MultiLayer#
The MultiLayer functionality of AGVis allows users to upload files on their computer to render nodes, lines, and (soon) previous simulation data without having to use ANDES or DiME. These features are currently contained within the menu on the side bar with the +/- icon.
Add Layer#
When you open up the MultiLayer menu, you will only see the Add Layer button.
When you click on it, it will request an Excel file. *For the MultiLayer features towork properly, your Excel must contain two specific, properly formatted sheets: Bus and Line.* You are free to include other sheets in it as well, but those two are necessary.
Bus#
The Bus sheet contains the information on the nodes you want to render. It is called "Bus" as a holdover from when AGVis exclusively rendered power systems. There are three required columns in Bus--idx, xcoord, and ycoord. idx is a number ID for each node. xcoord and ycoord are the longitude and latitude of the node, respctively.
There are also some optional columns that add additonal information rendering nodes--name, type, and color. The name column can contain a name for a node. It is used in the search function. The type column can assign a node with a specific type, giving it a unique icon when it's rendered. A table containing the types and associated icons can be found at the bottom of this page. The color column can be used to specify a custom color for the nodes without using the interface shown later. It should only have one hexadecimal color value (#@@@@@@) in the first cell of the column.
Line#
The Line sheet contains information on the lines connecting the nodes to each other. There are also three required columns--idx, bus1, and bus2. idx, once again, is an ID for each line. bus1 represents the "from" node. bus2 represents the "to" node. The Line sheet also has the optional name and color columns. As in the Bus sheet, the name column contains names for each Line. The color column should have one hexadecimal color value (#@@@@@@) in the first cell of the column.
Here is an example Excel file with the required and optional columns filled out: [example.xlsx](CURENT/agvis)
MultiLayer Options#
After uploading a valid Excel sheet, the MultiLayer menu will fill with the name of the file and options for how to display the it:
Toggle Rendering#
Toggles whether the nodes and buses of that specific file are shown on the map. It's default state is off.
Custom Colors#
The Toggle Custom Node Colors and Toggle Custom Line Colors turn on or off whether to use the values from the Custom Node Color and Custom Line Color settings when rendering. Both of the toggles are off by default. Custom Node Color is white (#FFFFFF) by default and Custom Line Color is black (#000000) by default. The toggles will turn on and the custom color settings will be set upon upload if the file has specified color columns.
Opacity Settings#
The Node Opacity and Line Opacity settings are fairly self-explanatory. They are used to adjust the opacities of the nodes and lines. Node Opacity defaults to 100 and Line Opacity defaults to 50.
Size Settings#
Line Thickness is used to adjust the thickness of the lines connecting nodes. It defaults to 2, has a minimum of 1, and has a maximum of 7. Node Size is used to adjust the size of the nodes. It defaults to 12, has a minimum of 4, and has a maximum of 36.
Here are before and after shots for each variable:
Prioritize Layer#
Given that the MultiLayer implementation is meant to display more than one set of nodes and lines at a time, it is possible that two different layers will have some overlap. The Prioritize Layer button will give a layer rendering priority over the others, meaning that it will be drawn over all the others. Here is an image of two layers that overlap:
Note that the "ieee39" layer is drawn over the "npcc" layer. Now here is another image of these two layers after pressing the Prioritize Layer button for "necc":
Now the "npcc" nodes and lines are drawn over the "ieee39" ones.
Delete Layer#
Deletes a layer, removing it from the menu and from the map.
Having gone through all the MultiLayer options, here is what the example Excel file looks like rendered (with adjustments to node size and line opacity for clarity):
Custom Node Icons#
The type column in the Bus sheet uses a keyword system to assign custom icons to nodes. If the type cell for a node is not empty, it checks for the first keyword it can find, regardless of context. If you put "This is not a compressor" in a node's type cell, that node will be given the compressor icon. Key words are not case sensitive.
Icon Type |
Keyword |
Icon Description |
|---|---|---|
Gas Well |
|
White node with large W in center |
Gas Compressor |
|
Gray Trapezoid |
Load Bus |
|
Yellow Triangle |
Power-to-Gas |
|
Green node with "PG" in center |
Gas Power Plant |
|
Blue node with "GG" in center |
If you would like to request a custom icon, please do so on the AGVis GitHub. When you make a request, please include the keyword for icon, a reference or desciption of it, and what the icon is meant to represent.