Graduate Program in Business Information Systems

BIS 517

Simulation with Arena

Part 1

Aslı Sencer Erdem Slide 1

 Behavior of Arena
• Arena is a true Windows application
 Appearance, operation, functions, are standard
 Interoperability with other software (MS Office, CAD)
 Can interact, communicate with other software
• Assume you already know basics of Windows:
 Disks, files, folders, paths
 Mousing, keyboarding
 Resizing, moving, maximizing, minimizing windows
 Menu operations
 Ctrl, Alt, Shift keys
 Cut, copy, paste
 Filling out dialog fields

Simulation with Arena Chapter 3 – A Guided Tour Through Arena Slide 2

 Starting Up
• Installing Arena – Appendix E
• Locate icon or shortcut; double-click
 Also Start/Programs/Rockwell Software/Arena/Arena icon
 Licensed vs. Academic, Evaluation mode
• See File, View, Tools, Help menus
 Other menus present if a model file is open
• Toolbars with buttons
 Unless a model file is open, only New model file, Open
model file, Template Attach/Detach, Context Help (click it,
then click on buttons or menu items)
• Tooltips – roll over toolbar buttons for names
• Quitting Arena: File/Exit or Alt+F4 or top right
button

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 Opening an Existing Model
• File/Open … or button Why the .doe
default
 Navigate to desired disk/directory extension to
Arena model
 Click/Open or double-click Model 03-01.doe filenames?
 Book examples in … Rockwell Software\Arena\Arena Book
 Additional examples in … Rockwell
Software\Arena\Examples
• Model window (usually on right side of Arena
window)
 Where model is built
 Resize, maximize, minimize, scroll/pan, zoom
 Can have multiple model windows open at once
• Cut, Copy, Paste within Arena, and between
Arena and other applications (when sensible)
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 Flowchart and Spreadsheet Views
• Model window split into two views
 Flowchart view
– Graphics
– Process flowchart
– Animation, drawing
– Edit things by double-clicking on them, get into a dialog
 Spreadsheet view
– Displays model data directly
– Can edit, add, delete data in spreadsheet view
– Displays all similar kinds of modeling elements at once
 Many model parameters can be edited in either view
 Horizontal splitter bar to apportion the two views
 View/Split Screen (or ) to see only the most recently
selected view
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 Project Bar
• Usually down the left edge of Arena window
• Hosts panels with modeling building blocks:
modules
 Both flowchart and spreadsheet modules
• Displays one panel at a time
 Switch to different panels via horizontal buttons
 Panels for Basic Process, Reports (after running), Navigate
(to different views within a model or to different hierarchical
submodels), … others can be attached (Template Attach
button ) for different modeling levels, specialties
• Usually docked to left edge but can move, float
• Can hide it via View/Project Bar or its own small

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 Status Bar
• At very bottom of Arena window
• Displays various information sensitive to status
 Coordinates of cursor in “worldspace”
 Clock value, replication number when simulation is running
• Hide it by clearing (unchecking) View/Status Bar

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 Moving Around, Up, Down
in Flowchart View of Model Window
• Underlying world space for model
 (x, y) coordinates in arbitrary units (> 32K in each direction)
• Pan with scroll bars, arrow keys
• Zoom in (down): or + key
• Zoom out (up): or – key
• See all at min altitude: or * key
• Named views
 Save a pan/zoom view for different parts of model
 Assign a Hot key (case-sensitive)
 Access via View/Named Views … or ? key
• Display grid ( ), snap to grid ( ) toggles
Simulation with Arena Chapter 3 – A Guided Tour Through Arena Slide
 Modules
• Basic building blocks of a simulation model
• Two basic types: flowchart and data
• Different types of modules for different actions,
specifications
• “Blank” modules are on the Project Bar
 To add a flowchart module to your model, drag it from the
Project Bar into the flowchart view of the model window
– Can have many instances of the same kind of flowchart module in
your model
 To use a data module, select it (single-click) in the Project
Bar and edit in the spreadsheet view of the model window
– Only one instance of each kind of data module in your model, but it
can have many entries (rows) in the spreadsheet view

