Skip to main content

New feature preview

Placement analysis lets you see how a prospective feature would interact with the existing project before you commit it. Drag the preview around the map and watch arcs and violations update live — the cheapest way to find a workable position for a new facility without iterating run-edit-run.

Learning objectives

By the end of this lesson you should be able to:

  • Open the placement preview for a new feature with a chosen type and explosives
  • Read the live arcs and violations as the preview moves
  • Convert a workable preview into a real feature

What placement analysis does​

Without placement analysis, the only way to know whether a new magazine will fit at a candidate site is to add it, run analysis, see the result, move it, run again, see the result again. With placement analysis, the candidate is a live preview — the arcs project in real time as you drag, and existing-feature violations update on the same beat.

You converge on a workable position in seconds rather than minutes.

[TODO: FILL IN — exact entry point for placement analysis in the current Siter UI.]

Configuring the preview​

Before placing the preview, you specify what's being placed:

  • Type code — the same type-code list as a real feature
  • Attributes — protective construction, contents, operating posture
  • Explosives — NEW by hazard division
  • Relationship context — how the preview relates to existing features (typically unrelated, but you can configure groups if the hypothetical placement implies one)

[TODO: FILL IN — exact UI for the preview configuration: dialog flow, default values, persistence between previews.]

The richer the configuration, the more accurate the preview. A preview with default attributes and a guessed NEW will produce arcs that are roughly right; a preview with the actual production attributes and quantity will produce arcs that are exactly right for the candidate.

Reading live arcs​

As you drag the preview, the engine continuously re-evaluates against the existing project:

  • The preview's own arcs project around it on the map
  • Existing features' arcs may shift if the preview is itself an ES they evaluate against
  • Violations between the preview and existing features highlight in real time
  • Violations between existing feature pairs are unchanged — the preview is additive only

The visual feedback is what makes placement analysis feel cheap. A position that looks good geometrically often looks much less good once the arcs are visible.

Converting to a real feature​

Once a position works, commit the preview to a real feature. The committed feature inherits everything from the preview configuration — type code, attributes, explosives — and lives in the project as a normal feature from then on.

[TODO: FILL IN — exact commit flow: button, layer assignment for the new feature, post-commit re-run requirement.]

What the preview is not​

Placement analysis is a planning tool, not a substitute for a full analysis run:

  • The preview does not persist; close it and the candidate is gone
  • The preview does not affect existing features' analysis records (until committed)
  • The preview is not subject to the same audit trail as a committed feature

For decision-making meetings, capture a screenshot or sketch the placement explicitly — the preview itself is ephemeral.

Try it​

In a project with several existing PESs and ESs:

  1. Open placement analysis for a new ECM7 with a representative NEW
  2. Drag the preview around the map and watch arcs update
  3. Find a position where the preview's IBD arc clears all existing IHBs
  4. Commit the preview, run a full analysis, and confirm the result matches what the preview suggested

The closer the preview to the committed result, the more confidence you can place in placement analysis as a planning tool.