using a .sdf file name extension. Refer to Appendix C for more information.
Data should then be imported into www.divelogs.de. One needs to create a user account in www.divelogs.de, log into that web site, then select Import Logbook → Dive Organiser from the menu on the left hand side. The instructions must be carefully followed to transfer the dive information (in .sdf format) from the Dive Organiser database to www.divelogs.de.
Finally, import the dives from divelogs.de to Subsurface, using the instructions below.

5.3.4. Importing dives from divelogs.de

The import of dive information from divelogs.de is simple, using a single dialogue box. The Import → Import from Divelogs.de option should be selected from the Main Menu. This brings up a dialogue box (see image A below). Enter a user-ID and password for divelogs.de into the appropriate fields and then select the Download button. Download from divelogs.de starts immediately, displaying a progress bar in the dialogue box. At the end of the download, the success status is indicated (see image B, below). The Apply button should then be selected, after which the imported dives appear in the Subsurface Dive List panel.

5.3.5. Importing data in CSV format

A comma-separated file (.csv) can be used to import dive information either as dive profiles (as in the case of the APD Inspiration and Evolution closed circuit rebreathers) or as dive metadata (in case the user keeps dive data in a spreadsheet). The CSV format is a universal simplified format that allows for easy information exchange between different computers or software packages. For an introduction to CSV-formatted files see A Diver’s Introduction To CSV Files. Subsurface dive logs can also be exported in CSV format to other software that reads this format. See APPENDIX D: Exporting a spreadsheet to CSV format for information that may be helpful for importing spreadsheet-based data into Subsurface.

Importing dives in CSV format from dive computers or other dive log software

One can view a CSV file by using an ordinary text editor. It is normally organised into a single line that provides the headers (or field names or column headings) of the data columns, followed by the data, one record per line.

There are two types of CSV dive logs that can be imported into Subsurface:

CSV dive details: This dive log format contains similar information to that of a typical written dive log, e.g. dive date and time, dive depth, dive duration, names of buddy and dive master and perhaps some information about cylinder pressures before and after the dive, as well as a comment or two about the dive. All the data for a single dive go on a single line of text, following the order of the column headings.
CSV dive profile: This dive log format includes much more information about a single dive. For instance there may be information at 30-second intervals, indicating depth, water temperature at that depth, and cylinder pressure at that moment in time. Each line contains the information for a single instant in time during the dive, 30 seconds after that of the previous instant. Many lines are required to complete the depth profile information for a single dive. This is a common export format used by closed-circuit rebreather (CCR) dive equipment and many software packages that handle dive computer data and/or dive logs.

Before being able to import the CSV data to Subsurface one needs to know a few things about the data being imported:

Which character separates the different columns within a single line of data? This field separator should be either a comma (,) a semicolon (;) or a TAB character. This can be determined by opening the file with a text editor. If it is comma-delimited or semicolon-delimited, the comma or semicolon characters between the values are clearly visible. If these are not evident and the numbers are aligned in columns, the file is probably TAB-delimited (i.e. it uses a TAB as a field separator).
Which data columns need to be imported into Subsurface? Is it a CSV dive details file or a CSV dive profile file? Open the file using a text editor and note the titles of the columns to be imported and their column positions.
Is the numeric information (e.g. dive depth) in metric or in imperial units?

Armed with this information, importing the data into Subsurface is straightforward. Select Import → Import Log Files from the main menu. In the resulting file selection menu, select CSV files (towards the bottom right). This shows all .CSV files in the selected directory. Select the file that needs to be imported. A configuration panel appears as depicted below:

Notice that, at the top left, there is a dropdown list containing pre-configured settings for some of the more common dive computers and software packages encountered by divers. If the CSV file being imported originated from any of these pre-configured items, then select it. Otherwise use the Manual Import option. The configuration panel also has dropdown lists for the specification of the appropriate field separator (Tab, comma or semicolon), the date format used in the CSV file, the time units (seconds, minutes or minutes:seconds), as well as the unit system (metric or imperial). Selecting the appropriate options among these is critical for the successful import of the data.

The last remaining task is to ensure that all the data columns have the appropriate column headings. The top blue row of the data table contains the column headings found in the CSV data file. The blue row of balloons immediately above these contains the names understood by Subsurface. These balloons can be moved using a drag-and-drop action. For instance, Subsurface expects the column heading for Dive number (" # ") to be "Dive # ". If the column heading that Subsurface expects is not in the blue row, then drag the appropriate balloon from the upper area and drop it in the appropriate blue cell at the top of the table. To indicate the correct column for "Dive #", drag the ballooned item labelled "Dive # " and drop it in the blue cell immediately above the white cell containing " # ". This is depicted in the image below.

Continue in this way to ensure that all the column headings in the blue row of cells correspond to the headings listed in the top part of the dialogue. Having completed this task, select the OK button to the bottom right of the dialogue. The data from the CSV file are imported and shown in the Dive List panel.

A Diver’s Introduction to CSV Files

CSV is an abbreviation for a data file format: Comma-Separated Values. It is a file format allowing someone to view or edit the information using a text editor such as Notepad (Windows), gedit (Linux) or TextWrangler (OS/X). The two main advantages of the CSV format is that the data are easily editable as text without any proprietary software and ensuring all information is human-readable, not being obscured by any custom or proprietary attributes that proprietary software insert into files. Because of its simplicity the CSV format is used as an interchange format between many software packages, e.g. between spreadsheet, statistical, graphics, database and diving software. Within Subsurface, CSV files can also be used to import information from other sources such as spreadsheet-based dive logs and even from some dive computers.

CSV files can be created or edited with a normal text editor. The most important attribute of a CSV file is the field separator, the character used to separate fields within a single line. The field separator is frequently a comma, a colon, a SPACE character or a TAB character. When exporting data from spreadsheet software, the field separator needs to be specified in order to create the CSV file. CSV files are normally organised into a single line that provides the headers (or field names) of the data columns, followed by the data, one record per line. Note that each field name may comprise more than one word separated by spaces; for instance Dive site, below. Here is an example of dive information for four dives using a comma as a field separator:

Dive site,Dive date,Time,Dive_duration, Dive_depth,Dive buddy
Illovo Beach,2012-11-23,10:45,46:15,18.4,John Smith
Key Largo,2012-11-24,09:12,34:15,20.4,Jason McDonald
Wismar Baltic,2012-12-01,10:13,35:27,15.4,Dieter Albrecht
Pulau Weh,2012-12-20,09:46,55:56,38.6,Karaeng Bontonompo

The above data are not easily read by a human. Here is the same information in TAB-delimited format:

Dive site       Dive date       Time    Dive_duration   Dive_depth      Dive buddy
Illovo Beach    2012-11-23      10:45   46:15   18.4    John Smith
Key Largo       2012-11-24      09:12   34:15   20.4    Jason McDonald
Wismar Baltic   2012-12-01      10:13   35:27   15.4    Dieter Albrecht
Pulau Weh       2012-12-20      09:46   55:56   38.6    Karaeng Bontonompo

It is clear why many people prefer the TAB-delimited format to the comma-delimited format. The disadvantage is that one cannot see the TAB characters. For instance, the space between Dive and date in the top line may be a SPACE character or a TAB character (in this case it is a SPACE character: the tabs are before and after Dive date). If the field names in the first line are long, the alignment with data in the other lines cannot be maintained. Here is a highly simplified and shortened TAB-delimited example of a CSV dive log from an APD closed-circuit rebreather (CCR) dive computer:

Dive Time (s)   Depth (m)       pO₂ - Setpoint (Bar)  pO₂ - C1 Cell 1 (Bar) Ambient temp. (Celsius)
0       0.0     0.70    0.81    13.1
0       1.2     0.70    0.71    13.1
0       0.0     0.70    0.71    13.1
0       1.2     0.70    0.71    13.2
0       1.2     0.70    0.71    13.1
10      1.6     0.70    0.72    12.7
20      1.6     0.70    0.71    12.6
30      1.7     0.70    0.71    12.6
40      1.8     0.70    0.68    12.5

When a CSV file is selected for import, Subsurface displays the column headers as well as some of the data in the first few lines of the CSV file, making it much easier to work with CSV files. CSV files can therefore be used in many contexts for importing data into a Subsurface dive log. Knowledge of a few basic things about the content of the CSV file allows a smooth import of the dives into Subsurface.

The CSV import has a couple of caveats. One should avoid some special characters like ampersand (&), less than (<), greater than (>) and double quotes (") as part of the numbers or text within a cell. The file should use UTF-8 character set, if using non-ASCII characters. Also the size of the CSV file might cause problems. Importing 100 dives at a time (CSV dive details) works, but larger files might exceed the limits of the parser used. When encountering problems with CSV imports, first try with a smaller file to make sure everything works.

5.4. Importing GPS coordinates with the Subsurface Companion App for mobile phones

Using the Subsurface Companion App on an Android device or iPhone with GPS, the coordinates for the diving location can be automatically passed to the Subsurface dive log. The Companion App stores the dive locations on a dedicated Internet file server. Subsurface, in turn, can collect the localities from the file server.

To do this:

5.4.1. Create a Companion App account

Register on the Subsurface companion web page. A confirmation email with instructions and a personal DIVERID will be sent, a long number that gives access to the file server and Companion App capabilities.
Download the app from Google Play Store or from F-Droid.

5.4.2. Using the Subsurface companion app on an Android smartphone

On first use the app has three options:

Create a new account. Equivalent to registering in Subsurface companion page using an Internet browser. One can request a DIVERID using this option, but this is supplied via email and followed up by interaction with the Subsurface companion web page in order to activate the account.
Retrieve an account. If users forgot their DIVERID they will receive an email to recover the number.
Use an existing account. Users are prompted for their DIVERID. The app saves this DIVERID and does not ask for it again unless one uses the Disconnect menu option (see below).

In the Subsurface main program, the DIVERID should also be entered on the Default Preferences panel, obtained by selecting File → Preferences → Defaults from the main menu in Subsurface itself. This facilitates synchronisation between Subsurface and the Companion App.

Creating new dive locations

Now one is ready to get a dive position and send it to the server. The Android display will look like the left hand image (A) below, but without any dives.

Touch the "+" icon on the top right to add a new dive site, a menu will be showed with 3 options:

Current: A prompt for a place name (or a request to activate the GPS if it is turned off) will be displayed, after which the current location is saved.
Use Map: This option allows the user to fix a position by searching a world map. A world map is shown (see B below) on which one should indicate the desired position with a long press on the touch sensitive screen (if the marked location is erroneous, simply indicate a new location) and select the check symbol in the upper right. A dialog is shown allowing to enter the name of the dive location and the date-time of the dive (see C below). In order to import this dive location in Subsurface it’s advisable to set the time to agree with the time of that dive on the dive computer.

FIGURE: Companion App, add location using map

Import local GPX file: The android device searches for .gpx files and located archives will be shown. The selected .gpx file is opened and the stored locations shown. Now one needs to select the appropriate locations, then select the tab in the upper right, after which the locations will be sent to the web service and added to the list on the Android device.

Dive lists of dive locations

The main screen shows a list of dive locations, each with a name, date and time (see A below). Some locations may have an arrow-up icon over the selection box to the left indicating that they require upload to the server. One can select individual dive locations from the list. A selected location has a check mark in the selection box on the left. Group operations (such as Delete or Send) are performed on several locations that are selected.

Dive locations in this list can be viewed in two ways: a list of locations or a map indicating the dive locations. The display mode (List or Map) is changed by selecting Dives at the top left of the screen (see A below) and then selecting the display mode. The display mode can be changed either from the list of locations or from the map (see B below). If one selects a location (on the list or on the map), an editing panel opens (see C below) where the dive description or other details may be changed.

When one selects a dive (not selecting the check box), the name given to it, date/time and GPS coordinates will be shown, with two options at the top of the screen:

Edit (pencil): Change the text name or other characteristics of the dive location.
Maps: Display a map showing the dive location.

After editing and saving a dive location (see C above), one needs to upload it to the web service, as explained below.

Uploading dive locations

There are several ways to send locations to the server. The easiest is by simply selecting the locations (See A below) and then touching the right arrow at the top right of the screen.

Users must be careful, as the trash icon on the right means exactly what it should; it deletes the selected dive location(s).

FIGURE: Screen shots (A-B) of companion app

After a dive trip using the Companion App, all dive locations are ready to be downloaded to a Subsurface dive log (see below).

Settings on the Companion App

Selecting the Settings menu option results in the right hand image above (B).

Server and account

Web-service URL. This is predefined (http://api.hohndel.org/)
User ID. The DIVERID obtained by registering as described above. The easiest way to obtain it is simply to copy and paste from the confirmation email but, of course, users can also type this information.

Synchronisation

Synchronize on startup. If selected, dive locations in the Android device and those on the web service synchronise each time the app is started.
Upload new dives. If selected, each time the user adds a dive location it is automatically sent to the server.

Background service

Instead of entering a unique dive location, users can leave the service running in the background of their Android device, allowing the continuous collection of GPS locations.

The settings below define the behaviour of the service:

Min duration. In minutes. The app will try to get a location every X minutes until stopped by the user.
Min distance. In meters. Minimum distance between two locations.
Name template. The name the app will use when saving the locations.

How does the background service work? Assuming the user sets 5 minutes and 50 meters in the settings above, the app will start by recording a location at the current location, followed by another one at every 5 minutes or every time one moves 50 m from previous location. If subsequent locations are within a radius of 50 meters from the previous one, a new location is not saved. If the user is not moving, only one location is saved, but if the user is moving, a trace of the route is obtained by saving a location every 50 meters.

Other

Mailing List. The mail box for Subsurface. Users can send an email to the Subsurface mailing list.
Subsurface website. A link to the URL of Subsurface web
Version. Displays the current version of the Companion App.

Search

Search the saved dive locations by name or by date and time.

Start service

Initiates the background service following the previously defined settings.

Disconnect

This is a badly named option that disconnects the app from the server by resetting the user ID in the app, showing the first screen where an account can be created, retrieve the ID for an existing account or use the users own ID. The disconnect option is useful if a user’s Android device was used to download the dive locations of another registered diver.

Send all locations

This option sends all locations stored in the Android device to the server.

5.4.3. Using the Subsurface companion app on an iPhone to record dive locations

The iPhone interface is quite simple. One needs to type the user ID (obtained during registration) into the space reserved for it, then select "Dive in" (see left part of the image below) and start collecting dive location information.

FIGURE: Using iPhone companion application

Dives can be added automatically or manually. In manual mode, a dive location or waypoint is added to the GPS input stream. In automatic mode, a continuous path of GPS locations is created from which, much later, after import, subsurface can select the appropriate GPS locations based on the times of dives. The default mode for the iphone is automatic. When one adds a dive, the location service is started automatically and a red bar appears at the bottom of the screen. After the dive one can click on the red bar to end the location service. While the location service is running one can only add dives using the manual mechanism.

One can edit the site name afterwards by selecting the dive from the dive list and clicking on the site name. There are no other editable fields. The dive list is automatically uploaded from the iPhone to the webservice and there is not an option to trigger upload manually.

5.4.4. Downloading dive locations to the Subsurface divelog

Download dive(s) from a dive computer or enter them manually into Subsurface before obtaining the GPS coordinates from the server. The download dialog can be reached via Ctrl+G or from the Subsurface Main Menu Import → Import GPS data from Subsurface Service, resulting in the image on the left (A), below. On first use the DIVERID text box is blank. Provide a DIVERID, then select the Download button to initiate the download process, after which the screen on the right (B) below appears:

FIGURE: Downloading Companion app GPS data

Note that the Apply button is now active. By clicking on it, users can update the locations of the newly entered or uploaded dives in Subsurface which applies the coordinates and names entered on the app for all the new dives that match the date-times of the uploaded GPS localities. If one has entered the name of the dive location in Subsurface before downloading the GPS coordinates, this name will take precedence over downloaded one.

Since Subsurface matches GPS locations from the Android device and dive information from the dive computer based on date-time data, automatic assignment of GPS data to dives is dependent on agreement of the date-time information between these two devices. Although Subsurface has a wide range tolerance, it may be unable to identify the appropriate dive if there is a large difference between the time in the dive computer and that of the Android device, resulting in no updates.

