The Operations Support Interface (OSI) allows you to quickly edit reservoir releases and recompute the HEC-ResSim model when running a forecast in HEC-RTS. Each alternative in HEC-RTS stores its OSI configuration separately, and currently, the OSI does not provide a built-in option to copy configurations between alternatives.

This guide walks you through how to manually copy the OSI configuration from one alternative to another, assuming:

  • You have completed the OSI configuration for one alternative.
  • The other alternative(s) use the same network and currently DO NOT have the OSI configured.

You'll need a text editor for this process. The examples here use Notepad++, but any text editor will work.

Step 1: Copy the Configuration from the Source Alternative

  1. Close any open HEC-RTS watersheds before proceeding. 
  2. Navigate to the rss folder inside your watershed directory.
  3. Locate the .ralt file for the source alternative (the one that already has OSI configured) and open this file using a text editor. 
    1. For example, if the source alternative is called NormalOps, open NormalOps.ralt.
  4. Scroll through the file and locate the block that begins with the line: PlugIn:Operation Support. This marks the start of the OSI configuration.
    Example .ralt File
  5. Select and copy the entire OSI configuration block (from PlugIn:Operation Support to the end of the file).

Step 2: Paste the Configuration into the Target Alternative

  1. Open the .ralt file for the target alternative (the one you want to configure). 
    1. For example, if the target alternative is named ByTheBook, open ByTheBook.ralt.
  2. Paste the copied lines at the end of the file.
    Pasting the Lines into the Target .ralt File
  3. Save the file.
  4. Repeat these steps for any other target alternatives in your watershed.

Step 3: Verify the Changes

  1. Launch HEC-RTS and open your watershed.
  2. In the Modeling tab, create a new forecast using the target alternative you just updated.
  3. Compute the forecast. 
  4. Open the OSI and confirm that the configuration was updated and functioning as expected.