SWMM5 Delphi GUI Uclipbrd.pas Summary

 Extended and Expanded Summary of Uclipbrd.pas

This Delphi unit, Uclipbrd.pas, manages the copy and paste operations involving objects in an EPA SWMM project (the project’s internal data structures) to and from an internal clipboard. It is not the same as the Windows system clipboard (although it parallels that usage), but rather a custom data container stored in Project.Clipboard.

The code provides procedures to:

1. Copy the data of a particular object type (e.g. subcatchment, node, link, label, rain gage) from the project's database into the internal clipboard.
2. Paste the data from the internal clipboard back onto a target object (replacing the target’s properties).

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1. Objects and Their Data

SWMM organizes objects by type (e.g., Subcatch, Node, Link, Gage, Label). Each object type has a set of string fields or properties stored in arrays or lists:

• For subcatchments: infiltration parameters, land uses, etc.
• For nodes: invert elevation, inflows, etc.
• For links: geometry parameters, cross-section, etc.
• For rain gages: data format, time-series name, etc.
• For map labels: font name, size, style, etc.

These fields are typically stored in the Data[] arrays of the objects (e.g., TSubcatch.Data[i], TNode.Data[i], etc.).

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2. Internal Clipboard: Project.Clipboard

There is a single Project.Clipboard object with these main properties:

• ObjType: an integer storing the SWMM object type code (like SUBCATCH, JUNCTION, etc.).
• Data: a string list. Each line holds one property value for the object that was copied.
• List1, List2: optional additional string lists for objects with more complex data (like infiltration data, or inflows).
• Font: used only for label objects, storing the TFont attributes.

When a user chooses "Copy" from the GUI for a subcatchment, the code collects the subcatchment data (like indexes [SUBCATCH_RAINGAGE_INDEX .. SUBCATCH_CURBLENGTH_INDEX]) into the Data list, infiltration data into List1, and land uses into List2. The code then marks ObjType := SUBCATCH.

When "Paste" is requested, the code reads these lists from Project.Clipboard and applies them to a given subcatchment’s data arrays.

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3. Procedures Overview

A. Copy Routines

1. CopyGage(Index)
   Copies a rain gage object’s relevant data (e.g. Data[GAGE_DATA_FORMAT..GAGE_RAIN_UNITS]) into Project.Clipboard.

   • ObjType := RAINGAGE;

2. CopySubcatch(Index)
   Copies a subcatchment object’s data from Data[SUBCATCH_RAINGAGE_INDEX..SUBCATCH_CURBLENGTH_INDEX], infiltration data, and land uses into the clipboard’s Data, List1, and List2.

   • ObjType := SUBCATCH;

3. CopyNode(Ntype, Index)
   For a node object (junction, outfall, divider, storage), it determines which data indexes to copy (using GetDataIndexes). Then it copies those fields plus any inflow lists.

   • ObjType := Ntype;
     Node inflows appear in DWInflow or DXInflow lists, which get placed in List1 and List2.

4. CopyLink(Ltype, Index)
   For a link (conduit, pump, orifice, weir, outlet), uses GetDataIndexes to know which data fields to copy, then places them into the Data list.

   • ObjType := Ltype;

5. CopyLabel(Index)
   Copies a map label object’s font properties (font name, size, bold, italic) into the clipboard’s Font object.

   • ObjType := MAPLABEL;

B. Paste Routines

1. PasteGage(Index)
   Pastes the data from the Clipboard.Data[] fields back into a rain gage’s data array [GAGE_DATA_FORMAT..GAGE_RAIN_UNITS].

2. PasteSubcatch(Index)
   Pastes subcatchment properties, infiltration data (List1), and land uses (List2). If the subcatchment’s OutletID changes, the code calls Uupdate.UpdateSubcatchOutlet.

3. PasteNode(Ntype, Index)
   Pastes the node’s data from the Data array plus any dry-weather and pattern-based inflows from the List1 and List2.
   Then calls Uedit.UpdateEditor(...) to refresh the property editor and color updates if needed.

4. PasteLink(Ltype, Index)
   Pastes link data. E.g. for a conduit, it might copy shape, offsets, etc. from Data.

5. PasteLabel(Index)
   Pastes the label’s stored TFont info. Then re-draws it on the map.

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4. Shared Helper Routines

GetDataIndexes(ObjType, var First, Last) -> Boolean

• Each node or link object type uses a certain range of integer indexes to store relevant data.
• For example, a junction might store data from NODE_INVERT_INDEX up to JUNCTION_PONDED_AREA_INDEX.
• This routine maps the object type (like JUNCTION, OUTFALL, CONDUIT, etc.) to the correct First and Last indexes in the Data array.
• Returns False if not recognized.

Copy/Paste Mechanism

When the user calls Copy on an object:

1. Determine the range of indexes (GetDataIndexes for some types).
2. Place each string-based property into Clipboard.Data[...].
3. For more complex objects, place infiltration/inflow arrays in Clipboard.List1, .List2.
4. Set Clipboard.ObjType to that object’s type.

When the user calls Paste onto an object:

1. Confirm that Clipboard.ObjType matches the target object type.
2. Copy the strings from Clipboard.Data, .List1, .List2 into the object’s data arrays or infiltration/inflow lists.
3. Possibly call Uupdate.Update... to handle post-processing changes (like subcatch outlets, node color, or link geometry).

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5. Uutils and Uupdate Interaction

• Uutils.CopyStringList(...) is used to clone lists from objects to the clipboard and vice versa.
• Uupdate.UpdateSubcatchOutlet(...) is used if a subcatchment’s outlet changes.
• Uedit.UpdateEditor(...) is used to refresh the property editor form if the object is currently open for editing.
• MapForm.EraseLabel(...) and MapForm.DrawObject(...) are used to handle re-drawing the map label after a paste.

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6. Key Points

1. The unit deals only with internal in-application copy/paste, not the OS clipboard.
2. Each object type has a distinct structure for how many data fields exist and how they’re stored.
3. For node or link objects, we rely on a helper function GetDataIndexes to identify the relevant data fields (like from “CONDUIT_SHAPE_INDEX” to “CONDUIT_TSECT_INDEX”).
4. Subcatchments, nodes, and links often carry extra list-based data: infiltration data, land uses, or inflows. These require special handling in Clipboard.List1 and Clipboard.List2.
5. Labels store only font name, size, bold, italic in the TFont of Clipboard.Font.
6. After the paste, changes are flagged as “modified” so that the application can track unsaved changes and re-run the model if needed.

Hence, Uclipbrd.pas is an internal utility for copying/pasting SWMM’s object data to the program’s ephemeral data structure, letting the user replicate or reassign the properties from one object to another quickly.