Detailed output map files

In this document:
What are maps?
Maps as output
Maps as input
Creating your own map analyses

What are maps?

Maps are files listing individual values for trees and grids. Tree maps list individual trees and their attributes (X and Y coordinates, height, etc). Grid maps list some or all of the values held in each grid cell.

Usually, maps are produced as part of detailed output files. These maps are written in the XML data format in plain text. They can be opened directly in a text editor, but due to the data format, it is probably not useful to do so.

Maps as output

The maps represent the model's data in a semi-raw state. You can feed the maps of a detailed output file directly into the Data visualizer in order to view them graphically.

Maps as input

If you have all of the tree and grid data from the model as maps, you have the complete data set upon which the simulation was based. This means you can use maps to recreate all or part of the model state and use it as a starting point for a new simulation, possibly with different parameter values. For more information on how to add map data to a parameter file, see Adding to a parameter file.

If you wish to directly enter values for trees and grids, you can do so. For grids, you can enter or change grid values using the Grid layer setup window. Trees have their own tab-delimited text file format. For details on this format, see tab-delimited tree maps. Text files can either be incorporated into parameter files (the preferred method) or have only a filename added. The second method is used when the tree map is very large, which can crash the SORTIE XML file reading system.

Creating your own map analyses

If you would like to take the map data and analyze it in other ways, you can have the model interface output the values into a tab-delimited text format. For grid maps, you can do this in the Edit menu by choosing Grid layer setup; for tree maps, choose Tree Setup. (See those topics for exact instructions.) The tab-delimited text format is for your own use. SORTIE cannot accept it as input.

Last updated: 30-Mar-2005 02:40 PM