Similar date-times may not always be possible and there may be many reasons for this (e.g. time zones), or Subsurface may be unable to decide which is the correct position for a dive (e.g. on repetitive dives while running background service there may be several locations that would be included in the time range that fit not only the first dive, but one or more subsequent dives as well). A workaround for this situation to manually edit the date-time of a dive in the Subsurface Dive List before downloading the GPS data and then to change the date-time back again after downloading GPS data.

TIPS:

Background service, being a very powerful tool, may fill the location list with many unnecessary locations not corresponding to the exact dive point but reflecting the boat’s route. Currently these locations are difficult to delete from the server. In some situations it is therefore prudent to clean up the list on the Android device before sending the dive points to the web server by simply deleting the inappropriate locations. This might be necessary, for instance, if one wants to keep the location list clear to see dives in the web service map display (see above).
It may also make sense to give informative names to the locations sent to the web server, or at least to use an informative name in the Name Template setting while running the background service, especially on a dive trip with many dives and dive locations.

5.5. Adding photographs to dives

Many (if not most) divers take a camera with them and take photographs during a dive. One would like to associate each photograph with a specific dive. Subsurface allows one to load photos into a dive. Photos are superimposed on the dive profile, from where they can be viewed.

5.5.1. Loading photos and getting synchronisation between dive computer and camera

Left-lick on a dive or on a group of dives on the dive list. Then right-click on this dive or group of dives and choose the option Load Images:

The system file browser appears. Select the folder and photographs that need to be loaded into Subsurface and click the Open button.

This brings up the time synchronisation dialog, shown below. The critical problem is that the time synchronisation is not perfect between the dive computer used during a dive, and the camera used during that same dive. These two devices often differ by several minutes. If Subsurface can achieve synchronisation, then the exact times of photographs can be used to position photographs on the dive profile.

Subsurface achieves this synchronisation in three ways:

Pro-actively: Before the dive, ensure synchronisation of the dive computer time settings with the time settings of the camera by changing the date-time settings on one or both of these devices.
Manually: If the user wrote down the exact camera time at the start of a dive, the difference in time between the two devices can be determined. Actually, as long as the device settings for time has not been changed in either device, one could write down the times of both devices after the dive or even at the end of the day. One can then manually set the time difference in the Time shift dialog. Towards the top of the dialog is a time setting tool immediately under the heading Shift times of image(s) by, evident in figure A below. If the camera time is 7 minutes later than that of the dive computer, set the time setting tool to a value of 00:07. Select either the earlier or later radio button. In the above example, the earlier option is appropriate, since the photos need to be shifted 7 minutes earlier (camera is 7 minutes ahead of dive computer). Ignore any "AM" or "PM" suffix in that tool. Click the OK button and synchronisation is achieved.

By photograph: There is a very slick way of achieving synchronisation. If one takes a photograph of the face of the dive computer showing the time, then Subsurface can obtain the exact time the photograph was taken, using the metadata that the camera stores within each photo. In order to do this, use the bottom half of the Time shift dialog. If one uses the bottom part, the top part of the dialog is ignored. Click on the horizontal bar entitled "Select image of dive computer showing time. This brings up a file browser with which one can select the photograph of the dive computer time. Select the photograph using the file browser and click on OK. This photograph of the dive computer appears in the bottom panel of the Shift times dialog. Now Subsurface knows exactly when the photograph has been taken. Now set the date-time dialog to the left of the photo so that this tool reflects the date and time of the dive computer in the photo. When the date-time tool has been set, Subsurface knows exactly what the time difference between camera and dive computer is, and synchronisation is achieved. Image B above shows a photograph of the face of the dive computer and with the date-time tool set to the date-time.

If the timestamp of a photograph is more than 30 minutes before or after the dive, it is not placed on the dive profile.

5.5.2. Viewing the photos

After the images have been loaded, they appear in two places:

the Photos tab of the Notes panel.
as tiny icons (stubs) on the dive profile at the appropriate positions reflecting the time each photograph was taken. In order to view the photos on the dive profile, activate the show-photos button in the tool bar to the left of the dive profile:

This results in a profile display as in the image below:

If one hovers with the mouse over any of the photo icons, then a thumbnail photo is shown of the appropriate photo. See the image below:

Clicking on the thumbnail brings up a full size photo overlaid on the Subsurface window. This allows good viewing of the photographs that have been added (see the image below). Note that the thumbnail has a small dustbin icon in the bottom right hand corner (see image above). If one selects the dustbin, the image is removed from the dive. Therefore some care is required when clicking on a thumbnail. Images can also be deleted using the Photos tab (see text below).

5.5.3. The Photos tab

Photographs associated with a dive are shown as thumbnails in the Photos tab of the Notes panel. Photos taken in rapid succession during a dive (therefore sometimes with large overlap on the dive profile) can easily be accessed in the Photos tab. This tab serves as a tool for individually accessing the photos of a dive, while the stubs on the dive profile give an indication of when during a dive a photo was taken. By single-clicking on a thumbnail in the Photos panel, a photo is selected. By double-clicking a thumbnail, the full-sized image is shown, overlaying the Subsurface window. A photo can be deleted from the Photos panel by selecting it (single-click) and then by pressing the Del key on the keyboard. This removes the photo both from the Photos tab as well as the dive profile.

5.5.4. Photos on an external hard disk

Most underwater photographers store their photos on an external drive. If such a drive can be mapped by the operating system (almost always the case) the photos can be directly accessed by Subsurface. This facilitates the interaction between Subsurface and an external repository of photos. When associating a dive profile with photos from an external drive, the normal procedure of selection and synchronisation (see text above) is used. However, after the external drive has been disconnected, Subsurface cannot access these photos any more. If the display of photos is activated (using the toolbox to the left of the Dive Profile), the program only shows a small white dot where each photo should be on the dive profile. In addition the Photos tab only shows the file names of the photos. This is normal behaviour. If, later, the external drive with the photos is connected again, the photos can be seen in the normal way.

5.5.5. Moving photographs among directories, hard disks or computers

After a photograph has been loaded into Subsurface and associated with a specific dive, the directory where the photo lies is stored, allowing Subsurface to find the photograph when the dive is opened again. If the photo or the whole photo collection is moved to another drive or to a different machine, it is unlikely that the directory structure will remain identical to that of the original uploaded photo. When this happens, Subsurface looks for the photos at their original location before they were moved, cannot find them and therefore cannot display them. Because, after moving photos, large numbers of photos may need to be deleted and re-imported from the new location, Subsurface has a mechanism that eases the process of updating the directory information for each photo: automatic updates using fingerprints.

When a photo is loaded into Subsurface, a fingerprint for the image is calculated and stored with the other reference information for that photo. After moving a photo collection (that has already been loaded into Subsurface) to a different directory, disk or computer, Subsurface can perform the following steps:

look through a particular directory (and all its subdirectories recursively) where photos have been moved to,
calculate fingerprints for all photos in this directory, and
if there is a match between a calculated fingerprint and the one originally calculated when a photo was loaded into Subsurface (even if the original file name has changed), to automatically update the directory information so that Subsurface can find the photo in the new moved directory.

This is achieved by selecting from the Main Menu: File → Find moved images. This brings up a window within which the NEW directory of the photos needs to be specified. Select the appropriate directory and click the Scan button towards the bottom right of the panel. The process may require several minutes to complete, after which Subsurface will show the appropriate photographs when a particular dive is opened.

Upgrading existing photo collections without fingerprints

Subsurface automatically calculates fingerprints for all images that can be accessed by Subsurface. When manipulating images, ensure that all the images associated with the dive log can be accessed by Subsurface.

Subsurface automatically checks and, if necessary, updates the fingerprints associated with a single dive if: - The images associated with that dive are visible as thumbnails on the Dive Profile. - One edits anything in the Notes tab panel and save the edits by selecting Apply changes.

5.6. Logging special types of dives

5.6.1. Multicylinder dives

Subsurface easily handles dives involving more than one cylinder. Multi-cylinder diving usually happens (a) if a diver does not have enough gas for the complete dive in a single cylinder; (b) if the diver needs more than one gas mixture because of the depth or the decompression needs of the dive. For this reason multi-cylinder dives are often used by technical divers who dive deep or long. As far as Subsurface is concerned, there are only two types of information that need to be provided:

Describe the cylinders used during the dive This is performed in the Equipment tab of the Info panel, as described above. Enter the cylinders one by one, specifying the characteristics of the cylinder and the gas composition within each cylinder.
Record the times at which switches from one cylinder to another was done: This is information provided by some dive computers (provided the diver indicated these changes to the dive computer by pressing specific buttons). If the dive computer does not provide the information, the diver has to record these changes using a different method, e.g. writing it on a slate.
Record the cylinder changes on the dive profile: If the latter option was followed, the diver needs to indicate the gas change event by right-clicking at the appropriate point in time on the Dive Profile panel and indicating the cylinder to which the change was made. After right-clicking, follow the context menu to "Add gas change" and select the appropriate cylinder from those defined during the first step, above (see image below). If the tank bar button in the toolbar has been activated, the cylinder switches are also indicated in the tank bar.

Having performed these tasks, Subsurface indicates the appropriate use of cylinders in the dive profile. Below is a multi-cylinder dive, starting off with EAN28, then changing cylinders to EAN50 after 26 minutes to perform decompression.

5.6.2. Sidemount dives

Sidemount diving is just another form of multi-cylinder diving, often with both or all cylinders having the same gas mixture. Although it is a popular configuration for cave divers, sidemount diving can be performed by recreational divers who have completed the appropriate training. Sidemount dive logging involves, exactly as with multi-cylinder dives, above, three steps:

During the dive, record cylinder switch events. Since sidemount diving normally involves two cylinders with air or with the same gas mixture, Subsurface distinguishes among these different cylinders. In contrast, many dive computers that allow gas switching only distinguish among different gases used, not among different cylinders used. This means that when sidemount dives are downloaded from these dive computers, the events of switching between cylinders with the same gas are not downloaded. This may mean that one may have to keep a written log of cylinder switch times using a slate, or (if the dive computer has this facility) marking each cylinder switch with a bookmark that can be retrieved later. Returning from a dive with the times of cylinder changes is the only tricky part of logging sidemount dives.
Within Subsurface describe the cylinders used during the dive. The diver needs to provide the specifications of the different cylinders, using the Equipment tab of the Info Panel (see image below where two 12 litre cylinder were used).
Indicate cylinder change events on the Subsurface dive profile. Once the dive log has been imported from a dive computer into Subsurface, the cylinder switch events need to be indicated on the dive profile. Cylinder changes are recorded by right-clicking at the appropriate point on the dive profile and then selecting Add gas change. A list of the appropriate cylinders is shown with the currently used cylinder greyed out. In the image below Tank 1 is greyed out, leaving only Tank 2 to be selected. Select the appropriate cylinder. The cylinder change is then indicated on the dive profile with a cylinder symbol. If the Tank Bar is activated using the toolbar to the left of the profile, then the cylinder change is also indicated on the Tank Bar (see image below). After all the cylinder change events have been recorded on the dive profile, the correct cylinder pressures for both cylinders are shown on the dive profile, as in the image below.

This section gives an example of the versatility of Subsurface as a dive logging tool.

5.6.3. Semi-closed circuit rebreather (SCR) dives

Passive semi-closed rebreathers (pSCR) comprise a technical advance in diving equipment that recirculates the breathing gas that a diver breathes, while removing carbon dioxide from the exhaled gas. While a small amount (typically a tenth) of the exhaled breathing gas is released into the water, a small amount of fresh gas is released from the back gas cylinder (typically containing nitrox). A diver, using a single cylinder of breathing gas can therefore dive for much longer periods than using a recreational open-circuit configuration. With pSCR equipment, a very small amount of breathing gas is released every time the breather inhales. With active SCR (aSCR) equipment, in contrast, a small amount of breathing gas is released continuously from the back cylinder.

To log pSCR dives, no special procedures are required, just the normal steps outlined above:

Select pSCR in the Dive Mode dropdown list on the Info panel.
pSCR diving often involves gas changes, requiring an additional cylinder. Define all the appropriate cylinders as described above and indicate the cylinder/gas changes as described above in the section on multicylinder dives.

If a pSCR Dive Mode has been selected, the dive ceiling for pSCR dives is adjusted for the oxygen drop across the mouthpiece which often requires longer decompression periods. Below is a dive profile of a pSCR dive using EAN36 on the back cylinder and oxygen for decompression. Note that this dive lasted over two hours.

5.6.4. Closed circuit rebreather (CCR) dives

Closed system rebreathers use advanced technology to recirculate gas that has been breathed while doing two things to maintain a breathable oxygen concentration: a) remove carbon dioxide from the gas that has been exhaled b) regulate the oxygen concentration to remain within safe diving limits. The CCR interface of Subsurface is currently experimental and under active development. Subsurface currently supports Poseidon MkVI and APD Discovery/Evolution dive computers. In contrast to a conventional recreational dive computer, a CCR system computer does not allow the download of a log containing multiple dives. Rather, each dive is stored independently. This means that Subsurface cannot download a dive log directly from a CCR dive computer, but that it imports CCR dive logs in the same way that it imports dive log data from other digital databases: one dive at a time.

Import a CCR dive

See the section dealing with Importing dive information from other digital sources. From the main menu of Subsurface, select Import → Import log files to bring up the universal import dialogue. As explained in that section, the bottom right hand of the import dialogue contains a dropdown list (labled Filter:) of appropriate devices that currently includes(Poseidon) MkVI or APD log viewer files (import for other CCR equipment is under active development). Having selected the appropriate CCR format and the directory where the original dive logs have been stored from the CCR dive computer, one can select a particular dive log file (in the case of the MkVI it is a file with a .txt extension). After selecting the appropriate dive log, activate the Open button at the bottom right hand of the universal import dialogue. The selected dive is imported to the Subsurface dive list.

Displayed information for a CCR dive

Partial pressures of gases: The graph of oxygen partial pressure shows the information from the oxygen sensors of the CCR equipment. In contrast to recreational equipment (where pO₂ values are calculated based on gas composition and dive depth), CCR equipment provide actual measurements of pO₂, derived from oxygen sensors. In this case the graph for oxygen partial pressure should be fairly flat, reflecting the setpoint settings during the dive. The mean pO₂ is NOT the mean oxygen partial pressure as given by the CCR equipment, but a value calculated by Subsurface as follows:

For TWO O₂ sensors the mean value of the two sensors are given.
For THREE-sensor systems (e.g. APD), the mean value is also used. However differences of more than 0,1 bar in the simultaneous readings of different sensors are treated as spurious. If one of the three sensors provides spurious data, it is ignored.
If no sensor data are available, the pO₂ value is assumed to be equal to the setpoint.

The mean pO₂ of the sensors is indicated with a green line,

The oxygen setpoint values as well as the readings from the individual oxygen sensors can be shown. The display of additional CCR information is turned on by checking the appropriate checkboxes in the Preferences panel (accessible by selecting File → Preferences → Graph). This part of the Preferences panel is shown in the image below, representing two checkboxes that modify the display of pO₂ when the appropriate toolbar button on the Dive Profile has been activated.

Checking any of these check boxes allows the display of additional oxygen-related information whenever the pO₂ toolbar button on the Profile panel is activated. The first checkbox allows the display of setpoint information. This is a red line superimposed on the green oxygen partial pressure graph and allows a comparison of the mean measured oxygen partial pressure and the setpoint values, as shown below.

The second checkbox allows the display of the data from each individual oxygen sensor of the CCR equipment. The data for each sensor is colour-coded as follows:

Sensor 1: grey
Sensor 2: blue
Sensor 3: brown

The mean oxygen pO₂ is indicated by the green line. This allows the direct comparison of data from each of the oxygen sensors, useful for detecting abnormally low or erratic readings from a particular sensor.

The setpoint data can be overlaid on the oxygen sensor data by activating both of the above check boxes. Partial pressures for nitrogen (and helium, if applicable) are shown in the usual way as for open circuit dives.

Events: Several events are logged, e.g. switching the mouthpiece to open circuit. These events are indicated by yellow triangles and, if one hovers over a triangle, a description of that event is given as the bottom line in the Information Box.

Cylinder pressures: Some CCR dive computers like the Poseidon MkVI record the pressures of the oxygen and diluent cylinders. The pressures of these two cylinders are shown as green lines overlapping the depth profile. In addition, start and end pressures for both oxygen and diluent cylinders are shown in the Equipment Tab. Below is a dive profile for a CCR dive, including an overlay of setpoint and oxygen sensor data, as well as the cylinder pressure data. In this case there is good agreement from the readings of the two oxygen sensors.