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 Flowchart Modules
• Describe dynamic processes
 Nodes/places through which entities flow
 Typically connected to each other in some way
• Basic Process panel flowchart module types:
 Create, Dispose, Process, Decide, Batch, Separate,
Assign, Record
• Other panels – many other kinds
• Shape like flowcharting (also use colors for hints)
• Two ways to edit
 Double-click to open up, then fill out dialogs
 Select (single-click) a module type in model or Project Bar,
get all modules of that type in the spreadsheet view

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 Data Modules
• Set values, conditions, etc. for whole model
 No entity flow, no connections
• Basic Process panel data module types:
 Entity, Queue, Resource, Variable, Schedule, Set
• Other panels – many other kinds
• Icons in Project Bar look like little spreadsheets
• To use a data module, select it (single-click) in
the Project Bar, edit in spreadsheet view
 Double-click where indicated to add new row
 Right-click on row, column to do different things
• Only one instance of each kind of data module in
a model
 But each one can have many entries (rows)
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 Relations Among Modules
• Flowchart and data modules are related via
names for objects
 Queues, Resources, Entity types, Variables … others
• Arena keeps internal lists of different kinds of
names
 Presents existing lists to you where appropriate
 Helps you remember names, protects you from typos
• All names you make up in a model must be
unique across the model, even across different
types of modules

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 Browsing Through Model 3-1
• Open Model 03-01.mod (in Arena Book folder)
• Three flowchart modules (Create, Process,
Dispose)
• Entries in three data modules (Entity, Queue,
Resource)
• Animation objects
 Resource animation
 Two plots
 Some (passive) labels, artwork

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 The Create Flowchart Module
• “Birth” node for entities
• Gave this instance of the Create-type module the
Name Part Arrives to System
 If we had other Create modules (we don’t) they’d all have
different Names
• Double-click on module to open property dialog:

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 The Create Flowchart Module (cont’d.)
• Name – for module (type it in, overriding default)
• Entity Type – enter a descriptive name
 Can have multiple Entity Types with distinct names
• Time Between Arrivals area
 Specify nature of the time separating consecutive arrivals
 Type – pull-down list with several options
 Value – depends on Type … for Random (Expo) is mean
 Units – time units for Value
• Entities per Arrival – constant, random variable,
very general “Expression” (more later …)
• Max Arrivals – choke off arrivals after this many
entities
• First Creation – time of first arrival (need not be 0)
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 Editing Flowchart Modules in the
Spreadsheet View
• Alternative to dialog for each instance of a
module type
• See all instances of a module type at once
 Convenient for seeing, editing lots of things at once
• Selecting a module in either flowchart or
spreadsheet view also selects it in the other view
• Click, double-click fields to view, edit
• Right-click to on left margin to delete a row (and
the associated module)
• Right-click in many fields to invoke Expression
Builder for help on constructing complex
expressions with Arena variables (more later …)
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 The Entity Data Module
• A data module, so edit in spreadsheet view only
• View, edit aspects of different kinds of entities in
your model (we have just one type, Part)
• Pull-down lists activated as you select fields
• Our only edit – Initial Picture for animation
 We picked Picture.Blue Ball from the default list

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 The Process Flowchart Module
• Represents the machine, including the resource,
queue, and entity delay time (processing)
• Enter Name – Drilling Center
• Type – picked Standard to define logic here
rather than in a submodel (more later …)
• Report Statistics check box at bottom
 To get utilizations, queue lengths, queue waiting times, etc.

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 The Process Flowchart Module (cont’d.)
• Logic area – what happens to entities here
 Action
– Seize Delay Release – entity Seizes some number of units of a Resource
(maybe after a wait in queue), Delay itself there for the processing time,
then Release the units of the Resource it had Seized – we chose this option
– Could just Delay entity (red traffic light) – no Resources or queueing
– Could also Seize Delay (no Release … Release downstream) or Delay
Release (if Resource had been Seized upstream)
– Priority for seizing – lower numbers mean higher priority
– Different Action choices could allow stringing together several Process
modules for modeling flexibility
 Resources – define Resource(s) to be seized, released
– Double-click on row to open subdialog
– Define Resource Name, number of units to be Seized/Released
– Several Resources present (Add) – entities must first Seize all

