How the Merge Model works in InfoWorks WS Pro v 4.0

How do you convert existing Networks and Controls to the Merge model of working? As described below: set the database option to “Use merge version control”, then choose a network and Duplicate it. The duplicated network now uses the merge model.

Version-controlled objects in InfoWorks WS Pro v 4.0 are:

All of the above (except the Baseline object) are now available with both Lock and Merge version-control models. The version-control model you want to use is defined at a database level by going to File > Master database settings > Use merge version control.

Once the merge version control is selected, the software will automatically adopt the new Merge version-control model for any new version-controlled object created within that database.

All version-controlled objects defined in previous software releases using the Lock version-control model will continue to use the old model until the user decides to duplicate the object in order to use the new model. This can be done by right-clicking on the version-controlled object and selecting the Duplicate option.

A new set of icons have been introduced to distinguish between objects controlled by the old Lock model and the new Merge models.

The Merge model allows users to associate a default control and demand diagram to a specific network object. Opening the network in the GeoPlan (or population of the Run dialog) will automatically bring in the relevant control object.

Users can now start editing the network. There is no need to “check-out” a local copy. Multiple-users can now edit the same network object and work collaboratively on single models.

All changes are saved locally, with a red exclamation mark on the Model Explorer tree icon highlighting whether changes have been made to the model since it was last committed (saved). All changes applied by local users can be pushed back to the master database by committing the model (right click on the version-controlled object and Commit change to master database).
This action automatically creates a new child version of the version-controlled object, saving all changes that have been made to the parent object. This delivers considerable performance improvements to the software as it is now working with deltas rather than the entire model.

Changes made over time on the entire network are listed in the Commit History. It is easy to select the versions you want to compare and generate reports for the entire network.

Changes made over time to a specific object (pipe, valve, etc.) can be seen from the property sheet.

Multiple runs can be now associated with the same version-controlled object. The run dialog provides information regarding the specific version of the object in use for that specific run.

A new ‘Update to latest’ button tells users about the availability of the most recent version of that specific version-controlled object (possibly committed by a second user) that could be used for the simulation.

Checking the ‘Experimental’ run tick-box allows new runs to overwrite the existing set of results.

Note: all version-controlled objects must be committed before performing any run. The old run with a checked-out object is no longer available within the Merge model.

Having multiple people working on the same model could result in a conflict if the same parameter for the same object is edited with different values. In this case a Resolve Conflict dialog will provide information about the detected conflicts and users will be able to accept/disregard the latest changes when committing the object.