v. 10.

WMS 10.0 Tutorial

Introduction Introduction to WMS
Become familiar with the WMS interface

Objectives
Read files into WMS and change modules and display options to become familiar with the WMS
interface.

Prerequisite Tutorials Required Components Time

None Data 10-15 minutes
Map

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 1 Introduction ......................................................................................................................... 2
1.1 Outline .......................................................................................................................... 2
2 Exercise Files ....................................................................................................................... 2
3 The WMS Screen ................................................................................................................ 2
3.1 The Main Graphics Window ........................................................................................ 3
3.2 The Project Explorer .................................................................................................... 3
3.3 The Modules................................................................................................................. 4
3.4 The Menu Bar and Macros ........................................................................................... 4
3.5 The Properties Window................................................................................................ 4
3.6 The Toolbars ................................................................................................................ 5
4 Starting Over ....................................................................................................................... 5
5 Getting Around the WMS Interface .................................................................................. 5
5.1 Self-Guided Tour ......................................................................................................... 5
5.2 Opening Files ............................................................................................................... 6
5.3 General User Skills ...................................................................................................... 6
6 Conclusion............................................................................................................................ 8

1 Introduction
In this first exercise users will get familiar with the WMS interface and help system. Its
recommended that users explore the different menus, modules and tools so they have a
good idea of the organization.

1.1 Outline
This is what users will do:
1. Become familiar with the modules, menus, tools, display options, and help
system in the WMS interface.
2. Import a digital elevation map (DEM) and a background image.

2 Exercise Files
Tutorial files needed for these tutorials are found by going to the
[Link] web site and downloading the required files for each tutorial
directly from the WMS learning center section of the web site.

3 The WMS Screen

The WMS screen is divided into six main sections: the Main Graphics Window, the
Project Explorer (this may also be referred to as the Tree Window), the Modules, the
Menu Bar, the Properties Window, and the Toolbars, as shown in Figure 1. Normally, the
main graphics window fills the majority of the screen.

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Figure 1 WMS interface layout

Other sections, such as the Help Strip and Units are also an important part of the
interface, though used less frequently in most projects.

3.1 The Main Graphics Window

The Main Graphics or just Graphics window is the biggest part of the WMS screen. Most
of the data manipulation is done in this window. DEMS or other downloaded images
appear in this window.

3.2 The Project Explorer

The Project Explorer window allows the user to view all the data that makes up a part of
a project, and contains a hierarchical representation of the data. It appears by default on
the left side of the screen, but can be docked on either side, or viewed as a separate
window.
The main function of the Project Explorer window is to manage data, and can do so in
multiple ways, including creation of new data objects, deleting data objects, and the
control of display.

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Figure 2 Project Explorer Window

3.3 The Modules

WMS is organized into eight modules. Each module is associated with a particular object
type. Only one module is active at any given time. When switching modules, the menus
and tools unique to the active module are displayed. The names and basic functions of
each module are as follows:
Terrain Data. Used for basin delineation with Triangulated Irregular Networks
(TINs).
Drainage. Used for basin delineation with gridded Digital Elevation Models (DEMs).
Map. Used to create data layers from GIS objects (drainage, soil, land use etc.)
Hydrologic Modeling. Contains interfaces to hydrologic models.
River. Contains tools for creating 1D hydraulic models.
GIS. Used to open shapefile data and convert it to feature objects.
2D Grid. Used for finite difference models (currently research models only).
2D Scatter Point. Contains 2D scatter point interpolation tools.

3.4 The Menu Bar and Macros

The Menu Bar contains commands that are available for data manipulation. The menus
shown in the Menu Bar depend on the active module. The macros appear right below the
menu bar on a default window. These are a set of icons at the top of the tool palette,
which are shortcuts to frequently used menu commands.

Figure 3 WMS Macros

3.5 The Properties Window

The Properties window on the right side of the WMS window is comprised of
edit/information fields. The edit fields can be used to edit the coordinates of selected
objects (points, nodes, vertices). Like the Project Explorer, this window can also pop out
or be moved to another part of the screen.

