SMS

Tips for Sharing SRH-2D Project Files

By aquaveo on March 4, 2020

In SMS, projects are saved out as a series of files. These files should be kept together when sending a project to a coworker or associate. The exact files needed often varies based on the numeric model being used. This article will discuss the files needed when sharing an SRH-2D project.

There are a few items to keep in mind when sharing your SRH-2D project files.

Make certain all of the files have been included when sending them to someone else. The core files that are generally needed include:

SMS project file (*.sms)
Map data file (*.map)
Mesh data file (*_meshes.h5)
Materials data file (*.materials)
Any GIS or image files such as TIFs, JPGs, or shapefiles

One of the easier ways to make certain all of these files are included, is to use the Save As Package menu command. This command is found in the File menu. Using this command will place all of the files listed above into a single ZIP file.

Solution Files

If you have already run SHR-2D and have solution files, these files should be included with the other files. When opening the project file, sometimes the solution files will not be visible. To import the SRH-2D solution, select the Open command, then locate the *_XMDF.h5 file and import it into the project.

HY-8 Culverts

When sharing an SRH-2D project that includes HY-8 culverts, be certain to include the HY-8 file. It also may be necessary for the person receiving the files to relaunch HY-8 before running SRH-2D again. This is done by doing the following:

Right-click on the boundary condition coverage containing the culvert and select the HY-8 Options menu command.
Select the HY-8 file.
Select the HY-8 arcs, then right-click and select the Assign Linear BC command.
Launch HY-8.

Restart Files

If the project used a restart file, be certain to also include the *.rst file with the project. In some cases, this file needs to be specified again in the SRH-2D Model Control dialog before running SRH-2D.

Keeping track of all of the files necessary for an SRH-2D project makes certain the project can be used by anyone. Explore SRH-2D and other models in SMS today!

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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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Utilizing Data Modification Tools in SMS

By aquaveo on February 12, 2020

The Dataset Toolbox in SMS allows viewing your data in many different ways, while also being used to modify and create new datasets from already existing datasets. The different tools in the toolbox each use a specific set of functions to modify selected datasets.

One tool in the Dataset Toolbox that can prove to be helpful is the Filter tool. This tool creates a new dataset based on the selected filtering criteria.

For example, say you are filtering your numeric model output to show depths between the minimum and maximum depth, then you wish to filter the depth data for velocity between minimum and maximum range. This tool could help to show how a fish habitat changes over time or for any other purpose you can think of.

There may be multiple ways to accomplish this task, but one method would be to filter the velocity dataset to the desired range and then map that activity to the depth dataset. Using this example, you could do the following:

Open the Dataset Toolbox.
Select the Filter tool.
Use the tool to filter the Velocity Mag dataset to the desired range and apply NULL outside the range.

The Map Activity tool is another tool that can be helpful. This tool maps the activity from one dataset to a second dataset. It helps show only the values of interest on a particular dataset. To continue the previous example:

Select the Map Activity tool in the Dataset Toolbox.
Using the dataset created in the previous steps, map the activity from the new dataset to the depth dataset (Value Dataset).

The new dataset will appear in the Project Explorer, showing the values of interest. If the dataset is a transient then a film loop could be made, showing how it changes over time.

The Filter and Map Activity tools are only two of many tools available in SMS’s Dataset Toolbox. Try out these tools and others in SMS today!

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Viewing Flood Extents in SMS

By aquaveo on January 22, 2020

For many riverine projects, finding areas of potential flooding is a key component. SMS offers a few ways to see the flood extents in a given project.

When running a riverine numeric model, such as SRH-2D, a dataset of the water surface elevation (WSE) is often part of the resulting solution. Using the contours and time steps of the WSE dataset can help locate the flooded areas and extents within the modeled area.

You can use the “max” function in the data calculator to make a dataset showing the maximum water surface elevation across all timesteps. For example, using a WSE dataset, you would enter "max(WSE:all)" to get the maximum value for the WSE dataset across all time steps. This would then show the maximum extents.

A faster way to view floodplain data for a single time step is to use the Map Flood command. This tool utilizes ground elevations and existing flood hazard maps from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to quickly visualize the impacts of possible modifications in the flood level. The Map Flood tool works with FEMA flood hazard data allowing you to avoid building and running an entire numeric model in order to obtain a quick estimate of the flood areas for a single time step.

The Map Flood tool can also be used for a single time step with local data for areas where FEMA data is not available. More information about the Map Flood tool is found in the Fast Floodplain tutorial.

You can share the flood data you’ve generated by exporting a WSE or max WSE dataset in a variety of file formats using either the right-click Export command or the File | Save As command. The feature arcs created using the Map Flood can also be saved as a shapefile or any other available file format.

Try out the tools in SMS for viewing flood extents today.

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