Introduction

When a model is computed, hydraulic results are stored in separate files called output files. This enables you to see results when you reopen the model, without having to re-compute it. Other users can also immediately see results when opening the model, if you include the output files when sending that model to another user (a shortcut is to use File > Save to Package). Note that the model must be saved in order for the output files to be saved. If you compute the model, close it without saving then reopen it, the results will not be available and you will need to re-compute.

The file extensions and location of the files depend on the product and the custom results file path settings as described further below.

A large number of output files are being saved

After computing one or more scenarios and saving the model, you may notice a large number of output files are generated and stored in the folder where the model is saved.

There are a few possible reasons for this. In some situations separate files are to be expected because of the type of run.

Deleting unneeded output files

There are many different file extensions depending on the product and type of run. Generally speaking any files with the same base file name as your model that do NOT have one of the following file extensions, will be output files:

WaterCAD, WaterGEMS and HAMMER non-result model files that should not be deleted: .WTG, .WTG.SQLITE
SewerGEMS, SewerCAD, StormCAD and CivilStorm non-result model files that should not be deleted: .STSW, .STSW.SQLITE
PondPack non-result model files that should not be deleted: .PPC, .PPC.MDB

Files with the above extensions should not be deleted as they are not output files. Results files (such as .out and .rpc using WaterCAD/WaterGEMS as an example) can be safely deleted as they are regenerated when re-computing the model. Be sure to close the model first before deleting the output files.

Scenarios - separate sets of results files are saved for each scenario, with the ID of the scenario. If you use a lot of scenarios and do not need to keep results files for all of them, you can delete the output files then re-compute just the scenarios you want and re-save the model.

NOTE : A feature request is created to be able to delete related output files of a scenario as well, once the particular scenario is deleted from model, reference number is # 974362. This shall be implemented in future releases of the products. 

Fire flow auxiliary result files: For WaterGEMS and WaterCAD, if multiple output files are found along with the model files you have most likely computed a scenario where the calculation options have been set to run automated fire flow (calculation type = fire flow) with the Auxiliary Output Settings set to store results. The reason is because a separate steady state simulation is computed for each fire flow node. If you've elected to store output by way of the Auxiliary output settings a separate set of results (.out file) needs to be saved for each fire flow node. See more on this further below.

SWMM solver output files: When saving a model that uses the Explicit (SWMM) solver some or all of the following files are saved.

• .fld
• .hyg
• .inp
• .map
• .sw2
• .swm
• .txt
• .eqt

Backup files: The .bak files are saved to provide a backup of your model files. These files are not controlled by the custom location discussed below.

See: Can I restore a backup file of my model project?

Other output files

There are many other output files for various tools and features. If they are deleted, the results of those features will no longer be available and will need to be re-computed. Here are some but not all:

Customizing the location to which result files are saved

Result files are placed in the same directory as the model files by default.
However, the directory in which these files are saved can be customized with the following steps.

1. Open the Options dialog.
   • For V8i and earlier: Open the Tools menu, and select Options.
   • For CONNECT Edition and later: Select the Tools ribbon tab, select More from the tools section, and select Options.
2. Depending on the version you are using either select the "Project" tab or the "Hydraulic Model" tab.
3. Enable "Specify custom results file path?".
4. Specify the Root path (ie. The folder in which the result files should be created).
5. Enter the path format. The ">" button can be used to enter common path components (Root Path, Hydraulic Model Directory, Hydraulic Model File Name). These components can be selected and separated by a "\" to create subfolders as needed.
6. Click OK, then go to File > Database Utilities > "Copy Results To Hydraulic Model Directory"

Explicit Results Control 

If you are using the Explicit solver in SewerGEMS or CivilStorm, you have the option to only report no results or results for a selection set of elements for catchments, nodes, and links in a model. To have no results reported, set the field in the pulldown menu to No Results. If you want to report results for a selection set of elements, set this to Selection Set. A new property field will open where you can select the selection set for the element type.

There is also an option to report the average of the results for all routing time steps that fall within a reporting time step instead of the instantaneous point results that occur at the end of the reporting time step.

Limit Fire Flow Auxiliary Results

Foe WaterCAD and WaterGEMS, the Auxiliary Output Settings are configured on the bottom right side of the Fire Flow alternative dialog. To disable storing of extra fire flow results, select "None" for "fire flow auxiliary results type" and "<no elements>" for "auxiliary output selection set". You will still always see the summary fire flow results in the fire flow node table (such as minimum pressures, available fire flow, etc). You can also refine the options to save only the results for certain elements, to help reduce the size of the fireflow output files.

See: Understanding Automated Fire Flow Results

Extra output files found in Windows Temp folder

If the Windows temp folder in the user profile (found at C:\Users\<user name>\AppData\Local\Temp\Bentley\<product name>) is filling up with a large amount of report and output files from OpenFlows models, this could happen if the program needs to be forcefully closed, such as through Task Manager. In this case the model files such as report and output files are stored in the Windows Temp folder found at the user profile file path listed above. If this data is important, you may want to save it to a new location. Otherwise, this data can be safely deleted periodically. 

When a model is opened, it is first copied to the Windows Temp folder, and changes made to the model are stored there while you are working on it. When the model is saved, it is moved from the Temp folder and replaces the copy in the folder where the model is saved to. This means your hard drive needs to have additional free space to accommodate this "working copy" of the model in the Temp folder.

If you have a limited amount of space in the temp folder, you can use the Windows Environment Variable "TEMP" or "TMP" on your computer to change the location of the temp folder to a different location on your computer. (for example another hard drive with more space) Please consult with Windows documentation for more information on setting environment variables.

See Also

Can I restore a backup file of my model project?

Understanding Automated Fire Flow Results

Error Saving: "Custom results path is invalid"