Equipment-specific information: Equipment-specific information gathered by Subsurface is shown in the Extra data tab. This may include setup information or metadata about the dive.

The deco ceiling calculated by Subsurface is not very accurate because the precise pressure of nitrogen in the loop can usually not be determined from the dive log imported from the CCR equipment. Many CCR dive computers, however, report an internally-calculated deco ceiling that is reported in the dive log, reflecting a more accurate assessment. The display of this ceiling is activated by clicking the appropriate button to the left of the dive profile:

The default colour of the computer-generated deco ceiling is white. However, this can be set to red by checking the appropriate check box after selecting File → Preferences → Graph. Below is a dive profile indicating the dive computer-generated deco ceiling:

FIGURE: CCR computer-generated deco ceiling

More equipment-specific information for downloading CCR dive logs for Poseidon MkVI and APD equipment can be found in Appendix B.

6. Obtaining more information about dives entered into the logbook

6.1. The Info tab (for individual dives)

The Info tab gives some summary information about a particular dive that has been selected in the Dive List. Useful information here includes the surface interval before the dive, the maximum and mean depths of the dive, the gas volume consumed, the surface air consumption (SAC) and the number of oxygen toxicity units (OTU) incurred.

Gas consumption and SAC calculations: Subsurface calculates SAC and Gas consumption taking in account gas incompressibility, particularly at tank pressures above 200 bar, making them more accurate. Users should refer to Appendix F for more information.

6.2. The Extra Data tab (usually for individual dives)

When using a dive computer, it often reports several data items that cannot easily be presented in a standardised way because the nature of the information differs from one dive computer to another. These data often comprise setup information, metadata about a dive, battery levels, no fly times, or gradient factors used during the dive. When possible, this information is presented in the Extra Data tab. Below is an image showing extra data for a dive using a Poseidon rebreather.

6.3. The Stats tab (for groups of dives)

The Stats tab gives summary statistics for more than one dive, assuming that more than one dive has been selected in the Dive List using the standard Ctrl-click or Shift-click of the mouse. If only one dive has been selected, figures pertaining to only that dive are given. This tab shows the number of dives selected, the total amount of dive time in these dives, as well as the minimum, maximum and mean for the dive duration, water temperature and surface air consumption (SAC). It also shows the depth of the shallowest and deepest dives of those selected.

6.4. The Dive Profile

Of all the panels in Subsurface, the Dive Profile contains the most detailed information about each dive. The Dive Profile has a button bar on the left hand side that allows control over several display options. The functions of these buttons are described below. The main item in the Dive Profile is the graph of dive depth as a function of time. In addition to the obvious information of the depth it also shows the ascent and descent rates compared to the recommended speed of going up or down in the water column. This information is given using different colours:

Colour	Descent speed (m/min)	Ascent speed (m/min)
Red	> 30	> 18
Orange	18 - 30	9 - 18
Yellow	9 - 18	4 - 9
Light green	1.5 - 9	1.5 - 4
Dark green	< 1.5	< 1.5

The profile also includes depth readings for the peaks and troughs in the graph. Thus, users should see the depth of the deepest point and other peaks. Mean depth is plotted as a grey line, indicating mean dive depth up to a particular moment during the dive.

In some cases the dive profile does not fill the whole area of the Dive Profile panel. Clicking the Scale button in the toolbar on the left of the dive profile frequently increases the size of the dive profile to fill the area of the panel efficiently.

Water temperature is displayed with its own blue line with temperature values placed adjacent to significant changes.

The dive profile can include graphs of the partial pressures of O₂, N₂, and He during the dive (see figure above) as well as a calculated and dive computer reported deco ceilings (only visible for deep, long, or repetitive dives). Partial pressures of oxygen are indicated in green, those of nitrogen in black, and those of helium in dark red. These partial pressure graphs are shown below the profile data.

Clicking this button allows display of the partial pressure of oxygen during the dive. This is depicted below the dive depth and water temperature graphs.

Clicking this button allows display of the partial pressure of nitrogen during the dive.

Clicking this button allows display of the partial pressure of helium during the dive. This is only of importance to divers using Trimix, Helitrox or similar breathing gasses.

The air consumption graph displays the tank pressure and its change during the dive. The air consumption takes depth into account so that even when manually entering the start and end pressures the graph is not a straight line. Similarly to the depth graph the slope of the tank pressure gives the user information about the momentary SAC rate (Surface Air Consumption) when using an air integrated dive computer. Here the colour coding is not relative to some absolute values but relative to the average normalised air consumption during the dive. So areas that are red or orange indicate times of increased normalized air consumption while dark green reflects times when the diver was using less gas than average.

Clicking on the heart rate button will allow the display of heart rate information during the dive if the dive computer was attached to a heart rate sensor.

It is possible to zoom into the profile graph. This is done either by using the scroll wheel / scroll gesture of your mouse or trackpad. By default Subsurface always shows a profile area large enough for at least 30 minutes and 30m (100ft) – this way short or shallow dives are intuitively recognizable; something that free divers clearly won’t care about.

Measurements of depth or time differences can be achieved by using the ruler button on the left of the dive profile panel. The measurement is done by dragging the red dots to the two points on the dive profile that the user wishes to measure. Information is then given in the horizontal white area underneath the two red dots.

Photographs that have been added to a dive can be shown on the profile by selecting the Show-photo button. The position of a photo on the profile indicates the exact time when this photo was taken. If this button is not active, the photos are hidden.

The profile can also include the dive computer reported ceiling (more precisely, the deepest deco stop that the dive computer calculated for each particular moment in time) as a red overlay on the dive profile. Ascent ceilings arise when a direct ascent to the surface increases the risk of a diver suffering from decompression sickness (DCS) and it is necessary to either ascend slower or to perform decompression stop(s) before ascending to the surface. Not all dive computers record this information and make it available for download; for example all of the Suunto dive computers fail to make this very useful data available to divelog software. Subsurface also calculates ceilings independently, shown as a green overlay on the dive profile. Because of the differences in algorithms used and amount of data available (and other factors taken into consideration at the time of the calculation) it is unlikely that ceilings from dive computers and from Subsurface are the same, even if the same algorithm and gradient factors (see below) are used. It is also quite common that Subsurface calculates a ceiling for non-decompression dives when the dive computer stayed in non-deco mode during the whole dive (represented by the dark green section in the profile at the beginning of this section). This is caused by the fact that Subsurface’s calculations describe the deco obligation at each moment during a dive, while dive computers usually take the upcoming ascent into account. During the ascent some excess nitrogen (and possibly helium) are already breathed off so even though the diver technically encountered a ceiling at depth, the dive still does not require an explicit deco stop. This feature allows dive computers to offer longer non-stop bottom times.

If the dive computer itself calculates a ceiling and makes it available to Subsurface during upload of dives, this can be shown as a red area by checking Dive computer reported ceiling button on the Profile Panel.

If the Calculated ceiling button on the Profile Panel is clicked, then a ceiling, calculated by Subsurface, is shown in green if it exists for a particular dive (A in figure below). This setting can be modified in two ways:

If, in addition, the show all tissues button on the Profile Panel is clicked, the ceiling is shown for the tissue compartments following the Bühlmann model (B in figure below).

If, in addition, the 3m increments button on the Profile Panel is clicked, then the ceiling is indicated in 3 m increments (C in figure below).

By selecting this icon, the different cylinders used during a dive can be represented as a coloured bar at the bottom of the Dive Profile. In general oxygen is represented by a green bar, nitrogen with a yellow bar and helium with a red bar. The image below shows a dive which first uses a trimix cylinder (red and green), followed by a switch to a nitrox cylinder (yellow and green) after 23 minutes. Cylinders with air are shown as a light blue bar.

Display inert gas tissue pressures relative to ambient inert gas pressure (horizontal grey line). Tissue pressures are calculated using the Bühlmann ZH-L16 algorithm and are displayed as lines ranging from green (faster tissues) to blue (slower tissues). The black line, graphed above the ambient pressure, is the maximum allowable tissue supersaturation (pressure limit) derived from the gradient factors specified in the Preferences. For divers involved in planned decompression diving, efficient rates of offgasing are obtained with tissue pressures between the ambient inert gas pressure (grey line) and the pressure limit (black line). This display is a representation of the tissue pressures during the whole dive. In contrast, the Gas Pressure Graph in the Information Box on the Dive Profile is an instantaneous reflection of tissue pressures at the moment in time reflected by the position of the cursor on the dive profile.

Gradient Factor settings strongly affect the calculated ceilings and their depths. For more information about Gradient factors, see the section on Gradient Factor Preference settings. The currently used gradient factors (e.g. GF 35/75) are shown above the depth profile if the appropriate toolbar buttons are activated. N.B.: The indicated gradient factors are NOT the gradient factors in use by the dive computer, but those used by Subsurface to calculate deco obligations during the dive. For more information external to this manual see:

6.5. The Dive Profile context menu

The context menu for the Dive Profile is accessed by right-clicking while the mouse cursor is over the Dive Profile panel. The menu allows the creation of Bookmarks or Gas Change Event markers or manual CCR set-point changes other than the ones that might have been imported from a Dive Computer. Markers are placed against the depth profile line and with the time of the event set by where the mouse cursor was when the right mouse button was initially clicked to bring up the menu. Gas Change events involve a selection of which gas is being switched to, the list of choices being based on the available gases defined in the Equipment Tab. Set-point change events open a dialog allowing to choose the next set-point value. As in the planner, a set-point value of zero indicates the diver is breathing from an open circuit system while any non-zero value indicates the use of a closed circuit rebreather (CCR). By right-clicking while over an existing marker a menu appears, adding options to allow deletion of the marker or to allow all markers of that type to be hidden. Hidden events can be restored to view by selecting Unhide all events from the context menu.

6.6. The Information Box

The Information box displays a large range of information pertaining to the dive profile. Normally the Information Box is located to the top left of the Dive Profile panel. If the mouse points outside of the Dive Profile panel, then only the top line of the Information Box is visible (see left-hand part of figure (A) below). The Information Box can be moved around in the Dive Profile panel by click-dragging it with the mouse so that it is not obstructing important detail. The position of the Information Box is saved and used again during subsequent dive analyses.

The moment the mouse points inside the Dive Profile panel, the information box expands and shows many data items. In this situation, the data reflect the time point along the dive profile indicated by the mouse cursor (see right-hand part of figure (B) above where the Information Box reflects the situation at the position of the cursor [arrow] in that image). Therefore, moving the cursor in the horizontal direction allows the Information Box to show information for any point along the dive profile. In this mode, the Information Box gives extensive statistics about depth, gas and ceiling characteristics of the particular dive. These include: Time period into the dive (indicated by a @), depth, cylinder pressure (P), temperature, ascent/descent rate, surface air consumption (SAC), oxygen partial pressure, maximum operating depth, equivalent air depth (EAD), equivalent narcotic depth (END), equivalent air density depth (EADD), decompression requirements at that instant in time (Deco), time to surface (TTS), the calculated ceiling, as well as the calculated ceiling for several Bühlmann tissue compartments.

The user has control over the display of several statistics, represented as four buttons on the left of the profile panel. These are:

Clicking this button causes the Information Box to display the Maximum Operating Depth (MOD) of the dive, given the gas mixture used. MOD is dependent on the oxygen concentration in the breathing gas. For air (21% oxygen) it is around 57 m if a maximum pO₂ of 1.4 is specified in the Preferences section (select File → Preferences → Graph_ and edit the text box Max pO₂ when showing MOD. Below the MOD there is a markedly increased risk of exposure to the dangers associated with oxygen toxicity.

Clicking this button causes the Information Box to display the No-deco Limit (NDL) or the Total Time to Surface (TTS). NDL is the time duration that a diver can continue with a dive, given the present depth, that does not require decompression (that is, before an ascent ceiling appears). Once one has exceeded the NDL and decompression is required (that is, there is an ascent ceiling above the diver, then TTS gives the number of minutes required before the diver can surface. TTS includes ascent time as well as decompression time.

Clicking this button causes the Information Box to display the Surface Air Consumption (SAC). SAC is an indication of the surface-normalised respiration rate of a diver. The value of SAC is less than the real respiration rate because a diver at 10m uses breathing gas at a rate roughly double that of the equivalent rate at the surface. SAC gives an indication of breathing gas consumption rate independent of the depth of the dive so that the respiratory rates of different dives can be compared. The units for SAC is litres/min or cub ft/min.

Clicking this button displays the Equivalent Air Depth (EAD) for nitrox dives as well as the Equivalent Narcotic Depth (END) for trimix dives. These are numbers of importance to divers who use breathing gases other than air. Their values are dependent on the composition of the breathing gas. The EAD is the depth of a hypothetical air dive that has the same partial pressure of nitrogen as the current depth of the nitrox dive at hand. A nitrox dive leads to the same decompression obligation as an air dive to the depth equalling the EAD. The END is the depth of a hypothetical air dive that has the same sum of partial pressures of the narcotic gases nitrogen and oxygen as the current trimix dive. A trimix diver can expect the same narcotic effect as a diver breathing air diving at a depth equalling the END.

Figure (B) above shows an information box with a nearly complete set of data.

6.6.1. The Gas Pressure Bar Graph

On the left of the Information Box is a vertical bar graph indicating the pressures of the nitrogen (and other inert gases, e.g. helium, if applicable) that the diver was inhaling at a particular instant during the dive, indicated by the position of the cursor on the Dive Profile. The drawing on the left below indicates the meaning of the different parts of the Gas Pressure Bar Graph.

The light green area indicates the total gas, with the top margin of the light green area indicating the total gas pressure inhaled by the diver and measured from the bottom of the graph to the top of the light green area. This pressure has a relative value in the graph and does not indicate absolute pressure.
The horizontal black line underneath the light green margin indicates the equilibrium pressure of the inert gases inhaled by the diver, usually nitrogen. In the case of trimix, it is the pressures of nitrogen and helium combined. In this example, the user is diving with EAN32, so the inert gas pressure is 68% of the distance from the bottom of the graph to the total gas pressure value.
The dark green area at the bottom of the graph represents the pressures of inert gas in each of the 16 tissue compartments, following the Bühlmann algorithm, the fast tissues being on the left hand side.
The top black horizontal line indicates the gradient factor that applies to the depth of the diver at the particular point on the Dive Profile. The gradient factor shown is an interpolation between the GFLow and GFHigh values specified in the Graph tab of the Preferences Panel of Subsurface.
The bottom margin of the red area in the graph indicates the Bühlman-derived M-value, that is the pressure value of inert gases at which bubble formation is expected to be severe, resulting in decompression sickness.

These five values are indicated on the left in the graph above. The way the Gas Pressure Bar Graph changes during a dive is indicated on the right hand side of the above figure for a diver using EAN32.

Graph A indicates the situation at the start of a dive with diver at the surface. The pressures in all the tissue compartments are still at the equilibrium pressure because no diving has taken place.
Graph B indicates the situation after a descent to 30 meters. Few of the tissue compartments have had time to respond to the descent, their gas pressures being far below the equilibrium gas pressure.
Graph C represents the pressures after 30 minutes at 30 m. The fast compartments have attained equilibrium (i.e. they have reached the hight of the black line indicating the equilibrium pressure). The slower compartments (towards the right) have not reached equilibrium and are in the process of slowly increasing in pressure.
Graph D shows the pressures after ascent to a depth of 4.5 meters. Since, during ascent, the total inhaled gas pressure has decreased strongly from 4 bar to 1.45 bar, the pressures in the different tissue compartments now exceed that of the total gas pressure and approaches the gradient factor value (i.e. the top black horizontal line). Further ascent will result in exceeding the gradient factor value (GFHigh), endangering the diver.
Graph E indicates the situation after remaining at 4.5 meters for 10 minutes. The fast compartments have decreased in pressure. As expected, the pressures in the slow compartments have not changed much. The pressures in the fast compartments do not approach the GFHigh value any more and the diver is safer than in the situation indicated in graph D.

7. Organising the logbook (Manipulating groups of dives)

7.1. The Dive List context menu

Several actions on either a single dive or a group of dives can be performed using the Dive List Context Menu, found by selecting either a single dive or a group of dives and then right-clicking.

The context menu is used in many manipulations described below.