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 The Process Flowchart Module (cont’d.)
• Delay Type – choice of probability distributions,
constant or general Expression (more later …)
• Units – time units for the delay
• Allocation – how to “charge” delay in costing
(more later …)
• Prompts on next line – change depending on
choice of Delay Type – specify numerical
parameters involved
• Can also edit in spreadsheet view
 Subdialogs (e.g., Resource here) become secondary
spreadsheets that pop up, must be closed
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 The Resource Data Module
• Defining the Drilling Center Resource in the
Process module automatically creates an entry
for it in the Resource data module
• Can edit it here for more options
 Type – could vary capacity via a Schedule instead of
having a fixed Capacity
– Would define the Schedule via Schedule data module … more later
 Failures – could cause resource to fail according to some
pattern
– Define this pattern via Failure data module (Advanced Process
panel) … more later

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 The Queue Data Module
• Specify aspects of the queues in the model
 We only have one, named Drilling Center.Queue
(the default name given the Process name)
• Type – specifies queue discipline or ranking rule
 If Lowest or Highest Attribute Value, then another field
appears where you specify which attribute
• Shared – it this queue will be shared among
several resources (more later …)
• Report Statistics – check to get automatic
collection and reporting of queue length, time in
queue

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 Animating Resources and Queues
• Got queue animation automatically by
specifying a Seize in the Process module
 Entity pictures (blue balls) will line up here in animation
• Don’t get Resource animation automatically
 To add it, use Resource button in Animate toolbar … get
Resource Picture Placement dialog
– Identifier – link to Resource name in pull-down list
– Specify different pictures for Idle, Busy state
For pre-defined artwork, Open a picture library (.plb filename extension)
Scroll up/down on right, select (single-click) a picture on right, select Idle or Busy
state on left, then to copy the picture

 To edit later, double-click on picture in flowchart view

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 The Dispose Flowchart Module
• Represents entities leaving model boundaries
• Name the module
• Decide on Record Entity Statistics (average and
maximum time in system of entities exiting here,
costing information)

Check boxes for statistics collection and

reporting:
 Most are checked (turned on) by default
 Little or no modeling effort to say yes to these
 However, in some models this can slow
execution markedly
 Moral – if you have speed problems, clear
these if you don’t care about them

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 Connecting Flowchart Modules
• Establishes the (fixed) sequence of flowchart
modules through which entities will flow
• To make a connection
 Click Connect button (or Object/Connect)
 Cursor changes to cross hairs
 Click on exit point from source module, then entry point
on destination module
 Make intermediate clicks for non-straight line in segments
• Object menu toggles
 Auto-Connect – automatically connect entry point of newly
placed module from exit point of selected module
 Smart Connect – force segments to horizontal/vertical
 Animate Connectors – show entities moving along
connectors (zero time for statistics collection)
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 Dynamic Plots
• Trace variables, queues as simulation runs
• Disappear after run ends (to keep, must save
data, postprocess via Output Analyzer — later)
• A kind of “data animation”
• Plot button from Animate toolbar… “Add” for
 Expression to plot (help via Expression Builder … later)
 Min/Max y-axis values (initially guesses, maybe revise)
 Number of “corners” to show (# History Points) at a time
 Stepped option (for piecewise-constant curves)
 Colors
• In Plot dialog – Time Range (x axis), cosmetics
• Resize plot itself by dragging corners
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 Dressing Things Up
• Add drawing objects from Draw toolbar
 Similar to other drawing, CAD packages
 Object-oriented drawing tools (layers, etc.), not just a
painting tool
• Add Text to annotate things
 Control font, size, color, orientation

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 Setting the Run Conditions
• Run/Setup menu dialog – five tabs
 Project Parameters – Title, your name, output statistics
 Replication Parameters – Number of Replications, Length
of Replication (and Time Units), Base Time Units (output
measures, internal computations), Warm-up Period (when
statistics are cleared), Terminating Condition (complex
stopping rules), Initialization options Between Replications
 Other three tabs specify animation speed, run conditions,
and reporting preferences
Terminating your simulation:
 You must specify – part of modeling
 Arena has no default termination
 If you don’t specify termination, Arena will
usually keep running forever
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 Running It
• Plain-vanilla run: Click from Standard toolbar
(like VCRs, CD players, etc.)
 First time or after changes: Check
 Enters run mode — can move around but not edit
 Speed up (> on keyboard) or slow down (<) animation
display
 When done, asked if you want to see summary reports
 Click to get out of run mode
 Can pause run with
• Other run control, viewing, checking options

