skip to main content
Accounting : Account Reference : How Account Slots Are Described
How Account Slots Are Described
Each account can have the following types of slots:
• General slots—always instantiated for the account, regardless of method used.
• Method-specific slots—vary depending on the method used.
Following is a key to the format and information provided in slot descriptions.
 Slot Name
Type: Type of the slot. Possible values include: Series, Agg Series, Multi Slot, Scalar, Table, List, and Periodic.
Units: Primary unit type used to store the value internally. This unit type must be used when the slot value is set with rules or Object-level Accounting Methods.
Alternate Units: Alternative unit type used for display purposes. For example, if Flow is the primary unit type, then Volume (over the timestep) is the alternative unit.
Description: Slot description
I/O: Input or output type; Table 2.1 provides detailed descriptions of the types.
 
Table 2.1  Input/output types
I/O Types
Description
Flag
Input
The value is set directly by the user through the user interface or DMIs. If the slot is linked by a supply, the supply should be set as user input, and it will propagate to the connected slots.
I
Account-level Method
The value is set by an Account-level Method.
For example, Carryover is set based on the selected Storage Account Carryover method.
m
Account Solution
The value is set by the solution of the account.
For example, outflow to a passthrough account on a Reach is calculated as the sum of the inflow, slot inflow, gain loss, and return flow, minus the diversion.
A
Propagated
The value is set through propagation of a value across a supply link. The other end of the supply is calculated by a method, or the slot is linked to multiple supplies where one or more is set by a rule or input. The summation column of a multislot has a “P” flag, even though individual columns may have an “I” or “R” flag.
P
Object-level Accounting Method
The value is set by an Object-level Accounting Method, either compiled or user-defined.
m
Rule
A value may be set by a rule only if there is no supply connecting the slot to another slot. If there are one or more supplies connecting the slot, the rule must set the supplies. The value and flag are reflected in the linked slots’ values with either an “R” flag (one supply) or a “P” flag (two or more supplies connected by the multi-slot).
R
Revised: 07/05/2022