7.1.1. Customising the columns showed in the Dive List panel

The default information in the Dive List includes, for each dive, Dive_number, Date, Rating, Dive_depth, Dive_duration and Dive_location. This information can be controlled and changed by right-clicking on the header bar of the Dive List. For instance, a right-click on the Date header brings up a list of items that can be shown in the dive list (see above). Select an item to be shown in the Dive List or to be deleted from the dive list (reflected by the check symbols) and the list is immediately updated. Preferences for information shown in the Dive List are saved and used when Subsurface is re-opened.

7.2. Renumbering the dives

Dives are normally numbered incrementally from non-recent dives (low sequence numbers) to recent dives (having the highest sequence numbers). The numbering of the dives is not always consistent. For instance, when non-recent dives are added to the dive list the numbering does not automatically follow on because of the dives that are more recent in date/time than the newly-added dive with an older date/time. Therefore, one may sometimes need to renumber the dives. This is performed by selecting (from the Main Menu) Log → Renumber. Users are given a choice with respect to the lowest sequence number to be used. Completing this operation results in new sequence numbers (based on date/time) for the dives in the Dive List panel.

One can also renumber a few selected dives in the dive list. Select the dives that need renumbering. Right-click on the selected list and use the Dive List Context Menu to perform the renumbering. A popup window appears requiring the user to specify the starting number for the renumbering process.

7.3. Grouping dives into trips and manipulating trips

For regular divers, the dive list can rapidly become very long. Subsurface can group dives into trips. It performs this by grouping dives that have date/times not separated in time by more than two days, thus creating a single heading for each diving trip represented in the dive log. Below is an ungrouped dive list (A, on the left) as well as the corresponding grouped dive list comprising five dive trips (B, on the right):

Grouping into trips allows a rapid way of accessing individual dives without having to scan a long lists of dives. In order to group the dives in a dive list, (from the Main Menu) select Log → Autogroup. The Dive List panel now shows only the titles for the trips.

7.3.1. Editing the title and associated information for a particular trip

Normally, in the dive list, minimal information is included in the trip title. More information about a trip can be added by selecting its trip title from the Dive List. This shows a Trip Notes tab in the Notes panel. Here one can add or edit information about the date/time, the trip location and any other general comments about the trip as a whole (e.g. the dive company that was dived with, the general weather and surface conditions during the trip, etc.). After entering this information, select Save from the buttons at the top right of the Trip Notes tab. The trip title in the Dive List panel should now reflect the edited information.

7.3.2. Viewing the dives during a particular trip

Once the dives have been grouped into trips, users can expand one or more trips by clicking the arrow-head on the left of each trip title. This expands the selected trip, revealing the individual dives performed during the trip.

7.3.3. Collapsing or expanding dive information for different trips

After selecting a particular trip in the dive list, the context menu allows several possibilities to expand or collapse dives within trips. This includes expanding all trips and collapsing all trips.

7.3.4. Merging dives from more than one trip into a single trip

After selecting a trip title, the context menu allows the merging of trips by either merging the selected trip with the trip below or with the trip above. (Merge trip with trip below; Merge trip with trip above)

7.3.5. Splitting a single trip into more than one trip

If a trip includes ten dives, the user can split this trip into two trips (trip 1: top 4 dives; trip 2: bottom 6 dives) by selecting and right-clicking the top four dives. The resulting context menu allows the user to create a new trip by choosing the option Create new trip above. The top four dives are then grouped into a separate trip. The figures below shows the selection and context menu on the left (A) and the completed action on the right (B):

7.4. Manipulating single dives

7.4.1. Delete a dive from the dive log

Dives can be permanently deleted from the dive log by selecting and right-clicking them to bring up the context menu, and then selecting Delete dive(s). Typically this would apply to a case where a user wishes to delete workshop calibration dives of the dive computer or dives of extremely short duration.

7.4.2. Unlink a dive from a trip

Users can unlink dives from the trip to which they belong. In order to do this, select and right-click the relevant dives to bring up the context menu. Then select the option Remove dive(s) from trip. The dive(s) now appear immediately above or below the trip to which they belonged, depending on the date and time of the unlinked dive.

7.4.3. Add a dive to the trip immediately above

Selected dives can be moved from the trip to which they belong and placed within a separate trip. To do this, select and right-click the dive(s) to bring up the context menu, and then select Create new trip above.

7.4.4. Shift the start time of dive(s)

Sometimes it is necessary to adjust the start time of a dive. This may apply to situations where dives are performed in different time zones or when the dive computer has an erroneous time. In order to do this, select and right-click the dive(s) to be adjusted. This action brings up the context menu on which the Shift times option should be selected. User must then specify the time (in hours and minutes) by which the dives should be adjusted and click on the option indicating whether the time adjustment should be ealier or later.

7.4.5. Merge dives into a single dive

Sometimes a dive is briefly interrupted, e.g. if a diver returns to the surface for a few minutes, resulting in two or more dives being recorded by the dive computer and appearing as different dives in the Dive List panel. Users can merge these dives onto a single dive by selecting the appropriate dives, right-clicking them to bring up the context menu and then selecting Merge selected dives. It may be necessary to edit the dive information in the Notes panel to reflect events or conditions that apply to the merged dive. The figure below shows the depth profile of two dives that were merged:

7.4.6. Undo dive manipulations

Important actions on dives or trips, described above, can be undone or redone. This includes: delete dives, merge dives, renumber dives and shift dive times. To do this after performing any of these actions, from the Main Menu select Edit. This brings up the possibility to Undo or Redo an action.

7.5. Filtering the dive list

The dives in the Dive List panel can be filtered, that is, one can select only some of the dives based on their attributes, e.g. dive tags, dive site, dive master, buddy or protective clothing. For instance, filtering allows one to list the deep dives at a particular dive site, or otherwise the cave dives with a particular buddy.

To open the filter, select Log → Filter divelist from the main menu. This opens the Filter Panel at the top of the Subsurface window. Three icons are located at the top right hand of the filter panel (see image below). The Filter Panel can be reset (i.e. all current filters cleared) by selecting the yellow angled arrow. The Filter Panel may also be minimised by selecting the green up-arrow". When minimised, only these three icons are shown. The panel can be maximised by clicking the icon that minimised the panel. The filter may also be reset and closed by selecting the *red button with the white cross.

Four filter criteria may be used to filter the dive list: dive tags, person (buddy / dive master), dive site and dive suit, each of which is represented by a check list with check boxes. Above each check list is a second-level filter tool, allowing the listing of only some of the attributes within that check list. For instance, typing "ca" in the filter textbox above the tags check list results in the tags check list being reduced to "cave" and "cavern". Filtering of the check list enables the rapid finding of search terms for filtering the dive list.

To activate filtering of the dive list, check at least one check box in one of the four check lists. The dive list is then shortened to include only the dives that pertain to the criteria specified in the check lists. The four check lists work as a filter with AND operators, Subsurface filters therefore for cave as a tag AND Joe Smith as a buddy; but the filters within a category are inclusive - filtering for cave and boat shows those dives that have either one OR both of these tags.

8. Exporting the dive log or parts of the dive log

There are two routes for the export of dive information from Subsurface:

Export dive information to Facebook
Export dive information to other destinations or formats

8.1. Exporting dive information to Facebook

Export of dives to Facebook is handled differently from other types of export because a connection to Facebook is required, needing a Facebook userID and password. If, from the Main Menu, one selects File → Preferences → Facebook, a login screen is presented (image A to the left, below). Provide a Facebook userID and password. Once a successful login to Facebook has been achieved, the panel in image B, below is presented, including a Disconnect from Facebook button to close the Facebook connection.

From the Subsurface window it is easy to determine whether Subsurface has a valid connection to Facebook From the Main Menu, select Share on → Facebook (image A, below). Normally, the Facebook option is greyed out. But if there is a connection to Facebook, this option is active (i.e. in black colour and can be selected).

Having established a login to Facebook, transfer of a dive profile to one’s Facebook timeline is easy. Ensure that the dive to be transfered to the timeline is depicted in the Subsurface Dive Profile panel. If, from the Main Menu, one selects Share on → Facebook (see image A below), a dialogue is shown, determining the amount of additional information transferred with the dive profile (image B, below). In order to transfer a dive profile to Facebook, the name of a Facebook album needs to be provided. The checkboxes on the lefthand side allow one to determine how much additional information should be transferred with the dive profile. This information is shown in the text box on the right hand side of the panel (image B, below). One can easily edit the message that will be posted with the dive profile. Having specified the additional information and verified the text, select the OK button that triggers the transfer to Facebook. After a while, an acknowledgement dialogue appears, indicating successful transfer to Facebook.

Both the album created and the post to one’s timeline will be marked as private. In order for friends to be able to see the post, change its permissions from a regular Facebook login either in a browser or a Facebook app. While this is an extra step this is the better solution to avoid having unwanted posts in one’s public timeline.

If required, then close the Facebook connection by either closing Subsurface or by selecting File → Preferences → Facebook from the Main Menu, and clicking the appropriate button on the Facebook Preferences panel.

8.2. Export dive information to other destinations or formats

For non-Facebook exports, the export function can be reached by selecting File → Export, which brings up the Export dialog. This dialog always gives two options: save ALL dives, or save only the dives selected in Dive List panel of Subsurface. Click the appropriate radio button (see images below).

A dive log or part of it can be saved in three formats:

Subsurface XML format. This is the native format used by Subsurface.
Universal Dive Data Format (UDDF). Refer to http://uddf.org for more information. UDDF is a generic format that enables communication among many dive computers and computer programs.
Divelogs.de, an Internet-based dive log repository. In order to upload to Divelogs.de, one needs a user-ID as well as a password for Divelogs.de. Log into http://en.divelogs.de and subscribe to this service in order to upload dive log data from Subsurface.
DiveShare is also a dive log repository on the Internet focusing on the recreational dives. In order to upload dives one has to provide a used ID, so registration with http://scubadiveshare.com is required.
CSV dive details, that includes the most critical information of the dive profile. Included information of a dive is: dive number, date, time, buddy, duration, depth, temperature and pressure: in short, most of the information that recreational divers enter into handwritten log books.
CSV dive profile, that includes a large amount of detail for each dive, including the depth profile, temperature and pressure information of each dive.
HTML format, in which the dive(s) are stored in HTML files, readable with an Internet browser. Most modern web browsers are supported, but JavaScript must be enabled. The HTML export cannot be changed or edited. It contains most of the information recorded in the dive log. However, it does not show the calculated values in the Dive Profile panel, e.g. calculated cylinder pressure, gas pressures and MOD. The HTML export contains a search option to search the dive log. HTML export is specified on the second tab of the Export dialog (image B above). A typical use of this option is to export all one’s dives to a smartphone or a tablet where it would serve as a very portable record of dives useful for dive companies that wish to verify the dive history of a diver, often doing away with the need to carry one’s original logbook with one when doing dives with dive companies.
Worldmap format, an HTML file with a world map upon which each dive and some information about it are indicated. This map is not editable. If one selects any of the dive sites on the map, a summary of the dive is available in text, as shown in the image below.

Image depths, which creates a text file that contains the file names of all photos or images attached to any of the selected dives in the Dive List, together with the depth under water where of each of those photos were taken.
General Settings, under the HTML tab, provides the following options:
- Subsurface Numbers: if this option is checked, the dive(s) are exported with the numbers associated with them in Subsurface, Otherwise the dive(s) will be numbered starting from 1.
- Export Yearly Statistics: if this option is checked, a yearly statistics table will be attached to the HTML exports.
- Export List only: a list of dives only (date, time, depth, duration) will be exported and the detailed dive information, e.g. dive profile, will not be available.
Under Style Options some style-related options are available like font size and theme.

Export to other formats can be achieved through third party facilities, for instance www.divelogs.de.

9. Keeping a Subsurface dive log in the Cloud

For each diver, dive log information is highly important. Not only is it a record of diving activities for one’s own pleasure, but it is important information required for admission to further training courses or (sometimes) even diving sites. The security of the dive log is therefore critical. In order to have a dive log that is resistant to failure of a home computer hard drive, loss or theft of equipment, the Cloud is an obvious solution. This also has the added benefit that one can access one’s dive log from anywhere in the world without having to carry it with oneself. For this reason, facilities such as divelogs.de and Diving Log offer to store dive log information on the Internet.

Subsurface includes access to a transparently integrated cloud storage back end that is available to all Subsurface users. Storing and retrieving a dive log from the cloud is no more difficult than accessing the dives on the local hard disk. The only requirement is that one should first register as a user on the cloud. To use Subsurface cloud storage , follow these steps:

9.1. Create a cloud storage account

Open the Network Preferences by selecting File → Preferences → Network.
In the section headed Subsurface cloud storage, enter an email address that Subsurface can use for user registration.
Enter a novel password that Subsurface will use to store the dive log in the cloud.
Click Apply to send the above email address and password to the (remote) cloud server. The server responds by sending a verification PIN to the above email address (This is the only occasion that Subsurface uses the email address provided above). The Network Preferences dialog now has a new PIN text box, not visible previously.
Enter the PIN in the corresponding text box in the Network Preferences dialog (this field is only visible while the server is waiting for email address confirmation)
Click Apply again. The Subsurface cloud storage account will be marked as verified and the Subsurface cloud storage service is initialised for use.

9.2. Using Subsurface cloud storage

Once the cloud storage has been initialised, two new items appear in the File menu of the main menu system: Open cloud storage and Save to cloud storage. These options allow the user to load and save data to the Subsurface cloud storage server.
In the Defaults Preferences tab, one can select to use the Subsurface cloud storage data as one’s default data file by checking the check box marked Cloud storage default file. This means that the data from the Subsurface cloud storage is loaded when Subsurface starts ans saved there when one closes Subsurface.
Subsurface keeps a local copy of the data and the cloud facility remains fully functional even if used while disconnected to the Internet. Subsurface simply synchronises the data with the cloud server the next time ithe program is used while the computer is connected to the Internet.

9.3. Web access to Subsurface cloud storage

One of the nice side benefits of using Subsurface cloud storage is that one can also access one’s dive data from any web browser. Simply open https://cloud.subsurface-divelog.org, log in with the same email and password, and you can see an HTML export of the last dive data that was synced to the Subsurface cloud storage. The dive information that is shown is only the contents of the recorded dive logs, NOT the calculated values shown in the Profile panel, including some cylinder pressures, deco ceilings and O₂/He/N₂ partial pressures.

9.4. Other cloud services

If one prefers not to use the integrated cloud storage of dive logs (and don’t need the web access), it is also simple to store dive logs in the cloud using several of the existing facilities on the Internet. For instance Dropbox offers a free application that allows files on the Dropbox servers to be seen as a local folder on one’s desktop computer.

The Dropbox program creates a copy of the Dropbox Internet Cloud content on one’s desktop computer. When the computer is connected to the Internet, the Internet content is automatically updated. Therefore both the Open and Save of dive logs are done using the local copy of the dive log in the local Dropbox folder, so there’s no need for a direct internet connection. If the local copy is modified, e.g. by adding a dive, the remote copy in the Dropbox server in the Cloud will be automatically updated whenever Internet access is available.

In this way a dive log in one’s Dropbox folder can be accessed seamlessly from the Internet and can be accessed from any place with Internet access. Currently there are no costs involved for this service. Dropbox (Windows, Mac and Linux) can be installed by accessing the Install Page on the Dropbox website . Alternatively one can use Dropbox as a mechanism to backup one’s dive log. To Store a dive log on Dropbox, select File → Save as from the Subsurface main menu, navigate to the Dropbox folder and select the Save button. To access the dive log in Dropbox, select File → Open Logbook from the Subsurface main menu and navigate to the dive log file in the Dropbox folder and select the Open button.

Several paid services exist on the Internet (e.g. Google, Amazon) where the same process could be used for the Cloud-based storage of dive logs.

10. Printing a dive log

Subsurface provides a simple and flexible interface to print a whole dive log or only a few selected dives. Pre-installed templates or a custom written template can be used to choose where the data are fitted into the page.

Before printing, two decisions are required:

Should the whole dive log be printed or only part of it? If only part of the dive log is required, then select the required dives from the Dive List panel.
If the dive profiles needs printing, what gas partial pressure information should be shown? Select the appropriate toggle-buttons on the button bar to the left of the Dive Profile panel.

