SMS

New Map Annotation Tools in SMS 13.1

By aquaveo on September 30, 2020

With the release of SMS 13.1 beta, a new tool has been added to allow you to have additional annotations on feature objects. SMS already provides several options for adjusting how feature objects are displayed, but now more options exist specifically for feature arcs to help make working with feature arcs easier.

Currently in recent versions of SMS, annotations can be added to label arcs. This would let you see the name of specific arcs. The color and thickness of feature arcs can also be changed. Also, specific annotation options exist for specific model coverages, such as the SRH-2D boundary conditions map coverage.

The new map annotations can add a number of new annotations to your feature arcs.With the new annotation tools, the following can also be displayed:

An arrow indicating the the direction of the feature arc
Tick marks to indicate the distances along the arc
The length and number of tick marks can be adjusted along the arc
Tick mark labels can be added
The font and color of tick mark labels can be changed

These options allow you to quickly see if an arc has been placed in the wrong direction or to check the measurement of an arc. Note that tick marks will use the units set in the project's projection.

To activate the map annotations, do the following:

Open the Map Display Options
Turn on the Annotations option under the Arcs section
Click the Options button next to the Annotations option
Turn on the different the map annotations options in the Arc Annotations Options dialog

Note, with the exception of the tick mark color, that the line width and color are still determined by the other arc display options. The display of the arcs can be adjusted before or after setting the arc annotation options.

Try out the different map annotation options in the SMS 13.1 beta today!

Blog tags:

SMS

Using the Temporal Tools in the Dataset Toolbox

By aquaveo on September 9, 2020

SMS contains several ways to work with datasets. Perhaps the most useful of these is the Dataset Toolbox. The Dataset Toolbox has several tools for generating new datasets. Among these are the temporal tools which allow adjusting the time steps for a transient dataset. The temporal tools include two options: Sample Time Steps and Merge Dataset.

The Sample Time Steps tool allows the creation of a dataset with a different number of time steps. The time steps can either be increased or decreased. To use the Sample Time Steps tool:

Open the Dataset Toolbox and select the Sample Time Steps tool.
Select the transient dataset you want to use.
Select the starting and end times.
Enter the time step frequency and units.
Give the new dataset a name and click Sample.

Dataset Toolbox showing the Sample Time Steps tool

The other temporal tool is the Merge Dataset tool. This allows us to combine two transient datasets. To use this tool, the transient datasets being combined cannot have overlapping time steps. Most often, this tool is used to append multiple simulation runs together.

For example, if you completed an SRH-2D model run for one day, then created a new simulation for a second day (using a hot start file from the end of the first day simulation run), you could combine the results of the two simulation runs using the Merge Dataset tool.

To use the Merge Dataset tool:

Open the Dataset Toolbox and select the Merge Datasets tool.
Select the first dataset to use, then select the second dataset.
Enter a name for the combined dataset and click Compute.

When using the Merge Dataset tool, make certain that the first dataset selected has time steps that are earlier than the second dataset selected.

The temporal tools in the Dataset Toolbox provide a simple way to adjust transient datasets in your project. Try using these tools in SMS today!

Blog tags:

SMS

Viewing Vectors on the Watersurface

By aquaveo on August 19, 2020

With the release of SMS 13.1 beta, a new option has been added to the Vector tab. The existing Vector tab in the Display Options dialog allows viewing vector data as arrows as data points in your project. SMS can change the density of how the vector arrows are displayed and to display the vector arrows along a constant elevation. This new option allows you to display the model vectors relative to a selected dataset.

To use this option:

Open the Display Options, turn on vectors, and go to the Vector tab.
On the Vector tab and change the Origin to be "Relative to dataset".
Select the Dataset button under the Origin to bring a tree item selector dialog.
Select the Dataset you want to use.

After closing out the Display Options dialog, you will be able to see the vectors relative to the selected dataset. For example, if you use a water surface elevation dataset, you would be able to see the vectors relative to the water surface elevation.

Vectors relative to the water surface elevation

This option is available for all modules that allow displaying vectors. This includes the 2D mesh module, Cartesian grid module, quadtree module, and scatter set module.

There is also an option to specify an offset for the selected dataset. For example, you could set the offset to 1 or 2 to get the vectors slightly above the surface. The result would show the vectors mapped 1 or 2 feet above the ground elevation.

This addition to the vector display option can be used with any dataset in the same module. Therefore, any dataset in the mesh module can be used with a mesh, any dataset in the scatter module can be used with a scatter set, etc.

Try out using the new "Relative to dataset" vector display option in the SMS 13.1 beta today!

Blog tags:

SMS

Announcing SMS13.1 Beta

By aquaveo on July 29, 2020

Aquaveo is pleased to announce the release of SMS 13.1 Beta! A number of new features have been added to this version, and we'd like to highlight a few of them.

3D Bridge

The new 3D Bridge feature allows creating a visual representation of a 3 bridge. This representation uses a 3D UGrid to visualize the bridge in the graphics window. After creating a 3D bridge, the feature can be visualized in an observation profile plot.Using the 3D feature allows generating a ceiling elevation dataset to represent the maximum water surface that can be reached at each point in the mesh at the intere. The bridge data can be exported as an XMUGRID file for use in multiple projects.

Universal Select Tool

The Select Objects tool allows selecting multiple types of feature objects at the same time from the same tool. The selection information at the bottom of the screen changes if multiple types of objects are selected to show how many of each object is selected. The right-click menu changes to match the selected object type. If multiple feature object types are selected, then the right-click menus will be combined.

Extract Features

The Extract Features tool allows you to use a raster to generate feature arcs for channel centerlines, ridge centerlines, or channel cross sections and banklines. This can speed up the creation of the centerlines and cross sections by removing the need to manually create each feature individually. Options for this feature include the ability to extract all centerlines, extract all centerlines with one or more selected depression points, extracting a single centerline, or extracting channel banklines and cross sections.

HEC-RAS 1D

SMS 13.1 Beta includes support for creating and editing HEC-RAS 1D cross sections and attributes. These cross sections can be imported from HEC-RAS as SDF files and saved as a HEC-GeoRAS file for inclusion into a HEC-RAS project.

These are just a few of the new features in the SMS 13.1 beta. Try out these features and more by downloading the SMS 13.1 Beta today!

Blog tags:

SMS