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 Viewing the Reports
• Click Yes in the Arena box at the end of the run
 Opens up a new reports window (separate from model
window) inside the Arena window
 Project Bar shows Reports panel, with different reports
(each one would be a new window)
 Remember to close all reports windows before future runs
• Default installation shows Category Overview
report – summarizes many things about the run
 Reports have “page” to browse ( and )
 Also, “table contents” tree at left for quick jumps via ,
• Times are in Base Time Units for the model

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 Viewing the Reports – Examples
• Entity  Time  Total Time  Part:
 Avg. time in system was 6.4397 min., max was 12.6185
• Resource  Usage  Utilization  Drill Press:
 Utilization was 0.9171 (busy 91.71% of the time)
• Process  Other  Number In  Drilling Center:
 During the run, 7 parts entered the Drilling Center
• Process  Other  Number Out  Drilling Center:
 5 entities left the Drilling Center (so were produced)
• Entity  Time  Wait Time  Part:
 Avg. wait time in all queues was 3.0340 min. (counts only
entities that left the system, but Queue  Time  Waiting
Time  Drilling Center.Queue counts all entities that left
this queue, so can differ)
• Entity  Other  Wip  Part:
 Average Work in Process was 1.7060, max WIP was 4

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 Types of Statistics Reported
• Many output statistics are one of three types:
 Tally – avg., max, min of a discrete list of numbers
– Used for discrete-time output processes like waiting times in queue,
total times in system
 Time-persistent – time-average, max, min of a plot of
something where the x-axis is continuous time
– Used for continuous-time output processes like queue lengths, WIP,
server-busy functions (for utilizations)
 Counter – accumulated sums of something, usually just
nose counts of how many times something happened
– Often used to count entities passing through a point in the model

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 More on Reports and their Files
• Reports we just saw – based on a MS Access
database that Arena writes as it runs
 Can be saved and viewed later
 Viewing within Arena done via Seagate Crystal Reports to
query the Access database\
• Arena also produces a plain-text summary report
(.out filename extension)
 Was in previous versions of Arena
 Fairly cryptic, but gives quick view of lots of output data
• Get multiple reports for multiple replications
• “Half Width” columns – for confidence intervals
on outputs in long-run simulations … more later
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 Display for the Create Module

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 Display for the Process Module

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 Display for the Dispose Module

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 Display for the Queue-Length Plot

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 Expression Builder for Queue-Length-
Plot Expression

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 Edit Menu
• Undo/Redo
• Cut/Copy/Paste
• Paste Link (create OLE link)
• Duplicate, Delete selection
• Select/Deselect All
• Entity Pictures – change content, definition of
pictures presented in Entity data module
• Find – searches all modules and animation
objects for a text string … useful for finding
wrong names, typos after an error message from
Arena
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 Edit Menu (cont’d.)
• Properties – display internal Arena object
properties
• Links – to link to other files (spreadsheets,
sounds, etc.)
• Insert New Object – from other applications (e.g.,
graphics)
• Object – edit object imported from another
application

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 View Menu
• Zooming – discussed before
• Zoom Factor – step size when zooming
• Views – canned Arena views of flowchart view
• Named Views – define, change, use views
• Grid/Snap/Grid Settings – control grid, snapping
• Layers – which objects show up in which mode
• Split Screen – toggle for viewing both flowchart
and spreadsheet views, or just one of them
• Toolbars – decide which toolbars show up
• Project/Status Bar – toggle to show up or not
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 Tools Menu
• Separate applications related to Arena model
building and analysis
 Input Analyzer
 Process Analyzer
– Also Output Analyzer … does not show on menus
 OptQuest for Arena
• Other special “editions” of Arena (e.g., Contact
Center) – depends on what’s been licensed
• Import/Export model to/from Database – bring in,
save model details to Excel or Access
• Show Visual Basic Editor to write VBA code for
model (see Chapter 9)
• Options – control many aspects of how Arena
works, looks
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 Arrange Menu
• For modeling, graphics objects – first select
object(s)
• Bring object to Front, Send it to Back — for
“stacking” effects
• Group, Ungroup
• Flip around Vertical, Horizontal line
• Rotate object (90° clockwise)
• Align objects on top, bottom, left, or right edges
• Distribute objects evenly (horizontally, vertically)
• Flowchart Alignment – arrange flowchart modules
(horizontally, vertically)
• Snap to Grid the selected object(s)
• Change Snap Point on object that gets snapped
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 Object Menu
• Connect tool – changes cursor to cross hairs
• Auto-Connect newly placed module to selected
module – toggle on/off
• Smart Connect – new connections in
horizontal/vertical segments rather than one
diagonal segment – toggle on/off
• Animate Connectors – to show entities moving
(at infinite speed for statistics collection)
• Submodel – define and manage hierarchical
submodels (see Chapter 5)

