These commands control the GDI Window itself and how you navigate the model within it — resizing and repainting the window, panning and zooming the image, marking or saving specific views to return to later, plotting the image to a printer, and reviewing route profiles, CSV files, and trace results. A marked view and a saved view are not the same thing — a marked view is a visual cross-hatch on the drawing, while a saved view is a bookmark of the display limits that Zoom To Saved View can jump back to.
GDI Commands
Close The GDI Window
Closes the GDI Window.
- Select the Close GDI Window item from the GDI Command List, or click the “X” icon in the upper-right corner of the GDI Window.
Can also be run by typing CLOSE on the GDI Command Line.
Notes
- The GDI Window also closes automatically when a model is closed, GASWorkS is terminated, or a command that requires closing it is run.
- The window can’t be closed while a command is running — use Cancel The Current GDI Command to stop one first.
- To redisplay the GDI Window after closing it, select View/Edit from the Graphics menu.
Maximize The GDI Window
Increases the GDI Window to fill the entire GASWorkS display area.
- Select the Maximize GDI Window item from the GDI Utilities branch of the GDI Command Tree. The GDI Window is maximized.
Can also be run by selecting the Maximize GDI Window item from the GDI Command List or by typing MAXIMIZEWINDOW or MAXWIN on the GDI Command Line.
Notes
- Resizing the GDI Window can show or hide other GASWorkS windows. The Window menu lists every open window — selecting one brings it to the front.
Resize The GDI Window
Resizes the GDI Window to its default size.
- Select the Resize GDI Window item from the GDI Command List. The GDI Window is resized.
Can also be run by typing RESIZEGDI or RESIZE on the GDI Command Line.
Notes
- This doesn’t minimize the window the way the familiar Windows command does — it resizes the GDI Window to maximize the remaining space in the GASWorkS window while keeping all GDI Commands and features accessible.
- The window can also be resized manually by dragging a corner. To resize it to fill the whole screen instead, use Maximize The GDI Window.
Repaint The GDI Image
Repaints (redraws) the current model image.
- Select the Repaint GDI Image item from the GDI Utilities branch of the GDI Command Tree. The model image is redrawn.
Can also be run by selecting the Repaint GDI Image item from the GDI Command List or by typing REPAINTGDI or REPAINT on the GDI Command Line.
Notes
- The Automatically Repaint GDI Image graphics option, if selected, updates the model image after graphic changes automatically. Access it from the Settings item on the Graphics menu.
Pan The GDI Image
Repositions the GDI Image based on a location you specify.
- Select the Pan Image item from the GDI View branch of the GDI Command Tree.
- At the Select Base Point On The GDI Image prompt, left-click inside the GDI Display. A line displays from that point.
- At the Select New Location prompt, left-click another point. The model image moves the distance and direction of the line between the two points.
Can also be run by selecting the Pan GDI Image item from the GDI Command List or by typing PANIMAGE or PAN on the GDI Command Line.
Notes
- This command can’t be used while another command is running — use the Scroll icon to pan the image mid-command instead.
- If the Automatically Pan & Zoom graphics option is selected, you can pan by holding the left mouse button in the GDI Display and dragging; the image moves when the button is released.
Zoom The GDI Image
Covers the full set of controls for resizing the model image within the GDI Display.
- Zoom To Fit: click the Zoom To Fit icon (lower-left corner of the GDI Window) to fit the entire model and any background images within the GDI Display. Alias: ZOOMFIT or ZF.
- Zoom In: click the Zoom In icon, then left-click a center point in the GDI Display. The image enlarges and re-centers there. Alias: ZOOMIN or ZI.
- Zoom Model: select Zoom Model from the GDI Command List to fit the model alone, excluding background images. Alias: ZOOMMODEL or ZM.
- Zoom Next: select Zoom Next from the GDI View branch to return to the view shown before your last Zoom Previous. Only works after Zoom Previous has been used. Alias: ZOOMNEXT or ZN.
- Zoom Out: click the Zoom Out icon to reduce and re-center the image. Alias: ZOOMOUT or ZO.
- Zoom Previous: click the Zoom Previous icon to display the last view of the model image. Alias: ZOOMPREVIOUS or ZP.
