3 Tips to Declutter Your Workspace in GEOVIA Whittle

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Each time you create a node in GEOVIA Whittle, it will also create a set of the files the application uses in the background to run. These files will build up as your project becomes more complicated and as a result, the footprint on the workstation can get out of control, particularly if larger block models are regularly used.

Here are three tips to help declutter your workspace as you go to avoid running out of disk space and make it easier to share data with colleagues

Use Binary Files

By default, all the files that Whittle creates are plain text files that can be opened in notepad. This makes it easier to  find information from the files themselves, should the Whittle license not be available at the time.

However, if this is not a concern, then using binary files is a good way to reduce your footprint, but note that you won’t be able to view these files without a Whittle license installed.

Go to File > Preferences and click on the File Outputs tab.

Here, check Use Binary Files and then click OK.

Any Nodes that have been run will need to be rerun for this to take effect, so right click on the project node and select Other > Delete Generated Files then under the Node menu select Run All.

Import Only The Blocks That Matter

When preparing the block model to be imported into Whittle, users may want to include every block, but in most cases this is unnecessary and a lot of the model can be left behind, reducing the footprint of the largest files in the folder.

Whittle only requires that the ore blocks be imported as that is where the element data is located, and either the air blocks or waste blocks so that a topography can be defined. This means that all of the air blocks, or all of the waste blocks can be left behind.

Please note that:

  • If the user leaves out the air blocks, there are no further changes to make to the project.
  • If the waste blocks are left out, however, the user will need to code a default tonnage into the project so that Whittle can assign the precedences and “fill in the blanks”. This box is found in the Block Model Tonnage Regions tab.

Clean Up As You Work

Whittle will create all of the files that it needs as it works, but it will not clean up or delete unused files, which will lead to the folder retaining files that are no longer important. This is particularly evident in projects where block models are imported and then deleted. Whittle will create a copy of the block model in the results folder as import#.mod, but will not delete it automatically if the node is simply deleted.

When deleting nodes in Whittle, the proper workflow is to first right-click on the node to be deleted and select Other > Delete Generated Files (as below):

This will delete all of the background files for the given node as well as all nodes underneath it.

Now, when the node is deleted, only files associated with relevant uses are left.

If you have deleted nodes in the past and would like to clean up your folder, it is possible to check which files are currently being used in their project. Every node will name their group of files logically, using a four letter code and a number.

It is possible to check which files belong to which node by right-clicking on them in Whittle and selecting Other > View Node Summary. The name for this group of nodes will be given in brackets at the top of the window that comes up:

By going through the folder and ruling out which files are currently in use, it is possible to clear out any that are not in use.

We hope you found this tip helpful! For more Whittle tips, see How to Use Whittle’s Block Model Import Wizard. If there are specific Whittle tips you wish to see, please comment below!

We also run Whittle training on demand at Dassault Systèmes offices around the world – email GEOVIA.Services@3ds.com to express your interest.

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Cory Case

Cory Case

Technical Customer Support Analyst (Mining) at Dassault Systèmes
Cory is a Mining Engineer based in our Vancouver office, having started his career in research at McGill University in Quebec. He specializes in GEOVIA GEMS, Whittle, MineSched and Surpac, providing day to day support and training for customers worldwide. He has also worked on project implementations for major gold mining companies. In addition to English, Cory speaks French and Spanish, and enjoys yoga and cooking.