If File → Print is selected from the Main menu, the the dialogue below (image A) appears. Three specifications are needed to achieve the desired information and page layout:

Under Print type select one of two options:
- Dive list print: Print dives from the Dive List panel with profiles and other information.
- Statistics print: Print yearly statistics of the dives.
Under Print options select:
- Printing only the dives selected from the dive list prior to activating the print dialogue by checking the box Print only selected dives. If this check box is not checked all dives in the Dive List panel are printed.
- Printing in colour, achieved by checking the box with Print in colour. If this check box is not checked, printing is in monochrome (grey scale).
Under Template select a template to be used as the page layout. There are several templates (see image B, above).
- Table: This prints a summary table of all dives selected (see below).

Flow layout: Print the text associated with each dive without printing the dive profiles of each dive (see below):

One Dive: Print one dive per page, also showing the dive profile (see below)

Two Dives: Print two dives per page, also showing the dive profiles.
Six Dives: Print six dives per page, also showing the dive profiles.

Users can Preview the printed page by selecting the Preview button on the dialogue (see image A at the start of this section). After preview, changes to the options in the print dialogue can be made, resulting in a layout that fits personal taste.

Next, select the Print button (see image A at the start of this section). This activates the regular print dialogue used by the user operating system, allowing one to choose a printer and to set its properties (see image below):

Set the print resolution of the printer to an appropriate value by changing the printer Properties. Finally, select the Print button to print the dives. Below is a (rather small) example of the output for one particular page.

10.1. Writing a custom print template (advanced)

Writing a custom template is an effective way to produce highly customized printouts. Subsurface uses HTML templates to render printing. One can create a template, export a new template, import an existing template and delete an existing template by using the appropriate buttons under the Template dropdown list in the print dialogue. See APPENDIX E for information on how to write or modify a template.

11. Configuring a dive computer

Subsurface enables one to configure a dive computer. Currently the Heinrichs-Weikamp (OSTC 2, OSTC 3) and Suunto Vyper (Stinger, Mosquito, D3, Vyper, Vytec, Cobra, Gekko and Zoop) family of dive computers are supported. A large number of settings of these dive computers can be read and changed to different values. As a first step, ensure that the appropriate hardware driver is installed for the dive computer (also required for downloading dives) and that the device name of the dive computer is known. See APPENDIX A for information on how to do this.

Once the dive computer is connected to the Subsurface computer, select File → Configure dive computer from the Main Menu. Provide the appropriate device name in the text box at the top of the configuration panel and select the appropriate dive computer model from the panel on the left-hand (see image below).

Using the appropriate buttons on the configuration panel, the following actions can be performed:

Retrieve available details. This loads the existing configuration from the dive computer to Subsurface, showing it in the configuration panel.
Save changes to device. This changes the configuration of the dive computer to correspond to the information shown in the configuration panel.
Backup. This saves the configuration data to a file. Subsurface asks for a file location and file name for the saved information.
Restore backup. This loads the information from a backup file and displays it in the configuration panel.
Update firmware. If new firmware is available for the dive computer, this is loaded into the dive computer.

12. Setting user Preferences for Subsurface

There are several user-definable settings within Subsurface, found by selecting File → Preferences. The settings are performed in seven groups: Defaults, Units, Graph, Language and Network, Facebook and Georeference, all of which operate on the same principles: the user must specify the settings that are to be changed, then these changes are saved using the Apply button. After applying all the new settings users can then leave the settings panel by selecting OK. If Discard is selected, changes to the preferences are not saved.

12.1. Defaults

There are several settings in the Defaults panel:

Lists and tables: Here one can specify the font type and font size of the Dive Table panel. By decreasing the font size of the Dive Table, users can see more dives on a screen.
Dives: For the Default Dive File one needs to specify the directory and file name of one’s electronic dive log book. This is a file with filename extension of either .xml or .ssrf. When launched, Subsurface will automatically load the specified dive log book. There are three options:
- No default file: When checked, Subsurface does not automatically load a dive log at startup.
- Local default file: When checked, Subsurface automatically loads a dive log from the local hard disk as described above.
- Cloud storage default file: When checked, Subsurface automatically loads the dive log from the cloud device that was initialised using the Preferences _Network tab (see below).
Display invalid: Dives can be marked as invalid (when a user wishes to hide dives that he/she doesn’t consider valid dives, e.g. pool dives, but still want to keep them in the dive log). This controls whether those dives are displayed in the dive list.
Default cylinder: Specify the default cylinder listed in the Equipment tab of the Notes panel.
Animations: Some actions in showing the dive profile are performed using animations. For instance, the axis values for depth and time change from dive to dive. When viewing a different dive, these changes in axis characteristics do not happen instantaneously, but are animated. The Speed of animations can be controlled by setting this slider with faster animation speed to the left, and a 0 value representing no animation at all.
Clear all settings: As indicated in the button below this heading, all settings are cleared and set to default values.

12.2. Units

Here users can choose between metric and imperial units of depth, pressure, volume, temperature and mass. By selecting the Metric or Imperial radio button at the top, one can specify that all units are in the chosen measurement system. Alternatively, if one selects the Personalise radio button, units can be selected independently, with some units in the metric system and others in imperial.

Irrespective of the above settings, dive time measurements can be either in seconds or minutes. Choose the appropriate option. GPS coordinates can be represented either as traditional coordinates (degrees, minutes, seconds) or as decimal degrees Choose the appropriate option.

12.3. Graph

This panel allows two type of selections:

Show: Here users can specify the amount of information shown as part of the dive profile:
- Thresholds: Subsurface can display the nitrogen, oxygen and the helium partial pressures during the dive, enabled by using the toolbar on the left hand side of the Dive Profile panel. For each of these graphs users can specify a threshold value on the right-hand side of the Preferences panel. If any of the graphs go above the specified threshold level, the graph is highlighted in red, indicating that the particular partial pressure threshold has been exceeded.
- _Max pO₂ is used for calculating the MOD when displaying the maximum operative depth (MOD) for a dive. Specify an appropriate partial pressure. A value of 1.4 is commonly used.
- Draw dive computer reported ceiling red: This checkbox allows exactly what it says. By default the computer reported ceiling is shown in white. Not all dive computers report ceiling values. If the dive computer does report it, it may differ from the ceilings calculated by Subsurface because of the different algorithms and gradient factors, as well as the dynamic way that a dive computer can calculate ceilings during a dive.
- Show unused cylinders in Equipment Tab: This checkbox allows display of information about unused cylinders when viewing the Equipment Tab. Conversely, if this box is not checked, and if any cylinders entered using the Equipment Tab are not used (e.g. there was no gas switch to such a cylinder), then these cylinders are omitted from that list.
- Show average depth: If this box is checked, the Dive Profile panel contains a grey line that indicates the mean depth of the dive up to any time instant during the dive. Normally this is a u-shaped line indicating the deepest mean depth just before the ascent.
Misc:
- Gradient Factors (GFLow and GFHigh):* Set the gradient factors used while diving. GF_Low is the gradient factor at depth and GF_High is used just below the surface. At intermediate depths gradient factors between GF_Low and GF_High are used. Gradient factors add conservatism to the nitrogen exposure during a dive, in a similar way that many dive computers have a conservatism setting. The lower the value of a gradient factor, the more conservative the calculations are with respect to nitrogen loading and the deeper the ascent ceilings are. Gradient factors of 20/60 are considered conservative and values of 70/90 are considered harsh. Checking the GFLow at max depth box causes GF_Low to be used at the deepest depth of a dive. If this box is not checked, GF_Low is applied at all depths deeper than the first deco stop. For more information see:
  - Understanding M-values by Erik Baker, Immersed Vol. 3, No. 3.
  - Gradient factors for dummies, by Kevin Watts
- CCR: Show setpoints when viewing pO2: With this checkbox ativated, the pO₂ graph on the dive profile has an overlay in red which inticates the CCR setpoint values. See the section on Closed Circuit Rebreather dives.
- CCR: Show individual O₂ sensor values when viewing pO₂: Show the pO₂ values associated with each of the individual oxygen sensors of a CCR system. See the section on Closed Circuit Rebreather dives.
Configuring dive planning using rebreather equipment:
- Default CCR setpoint for dive planning: Specify the O₂ setpoint for a CCR dive plan. This determines the pO₂ maintained during a particular dive. Setpoint changes during the dive can be added via the profile context menu.
- pSCR O₂ metabolism rate: For a semiclosed rebreather (pSCR) system, this is the volume of oxygen used by a diver during a minute. Set this value for pSCR dive planning and decompression calculations.
- pSCR ratio: For pSCR equipment the dump ratio is the ratio of gas released to the environment to that of the gas recirculated to the diver. Set this value for a pSCR dive plan. A 1:10 ratio is commonly used.

12.4. Language

Choose a language that Subsurface will use.

A checkbox allows one to use the System Default language which in most cases will be the correct setting; with this Subsurface simply runs in the same language / country settings as the underlying operating system. If this is for some reason undesirable one can uncheck this checkbox and pick a language / country combination from the list of included localizations. The Filter text box allows one to list similar languages. For instance there are several system variants of English or French. This particular preference requires a restart of Subsurface to take effect.

12.5. Network

This panel facilitates communication between Subsurface and data sources on the Internet. This is important, for instance, when Subsurface needs to communicate with Internet services such as Cloud storage or the Subsurface Companion app. These Internet requirements are determined by one’s type of connection to the Internet and by the Internet Service Provider (ISP) used. One’s ISP should provide the appropriate information.

This dialogue has three sections:

Proxy type: If a proxy server is used for Internet access, the type of proxy needs to be selected from the dropdown list, after which the IP address of the host and the appropriate port number should be provided. If the proxy server uses authentication, the appropriate userID and password are required so that Subsurface can automatically pass through the proxy server to access the Internet. This information is usually obtained from one’s ISP.
Subsurface cloud storage: To store one’s dive log in the cloud, a valid email address and password are required. This allows Subsurface to email security information regarding cloud storage to a user, and to set up the cloud storage appropriately. Two additional options are given:
- Sync to cloud in the background: This option allows saving of dive information to the cloud storage while the user performs other tasks within Subsurface.
- Save password locally: This allows local storage of the cloud storage password. Note that this information is saved in raw text form, not encoded in any way.
Subsurface web service: When one subscribes to the Subsurface web service, a very long and hard-to-remember userID is issued. This is the place to save that userID. By checking the option Save User ID locally?, one ensures that a local copy of that userID is saved.

12.6. Facebook Accesss

This panel allows one to log into a Facebook account in order to transfer information from Subsurface to Facefook.

If one provides a valid Facebook userID and password, a connection to Facebook is created. The connection to Facebook is closed when one closes down Subsurface. Currently the checkbox labelled "Keep me logged in to Subsurface", on the login screen has no effect. See the section Exporting dive profiles to Facebook for more information.

12.7. Georeference

Subsurface provides a geo-lookup service (that is, given the coordinates of a dive site (derived from a click on the Dive Map panel at the bottom right of the Subsurface window, or from a GPS instrument or from the Subsurface Companion app), a lookup on the Internet is performed to find the name of the closest known location. Obviously this function only works if Subsurface has an Internet connection. The preference of the dive site name can be configured, e.g. Country/State/City or City/State/Country (see image below).

13. The Subsurface dive planner

Dive planning is an advanced feature of Subsurface, accessible by selecting Log → Plan Dive from the main menu. It allows calculation of nitrogen load during a dive by using the Bühlmann ZH-L16 algorithm with the addition of gradient factors as implemented by Erik Baker.

The Subsurface dive planner IS CURRENTLY EXPERIMENTAL and assumes the user is already familiar with the Subsurface user interface. It is explicitly used under the following conditions:

The user is conversant with dive planning and has the necessary training to perform dive planning.
The user plans dives within his/her certification limits.
Dive planning makes large assumptions about the characteristics of the average person and cannot compensate for individual physiology or health or personal history or life style characteristics.
The safety of a dive plan depends heavily on the way in which the planner is used.
The user is familiar with the user interface of Subsurface.
A user who is not absolutely sure about any of the above requirements should not use this feature.

13.1. The Subsurface dive planner screen

Like the Subsurface dive log, the planner screen is divided into several sections (see image below). The setup parameters for a dive are entered into the several sections on the left hand side of the screen. The setup is divided into several sections: Available Gases, Rates, Planning, Gas Options and Notes.

At the top right hand is a green design panel upon which the profile of the dive can be manipulated directly by dragging and clicking as explained below. This feature makes the Subsurface dive planner unique in ease of use.

At the bottom right is a text panel with a heading of Dive Plan Details. This is where the details of the dive plan are provided in a way that can easily be copied to other software. This is also where any warning messages about the dive plan are printed.

13.2. Open circuit dives

Towards the centre bottom of the planner (circled in blue in the image above) is a dropbox with three options. Select the appropriate one of these:
- Open Circuit (the default)
- CCR
- pSCR
Choose the Open Circuit option.
In the top left-hand area of the planning screen, ensure that the constant dive parameters are appropriate. These are: Start date and time of the intended dive, Atmospheric Pressure and Altitude above sea level of the dive site. The atmospheric pressure can also be entered as an altitude in metres, assuming a sea-level atmospheric pressure of 1.013 bar.
In the table labelled Available Gases, add the information of the cylinders to be used as well as the gas composition within that cylinder. This is done in a similar way as for providing cylinder data for dive logs. Choose the cylinder type by double clicking the cylinder type and using the dropdown list, then specify the work pressure of this cylinder. By leaving the oxygen concentration (O2%) filed empty, the cylinder is assumed to contain air. Otherwise enter the oxygen and/or helium concentration in the boxes provided in this dialogue. Add additional cylinders by using the "+" icon to the top right-hand of the dialogue.
The profile of the planned dive can be created in two ways:
- Drag the waypoints (the small white circles) on the existing dive profile in a way to represent the dive. Additional waypoints can be created by double-clicking the existing dive profile. Waypoints can be deleted by right-clicking a particular waypoint and selecting the delete item from the resulting context menu.
- The most efficient way to create a dive profile is to enter the appropriate values into the table marked Dive planner points. The first line of the table represents the duration and the final depth of the descent from the surface. Subsequent segments describe the bottom phase of the dive. The CC set point column is only relevant for closed circuit divers. The ascent is usually not specified because this is what the planner is supposed to calculate. Add additional segments to the profile by selecting the "+" icon at the top right hand of the table. Segments entered into the Dive planner points table automatically appear in the Dive Profile diagram.

13.2.1. Recreational dives

Recreational mode is what comes closest to planning a dive based on the non-decompression limit (NDL). It computes the maximal time a diver can stay at the current depth without incurring any mandatory decompression stops and without using more than the existing gas (minus a reserve). The planner automatically takes into account the nitrogen load incurred in previous dives. But conventional dive tables are also used in a way that can take into account previous dives. Why use a dive planner for recreational dives? Using recreational dive tables, the maximum depth of a dive is taken into account. However, few dives are undertaken at a constant depth corresponding to the maximum depth (i.e. a "square" dive profile). This means that dive tables overestimate the nitrogen load incurred during previous dives. The Subsurface dive planner calculates nitrogen load according to the real dive profiles of all uploaded previous dives, in a similar way as dive computers calculate nitrogen load during a dive. This means that the diver gets credit in terms of nitrogen loading for not remaining at maximum depth during previous dives, enabling planning of a longer subsequent dive. For the planner to work it is therefore crucial to upload all previous dives onto Subsurface before performing dive planning.

To plan a dive, the appropriate settings need to be defined.

Ensure that the date and time is set to that of the intended dive. This allows calculation of the nitrogen load incurred during previous dives.
Immediately under the heading Planning are two checkboxes Recreational and Safety Stop. Check these two boxes.
Then define the cylinder size, the gas mixture (air or % oxygen) and the starting cylinder pressure in the top left-hand section of the planner under Available gases.
The planner calculates whether the specified cylinder contains enough air/gas to complete the planned dive. In order for this to be realistic, under Gas options, specify an appropriate surface air consumption (SAC) rate for Bottom SAC. Suitable values are between 15 l/min and 30 l/min, with novice divers or difficult dives requiring SAC rates closer to 30l/min.
Define the amount of gas that the cylinder must have at the end of the bottom section of the dive just before ascent. A value of 50 bar is often used. The reason for this reserve gas is to provide for the possible need to bring one’s buddy to the surface using gas sharing. How much gas is used in sharing depends on the depth of the ascent. This can be a bit hard to estimate, so most agencies assume a fixed amount of gas, or actually of pressure e.g. 40 or 50 bar or 25% or 33% (rule of thirds). But Subsurface can do better because it knows about the ascent and that is why we add the amount of gas during the ascent (i.e. the "deco gas“). Subsurface still uses a fixed pressure „reserve“ but that is supposed to be for the additional gas used around the realisation that there is a problem and one’s pulse rate goes up when one starts to buddy breathe. This reserve amount is user configurable.
Define the depth of the dive by dragging the waypoints (white dots) on the dive profile or (even better) defining the appropriate depths using the table under Dive planner points as desribed under the previous heading. If this is a multilevel dive, set the appropriate dive depths to represent the dive plan by adding waypoints to the dive profile or by adding appropriate dive planner points to the Dive Planner Points table. Subsurface will automatically extend the bottom section of the dive to the maximum duration within the no-decompression limits (NDL).
The ascent speed can be changed. The default ascent speeds are those considered safe for recreational divers.

