How to add and remove project files and subfolders

Updated on 01 Aug 2022
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How to add project files

If you have an existing model (1D or 2D), associated model input data files or GIS layers, you can load these into your project. This will ensure all of your project data are stored in one place. You can also associate other useful files with your project, such as reports, photographs or presentations. It should be noted that when you add a file to your project, you will not be creating a copy of your data, but merely adding a reference to your files within the Flood Modeller project structure.

File type	File Definition	How to load
1D network	Collections of connected 1D nodes saved with file extension '.dat', (Flood Modeller 1D model files)	Right click on the networks section of the project view and select 'Add item', then browse to your dat file Click on the 'Add 1D Network' button in the main toolbar ('Home' tab) then browse to dat file Click on the 'New' button in the main toolbar (networks section of 'Home' tab), define details of your new network and then go to the 'Model Build' toolbar tab to start adding nodes to define a new network.
Event data	Subsets of your 1D networks that define variations from the default boundary data (as defined within the network), e.g. different historical flood events (flow time series), rainfall events (1-in-100 year storm) or tidal cycles (water level time-series). These files have extension '.ied' and have a similar format to 1D network (dat) files	Right-click on the event data section of the project view and select 'Add item', then browse to your ied file Select the subset of nodes to add to your new event file from your active 1D network (in the map view or network or nodes tables). Right-click on the network table and select the export function. You can then export the selected data to a new event file. You can then edit these data by making the new event file active in the interface).
Initial conditions	The default initial conditions settings for your 1D network (contained in the dat file) can be overridden by a separate initial conditions file. This is a text file that lists all network nodes and provides key parameter settings for each node. The extension can be 'zzs' or 'iic'.	Right-click on the initial conditions section of the project view and select 'Add item', then browse to your zzc or iic file Specify a simulation to output a snapshot file to be used as initial conditions. When the simulation is run, this will be added to your project automatically
Spatial data	Both 1D and 2D simulations can use spatial data. 2D models are mainly defined by these data types, whereas 1D models use spatial data for flood mapping (in results post-processing). References to spatial data are defined in the associated model simulation files. You can use this section of the project to store references to your spatial datasets.	You can view these data in the Flood Modeller map view by adding them to the layers window. However, in some cases, you may not wish to visualise these spatial datasets, but still associate with your project. In this case, right-click on the spatial data section of the project view and select 'Add item', then browse to your spatial dataset.
Associated files	This section of the project can store any files. This enables you to add references to files that are not part of your models but may be directly relevant to your project, eg photos, reports, presentations.	Right click on the associated data section of the project view and select 'Add item', then browse to your file.
Simulations	All models types are defined by a simulation file. If you are investigating different scenarios then each one will require a simulation file that references all input data and details your associated simulation settings. 1D simulation files are in text format with extension 'ief'. 2D simulations are xml format ('.xml'). Linked models will use a combination of these files.	Right click on the simulations section of the project view and select 'Add item', then browse to an existing ief or 2D xml file. Right-click on the simulations section of the project view and select 'New 1D simulation'. The 1D model definition window will be displayed enabling you to define a new ief file. Right-click on the simulations section of the project view and select 'New 2D simulation'. The 2D model definition window will be displayed enabling you to define a new xml file. You can also add a reference to a 1D simulation file here for linked models. Double-click on an existing simulation file. The relevant simulation definition window will be displayed with the selected file loaded. You can then define revised settings and use the 'Save As' option to create a new simulation, which will then be added to your project automatically. New 1D, 2D or linked simulations can also be defined by clicking the relevant new simulation button in the simulations tab of the main toolbar.

If your project starts to contain a large number of model files you can introduce additional organisation into the project structure by grouping project files into sub-folders within each project category. For example in the 1D networks section you might have sub-folders entitled “current” and “superseded” to signify which design options have been investigated and discounted or in the simulations section you might group your 1D and 2D models in separate sub-folders.

Flood Modeller allows you to define two sub-levels of folders in each of the (fixed) project categories. Folder names are user specified (and sub-folders can also be renamed by accessing the folder properties).

Files are added to sub-folders by using the standard right-click menus for each project category to add new or existing items. Alternatively you can drag and drop files from one sub-folder to another. Note that drag and drop is restricted to within the same project category, i.e. you cannot drag an event file into the Networks folder.

When you save your project all defined sub-folders will be saved. When you re-open the project it will open with all sub-folders expanded in the Project panel to show all contents.

How to remove project files

After a file has been added to your project, you will also have the option of later removing it. This is done by right-clicking in the project view on the file to be removed and selecting 'Remove' from the displayed menu. Note, the actual file is not deleted, just the reference to it in the project. Note, once selected, this operation happens without further prompting and there is no undo option. If you remove a file accidently, you will have to repeat the add item procedure again to add it to your project.

If you right-click on a section heading in the project view, for example 1D Networks, then the displayed menu includes an option to remove all. This will remove all files from the selected section in a single operation. This function will first ask you if you are sure you wish to proceed before removing files from your project.

Spatial datasets can be removed from the map view while still remaining in your project (referenced in the project view spatial data section). To remove a layer from the map, right-click on the layer in the Layers window and select 'Unload layer' from the menu.

How to add sub-folders to a project

A Flood Modeller project consists of a fixed set of categories that are displayed in the Project panel as separate folders entitled:

Networks – 1D model networks
Event Data – text files that define scenarios for selected 1D units, usually boundary units, e.g. climate change adjusted inflow time series.
Initial Conditions – text files that contain starting conditions of 1D units within a network
Spatial Data – GIS datasets that you want to store in the project but do not want in your map view, e.g. very large grids that would slow performance if displayed.
Associated Data – files that you want to store in your project but do not fall into any other category, e.g. project reports, photos, etc.
Simulations – files that define 1D and 2D model simulations

Within a project you might find that you have a large number of files saved in one or more of these fixed folders. Therefore to help organise your project better Flood Modeller allows you to define sub-folders within each fixed folder. Sub-folders are named by the user. Files can be added directly to a sub-folder or can be dragged and dropped from other folders. Note that files can only be dragged and dropped within their associated fixed category.

To add a new sub-folder:

Right-click on the relevant fixed folder and select Add Folder from the displayed menu, as shown below
A new window will be displayed prompting you to type in a name for the new folder.
After typing in a name clicking the OK button will create the new folder in the appropriate project category. Once created you can right-click on the new folder to get access to the same menu as associated to the top level fixed category. Thus, you can add items or create new files in the sub-folder. Furthermore you can drag other files and folders from within the same project category and drop them into the new sub-folder.
Flood Modeller allows you to have up to two sub-levels below each main project category, as shown by the example below:
When you save your project the sub-folder structure you’ve created will also be saved. When you re-open the project in Flood Modeller all sub-folders will open expanded, i.e. showing their contents. You can click on the left hand minus (‘-‘) symbols to close sub-folders you do not need to see inside.
You can edit a sub-folder name and also associate a description to each sub-folder if required. These options are accessed by right-clicking on a sub-folder name in the Project panel and selecting Properties from the displayed menu. The following window is displayed for you to type a revised name and a description into:
Files and sub-folders can be dragged to different positions within the project structure. The only restrictions are you cannot drag a file or folder from one fixed top level project category to another and you cannot drag a sub-folder to become a folder underneath a second level sub-folder (as only two levels of sub-folder are permitted).
You can delete a sub-folder from your project by right-clicking on the sub-folder name in the Project panel and selecting Remove from the displayed menu. Note that all files within the sub-folder will also be removed from your project by this action.

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Table of contents

How to add project files
How to remove project files
How to add sub-folders to a project