Chapter 7 Frequently Asked Questions and Troubleshooting

7.1 Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Why can’t I access the code on the GitHub page? I’m getting a 404 error screen.
A: To access the files you will need to create a GitHub account.

Q: I’m creating an input file. Do I have to have harvest ownership data? All I have are totals.
A: The model can run well without ownership data. Just have two columns for the harvest data: Year and Total. The ownership-focused Shiny app figures will not display data, and a few of the tables will not include data either. Everything else should work fine.

What if I only want to view California and Oregon data and do not want to run the tool for my own data?
The Shiny app is pre-loaded with California and Oregon data. For details about each of the app displays, take a look at Chapter 3.

What are the steps to create my own input data file?
Chapter 4 describes how to obtain template input files and what components of those files need to be modified so that you will have a working input file.

What are the steps to upload my own input data file to the R Shiny web application?
See Section 4.4 as well as the steps on the app’s Upload Data page.

What are the details to ensure I’ve set up my input data file correctly?
The quality assurance (QA) step will check your file for you. However, the details of what to include are in Section 4.2.2 and the specific QA checks are listed in section 4.3.

What do I need to know about running the Monte Carlo Simulation?
You will need to set the number of iterations you would like the simulation to use (see Section 4.2.2.1). Section 4.5 describes other aspects of running the Monte Carlo simulation. Details on what the simulation is doing may be found in Section 6.2.

How do I change the confidence intervals in the Monte Carlo plots?
See Section 4.2.2.1. The confidence intervals are changed in the input file. Specifically, set the desired confidence interval in the MC.CI.REPORT column of the HWP_MODEL_OPTIONS worksheet. Do not change the CI column values in the MonteCarloValues worksheet. That does something else (Section 4.2.2.12).

I only have timber harvest data in hundred cubic feet (CCF). Can I still use these data in the model?
Yes! But the model needs to think that it transformed your harvest data into cubic feet all on its own. Here is how you fool it, using a template file:

  1. Create the BFCF worksheet values. For Conversion, use the value 1. StartYear = your earliest data year or earlier. EndYear = your last harvest data year. That’s right, only one row of input values.
  2. Create bogus (yet usable) Harvest_MBF worksheet values. Simply multiply each of your ownership and Total CCF values by 10. Place them in this table.
  3. Everything else is the same. Fill in your TimberProdRatios and change any other values you need (see Chapter 4).

7.2 Troubleshooting

  1. When uploading data, there can be an error message that appears in red right below the Browse button:
    <!DOCTYPE HTML><html lang=”en”><head>

If this appears it is best to rebuild the excel file. There does not appear to be a way to circumvent this issue aside from constructing a new file (the file name is probably irrelevant so long as it does not contain weird characters). We recommend that users cut-copy-paste from the excel file into a blank file.