Export Image Dialog Box

The primary purpose of the Export Image dialog box is to export an image of the top, front, or side view of the model as an Enhanced Windows Metafile or a bitmap. Enhanced Windows Metafiles can be edited with graphics programs and inserted into word processing documents. The Export Image dialog box is displayed by selecting "File|Export|Image..." or clicking the Export image button.

There are two options for exporting an Enhanced Windows Metafile: Enhanced Metafile with included model bitmap and Pure vector graphic. In the former, the model itself is include as a bitmap in the Enhanced Windows Metafile and is not easily edited. Other items such as the scale, the legends and added text are stored in a vector format can be edited easily with suitable graphics programs. This version preserves the appearance of the model as displayed in ModelMuse. If Pure vector graphic is chosen, everything is stored in a vector format. However, all lines will have the same width and all objects will be opaque instead of partially translucent.

Other options for exporting options are a Windows bitmap (.bmp), Portable Network Graphics (.png) and Joint Photographic Expert Group image (.jpg).

When the Export Image dialog box is first displayed, it shows an image of the top view of the model. There are three panels on the left named View, Text, and Animation that contain controls that alter the appearance of the image or to create an animation. The user can click on the name of the panel to display the panel.

View Panel

At the top of the View panel is the Selected view combo box in which the user chooses whether to display the top, front, or side view of the model. By default, the height and width of the model image match the height and width of the corresponding view of the model in the main ModelMuse window. However, the user can change the dimensions of the model image using the Model image height and Model image width edit boxes. Note that the model image only includes the grid and objects. It does not include the scales or anything else outside the black rectangle at the edge of the model image.

Below the Model image height and Model image width edit boxes is a series of check boxes.

•The Show colored grid lines checkbox is used to turn on or off the coloring of the selected column, row, or layer. By default, this check box is unchecked. In the main ModelMuse window, the colored grid lines help to orient the user to which column, row, and layer is selected. However, that is rarely useful in an image intended for a report.

•If the grid has been colored with a data set or boundary, the user can check the Show color legend checkbox to display a legend for the cell colors. If the grid grid has not been colored, checking the Show color legend checkbox has no effect. The legend can be edited on the Color Grid pane of the Data Visualization dialog box.

•If contour lines are displayed on the grid, the user can check the Show contour legend checkbox to display a legend for the contours. If there are no contours on the grid, checking the Show contour legend checkbox has no effect. The legend can be edited on the Contour Data pane of the Data Visualization dialog box.

•If head or PEST observations have been imported, the user can use the Show observation legend checkbox to display a legend for head or PEST observations.

•If endpoints have been imported, the user can use the Show endpoint legend checkbox to display a legend for endpoints.

•The Horizontal scale and Vertical scale checkboxes control whether or not horizontal and vertical scales are displayed below and to the right of the image. The format of the numbers displayed on the scales is the same as the format used in the corresponding rulers in the main ModelMuse window.

Text Panel

The Text panel contains controls related to the text in the image.

The text entered in the Title edit box will be displayed centered above the model image. The font for the title can be changed by clicking the Title font button.

If the Edit text button is depressed, the user can click anywhere on the image to add text to the image. The user can also double-click on text that has already been added to edit the text. To add a new line to text on the image hold down the Ctrl key while pressing the Enter key.

If the Select text button is depressed, the user can click on a text item to select it. The user can then use the mouse to drag the text to a new position.

To change the font of a text item, select it and then click the Text font button to change it.

There are four macros that you can use in text

•%SP will be replaced by the stress period number if the comment for the data set used to color the grid or to contour the data includes the text "Stress Period: " at the start of a line followed by the stress period number.

•%TS will be replaced by the time step number if the comment for the data set used to color the grid or to contour the data includes the text "Time Step: " at the start of a line followed by the time step number.

•%ET will be replaced by the elapsed time if the comment for the data set used to color the grid or to contour the data includes the text "Elapsed Time: " at the start of a line followed by the elapsed time. (When MODFLOW results are imported, if there are more than one stress periods and the first stress period is a steady-state stress period and there are no other steady state stress periods, the elapsed time will be measured from the end of the first stress period.)

•%TrS will be replaced by the transport step number if the comment for the data set used to color the grid or to contour the data includes the text "Transport Step: " at the start of a line followed by the transport step number.

When importing MODFLOW results, ModelMuse will include the stress period, time step and elapsed time in the data set comment. When importing MT3DMS result, ModelMuse will include the stress period, time step, transport step, and elapsed time in the data set comment.

The Scale Font button is used to set the font used for the horizontal and vertical scales. The font also affects the length of the tick marks on the horizontal and vertical scale.

The Color legend title and Contour legend title are used to edit the titles of the Color and Contour legends respectively.

Animation Panel

The animation panel is used to generate a series of bitmaps from a series of different views of the model. At the top of the panel is a tree control with the data set names. Any data sets that are checked in the tree control will be included in the table below the tree control. Any data sets in the table will be used for the animation. The user can select a range of branches in the tree control and right click to check or uncheck all the selected branches. The user can also paste a series of names into the table.

The order of the data sets in the table controls the order in which the data sets will appear in the animation. The user can click and drag in the area to the left of the data set name to drag a row to a new position.

Below the table are the Display choice radio buttons and the Preview, Save, and Stop buttons. Clicking the Preview button will make each data set in turn the data set used to color the grid or contour the data depending on whether Color grid or Contour data is selected for Display choice. The Save button will do the same but it will also prompt the user for a file name. This name will be used to generate file names for each of the images. Clicking the Stop button will halt the preview or the saving of images.

Other Controls

At the bottom of the Export Image dialog box is another set of controls. If you wish to use the same settings for the image again, enter a name in the Saved settings box and click the Save settings button. You will be able to use those same settings again later by selecting them in the Saved settings box.

If you wish to rename or delete one or more image settings, click the Manage settings button. This will display the Manage Image Settings dialog box.

Clicking the Copy Settings button will copy the current image settings to the clipboard.

Clicking the Paste Settings button will paste image settings on the clipboard into the dialog box.

The Copy Settings and Paste Settings buttons can be used to transfer image settings from one model to another.

If you have made a change outside the Export Image dialog box that you want to update the image in the Export Image dialog box to reflect those changes, click the Refresh button.

Once you are satisfied with the image, click the Save image button to save it as an Enhanced Windows Metafile or a bitmap. The Copy image button will copy the image to the clipboard.

Clicking the Help button displays this help topic.

Clicking the Close button will close the Export Image dialog box.