Configuring user defined flags with InfoWorks ICM

Step-by-step guide

Data flags are a powerful tool for recording the source and integrity of data in a model. Some types of InfoWorks ICM version-controlled items, such as networks, support data flags for many of their data fields.

InfoWorks ICM includes standard built-in data flags. Additional user defined flags can be added to indicate information about the data.

To access and edit user-defined flags:

1. From the File menu, select Database management > User defined flags.
   OR: From the File toolbar, click the User Defined Flags button.

In the User Defined Flags dialog box are columns for the Name, Display Color, and Description of each flag. Six default flags are listed at the top of the list in gray. These are required by some features.

The remaining flags will be user-defined.

IMPORTANT: Best practice when starting a modeling project is to first define the flags that you plan to use in your model. Flags should indicate the data source and may also have a numerical value to represent the accuracy or confidence level of the data.

• Flags may be assigned one at a time, in bulk, or selected to be automatically assigned to any changes.
• Once defined, flags are available to everyone using the database.
• Flags can also be exported and imported into a different database.
• Flags can be edited at any time.

2. In the User Defined Flags dialog box, starting in the first available row of the Name column, enter the following:
• AS
• IN
• SD1
• SD3
• OP

3. In the Description column for the same rows, enter the following:
• Assumed Data
• Inferred Data
• Survey Data – High Confidence
• Survey Data – Low Confidence
• Options Testing

For this set of flags, “SD” stands for Survey Data as the data source.

IMPORTANT: Numerical values represent the accuracy of—or confidence in—the survey data, with 1 indicating high confidence, and 3 indicating low confidence. Following this convention allows anyone who models or accesses data to understand the confidence of individual objects, as well as the entire model.

4. In the Display Color column, expand the drop-down and pick a color for each of the flags.
5. For additional color options, click Custom to add new colors to the palette.

IMPORTANT: Best practice is to choose lighter colors, to see the flag text easily. In this example, red is chosen for assumed data, and yellow for inferred data. It is good practice to designate colors that coincide with the confidence level in data.

6. Click OK to save the flags.

To automatically apply a flag to future editing operations:

7. From the Edit toolbar, click Use edit flag.
8. In the Edit Flag drop-down that appears, select a user-defined flag.

Note: Data that is created in the network model is flagged until Use edit flag is disabled.