Version 2 of the Rainfall Intensity software is now available! It corrects many of the "bugs" reported in the previous version.

Rainfall Intensity Home
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USER'S MANUAL

REQUIRED DATABASES

Create a "rainfall" database

Create a "rainfall_stats" database

Set each database as a System DSN to allow connection to the RAIN software

RAINSTART

Open the RAIN software

Log On to RAIN software programs

RAINDIGITIZER

Getting Started - Things to Do Before You Begin Digitizing

Log On

Link to your "rainfall" database

Digitize a strip chart and save as an x,y ascii file on your hard drive

QC the digitized strip charts

Load digitized ascii file(s) to your "rainfall" database

Convert digitized ascii file(s) to meaningful rainfall data (time-depth series) and store in your "rainfall" database

RAINPLOT

Select a dataset (select data to analyze)

Quality control the selected data (view raw rainfall data)

Analyze the selected data using predictive statistical curve fits (includes IDF analysis)

Create a report (automated reports showing various results)

Show monthly and seasonal summaries

Display data on map using RAINMAP

Edit hydrologic default settings (customize program settings such as "months that comprise a water year" and others)

RAINSHARE

Log On

Edit, add, or delete data in your "rainfall" database

Export or import your "rainfall" database

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Load Digitized Ascii File(s) to Your "Rainfall" Database

After a strip chart has been digitized and saved as an ascii file on your hard drive it is ready to be loaded into your "rainfall" database. The ascii data files have a .dat extension and contain all the information that was entered during the digitizing process. These data files must be loaded into the database in the CHART_ASCII table before they are converted to time depth data and analyzed.

To load your digitized ascii file(s) into the "rainfall" database click 'Load/Extract Ascii Files To/From Database' from the 'Populate Database with Digitized Data' section of the main menu.

This will open the following window.

Using the directory tree in the upper left part of the window, select a folder that will be used to permanently archive the ascii files that you load to the database.

Next, check the small box on the left part of the window that says 'Move Files to Target Folder Afterwards' and scroll to the folder that you just created titled 'Ascii files already loaded to the database'. Next click the button that says 'Set Folder From Directory Tree Above'. This will set the folder that will receive the archived ascii files.

Return to the directory tree in the upper left part of the window and select the source folder on the hard drive that contains the digitized ascii files that you wish to load (the folder that you just created titled 'Ascii files to be loaded'). This will retrieve your digitized ascii files from that folder and show them in the window's display on the right. Single click in the display window to highlight files that you wish to load to the database. You may also click the 'Select All' button to select all the files for loading. Double-clicking any file will produce a text file showing the raw data contained in that file on your hard drive.

Next click 'Load Files to Database'. Files will be loaded to the CHART_ASCII table of the database and simultaneously moved from the source folder ('Ascii files to be loaded') to the archive folder that you specified above ('Ascii files already loaded to the database'). Your "rainfall" database now contains embedded ascii files that contain raw digitized strip-chart data.

An ascii file that has already been loaded into the CHART_ASCII table of the database may be edited if needed. This function likely will be used infrequently. If such edits are required they first must be "extracted" from the database (copied to a hard drive subdirectory), then editted, and then reloaded into the database. Click 'Extract Files from Database' on the top menu tab. In the lower left part of the window click the Core Party, agency, and station corresponding to the file of interest. Highlight the file to be "extracted". Next, use the directory tree in the top left part of the window to select a folder into which the file will be copied. Click 'Extract Files'. The "extracted" file is copied from the CHART_ASCII table in the database and placed in the selected folder. After "extracting", the original ascii file will still exist in the CHART_ASCII table until it is overwritten. Therefore, once the extracted ascii file has been edited, it should be reloaded to the CHART_ASCII table as described above; this will overwrite the old version of the file.

Proceed to the next section titled 'Convert digitized ascii files to meaningful rainfall data' or return to the main RAINDIGITIZER instructions page.