Main Window Display Panel

Figure 1 - the Main Window Display Panel

Purpose

The Main Window display panel is the primary Presentation Interface component for displaying graphic and textual information related to the Current Period.

Components

Component	Purpose
Data Type Selector	Selects what type of data is displayed in the Display Area and opens Secondary Information Windows
Display Area	Displays data of chosen type for the Current Period

Functions

The Display Panel has the Following functions, to:

• Display the Map
• Display Current Data Set Information Grids for:
  • Nodes
  • Substations
  • Regions
  • Units
  • Generators
  • Circuits
  • Equation Constraints
  • Reserve Regions
  • Companies
• Open a Secondary Information Window for a chosen Modeled Item

The Map

The Map is EMarketOffer's primary interface for viewing data from any Source. It provides a flexible graphical view of the Transmission System, as well as Market and Company data at various levels of detail.

Usage

>> To view the map in the Main Window Display Area click the Map tab on the Display Panel Data Type Selector.

Map Concepts

Map Scale

The behaviour of the Map changes as you zoom in to see lower levels of detail. For example, to avoid illegible clutter on the Map at high levels of detail, text Node names are not usually visible. However as you zoom in, reducing the number of Nodes visible in the Map Window, the Node names become visible. To support such features, EMarketOffer keeps track of the scale of each open Map Window. The scale of the full (Main) NZ map is the reference for all Map scaling, i.e. for a Map Window containing the full New Zealand Map, the scale of the Map = 1 (regardless of the size of the Map Window). A map scale of 2 is obtained by zooming in on the full map to a point where half the original vertical height is displayed (i.e. only a quarter of the full Map will be visible). A scale of three is obtained when a Map Window shows a vertical height one third of the full map and so on.

Animation

At certain scales Circuits are animated to show the direction and size of Powerflows. Powerflow magnitude is indicated through the relative thickness of a Circuit drawn on the Map (thickness is relative to absolute magnitude of total flow not the capacity of individual Circuits). Powerflow direction is indicated as a movement of white bars along the Circuit in the direction of the flow.

Line Aggregation

To improve visual clarity, Circuits with common start and end Nodes are aggregated into single lines at lower Map scales. The component Circuits are broken out as you zoom into higher scales.

Colour Grading

For some traits (e.g. Nodal Price), variation in magnitude is indicated with a graded colour range. You can select the colours for the highest and lowest values for the trait in question. EMarketOffer uses these colours to paint the Map Element associated with the attribute with a colour graded between the selected high and low colours that corresponds to the attribute's position relative to the values of the highest and lowest instances of all similar attributes.

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NOTE: Colour grading is calculated using all instances of the variable in the current Trading Period and not just those displayed in the current Map Window

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Map Grid

EMarketOffer uses a very fine internal coordinate grid system for positioning Map Elements (all Nodes and Circuit start/end points are located at specific coordinates). When moving elements on the Map you can use EMarketOffer's fine system for positioning the elements or choose instead to specify a coarser grid containing a subset of the finer coordinate system. EMarketOffer will then only allow elements to be positioned according to the redefined grid.

Waypoints and Paths

Elements can be manually re-positioned on the Map. To do so you must switch the Map to Edit mode (right click on Map > Edit). In Edit Mode, Map elements are represented as Nodes and Paths. Nodes are displayed as coloured discs and can be dragged to new coordinates using the mouse. A Path is represented as a line, and indicates the route a Circuit takes between Nodes. The route of the Circuit on the Map between Start and End Nodes can pass through a number of Waypoints (points on the underlying coordinate system). You can add Waypoints to a Circuit and position them on the Map in the same way as the Node discs. This enables the physical route a Circuit takes on the Map to be represented as a series of straight lines between Waypoints. Changing the visual route a Circuit takes on the Map display does not alter the way the dispatch calculation handles the Circuit.

