WMS

How to Troubleshoot Graphics Card Issues and Display Issues

By aquaveo on June 23, 2021

Out of all the potential issues that can come up, display issues can be some of the most annoying. Display issues can come from individualized hardware configurations, display settings, operating system and software versions which makes solving these issues not as simple as a one-size-fits-all approach. This post will review general best practices for troubleshooting these kinds of issues with your graphics card or display.

Some of the most common display issues that can arise with XMS are problems with one or more of the following:

Transparency
Functional surface
Texture mapping
Film loops
Contours

The causes behind display issues can be divided into the following categories:

Issue related to remote desktop or virtual machine
Integrated graphics used instead of discrete graphics
Bug in graphics drivers
Limitation of integrated graphics
Bug in XMS affecting all hardware configurations
Bug in XMS affecting specific hardware configurations

Since hardware configurations vary and operating systems change over time, the information here is a general workflow used for troubleshooting.

Remote and Virtual Machine issues: Check if XMS is being run locally or if a virtual machine/remote desktop is being used to rule out Category A.
Versioning: Go to Help | About to note the XMS version, build date, and graphics library used.
Try to rule out Categories E and F: Run XMS in Software Graphics Mode. If the issue is resolved in Software Graphics Mode, then the issue is related to Categories B - D.
Try to rule out Category B: Go to the Device Manager for the Display Adapter. If the driver information/version for the discrete graphics matches what is shown in Help | About, then XMS is using discrete graphics. If not, go to Step 6 to ensure XMS is using discrete graphics.

Update graphics drivers: Whether or not the system has discrete graphics, updating the graphics driver will solve some display problems. If the machine already has nVidia or AMD software installed, drivers can be updated through those programs. Otherwise, click the “Update Driver” button (shown in the dialog in Step 4) or Google “GraphicsCard Driver Download” using the graphics card model you have in place of GraphicsCard. Exercise caution with the links you click on. Be sure to click on official AMD, nVidia, or computer manufacturer websites. Avoid 3rd party utilities that offer to optimize your system or install adware/spyware.
Set system to use discrete graphics: Change settings to ensure XMS always utilizes discrete graphics. Many systems, especially laptops, default to power saving modes where programs utilize integrated graphics even if the machine has discrete graphics. The way to change these settings varies by machine.
Reporting Bugs: If Categories A - D have been ruled out, determine if the issue is machine-specific. If reproducible, report to tech support.

If you continue to experience display issues, contact Aquaveo's technical support team.

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SMS

WMS

Converting a Lidar File to a DEM in WMS

By aquaveo on June 2, 2021

Do you have a lidar file that you would like to convert into a DEM file? WMS can help you with this. Lidar files can contain a large amount of 3D points used for representing features on the Earth’s surface. DEMs can be derived from high-resolution LIDAR data, and we have developed a workflow that can do this. This post will review how to convert LIDAR files to DEM files quickly and easily in WMS.

This can be done by using the following workflow:

Use any of the methods to open files to import your lidar files into your WMS project.
If you have more than one lidar file imported into the GIS module, select all of the separate files and then right-click one of them and select Merge… to open the Lidar File dialog where you can name and save your merged lidar file.
After you have imported your lidar file, right-click it in the Project Explorer and select Interpolate to | Raster… to open the Interpolate Lidar to Raster dialog.
Review the settings and click OK when they are all set correctly.

In the Raster File dialog, set the name and type for the raster file and then click Save to close the dialog and save the raster file.
When done generating the raster and updating the display, right-click the new raster file in the GIS module and select Convert to | DEM to open the Resample and Export Raster dialog.
Review the settings and click OK when they are all set correctly.
You should now have a DEM file of the same area as your lidar files. Hide everything in the GIS module to view the DEM file on its own.

It should be noted that if you have multiple lidar files, you can convert each file individually rather than merging them all together as was done in Step 2. The merge makes the final product easier and quicker to accomplish.

Try out converting lidar files to DEMs in WMS today!

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WMS

New Features to Check Out in WMS 11.1

By aquaveo on May 12, 2021

Aquaveo is pleased to announce the release of the Watershed Modeling System 11.1 Beta! With this release, WMS contains changes and improvements to some of the features. If you have already downloaded WMS 11.1 beta, you might have already noticed some of the changes. We'd like to highlight a sampling of some of the new functionality you can expect to find in WMS 11.1.

GIS Module

A lot of the GIS module functionality has been made to perform faster. This includes performing GIS parameter computations directly from shapefiles, performing shapefile to feature object conversion, and displaying large raster files. Also added the GIS module, through the new Online Maps feature, there has been an addition of Web-based Google tile map services that can be displayed as background maps. Improvements have also been made to the list of many potential online sources that can be used as data sources for the online maps. There have also been changes to the display and operations on images and raster files of various types.

GSSHA

The capabilities of GSSHA model implementation have been expanded within this new release. These include the ability to view multiple scenario hydrographs in a GSSHA solution and the added capability to run calibration on Richard's Equation parameters within GSSHA.

Map Data Module

More options have also been extended when it comes to the Map Data module. A new Extract Features tool allows users to directly convert raster data to stream and ridge/embankment centerlines. In addition to new tools, the Map flood tool has added an option to use local shapefiles that can be used when web service data are not available, where those shapefiles can be used for Base Flood Elevations and floodplain boundary polygons.

These are just a few of the new features in the WMS 11.1 Beta. Try out these features and more by downloading the WMS 11.1 Beta today!

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WMS

Using the Time Series Editor

By aquaveo on April 21, 2021

Do you have an older text file that is in a format that isn’t quite right for your project? Reformatting an older file can be time consuming. Using a time series editor or similar tool can make reformatting the text easier. Provided with WMS is the Time Series Data Editor application.

Using the Time Series Data Editor allows you to reformat files that are not correctly formatted. To do this, the application provides a number of tools. First off, the application can be used for both time series data and XY series data. Once the time series or XY series data file has been imported into the Time Series Data Editor, the application allows you to adjust how the text file is formatted.

For example, perhaps the text file has been formatted using a time stamp where the date is written without a space between the day, month, and year making all three a single column. The Time Series Data Editor allows you to separate out this date format into separate columns

When importing the files into the Time Series Data Editor application, you can select to import using a fixed width or using a delimiter such as a tab or space.

Once you've imported your data, the Time Series Data Editor will display a graph of the data. From here, if necessary, you can make adjustments to individual points in the data.

The Time Series Data Editor also allows you to generate either time series or XY series data from scratch.

After you are satisfied with how the data appears, the Time Series Data Editor allows you to export the data into a number of different formats.

While the Time Series Data Editor is packaged with WMS, it can also prove useful for data that needs to be formatted for GMS, SMS, or other applications. Download the Time Series Data Editor with WMS today!

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WMS