Items detail

Introduction

This shows the basic information, topology, and parameters for all items — processes, commodities, user constraints, and commodity groups. When the model includes commodity locations (from a ~commodity_geo table), you can also open a Grid Map of commodities and trade links.

Basic description of a TIMES process

• A process converts input commodity(ies) to output commodity(ies)
  • Each process is linear (e.g. output proportional to input, investment and fixed O&M costs scale with capacity / variable O&M scale with activity)
  • A power plant converts input fuel (e.g., coal/oil/gas/nuclear/renewable source) in electricity
  • A plug-in diesel hybrid car can be modelled as a process that converts electricity and/or diesel to passenger-miles
• A typical national model may have ~1000 processes

How to use it?

• Choose a region from the drop-down (or All).
• Switch the left list with Prc, Com, UC, or CG, then search or select an item. The center Pivot, Detailed View, and topology tabs follow that selection.

Where to view the data

1. Network Diagram

Introduction

Network Diagram is a separate window that draws the energy system around the process or commodity you selected. Items sit in columns from left to right — upstream on the left, the selected item in the middle, downstream on the right. Curved paths show how commodities and processes connect. The diagram includes up to five input and five output levels automatically.

Purpose

Use it for a fast neighborhood scan. Use New RES Diagram when you need more hops, filters, or chain highlighting.

How to use

1. In the left list, select a process or commodity.

2. Above the Pivot, click Network Diagram (or press Alt+N+D). The button is hidden for User constraint and Commodity Group.

3. The selected item is in the center column (red, bold, underlined). Process names are blue; commodity names are black.

4. Colors follow TIMES types (legend, top-right). Curved paths are connection bundles — hover a path to isolate it.
5. Hover an item for type, description, units, and time-slice level. Click an item (not the center or MORE...) to open it as a tab. Selecting another left-list item adds a tab.
6. If a level has more than 25 items, a non-clickable MORE... node means the list was truncated. Pick a more specific item, or filter in New RES Diagram.

Tip

Network Diagram and New RES Diagram both show RES topology, but the layout and controls differ. Use Network Diagram for a quick bundled view up to five levels on each side. Use New RES Diagram when you need Left / Right levels (0–10), filters, or chain highlighting by clicking node boxes.

2. New RES Diagram

Introduction

New RES Diagram is a separate window that shows a Reference Energy System graph for the process or commodity you selected. Inputs sit on the left, the selected item is in the center, and outputs sit on the right. Boxes use TIMES type colors, with a legend in the bottom-left.

Purpose

Use it when one hop is not enough: you can show 0–10 levels on each side, keep only selected sets or names, and walk the network in tabs. Basic View on the RES tab stays at one hop.

How to use

1. In the left list, select a process or commodity.

2. Above the Pivot, click New RES Diagram (or press Alt+N+R). The button is hidden for User constraint and Commodity Group.

3. Inputs are on the left, the selected item in the center, outputs on the right. Colors follow TIMES types (legend, bottom-left).

4. Set Left / Right hops (0–10, default 1) and click Update. 0 hides that side.

5. Filter with the top bar, then Update. Leave a field blank for no filter:

   Control	What to type
   Process → Set Name	A process set (User Set or TIMES Set)
   Process → Element	Names (comma-separated) or a wildcard such as *GAS*
   Commodity → Set Name	A commodity set (User Set or TIMES Set)
   Commodity → Element	Names (comma-separated) or a wildcard

6. Click the name in a box to open that item as a tab. Click the box (not the name) to highlight its chain. Pan by dragging; zoom with the mouse wheel.

7. If the graph is truncated, a note reads The data shown here is not complete. Narrow Levels or the filters, then Update.

Note

New RES Diagram is not the same as the RES tab. RES is Basic View — the selected item and its direct inputs and outputs only. Use New RES Diagram when you need more hops, filters, or to walk the network by opening items in tabs.

3. Pivot View

Introduction

The Pivot is the center panel on Items detail. It is an interactive table of flat-file input data (parameters and assumptions) for the item selected in the left list — a process, commodity, user constraint, or commodity group.

Purpose

Use it to review the parameters actually read for that item, rearrange dimensions, and download the table.

How to use

1. Select an item in the left list. The Pivot loads that item’s parameters.
2. Use Layout to drag dimensions onto rows, columns, or filters (for example attribute, region, commodity, scenario).

For general pivot controls, see Pivot Grid.

4. Detailed View

Introduction

Detailed View is the summary card at the top of the right panel, above the Grid Map and RES tabs. It shows the selected item’s name, description, and classification badges from the model sets (type, units, sets, region, and similar fields).

Purpose

Use it to confirm the item’s identity and classification. Parameter values stay in the Pivot; this card is metadata only.

How to use

Select an item in the left list. The card updates automatically — no extra button or tab.

• The camera icon opens a short Items View video on YouTube.
• Header — Item name with a colored dot for Type (same colors as the RES diagrams). Description is the line below.
• Badges — Label and value pairs (for example Type, Sector, Activity Unit). Empty fields show —. Hover a long value for the full text.
• PCG — For processes, Primary Commodity Group includes a star icon beside the value.

Item type	Typical fields
Process	Scenario, Sector, Type, SubType, Activity Unit, Capacity Unit, Sets, TimeSlice LVL, Vintage, PCG, Region
Commodity	Scenario, Type, SubType, Activity Unit, Sets, TSLVL, LimType, PeakTS, Region
User constraint	Scenario, Region, LimType
Commodity group	Scenario, Process, Region

Note

A doc_metadata badge appears when the model has documentation metadata. With a single region, values are for that region; with All, a badge may list several values if the item differs across regions.

