Aquaveo & Water Resources Engineering News

Are you an IT administrator needing to perform a silent install of GMS, SMS, or WMS in a classroom or office? Some classrooms and offices have multiple students or employees changing machines regularly. Non-administrator users are often unable to change the licensing password, lock, or server when these license settings are stored in the global area of the registry. Because of this, we changed the license settings so they are now stored in the user area of the registry. This means that each user account requires this to be setup.

This silent install (or quiet install) workaround requires each user to have the rights to modify the registry. If registry access is restricted, a network administrator can do this by opening the Group Policy Management Editor and creating a startup script that automatically runs the batch file whenever the computer is restarted.

Note: Editing the Registry in Windows is a very advanced administration step. Please always create a backup of the Registry before making changes.

It can be a burden have to manually update the network lock server address in HKEY_CURRENT_USER for each user on each computer. The silent install process is simplified by creating a Windows Registry file that contains the license information and a batch file that can be executed to insert the registry information and launch WMS. The batch file automatically updates the registry for the user and then opens the WMS application. This is the safest way to edit the registry key, as well. The batch file can then be placed on each computer that needs to be updated, and the individual users can execute it as needed.

This workaround uses WMS as an example. This information also applies to GMS and SMS. You can see an example of a registry file in step 1 and the batch file in step 2, below.

1. Create a file, “Netenble.001.reg”, as follows, replacing "license" with the name or IP address of the network lock server. For example, if the network lock server was at 127.0.0.27, you would use “127.0.0.27”:
   Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00M
[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\EMRL\WMS]
"Netenble.001"="license"
   Note: This information was created using Windows 7. Because different Windows versions can have different REG file formats, we recommend you install WMS on one machine, register it to the correct network lock server, then export the [HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\EMRL\WMS] registry key. Open the registry file in the text editor and remove every line except those similar to those shown in the image above, and save the file as “Netenble.001.reg”.
2. Create a file, “wms11.bat”, that will update the registry and start WMS: reg import Netenble.001.reg
wms.exe
3. Place these two files in the WMS folder in the image that will be distributed to the affected computers. For example, for the 64-bit version of WMS 11.0, the default location for the folder is “C:\Program Files\WMS 11.0 64-bit\”.
4. Create a desktop shortcut to the batch file for the convenience of the user. If doing this via a startup script in the Group Policy Management Editor, this step can be skipped.

This silent install workaround can save you significant time as a network administrator. Try it out today!

We’re happy to announce the beta version of GMS 10.4 is now available. Our developers have been working hard to improve GMS to make the user experience more enjoyable.

To help you learn about some of the new features, we’ve compiled this list of four new features in GMS 10.4 Beta.

1. New tools to support the use of lidar data. You might have used lidar files in the past and noticed that the interface was a little confusing and sometimes slow. After examining how the process could be improved, we made improvements to the import process and changed how GMS interacts with lidar data. We hope you find our new lidar functionality is both faster and makes working with lidar data easier.

2. MODFLOW-USG Transport can now be used with GMS. This version of MODFLOW allows including transport modeling into your projects. With it comes the Block Centered Transport (BCT) process, Dual Porosity Transport (DPT) package, and Prescribed Concentration Boundary (PCB) package. Other options are also included in the MODFLOW-USG Transport model to give a wide range of access.
3. Head observations for Connected Linear Network (CLN) wells can now be created to measure the computed head in a CLN node or cell. The process is similar to creating head observations in the groundwater domain with some differences. Overall, CLN observations are simple to create and provide a great addition to the CLN process.
4. You can now export your MODFLOW project for use with MODFLOW 6. This is done similar to saving native text files.

These are only some of the many new and updated features in GMS 10.4 Beta. You can find a bigger list of them here. Along with these new features, we are also excited to offer new tutorials instructing users on how to best utilize the new features. There are specifically tutorials on the new features listed above. Try out the beta by downloading it today!

Do you have a location in your SRH-2D project for a box culvert or pressure zone with overtopping?

It is a common feature added to many SRH-2D models. Depending on how the pressure zone is created in SMS, this can be a tricky process for SRH-2D to handle. Here are some steps and tips for creating this feature successfully in SMS.

1 Use Quadrilateral Elements

Create quadrilateral elements between the boundaries of the pressure zone. Using quadrilateral elements tends to increase the stability and reliability of the SRH-2D model run. Quadrilateral elements can be created in one of two ways.

The first is to create the quadrilateral elements when creating the 2D mesh. Create a polygon for the area between and around the pressure zone. Assign this polygon with the Patch mesh type in the 2D Mesh Polygon Properties dialog.

The second method is to create the quadrilateral elements directly in the mesh using the Split/Merge tool and the Switch Element tool. This can be time-consuming, so it is only recommended for small adjustments.

2 Create Voids

Create voids in the mesh on either side of the pressure zone. There are two options for creating these voids, but one option seems to work better.

The first option, and the more stable one, is to create the voids on either side of the pressure zone when generating the mesh. Create the voids as polygons and assign them the None mesh type.

The second option is to generate the mesh then use the Select Elements tool to select and delete the elements where the voids should be. Using this method requires renumbering the mesh nodes. There is a risk that you will not be able to delete all of the nodes related to the elements which can make your mesh unusable to SRH-2D.

3 Assign Boundary Conditions

Two arcs are needed to define the pressure zone. Each arc should be created on an SRH-2D boundary condition coverage. When creating the arcs, make certain all 2D mesh elements between the arcs are quadrilateral elements. Also, it is advisable to have at least one row of quadrilateral elements just past the downstream arc.

Once the arcs have been drawn, select both arcs and open the SRH-2D Linear BC dialog. Set both arcs to the Pressure type and turn on the Overtopping option.

Both the boundary condition coverage and the 2D mesh can be added to your SRH-2D simulation to have a pressure zone with overtopping included in the results.

Try out adding a pressure zone in the community edition of SMS today!

For the last couple years, we’ve been working hard on the next version of WMS, and the beta for version 11.0 has now been released!

To help you learn about some of the new features, we’ve compiled this list of four new features in WMS 11.0 Beta.

1. The first big improvement is a streamlined and updated set of floodplain delineation tools. Due to a lot of under-the-hood work, some of the delineation processes have been sped up by a factor of 10! This can greatly reduce the amount of time you spend on these projects.
2. WMS 11.0 Beta now supports Amazon Terrain Tiles. These are high resolution digital elevation model (DEM) tiles for every location around the world, and the resolution goes as high as 3 meters per pixel. A digital elevation model is simply a two-dimensional array of elevation points with a constant x and y spacing.These DEM tiles can be accessed through the Import from Web and Get Data tools in WMS.

3. Through a new dialog, WMS 11.0 Beta now offers better support for managing and editing cross section databases in HEC-RAS models. HEC-RAS is a one-dimensional model for computing water surface profiles for steady state or gradually varied flow. You can select, import, export, manage, and edit cross sections and cross section databases more easily.
4. The hydraulic modeling module has been updated to be able to import and export LANDXML files for the Storm Water Management Model (SWMM), HY-12 (a storm drain analysis program used for designing inlets, pipes, and general storm drain network layouts), and EPANET (a widely used water distribution model developed by the US Environmental Protection Agency).

These are only some of the many great new and updated features in WMS 11.0 Beta. You can find a bigger list of them here. Try out the beta by downloading it today!