The dive profile in the planner indicates the maximum dive time within no-deco limits using the Bühlmann ZH-L16 algorithm and the gas and depth settings specified as described above. The Subsurface planner allows rapid assessment of dive duration as a function of dive depth, given the nitrogen load incurred during previous dives. The dive plan includes estimates of the amount of air/gas used, depending on the cylinder settings specified under Available gases. If the initial cylinder pressure is set to 0, the dive duration shown is the true no-deco limit (NDL) without taking into account gas used during the dive. If the surface above the dive profile is RED it means that recreational dive limits are exceeded and either the dive duration or the dive depth needs to be reduced.

Below is an image of a dive plan for a recreational dive at 30 metres. Although the no-deco limit (NDL) is 23 minutes, the duration of the dive is limited by the amount of air in the cylinder, reflected by the information in the text box at the bottom right of the panel that requires sufficient air for buddy-sharing during the ascent.

13.2.2. Non-recreational open circuit dives, including decompression

Non-recreational dive planning involves exceeding the no-deco limits and/or using multiple breathing gases. Such dives are planned in three stages:

a) Nitrogen management: This is performed by specifying the rates for descent and ascent, as well as the deco model (GFLow, GFHigh or Conservatism level) under the headings Rates and Planning to the bottom left of the planning screen. Two deco models are supported the Bühlmann model and the VPM-B model. Select one of the two models. When selecting the Bühlmann model, the gradient factors (GF_high and GF_low need to be specified. Initially, the GFHigh and GFLow values in the Preferences panel of Subsurface is used. If these are changed within the planner (see Gas Options within the planner), the new values are used without changing the original values in the Preferences. Gradient Factor settings strongly affect the calculated ceilings and their depths. A very low GFLow value brings about decompression stops early on during the dive. ** For more information about Gradient factors, see the section on Gradient Factor Preference settings.

If the VPM-B model is selected, the Conservatism_level needs to be specified on a scale of 0 (least conservative) to 4 (most conservative). This model tends to give deco stops at deeper levels than the Bühlmann model and often results in slightly shorter dive durations than the Bühlmann model. When selecting one of these models, keep in mind that they are NOT exact physiological models but only mathematical models that appear to work in practice.

For more information external to this manual see:

Understanding M-values by Erik Baker, Immersed Vol. 3, No. 3.
Gradient factors for dummies, by Kevin Watts
Deco for Divers, by Mark Powell (2008). Aquapress Southend-on-Sea, UK. ISBN 10: 1-905492-07-3. An excellent non-technical review that discusses both the Bühlmann deco model and the VPM-B model.

The ascent rate is critical for nitrogen off-gassing at the end of the dive and is specified for several depth ranges, utilising the average (or mean) depth as a yardstick. The mean depth of the dive plan is indicated by a light grey line on the dive profile. Ascent rates at deeper levels are often in the range of 8-12 m/min, while ascent rates near the surface are often in the range of 4-9 m/min. The descent rate is also specified. If the option Drop to first depth is activated, then the descent phase of the planned dive will be at the maximal descent rate specified in the Rates section of the dive setup.

b) Oxygen management: In the Gas Options part of the dive specification, the maximum partial pressure for oxygen needs to be specified for the bottom part of the dive (bottom po2) as well as for the decompression part of the dive (deco po2). The most commonly used values are 1.4 bar for the bottom part of the dive and 1.6 bar for any decompression stages. Normally, a partial pressure of 1.6 bar is not exceeded. PO2 settings and the depth at which switching to a gas takes place can also be edited in the Available Gases dialog. Normally the planner decides on switching to a new gas when, during ascent, the partial pressure of the new gas has increased to 1.6 bar.

c) Gas management: With open-circuit dives this is a primary consideration. One needs to keep within the limits of the amount of gas within the dive cylinder(s), allowing for an appropriate margin for a safe return to the surface, possibly sharing with a buddy. Under the Gas Options heading, specify the best (but conservative) estimate of your surface-equivalent air consumption (SAC, also termed RMV) in litres/min (for the time being, only SI units are supported). Specify the SAC during the bottom part of the dive (bottom SAC) as well as during the decompression or safety stops of the dive (deco SAC). Values of 15-30 l/min are common. For good gas management, a thumbsuck guess is not sufficient and one needs to monitor one’s gas consumption on a regular basis, dependent on different dive conditions and/or equipment. The planner calculates the total volume of gas used during the dive and issues a warning if one exceeds the total amount of gas available. Good practice demands that one does not dive to the limit of the gas supply but that an appropriate reserve is kept for unforeseen circumstances. For technical diving, this reserve can be up to 66% of the total available gas.

Now (at last) one can start the detailed time-depth planning of the dive. Subsurface offers a unique graphical interface for performing this part of the planning. The mechanics of doing this is similar to hand-entering a dive profile in the dive log part of Subsurface. Upon activating the planner, a default dive of depth 15 m for 40 min is offered in the bue design surface to the top right hand of the screen. The white dots (waypoints) on the profile can be dragged with a mouse. Create more waypoints by double-clicking on the profile line and ensuring that the profile reflects the intended dive. Drag the waypoints to represent the depth and duration of the dive. It is NOT necessary to specify the ascent part of the dive since the planner calculates this, based on the settings that have been specified. If any of the management limits (for nitrogen, oxygen or gas) is exceeded, the surface above the dive profile changes from BLUE to RED.

Each waypoint on the dive profile creates a Dive Planner Point in the table on the left of the dive planner panel. Ensure that the Used Gas value in each row of that table corresponds to one of the gas mixtures specified in the Available Gases table. Add new waypoints until the main features of the dive have been completed, e.g. the bottom time segment and deep stops (if these are implemented). Leave the remaining waypoints on the ascent to Subsurface. In most cases Subsurface computes additional way points in order to fulfil decompression requirements for that dive. A waypoint can be moved by selecting that waypoint and by using the arrow keys. The waypoints listed in the Dive Planner Points dialogue can be edited by hand in order to obtain a precise presentation of the dive plan. In fact, one can create the whole dive profile by editing the Dive Planner Points dialog.

Indicate any changes in gas cylinder used by indicating gas changes as explained in the section hand-creating a dive profile. These changes should reflect the cylinders and gas compositions defined in the table with Available Gases. If two or more gases are used, automatic gas switches will be suggested during the ascent to the surface. However, these changes can be deleted by right-clicking the gas change and by manually creating a gas change by right-clicking on the appropriate waypoint.

A non-zero value in the "CC set point" column of the table of dive planner points indicates a valid setpoint for oxygen partial pressure and that the segment is dived using a closed circuit rebreather (CCR). If the last manually entered segment is a CCR segment, the decompression phase is computed assuming the diver uses a CCR with the specified set-point. If the last segment (however short) is on open circuit (OC, indicated by a zero set-point) the decompression is computed in OC mode. The planner only considers gas changes in OC mode.

Below is an example of a dive plan to 45m using EAN26, followed by an ascent using EAN50 and using the settings as described above.

Once the above has been completed, one can save it by clicking the Save button towards the top middle of the planner. The saved dive plan will appear in the Dive List panel of Subsurface.

The dive plan details

On the bottom right of the dive planner, under Dive Plan Details, the exact details of the dive plan are provided. These details may be modified by checking any of the options under the Notes section of the dive planner, immediately to the left of the Dive Plan Details. If a Verbatim dive plan is requested, a detailed sentence-level explanation of the dive plan is given. If any of the management specifications have been exceeded during the planning, a warning message is printed underneath the dive plan information.

If the option Display segment duration is checked, then the duration of each depth level is indicated in the Dive Plan Details. This duration INCLUDES the transition time to get to that level. However, if the Display transition in deco option is checked, the transitions are shown separately from the segment durations at a particular level.

13.3. Planning pSCR dives

To plan a dive using a passive semi-closed rebreather (pSCR), select pSCR rather than Open circuit in the dropdown list. The parameters of the pSCR dive can be set by selecting File → Preferences → Graph from the main menu, where the gas consumption calculation takes into account the pSCR dump ratio (default 10:1) as well as the metabolism rate. The calculation also takes the oxygen drop accross the mouthpiece of the rebreather into account. If the pO₂ drops below what is considered a save value, a warning appears in the Dive plan details. A typical pSCR configuration is with a single cylinder and one or more bail-out cylinders. Therefore the setup of the Available gases and the Dive planner points tables are very similar to that of a CCR dive plan, described below. However, no oxygen setpoints are specified for pSCR dives. Below is a dive plan for a pSCR dive. The dive is comparable to that of the CCR dive below, but note the longer ascent duration due to the lower oxygen in the loop due to the oxygen drop across the mouthpiece of the pSCR equipment.

13.4. Planning CCR dives

To plan a dive using a closed circuit rebreather, select the CCR option in the dropdown list, circled in blue in the image below.

Available gases: In the Available gases table, enter the cylinder information for the diluent cylinder and for any bail-out cylinders. Do NOT enter the information for the oxygen cylinder since it is implied when the CCR dropdown selection is made.

Entering setpoints: Specify a default setpoint in the Preferences tab, by selecting File → Preferences → Graph from the main menu. All user-entered segments in the Dive planner points table use the default setpoint value. Then, different setpoints can be specified for dive segments in the Dive planner points table. A zero setpoint means the diver bails out to open circuit mode for that segment. The decompression is always calculated using the setpoint of the last manually entered segment. So, to plan a bail out ascent for a CCR dive, add a one-minute dive segment to the end with a setpoint value of 0. The decompression algorithm does not switch deco-gases automatically while in CCR mode (i.e. when a positive setpoint is specified) but, of course, this is calculated for bail out ascents.

The dive profile for a CCR dive may look something like the image below.

Note that, in the Dive plan details, the gas consumption for a CCR segment is not calculated, so gas consumptions of 0 litres are the norm.

13.5. Modifying an existing dive plan

Normally, when a dive plan has been saved, it is accessible from the Dive List, like any other dive log. Within the Dive List there is not a way to change a saved dive plan. To perform changes to a dive plan, select it on the Dive List. Then, in the main menu, select Log → Re-plan dive. This will open the selected dive plan within the dive planner, allowing changes to be made and saved as usual.

In addition there is the option "Save new". This keeps the original planned dive and adds a (possibly modified) copy to the dive list. If that copy is saved with the same start time as the original, the two dives are considered two versions of the same dive and do not influence other each during decompression calculation (see next section).

13.6. Planning for repetitive dives

Repetitive dives can easily be planned if the dates and start times of the repetitive dive set is specified appropriately in the top left-hand Start Time field. Subsurface calculates the gas loading figures correctly and the effect of the first dive is evaluated on later dives.

If one has just completed a long/deep dive and is planning another dive, then highlight, in the Dive List, the dive that has just been completed and then activate the planner. Depending on the start time of the planned dive, the planner takes into account the gas loading incurred during the completed dive and allows planning within these limitations.

If only a few standard configurations are used (e.g. in GUE), then a template dive can be created conforming to one of the configurations. If one now wishes to plan a dive using this configuration, just highlight the template dive in the Dive List and activate the planner: the planner takes into account the configuration in the highlighted dive.

13.7. Printing the dive plan

Selecting the Print button in the planner allows printing of the Dive Plan Details for wet notes. Alternatively one can cut and paste the Dive Plan Details for inclusion in a text file or word processing document.

Dive plans have many characteristics in common with dive logs (dive profile, dive notes, etc). After a dive plan has been saved, the dive details and gas calculations are saved in the Notes tab. While a dive plan is being designed, it can be printed using the Print button in the dive planner. This prints the dive details and gas calculations in the Dive Plan Details panel of the dive planner. However, after the plan has been saved, it is represented in a way very similar to a dive log and the gas calculations cannot be accessed in the same way as during the planning process. The only way to print the dive plan is to use the File → Print facility on the main menu in the same way as for dive logs or by copy and paste to a word processor.

14. Description of the Subsurface Main Menu items

This section describes the functions and operation of the items in the Main Menu of Subsurface. Several of the items below are links to sections of this manual dealing with the appropriate operations.

14.1. File

New Logbook - Close the currently open dive logbook and clear all dive information.
Open logbook - This opens the file manager in order to select a dive logbook to open.
Open cloud storage - Open the dive log previously saved in Cloud storage.
Save - Save the dive logbook that is currently open.
Save to cloud storage - Save the current dive log to Cloud storage.
Save as - Save the current logbook under a different file name.
Close - Close the dive logbook that is currently open.
Export - Export the currently open dive logbook (or the selected dives in the logbook) to one of several formats.
Print - Print the currently open logbook.
Preferences - Set the Subsurface preferences.
Find moved images - If photos taken during dives have been moved to a different disk or directory, locate them and link them to the appropriate dives.
Configure dive computer - Edit the configuration of a dive computer.
Quit - Quit Subsurface.

14.2. Import

Import from dive computer - Import dive information from a dive computer.
Import Log Files - Import dive information from a file in in a Subsurface-compatible format.
Import GPS data from Subsurface web service - Load GPS coordinates from the Subsurface mobile phone app.
Import from Divelogs.de - Import dive information from www.Divelogs.de.

14.3. Log

Add Dive - Manually add a new dive to the Dive List panel.
Edit dive - Edit a dive of which the profile was entered by hande and not from a dive computer.
Plan Dive - This feature allows the planning of dives.
Edit dive in planner - Edit a dive plan that has been saved into the Dive List.
Copy dive components - By selecting this option, one can copy information from several fields of a dive log onto the clipboard.
Paste dive components - Paste, into the selected dives in the Dive List, the information copied using the Copy dive components option.
Renumber - Renumber the dives listed in the Dive List panel.
Auto Group - Group the dives in the Dive List panel into dive trips.
Edit Device Names - Edit the names of dive computers to facilitate your logs.
Filter divelist - Select only some dives, based on specific tags or dive criteria.

14.4. View

All - View the four main Subsurface panels simmultaneously.
Dive List - View only the Dive List panel.
Profile - View only the Dive Profile panel.
Info - View only the Notes panel.
Globe - View only the World Map panel.
Yearly Statistics - Display summary statistics about dives during this and past years.
Prev DC - If a single dive was logged from more than one dive computer, switch to data from previous dive computer.
Next DC - Switch to next dive computer.
Full Screen - Toggles Full Screen mode.

14.5. Share on

Facebook - Share the currently selected dive on your Facebook timeline.

14.6. Help

About Subsurface - Show a panel with the version number of Subsurface as well as licensing information.
Check for updates - Find out whether a newer version of Subsurface is available on the Subsurface web site.
User survey - Help to make Subsurface even better by taking part in our user survey or by completing another survey if your diving habits have changed.
User manual - Open a window showing this user manual.

15. APPENDIX A: Operating system specific information for importing dive information from a dive computer.

15.1. Make sure that the OS has the required drivers installed

The operating system of the desktop computer needs the appropriate drivers in order to communicate with the dive computer in whichever way the dive computer prefers (e.g. Bluetooth, USB, infra-red).

On Linux users need to have the correct kernel module loaded. Most distributions will do this automatically, so the user does not need to load kernel modules. However, some communication protocols require an additional driver, especially for rarely used technology such as infra-red.
On Windows, the OS should offer to download the correct driver once the user connects the dive computer to the USB port and operating system sees the equipment for the first time.
On a Mac users sometimes have to manually hunt for the correct driver. For example the correct driver for the Mares Puck devices or any other dive computer using a USB-to-serial interface based on the Silicon Labs CP2101 or similar chip can be found as Mac_OSX_VCP_Driver.zip at the Silicon Labs document and software repository.