5. Grid Map

Introduction

Grid Map is a tab on the right panel (next to RES) that places commodities and trade processes on a geographic map. Points are commodities that have a location (latitude and longitude). Lines are processes that link two commodities (typically trade): gray for the same region, orange for cross-border.

Purpose

Use it to see where items sit and how they connect. Locations come from a ~commodity_geo table; without that table (or before Synchronize), the map is empty and Items detail stays on RES.

Setting up ~commodity_geo

Grid Map needs latitude and longitude for commodities. Add them in Excel with the ~commodity_geo tag.

• File location Put the table in the model Trade Links workbook:

  Folder	SuppXLS/Trades/ (under the model root)
  File name	ScenTrade__Trade_Links

  This is the same workbook used for trade-link definitions (for example ~TradeLinks). Add ~commodity_geo on its own sheet in that file. If the workbook is missing, create it in SuppXLS/Trades/ with this exact name so Veda classifies it as Trade Links.

• Structure of ~commodity_geo table

  commodity	region	lng	lat
  e_AixLesBains_FRA	FRA	6.418382	45.66201
  e_Annecy_FRA	FRA	5.804484	46.05579
  e_Aosta_ITA	ITA	7.431605	45.603
  e_Arlon_BEL	BEL	5.797338	49.56518
  e_Basildon_GBR	GBR	0.716158	51.4405
  e_Bastia_FRA	FRA	9.449985	42.52849
  e_Bayonne_FRA	FRA	-1.43074	43.42153
  e_Belfort_FRA	FRA	6.663611	47.36735
  e_Bellinzona_CHE	CHE	8.83773	46.44124
  e_Brescia_ITA	ITA	9.820005	45.67123
  e_Briancon_FRA	FRA	6.712357	45.21485

  • commodity and region are required.
  • lng and lat are longitude and latitude in decimal degrees.
  • A commodity can appear on more than one row if it has a location in more than one region.

Trade links on the map still come from the usual trade tables in the same file — ~commodity_geo only supplies coordinates for the points.

-See it in Navigator

1. Open Navigator for the model.
2. In the Trade Scenarios [TS] quadrant (see Navigator — Trade Scenarios), find the row _Trade_Links. That row is the ScenTrade__Trade_Links workbook.
3. Check the import checkbox if the file is marked ToImport (orange).
4. After Synchronize, hover the _Trade_Links row to see imported tags; commodity_geo appears in the tooltip with its row count.
5. File status follows the usual Navigator legend (Consistent, Inconsistent, and so on).

How to use

Open the Grid Map tab (below Detailed View). If the model has no ~commodity_geo data, the map is empty and Items detail stays on RES.

• Pan and zoom as on a normal map. Hover a point for commodity and region; hover a line for the process, the two commodities, and whether it is cross-border.
• Click a point to select that commodity in the left list. Use reset (restore icon, top-left) to return to the full linked network.
• Keep the tab open and change the left-list selection:
  • Commodity with trade links — The selection is highlighted; linked processes and opposite commodities are emphasized; the rest is dimmed.
  • Commodity with no links — If it has a location, it appears as a larger marker; other points stay dimmed.
  • Process — Inputs and outputs that have map locations are shown. Lists at the bottom show inputs (left) and outputs (right); click a name to select it.
  • User constraint or commodity group — The map returns to the default linked network.

By default the map shows only commodities that already have a trade link. Unlinked locations appear when you select them.

Note

If the model has no ~commodity_geo table (or it has not been synchronized), there is nothing to plot. You can still open Grid Map; the map stays empty until locations are in ScenTrade__Trade_Links and the model has been synchronized. Trade links still come from the usual trade tables — ~commodity_geo only supplies coordinates for the points.

6. Basic View (RES)

Introduction

Basic View is the RES tab in the lower-right panel (below Detailed View, next to Grid Map). It is a one-hop Reference Energy System for the item in the left list: the selected item in the center, direct inputs on the left, direct outputs on the right.

Purpose

Use it to see what connects to one process, commodity, user constraint, or commodity group without opening a diagram window. For more hops, use Network Diagram or New RES Diagram.

How to use

1. Select an item in the left list.

2. Open the RES tab if Grid Map is showing. The panel updates automatically.

3. Flow is left to right. Colors follow TIMES types (legend under the lists). Hover a name for its description.

4. Click a name to select it in the left list (Pivot, Detailed View, and Basic View follow). Clicking an input or output switches dimension (commodity ↔ process). Clicking a user constraint switches the left list to UC.
5. Empty extra lists are hidden when the model has no data for them.

Position	What it lists
Left	Direct inputs — commodities into a process, or processes that produce the selected commodity
Right	Direct outputs — commodities out of a process, or processes that consume the selected commodity
Above the center	Auxiliary outputs
Below the center	Auxiliary inputs
Top-left	User constraints that include this process or commodity
Bottom-left	NCAP_ICOM — consumed when new capacity is built
Top-right	NCAP_OCOM — produced when new capacity is built

A star next to a commodity name marks membership in the process Primary Commodity Group (same icon as Detailed View).

The region drop-down filters topology. With a single region, lists are for that region. With All, you see the combined neighborhood across regions.

Note

When the left list is on User constraint or Commodity Group, the arrows become link icons. Those modes show membership, not process–commodity flow.