Information Bars

Information bars are used on the Map to show the relative magnitude of a trait related to a Map element (e.g. Price for a Market Node). Information Bars appear immediately adjacent to their respective grid element and you can alter their appearance using the Map Settings feature.

Map Structure

More than one instance of a Map can be displayed at once. With the exception of the Map embedded in the Main Window (Parent Map) each instance of the Map appears within its own Window. There are two types of Map Windows:

• Main Map Windows
• Substation Inset Map Windows

Main Map Windows

The Main Map is the geographical map of New Zealand underlying EMarketOffer's Map interface. At it lowest level of detail it displays most NZ waterways and outlines main urban areas. Main Map Windows display all or part of the Main map. The more of the Main Map displayed in a Window the less detail will be visible. Main Map Windows can be zoomed to show close detail and to navigate to different areas of the Main Map. Lines displayed on Main Map Windows are aggregated when large areas of the Map are displayed. Zooming in will separate these aggregated lines into their individual lines.

Inset Map Windows

Access

Right clicking a Substation and selecting Ndx Inset Map from the pop-up menu (where Ndx is the name of the selected Node)

Purpose

An Inset Map is associated with a specific Substation and displays the Substation's component System Nodes and transformers. It is designed to reduce the level of clutter on the Main Map in places where there is a high concentration of Map elements. The same Generation, Demand and Powerflow data is available for Map elements in the Inset Maps as is available in the Main Map Windows.

Map Elements

Map elements are of the following types:

• Geographical Elements
• Transmission System Elements
• Market Elements
• The Map Key

Geographical Elements

The Main Map Window displays the following geographical elements (depending on level of resolution):

• Coastline (water is coloured blue and the land green)
• Waterways and lakes (blue)
• Main urban areas and major roads (pale orange)

Transmission System Elements

Transmission System elements are represented on the Map as Nodes or Lines. Substations appear on Main Map Windows and Nodes appear in Inset Windows. They are both represented as nodes (circles). Aggregated Circuits are displayed in the Main Map Window with single Circuits and transformers appear in Inset Windows all Circuits and transformers are represented as lines.

Active lines are shown in the colour selected using Map Settings Window. The thickness of the line indicates the magnitude of the flow relative to other lines. White bars move along the lines in the direction of flow. Inactive/outaged Circuits are displayed as thin grey lines (this colour can also be customised through the Map Settings Window).

Nodes are shown as discs coloured across the colour spectrum: deep blue Nodes having the lowest Nodal Prices (relative to all Nodes in the 'current' period) while those coloured red have the highest Nodal Prices.

Market Elements

The Map has two Market related elements: Generation and Demand bars. At Market Nodes and Substations Demand (off-take) is graphically represented as a white bar and Generation (injection) is represented as a red bar. The size of the bar is proportional to total Demand and Generation for the period being displayed.

The Map Key

The upper right corner of the Map contains the Map Key which displays the colour coding Nodal Prices in the Current Data Set: 95th (red) and 5th (blue) percentiles. The Map Key display can be disabled using the Map Settings Window.

Map Navigation

There are two approaches to changing the visible contents of a Map Window:

• Keyboard - by using the arrow keys to move the map and arrow keys + ctrl key to zoom in and out. Pressing <Home> zooms the map out to the fullest extent.
• Mouse - by clicking and dragging the map to move it and scrolling up/down with the mouse wheel to zoom in/out.

The Map Window can be re-sized by:

1. Placing the mouse cursor over the edge or corner of a Map Window: the cursor turns into a double headed arrow.
2. Clicking and dragging the mouse to change the size of the Map Window (but retain the same scale).

The 'Stretchtangle'

The 'stretchtangle' is a mouse operated map feature that provides flexible control over map resolution.

