May 2025 NDR User Interface Update

This release contains the following updates:

• Files Table - All files metadata side panel
• Files Table - Local file comparison
• Projects Table - NSTA Wellbore Visualiser
• Projects Table - BGS Offshore Hydrocarbon Wells search
• Minor Bug fixes

Files Table - All files metadata side panel

The metadata side panel in the Files Table recently introduced for SEG-Y and SEG-D files, has been extended to all file types. When a user clicks on a file’s Information Tag Description, File Name or Description a side panel entitled Additional file metadata will launch.

The side panel includes metadata which are particular to these file formats. These may include metadata that have been extracted during upload in addition to the metadata from the selected Files Table row. The figure below shows metadata for an image of a Casing Log, the side panel includes the Log Run Date and the Top and Bottom depths of the log run.

Well project file with metadata shown in side panel, launched by clicking on filename, description or ITAG columns in the files table.

Files Table - Local file comparison

A "Local file comparison" option has been added to the right mouse menu on each Files table row. Although this is available to all users, it is primarily to help users with the Data Manager role to compare a file on a computer local to them, to the files held in the NDR without the need to download files.

The comparison is of the file's content, not its name or metadata, so it can identify two differently named copies of the same file. The comparison is performed in the user's web browser, meaning the operation takes place on the user's computer; no data or metadata is uploaded to any other computer system.

The comparison is performed by calculating a SHA512 hash in the user's web browser for a selected local file on the user's computer or network. As the file is read by the web browser the web browser calculates the SHA512 of the file.

The user should first populate the Files Table with files to compare to the local file. Then, once the SHA512 of the local file has been calculated it is compared to all of those in the files table. If the SHA512 matches, then the local file is identical to the selected file.

If the SHA512 does not match the selected file, but does match one of the other files in the Files table, then a “show matching file” button will appear in the side panel. Clicking it will filter the Files table to show the files in the Files Table that matched the local file.

To launch the comparison tool, a user right clicks on a row, which will display the context menu. Clicking on the “Compare Local File to Project Files” will launch a side panel titled “Local file comparison”.

Files Table showing context menu, launched by right mouse clicking on the row in the files table.

The side panel has a “Choose File” button that will launch a file selector window. This allows a user to select the file they wish to compare against the files in the Files table.

Selecting a local file on the user’s computer or network will then start the local reading and SHA512 calculation of the file. The file data is only used in the user's web browser and not sent to the NDR or anywhere else.

Once the calculation is complete, the results are shown below in the side panel.

Files table showing “Local File Comparison” side panel with results where the selected file in the Files table matched the local user selected file.

If the SHA512 does not match the selected file, but does match one of the other files in the Files table then a “show matching file” button will appear in the side panel. Clicking it will filter the Files table to show the matching files.

Files table showing “Local File Comparison” side panel with results where the show matching file button has filtered the files table to only show the file that matched the local user selected file.

Projects Table - NSTA Wellbore Visualiser                

A new option to launch the NSTA Public Wellbore Search page from the Projects Table context menu. The Public Wellbore Search provides access to summary information about all wellbores in the NSTA “System of Record”. Many wells are individual unconnected bores, whereas others are sidetracked from a parent wellbore. Summary information for each wellbore includes a wellbore relationship diagram.

The NSTA Public Wellbore Search page is opened by the user right mouse clicking on a row in the Projects table which opens the context menu. From the context menu the user should select the “Show NSTA Wellbore Visualiser” option. This will then open the NSTA Public Wellbore Search page in its own dedicated browser tab.

Once the NSTA Public Wellbore Search page opens the user needs to click on the ”Show/hide wellbore visualiser” button to see the wellbore relationship diagram.

Projects Table showing context menu, launched by right mouse clicking on the row in the Projects table.

NSTA Public Wellbore Search page, showing the wellbore visualiser

Projects Table - BGS Offshore Hydrocarbon Wells search

A new option to easily access sample photographs, images and related information in the BGS Borehole materials database. Users can launch a query on the BGS website to display information about Offshore Hydrocarbon Wells for a selected NDR project.

The BGS Offshore Hydrocarbon Wells search page is opened by the user right mouse clicking on a row in the Projects table which opens the context menu. From the context menu the user should select the “Search BGS Offshore Database” option. This will open the BGS Offshore Hydrocarbon Wells search results page in its own dedicated browser tab.

BGS Offshore Hydrocarbon Wells search results page, showing the available core information.

Minor Bug fixes  

Corrected edit window to not show ITAGs when there is only one ITAG available for the file type, as there is no choice and no need to edit e.g. SEG-D can only have the CTAG DATA_ACQUIRED.

Updated Upload for file names starting with the projectid. These were previously hidden; they will now display in the table with a note that the "Filename contains invalid characters for upload". File names cannot start with the projectid.