SMS

Converting a 2D Scatter to a Raster

By aquaveo on October 16, 2019

Have you ever needed to convert a 2D scatter set to a raster? A new feature of SMS 13.0 allows converting a 2D scatter set to a raster from the right-click menu in the Project Explorer.

Being able to convert from a 2D scatter set to a raster is particularly useful when collaborating with a colleague, or switching between programs. There are many types of raster files that can be shared between different applications.

To convert a 2D Scatter right-click on the 2D Scatter Set under Scatter Data folder in the Project Explorer and go to Convert | Scatter → Raster.

In the Interpolate to Raster dialog you have three options for Interpolation:

  • Linear
  • Inverse Distance Weighted
  • Natural Neighbor

Each option for interpolation is slightly different from the other focusing more on lower z values, higher z values, or the x and y values. Feel free to compare all three with your 2D scatter set.

Once you have selected the interpolation type you can choose to truncate some of the data by clicking on the Options button to launch the Interpolate dialog. Using the truncating option removes data from your raster. Some scenarios many only be visible in Plan view.

When you have selected your interpolation method, and truncation value if you so desire, then selecting OK will direct you to saving your raster file. You have two file type options:

  • Geo TIFF Tiles (*.tif)
  • Arch Info ASCII Grid Files (*.asc)

If you select the ASCII file type you may be asked to select a global projection, whereas the TIFF option does not. By default the raster will be imported into your current project.

When converting a scatter set to a raster the program may need to make some adjustments to outlying points. With each of the interpolation options, SMS adjusts the data for slightly different raster results.

You can see that the converted raster closely reflects the original dataset. The scale on the left of the Graphic Window will show you how closely the two are alike.

2D raster to scatter example

Now that you know how easy it is to convert a 2D scatter set to a raster try it in SMS today!

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SMS

Aquaveo User Conference 2019

By aquaveo on October 9, 2019

The 2019 Aquaveo User Conference is going on now. It started yesterday, October 8th, and will wrap up today, October 9th. We are enjoying meeting with users from around the world. In attendance are users from the United States, Germany, Portugal, South Africa, and other places around the globe.

At the conference, we announced some of the new features and upcoming changes to our products that we are excited about:

  • Making XMS functionality available for use outside of the traditional interface.
  • More web-based applications for portability and ease of access.
  • Simplifying and unifying tools so it is easier to find and use the functionalities available.
  • Project management tools to track the history of a model.
  • 3D bridge modeling in SMS.
2019 Aquaveo User Conference

Talking to those in attendance, we learned they enjoyed:

  • Learning more about software features and functionality.
  • Learning how to improve their model development process.
  • Discovering benefits of Aquaveo’s software over other software.
  • Talking to developers and learning tips for model development.
  • Being able to show off their models and receive feedback on them.
Eva Loch presenting at the 2019 Aquaveo User Conference

We’d like the thank the following for participating during our user conference:

If you couldn’t make it to the Aquaveo User Conference this year, watch our website and Facebook page for future conferences.

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CityWater

Tips for Finding Information on the XMS Wiki

By aquaveo on September 25, 2019

The Aquaveo XMS Wiki contains over 8000 pages of information and images about SMS, GMS, WMS, and other Aquaveo products (collectively called "XMS"). While we try to make the information as easy to find as possible, sometimes the sheer volume of available information can make a particular search term harder to locate. Here, we discuss a few ways to find the information you need using the XMS Wiki.

Help Button

Most dialogs in SMS, GMS, and WMS contain a Help button at the bottom of the dialog window. Clicking this button will generally take you directly to a page on the XMS Wiki about that dialog. This is the quickest way to find information about a dialog.

Navigation Links

When you visit any page on the XMS Wiki, an "XMS Projects" menu is found at the top left of the page. Click on any of the products listed there to be taken to the main page for that product. Once there, click on any of the links in the Wiki Sections section on the lower right to be taken to a table of contents listing all of the pages discussing the features of that product.

Example of the XMS Wiki

At the bottom of the main page for the product, there is also a navigation template listing main topics for that product. This allows you to quickly navigate to any of those main topics.

Search Field
Example of the XMS Wiki Projects menu

Directly below the "XMS Projects" menu is a search field. If you start typing in that field, the XMS Wiki will attempt to locate a page containing what you type. To find a page about a particular product, preface the search term with that product's abbreviation, followed by a colon and the search term. For example, if you are searching for information about the bridge scour features in SMS, type "SMS:Bridge Scour" and a list of articles will appear below the search box. Simply select the desired article to be taken directly to it.

You can also enter only the search term and select the "containing…searchterm", where "searchterm" is the term you entered in the search box. This will bring up a list of pages containing the term you entered. This can be useful when you don't know what the page might be named, but you know a term that might be used on that page.

Categories

At the bottom of every page on the XMS Wiki is a list of one or more categories. This provides another way to locate information on a given topic. Simply click on the category to find a list of pages, images, and additional categories related to that topic.

Google

One option that is often overlooked is to use the power of the Google search engine. To search for pages or information on the XMS Wiki, enter "searchterm site:xmswiki.com", replacing "searchterm" with the word or words you are seeking. This tells Google to provide results only from the XMS Wiki. Click this link for an example.

Page Prefixes

Most pages on the XMS Wiki are prefaced by a product abbreviation. When reviewing search results, make sure the page you are on has the appropriate abbreviation at the beginning of the page title (e.g., "SMS:Display Options", "GMS:Display Options", "WMS:Display Options"), as similar pages may be found for various products.

Page Notices

Sometimes when searching for information or a feature, you may find pages that document obsolete or future features. These pages will have notices at the top indicating this status. There are other types of notices that may appear at the tops of pages, as well, so always be sure to read any notices that appear.

Try out these search methods today by visiting the XMS Wiki today!

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GMS
SMS
WMS

Snapping Mesh Nodes to Arcs

By aquaveo on September 18, 2019

After generating a mesh, you might notice that not all of the nodes line up along key features. There are a few ways to resolve this, but SMS 13.0 introduces a new method: the Snap Mesh to Arcs command.

In order to use the Snap Mesh to Arcs command, you must have the following:

  • 2D Mesh
  • Map coverage

Once you have the needed components, snap the nodes to an arc by doing the following:

  1. On the map coverage, draw an arc or arcs where you want to move the mesh nodes.
  2. Select the desired arcs.
  3. Make certain the correct map coverage and mesh are active in the Project Explorer.
  4. Right-click on the map coverage in the Project Explorer and select Snap Mesh to Arcs.
  5. Specify a tolerance value in the Snap Mesh to Arcs dialog.
Example of snapping mesh nodes to arcs

The command aligns the nodes in the mesh to the selected arcs in the map coverage. If no arcs are selected, this command will move nodes for all arcs in the coverage, so be certain to either select the correct arcs or make certain there are no extra arcs on the coverage.

When using the tool, it will only work with the active mesh and the active map coverage. Be certain that the correct mesh and map coverage are active in the Project Explorer.

It should be noted that not all nodes will be snapped to the selected arc. Any node that could cause instability, if moved, in the mesh will not be moved. Furthermore, nodes outside of the tolerance value will not be moved. When the nodes have been moved they cannot be moved back, therefore it might be a good idea to first use the tool on a duplicate of the target mesh then, if the results are good, rerun the tool on the target mesh.

The Snap Mesh to Arcs tool can be a useful addition to your mesh editing tools. Try it out in SMS today!

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