SOS Explorer® 1.5 Quick Start Guide
SOSx Quick Start Guide
Permalink to SOSx Quick Start GuideCongratulations! You’ve installed SOS Explorer®. Let’s get you started on the basics of using it, keeping your datasets updated as well as adding and removing datasets.
Double-click on the SOS Explorer® icon on your desktop or look for SOS Explorer® in the Start menu. This will launch the application.
![The image of the SOS Explorer® icon. Users can double-click and launch the
SOS Explorer® application](/img/0_iqiAt_x3-256.png)
SOS Explorer® icon
Main Screen
Permalink to Main ScreenOn the main screen that pops up when first launching the software, you should see the Earth, a Dataset menu, buttons, and a Dataset Title.
![The image of the main screen of SOS Explorer®](/img/lAST43M_ec-1917.jpeg)
SOSx Main Screen
Basemap
Permalink to BasemapThe SOSx Basemap includes real-time clouds, topography and bathymetry, nighttime lights, and real-time day/night lighting.
Dataset Menu
Permalink to Dataset MenuUpon first launching the application, you will see the Dataset Menu open. To close it, click the green arrows on the upper right of the box.
Loading and Unloading a Dataset
Permalink to Loading and Unloading a DatasetClick or gently touch the dataset title to load. To close, either load a new dataset from the menu or press the X under Loaded datasets.
Categories
Permalink to CategoriesThe datasets are organized alphabetically by titles. If you want to see fewer datasets in the menu, the Category drop-down will refine your selection.
![The image of the dataset categories control panel in SOS Explorer®](/img/ZpSop2plow-479.jpeg)
SOSx Dataset Categories
Information About the Dataset
Permalink to Information About the DatasetTo pop up a window with the dataset description, click the i above the X.
More Info Buttons
Permalink to More Info ButtonsFor some datasets, there are videos, website links, or images included to help you understand the concept. If these are included, press the button icons on the right side of the screen.
![The image shows an example of a more info button](/img/Ro3AGSL4rW-174.jpeg)
Example of the More Info button
Buttons
Permalink to Buttons![The image shows a SOS Explorer® control panel with five buttons.](/img/wq5FtkRAAY-506.jpeg)
SOSx Menu Button
2D/3D
Permalink to 2D/3DThis allows you to switch between flat map and spherical map projection.
Overlays
Permalink to OverlaysThis brings options for geographical references to layer on top of any Earth dataset. For example, country borders or city names.
Measure
Permalink to MeasureThis tool allows you to measure distance on the globe with different popular units (i.e. feet, meters, kilometers…).
Quit
Permalink to QuitClicking this closes the application. If you checked the boxes in the installation that indicated you are using SOSx in a public exhibit, you may not have the Quit button. You can also remove this button by going to the SOSx Configurator.
![The image shows SOS Explorer® tool menu. It contain Analyze, Draw, Measure, Feedback and About SOS Button](/img/XaZahKqpLH-246.jpeg)
SOSx Tool Menu
Clicking Tools exposes options:
- Analyze
- Draw (draw on the sphere)
- Measure (same as above)
- Feedback (send us a comment so we can track your experience)
- About SOS (opens our website)
Analysis Tool
Permalink to Analysis ToolThere are three modes of analysis.
Probe - Allows you to click or touch the globe and get data values.
![The image to show the probe button in the analysis tool](/img/z6FvkRTHZR-858.jpeg)
Analysis Tool - Probe
Transect - Allows you to draw a line and get data values in a line graph, which can also animate.
![The image to show the transect button in the analysis tool](/img/e1gqSpJXIu-1240.jpeg)
Analysis Tool - Transect
Average - Allows you to draw a triangle which computes the average for the data within.
![The image to show the average button in the analysis tool](/img/K83q9tixN--1082.jpeg)
Analysis Tool - Average
Interacting with Datasets
Permalink to Interacting with DatasetsSOS Explorer® contains a subset of the NOAA Science On a Sphere catalog of datasets. There are a few different types of datasets and they play (and update) a little differently. To get a list of the datasets that are available for SOS Explorer® visit the SOS Dataset Catalog.
Exploring the Globe
Permalink to Exploring the GlobeDepending on your set-up, you can either use a mouse, trackpad, or touch screen to rotate the globe and pinch to zoom in as desired to explore the data.
Playing Datasets
Permalink to Playing DatasetsAnimated Dataset Control
Permalink to Animated Dataset ControlAnimated data consists of a directory of images or a video that plays data often over time. With animated data, you can use the Animation Window controls in the upper right of the screen. In this window, scrub quickly through the animation using the slider bar, play and pause, move one frame at a time backward or forward with the single arrow buttons, go to the beginning and the end with the double arrow buttons. You can also change the Playback Speed (FPS) dropdown value.
