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Main screen
Main screen
Main screen

Once open, you can see that Source follows the user interface conventions of a standard Microsoft Windows™ application (shown in Figure 6). For example:

  • The main window can be maximised or minimised using controls at the right hand end of the title bar;
  • A menu bar with familiar FileView and Help menus. Additional menus direct you to more specific functions of Source; and
  • Toolbars providing point-and-click access to many commands.

 

Figure 6. User interface for Source 

The following toolbars (available from the main Source screen) allow you direct access to various sections of Source:

  • Data Sources toolbar - allows you to add and manage sources of data (time series or by linking to another scenario). You can edit or view this data once it has been loaded in the Data Sources Explorer;
  • File toolbar - allows you to create a new project, opening an existing project, and saving a project (and all the scenarios within that project);
  • Function manager toolbar - allows you to add and manage all functions and expressions in Source;
  • Ordering toolbar - provides quick access to ordering-related functions. The button on this toolbar reveals a pop-up menu;
  • Project toolbar - allows you to toggle view of the Project ExplorerRecording ManagerLog Reporter and Chart Recording Manager;
  • Recording Manager toolbar - allows you to manage results in the Recording Manager;
  • Scenario toolbar - allows you to hide or display the Geographic EditorSchematic Editor and Tabular Editor, the Function ManagerData Sources, the Node Palette, the Layer Manager and Location Control panels; and
  • Simulation toolbar - allows you to set the analysis type (single, stochastic or flow calibration), specify start and end dates for the simulation, and to run the catchment model.

 

Quitting Source

You can quit Source by doing either of the following:

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You are reminded to save your project (Figure 7). Click Yes to save your project and then quit, No to quit without saving your project, or Cancel to return to Source.

Figure 7. Exit confirmation

Projects and scenarios

Projects act as 'wrappers' holding a collection of one or more scenarios. Refer to Working with projects Projects and scenarios for more information.

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Saving your work
Saving your work
Saving your work

Save your work by doing either of the following:

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If you have not saved your project previously, choose File » Save As and you will be prompted to name your project (Figure 8). Source uses the Windows file extension ".rsproj" or ".rsproj.xml" to identify its project files. Saving a project automatically saves all the scenarios stored within the project.

Figure 8. Save project

 

Note

If you save a project in the folder where Source is installed, the project may be removed during an un-install procedure.

Editors

Source uses editors which are tailored to the needs of the main scenario types. There are three main editors, known as the Geographic, Schematic and Tabular editors, which support the catchments, management and operations scenario types respectively. These editor-scenario type associations are not absolute and you will often use multiple editors within a given project. For example, you can use the Schematic Editor to define the model of a river system for both operations and management scenario types. Details for each of these editors are available at Geographic EditorSchematic Editor and Tabular Editor. You can also view scenarios on a background map image using the Map tab.

Components of the main screen

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Project Explorer
Project Explorer
Project Explorer

The Project Explorer (Figure 9) allows you to manage model components using a combination of the menu bar, the Project Hierarchy, the Model Parameters area, and pop-up menus. For an active scenario, clicking an item in the Schematic or Geographic Editor highlights it in the Project Hierarchy.

Figure 9. Project Explorer

Project Hierarchy

The Project Hierarchy displays a structural breakdown of the project. The type of display will depend on the view selected within the View Type pop-up menu on the Project Explorer toolbar. All view options will display at least the project and scenarios within the project. The Default View, which is shown on the left side in Figure 10, displays individual elements that make up a model. The Parameter View displays all the recordable parameters for the model. The Geographic View displays elements of the geographic scenario.

Using the contextual menu (as shown in Figure 9), for a selected node/link, you can set parameter recording, edit and rename it.

Figure 10. View type menu options

Model parameters

The Model Parameters area (refer to Figure 9) shows which parameters will be recorded for the scenario element (node, link, catchment etc) that is currently highlighted in the Project Hierarchy. The indicators have the following meanings:

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To change which parameters are recorded, first select an element in either the Project Hierarchy or Model Parameters area, then use either the Recording Options pop-up menu on the Project Explorer toolbar, or the contextual menu to change the setting. Note that these commands are hierarchical in nature and affect both the selected element and its logical children as displayed in the visual hierarchy. You can also define a set of default recording options to be applied to all of your projects. See Recording Manager defaults.

Data Sources

The Data Sources tab allows you to view and manage time series at one location in Source. When time series are added using the Data Sources Explorer, they are available for use throughout Source. For more details on using this, refer to Specifying data inputs.

Function Manager

The Function manager panel allows you to create, manage and maintain all functions and expressions defined in Source. Just as all data in the Data Sources Explorer is available throughout Source, all functions and expressions added in the Function manager can be used in the same way.

Node Palette

The Node Palette contains a list of icons representing the nodes that are supported by Source. To create a node-link network, drag icons from this palette onto the Schematic Editor’s drawing surface.

Layer Manager

The Layer Manager (Figure 11) is mainly associated with the Geographic Editor. It is visible by default when you create a new catchments scenario. Choose View » Layer Manager if the Layer Manager is not visible. You can add new layers, and move layers up and down in order of visibility. The checkbox next to a layer’s name indicates that the layer is visible in the Geographic Editor. Note that any layers that are added or removed are not persisted in the scenario.

Figure 11. Layer manager

Recording Manager

The Recording Manager displays a list of all the recorded results from the model run or runs. Each model run has its own tab. You can sort the results by clicking the column headings. The associated with this window gives quick access to common functions.