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Figure 4 WMS Properties Window

3.6 The Toolbars

WMS has three sets of tools. The first set is known as Static Tools, which are
used for manipulating the display, such as zooming, panning, and 3D rotation. The next
group is the Dynamic Tools. These are module-specific and are
used for creating and editing objects in the Main Graphics Window. The final set of tools
is the Annotation Tools, which allow users to add graphical
information (such as text labels and drawing objects) to the Main Graphics Window.

4 Starting Over
It is suggested that users start WMS new at the beginning of each exercise. If users
continue from one to another without quitting, then data, display options, and other WMS
settings may not be in sync with the instructions, and may lead to confusion.
This can be done by:
1. Select the New command in the File menu.
2. A prompt will appear asking if wanting to save any changes. Click No to clear all
data.
3. The graphics window of WMS should refresh to show an empty space.

5 Getting Around the WMS Interface

The WMS Help file has a section on some of the basic elements of the WMS graphical
user interface (GUI). The demonstration portion of this lesson covered most of the basic
elements of the Quick Tour, but it is contained in the WMS Help file should the user
want to review later.

5.1 Self-Guided Tour

The WMS Help file is located at [Link] and contains basic
information for some of the important elements of the GUI. In this section users can
review these help pages and then practice independently to understand how the interface

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works. This is a good review of what users will have learned in the layout section of this
tutorial.
1. Start WMS
2. Select Help | WMS Help. The computers default internet browser should
launch. The browser should show the WMS wiki main page on the XMS
wiki.
3. In the WMS wiki, click on the link Introduction to WMS.
4. Review the introduction to WMS then click on the link titled WMS Quick
Tour.
5. The WMS Quick Tour is a series of wiki articles that can give an overview
of how WMS is laid out. The tour can be viewed like a slide show by
pressing the Next > link. Individual Quick Tour pages can be found by
going the WMS Quick Tour category page.
6. When done reviewing the WMS Quick Tour, close the internet browser
and return to WMS.

5.2 Opening Files

Being able to open files is an essential operation when using WMS. An example of
opening a file is given in the following steps:
1. Select File | Open . The Open dialog should appear.
2. Locate the demedit folder in the directory where the tutorial files were
saved. If needed, download the tutorial files from
[Link] software/wms-learning-tutorials.
3. Open the file named [Link]
4. Select Open. The Importing USGS DEMs dialog should appear.
5. Accept the default setting and select OK to close the dialog. The DEM data
should appear in the main graphics window. Notice the item trailmount
is now under Terrain Data in the Project Explorer.
6. Select File | Open to bring up the Open dialog again.
7. Locate and open the file named [Link]
8. If a prompt appears asking to convert the TIFF to a JPEG, select No.
9. If a prompt appears asking to build pyramids, select No. Pyramids are a
set of images that are resampled at different resolutions using the original
image. Pyramids make the image look better for on-screen display.
10. Notice the [Link] has appeared under the GIS Data in the Project
Explorer.

5.3 General User Skills

As a minimum, the user should be comfortable with the following operations within the
WMS interface (for questions, search on the topic inside the WMS help page for further
explanation):

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Switching modules and noticing that

switching the modules will also change the tools and menu options
Switching tools.
Zooming, panning, framing the image, and rotating in 3D

1. Use the Zoom tool to click on any part of the graphics window.
Notice the area is enlarged.

2. Hold down the Shift key and click with the Zoom tool to zoom
out.

3. With the Zoom tool active, use the mouse scroll button to zoom
in and out.

4. Click on the Pan tool, then click and drag along the graphic
window. Notice how the image is moved.

5. Click the Frame macro to center and resize the data in the
graphics window.

6. Click on the Rotate tool, then click and drag in the graphic
window.
7. When finished, use the Plan View macro to make sure the DEM
is in plan view before trying other things
Using the Display Options , Contour Options , and other macros
Turning objects on and off and accessing menus from the Project
Explorer. This done by clicking on the check box next to each item.

Figure 5 Turning objects on or off in the Project Explorer

Changing Display Options

Adjusting Contour Options
Saving a project file
Continue exploring the different elements of the interface and/or reviewing the
information within the WMS Help page.

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6 Conclusion
In this exercise, users were introduced to WMS and became familiar with the layout as
well as some of the modules, tools, and options which will be used throughout the
programs use.

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