Aquaveo & Water Resources Engineering News

After working to put together the perfect plot for your model to show what is going on, it’s nice to be able to keep that plot. Starting in SMS 13.0, you can save plot parameters with your project or for use in other projects.

Previously, SMS allowed exporting the plot as an image or text file, but it did not allow you to save a plot file that SMS could read to regenerate the plot in your project. Saving a plot allows the plot parameters to be used over and over again, saving you from needing to recreate the plot in the future.

To save a plot, do the following:

1. After generating a plot, use the File | Save As command.
2. In the Save As dialog, change Save as Type to “Plot File (*.plt)”.

Furthermore, if a plot window is open in SMS when you save your project, a PLT file will be generated to go with your project.

The PLT file that is generated can be opened in any instance of SMS. The file records the parameters used to generate the plot such as the selected datasets, observation arcs used, and plot display options.

Once the plot file has been saved, opening the file in SMS will regenerate the plot. SMS will attempt to recreate the conditions that existed in SMS when the plot was first saved. If the plot is imported into the same project where it was generated, it should appear the same.

If the plot is imported into a different project, SMS will try to match the conditions as closely as possible. For example, if the plot uses an observation arc, SMS will use the first observation arc it can find. If a mesh was used, then SMS will look for the same mesh. It will also look for the same dataset and if it cannot find it, then it will look for a dataset with the same name.

Test out saving plots in SMS 13.0 today!

GSSHA Group files in WMS allow multiple GSSHA projects to be saved together in one set of files. It can sometimes be helpful for you to run GSSHA on multiple related projects in order to compare the results.

You can open multiple projects into one WMS session by doing the following:

1. Open the first project using the GSSHA | Open Project File option.
2. Open the second, third, ect., project using the same menu.

Once the desired projects are open in WMS, you can save them as a GSSHA Group Project (GGP) file. This keeps everything together in one location.

1. Save the project as a group by using the GSSHA | Save Group option.
2. Select the projects to include in the group.
3. Give the group a file name.

GSSHA can be run on a group file if you do the following:

1. Select the GSSHA | Run GSSHA Group option.
2. Select the projects to run.
3. Give the project a name.
4. Select whether to suppress screen printing and/or to import the solutions when the GSSHA run finishes.

When GSSHA finishes running on the first project, the Model Wrapper dialog will automatically close. A few moments later, another instance of the Model Wrapper dialog will appear as GSSHA runs on the second project. This one will also automatically close. This continues this way through all of your selected projects. WMS will then import the solutions from the GSSHA runs.

All of the tips here require you to be in the 2D Grid Module—there are additional GSSHA menus in other modules. Additionally, warnings may appear asking if land use and soil type tables should be overwritten. This is up to your discretion. Keep in mind, however, that it is generally best to import projects in an additive manner, with the most simple project being imported first and the most complex project being imported last.

Try out saving and running GSSHA groups in WMS today!

GMS offers several options for importing, exporting and manipulating elevation data. With so many options, sometimes it can be confusing when choosing which method to use. If you sometimes struggle with elevation data, you’re in luck, because in this blog post we will be exploring different ways that you can utilize your elevation data to accomplish your goals. Listed below are several ways in which you might be interested in using your elevation data.

• Assigning elevations in the conceptual model (e.g. to drain nodes)

  Using the Select Points/Nodes Tool , double-click on a point/node such as a drain node. This brings up the Attribute Table dialog. Make sure the Feature Type is set to point/node. Here you can set the type of point/node (such as to a drain or a river) and set the bottom elevation. Things such as river arcs and drain nodes require elevations to run the model in MODFLOW.

• Interpolating scatter sets/rasters to MODFLOW elevations

  Right-click on the scatter set or raster and select Interpolate To and select MODFLOW layers. This will bring up the Interpolate to MODFLOW Layers dialog. Select the dataset you want to interpolate on the left side of the dialog and the layer you would like to interpolate to on the right-side. With both the dataset and the desired layer selected, click Map. This will add the selection to the Dataset=>MODFLOW data queue. Select Interpolation Options if you want to change the interpolation method. Click OK to exit the dialog and interpolate the scatter set to the layer.

