FVS Post-Processors

Post-processors are programs, extensions, or plug-ins to FVS that extend FVS modeling, reporting, and display capabilities. There are two types of installations for the post-processors. One involves delivery of the programs in self-extracting WinZip® files. The other involves installing the program by running a setup program. Refer to the Installation Instructions below.

Basic Post-Processors

• Post-processors for the Forest Vegetation Simulator (post.exe, 3 MB, 12-16-2008) - the basic collection of FVS post-processors. Refer to the User's Guide to the Post-Processors for the Forest Vegetation Simulator for information about the post-processors and their use.
• Computerized Help for the Economic Analysis of Prognosis Outputs (CHEAPO) (cheapoz.exe, 256 KB, 03-03-2004) - an economic analysis program providing the ability to evaluate silvicultural alternatives using FVS output.

Advance Forest Planning Post-Processors

Programming tools have been developed primarily for forest planning purposes to enhance the input and output capabilities of the Forest Vegetation Simulator (FVS). These tools are described in the document, Advance Topics for Forest Planning. Most of the programs and utility files referred to in this document can be obtained below. Others are available on the FVS Intranet website. If you do not have access to the Forest Service Intranet, please contact the FVS Staff if you are interested in any of the supplemental programs that are not available below.

• Pre-Suppose (Press_z.exe, 10 MB, 04-22-2008 ) - rapidly generates preliminary statistics for a proposed data group from inventory data.
• Table Output Selection Screen (TOSS) (toss_z.exe, 2 MB, 04-09-2008 ) - provides users the ability to select specific tables from the vast FVS main output file.
• Fvsstand Alone (fvsstd_z.exe, 3 MB, 12-22-2008 ) - produces standard stand and stock tables. Species-size class reports are generated for stocking, growth, harvest, and mortality components. Two types of yield reports are available, age-dependent and time-dependent. The reports are specifically designed for import to forest planning models. Structure class forecasting and species product merchandising are an added benefit. Stand visualization (SVS) features are built into FVSSTAND to dynamically display a movie of the simulated stand profile through time.
• Regeneration Imputation Extractor (REPUTE) (repute_z.exe, 2 MB, 03-31-2008 ) - uses an imputation technique to infer stand regeneration attributes in the absence of such values in forest inventory data. REPUTE produces FVS keyword component files (addfiles) from the FVSSTAND Alone program's Stand Table output files. These addfiles may be included in subsequent FVS runs to impute regeneration.
• R2 Habitat Structural Stage without HSS5 (hss_wo5.exe, 40 KB, 03-30-2005 ) - calculates the Region 2 (Black Hills) Habitat Structural Stage without calculations of HSS5.
• Keyword Iteration Navigator (KIN) (kin_z.exe, 3 MB, 04-28-2006 ) - provides the the ability to produce iterations of a FVS Keyword file based upon range values.
• Combine (Combine_z.exe, 2 MB, 12-22-2008 ) - aggregates output columns from several post processing programs.
• Sequential Processing Routine for Arraying Yields (Spray) (Spray_z.exe, 2 MB, 07-31-2006 ) - process a group of stands with particular treatment activities to produce yield profiles for decision analysis projects, such as forest planning.
• Yield Examination Program (YEP) (Yep_z.exe, 2 MB, 01-10-2006 ) - validate vegetation yield profiles using a scatter plot observation tool.
• Prep (Prep_z.exe, 4 MB, 04-22-2008 ) - the data prep(aration) program that reloads FIA data contained in Comma-Separated-Values (*.csv) files into an MS-Access database file that Pre-Suppose can query, analyze, and prepare reports.

Installation Instructions

The installation process to follow depends on whether the file is a self-extracting file or setup program. The Post-Processors for FVS and CHEAPO are self-extracting WinZip® files. TOSS, FVSSTAND, and REPUTE are installed with setup programs.

Another important issue concerns whether you are installing the post-processors for the first time or are updating a previous installation. The self-extracting files will overwrite existing program files upon installation. However, you must first remove previous installations of TOSS, FVSSTAND, and REPUTE before installing later versions of the programs.

Regardless of how the program installs, the first step is the same for all the post-processor files. Download the desired file to a directory on your PC. This folder's location is not critical and can be wherever you choose to put downloaded files on your PC. Once you have downloaded the file to your PC, follow the instructions to install the software.

Self-Extracting Files

Find the file you downloaded to your PC using Windows Explorer. Double-click the file to begin the extraction process. Extract the files to folder the "C:\Fvsbin" folder. The programs are updated!

Remove Previous Versions of TOSS, FVSSTAND, and REPUTE

If you installed a previous version of TOSS, FVSSTAND, and REPUTE, you must first uninstall these programs before proceeding with installing the updated program.

1. Go to Start, Settings..., Control Panel, Add/Remove Programs.
2. Scroll down to the program's name in the Install/Uninstall box, "TOSS","FVSStand", and/or "REPUTE". Select the program's name. Click the Add/Remove... button. You may have to do this more than once depending on the versions of the program you have installed or whether you have updated an earlier setup program.
3. Program Removal program will begin. You will be asked whether you are sure that you want to remove the program and all of its components. Click the Yes button to continue.
4. You may be asked whether you want to remove shared components that were associated with the programs. Click the Remove All button.
5. The removal program will note the programs were removed when it is finished.

Install TOSS, FVSSTAND, and REPUTE

1. Using Windows Explorer, go to the folder where you saved the downloaded file. Double-click the file to begin the installation process. A WinZip® Self-Extractor dialog box will appear.
2. Click the Setup button. The installation files will be extracted and the Setup program will begin.
3. A Setup dialog box will appear and note to exit all running applications. If you are running applications, close them. Also disable auto-protection on virus programs. Click the OK button when you are ready to proceed with installation.
4. Another dialog box will appear and ask about the destination directory for the program's installation. The default folder for TOSS, FVSSTAND, and REPUTE is C:\Fvsbin.  If you have installed FVS and Suppose to another drive, such as D:\, then click the Change Directory button. In the Change Directory dialog box, change the drive letter to the drive where you installed FVS and Suppose. Click the OK button when you have changed the drive.
5. Click the square setup button in the upper left corner of the dialog box to continue with installation. The setup program will continue installation.
6. A Choose Program Group dialog box will appear. It is asking where to put the program shortcut in your Start, Programs menu. The default is the Suppose program group. Click the Continue button.
7. Program installation will continue and complete. When installation is finished, a Setup dialog box will appear noting installation was completed successfully. Click the OK button. Control will be returned to the operating system. The program is installed!

Last modified: May 20, 2008