To increase the resolution of the Map Window (Zoom in)

1. Click and drag with the mouse while holding down the <CTRL> key (a semi-transparent shaded area - the 'Stretchtangle' will be drawn on the map.
2. Click on the 'Stretchtangle' once to change the view in the Map Window to the best fit of the shaded area.
3. Click on the 'Stretchtangle' again to remove the shaded area leaving the map at the chosen resolution

While on-screen the 'Stretchtangle':

• Can be altered in size by clicking and dragging on any of the corner or side-centre 'handle' squares
• Can be moved as a whole by left clicking and dragging the centre circle

After the 'Stretchtangle' has been used to change the Map resolution but not cleared from the screen, the Map view on which the it was originally drawn, can be restored by clicking on the 'undo' icon in the 'Stretchtangle's' top right hand corner.

Additional Map Features

• Roll-Overs
• Element Search
• Position Editing
• Menus

Roll-Overs

Rolling the mouse point over a Map Element causes a temporary call out box to appear over the Map.

Call out boxes for Nodes contain the following information (when appropriate):

• Substation Name
• Nodal Price
• Load
• Injection

Call out boxes for Circuits contain the following information (when appropriate):

• Line name and flow direction
• Powerflow
• Line capacity
• Powerflow as a percentage of capacity

Element Search

>> To find a Map element with the search feature:

1. Right-click on a Map Window (away from the Map Elements: nodes and lines)
2. Select "Find" from the pop-up menu which appears over the Map
3. Enter the text you want EMarketOffer to search for in the "Find what:" field
4. Select the type of elements that you want to search on in the Advanced Search box
5. Click the Find Button to display a list of candidate Map elements in a panel below
   1. Double-clicking a listed item name causes the underlying Map to centre on the selected Element
   2. Nodes and Substations are highlighted with an orange flashing circle for easy detection. (Circuits flash orange for two seconds).
   3. The Find Window remains open after a successful Find operation to allow for subsequent searches.

Map Element Position Editing

Purpose

To define the positioning of lines and nodes as they appear in the Main and Inset Map Windows.

>> To enter position editing mode right click anywhere in the map and select Edit Positions from the pop-up menu.

The appearance of some Map elements is altered in Edit Mode:

• Individual Circuits are aggregated to main lines and displayed as mid-orange lines (or whatever colour you have chosen for this Element) of the same thickness with Powerflow animation turned off
• Market Nodes and Substations are displayed as deep red discs of the same size (price colouring is removed)
• Smaller, bright red discs, called position holders, appear at the points where lines are 'bent'.

>> To move a Node or Substation to a new location:

1. Position the mouse pointer over the deep red disc of the Node you wish to move then left click and hold (the Node will be outlined in grey-blue)
2. Drag the Mouse pointer to the new position and release the mouse button

TIP: Zoom the Map to include both the Node you want to move and its new location before re-positioning.

>> To change the route of a bent line:

1. Position the mouse pointer over a Line position holder disc then left-click and hold (the position holder disc will be outlined in grey-blue)
2. Drag the position holder to a new position and release the mouse (the Line segments will automatically redraw themselves as the position holder is dragged)

>> To add or remove a position holder:

1. To add a position holder to a line, left click anywhere on a line and a new position holder will be created and selected
2. To delete a position holder from a line select it and press the <DELETE> key

NOTE: The last Node or Line position holder remains selected until either a new holder is selected or position edit mode is exited.

>> To exit Position Edit Mode right click anywhere in the Map Window and select Normal View from the pop-up menu.

Map Element Menus

Most Map Elements have associated menu items (activated by right-clicking the Element) to:

• Open a Watch Window containing the element
• Open an Information Window about the Element

Additionally the menus of Substations also contain an item to open an Inset Window for the Substation.

Watch Window Menu

The Watch Window menu allows you to add the current Element to a Watch Window of similar Elements. Where the Element is a Substation or an aggregated Circuit, the menu allows respective Nodes and Circuits (as sub menu items) to be added individually to the watch Window.

A final sub menu item allows you to open the Watch List Window for the associated Modelled Item.