Bentley Education Student Access: OpenFlows


Beginning July 1, 2024, Bentley has simplified its OpenFlows software offerings into the following new product titles and available access tiers:

All users downloaded the OpenFlows products from Bentley Education site before a consolidation update will be impacted by this change. 

Please note: These changes will apply regardless of whether you upgrade to the 24.00.01.05 and higher releases of OpenFlows products or continue to use older releases.

Depending on the product version you have downloaded, specific functionality and dates of consolidation will vary.

Previously, certain functionalities may have existed as separate software which had to be downloaded individually, rather than as a single software application with multiple functionalities. To find and access the correct software installation from August 2025, refer to this table:

Previous application name

New software installation name

WaterGEMS

OpenFlows Water*

WaterCAD

HAMMER

SewerCAD

OpenFlows Sewer*

SewerGEMS

CivilStorm

OpenFlows Storm*

StormCAD

PondPack

OpenFlows PondPack

CulvertMaster

OpenFlows CulvertMaster

FlowMaster

OpenFlows FlowMaster

OpenFlows Flood

OpenFlows Flood

* New software installation title.

 

To help you select the correct tier of software, you may need to select specific options during installation or by updating your software version. Review this table for an overview of the different OpenFlows products and tiers.

1Application included with New Product except as specified "Not included" under "New Product License Level/Capabilities"
2AutoCAD platform integration is now included for all license levels of this application.

Available Platforms

Most of the OpenFlows products can be used in multiple platforms: "Standalone", AutoCAD, MicroStation, ArcGIS Pro and ArcMap. The "Standalone" version (not requiring any other software to run) is always available, and MicroStation integration capability is also always included.

Prior to the July 1st, 2024 OpenFlows product consolidation, AutoCAD integration was an optional feature, but is now included with all tiers of the consolidated products.

There is only one installation file for an application. During installation, it will look for compatible platform versions and create shortcuts for available platforms, but whether or not you can use those shortcuts depends on that platform being included in the feature level.

For upgrades and migration to latest version please see OpenFlows 24.00.01.05 and Later Versions Installation below.

 

FAQ: How can I download OpenFlows or update my version?

Please note: Only users with a validated Bentley Education account can download OpenFlows for free. Commercial users must contact their account's license administrator for access to products.

  1. Go to bentley.com/education  
  2. If you do not already have a Bentley Education account, select the sign-up button in the header image. If you already have an account, select the log in button. If you previously created an account but your initial access has expired, you will be asked to revalidate your eligibility through editing your education profile and completing the required steps to prove your continued eligibility for free access as a current student or educator.  
  3. From the main education page, go to the page for viewing education software. You will find the free education options for OpenFlows under the Hydraulics and Hydrology filter.  
  4. Select the Install link on the tile for the product you choose.
  5. When you launch a consolidated installation package, you will be prompted to select the product license level, as shown in the example below for OpenFlows Water. This selection is to help prevent unintentional installation of applications not provided at your license level.

A screenshot of a computerAI-generated content may be incorrect.

Please Note: For education users, we recommend OpenFlows Water Advanced and OpenFlows Sewer Advanced for the highest number of pipes available to education users and to use the full capabilities of these products.

  1. The Feature Level Selector tool (shown below for SewerGEMS) continues to be used by all releases of OpenFlows applications to set the desired feature level. Before using an application, it may be necessary to launch its Feature Level Selector tool (available from Windows menu) and ensure that you have a newly available feature level selected. See Element Limits below.

A screenshot of a computerAI-generated content may be incorrect.

 

FAQ: I am seeing a Trial License error, what is wrong?

When a valid feature level is not set, you may see a Trial License Error. Typically, education users will experience this error if you have been given a copy of an installation file from a friend or educator. Instead, you must create our own account on the Bentley Education Hub, validating your eligibility as a student or educator. Then, go to the education software page and install the file for yourself, directly from the software downloads portal. If you have not accessed an installation package using this method, the OpenFlows software will default to the lowest possible feature level for a 7 day trial:

By creating and downloading software with a Bentley Education account, you can get access to the full functionality for an application for up to a year before you are required to reverify your eligibility.

Additional Information

OpenFlows 24.00.01.05 and Later Versions Installation

Newly consolidated OpenFlows product versions will begin with the version codes 24.00.01.XX released July 2024 and after.

OpenFlows now uses a single installation package for most related applications. For example, a single "OpenFlows Water" installation package installs WaterCAD, WaterGEMS, and/or HAMMER. (Only PondPack, CulvertMaster and FlowMaster will still have individual installation packages.)

The applications included within each installation package are shown in the table above.

Installation packages should be used to install the latest version for any listed application. You can view the latest available versions by signing up or logging in with an active Bentley Education account on the Education Hub and exploring education software.

Please note: for important information on silent installations / deployments which is helpful for IT administrators, please see: Silent installation for Bentley OpenFlows Products

Using the current Water, Sewer, and Storm installers, it is not possible to keep previously-installed products and just add another one while reinstalling. This is a limitation of the bundle implementation behavior in the software we use for building our installations. To add or remove products (which are just installation features) you must uninstall the entire product, and then reinstall with the new set of products.

Element Limits

WaterCAD and WaterGEMS are licensed by the total number of active pipe elements that you have in a given scenario. For example, if you have selected in the Feature Level Selector during installation the 5,000 links option from OpenFlows Water Advanced, then you will be able to compute a scenario that has up to 5,000 active pipes in the model. If there are more than 5,000 active pipes in the model, you will not be able to complete a computation. Only the pipe elements are counted (which are connected between node elements such as junctions, pumps, tanks, etc) - lateral link elements are not currently counted. For more information, here are some related articles:

For the recommended element selections for education or academic users:

Please note: You will not be able to compute a model if you exceed the number of elements in the license, but you are still able to save the model.

Inactive Elements

Whether or not inactive elements are counted toward your license depends on your version. With the CONNECT Edition, inactive elements do not count. For V8i and below, inactive elements are counted. See: Do inactive elements count against the license count?

FAQ: How can I check the number of pipes, inlets, or ponds in my model?

Open your pipe, catchbasin (inlets) or pond Flextable and look at the count at the bottom. Filter out inactive elements first. For additional information, see more in the article: User Notification: "The number of active pipes in this model exceeds the number of pipes allowed for.