Is it possible to make a child scenario/alternative into a base scenario/alternative?

  Product(s): WaterGEMS, WaterCAD, SewerGEMS, SewerCAD, StormCAD, CivilStorm, PondPack
  Version(s): 10.xx.xx.xx, 08.11.xx.xx
  Area: Modeling

Problem

Is it possible to make a child scenario or a child alternative into a base scenario or base alternative?

Problem ID#: 64157

Solution

With Alternatives, you can use the Merge feature to do this. In the simplest case, you would simply right-click on the alternative you want to merge with another and choose Merge. You will get a message that says:

"This action will move all records from 'child alternative' into 'base alternative' and remove 'child alternative'. Are you sure you want to merge 'child alternative'."

This means that the data in the current child alternative will be applied to the alternative above it. Note that it is not possible to use the Merge function when an alternative is being used by the current scenario. If that is the case, you would need to change scenarios before doing this. You will also want to be very careful in removing alternatives because they may be used in other scenarios as well.

In some cases, you may not be able to easily merge two alternatives together, such as a case where you have just two alternatives. Since one or the other alternative will be used in a given scenario, merging these would be difficult. In such a case, using the Duplicate feature with the Merge feature will be helpful.

First, duplicate the alternative you want to turn into a base alternative and give it a temporary name. Double-click on the new alternative to open it and global edit the first column (*) of this new alternative and adjust it so that all the records local.

Next, create a new base alternative and drag the duplicate alternative you created to the new base alternative. This will make the duplicate alternative a child alternative of the new base alternative. Now, right-click on the child alternative and choose Merge. The two alternatives will be merged together as described above.

A note about scenarios

Scenarios do not have merge and duplicate features. Instead, you would need to simply create a new base scenario and assign the appropriate alternatives to it. This would, in essence, be the same thing as duplicating and merging as described above for alternatives, though following a more manual process.

A search feature is included in the WaterGEMS 2023 and WaterCAD 2023 releases (version 23.00.00.XX). This feature will also be included in subsequent releases of the products.

See Also

Scenario and Alternative Management

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