- Zoom To Saved View: select Zoom View from the GDI View branch, choose a saved view from the GDI Prompt List, then right-click. Requires at least one saved view. Alias: ZOOMVIEW or ZV.
- Zoom By Scale Factor: select Zoom By Scale Factor, then type a value — greater than one zooms in, less than one zooms out. Alias: ZOOMSCALE or ZS.
- Zoom Window: select Zoom Window from the GDI View branch, then left-click opposite corners of a rectangle to zoom to that area. Alias: ZOOMWINDOW or ZW.
- Zoom World Extents: select Zoom World Extents from the GeoMapping branch to zoom the assigned mapping service to the visible world map (roughly -180° to 180° longitude, -85° to 85° latitude). Alias: ZOOMWORLD.
Most Zoom variants can also be selected from the GDI Command List or the GDI View branch of the GDI Command Tree, in addition to the aliases listed above.
Notes
- Zoom In and Zoom Out don’t let you choose the exact zoom location, but their icons work while most (not all) other commands are running. They resize the image by the Zoom Ratio value, which can be viewed or changed on the Graphics data tab of the User Options & Settings screen (Utilities menu).
- Each GDI Panel remembers up to ten previous views (pans and zooms combined). Zoom Previous and Zoom Next step back and forward through that history.
- Zoom Window enlarges the selected area to fill as much of the GDI Display as possible.
Mark The Current View
Marks the currently displayed view with a cross-hatched area.
- Select the Mark Current View item from the GDI Command List. The current view is marked.
Can also be run by typing MARKVIEW on the GDI Command Line.
Notes
- A marked view is not the same as a saved view, and multiple marked views can exist in the same model at once.
- To remove one marked view, use Delete A Marked View; to remove all of them, use Delete All Marked Views.
- If the Allow Undo Of Data/Graphic Changes environment option is selected (Environment data tab, Options & Settings), click the Undo icon to restore the last data or graphic change.
Save The Current View
Saves a bookmark of the current GDI Display limits for the Zoom To Saved View command to access later.
- Select the Save Current View item from the GDI View branch of the GDI Command Tree.
- At the View Name prompt, type a name and press Enter. The current display is saved under that name.
Can also be run by selecting the Save Current View item from the GDI Command List or by typing SAVEVIEW on the GDI Command Line.
Notes
- A saved view is not the same as a marked view. Saved views are stored alphabetically by View Name and accessed later with Zoom To Saved View.
- To remove a saved view, use the Delete A Saved View command.
Plot The GDI Image
Plots the current GDI Image to a printer.
- Select the Plot GDI Image item from the GDI Utilities branch of the GDI Command Tree. Confirm the message reminding you to check that the desired items are in the GDI Display. The Plot Settings screen is displayed.
- On the Page Layout tab, set margins, Border Line Width, and Title Font Size; select Include Border, Include Title, or Landscape Orientation as needed; and choose a Printer.
- On the Settings tab, select which Plot Data Values to include, set their font sizes (in Printer Points or the default Coordinate Values units), configure the Other Settings for feature plot size, choose the Number Of Copies, and select Fit To Page or specify a scale.
- On the Style tab, choose a Plot Style: Plot Current Display, Plot A User Selected Window, Plot Full Extents Of Model & Background Image, Plot A Saved View, or Plot A Saved Plot Window.
- Click Plot to proceed, Close to save settings without plotting, or Cancel to discard changes. If Plot A User Selected Window was chosen, click the opposite corners of the plot window, then confirm whether to save it.
- Review the Plot Preview, then click Continue to send the image to the selected printer, or Cancel to return to the Plot Settings screen.
Can also be run by selecting the Plot GDI Image item from the GDI Command List or by typing PLOT on the GDI Command Line.
Notes
- Not all printers and plotters support raster-style output — a BMP background image can’t be plotted to a device that doesn’t support it.
- These plot features are meant for good-quality checking, review, and presentation plots, not full CAD-level output. For more sophisticated plots, export the model to a DXF file and import it into a CAD or mapping system.
- If data text clutters the plot, use Move Customer Text, Move Node Text, or Move Pipe Text to relocate it, or adjust the Font Size or turn off the Plot Data Values option on the Settings tab.