![An image of the Animation Window shows the Control Panel to let the user
play, pause, and use the slider bar to move one frame at a time backward
or forward.](/img/07nhCAOmPH-368.jpeg)
Animation Window
Dataset Types
Permalink to Dataset TypesThe full list of SOS Explorer® datasets included in a Complete Installation can be found on the Dataset Catalog with SOS Explorer® selected as the platform.
Single Images
Permalink to Single ImagesSingle images are datasets that are made of one image. You can rotate and zoom in on the globe. A great dataset example is Hurricane Tracks: Cumulative - 1950 - 2020.
Animated Data
Permalink to Animated DataAnimated data consists of a directory of images or a video that plays data often over time. With animated data, you can use the Animation Window controls in the upper right to move through or change the speed of the data. A great example of this is Atmospheric Chemistry: GEOS - 5 Model.
Real-time datasets
Permalink to Real-time datasetsReal-time datasets, when kept up to date, show near-real-time information by downloading new frames often. See below for instructions on keeping them up to date.
Narrated Movies
Permalink to Narrated MoviesNarrated movies are often not maps, but rather a movie with narration that wraps around the globe. These were made for Science On a Sphere, which is why they are spherical rather than flat videos, therefore, they aren’t necessarily ideal for the SOSx flat screen experience. However, they are wonderful movies that were made for SOS and so we decided to include them. A great example of this is Eating Water: Agriculture and Climate Change.
Tours
Permalink to ToursTours are listed in the dataset menu usually as “Tour - …” and are typically many datasets put together as a story. They include text, images, videos and other media to provide context to the datasets. A great example of this is Tour
Experiences, 360 Bubbles, 3D and More
Permalink to Experiences, 360 Bubbles, 3D and MoreWe also have a few datasets that are either more like a video game - we call these “Experiences,” where you might pilot an underwater rover or learn safety tips during a tornado. In addition, we have included Saturn with Rings as well as a 3D Aurora.
360 Media of National Marine Sanctuaries are bubbles that can be entered in order to experience a 360 degree underwater photo. And some of our finest expressions of 3D and real-time data combined are our Satellite Models and Satellite Positions. The majority of these only come with a Complete install, which will take up 165 GB of space on your computer.
Dataset Management
Permalink to Dataset ManagementAdding or Removing Datasets
Permalink to Adding or Removing DatasetsAfter the initial installation, you might find that you want all the real-time datasets, for example (highly recommended!). It is easy to add and remove datasets.
Step 1
Permalink to Step 1Double-click the SOSx Utility icon on your desktop which will expose all utility of the application utilities.
![The Image of SOS Explorer® Utility Icon. Users can double-click and open it
to view all utilities.](/img/Jpva0-6FX0-116.png)
SOSx Utility icon
![The image of all utilities for SOS Explorer® utilities. Users can use
these utilities to manage the SOS Explorer® application.](/img/PvLSTHECBm-1087.jpeg)
SOSx Utilities
Step 2
Permalink to Step 2Select the datasets you want to modify, then click Next.
![The image of the dataset management shows the control menu to let users
download or remove the dataset from their device.](/img/eHf50sNEc1-692.jpeg)
SOSx Dataset-Management
Syncing Real-time Datasets
Permalink to Syncing Real-time DatasetsIf you select in the initial installation, to sync real-time datasets, you will get automatic updates. When enabled, it will run every Tuesday, Weekly, at 9am local time if your computer is on and connected to the Internet. If you unchecked that box, double-click the SOSx Utility, then double-click the SOSx Real-time Dataset Sync to open a sync script WinSCP window. It will be minimized by default and will close when finished.
![The image of the script window showing the process of syncing real-time
datasets.](/img/Mlc7HkE003-981.jpeg)
Script Window
Updating SOSx
Permalink to Updating SOSxThe SOSx Updater will notify you when a new version of the software has been released or when a new dataset is added. If you disabled the notifications, you can always update manually.
Step 1: Open SOSx Utility Folder
Permalink to Step 1: Open SOSx Utility FolderDouble-click the SOSx Utility icon on your desktop which will expose all utility of the application utilities.
![The Image of SOS Explorer® Utility Icon. Users can double-click and open
it to view all utilities.](/img/Jpva0-6FX0-116.png)
SOSx Utility icon
![The image of all utilities for SOS Explorer® utilities. Users can use
these utilities to manage the SOS Explorer® application](/img/PvLSTHECBm-1087.jpeg)
SOSx Utilities
Step 2: Launch SOSx Updater
Permalink to Step 2: Launch SOSx UpdaterDouble-click the SOSx Updater. If no update is available, it will pop up No Update Available. Click to close. When a new software update is available, click Next to download the new update. After the download completes, the software Installer pops out. Continue clicking Next to complete the installation.
Contact Us
Permalink to Contact UsIf you encounter a bug or want to share feedback about the software, please go to Tools > Feedback and fill out the form in SOS Explorer.
You can also send the feedback to us using this link: SOS Explorer Feedback Form