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Welcome to this month's newsletter! In this issue you'll find:

• An article by Carolyn Burns on Graphical Simulations
• Some Hints and Tips on using SIMUL8

Graphical Simulations by Carolyn Burns

The next two newsletters will show how you can improve the graphical look of your simulations. This issue covers the basic SIMUL8 features available and the next will include some Visual Logic “tricks”.

When demonstrating simulations the graphical interface should look as good as it possibly can. If your simulations look good, people will find them more compelling and easier to understand and you're more likely to get buy in to your proposal.

As an example let’s look at a simulation of a call center. The basic steps in the process are:

1. Calls arrive and can go down two routes; to the computer automated answering service or to an actual Customer Service Advisor.
2. Calls sent down the automated route are dealt with by the automated system and then either leave or are forwarded to a queue to wait for a customer service advisor.
3. Calls that are received by the Customer Service Advisors are dealt with and then leave. Most calls generate some admin work that involves creating documents for customers.
4. Documents are posted to customers.

This is a really simple process, but already the simulation looks messy and repetitive.

Changing the Default Graphics

The first thing that you can do to make it look better is change the default graphics to be more representative. For example, for ‘Automated Answering’ you could change the image to a computer and for ‘Documents Sent’ a bunch of letters.

To change these images click the GRAPHICS button in the object’s properties dialog. Select the image that you want to amend and then click the PROPERTIES button to open the Image Editor.

There are many options within the Image Editor, for example you can experiment with the colors within your graphic using the paint bucket, dropper and the color pallet. You can add text or shapes to your graphic or change the size of it. If you are unsure what a button does just hover your mouse over it to bring up a tip explaining what it does.

SIMUL8 has an extensive image library that you can access by clicking the LIBRARY button. There are many categories to choose from such as Manufacturing, Office and Flowchart images. If you can't find an image you like you can import your own graphics. You can load BMP, JPG, ICO and WMF files. Or copy the image that you want to use to the clipboard and use the ADD FROM CLIPBOARD button to import it into your simulation. You can then amend your image using the Image Editor.

Other things that you can do within an object's graphics tab include:

• Make an object invisible.
• Change the position of an objects title.
• Choose to see or not see the work item within that object.
• Choose to see an actual queue of work items rather than a graphic tank.
• Change a work items image on exit from that object (For example for a packaging machine that combines x products into a box you could set the Work Item Image leaving the work center from the product image to a cardboard box.)
• Improve the animation within your simulation by changing the graphic that is used when a work center is in different states (i.e. working, blocked, changeover etc…).

On Screen Graphics

The next thing that you could do to tidy up the simulation is add some extra images, shapes and text directly onscreen. You use the Graphics Pallet to do this.

Adding boxes and titles around specific departments, steps or sections in your process will give more clarity to your simulations. You can change the colors used in shapes or even the whole background color also. We’ve found that changing the background color within different sections of your simulation to a slightly off white or pale color can look really good. Another thing that you can do to make your simulation look more professional is put your company logo in the top left hand corner of the simulation.

If you have lots of white space in your simulation you could use some of the background to give explanations to parts of your simulation. Use the Text button to write directly on screen.

It's more likely though that you will find that you have too much on screen and will probably want to hide some of them away. You can do this by either making the object invisible via the objects Graphics tab (as outlined above) or by using sub – windows. With the objects that you want to place in a sub-window highlighted just right click to bring up a menu that allows you to put them in a sub window.

A single image now represents what is inside the sub window. You can change this image opening the sub window and double clicking on the S8 image in the top left hand side of the sub window. Once inside the windows properties dialog box you can choose to pick an image from within the SIMUL8 library or from the clipboard. You will also be able to access the Image Editor to amend the image if required.

Routing Arrows

Routing arrows can really clutter up a simulation but there are several ways you can control their display.

Sometimes its neater to draw just a few arrows directly on screen instead, You can turn off all the routing arrows using the show / hide route arrows button .

Alternatively you can select individual arrows to turn off and on. From the main toolbar select OBJECTS > LINKS.

Routing Arrows are flexible. Just left click on any arrow and drag it to bend it into any shape you require.

The End Result

Using the features above I’ve changed the look of the basic call center simulation to be far more professional.

General Hints and Tips for Editing Graphics

• Try to use professional colors like blues and greys. Also try to mirror your company colors to provide unity and branding.
• Remember to use the right click menu to align and space your objects on screen. Your simulations will look much neater if you make use of this feature.
• Lastly, although I’ve advised on a number of graphics features that you can use to add things to your simulation don’t forget the keep it simple rule that ‘less is more’. Try to keep the graphical interface of your simulation as clear, concise and ordered as possible.

Sourcing Unique Graphics

Sometimes you will not be able to find the image that you need within SIMUL8 so you may have to find the image elsewhere. You can find some really good images scouring the web.

Good places to search for Clip Art are:

http://www.clipartinc.com/
http://www.clipart.com/en/
http://www.webplaces.com/search/

Free Images, Icons & Graphics Package Tutorials can be found at:

http://www.iconarchive.com/
http://www.iconbazaar.com/
http://www.mccannas.com/

You can purchase Icons from the following websites:

http://www.iconexperience.com/index.php
http://www.iconbuffet.com/

Don’t forget that the Image section in Google is another good place to search.

Tips for using Graphics Software

Sometimes the Images that you find will need to be edited in some shape or form. If this is the case then you will need to find a graphics package to enable you to do this. Every graphics package is different but most packages out there will allow you to crop, resize and rotate images.

Another good feature to look out for in graphics packages is the ability to layer images on top of one another.

• Always increase the color depth of an image to 16 million colors before resizing.
• You’ll get a better image if you resize from the original large image than from a smaller copy.
• When antialias is available use it. It provides the nice fading into the background look rather the blocky lines
• By adjusting the hue or gamma correction you can alter the colors of complex images and keep, for example, nice fading effects.

If you have any questions on this topic please email support@SIMUL8.com, we're here to help!

Hints and Tips

Onscreen Status Display
To make your simulation easier to debug and more visually appealing we've found using a traffic light system to display a Work Center's status useful. You can do this easily by creating an image with a colored circle for each Work Center state, then use the Work Center's GRAPHICS dialog to assign an image to each of the states. You might want to create a key and place it on the simulation screen as well.

Different Images for Work Items
Using the special label 'Image' you can have different images for individual work items. Create a series of images called the same name but with a different number at the end, e.g. plane1, plane2 and plane3. Then create a label called 'image: plane'. When this label's value is set to 1 the work item's image will be changed to 'plane1, when this label's value is set to 2 the work item's image will be changed to 'plane2' etc. See the example 'Label based Images' in the Feature Section of the Learning Zone.

If you have any questions generated from, or comments about this newsletter then email Newsletter@SIMUL8.com