WMS

Sharing WMS Project Files

By aquaveo on June 3, 2020

After completing your project in WMS, are you needing to share your project files with a client or colleague? When doing this, it is important that you send them all of the files related to the project. All of the files for the project should be shared in the same folder. This article will go over some of the important files to include.

The most important file to share is the WMS XMDF Project File (*.wms). This file contains many elements of your project, but also acts as a directory for the other files being used by your project. To improve application performance, the WMS project file does not contain all of the data necessary to open the project, so it is important to include all relevant files when sharing your project.

In addition to the WMS project file, it is important to include GIS files that are in the project. This would include any shapefiles, image files, raster files, or projection files. WMS will ask you to locate these files if they are not in the same directory as the WMS project file when the project is opened. If the GIS files are no longer relevant to the project, they should be removed from the project before saving and sharing the WMS project file.

Another file that is important to include is the map file (*.map). This file contains all data related to feature objects and map coverages in the project. Without it, many projects may be unable to open. Similarly, the tree file (*.tre) is necessary to import hydraulic and hydrologic data. Grid (*.grd) are needed to import grid geometry.

When a model run has been completed, it is important for the solution (*.sol) and output (*.out) files to be included with the project file. Without these, whoever receives the files will be unable to see the results of your model run.

Finally, be certain to include model specific files, such as those for HEC-HMS or GSSHA. Refer to the model documentation for information on these files.

One trick to help include all files in your project, is to use the Save As command and save the project to a new folder. Then make certain to move that folder to a new directory and open the project file to see if any files are missing.

Now that you know a little more about WMS files, try sharing your WMS projects today!

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WMS

Exporting a High-Resolution Plot

By aquaveo on April 22, 2020

While working in WMS, you may need to export a profile plot or hydrograph at a high resolution. This can be particularly useful when preparing a presentation or sending the results of your project for publication. Having a high resolution plot allows presenting your work at its best. This blog post is meant to show you how to export a high-resolution profile plot in WMS.

The needed resolution of the plot or hydrograph will vary depending on the final output. Resolution for screens and powerpoint presentations does not need to be as high as for print publications. By default, WMS uses a lower resolution for hydrographs and plots to conserve computer processing power. When exporting, higher resolutions can be specified.

In order to export a high resolution plot, a profile plot or hydrograph needs to be created. After generating the profile plot or hydrograph, the below steps will show how to export it with a high resolution.

Right-click on the plot window and select Export/Print.
In the Exporting Profile dialog, select which file type to export and where to save the file.
At the bottom of the dialog, there is an option to set the size and resolution of the file to make it a higher quality image.

Remember that, in changing the size of an image, there are limits to how large the image can be. Each image should be scaled to accurately fit within its limited dimensions.

It is recommended to check the export plot file after exporting. It is recommended to open the exported plot file in software outside of WMS to check the resolution. Also review the final file size before sending it. If there is a discrepancy, adjust the export settings in WMS and try again.

Try out exporting your plots and hydrographs from WMS today!

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WMS

Obtaining DEM and TIN Data in WMS

By aquaveo on April 1, 2020

For many watershed modeling projects, having the correct DEM or TIN can make a huge difference. Importing a DEM or TIN into WMS can be done in any of a few ways.

The easiest way to obtain a DEM or TIN is to import a file from your computer directly into your project. This can be done using any of the methods for opening a file: the Open command, drag-and-drop, etc.

Once your DEM or TIN file is in WMS, check to make certain it is in the correct module. In order for WMS to make use of DEM or TIN, it often needs to be in the Terrain Data module. Sometimes, a DEM or TIN will be imported as a raster file or scatter set. In order to fix this, the DEM or TIN needs to be converted.

When imported as a raster file, right-click on the raster file in the Project Explorer and select Convert To | DEM. Then select the resample size for the DEM.
When imported as a scatter set, right-click on the scatter set in the Project Explorer and select Convert | Scatter Points to TIN.

Once the data has been moved to the Terrain Data module, it can be moved from a TIN to DEM or a DEM to TIN as needed. This is done by right-clicking on the DEM or TIN and using the Convert commands.

Knowing how to convert data to be either a DEM or TIN in the Terrain Data module allows you to make use of the Import from Web and Online Maps functions in WMS to obtain DEMs and TINs. Other data sources can be used, when available.

A DEM can also be obtained when using the Hydrologic Modeling Wizard. In the Download Data step, elevation data can be downloaded that will automatically be placed in the Terrain Data module as a DEM.

Make use of DEMs and TINs in your watershed modeling using WMS today!

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WMS

Using Command Line Switches for the XMS Installer

By aquaveo on February 19, 2020

If you work as a system administrator or in an IT department, you may need to know how to install GMS, SMS or WMS silently or with less visibility. Fortunately, we have a few options for this.

Previously we have discussed performing a silent install of XMS, this article will discuss options that run as command line switches. For example, when running the WMS 11.0.5 installer with no UI, you will enter the command "wms11.0.5full64bit.exe/qn" through cmd.

When installing XMS, you have the following parameters you can set:

full UI: /qf

This is the default parameter used by the installer. This means that the end user will see the full installation wizard the same way they would by running it through Windows Explorer.

reduced UI: /qr The user interface does not show any wizard dialogues.

This is a form of automatic installation that will skip all wizard dialogues, though you will still see a full UI showing that WMS is being installed.

basic UI: /qb Only a progress bar will be shown during the installation

This option is similar to /qr but, instead of showing the full UI from our installer, it shows a progress bar with default Windows installer decorations. This takes less screen real estate while still giving you visibility into the installation process.

no UI: /qn No UI will be shown during the installation.

This option does not show any UI at all, instead opting to run the install progress in the background. This is ideal for if you are installing the software on a computer that's currently in use and don’t want to interrupt the work currently being done.

Current versions of XMS software can be found on Aquaveo's downloads page.

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