A completely revised and easy-to-use standalone interface that looks and feels like every other product in the Haestad Methods product line will make existing users of products such as WaterCAD, WaterGEMS, and StormCAD immediately feel comfortable developing transient analysis models in the new HAMMER. HAMMER uses the Method of Characteristics – the benchmark standard and unquestionably the most rigorous and robust algorithm for hydraulic transient flow analysis with over 20 years of proven real-world implementation. HAMMER’s all-new interface further simplifies the complex science of water hammer and transient analysis by implementing all the productivity and interoperability features that make Haestad Methods products the easiest to use in the industry. Key new features in HAMMER V8i (SELECTseries 4) HYDRAULICS Modulating PRVs: Pressure reducing valves can now modulate automatically during a transient analysis to respond to changing system pressures. IMPROVED PERFORMANCE Improved software performance will improve users’ productivity, especially when working on complex models: The SQLite database format solves existing limitations of the MDB format (for example, 2GB maximum file size). In addition, the new file format stores data more efficiently, decreasing database file size by 50 percent on average. Enhanced interface includes new capabilities, such as background layer and element symbology copy/paste, symbology definition import/export, and a property search to filter element properties. MODEL BUILDING Import/export ModelBuilder connection to share definitions between different computers and users. TRex can extract elevation data from DTMs created by Bentley road and site design products. Batch Morph: Users can now morph multiple elements from one element type to another in a single operation. UPDATED PLATFORM AND OPERATING SYSTEM INTEROPERABILITY Windows 8 support: HAMMER is fully tested and supported on the Windows 8 operating system (32 and 64 bit). Updated support for MicroStation: HAMMER can run from within MicroStation V8i (SELECTseries 3). Updated support for AutoCAD: HAMMER can run from within AutoCAD 2014 (32- and 64-bit versions). The HAMMER tools are now integrated into the AutoCAD ribbon menu. Updated support for ArcGIS: HAMMER can run from within ArcGIS 10 and 10.1. Please note that to run HAMMER from within MicroStation, AutoCAD, or ArcGIS, a license of one of these programs is required. Alternatively, you can run HAMMER as a stand-alone application, which has no platform prerequisite.