Category: Graphing

Curve Fitting

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Watch this video to see how curve fitting works in the graphing engine.

Curve Fitting Function

This section explains how to use the curve fitting function inside the ‘Graphing’ functions. Begin by bringing up a graph showing two different series that you want to graph against each other. In this case level and flow form an AV meter have been selected for the ‘Last 7 Days’.

Scatter plot graph

Under ‘Plot Method’ change from a ‘Time Series’ to a ‘Scatter Plot’ and click on the ‘Plot Data’ button.

Scatter plot tool

You are given a scatter plot showing level and flow in this case.

Scatter plot

To add a curve to this graph click on ‘Curve Fit’ on the top right corner of the screen.

Curve fit tool

Select ‘New Curve”.

New curve

Then select which type of curve you would like to pick. You can chose between ‘Linear’, ‘Polynomial’, ‘Exponential’, ‘Logrithmic’, ‘Power’ and you can also plot ‘Manning’ curves. Start by doing a ‘Polynomial’.

Polynomial curve

Select the polynomial order. In this case we will use the third degree. Chose ‘save’ and the information is stored for this curve fit.

3rd degree polynomial curve

If you want to plot the curve, select it and click on ‘OK’.

Plotting a curve

You see the curve that best fits through the data using a third order polynomial shown on the graph. At the bottom of the graph you can see the equation for the polynomial and the calculated R2.

Best fit curve

If you want to try a different kind of curve simply click on ‘Curve Fit’ and define a new curve.

Starting a curve

For the next example we can plot a fourth degree polynomial and save it.

4th degree polynomial curve

The information is now saved for the fourth degree polynomial. You can chose to turn it on as well.

4th degree polynomial curve

Although you can’t see the difference from a far, zooming in will show that there is in fact two curves.

Two fit curve

Zoomed in view of two curve fits

You can turn on and off curves by checking or un-checking them in the curve fit box.

Turning curves on and off

If you want to add a manning curve, simply chose the ‘Manning’ function and enter in the pipe diameter, in this case 0.3 meters, the hydraulic slope which in this case is 0.04 and the manning coefficient you want to display.

Mannings curve

Chose save and then chose to display this curve.

Selecting mannings curve

You will see the manning curve plotted through the data.

Mannings curve

It is important to note that the manning curve is not a curve fit through the data. It is simply the manning curve based on the coefficients that were entered.

With any curve, clicking on the curves shows the values under selected point. This allows you to look up values by simply clicking on the curve at different locations and reading the value underneath the graph.

Data point values

You can display a family of manning curves by simply going to ‘Curve Fit’ and selecting another new curve. So in this case we will produce another manning curve with a manning coefficient of 0.015.

Multiple mannings curve

Save it and then chose to display it. This will display the second curve so you can show a series of curves on the graph.

Multiple mannings graph curve

Under curve fit, each curve type is shown along with the date range of data the curve was fit to and the x and y values that were used in the fit. This date range does not change. It you want to create another curve using different data, you have to create it using the ‘New Curve’.

Curve date ranges

To delete a curve simply select it and click on ‘delete’.

Deleting curves

Printing Graphs

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Watch this video to see how to print graphs from the graphing engine.

Printing Graphs

This section will explain how a user can print a graph. Begin by bringing up the graph you want to print.

Data graph
Select ‘Print’ button on top of the screen.
Graph print button

Wait while the print preview prepares the data. When the data is ready to be printed a print summary box will appear where different print options can be selected depending on the user’s printer.

Graph printer options
However, you can cancel this and work within the print preview window to zoom in on different data selections. For this example, zoom in on the storm event around January 8.
Graph: printing zoomed section
Now click on ‘Print’ and only this zoomed in section will print.

You can also pan along the graph at this zoom by scrolling the bar at the bottom of the graph. If you scroll to a new view of the graph and click on ‘Print’ this new graph view will print.

Graph: printing more zoomed sections

When you are done printing click on ‘Close Window’ to return to the graphing system.

Graphing Templates

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Watch the following video that explains how to use graphing templates in FlowWorks.

Graphing Templates

The graphing templates tool allows the user to easily save graphs for future use. Begin by bringing up a graph. For this example one month of data is graphed and the title and colors have been adjusted as desired.

Data graph template

To save this template click on the save disk icon on the top of the window.
Data graph template: saving
You will be asked what name you want the graphed saved as. For this example we will leave the name as the title ‘Demo Graph Template’. Press ‘Save’ and the template will be saved.

Data graph template: naming

The next time you want to use this graph click on the open icon and select the template from the list.

Data graph template: opening
Data graph template: selecting
There are some important things to remember about date ranges and templates. If you save the graph with a relative date range such as ‘Last 3 Months’ every time you load the graph it will always bring up the last three months. If you use the custom date range using the calendar pickers this graph will always refer to the absolute date selected. For example if you have a historical storm you want to save and bring up for future referral you would use the custom date range so regardless of when the graph is opened you will always be presented with the storm.

Graph Appearance

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Watch the following video to understand how to change appearance options in the graphing engine.

Learn how to adjust graphing appearance settings in FlowWorks

The appearance of the graph can be modified by the user. Begin by clicking on the ‘Appearance’ button on the menu bar above the graph.

Altering the appearance of a graph

Graph name change

You can also choose to show or hide the data table below the graph by clicking on the box beside ‘Show data table below graph’. For this example the data table will be hidden.

Data table options

You can modify the color and style of the data sets in the graph by clicking on the ‘Customize Color and Style’ box.

