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

• The second part of the article Graphical Simulations
• Details on free downloads added to the website this month
• Some Hints and Tips on using SIMUL8

Graphical Simulations Part 2 by Frances Collins

When demonstrating simulations they should look as good as they possibly can. If your simulations look good, people will find them more compelling and easier to understand and they're more likely to buy into your proposal.

Last month Carolyn discussed the Graphical features in SIMUL8 that can be used to radically improve the look of your simulation. In this issue I'm going to use the call center simulation Carolyn began and demonstrate how Visual Logic can be used to make it look better still.

Almost all of the animation in SIMUL8 can handled using the features Carolyn described. However Visual Logic can give you more control over the simulation at run time in two ways. By letting you control the images of the simulation objects and allowing you to display text and images on the simulation window.

Controlling the Images of Simulation Object

There are two Visual Logic commands that let you completely control the image of simulation objects: 'Set Work Item Image' and 'Set Object Image'.

'Set Work Item Image' allows you to change the image of the currently selected Work Item to any image stored in the Image Library. Lets say that in our call center there are two types of incoming calls, those that will have documentation to be processed by admin and those that won't. If we use a label to record which type of call the work item is then we can assign each work item a different image based on its type.

You could also use this command to:

• Change the Work Item's image as it changes from one product type to another.
• If the Work Item is close to its expiry time or has been in the system for longer than the SLA change it's image.
• If Work Items get batched together or split apart change the work item from say a box to individual parts and vice versa.
• To hide the animation of a Work Item in bits of the simulation, change the Work Item image to a 1 pixel dot the same color as the background .

'Set Object Image' allows you to change the image of any simulation object, that is any Work Entry Point, Work Center, Storage Bin etc. So in our call center example we could have the Call Service Advisor Work Center image change depending on what type of call type they're processing.

You could also use this command to:

• Change the Work Center image depending on the type of Resource present.
• Have different breakdown images depending on the breakdown type.
• Show a different image when the Work Center is unavailable because of a Resource constraint.
• lf sections of your process are only available some of the time, e.g. staff are only available 9-5 but the automatic responder is available 24 hours , change the images when they go off shift.
• During your presentation to help your audience focus on the crucial information create a spotlight by changing the display of the work item and the Work Center as one particular progresses through the system.

Text and Images on the Simulation Window

Display + was added to SIMUL8 in Release 7. It's a group of Visual Logic commands that give you total control over the visual display of your simulation window. The commands are:

Display Image
Places an image from the Image Library onto the simulation window or a sub-window, at location X, Y and automatically deletes any image at the same location to prevent lots of images being placed on top of each other

Display Image Without Clear
Places an image from the Image Library onto the simulation window or a sub-window, at location X, Y but doesn't delete images currently at the X and Y location.

Display Text Parameters
Creates a text box and places it on the simulation window at location X, Y and automatically deletes any image at the same X and Y location.

Display Text Without Clear
Creates a text box and places it on the simulation window or a sub-window at location X, Y but won't delete any text at the same location.

Clear all Display+
Deletes all text and images that have been created using Display+

Clear Image
Deletes the image at location X, Y.

Clear Text
Clears a text box at location X, Y.

In our call center example we choose to hide the queues to make the display less cluttered, however this means we can't visually tell how backlogged our call center is. By using Time Check Visual logic and Display+ we can display the current queue size for each section of the simulation. First we add the result to the Result Summary then we can use the command 'Get Result' to retrieve the current result and place the value in a variable. We can the use Display+ to display the result.

Display+ can be used to achieve many effects:

• Display any result on the simulation window, or often we place them in sub-windows so can choose when to view them.
• Graph any result you want, whether its a result collected by SIMUL8 or a result completely unique to you. More Details.
• Say you want your week to start on Wednesday rather than SIMUL8's fixed Monday, use Display+ to create your own clock.

The End Result

Using Visual Logic to provide enhanced animation like this makes the simulation much more compelling to watch during a run. Download the simulation to see it in action.

But these are just a couple of simple ways could use these features to improve your simulations. Below are some examples of Graphical Simulations we've created. They all use a combination of the features discussed in last two newsletters and should hopefully provide you with some inspiration.

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

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Download Simulation		Download Simulation		Download Simulation

Free Downloads

Our website is always being updated with new support resources. Here are details on some of the downloads that were added this month.

New SIMUL8 Service Pack Version 11 Build 813
A new service pack for SIMUL8 R11 has been released. Build 813 fixes a few issues including the Cycle matrix paste now works with more than 1000 rows and the Watch window is now updated before user designed dialogs are opened.
Download the Service Pack | Full Details of What's in the Service Pack

New Knowledge Base
Our Online Knowledge Base has been improved. Its been updated to include categories to make it easier to browse for answers. Most answers now include screenshots and example models to make it easier to apply the answer to your simulation.

Hints and Tips

Freezing Onscreen Graphics
If you close the Graphics Toolbar then any onscreen images or text will become frozen in their current location. This is really useful for when you presenting your simulations.

Move Objects Pixel by Pixel
You can move one or more selected simulation objects pixel by pixel precisely to where you want them using the arrow keys.  This feature makes it much easier to refine your display quickly.

Refresh Windows
If you find that the simulation window isn't being refreshed often enough to provide smooth animation use the Visual Logic command 'Refresh Windows' to force your PC to update.

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