Running HEC-WAT (First Use)

Open HEC-WAT

First Time Using HEC-WAT

After installing the software, to quickly find and open HEC-WAT choose from any of the recommended actions below:

• Create a shortcut on your desktop: navigate to the unzipped folder and in the HEC-WAT directory, right-click the "HEC-WAT.exe" and select Create shortcut (if in Windows 11, select Show more options to see the Create shortcut option). Then drag the created shortcut to the desktop. Double-click to open the HEC-WAT software.
• Pin HEC-WAT to the taskbar: right-click the HEC-WAT.exe (shortcut or original) and select Pin to taskbar (if in Windows 11, select Show more options to see the Pin to taskbar option). Click the pinned HEC-WAT software icon to open the software.
• Pin to Start: right-click on the HEC-WAT.exe (shortcut or original) and select Pin to Start. Open the Start menu and click on the pinned HEC-WAT software.

If you encounter a Microsoft Defender SmartScreen warning, it can be safely ignored. Click More info and Run to continue.

The splash screen for HEC-WAT will open and will appear for a few seconds. Accept the Terms and Conditions for HEC-WAT and the included plugins. And then the main window of HEC-WAT will appear. HEC-WAT is now ready for use. 

Click here to expand to see the interface...

If one of the plugins fails to start, close and reopen HEC-WAT.  The plugin loading process may occasionally fail, and restarting HEC-WAT should clear the issue.  If the plugin repeatedly fails to load, try opening the standalone program to see if it launches successfully outside of HEC-WAT.