WMS

Tips for Using the Measure Tool in WMS

By aquaveo on October 6, 2021

Have you used the Measure tool in WMS? You probably have, but would you like to know more about the tools capabilities? This post will review the capabilities of the Measure tool and give some tips for using it.

The Measure tool allows you to measure distance, slope, and in some cases angles along a path you define. It is designed to give you real-world measurement sizes, and can be useful when the scale of parts of a model aren't immediately apparent. When the tool is selected, you will be able to define a series of line segments along a path. This path can be continually defined until it is terminated by double-clicking. When the path is terminated, it will disappear from the Graphics Window, but along the bottom of WMS, in the Help Message window, the relevant values will be displayed in red text. These will be updated whenever the Measure tool is used, reflecting the most recent path that was defined.

The units for distance and slope will depend on the units set by the projection, or by the project defaults, either ft and ft/ft (feet) or m and m/m (meters). It is recommended to make certain you have set the correct units for your project before using the Measure tool.

Angle will only be reported when a line only has two points, whereas distance and slope are always reported. Angle will be measured in radians. Angle will be calculated by measuring an angle starting from a reference line pointing south from the first point, and ending at the line segment defined by the two points.

If you have a TIN or DEM loaded into the project, the Measure tool will be able to get slope values. When the Measure tool is used on an area without elevation data, the slope will be given a value of zero. Slope will be calculated by taking the distance-weighted average of the slopes of all the segments. For each segment, slope will be calculated by dividing the change in elevation across the points by the xy distance of the segment.

The Measure tool can help you build and design your project with accuracy. Try out the Measure tool in WMS 11.1 today!

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Changing the Display Order in WMS

By aquaveo on September 15, 2021

Have you been wanting to change the order that objects are displayed in the Graphics Window for your watershed projects in WMS? Within WMS, there is an option that can allow users to play around with this. This post will review how to utilize the Display Order functionality found in the Display Options dialog within WMS.

To locate the Display Order options in WMS, open up the Display Options dialog, either by clicking the Display Options macro or going to the Display | Display Options... command. Display Order should then be visible as one of the options on the left. There will be a checkbox for if Display Order should be activated or not. By default, this should be turned on.

As might be expected, turning the "Use Display Order" option on will cause objects to be displayed in the order laid out in the Display Order List. When the "Use Display Order" option is turned off, objects will be displayed in front of others based on which have XYZ coordinates closer to the user's eye rather than further. Depending on the scenario, it may be more visually helpful to have the option turned on or off.

For instance, in plan view, a delineated watershed may look better with display order turned on because when it is turned off, objects may look cluttered and bleed through each other. But for another example, in an oblique view, a delineated watershed may look better with display order turned off because when it is turned on, contours may look cluttered because objects are displaying primarily using display order instead of closer ones displaying in front of further ones.

When the "Use Display Order" option is turned on, the Display Order List will be active. The following options can be used to modify the order:

Move Up: Moves the selected item one spot higher on the list.
Move Down: Moves the selected item one spot lower on the list.
Move To Top: Moves the selected item to the very top of the list.
Move To Bottom: Moves the selected item to the very bottom of the list.

When an item has been moved as far high or low as it can go, any attempt to move it further higher or lower will result in a warning message that you have selected the top or bottom of the list, and to select an item below or above the current selection.

Try out experimenting with display order in WMS 11.1 today!

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How to Change the Temp Directory for WMS

By aquaveo on August 25, 2021

Have you needed to specify the location of a temp directory when working with WMS? Starting in WMS 11.1, you can do this when necessary. It isn’t a feature many users will likely need to bother with, but it will come in handy when you need it. This post will review how to specify the temp directory that WMS will use, and why you might want to.

So what is the significance of temp files and temp directories? Temp files are often used in programs that are dealing with files that use larger amounts of data, such as graphics or video editing software. They help save changes, help programs run efficiently, and can restore progress in the case of a sudden crash or shutdown. They are also designed so that they will be deleted automatically when they are no longer needed.

Your computer should have automatic temp directories that it uses, but sometimes it is required to work with these directories yourself. This may be required for security purposes, to troubleshoot issues, to fulfill legal requirements, or for some other reasons.

This can be done by using the following workflow:

Within WMS, click on Edit | Preferences... to bring up the Preferences dialog.
Go to the General tab of the dialog.
Towards the bottom of the dialog, activate the checkbox for Temporary directory.
Click the Select… button that has now been made active to bring up the Browse For Folder dialog.
Use this dialog to locate which folder will be the new temp directory. This dialog also allows a new folder to be added to your file directory with the Make New Folder button.
The textbox next to the Temporary directory should now be populated with the new temp directory address.
It is recommended to restart WMS for the changes to take effect.

The Temporary direction option in the Preferences dialog

Please note that most users should not play around with this feature. Changing the temp directory typically does not speed up performance or improve functionality. Unless you have a specific reason to change the temp file directory, do not change it as doing so indiscriminately can cause some of WMS’s functionality to stop working.

Besides being able to change the temp directory, check out what else can be done with the Preferences in WMS 11.1 today!

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Using a Shapefile with the Fast Flood Tool

By aquaveo on August 4, 2021

Do you have a shapefile with water surface elevation data you would like to use towards quickly generating floodplain data? WMS can help you with this. The Map Flood tool, sometimes called the Fast Flood tool, has a new feature we have developed that will allow you to use shapefiles as part of the process of generating floodplain data. This post will review how to use shapefiles for fast flood mapping in WMS.

Using a shapefile with the Map Flood tool can be done by using the following workflow:

Use any of the methods to open files to import your shapefiles into your WMS project. If your shapefile coordinates are geographic, WMS may ask you to convert them to a planimetric coordinate system for computational use, in which case, click OK to accept this.
The shapefile should now be visible under GIS Data. Click on the Map Flood macro to open the Floodplain Mapping Options dialog.
Under the Water Surface Elevations section of the dialog, click on Use FEMA Floodplain Boundary and select your shapefile from its associated drop-down and after making any other changes, click OK to close the dialog.

Example of using a shapefile with the Map Flood tool

The Virtual Earth Map Locator may appear if there is not a set projection. Use it to navigate to the location of your shapefile then click OK after making any other changes. Navigation can either be done by inputting latitude and longitude or typing in the location you wish to observe.
A message may appear saying that the feature requires a global projection. Click OK on this to bring up the Display Projection dialog.
Review the projection to make certain it is correct, click OK to close the Display Projection dialog and run the floodplain delineation.
After the Map Flood tool finishes, you will have all the necessary data downloaded, and the floodplain will have been generated.

Importing a shapefile into the project will have allowed it to be used with the Map Flood tool instead of needing to download the shapefile. This can save you time and provide consistency when generating multiple floodplains using the Map Flood tool. This also allows you to use a shapefile generated from the first use of Map Flood tool for additional floodplain generation in the same area.

Try out using shapefiles for fast flood mapping in WMS 11.1 today!

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