GDI Commands

Introduction

The GDI (Graphic Data Interface) commands are the graphical tools you use to build, edit, and analyze a gas distribution model directly in the GDI window. Rather than editing data table by table, you place, reshape, and inspect pipes, nodes, customers, and equipment on the drawing itself. Because there are several hundred individual commands, they are grouped here into six task-based subcategories so you can find the right tool by what you are trying to do.

The subcategories move from building the network to maintaining it: Creating & Adding Features and Editing & Modifying Features place and change model elements; Deleting Features removes them; Finding & Flagging Features locates and marks features for review or batch work; Display, View & Navigation controls what the drawing shows and how you move around it; and Analysis & Model Utilities runs the hydraulic solution and keeps the underlying data clean.

A few habits apply across every group. Check the model’s default units before adding or editing features so new elements are entered at the intended scale, and enable Allow Undo Of Data/Graphic Changes if you want to be able to reverse a mistake. Any command that changes structure or loads affects the next solution, so solve or regenerate the model after structural or load changes. The subcategories below group the commands by task.

Module/Application

• Creating & Adding Features
  • Use Case: Build the network by placing new model features and annotations on the drawing.
  • Covers: Adding pipes and nodes, customers and services, equipment (compressors, regulators, valves, and fittings), user graphics and text, taps, tables, and legends, and grouping features for batch work.
  • Note: Check the model’s default units before adding features so new elements are entered at the intended scale.
• Editing & Modifying Features
  • Use Case: Change, reshape, and reorganize features that already exist in the model.
  • Covers: Editing customer, node, and pipe data and user graphics, text, and tables; moving and copying features; converting features and matching properties; reshaping pipe geometry; and managing intersections and pipe connectivity.
  • Note: Enable Allow Undo Of Data/Graphic Changes before editing so a change can be reversed.
• Deleting Features
  • Use Case: Remove model features or annotations you no longer need.
  • Covers: Deleting model features such as pipes, nodes, and customers, and deleting graphics, text, tables, and saved views.
  • Note: Deletion is permanent unless undo is enabled — confirm the selection before removing features.
• Finding & Flagging Features
  • Use Case: Locate specific features and mark them for review or batch action.
  • Covers: Finding customers, nodes, and pipes and finding locations, text, and crossings; flagging customers, nodes, and pipes; and clearing customer and node flags as well as pipe, DXF, and system flags.
  • Note: Flags are a temporary selection aid — clear them when you are done so later operations are not limited to flagged features.
• Display, View & Navigation
  • Use Case: Control what the model shows and how you move around the drawing.
  • Covers: Display and visibility settings; colors, symbols, sizes, and the tool palette; views, panning, zooming, and plotting; coordinates, projection, and snapping; measuring distances and angles; and toggling layers, logs, and GeoMapping.
  • Note: Display settings change only how features appear, not the underlying model data.
• Analysis & Model Utilities
  • Use Case: Run the hydraulic analysis and maintain the data those routines depend on.
  • Covers: Solving and tracing the model, calculating pressures, design factor, and flow efficiency, managing customer loads and supply mains, and the undo, redo, cancel, and housekeeping utilities.
  • Note: Solve or regenerate the model after structural or load changes so the reported results reflect the current network.

FAQ