Map Layer

On the Map Layer window, you can choose map colors, data, styles and labels for display, and view or edit associated attribute data for your vector GIS layers (in ESRI Shape file format: *.shp).

Note: You can link shapes in a polygon shapefile to schematic objects and demand branches so that results associated with those objects or branches can be displayed as "thematic" maps.  See the "Thematic Maps" section of Result Maps for more information, including how to link.

The Map Layer window has four tabs on the left: Map File, Appearance, Label and Linkage.  The Map File tab shows the Shape file's name (*.shp), which you can change by typing the new name or clicking the "..." to browse for the file.  Unless the shape files are very large or shared among several WEAP areas, it is best to copy the shape files used by an area (including files associated with the Shape file, such as .dbf, .shx and .prj) into that area's subdirectory or a subdirectory within the area's subdirectory, so that they will be included with the area's data files in backups and copies you give to others.  

There are three types of vector Shape files: point, line and area (polygon).  The type of the current layer is listed below "Shape Type."  The number of items ("features") contained in the layer is shown below the type.  For example, the country layer (shown below) has 251 countries.

Each Shape file has an associated "attribute" table, which contains information about each feature in the layer.  (These data are stored in a file ending in .dbf.)  The structure of the attribute table is shown below the File Name.  Hover over a feature on the map for a quick display of its data (below the map); click on a feature in the map to see all of its data on the left (the example below shows information for Sudan).  The full attribute data table (one row per feature, one column per attribute) is displayed on the lower right side in the Split or Table view.  Click the Edit button above the table to be able to edit the attribute values.  

On the Appearance tab you can change how the layer appears in the Schematic.  The options vary depending on the Shape type (point, line or area):

On the Label tab you can select which column, if any, to use for labeling the features.  Click "Abcd123" in the Font box to change the font name, style or color used for the labels.  Set Size (%) so that the labels appear at an appropriate size.  If you have selected a column but do not see the labels, increase the Size (%) until they are visible.  However, for some features, you may not want the labels to be visible until you are zoomed in quite far, for example, in the Cities layer.  Experiment to see which size works best.  For line features there is an additional option to wrap the labels along the lines.

On the Linkage tab you can link map features to model objects for display as Thematic Maps in the Results View.  For more information, see Result Maps.  To link objects, check the box for "Link Layer to Schematic Objects and Demand Branches?"

Each shape in the (polygon, not point or line) shapefile can be linked to objects on the Schematic (e.g., Catchments, Demand Sites, Reservoirs, Groundwater Nodes, Wastewater Treatment Plants and Flow Requirements, but not Rivers or Links) or to demand and catchment branches.  Each shape is represented by one row in the table.  Use the drop-down menu in the "Branch_Name" column of the table to link the shape to an object or branch.  When you click on a row, the corresponding shape will briefly flash in the map above to aid you in identification.  You may link multiple shapes to the same object or branch.  In the example above, the Catchments layer has 81 polygon shapes, each of which is linked to one of the of the 81 catchments on the Schematic.  (This layer was created and linked by WEAP's automatic catchment delineation process.)

In addition to manually matching shapes to WEAP objects, you can have WEAP guess the linkage by matching their locations or names.  When guessing by location, WEAP will link the shape to all the WEAP objects that fall within its boundaries.  You can choose to limit the match to only one WEAP object type, such as catchments.  And to prevent overwriting any existing linkages with new ones, make sure to check "Only change linkage of unlinked shapes."

When guessing by name, choose the column in the shapefile's attribute table to use for matching, such as the "Name" column in the example above.  You can also choose to limit the match to one WEAP object types; check "Only change linkage of unlinked shapes" to prevent overwriting any existing linkages with new ones.

There is no limit to the number of different background layers that can be linked in this way.  For example, you might have one layer for catchments, another for groundwater nodes, and another for cities (demand sites).

Menu Option: Schematic: Add Vector Layer, or, double click on the name of an existing vector layer in the list of background layers on the Schematic.