Data set color and style modification

For this example we will select the ‘Pipe Level’ measurement and change the color to dark green and the line type to dashed. Click ‘OK’ and ‘OK’ to see the requested changes.

Data set color and line type changes

Accepting data set color and line type changes

Data set graphed with new color and line type

You can also modify the way data shows up in the graph by clicking on the ‘Choose Plot Methods’ button.

Data plot method changes

For this example we will add data points on top of the Pipe Level series by selecting ‘Pipe Level’ and then select ‘Points+Line’ and click ‘OK’ and ‘OK’.

Data plot method changes to points + line

The graph will now include data points.

Graphed changes to data plot methods

It may be difficult to see the data points with a large data set but when you zoom in you can see the individual data sets and the data line.

Zoom on the points + line plot

Exporting Graph Data

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Watch the following video that explains how to export data from FlowWorks.

Exporting Data

In order to export data to other applications such as Microsoft Excel there are two methods.  The first option is through the ‘Graphing’ tool and the other options is through the ‘Export Data’ tool.

Option 1: Exporting Data through the ‘Graphing’ Tool

First bring data up in the graphing engine for the period of data you want to export using the same techniques as for basic graphing.

Graphed Data

Once you have the graph showing the data you want to export, click on the ‘Data Export’ button on the top of the graph.

Exporting Graphed Data

Exporting Graphed Data

You will be prompted as to whether you want to open or save the file.

Opening Exported Data File

Opening Exported Data File

For this example we will select ‘Open’ the file.  A spreadsheet showing the data will open up.

Option 2: Exporting Data through the ‘Export Data’ option

The other option for exporting data is through the ‘Management’ tools in ‘My Network’.  This option allows the user to graph large amounts of data without having to wait for the data to load in the graphing engine.

Select the ‘Export Data’ tool.

Export Data Tool

Export Data Tool

Begin by selecting the site you want to export data for and the measurements.

Data Export Site and Measurement Selection

Data Export Site and Measurement Selection

You can also export data from multiple sites at the same time if you want.

Multiple Site Data Export

Multiple Site Data Export

Select the date range for the data you want to export using the calendar pickers to the right.

Date Range Selection

Date Range Selection

Once you have selected the date range press the export button.

You will see a summary showing how long it took the server to processor your request, how many data points, rows and number of columns and size of file. Click on ‘Download File’.

Server Processor Summary for Data Download

Server Processor Summary for Data Download

Once again you will be asked if you want to save or open the file. For this example we will save the file.

Save Downloaded Data

Save Downloaded Data

You will then be asked to save the file to a location on your computer.

Basic Graphing

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Watch the following video for a brief introduction to the graphing engine. Step-by-step instructions are included below the video.

Once you have logged in and selected ‘Graphing’ in ‘My Network’ you will see the Graphing Quick Start menu in the center and a list of stations on the left window.

Graphing tool

Steps for Basic Graphing

  1. Select a Station(s)
  2. Select Measurement(s)
  3. Select Date Range
  4. Plot Data
  5. Add More Data
  6. Zoom In
  7. Zoom Out
  8. Data Table
  9. New Graph

To make a graph

1. Select Station(s)

Select a station from the ‘Data Selection’ window on the left side of the screen in the ‘Graphing’ window. For this example we will select the station Demo Hydrometric.

Station selection

2. Select Measurement(s)

Select the measurements you want to graph for that station. You can also plot measurements from different stations on the same graph simply by selecting them following the same steps. For this example select ‘Flow’ and ‘Rain’ from the Demo Hydrometric –Metric station.

Measurement selection

3. Select Date Range

Select the date range you would like graphed. This can be done either by using the ‘Select a date range’ drop down menu to select a preset range such as ‘Last 7 Days’

Date range selection

OR

Customize the date range by using the ‘From’ and ‘To’ calendars to selects the dates.

Date range selection calendar

For this example customize the date range from January 1, 2009 to February 1, 2009. You can either scroll through the monthly calendars by clicking on the small arrows on the top left and right corners of the calendars or you can click on the month and year to select the desired dates.

date selection by scrolling

OR

date selection by visual calendar

4. Plot Data

Once you have selected the station(s), measurement(s) and date range, click on ‘Plot Data’ and a graph should appear showing the data, flow on the bottom x-axis and the rain on the top x-axis for our example.

Data plot

5. Add More Data

As previously mentioned, you can add more data from the current selected station or from another station. For this example add the ‘Pipe Level’ from a different station by going back to the ‘Data Selection’ window and opening up the ‘Demo Sanitary-Metric’ station, selecting ‘Pipe Level’ and then clicking on ‘Plot Data’. A graph showing the originally selected ‘Flow’ and ‘Rain’ plus the new ‘Pipe Level’ data will be in the graph.

Adding additional measurements

6. Zoom In

You can zoom in on data of interest by clicking and dragging the mouse over the data of interest. For this example we are zooming in on a storm event.

Zooming in

Once you have zoomed in the graph should look similar to the one below.

Zoomed view

You can scroll right and left at this zoom by dragging the scroll bar at the bottom of the graph and when available you can scroll up and down using the scroll bar on the right of the graph.

Scrolling zoomed in view

7. Undo Zoom

You can undo the zoom to return to the original view of the graph by clicking on the ‘Undo Zoom’ button on the top of the graph.

Undo zoom

8. Data Table

By moving the mouse bar over the graph, the corresponding data is displayed in the data table below the graph.

Data table

9. New Graph

When you are done with the graph you have created you can begin creating a new graph by clicking on the ‘Reset’ button on near the bottom left side of the screen.

New graph