15.2. How to Find the Device Name for USB devices and set its write permission

When a user connects the dive computer by using a USB connector, usually Subsurface will either propose a drop down list that contains the correct device name (or mount point for the Uemis Zurich), or it will disable the device select drop down if no device name is needed at all. In the rare cases where this doesn’t work, here are some suggestions of ways to find out what the device name is:

On Windows:

Simply try COM1, COM2, etc. The drop down list should contain all connected COM devices.

On MacOS:

The drop down box should find all connected dive computers.

On Linux:

There is a definitive way to find the port:

Disconnect the USB cable from the dive computer
Open a terminal
Type the command: dmesg and press enter
Plug in the USB cable of the dive computer
Type the command: dmesg and press enter

A message similar to this one should appear:

usb 2-1.1: new full speed USB device number 14 using ehci_hcd
usbcore: registered new interface driver usbserial
USB Serial support registered for generic
usbcore: registered new interface driver usbserial_generic
usbserial: USB Serial Driver core
USB Serial support registered for FTDI USB Serial Device
ftdi_sio 2-1.1:1.0: FTDI USB Serial Device converter detected
usb 2-1.1: Detected FT232BM
usb 2-1.1: Number of endpoints 2
usb 2-1.1: Endpoint 1 MaxPacketSize 64
usb 2-1.1: Endpoint 2 MaxPacketSize 64
usb 2-1.1: Setting MaxPacketSize 64
usb 2-1.1: FTDI USB Serial Device converter now attached to ttyUSB3
usbcore: registered new interface driver ftdi_sio
ftdi_sio: v1.6.0:USB FTDI Serial Converters Driver

The third line from the bottom shows that the FTDI USB adapter is detected and connected to ttyUSB3. This information can now be used in the import settings as /dev/ttyUSB3 which directs Subsurface to the correct USB port.

Ensuring that the user has write permission to the USB serial port:

On Unix-like operating systems the USB ports can only be accessed by users who are members of the dialout group. If one is not root, one may not be a member of that group and will not be able to use the USB port. Let us assume one’s username is johnB.

As root, type: usermod -a -G dialout johnB (Ubuntu users: sudo usermod -a -G dialout johnB) This makes johnB a member of the dialout group.
Type: id johnB This lists all the groups that johnB belongs to and verifies that the appropriate group membership has been created. The dialout group should be listed among the different IDs.
Under some circumstances this change takes only effect (eg. on Ubuntu) after one logs out and then logs in again.

With the appropriate device name (e.g. dev/ttyUSB3) and with write permission to the USB port, the dive computer interface can connect and one should be able to import dives.

15.3. Manually setting up Bluetooth enabled devices

For dive computers communicating through Bluetooth like the Heinrichs Weikamp Frog or the Shearwater Predator and Petrel there is a different procedure to get the devices name to communicate with Subsurface. Follow these steps:

For the dive computer, after enabling Bluetooth, ensure it is in Upload mode.

For Bluetooth pairing of the dive computer, refer to the manufacturer’s user guide. When using a Shearwater Predator/Petrel, select Dive Log → Upload Log and wait for the Wait PC message.

Pair the Subsurface computer with the dive computer.

15.3.1. On Windows:

Bluetooth is most likely already enabled. For pairing with the dive computer choose Control Panel → Bluetooth Devices → Add Wireless Device. This should bring up a dialog showing your dive computer (which should be in Bluetooth mode) and allowing pairing. Right click on it and choose Properties→ COM Ports to identify the port used for your dive computer. If there are several ports listed, use the one saying "Outgoing" instead of "Incoming".

For downloading to Subsurface, the Subsurface drop-down list should contain this COM port already. If not, enter it manually.

Note: If there are issues afterwards when downloading from the dive computer using other software, remove the existing pairing with the dive computer.

15.3.2. On MacOS:

Click on the Bluetooth symbol in the menu bar and select Set up Bluetooth Device…. The dive computer should then show up in the list of devices. Select it and go through the pairing process. This step should only be needed once for initial setup.

Once the pairing is completed the correct device is shown in the Device or Mount Point drop-down in the Subsurface Import dialog.

15.3.3. On Linux

Ensure Bluetooth is enabled on the Subsurface computer. On most common distributions this should be true out of the box and pairing should be straight forward. For instance, Gnome3 shows a Bluetooth icon on the right of the toolbar at the top of the screen. Users have reported difficulties with some Bluetooth controllers. If you have an onboard controller, try that first. It is simplest if you remove any USB Bluetooth dongles. If you have a USB dongle that came with your dive computer, try that before any others.

Setting up a connection to download dives from your Bluetooth-enabled device, such as the Shearwater Petrel, is not yet an automated process and will generally require the command prompt. It is essentially a three step process.

Enable the Bluetooth controller and pair your dive computer
Establish an RFCOMM connection
Download the dives with Subsurface

Ensure the dive computer is in upload mode. On the Shearwater Petrel and Petrel 2, cycle through the menu, select Dive Log, then Upload Log. The display will read Initializing, then Wait PC 3:00 and will countdown. Once the connection is established, the display reads Wait CMD … and the countdown continues. When downloading the dive from Subsurface, the display reads Sending then Sent Dive.

To establish the connection, establish root access through sudo or su. The correct permission is required to download the dives in the computer. On most Linux systems this means becoming a member of the dialout group (This is identical as for many dive computers using a Linux USB port, described in the previous section). On the command terminal, enter:

sudo usermod -a -G dialout username

Then log out and log in for the change to take effect.

Enabling the Bluetooth controller and pairing your dive computer

Attempt to set up the Bluetooth controller and pair your dive computer using the graphical environment of the operating system. After setting the dive computer to upload mode, click the Bluetooth icon in the system tray and select Add new device. The dive computer should appear. If asked for a password, enter 0000. Write down or copy the MAC address of your dive computer - this needed later and should be in the form 00:11:22:33:44:55.

If the graphical method didn’t work, pair the device from the command line. Open a terminal and use hciconfig to check the Bluetooth controller status

$ hciconfig
hci0:   Type: BR/EDR  Bus: USB
        BD Address: 01:23:45:67:89:AB  ACL MTU: 310:10  SCO MTU: 64:8
        *DOWN*
        RX bytes:504 acl:0 sco:0 events:22 errors:0
        TX bytes:92 acl:0 sco:0 commands:21 errors:0

This indicates a Bluetooth controller with MAC address 01:23:45:67:89:AB, connected as hci0. Its status is DOWN, i.e. not powered. Additional controllers will appear as hci1, etc. If there is not a Bluetooth dongle plugged in upon booting the computer, hci0 is probably the onboard. Now power on the controller and enable authentication:

sudo hciconfig hci0 up auth+  (enter password when prompted)
hciconfig
hci0:  Type: BR/EDR  Bus: USB
        BD Address: 01:23:45:67:89:AB  ACL MTU: 310:10  SCO MTU: 64:8
        *UP RUNNING PSCAN AUTH*
        RX bytes:1026 acl:0 sco:0 events:47 errors:0
        TX bytes:449 acl:0 sco:0 commands:46 errors:0

Check that the status now includes UP, RUNNING AND AUTH.

If there are multiple controllers running, it’s easiest to off the unused controller(s). For example, for hci1:

sudo hciconfig hci1 down

Next step is to trust and pair the dive computer. On distros with Bluez 5, such as Fedora 22, one can use a tool called blutootctl, which will bring up its own command prompt.

bluetoothctl
[NEW] Controller 01:23:45:67:89:AB localhost.localdomain [default]
[bluetooth]# agent on
Agent registered
[bluetooth]# default-agent
Default agent request successful
[bluetooth]# scan on                        <----now set your dive computer to upload mode
Discovery started
[CHG] Controller 01:23:45:67:89:AB Discovering: yes
[NEW] Device 00:11:22:33:44:55 Petrel
[bluetooth]# trust 00:11:22:33:44:55        <----you can use the tab key to autocomplete the MAC address
[CHG] Device 00:11:22:33:44:55 Trusted: yes
Changing 00:11:22:33:44:55 trust succeeded
[bluetooth]# pair 00:11:22:33:44:55
Attempting to pair with 00:11:22:33:44:55
[CHG] Device 00:11:22:33:44:55 Connected: yes
[CHG] Device 00:11:22:33:44:55 UUIDs: 00001101-0000-1000-8000-0089abc12345
[CHG] Device 00:11:22:33:44:55 Paired: yes
Pairing successful
[CHG] Device 00:11:22:33:44:55 Connected: no

If asked for a password, enter 0000. It’s ok if the last line says Connected: no. The important part is the line above, Pairing successful.

If the system has Bluez version 4 (e.g. Ubuntu 12.04 through to 15.04), there is probably not a bluetoothctl, but a script called bluez-simple-agent or just simple-agent.

hcitool -i hci0 scanning
Scanning ...
        00:11:22:33:44:55       Petrel
        bluez-simple-agent hci0 00:11:22:33:44:55

Once ther dive computer is pired, set up the RFCOMM connection

Establishing the RFCOMM connection

The command to establish an RFCOMM connection is:

sudo rfcomm -i <controller> connect <dev> <bdaddr> [channel]

<controller> is the Bluetooth controller, hci0.
<dev> is the RFCOMM device file, rfcomm0
<bdaddr> is the dive computer’s MAC address, 00:11:22:33:44:55
[channel] is the dive computer’s Bluetooth channel we need to connect to.

If one omits it, channel 1 is assumed. Based on a limited number of user reports, the appropriate channel for the dive computer is probably:

Shearwater Petrel 2: channel 5
Shearwater Petrel 1: channel 1
Heinrichs-Weikamp OSTC Sport: channel 1

E.g. to connect a Shearwater Petrel 2, set the dive computer to upload mode and enter:

sudo rfcomm -i hci0 connect rfcomm0 00:11:22:33:44:55 5 (enter a password, probably 0000, when prompted)

This gives the response:

Connected /dev/rfcomm0 to 00:11:22:33:44:55 on channel 5
Press CTRL-C for hangup

To connect a _Shearwater Petrel 1+ or + HW OSTC Sport+, set the dive computer to upload mode and enter:

sudo rfcomm -i hci0 connect rfcomm0 00:11:22:33:44:55   (enter a password, probably 0000, when prompted)
Connected /dev/rfcomm0 to 00:11:22:33:44:55 on channel 1
Press CTRL-C for hangup

If the specific channel the dive computer needs is not known, or the channel in the list above doesn’t work, the command sdptool records should help determine the appropriate channel. The output below is for a Shearwater Petrel 2.

sdptool -i hci0 records 00:11:22:33:44:55
Service Name: Serial Port
Service RecHandle: 0x10000
Service Class ID List:
        "Serial Port" (0x1101)
        Protocol Descriptor List:
        "L2CAP" (0x0100)
        "RFCOMM" (0x0003)
        Channel: 5

For a Bluetooth dive computer not in the list above, or if the channel listed is not correct, please let the Subsurface developers know on the user forum or the developer mailing list subsurface@subsurface-divelog.org.

Download the dives with Subsurface

After establishing the RFCOMM connection and while the dive computer’s upload mode countdown is still running, go to_Subsurface_, select Import→Import from dive computer and enter appropriate Vendor (e.g. Shearwater), Dive Computer (Petrel), Device or Mount Point (/dev/rfcomm0) and click Download.

16. APPENDIX B: Dive Computer specific information for importing dive data.

16.1. Importing from Uemis Zurich

Subsurface downloads the information stored on the SDA (the built-in file system of the Uemis) including information about dive spots and equipment. Buddy information is not yet downloadable. Things are very similar to a normal USB-connected dive computer (the Uemis is one of those that recharge when connected to the USB port). The main difference is that one does not enter a device name, but instead the location where the UEMISSDA file system is mounted once connected to the dive computer. On Windows this is a drive letter ( often E: or F:), on a Mac this is /Volumes/UEMISSDA and on Linux systems this differs depending on the distribution. On Fedora it usually is /var/run/media/<your_username>/UEMISSDA. In all cases Subsurface should suggest the correct location in the drop down list.

After selecting the above device name, download the dives from the Uemis Zurich. One technical issue with the Uemis Zurich download implementation (this is a Uemis firmware limitation, not a Subsurface issue) is that one cannot download more than about 40-50 dives without running out of memory on the SDA. This will usually only happen the very first time one downloads dives from the Uemis Zurich. Normally when downloading at the end of a day or even after a dive trip, the capacity is sufficient. If Subsurface displays an error that the dive computer ran out of space the solution is straight forward. Disconnect the SDA, turn it off and on again, and reconnect it. You can now retry (or start a new download session) and the download will continue where it stopped previously. One may have to do this more than once, depending on how many dives are stored on the dive computer.

16.2. Importing from Uwatec Galileo

The Uwatec Galileo dive computers use infra red (IrDA) communication between the dive computer and Subsurface. The Uwatec hardware uses a USB dongle based on the serial infra-red (SIR) protocol and the MSC7780 IrDA controller manufactured by MosChip and marketed by Scubapro and some electronics companies. Under Linux, the kernel already provides for communication using the IrDA protocol. However, the user additionally needs to load a driver for the IrDA interface with the dive computer. The easiest way is to load the irda-tools package from the Linux IrDA Project. After the installation of the irda-tools, the root user can specify a device name from the console as follows: irattach irda0

After executing this command, Subsurface will recognise the Galileo dive computer and download dive information.

Under Windows, a similar situation exists. Drivers for the MCS7780 are available from some Internet web sites e.g. www.drivers-download.com. Windows-based IrDA drivers for the Uwatec can also be downloaded from the ScubaPro web site, drivers being located on the download page for the ScubaPro SmartTrak software.

For the Apple Mac, IrDA communication via the MCS7780 link is not available for OSX 10.6 or higher.

16.3. Importing from Heinrichs Weikamp DR5

When mounted as a USB drive the Heinrichs Weikamp DR5 saves a single UDDF file for every dive. Mark all the dives you’d like to import or open. Note: The DR5 does not seem to store gradient factors nor deco information, so for Subsurface it is not possible to display them. Adjust the gradient factors in the Graph Settings in Subsurface to generate a deco overlay in the Subsurface Dive Profile panel but please note that the deco calculated by Subsurface will most likely differ from the one displayed on the DR5.

16.4. Importing from xDEEP BLACK

Each dive has to be individually saved as UDDF file using "Export UDDF" option in BLACK’s logbook menu. When mounted as a USB drive UDDF files are available in LOGBOOK directory. Note: The xDEEP BLACK saves NDL time but does not seem to store gradient factors nor deco information, so for Subsurface it is not possible to display them. Adjust the gradient factors in the Graph Settings in Subsurface to generate a deco overlay in the Subsurface Dive Profile panel but please note that the deco calculated by Subsurface will most likely differ from the one displayed on the xDEEP BLACK.

16.5. Importing from Shearwater Predator/Petrel using Bluetooth

Specific instructions for downloading dives using Bluetooth are given in the section above, Connecting Subsurface to a Bluetooth-enabled dive computer.

16.6. Importing from Poseidon MkVI Discovery

Download of dive logs from the MkVI is performed using a custom communications adapter and the Poseidon PC Configuration Software, obtained when purchasing the MKVI equipment. The latter is a Windows application allowing configuration of equipment and storage of dive logs. Communication between dive computer and desktop computer utilises the IrDA infra-red protocol. Only data for one dive can be downloaded at a time, comprising three files:

Setup configuration for the dive and key dive parameters (file with a .txt extension)
Dive log details (file with a .csv extension)
Redbook format dive log (file with .cvsr extension). This is a compressed version of the dive log using a proprietary format.

Subsurface accesses the .txt and the .csv files to obtain dive log information.

16.7. Importing from APD Inspiration/Evolution CCR

The dive logs of an APD Inspiration or similar CCR dive computer are downloaded using a communications adapter and AP Communicator, obtained when purchasing the equipment. The dive logs can be viewed using the AP Log Viewer, within Windows or Mac/OS. However, APD logs can be viewed and managed from within Subsurface (together with dives using many other types of dive computer). The APD inspiration dive logs are imported into Subsurface as follows:

Download the dive using AP Communicator.
Open a dive within the AP Log Viewer.
Select the tab at the top of the screen, entitled "Data".
With the raw dive log data show on the screen, click on "Copy to Clipboard".
Open a text editor, e.g. Notepad (Windows) or TextWrangler (Mac).
Copy the contents of the clipboard into the text editor and save the text file with a filename extension of .apd
Within Subsurface, select Import → Import log files to open the universal import dialogue.
In the dropdown list towards the bottom right of the dialogue (labled Filter:), select "APD log viewer".
On the list of file names select the .apd file that has been created above. An import dialogue opens indicating the default settings for the data in the .apd file. If any changes are required, do this as for CSV imports.