Log Reporter

The Log Reporter displays any errors, warnings or information messages resulting from user actions, or events that have occurred when running a scenario. You can choose to display or hide different types of events by clicking the Errors, Warnings, or Info tabs at the bottom of the Log Reporter.

Chart Recording

Chart Recording allows you to compare the results of different scenario runs. You can change certain parameters in a scenario to see how the output is affected. Refer to Chart Recording Manager for more information on this.

Working with the Source window

Just as with standard Microsoft applications, you can adjust panels within the Source window. This provides great flexibility when working with very large models. Refer to Working with the application window for details.

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FeatureEditor
FeatureEditor
About feature editors

A feature editor window allows you to define various parameters for nodes and links. It opens when you double click on components in the Schematic Editor. You can also open a feature editor by right-clicking on the node or link and choosing Edit from the contextual menu.

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Contextual menus can be accessed by right-clicking on various elements in the user interface. In some cases, choices in contextual menus duplicate those in toolbars and the main menu structure. In others, the contextual menus are the only way to access a particular function. All contextual menus available in Source are shown with the relevant feature editor or graphic;

Figure 12. Feature editor (common controls)

 

Additionally, many text fields support a contextual menu. You can use that menu to copy and paste text and include Unicode characters (see Figure 13).
Figure 13. Text field contextual menu

Other behaviour which is shared by a number of feature editors includes:

  • Parameters applicable to a node or link may be grouped according to related purposes;
  • Some user interface elements are only enabled if their prerequisites have been met;
  • The ability to search for elements in the hierarchical list, with the result displaying all instances of the query (both parent and child if applicable). Notice that when you enter the search criteria (as shown in Figure 14), the results are displayed in blue. In this case, the term ‘flow’ appears in both the parent and child; and
  • When multiple values can be entered for a single parameter, only one value can be adjusted at a time. A highlight (normally blue) indicates the field being manipulated. To edit a different field in this table, click the mouse pointer in the target field.
Figure 14. Inflow node (Search functionality)

Many feature editors support loading parameter information from a file. Where present, the Import... button can be used to load parameters into a feature editor whereas the corresponding Export... button will save the table’s current values to an external file. Additionally, as an alternative to entering or importing discrete parameter settings, the feature editors for many nodes allow for the node’s behaviour to be defined via an arithmetic expression or function (refer to Functions).

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About notes
About notes
About notes

You can include a text based message associated with a node, link or function, which can be either:

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Each of the different message types has a different icon. Figure 15 shows an example of an information note added to an Inflow node.

Figure 15. Notes, Overview

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Refer to Adding notes to nodes and links  and Adding a note to a function for more information. 

A summary of all the notes configured in a scenario can be viewed using View » Notes. For the example shown in Figure 16, the Inflow1 node, the $AllocGS function and the Default Link #1 link have notes associated with them.

Figure 16. Notes, Summary

Once the scenario has been run, the Schematic Editor shows all the nodes and links that have notes configured on them. Figure 17 shows two nodes with informational notes, one with a warning note, and one error note.

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Note: A scenario must be run before the notes become visible in the Schematic Editor.
Figure 17. Schematic Editor, Notes

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About piecewise linear editors
About piecewise linear editors
About piecewise linear editors

Piecewise linear editors are used in a number of places within Source. They allow you to arbitrarily define complex relationships in two dimensions. A typical use is a relationship between inflow (on the X-axis, or abscissa) and outflow (on the Y-axis, or ordinate). As the name suggests, piecewise linear editors are formed by concatenating line segments. The number of coordinate-pairs entered into any piecewise linear editor, and the comparative simplicity or complexity of the resulting relationship "curve", is up to you.

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  • You should always include an explicit origin of (0,0). This avoids the need for the model to extrapolate in the negative direction along the X-axis. It also avoids any potential problems which might arise if the model silently assumes an origin of (0,0);
  • X-values should always be in monotonically increasing order. In the current implementation, an X-value that is entered out of order is highlighted in red until a Y-value is entered, after which Source re-orders the table. You can use this feature to add interstitial coordinates to a table by adding new (X,Y) coordinates to the last row and waiting for the table to re-order;
  • Y-values should also increase monotonically. Be cautious if you need to violate this guideline, and especially cautious if the right-most line segment has a negative slope;
  • The right-most coordinate pair should lie beyond your most extreme known value. This avoids the need for the model to extrapolate in the positive direction along the X-axis, and also means that you do not need to remember which piecewise linear editors use linear extrapolation of the right-most line segment vs those which project the right-most Y-value to infinity;
  • All values should be sensible. For example, there is no point in entering coordinate-pairs that violate mass balance (eg. a loss exceeding inflows); and
  • If your model employs optimised ordering, keep your piecewise linear editors to as few data-points as possible. Complex curves usually increase run-time and can sometimes lead to infeasible solutions. Refer to the chapter on Ordering.

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Working with date pickers
Working with date pickers
Working with date-pickers

Date-pickers are used in a number of places within Source. They are a combination of an editable text field and a pop-up calendar. Figure 18 shows the relationship between the various components.

Figure 18. Date-picker

You can edit a date directly by selecting either the Day, Month or Year element within the text field (you cannot select the day of the week). Once an element has been selected, you can also change the selection by using the left and right arrow keys. You can adjust an element’s value by using the up and down arrow keys or by entering a new numeric value. Note that you also use numeric values for the Month element. For example, typing "7" changes the Month element to "July".

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