Chapter 6 ....continued Spatial Data Display Section 6.4 (6.4.1 to 6.4.6)

This section describes all of the functions of Topog_Display and how to use them. The 18 individual function buttons contained in the menu window are shown in Figure 6.1.

6.4.1

The Contours button

The Contours function button is used to map different types of contour data sets generated by Topog. The available options are listed in the selection area and include:

• Raw contours (.cns file)
• DEM contours (.tcn file)
• TOPOG contours (.scn file)

Of the three mappable contour types, only the DEM contours are read into memory and thus searchable (see section 6.4.11 on the search function).

Example 1	The user wants to display the contours saved by program Topog_Element (ie., an .scn file)
Press the Contours button in the menu window Three contours types are listed in the selection area
Select the "Topog Contours" option from the selection area A .scn data file is mapped in the display window

6.4.2

The Points button

The Points function button is used to map different types of point data sets generated by Topog. The available options are listed in the selection area and include:

• high points (.hpt file) and saddles (.sad file)
• elevation data points (.xyz file)
• groundwater model nodes (.nxy, .bd1, .bd2, .obs ...etc)

Point data files with non-standard extensions can be mapped using the Other function button.

Example 2	The user wants to a display a set of elevation data points (ie: a .xyz file).
Press the Points button in the menu window A list of mappable point data file is displayed in the selection area
Select the "Elevation data points" option from the selection area An .xyz data file is mapped in the display window

6.4.3

The Polygons button

The Polygons function button is used to map different types of polygon data files generated by Topog. The available options are listed in the selection area and include:

• soil polygons (.pot files)
• rainfall polygons (.poq file)
• miscellaneous polygons (.pom files)
• any polygon file with a .dat.[a-z] extension

Polygon data files with non-standard extensions can be mapped using the Other function button.

Example 3	The user wants to display a soil polygon file (ie: a .pot file).
Press the Polygons button in the menu window A list of all mappable polygon data files is displayed in the selection area
Select the "Soil polygons" option from the selection area A .pot file is mapped in the display window

6.4.4

The Other button

The Other function button is used to map a number of standard Topog data files not covered by the Contours, Points and Polygons categories. The available options are listed in the selection area and include:

• element network (.elm files)
• trajectories (.stj files)
• catchment boundaries (.sbd files)
• input streams (.ist)
• calculated stream and ridge lines (.stline and .rdline files)
• finite element meshes (.etn files)
• any other point or polygon data file

It is also used to map files with non-standard file extensions. This is achieved by selecting the "Specify >" option which appears in the selection area when you press the Other function button (see example 5 below).

Example 4	The user wants to display an element network (ie: a .elm file).
Press the Other button in the menu window A list of all mappable data files is displayed in the selection area
Select the "Element network" option from the selection area An .elm file is mapped in the display window

Example 5	The user wants to display a point data file which has a non standard file extension but is in free format with x and y coordinates in the first two columns.
Press the Other button in the menu window A list of all mappable data files is displayed in the selection area
Select the "Specify >" option from the selection area The message "enter file name" appears in the selection area
Ensure that the menu window is active, then enter the name of the data file you wish to map and press < Return > The desired point data file is mapped in the display window. If the file supplied does not exist or is in an unacceptable format, an error message will be displayed in the response area

6.4.5

The Attributes button

The Attributes function button is used to map terrain attributes generated by the program Topog_Element. It accesses data from the .atr file and displays this information as colour shaded maps. In effect, each element is coloured in with a value. The available options are listed in the selection area and include:

• aspect
• slope
• equinox radiation (potential solar)
• summer radiation (potential solar)
• winter radiation (potential solar)

A default colour table is used initially and the colours are displayed against their corresponding class limits in the legend. The class limits and colours may be changed by selecting a colour table file displayed in the selection area using the Legend function button (see section 6.4.8).

Example 6	The user wants to display a catchment slope map.
Press the Attributes button in the menu window A list of all mappable attributes is displayed in the selection area
Select the "Slope" option from the selection area A colour shaded map of slope appears in the display window with a default legend
Note: If the user is not satisfied with the colours or class limits used in the legend, then three extra steps are taken. Create a new colour table with a .ctb extension Press the Legend function button A list of all .ctb files is displayed in the selection area
Select the desired .ctb file from the selection area The map in the display window is redrawn using the new legend

6.4.6

The Simulations button

The Simulations function button is used to display the spatial data results of hydrologic model simulations generated by programs Topog_Simul and Topog_Dynamic. Note that this function does not perform simulations. Unlike the other function buttons, a set list of options are not displayed in the selection area of the menu window. Instead, the program searches the operative directory for files with a filename structure corresponding to the form: basename_[a-z].*. This includes:

• all files produced by Topog_Simul (.ssd, .rwd, .usp, .vsp, .ehi, .sca and .hsl files)
• all spatial dump files produced by Topog_Dynamic (.inr, .mnr, .cmr, .iev, .iet and .tet files)

Example 7	The user wants to map results of a steady-state wetness index simulation (ie: a .ssd file).
Press the Simulations button in the menu window A list of all mappable simulation results files is displayed in the selection area including the .ssd file of interest
Select the .ssd file of interest from the selection area A colour shaded map of the simulations results appears in the display window with a default legend Note : If the user is not satisfied with the colours or class limits used in the legend, then go through the extra steps described in section 6.4.5.