This section describes the most common basic tasks you will use when working with Studio Express. Although it offers several, but related tasks (channels, pipes, weirs, orifices, inlets and hydrology) it uses only one user interface style. The input, output and reporting procedures are the same throughout.
Studio Express’s aim is to make simple work of hydraulics and hydrology modeling. It accomplishes this by combining a simple, modern user interface with rich, colorful graphics and detailed but friendly output.
This article will describe how each task functions.
Below is the opening screen with primary components identified.
Studio Express User Interface
Ribbon Menu
The home screen contains a state-of-the-art Ribbon control as its main menu. The Ribbon menu contains tabs along the top corresponding to Channels & Pipes, Weirs, Orifices, Inlets and Hydrology. The Ribbon menu has virtually eliminated or replaced many of those dialog boxes you’ve seen in legacy software, giving direct access to options without loading other windows and forms first.
General Procedure for All Tasks
You’ll begin by selecting one of the tabs on the Ribbon menu. Channels & Pipes is the default upon each start and initializing new projects. Once you have selected your task the standard procedure takes only three steps:
- Select the type of structure you wish to model. For example, a Trapezoidal channel. You can choose this from the home screen (canvas) on each task or by selecting it from the drop-down list box on the Input Grid.
- Enter data in the Input Grid. This grid is located on the right side of your screen and works like most spreadsheets. Just type the value or select from a drop-down list box and press [Enter] or [Tab]. The cursor will advance to the next item. To edit an item, double-click the cell or press [F2].
- Click [Compute] at the bottom of the Input Grid. That’s it. Studio Express then computes the output, populates the Results Grid and draws the results on the canvas.
Clearing the input table is easily accomplished by clicking the [Clear] button.
About the Canvas
Your workspace contains a primary drawing canvas which plots your structure’s sections, profiles, plans, hydrographs, etc. It allows you to switch to different drawing types (Plan, Profiles, etc.) while building and maintaining your model. In other words, you can be using any one of them while modifying the input data. This allows you make changes to inputs and re-compute results, providing instant feedback as the canvas gets updated after each input.
The canvas does two things;
- Draws your task in Profiles, Sections, Plans as well as a Rating Curve when appropriate.
- Provides help diagrams to assist in your data entry. Once you have established inputs, the canvas will automatically draw the real thing and update the drawing after each new input.
You can freely change the type of drawing, Profile, Section, Plan, etc., by selecting the desired option at the bottom of the canvas.
Rating Curves are selected at the upper left of the canvas.
In addition to getting formal printed reports, you can quickly save the canvas to a .bmp, .jpg or .png file by right-clicking the canvas and choosing, “Export this chart…”.
About the Results Grid
The Results Grid contains your numerical output. The column headings may change according to the task as well as certain input parameters. In all cases, the canvas drawing will correspond to the current row selected on the grid. A variety of scenarios can be viewed by selecting (click with your mouse) any of the grid rows. When printing reports, the output will highlight the selected data/grid row.
Exporting the Results Grid
You can copy this grid to the Windows clipboard or export it to a .csv or txt file by right-clicking on the grid. This feature may be useful for creating custom reports in a spreadsheet, word processor or cad drawing outside of Studio Express’s reporting features.
Using the Selector List
Studio Express allows you to build and model up to 10 unique scenarios for each task in each project. The selector list located on the left of your screen provides quick and easy access to any of them. Each row on the list represents a single model. For example, the Weir List below holds three unique weir models.
You can clear, copy or paste models by right-clicking on them and selecting the desired task on the context menu. For example, you can copy Weir 1 and then paste it into any other row on the list, say Weir 4.
Starting a New Project
Starting new projects with Studio Express is as easy as creating a new word processing file – just click on the File menu, select New Project. That’s it. In fact, the program is ready to start a new project upon initial launch. In addition, Studio Express reloads the default rainfall files replacing those which may have been used in a previously loaded project.
