SMS:Native SMS Files

Native SMS Files are files SMS can read and write.

SMS Interface Files

SMS interface files contain data used by SMS to save display options, user preferences, etc.

SMS Interface Files include:

File Type	File Extension	Purpose
Color Palette Files	.pal	User defined contour palette information
Settings (INI) Files	.ini	SMS preferences and default settings

Generic Data Files

A generic file is defined as any file that was not formatted for a specific numeric model. Model specific files such as those used by FESWMS, RMA2, and other models are documented in their respective reference documentation, which is available from the model developers, not the developers of the SMS software.

Most of the generic files used by SMS use a modified form of the HEC style card type format. With this format, the different components of the file are grouped into logical groups called "cards." The first component of each card is a short name that serves as the card identifier. The remaining fields on the line contain the information associated with the card. In some cases, such as lists, a card can use multiple lines.

While card style input makes the file slightly more verbose, there are many advantages associated with the card type approach to formatting files. Some of the advantages are:

• Card identifiers make the file easier to read. Each input line has a label, which helps to identify the data on the line.
• The card names are useful as text strings for searching in a large file. All input lines of a particular type can be located quickly in a large input file.
• In many cases, Cards allow the data to be input in any order (i.e., the order that the cards appear in the file is usually not important).
• Cards make it easy to modify a file format. New card types can be added without invalidating older files. New files have additional data in the new cards. The new card must be optional (which is typically the case for new cards) for old files to remain compatible. If an old card type is no longer used, the card can simply be ignored without causing input errors.

The generic file formats supported by SMS include:

File Type	File Extension	Purpose
2D Mesh Files	*.2dm	Finite element mesh and generic model interface template definition
2D Scatter Point Files	*.xy	Scatter point x, y location
ASCII Dataset Files	*.dat	Mesh, grid, or scatter set datasets
Binary Dataset Files	*.dat	Mesh, grid, or scatter set datasets
Boundary ID Files	.bid	Export node ids of nodestring nodes
Boundary XY Files	.bxy	Export node x, y locations of nodestring nodes
Coastline Files	*.cst	Export node and vertice x, y locations of coastline arcs
Map Files	*.map	File that contains information for feature data
Material Files	*.mat, *.materials	Mesh material options for SMS (display options, name, etc.)
Quad4 Files	*.qd4	QUAD-4 format finite element mesh file
Shapefiles	*.shp	GIS vector data file
SMS Super Files	*.sup	File containing references to geometry and dataset files
Tabular Data Files – SHOALS	*.pts	Mesh node, or scatter point locations and values
TIN Files	*.tin	Triangulated irregular network data
XY Series Files	*.xys	X, Y series data curves
XYZ Files	*.xyz	Mesh node, or scatter point locations and values

Related Topics

• Import Wizard
• Non-native SMS Files
• File Formats