WMS:Drainage Tools

The toolbar for the Drainage module.

The toolbar for the WMS Drainage module has a variety of tools useful for editing and creating objects within that module. The tools are described below.

Select Vertices

The Select Vertices tool is used to select vertices for operations such as deletion, or to drag a vertex to a new location. The coordinates of selected vertices can also be edited using the Edit Window. This same tool allows for selection of outlet points on the TIN.

Select Feature Point/Node

The Select Feature Point/Node tool is used to select existing points or nodes. A selected point/node can be deleted, moved to a new location, or operated on by one of the commands in the Feature Objects menu. The coordinates of selected points/nodes can also be edited using the Edit Window. Double-clicking on a point or node with this tool brings up a point or node attribute dialog, a properties dialog, or no dialog (depending on the type of coverage).

Select Feature Vertex

The Select Feature Vertex tool is used to select vertices on an arc. Once selected, a vertex can be deleted, moved to a new location, or operated on by one of the commands in the Feature Objects menu. The coordinates of selected vertex can also be edited using the Edit Window.

Create Outlet Point

The Create Outlet Point tool is used to create an outlet point for a drainage basin or drainage unit.

Select Drainage Unit or Basin

The Select Drainage Unit or Basin tool is used to select basins which can then be either merged together or split. In addition to selecting basins, this tool can be used to select one of the basin icons.

Move Basin Label

Computed drainage data may be displayed for each basin. However, when there are many basins, the screen can become cluttered with data. The Move Basin Label tool allows basin data to be placed at a position other than the centroid, which is the default location. When moving a label, click in the desired basin and while holding down the mouse button, drag the cursor to the desired position on the screen and then release the button. An arrow will be drawn from the final position to the point first clicked in the basin.

Flow Path

The Flow Path tool allows the flow paths for specified points to be drawn. When this tool is active, clicking in the graphics window at a location on a TIN, or a DEM after TOPAZ data are computed will cause a flow path to be initiated from that point and followed "downstream" until a pit or local minima is reached, or until the path leaves the TIN/DEM. This tool can be very useful in checking portions of an edited TIN before stream and basin definition is completed.

The length and slope of overland and stream flow is displayed in the help window each time a new path is drawn. This can be helpful in obtaining parameters used to compute lag times with some empirical formulas. Stream distances are shown only after a stream has been created. In other words, channel flow is not counted in the stream distance unless a "stream" has been created along the channel.

Flow paths initiated from the centroid of each triangle or DEM cell can be displayed using the Draw Flow Patterns command in the TIN or DEM menu within the drainage module.