- Data text can appear on the plot even when the GDI Display is zoomed past the Display Limit set on the Text Display Settings screen.
Show The Route Profile
Displays a profile of selected data values along a route you choose.
- Select the Show Route Profile item from the GDI Command List. The Route Profile Options screen is displayed.
- Select the desired Items To Include (multiple options can be selected).
- Select a Selection Style: Individual Graphical Selection lets you pick pipes directly; Trace Downstream or Trace Upstream profiles every pipe downstream or upstream of a selected node; Trace To Primary Source follows the primary flow path upstream until a regulator, compressor, or supply node is reached.
- Click Continue. For Individual Graphical Selection, click each pipe in turn, then right-click when finished. For a Trace style, click a starting node, then confirm the highlighted route is correct.
- The Route Profile screen displays with a data tab enabled for each selected Item To Include. Review the results, then click Close to exit.
Can also be run by typing ROUTEPROFILE or PROFILE on the GDI Command Line.
Notes
- This command is intended for use on a solved model.
- The horizontal scale represents hydraulic distance along the route; the vertical scale represents the selected data value. The Combined tab, if selected, shows all included profiles color-coded to match their vertical scales.
- With Individual Graphical Selection, pipe segments display left to right in the order you selected them. With either Trace style, they display left to right from the furthest upstream node to the last downstream node.
View A CSV File
Displays a previously created CSV file.
- Select the View CSV File item from the GDI Command List. The Open screen is displayed.
- Select a .csv file and click Open. Its contents display on the User Table Editor screen.
- View or edit the table, then click Close to return to the GDI Display.
Can also be run by typing VIEWCSV on the GDI Command Line.
View The Trace Results
Displays a previously created Trace Results file.
- Select the View Trace Results item from the GDI Command List. The Open screen is displayed.
- Select a Trace Results (.trc) file and click Open. The results display.
- Review the contents, then click Close to return to the GDI Window.
Can also be run by typing VIEWTRACE on the GDI Command Line.
Notes
- To create a Trace Results file in the first place, select Create Trace from the GDI Utilities branch of the GDI Command Tree, then select the Create A Trace Results File option on the Trace Specifications screen before running the Trace command.
Notes & Considerations
- A marked view and a saved view are different tools — marking is a visual cross-hatch you can toggle off later, while saving creates a named bookmark you can zoom back to at any time.
- Several of the automatic behaviors described above — Automatically Pan & Zoom, Automatically Repaint GDI Image, and the Zoom Ratio — are controlled from the Graphics data tab of the Options & Settings screen (Utilities menu).
See Also
- Adding Pipes & Nodes
- Creating Taps, Tables & Legends
- Moving Text, Graphics, Legends & Views
- Deleting Graphics, Text, Tables & Views
- Display & Visibility Settings
- Solving & Tracing the Model
- GDI Utilities: Undo, Redo, Cancel & Housekeeping
- Example: Selecting, Moving & Viewing Features
- Example: Color-Coding & Display Limits
FAQ
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This subcategory covers how the model looks and how you move around it on screen — colors, symbol and text sizes, the Tool Palette, coordinate and snapping settings, what’s visible or hidden in the GDI Display, distance and angle measurements, layer and log toggles, and panning, zooming, and plotting the GDI image itself.
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Start with Display & Visibility Settings — it controls whether customer symbols, node symbols, pipe symbols, flow arrows, User Graphics, User Text, and background images are turned on or off. If the feature type is visible but hard to spot, Colors, Symbols, Sizes & Tool Palette covers adjusting colors and symbol sizes to make things stand out.
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Views, Panning, Zooming & Plotting is about controlling what part of the model you’re looking at — saving views, zooming in and out, plotting the image. Coordinates, Projection & Snapping is about precision while you work within that view — setting coordinate systems, snapping to features, and measuring along specific axes, which matters more when you’re placing or aligning features than when you’re just navigating the drawing.
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Measuring Distances & Angles covers exactly that — Measure A Distance and Measure An Angle let you click points in the GDI Display and get a real-world measurement back, without needing to calculate it separately.
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Toggling Layers, Logs & GeoMapping covers both. It includes Turn The GeoMapping Functions On Or Off and Turn A DXF Layer Off, along with commands for turning the Change Log on or off and viewing or clearing it.