Required Fields

See Also

 

Required fields are necessary fields when attempting to create new objects by pasting data into a Case Information Display or when reading data from an PowerWorld Auxiliary. These fields are in addition to the key fields which identify the object.

There are two purposes of the required fields. First there are some fields for which an appropriate default value is not apparent thus by requiring these fields it forces the specification of the value. Second, when pasting data into Simulator it is possible that the record will not exist in the case. Simulator will then determine whether to create these records by looking to see if the required fields are specified. By doing this, it prevents the accidental addition of records. For instance you may have an Auxiliary File that sets the Monitor field of all branches in your case to Yes or No. If Simulator runs across a branch between two buses that exist, but whose circuit ID does not exist, then Simulator will just skip this line from the Auxiliary File. It will not be possible to accidentally create a bunch of new transmission lines with default impedance parameters because the R and X impedance parameters are required.

The required and key fields are easily identified from a few different locations.

Column Headings

The column headings of case information displays are colored to indicate fields that are key fields. Any field that is a key fields will be highlighted yellow. Also note that some fields are highlighted green. These fields are required fields that are necessary when you are attempting to create a new object by pasting or loading the data from another application. If the necessary key fields (yellow) are not included in the data loaded from another source, the information for that object is ignored. If all of the required fields (green) are not included in an object that is detected as new, Simulator will skip it. If all the required fields are present, then Simulator can create the new object. Note that for new objects, the key fields are necessary as well.

Display/Column Options

The Display/Column Options dialog, available by right-clicking on any case information display, also has the capability to highlight both the key fields and required fields, as described above. The check box labeled "Highlight Key Fields" will enable highlighting of the field names in the two lists on the display.

Export Object Fields

This option from the Help menu in Simulator allows you to export a list of most fields for each type of object in a case. The list also indicates which fields are key fields and required fields for each object. You can output this list of fields as either a text file or into Excel.

 

An example of required fields for an object is for a Branch object. For a branch object, the key fields are the from bus number, to bus number and the circuit ID. Required fields are the Impedance Values R, X, and B and the first three ratings A, B, and C. Without specifying values for these fields you can not create a new branch.