Running Vis-Tools from COMPS

This page gives a quick overview of how to run Vis-Tools from within the COMPS system.

Note

To access and use COMPS you must receive approval and credentials from IDM. Send your request to support@idmod.org.

To use Vis-Tools this way, you’ll need to create or otherwise have access to a spatial simulation, which is to say, a simulation with multiple nodes that have latitude/longitude geospatial locations.

Locate a target simulation in COMPS

  1. Log into COMPS using your account credentials

  2. Navigate to Explore > Simulations

    _images/vt-comps-navigate-explore.png

  3. Locate a spatial simulation for visualization. When you select such a simulation, you’ll see the following in the Spatial tab of Explore’s Details pane.

    _images/vt-spatial-tab-needs-preprocessing.png

Preprocess

  1. Click the Preprocess button to launch a COMPS work item to perform preprocessing on the simulation. Preprocessing for Vis-Tools will not modify or damage the simulation in any way. After you click the Preprocess button, the Spatial tab will change to this:

    _images/vt-spatial-tab-preprocessing.png

  2. After the preprocessing work item completes successfully, you’ll see the spatial tab change again:

    _images/vt-spatial-tab-ready.png

Visualize

  1. Click the Visualize button to launch Vis-Tools on the simulation’s data.

    _images/vt-launched-from-comps.png

The preprocessing script created a visset that lets us see our nodes on the map, with no bindings between our simulation’s outputs and the visual parameters of the visualization at all. It’s a good starting point for us to customize the visualization to our needs.

To learn more about the Geospatial visualization client, see Geospatial visualization.

Re-preprocess

You may find need to “re-preprocess” a simulation. For example, if you’ve already run Vis-Tools preprocessing for a “Points”-type visualization, you might change your mind and want to preprocess for “Shapes.”

  1. In the COMPS Spatial tab, click the Re-preprocess button. COMPS will return you to the preprocessing options view, wherein you may re-preprocess or upload your own preprocessing script.

    _images/vt-spatial-tab-needs-preprocessing-2.png

Using your own preprocessing script

COMPS can create default “Points” or “Shapes” preprocessing files for you. But more advanced users may choose to modify a default script to their liking and preprocess using that modified script.

  1. In the COMPS Spatial tab, run Preprocess with either “Points” or “Shapes” to have a default preprocessing script created for you.

  2. Navigate to the COMPS Output tab. Therein, find the Vis-Tools folder among your simulation’s output files and find the vt_preprocess.py script that was create by the Preprocess operation.

    _images/vt-output-tab-script.png

  3. Right-click the Download icon next to that file and choose Save Link As… to save it to your local computer.

  4. Open the vt_preprocess.py file in an editor and modify it to your liking. For example, you might add default bindings or change the base map. See the comments within the vt_preprocess.py file for examples of changes to make.

  5. When you’re done making changes, save the file as “my_preprocess.py” to any convenient location.

  6. Back in the COMPS Spatial tab, click Re-preprocess.

  7. Click the Custom script… button. This will open a file open dialog. Locate and open the my_preprocess.py script you saved earlier.

    _images/vt-spatial-tab-custom-script.png

  8. Click Preprocess to run preprocessing with your custom script.