• Making sure nothing in your conceptual model assigns a polygon elevation that would overwrite the interpolated values

  It is important to note that if you have top and/or bottom elevations assigned as areal properties to a polygon, and you map this coverage to MODFLOW, any scatter points or raster elevations previously interpolated to MODFLOW as the top/bottom elevations that lie within the polygon will be overwritten.

• Pulling datasets out of MODFLOW (e.g. Layer → 2D Dataset) for manipulation and/or use elsewhere

  Another great feature available in GMS is the ability to pull elevations from a MODFLOW layer to create a 2D dataset. This 2D dataset can then be manipulated and/or used elsewhere for various purposes. This can be done in one of two ways; by using the Layer → 2D Dataset option, or by using the MODFLOW Layers to Scatter option.

• Layer → 2D Dataset vs. MODFLOW Layers to Scatter (preferred)

  It is possible to create 2D datasets from layer arrays in MODFLOW by going to the Global Options in MODFLOW, and selecting the array you want to create a dataset of (starting heads, top elevations, bottom elevations). In the array dialog box select Layer → 2D Dataset or Grid → 3D Dataset. The dataset that this creates will have ids, i, j, and f values.

  The preferred method for creating datasets from MODFLOW layers is by selecting the layer and then selecting Grid | MODFLOW Layers to 2D Scatter Points. In the MODFLOW Layers → Scatter Points dialog, you can select to create scatter points within a selected coverage and chose the desired coverage. If you use this option, there must be a polygon in the coverage for the points to map to. This dialog also gives many other options that are extremely useful and convenient. When using this method, the 2D scatter set will have x and y coordinates and the f value.

As you can see there are several ways for you to take advantage of the many options available in GMS when working with elevation data. Whether building from a conceptual model, or maybe even building a conceptual model from a MODFLOW simulation, there are many ways to use your elevation data in GMS. Practice using your elevation data in GMS 10.4 today!

After setting your SRH-2D material attributes in one SMS project, have you ever wanted to transfer those attributes to another SMS project? Doing this can save you from having to reenter the same material attributes into a separate project. You can even transfer multiple material coverages at once.

There are three project files referred to here: the original project, the project with the saved material coverage attributes, and the third project to which you want to add the saved material attributes. To make sure these instructions are clear, we'll call them Project A, Project B, and Project C, respectively.

To save time on other projects that use the same material attributes, you can use the following steps to export them for later use:

1. Outside SMS, create a copy (Project B) of your project directory. This prevents you from accidentally damaging the original project (Project A) during the process.
2. In Project B (the copy), delete any geometric data that isn’t going to be transferred, such as meshes, grids, GIS data, and scatter sets.
3. Also remove any coverages and material data you do not want transferred.
4. On the SRH-2D material coverages, remove any polygons and feature objects that you do not want transferred. This is assuming that the project receiving the new material parameters will be assigning the material properties to different polygons.
5. This is the tricky part. You have to have at least one Map object for a map file to be saved in SMS. Therefore, create a new coverage of any type as a placeholder. Create a single feature point in this placeholder coverage.
6. Use the Save command to save Project B that only contains the SRH-2D material coverages with your material properties, and one one other coverage with a single feature object.
7. In another instance of SMS, open Project C.
8. Use the Open command to open Project B.
9. SMS should ask if you want to delete this data. If this happens, respond "No". The coverages from Project B (and its material lists and attributes) will be loaded into Project C.
10. Now to add the material lists from the Project B into the material lists in Project C by right-clicking on the transferred coverage and selecting the Assign Materials to menu command. SMS will bring up the Assign Materials dialog where you can add materials from one coverage to another. You can either add the materials to the list of this coverage or replace the materials list in this coverage.

Now that you know how to transfer material parameters from one project to another, try it out in the SMS today!