Hi all,
I have recently started this modelling job and my predecessor used to create water age maps with the results from WaterGEMS using ArcMAP.
I have successfully modelled our cities water age.
Somehow he used to get the resultant table from WaterGEMS and link it to our GIS software. I am wondering if someone could suggest a way so as i can color code all my pipes within my GIS to be colored depending on water age.
One thing I have worked out, is that I can get my ArcMAP to point to the .mdb databasse, and i have been able to show all my pipes in my GIS straight out of the model, but the only attributes the pipes have are: ElementTypeId, ElementID. There is nothing like "results" or something, that would be ideal as thats what i need.
Any suggestions welcome.
Thanks
-Ben
Hi Ben,
There are a couple of ways
First of all, be aware the Personal GeoDB is not the modelling datastore, it is simply a dynamic storage to "hold" ArcGIS features in during a WaterGems session so that WaterGems can render a map in ArcGIS. As such it only contains feature shape objects, and a unique identifier, but no modelling data whatsoever, and should not be really used outside a WaterGems session.
Mapping model data can be achieved either within a WaterGems session, or outside a WaterGems session:
1. Within a WaterGems session.
The trick here is to go and set up the WaterGems "GeoTables", under the FlexTable menus. GeoTables are essentially a OLEDB Join definition. When a WaterGems session is activated and a model opened, in the background WaterGems will make an in-memory Join between the Personal GeoDB features, and the WaterGems modelling data store fields (this being the WaterGems in-memory references to the WaterGems temp/working folder copies of the modelling data stores: WTG.MDB, WTG.SQLITE, OUT files etc.).
So you can add say, Calculated Age as a field to the Junction GeoTable, and this will now show up in the various ArcGIS interfaces as an ArcGIS "field" for labelling, color coding, Attribute Tables, Queries etc.
The downside of doing this within a WaterGems session is that you need to open the model everytime you want to render a pretty ArcGIS map to dynamically join the map features<->model data, and there can be some frustrating traps in sometimes inadvertantly doing things that lose the ArcGIS<->WaterGems join, and some limitations on Layer management.
2. Outside a WaterGems Session
I generally prefer this approach if I'm making a stand-alone map, rather than just reviewing modelling results (which is where I would use method 1). You can go into your FlexTables, and create a FlexTable that contains the data fields you want and then export them to standalone GIS files. In the FlexTable Dialog there is an "Export" tool, where the modelling data can be pumped out into SHP format. You can then use this in your ArcGIS Map, independent of WaterGems.
Thanks very much for the response, I had completely forgotten that you can export to shp files. I have tested this and it worked a treat!
A third way I've had some success with is using ArcGIS to dump the data out instead of using WaterGems FlexTable "Export to File..." tool.
You can open the WaterGems model in ArcGIS, modify the GeoTable(s) to contain the fields you want, and use the Layer->Export Data ArcGIS tool to pump out to a standalone SHP, PGDB or FGDB feature class.
If it is an external GIS dataset you want to overwrite/update several times with modelling results, you can script a WaterGems ModelBuilder synchronisation definition (under the Tools Menu), that will automate further exports.