SPATSIM Software Package

NEWS FLASH:

SPATSIM V3 is now available (as of 30 Oct 2017).


Process:

  1. Download
  2. Install
  3. WebUpdate

Install/Upgrade instructions:

Download these files...

  • SPATSIM_V3R9.exe the software installer (28 May 2020)
  • SPATSIM_V3R9Doc.exe the Documentation installer (28 May 2020)
  • NationalV2_01.exe - the example database installer that includes all the data for using the Revised Desktop Reserve Model (RDRM) for South Africa.

  • SPATSIM_V3-Barrage.exe (262432kb dated 30 Sept 2020) installer for the Vaal Barrage project (if you have any other version of SPATSIM V3 installed you must uninstall it before you install this package.  Remember to do a web update after the install)

  • Zambezi-Install.zip - The installer for the SPATSIM application covering the Pitman model setups for the whole of the Zambezi River basin. This application was developed as part of the activities of the African Union - NEPAD African Network of Centres of Excellence on Water Sciences and Technology - ACEWATER phase 2 project, supported by the European Commission, in particular the Directorate-General for International Cooperation and Development (DEVCO) and the Joint Research Centre (JRC). For more details see: Hughes, D.A., Mantel, S.K., Farinosi, F., 2020. Assessing development and climate variability impacts on water resources in the Zambezi River basin. Initial model calibration, uncertainty issues and performance. Journal of Hydrology: Regional Studies, 32. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ejrh.2020.100765, and Hughes, D.A., Farinosi, F., 2020. Assessing development and climate variability impacts on water resources in the Zambezi River basin. Simulating future scenarios of climate and development. Journal of Hydrology: Regional Studies, 32. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ejrh.2020.100763.
    • How to Install
      • Download the .zip file
      • Extract the content of the .zip file
      • run the Zambezi.exe file to install
      • You may delete the extracted files after install to save disk space.

Installing:

  1. Save the above files.
  2. Find the file you saved on your computer (wherever your browser puts downloads)
  3. RIGHT click the SPATSM_V3Rx.exe file and select 'run as adaministrator' to install it.
  4. Double click the NationalV2_xx.exe file to install it.  (if you already have such a project you will need to rename the nationalv2.sqlite3 file in order for this version to install as the installer will not overwrite an existing file that is newer than the install file).
  5. right-click the Spatsim icon on the desktop and set it to 'run as administrator'.

Updating:

After updating it is vital to do a web update to get the latest software.

In some cases (like recent Win11 versions) some of the installed files are set to Readonly causing the Web update to fail, in this case, do this:
  1. open a command prompt or powershell terminal
  2. type 'cd \spatsim_v3' and press ENTER
  3. type 'attrib -r /s /d  *.*' and press ENTER
  1. RIGHT click the SPATSIM_V3 icon and select 'run as administrator'
  2. Click the 'Web update' button.  
  3. Note that you may need to do the Web Update TWICE.
  4. Under windows 10 you will want to set compatibilty to 'Windows 7', right click the icon, select Properties, select Compatibility, select Windows 7.

Notes:

Number formats
If you get a message about changing the number format download this file and double click it to load it into the registry.
This will set the correct number and date formats for SPATSIM.
Sometimes Windows overrides the default install destination of C:\SPATSIM_V3 and installs to a different drive.
If it installs to a different drive (say X), then you can either:
drag and drop X:\SPATSIM_V3 to C:\SPATSIM_V3
OR
open the *.ini files in X:\SPATSIM_V3 and replace C: with X:
open the X:\SPATSIM_V3\tsoft.ini file and replace C: with X:

thus allowing SPATSIM to run from the X drive.

New projects will not require modification.

Moving between C: and another drive
The installer defaults to installing on C: drive.
If you need to run SPATSIM from another drive you can use the mover tool.
  1. Open File Explorer
  2. Navigate to C:\SPATSIM_V3\bin
  3. double click the 'spmove.exe' program
  4. Select the destination drive
  5. Click the Move button

Note that after this process your desktop icon will not work until you tell it where to find SPATSIM.EXE on the new drive.

Regional Settings
Make sure your regional settings specifies a point (.) for the decimal separator.  This software will not work with a comma as the decimal separator.
You might also need to change the display format to 1234567 instead of 1,234,567 .
Or you can use this file to do the settings for you.
Converting projects from V2 to V3
All users should download the new version (SPATSIM_V3) and then convert and move their old version projects.

A facility to perform this conversion is available in the SPATSIM_V3\bin folder called `convert_to sql.exe'.
  1. Double click on this executable file.
  2. Follow the instructions by selecting an application *.ini file from the main folder of the old SPATSIM.
  3. convert the database and then move it to the new SPATSIM_V3 folder (all projects are now stored in a C:\SPATSIM_V3\Applications folder.
Installing on Mac
Since the SPATSIM system is a Windows program you will need to install it under one of the Windows emulators on the Mac.
Parallels is probably the best but others may work.   If you do get it working please let us know how so we can document it for other users. (we do not own any Macs!).
How to run Windows programs on a Mac

Last Modified: Wed, 13 Dec 2023 14:32:58 SAST