Selecting simulations to analyse
Whopper Cropper starts with this screen:

To open the Whopper Cropper database:

1. Open the [File] menu and select [Open dataset…],
   …or click on the icon on the toolbar.
2. Select one or more region(s).

Hold down <Ctrl> key to select more than one region.

Hold down <Shift> key to select consecutive groups of regions.

The Whopper Cropper team are continually adding to the number of crops and regions available for you to analyse. The current regions and crops include:

3. Click <OK> after selecting the regions. In general, clicking on <OK> gets Whopper Cropper to move on to the next step.

Wait until the databases have been opened. After they have been opened the Choose Simulations dialogue box will appear.

Use this screen to select:

1. Region, (if you selected more than one in the previous step)
2. Crop
3. Soil types (if there is more than one soil type in a region)
4. PAWC (plant available water capacity)
5. Starting water (the proportion of the soil profile containing water at sowing)
6. Planting density (plants/m²)
7. Sowing date
8. Applied nitrogen, NO₃
9. Any other crop specific category.

For example, to select a crop to analyse, click on the crop icon and a crop selection form will appear. Select one or more crops by clicking on the check boxes next to the name of each crop.

Other crop and soil attributes can be selected by clicking on the other icons in the Choose Simulations dialogue box. By default, Whopper Cropper will retain only the most recent combination of simulations. If you want to retain simulations selected previously, click off the [Remove existing simulations before adding new ones] check box.

You can use Whopper Cropper to compare two or more simulations, but care is needed to ensure that the comparison is meaningful.

The starting soil conditions for each simulation are defined by combinations of soil type, PAWC, and starting water. Crop management options vary for each crop, but include sowing date, density, variety and the amount of nitrogen applied. These are selected in the same way as crops using the other icons in the Choose Simulations dialogue box.

The amount of nitrogen already in the soil at sowing varies with soil type and PAWC. The amount of nitrogen available in the soil at sowing should be considered when choosing the nitrogen application rate of each simulation.

After selecting your simulations for analysis, click on <OK>. When the data has been retrieved the Whopper Cropper – [Chart 1] dialogue box will be displayed with a summary of the simulations you have selected in a Simulation details dialogue box (on the right-hand side of the screen).

The Simulation details dialogue box can be moved out of the way by clicking on the title bar and dragging with the left mouse button held down. It can be removed by opening the [View] menu and deselecting [Simulation details].

To change the simulation you have selected:

1. Open the [Options] menu and select [Select simulations…],
   …or click on the

icon on the toolbar.

You can run two or more simulation analyses simultaneously by repeating the process of opening databases and selecting simulations. The analyses that are open are listed in the [Window] menu.