Contour Type

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Contour Type options can be set from the Contour Type tab on the Contour Options dialog.

Object

Simulator can contour several different values. To specify what Simulator should contour, first choose the type of display object; the options are Bus, Line, Interface, Area, Generator, Substation, Zone or Injection Group. Once the object is chosen, you must then choose the numerical value to be contoured by specifying it in the Value dropdown box.

Note: to contour a value for a type of object, representations of that type of object must be present on the oneline diagram. Choosing to contour an object type that is not represented on the diagram will result in no contour being drawn on the diagram.

Value

Select the quantity to contour from the Value dropdown box or click the Find… button to find the desired field (it is normally easier to use the Find button). See NOTE at the end of this help topic.

Filter Object Values

The name of the advanced filter that is currently applied to the contour. Click Define to create a new Advanced Filter to use during contouring. Applying a filter means that only objects that meet the filter will affect the contour image. Objects which do not meet the filter will be ignored.

Data Points per Line

This specifies the number of data points used to represent the graphical line. The contouring algorithm is based on values at specific coordinates in the oneline space. When contouring transmission line or interface objects, the line is represented by a series of points spaced equally along the graphical line.

No Data Color

This setting allows you to choose the contour color used for parts of the contour for which there are not objects nor data for the type of contour selected. The choices for No Data Color are Specific Color, Color Map Percentage,Background Color, and Transparent. By default, Specific Color is selected and set to white. If you wish to change the specific color to use, click on the color box to the right and choose a different color from the popup dialog. If you select Color Map Percentage, the Color Map % field will become enabled, and you can select a value from 0 to 100. The value you enter will associate the No Data Color with the color located at that percentage in the selected color map. If Background Color is chosen, the No Data Color will always be whatever color has been set as the normal background color for the oneline diagram. Lastly, if Transparent is chosen, the parts of the contour for which there are not objects nor data for the type of contour selected will be transparent and any objects on the oneline diagram will be displayed as usual.

Draw Color Key

Checking this box will cause the contour to draw a color key showing which colors are mapped to which values. You can also give the color key a title, unit label, and specify the number of digits to display in numerical values.

Title

Title for the color key.

Entry Labels

Units of the contoured value displayed on the color key.

Dec. Pts.

Number of decimal places of the contoured value displayed on the color key.

Scalar

Multiplication factor that can be applied to the values when drawing the color key. Normally this value should be 1.0.

Use Equal Spacing For Discrete Maps

This option will draw the color key with equal spacing for all colors in the map, regardless of how close or distant the values the colors represent. This option only applies to discrete color maps.

Color Map

Choose from various predefined color maps using the color map combo-box. A color map, along with the values specified, defines how values are mapped to a color on the contour image.

If a color map showing both high and low values is desired (such as for bus voltages), use of "Blue = Low, Red = High" is recommended. If a color map showing only high values is desired (such as for line flows), use of "Weather Radar, Nominal to High" is recommended.

A user may also define additional color maps by going to the Custom Color Map Tab.

Reverse Color Map Colors

Check this check-box to reverse the colors of the selected color map, so the low color becomes the high color, and vice versa.

Brightness

Modify the brightness track bar to change the brightness of the color map.

Use absolute value

Check this check-box to use the absolute values of the quantity selected at the Value dropdown box (above).

Ignore Above Max

Check this check-box to completely ignore values above the maximum percentage. This means that data which is larger than the Max % will not be used in calculating the contour image. This is similar to using an Advanced Filter to Filter Object Values, but provides a quick way to do so.

Values

For all color maps that come with PowerWorld by default, the conversion of a value to a color is done in two steps. The value is first interpolated to a percentage by using up to 5 user-specified values (maximum, break high, nominal, break low and minimum) that correspond to specific percentages (100%, 75%, 50%, 25%, and 0%). This percentage is then interpolated through the color map and a color is determined.

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User may define their own color maps which convert percentage to color, but they may also define color maps which directly translate values into colors without the intermediate calculation of a percent. For more information on this see the creation of a Custom Color Map.

The value range values are described as follows:

Maximum  The largest value allowed in the contour. All values above this will be mapped to the highest color. This value corresponds to 100% in the color map.

Break High This value is used by some color maps to highlight a lower limit. This value corresponds to 75% in the color map.

Nominal  This value is the nominal value for the contour. Values around this will be mapped to the middle color. This value corresponds to 50% in the color map.

Break Low This value is used by some color maps to highlight a lower limit. This value corresponds to 25% in the color map.

Minimum The smallest value allowed in the contour. All values below this will be mapped to the lowest color. This value corresponds to 0% in the color map.

Note: a representation of the color map is shown to the right of the values.

Ignore Below Min

Check this check-box to completely ignore values below the minimum percentage. This means that data which is smaller than the Min % will not be used in calculating the contour image. This is similar to using an Advanced Filter to Filter Object Values, but provides a quick way to do so.

Ignore Zero Values

Check this box to completely ignore zero values in the contour. This is similar to using an Advanced Filter to Filter Object Values, but provides a quick way to do so. If there is a need to ignore values that are almost but not exactly zero, then create an Advanced Filter to Filter Object Values.

Interpretation

This combo box specifies how to interpret the values of the data points. The options are:

Fixed Values  The data point values are not modified. The maximum, minimum, nominal, and break values are the ones entered directly in the units of the value being contoured. This is what should normally be used.

Dynamic Values  The data point values are not modified. However the maximum, minimum, nominal, and break values are determined dynamically from the data point values as follows: Maximum = Maximum data point value; Minimum = Minimum data point value; Nominal = Average data point value; Break High = (Max + Average)/2; and Break Low = (Min + Average)/2.

Standard Deviations All the data point values will be used to determine a mean and standard deviation. The data point values will then be converted to represent the number of standard deviations they are from the mean. Thus a value equal to the mean will be changed to a 0, a value 1.5 standard deviations higher than the mean will be changed to 1.5, and so on.

Percentiles  All the data point values will be sorted from lowest to highest. The value will then be set equal to the 100 times the sort location divided by the number of data points. Thus the highest value will be given a value of 100 and the lowest a value of 1.

Save Contour Image with Oneline

Checking this box will allow a displayed contour to be saved with a oneline diagram. If a contour is saved with a oneline diagram, the next time the oneline diagram is opened the contour will automatically be redrawn as well. The displayed contour is saved as a Bitmap image.

Continuously Update Contours

Normally contouring is only done on a snap shot of the power system state. However, you can also set Simulator to automatically update the contour every time the display is redrawn. In this way, an animation of the contour can be created. If you would like to create this animation, simply check the Continuously Update Contours checkbox. Note, however, that this will slow down the animation of the display, as the program must recalculate the contour at each step. If this slows down your display too much, try lowering the contour resolution to speed it up.

Note Regarding Values

Contours of most values create an image where the color around a data object is primarily related to the value of only that object. Some values however create "density-like" contours, where the color is related to the sum of the data object's values nearby. These include: