• An article by Frances Collins on Data Displays for Objects
• Details on Free Downloads added to the website this month
• And Join us for the SIMUL8 2006 Hints and Tips Class

Data Displays for Objects by Frances Collins

Finally SIMUL8 2006 has been released and I can now tell you about Data Graphics. We were shown a Data Graphics Beta a few months ago and I've been desperate to tell you all about them. I think they are one of the best features to be added to SIMUL8 in years. Sure there have been lots of high power additions in the last few versions and Data Graphics are by comparison simple, but Data Graphics will appeal to everyone and can be used by everybody. Moreover I think they might completely transform the way you display your simulations.

What are Data Graphics?

Data Graphics let you display any information onscreen as text, bars or icons. You could do this before but only after writing many lines of Visual Logic and you could never make it look so sleek. Data Graphics are attached to simulation objects so when you move the object the Data Graphic moves too, but automatically so you don't have to re-configure your display and your code.

It's hard to describe in words, check out the screenshot below for a better idea of what this means. What I can't show in the screenshot is that these displays are all animated automatically by SIMUL8 at run time!

How Do I Use Them ?

The above screenshot shows just a few combinations of how you can make a Data Graphic look. There are lots of user configurable options that let you completely control their appearance.

On the Graphics tab of every simulation object you'll find a Data Graphics button. Click this to open the dialogs below.

In the main Data Graphic dialog you add new Data Items. This controls what data gets displayed in the graphic and in what format. You can choose to display any data that you can access through the Formula Editor, so all the object properties and information store variables. Then you can choose from various text, bar and conditional icon displays. There are far too many to mention each, the picture below displays some of the choices.

You can choose the colors, fill types, label text and position, value positions, width of the items and whether to have a border. Data Items can all be displayed at the same location or each at individual locations. There are 49 possible locations around the simulation object that you can display them at.

So What?

I'm hoping that your imaginations have been working overtime the same way mine did the first time I saw Data Graphics and you'll have thought of hundreds of potential uses. Here are just a few exciting ways I thought you could use them:

Onscreen Charts
The Multi Bar option lets you display up to 5 different values with an individual bar. This means you can create little onscreen charts like in Call Arrivals and Call Processing in the example above. You could display the work center utilization, average queuing times of different work types, anything you like.

Queue Contents as Stacked Chart
In the simulation above I used Stacked Bars to replace the traditional queue display. This is great if you have different work types in the same queue as it lets you create a fantastic visual display of what proportion of the queue is made up of each type.

Second Simplified Display
In the simulation above I created the simulation in the traditional manner, with an image for each simulation object. I then used Data Graphics to create a second simpler view of the simulation which amalgamated the information from lots of objects into one. For example where I had 5 Work Centers to display processing calls using Data Graphics I now had one simple bar chart. If you have a really complicated simulation where its difficult to see the work flow anymore this is a great way to easily show to your clients what is happening.

Report Object Image
Set the simulation object to not display its image, count or name, then set the data graphic to display at center and middle. This will replace the traditional image display with a report style.

Download the Example

For those of you that already own SIMUL8 Professional 2006 here is the example simulation used in this article. If you don't have SIMUL8 2006 and you want to see Data Graphics in action check out the Hints and Tips Class later this week or purchase here.

SIMUL8 2006 Hints and Tips Class

SIMUL8 2006 is now available. Join us on Thursday 25th May at 10am Eastern for a free online webinar to get hints and tips on how to get the most from our new release SIMUL8 2006. The class is live and interactive so you can ask our experts any question you like or just watch as they talk you through the features.

Register now

This class will cover:

• Creating dynamic onscreen charts for any or all simulation objects.

• Replacing traditional object images with report displays.

• Developing Word Templates quickly and easily to create high quality reports.

• How to use the Scenario Manager to run different runs using different inputs automatically.

Register Now. We certainly hope you can join us.

Free Downloads

A new service pack for SIMUL8 2006 Build 1080 has been released.
Download the Service Pack | Full Details of What's in the Service Pack

A new service pack for SIMUL8 2005 Build 1080 has been released.
Download the Service Pack | Full Details of What's in the Service Pack

A new service pack for SIMUL8 R11 Build 1080 has been released.
Download the Service Pack | Full Details of What's in the Service Pack

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