The top left hand dropdown box in the import panel allows one to select the APD dive computer for which the dive log needs to be imported. The default it is DC1, i.e. the first of the two dive computers the APD uses. It is possible to sequentially import the data for both dive computers by first importing CD1 and then DC2.(Hint: The logs for the two dive computers are viewed by selecting View → Next DC from the Main Menu after the uploading has been completed)
Click the Ok button at the bottom of the import panel.

The APD dive log will appear within Subsurface. The dive computer-generated ceiling generated by the Inspiration can be viewed by selecting the appropriate button on the left of the Dive Profile. Cylinder pressure data are not logged by the APD equipment but can be manually entered in the Equipment Tab.

17. APPENDIX C: Exporting Dive log information from external dive log software.

The import of dive log data from external dive log software is mostly performed using the dialogue found by selecting Import from the Main Menu, then clicking on Import Log Files. This is a single-step process, more information about which can be found here. However, in some cases, a two-step process may be required:

Export the foreign dive log data to format that is accessible from Subsurface.
Import the accessible dive log data into Subsurface.

This appendix provides some information about approaches to export dive log data from foreign dive log software. The procedures below mostly apply to Linux and/or Windows.

17.1. Exporting from Suunto Divemanager (DM3, DM4 or DM5)

DiveManager is a MS Windows application for Suunto dive computers. Divemanager 3 (DM3) is an older version of the Suunto software. More recent Suunto dive computers use Divemanager version 4 or 5 (DM4 or DM5). The different versions of Divemanager use different methods and different file naming conventions to export dive log data.

Divemanager 3 (DM3):

Start Suunto Divemanager 3 and log in with the name containing the logs
Do not start the import wizard to import dives from the dive computer.
In the navigation tree on the left side of the program-window, select the appropriate dives.
Within the list of dives, select the dives you would like to import later:
- To select certain dives: hold ctrl and click the dive
- To select all dives: Select the first dive, hold down shift and select the last dive
With the dives marked, use the program menu File → Export
The export pop-up will show. Within this pop-up, there is one field called Export Path.
- Click the browse button next to the field Export Path
  - A file-manager like window pops up
  - Navigate to the directory for storing the Divelog.SDE file
  - Optionally change the name of the file for saving
  - Click Save
- Back in the Export pop-up, press the button Export
The dives are now exported to the file Divelog.SDE.

Divemanager 4 (DM4) and Divemanager 5 (DM5):

DM4 and DM5 use identical mechanisms for exporting dive logs. To export a divelog from Divemanager one needs to locate the DM4/DM5 database where the dives are stored. the user can either look for the original database or make a backup of the dives. Both methods are described here.

Locating the Suunto DM4 (or DM5) database:

Start Suunto DM4/DM5
Select Help → About
Click Copy after text Copy log folder path to clipboard
Now open Windows Explorer
Paste the address to the path box at the top of the File Explorer
The database is called DM4.db or DM5.db

Making a backup copy of the Suunto DM4/DM5 database:

Start Suunto DM4/DM5
Select File - Create backup
From the file menu select the location and name for the backup, we’ll use DM4 (or DM5) in here with the default extension .bak
Click Save
The dives are now exported to the file DM4.bak (or DM5.bak)

17.2. Exporting from Atomic Logbook

Atomic Logbook is a Windows software by Atomic Aquatics. It allows downloading of dive information from Cobalt and Cobalt 2 dive computers. The divelog is kept in a SQLite database at C:\ProgramData\AtomicsAquatics\Cobalt-Logbook\Cobalt.db. This file can be directly imported to Subsurface.

17.3. Exporting from Mares Dive Organiser V2.1

Mares Dive Organiser is a Windows application. The dive log is kept as a Microsoft SQL Compact Edition database with a .sdf filename extension. The database includes all Dive Organiser-registered divers on the particular computer and all Mares dive computers used. The safest way to obtain a copy of the dive database is to export the information to another compatible format which can be imported into Subsurface.

Within Dive Organiser, select Database → Backup from the main menu and back up the database to the desk top. This creates a zipped file DiveOrganiserxxxxx.dbf.
Rename the file to DiveOrganiserxxxxx.zip. Inside the zipped directory is a file DiveOrganiser.sdf.
Extract the .sdf file from the zipped folder to your Desktop.
The password for accessing the .zip file is mares.

17.4. Exporting from DivingLog 5.0 and 6.0

The best way to bring your logs from DivingLog to Subsurface is to convert the whole database. This is because other export formats do not include all the details, and we would lack e.g. gas switches and information of what units are used. With database import, all this information is included and readily available for us.

To transfer all files from DivingLog to Subsurface, do the following:

In DivingLog open the File → Export → SQLite menu
Select Settings button
Set the RTF2Plaintext to true
Close the Settings dialog
Click Export button and select the filename

Once this is done, open the saved database file with Subsurface and the dives are automatically converted to our own format. Last step to do is save the log file in Subsurface.

18. APPENDIX D: Exporting a spreadsheet to CSV format

Many divers keep a diving log in some form of a digital file, commonly a spreadsheet with various fields of information. These logs can be easily imported into Subsurface after the spreadsheet is converted in a .CSV file. This section explains the procedure to convert a diving logbook stored in a spreadsheet to a .CSV file that will later be imported from Subsurface. Creating a .CSV is a straightforward task, although the procedure is somewhat different according to which spreadsheet program is used.

The first step is to organize the diving data in the spreadsheet, so that the first row contains the names (or titles) of each column and the information for each dive is stored in a single row. Subsurface supports many data items (Dive #, Date, Time, Duration, Location, GPS, Max Depth, Mean Depth, Buddy, Notes, Weight and Tags). The user can organize dive data following a few simple rules:

Date: use one of the following formats: yyyy-mm-dd, dd.mm.yyyy, mm/dd/yyyy
Duration: the format should be minutes:seconds.
Unit system: only one unit system should be used (i.e., no mixture between imperial and metric units)
Tags and buddies: values should be separated using a comma.
GPS position: users must use decimal degrees, e.g. 30.22496 30.821798

18.1. LibreOffice Calc and OpenOffice Calc

These are open source spreadsheet applications forming parts of larger open source office suite applications. The user interaction with LibreOffice and OpenOffice is very similar. In Libreoffice Calc the time format should be set to minutes:seconds - [mm]:ss and dates should be set to one of: yyyy-mm-dd, dd.mm.yyyy, mm/dd/yyyy. A typical dive log may look like this:

To export the data as a .CSV file from within LibreOffice click File → Save As. On the dialogue that comes up, select the Text CSV (.csv) as the file type and select the option Edit filter settings.

After selecting Save, select the appropriate field delimiter (choose Tab to prevent conflicts with the comma when using this as a decimal point), then select OK.

One can double check the .CSV file by opening it with a text editor, and then import the dive data as explained on the section Importing CSV dives.

18.2. Microsoft Excel

The field delimiter (called "list separator" in Microsoft manuals) is not accessible from within Excel and needs to be set through the Microsoft Control Panel. After changing the separator character, all software on the Windows machine use the new character as a separator. One can change the character back to the default character by following the same procedure, outlined below.

In Microsoft Windows, click the Start button, and then select Control Panel from the list on the right-hand side.
Open the Regional and Language Options dialog box.
Do one of the following:
- In Windows 7, click the Formats tab, and then click Customize this format.
- In Windows XP, click the Regional Options tab, and then click Customize.
Type a new separator in the List separator box. To use a TAB-delimited file, type the word TAB in the box.
Click OK twice.

Below is an image of the Control Panel:

To export the dive log in CSV format:

With the dive log opened in Excel, select the round Windows button at the top left, then Save As.

Click on the left-hand part of the Save as option, NOT on the arrow on the right-hand. This brings up a dialogue for saving the spreadsheet in an alternative format. From the dropdown list at the bottom of the dialogue, marked Save as Type:, select CSV(Comma delimited) (*.CSV). Ensure that the appropriate folder has been selected to save the CSV file into.

Select the Save button. The CSV-formatted file is saved into the folder that was selected. One can double check the .CSV file by opening it with a text editor, and then import the dive data as explained on the section Importing CSV dives.

19. APPENDIX E: Writing a custom print template

Subsurface provides a mechanism to create or modify templates for printing dive logs in order to produce customised printouts of dive logs. Templates, written in HTML as well as a simple Grantlee instruction set, are rendered to the print device by Subsurface.

Templates are accessed using the print dialogue (see image B below).

The buttons under the Template dropdown box allows one to Edit, Delete, Import and to Export templates (see image A above). New or modified templates are stored as HTML files in the same directory as the dive log being processed. In order to create or modify a template, select one of the templates from the template dropdown list in the print dialogue (see image B above). Choose an existing template that resembles the final desired printout. Then select Edit.

The Edit Panel comprises three tabs:

1) The Style tab (image A above) controls the font, line spacing and colour template used for printing the dive log. The style attributes are editable. Choose one of the four colour palets used for colour printing.

2) The Colors tab (image B above) allows editing the colours used for printing the dive log. The colours are highly customisable: the Edit buttons in the Colors tab allows choosing abritrary colours for different components of the dive log printout.

3) The Template tab of the Edit Panel (see image below) allows creating a template using HTML as well as a few Grantlee programming primitives. Grantlee provides the ability to create and format HTML code in a highly simple but efficient way (see below). The HTML of the template can be edited and saved. The saved template is stored in the same directory as the dive being processed. By default, a Custom template is a skeleton with no specific print instructions. The informastion being printed needs to be specified and formatted in the by replacing the section marked with: "<!-- Template must be filled -→". Writing HTML code with Grantlee instructions allows unlimited freedom in determining what is printed an in which way it should be rendered.

One can adapt any of the existing templates and save it to the dive log directory. The standard templates (e.g. One dive, Six dives, Table) can be modified in this way. After completing the edits, use the Export button in the print dialogue to save the new template using a new template name.

To write a custom template the following elements must exist so that the template will be correctly handled and rendered.

19.1. Main dive loop

Subsurface exports a dive list called (dives) to the Grantlee backend. It is possible to iterate over the list as follows:

template.html

        {% for dive in dives %}
                <h1> {{ dive.number }} </h1>
        {% endfor %}

output.html

        <h1> 1 </h1>
        <h1> 2 </h1>
        <h1> 3 </h1>

Additional information about Grantlee can be found here

19.2. Grantlee exported variables

Only a subset of the dive data is exported:

Name	Description
number	(int) dive number
id	(int) unique dive ID, should be used to fetch the dive profile
date	(string) data of the dive
time	(string) time of the dive
location	(string) location of the dive
duration	(string) duration of the dive
depth	(string) depth of the dive
divemaster	(string) divemaster data
buddy	(string) buddy data
airTemp	(string) air temperature of dive
waterTemp	(string) water temperature of dive
notes	(string) dive notes
rating	(int) dive rating ranges from 0 to 5
sac	(string) sac value
tags	(string) all dive tags concatenate together
gas	(string) used gas cylinder

Subsurface also exports template_options data. This data must be used as CSS values to provide a dynamically editable template. The exported data is shown in the following table:

Name	Description
font	(string) font family
borderwidth	(int) border-width value dynamically calculated as 0.1% of the page width with minimum value of 1px
font_size	(double) size of fonts in vw, ranges between 1.0 and 2.0
line_spacing	(double) distance between text lines, ranges between 1.0 and 3.0
color1	(string) background color
color2	(string) primary table cell color
color3	(string) secondary table cell color
color4	(string) primary text color
color5	(string) secondary text color
color6	(string) border colors

template.html

        border-width: {{ template_options.borderwidth }}px;

output.html

        border-width: 3px;

Another variable that Subsurface exports is print_options. This variable contains a single member:

Name	Description
grayscale	Use CSS filters to convert the page into grayscale (should be added to body style to enable printing grayscale prints)

template.html

        body {
                {{ print_options.grayscale }};
        }

output.html

        body {
                -webkit-filter: grayscale(100%);
        }

19.3. Defined CSS selectors

As the dive profile is placed after rendering, Subsurface uses a special CSS selectors to do some searches in the HTML output. The CSS selectors in the following table should be added.

Selector	Type	Description
dive_{{ dive.id }}	id	is used to fetch the relevant dive profile
diveProfile	class	each div that will contain a dive profile should have this class selector in addition to the dive_{{ dive.id }} id selector
dontbreak	class	prevents the div with this class to be divided into two pages, this can be used in flow layout templates only (when data-numberofdives = 0)

Rendering dive profiles is not supported for flow layout templates (when data-numberofdives = 0).

19.4. Special attributes

There are two ways of rendering- either rendering a specific number of dives in each page or make Subsurface try to fit as much dives as possible into one page (flow rendering).

The data-numberofdives data attribute is added to the body tag to set the rendering mode

render 6 dives per page:

        <body data-numberofdives = 6>

render as much dives as possible:

        <body data-numberofdives = 0>

All CSS units should be in relative lengths only, to support printing on any page size.

20. APPENDIX F: FAQs.

20.1. Subsurface appears to miscalculate gas consumption and SAC

Question: I dived with a 12.2 l tank, starting with 220 bar and ending with 100 bar, and I calculate a different SAC compared what Subsurface calculates. Is Subsurface miscalculating?

Answer: Not really. What happens is that Subsurface actually calculates gas consumption differently - and better - than you expect. In particular, it takes the incompressibility of the gas into account. Traditionally, Gas consumption and SAC should be: consumption = tank size x (start pressure - end pressure)

and that’s true for an ideal gas, and it’s what you get taught in dive theory. But an "ideal gas" doesn’t actually exist, and real gases actually don’t compress linearly with pressure. Also, you are missing the fact that one atmosphere of pressure isn’t actually one bar. So the real calculation is:

consumption = (amount_of_air_at_beginning - amount_of_air_at_end)

where the amount of air is not just "tank size times pressure in bar". It’s a combination of: "take compressibility into account" (which is a fairly small issue under 220 bar - you’ll see more differences when you do high-pressure tanks with 300bar) and "convert bar to atm" (which is the majority of your discrepancy). Remember: one ATM is ~1.013 bar, so without the compressibility, your gas use is:

12.2*((220-100)/1.013)

which is about 1445, not 1464. So there was 19 l too much in your simple calculation that ignored the difference between 1 bar and one ATM. The compressibility does show up above 200 bar, and takes that 1445 down about eight litres more, so you really did use only about 1437 l of air at surface pressure.

So be happy: your SAC really is better than your calculations indicated. Or be sad: your cylinder contains less air than you thought it did. And as mentioned, the "contains less air than you thought it did" really starts becoming much more noticeable at high pressure. A 400 bar really does not contain twice as much air as a 200 bar one. At lower pressures, air acts pretty much like an ideal gas.

20.2. Some dive profiles have time discrepancies with the recorded samples from my dive computer…

Subsurface ends up ignoring surface time for many things (average depth, divetime, SAC, etc). Question: Why do dive durations in my dive computer differ from that given by Subsurface?

Answer: For example, if you end up doing a weight check (deep enough to trigger the "dive started") but then come back up and wait five minutes for your buddies, your dive computer may say that your dive is 50 minutes long - because you have fifty minutes worth of samples - but subsurface will say it’s 45 minutes - because you were actually diving for 45 minutes. It’s even more noticeable if you do things like divemastering the initial OW dives, when you may stay in the water for a long time, but spend most of it at the surface. And then you don’t want that to count as some kind of long dive”.

20.3. Some dive profiles are missing from the download

Question: I cannot download all my dives, only the most recent ones even though my dive computer’s manual states that it records history of e.g. 999 dives.

Answer: Dive history is different than the dive profiles on the log. The history only keeps track of the total number of dives and total amount of time spent below surface. The logs, on the other hand, store the dive profile, but they have limited amount of memory to do so. The exact amount of dive profiles that can be stored on the device depend on sample interval and duration of the dives. Once the memory is full the oldest dives get overwritten with new dives. Thus we are only able to download the last 13, 30 or 199 dives.

If you have downloaded your dives to different dive logging software before they were overwritten, there is a high chance that Subsurface can import these. However, if the logs are only on your dive computer, they cannot be salvaged after being over written by new dives.