One of the most common uses of a water distribution model is the design of new or replacement facilities. During design, it is common to try several physical alternatives in an effort to find the most cost effective solution. For example, when designing a replacement pipeline, it would be beneficial to try several sizes and pipe materials to find the most satisfactory combination.

Each type of network element has a specific set of physical properties that are stored in a physical properties alternative. To access the Physical Properties Alternative select Analysis > Alternatives and select Physical Alternative.

The Physical Alternative editor for each element type is used to create various data sets for the physical characteristics of those elements.

The following buttons are available:

Selection Set: Opens a submenu containing the following options:

• Create Selection Set—Allows you to create a new selection set.
• Add to Selection Set—Adds all of the elements in the current tab of the alternative to a previously created selection set that you specify.
• Remove from Selection Set——Removes all of the elements in the current tab of the alternative from a previously created selection set that you specify.

Select in Drawing: Opens a submenu containing the following options:

• Select in Drawing—Selects the elements in the current tab of the alternative in the drawing pane.
• Add to Current Selection—Adds all of the elements in the current tab of the alternative to the group of elements that are currently selected in the Drawing Pane.
• Remove from Current Selection—Removes the elements in the current tab of the alternative from the group of elements that are currently selected in the Drawing Pane.
• Select Within Current Selection—Selects the element or elements that are both in the current tab of the alternative and are already selected in the Drawing Pane.

Report: Generates a report containing the data within the current alternative.

Help: Opens the online help.