To create an i-model, select File > Export > Publish i-model once the desired scenario and time-steps have been selected.

The following dialog opens with the defaults set so that all elements and properties are included in the i-model.

The top left pane is a summary of this element types are to be included in the i-model. If a box by the element type is checked, that element type is included. The Table/Properties column reflects the selections on the right side of the dialog in terms of which elements and properties are included.

The bottom left portion of the dialog is used to identify which elements are to be included in the i-model. This can be specified individually for each element type.

If the "Publish a subset of elements based on the Flex Table filters" box is checked, only those elements that are in the filtered flex table will be included in the i-model.

If the "Exclude topologically inactive elements" box is checked, only active elements (Is active? = True) are included in the i-model.

If the "Publish imodel to Personal Share" box is checked, the i-model will be published to your Personal Share.

The user will usually not need to include all element properties in the i-model. The right side of the dialog is to identify which properties of the elements are going to be included in the i-model. The default is "all properties". If the user wants to only include a subset of properties, the user should create a flex table with only those properties and select that flex table from the drop down list. Because it is possible to have multiple flex tables with the same name (e.g. Pipe Table can be a predefined table or a Model table), the user can explicitly state the table path (e.g. Tables - Predefined or Tables - Model). If the flex table is filtered, the filter is displayed in the Filter box and in the left pane, the Is Filtered column is set to True for that element type. Note that element types that are not used in the current model are marked with an icon

.

The Properties box on the right side of the dialog shows the properties that are imported for that element type.

If the box for "Publish model elements in 3D" is selected, the elements will be published in 3D.

The main motivation behind allowing publishing geometries in 3D is to enable clash-detection. That feature is expected to be more important for gravity hydraulic products, but it is included with pressure-based applications as well. The basic functionality regarding this topic can be summarized as:

Node cells' z-coordinates are assigned according to their elevation values, at their cell's insertion point.

• 3D node cells in the cell-library are supported.
• Pipes are exported as cylinders, with partial toroidal shapes at their vertices.
• Pipe cylinder diameters match assigned diameter values.
• Pipe elevations in pressure applications are assumed to be at center of cylinders.
• Pipe elevations in gravity applications have more details to be aware of (e.g. rim, invert and crown elevations).
• References and any extra graphics published (e.g. annotations) are assigned a z-coordinate of 0.0.

When all settings are established for all element types, the user picks OK.

Upon starting the publishing, the user is asked for the file name for the .dgn file that will contain the i-model. The user names the file and path as with any other Windows application.