Welcome to CivilGEO Knowledge Base
Welcome to CivilGEO Knowledge Base
Welcome to CivilGEO Knowledge Base
Welcome to CivilGEO Knowledge Base
This article describes how to fix problems encountered with HEC-RAS file names and directory paths where the software will not run correctly.
When working on a HEC-RAS model in a network environment, where the project data resides in a project folder on a network server, the user might encounter issues where the analysis fails to run or there are other strange behaviours that are run into.
Because parts of HEC-RAS are written in the FORTRAN computer language, there exists length limits to the directory path and file names. The total length of the directory path and file name must be less than 260 characters. In addition, the directory path cannot be longer than 248 characters, because HEC-RAS writes out temporary files during its computations. This is similar to the file name and directory length limits in FORTRAN and Microsoft Windows. In Fortran 90/95 the maximum file name length is 31 characters, whereas in Microsoft Windows a directory path length can be a maximum of 247 characters long.
The file name and directory length limit can be difficult to handle when using HEC-RAS—especially in a network environment. HEC-RAS will report the following error message when the directory path and file name length is exceeded.
These are some ways to solve the long directory path and file name issue when running HEC-RAS:
If the HEC-RAS project folder resides on the local workstation, then the SUBST command can be used to create a drive letter mapping to the project folder. If the HEC-RAS project folder resides on the local workstation or a network file server, then the NET USE command can be used.
Another difference between these two commands is that the SUBST command expects the location to always be available. If for some reason that location can’t be found, the SUBST command will try desperately to reconnect at the expense of your computers performance.
On the other hand, the NET USE command is more fault tolerant, which is why it can be used to connect to a network file server. When a mapped path appears to be disconnected, the NET USE command will gracefully disable that mapping until you try to access it again, at which point it will attempt to connect again.
To create mapping using the SUBST command:
subst s: c:\HEC-RAS Project Directory Path
where S: is the drive letter to assign to the HEC-RAS project directory path and
c:\HEC-RAS Project Directory Path
is the actual path on your computer workstation.
To remove the mapping, at the Command Prompt window type-in the following:
subst s: /D
Note that when you reboot your computer, all mapped drive letters will be reset. To automatically map your folder when your system starts, put the SUBST command in a batch file, and put the batch file in your Autostart folder in the start menu. Advanced users can use the Windows Task Scheduler, however this is not covered here.
Note that you should execute the SUBST command using the account that issued it. These drive mappings are created only for the user who originally issued the SUBST command. For example, if you login as “Fred”, and you open a command prompt as “Administrator” and execute the SUBST command, then “Fred” will not be able to see any mapped drive letters because the mapping was created for “Administrator”. When using the Windows Task Scheduler to execute this command, make sure that the command is executed under the default user account.
To create mapping using the NET USE command:
To remove the mapping, at the Command Prompt window type-in the following:
net use s: /delete
You can use the asterisk as a wildcard character to delete all mapped drives in one command:
net use * /delete
By default, mapped drives using the NET USE command are not persistent, meaning that the mapped drive will disappear when you restart your computer. If you want the mapped drive stick around, you can make them persistent by using the /PERSISTENT switch. The switch works as a toggle:
So, to create a persistent mapped drive, type something like the following in the Command Prompt window:
net use s: c:\HEC-RAS Project Directory Path /persistent:Yes
Note that if there are issues regarding getting connected to a network drive or folder, it might be because the computer the user is trying to connect to is turned off, or the user does not have the correct access permissions.
In addition to the methods shown above to map a drive letter to a network file server folder, File Explorer provides an easy-to-use way to do the same thing. See the below video.
Or, you can follow these steps to use File Explorer to map the HEC-RAS project folder to a unused drive letter:
1-800-301-02-955
608-729-5100
(US and Canada)
[email protected]
+1 608-729-5100
CivilGEO India
Graphix Tower, A-13 A
3rd Floor, Sector 62
Noida, Uttar Pradesh 201309
IndiaTel:
1-800-301-02-955 or
+91 022-3831-8601
CivilGEO United States
8383 Greenway Blvd
6th Floor
Middleton, WI 53562
USATel:
608-729-5100 or
800-488-4110
Copyright © CivilGEO, Inc. All rights reserved. The CivilGEO logo, “GeoSTORM”, “GeoHECHMS”, “GeoHECRAS”, and “Ready To Engineer” are registered trademarks of CivilGEO,Inc.
All other brands, company names, product names or trademarks belong to their respective holders.
We use cookies to give you the best online experience. By agreeing you accept the use of cookies in accordance with our cookie policy.
When you visit any web site, it may store or retrieve information on your browser, mostly in the form of cookies. Control your personal Cookie Services here.
The ZoomInfo WebSights snippet drops three cookies to track Unique Visits:
1. _pxhd - Related to the Perimeter X security layer (Perimeter X isused to prevent bot attacks).
2. _cfduid - Related to the CloudFlare security layer (CloudFlare is the Network Security protocol that ZoomInfo uses to orchestrate the rate limiting rules).
3. visitorId - This is how WebSights identifies recurring visitors