Tide File Editor

In Hydromagic, the tide observations file editor utility is used to create, alter or import tide files. Tide files include time and tide level information, and can be used to correct soundings (or convert to a local vertical datum).

The tide observations file editor is part of the "Sounding Wizard", and can be found on the "Tide Correction" page. This is the third page in the wizard and lets you select the preferred tide method used to generate tide-corrected soundings.

To use a tide correction file, select the "Use tide correction file" option in the "Sounding Wizard".

Starting the tide file editor utility

To start the tide file editor, set the tide method in the wizard to 'use tide correction file'. The "Editor..." and "Browse..." buttons will now be enabled. To start the editor, click the 'Editor...' button.

Screenshot of the tide observation file editor with a tide file loaded.

Tide file editor toolbar

All functions of the editor can be accessed through the toolbar at the bottom of the window. The table below shows the function of the various buttons.

Button	Function
	Load tide observations from an existing Hydromagic tide file.
	Save tide observations to a Hydromagic tide file.
	Modify the selected tide observation.
	Add a new tide observation to the table.
	Insert a new tide observation to the table before the selected record.
	Generate multiple tide observations with a specified level, interval, begin and ending time.
	Start the importing tool to import tide observation data from an ASCII file.
	Remove the selected tide observation.
	Remove all tide observations (clear data).
	Undo the latest operation.
	Redo the latest undone operation.
	Reload the table and graph.
	Send the tide observations graph to the printer.

Using the tide file editor

The tide file editor can be used in two ways: You can enter all the observations manually, or you could choose to import them from an ASCII file. When using the ASCII import tool, you can select the columns which contain time and level, as well as the format of the fields. If you are having trouble importing a third party tide file, contact our support department for assistance.

Importing tide values

To import tide values from an ASCII file, click the "Start the importing tool" button (see buttons table above). The dialog below will be displayed. When the ASCII file contains data for one day only, We recommend setting a fixed date.

First you have to select an input file. You can search for a file by clicking the "Browse..." button.

The fields where the time and tide values are stored have to be set in order to correctly parse the ASCII data. The field separator field has to be set as well. Lines not containing this separator and the number of fields required will be skipped.

You can click the "View..." button to view the layout of the file.

Click the "OK" button to start importing data. Not satisfied with the results? Just remove all records and start over!

The software allows you to import tide observations from ASCII files.

Generate observations

It is possible to generate a couple of records at a specified time interval for you. When these records are generated, all you have to do is enter the correct tide levels. To do so, click the button "Generate multiple tide observations" (see buttons table above):

Generate tide observations with the same level in a specified timespan

When using the example above, there will be created seven records, starting at 6:45:10 PM and the last one at 7:45:10. The interval will be 10 minutes and the values will be pre-set to 1.23 meters.

After closing this tool, double-click the generated records to set the correct levels.

Saving your work

After you have entered or imported the tide observations needed to correct the sounding files, click the save button and supply a valid file name. Finally, close the editor by clicking the 'OK' button, and select the tide file by clicking the 'Browse...' button in the "Sounding Wizard".