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 Run Menu
• Setup – control model run conditions
• Entries to run, check, pause, step through
• Alternatives to watch execution, view results (or
errors)
• Control how run goes and is displayed
• Most capabilities on Run or Run Interaction
Toolbar, and will be described a bit later in detail
• Access the “code” in the underlying SIMAN
simulation language

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 Window Menu
• Cascade, Tile multiple open model windows
• Arrange Icons for any minimized model windows
• Use system Background Color — use Windows
colors rather than Arena settings
• List of open model windows

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 Help Menu
• One of several ways to get into Help system
• Arena Help Topics – TOC, Index, Find
• Using Help – info about Windows Help systems
• List of attached modeling panels – click to get
Help on that one
• Web links to product support
• Information on product support
• About Arena… version number, etc.

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 More on Toolbars
• Collections of buttons for “frequent” operations
 Most are duplication of menu entries
 Standard, View, Draw, Animate, Integration, View, Arrange,
Run Interaction, Animate Transfer
• View/Toolbars (or right-click in a toolbar area) to
decide which ones show up, which to hide
• Toolbars can be torn off (“floating” palettes), or
“docked” to an edge of screen
• Arena remembers your Toolbar configuration for
next time

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 More on Drawing
• Draw via toolbar buttons only (no menus):

• Line, Polyline (hold Shift key for 45 ), Arc, Bézier

0

Curve
• Box, Polygon, Ellipse (fill, line, shade)
• Text (font, size, style)
• Colors for Lines, Fill, Text, Window Background
• Line Style, Fill Pattern
• By far best way to learn: just play around

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 Printing
• Print all or parts of flowchart view of active model
window – supports color
• Usual Print, Print Preview, Print Setup (File menu)
• Could consume many pages … also prints named
views separately
 Print Preview, select only what you want for printing
• Alternative to printing directly from Arena:
PrintScreen key — sends screen to clipboard,
paste into another application
 Alt+PrintScreen — sends only active window to clipboard
 Could first pass through a paint application to crop, etc.
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 Help!
• Extensive, comprehensive online system –
replaces traditional manuals
• Interlinked via hypertext for cross referencing
• Multiple entry points, including Help menu, links
to websites
• button for context-sensitive help
• button in most dialogs
• button (What’s This?) for info on items
• Tooltips – roll over things, get little sticky note
• Examples folder inside Arena folder
• SMARTs library – small models illustrating points
– indexed in “SMART Files Library” Help topic
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 More on Running Models
• Run Menu; Standard & Run Interaction toolbars
• Run/Setup – many options for controlling the run
 These are attached to the model, and are not global
• Run/Go – run simulation “normally” (depends
on selects from Run/Run Control and
Tools/Options/Run Control)
• Run/Step – one “step” at a time (verify, debug)
• Run/Fast-Forward – disable animation (faster)
• Run/Pause (or Esc key) – freeze run, resume
with Go
• Run/Start Over – go back to beginning of
simulation
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 More on Running Models (cont’d.)
• Run/End – get out of run mode
• Run/Check Model – like compiling
• Run/Review Errors – for most recent Check
• Run/Run Control/Command – bring up
interactive command-line window to control run
• Run/Run Control/Break – set times, conditions
to interrupt for checks, illustration
• Run/Run Control/Watch – bring up a window to
watch a variable or expression during run

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 More on Running Models (cont’d.)
• Run/Run Control/Break on Module – set/clear
break when an entity enters or resumes activity
on a module
• Run/Run Control/Highlight Active Module –
highlight the flowchart module being executed
• Run/Run Control/Batch Run (No Animation) – run
model with no animation … this is even faster
than Fast-Forward … usually used for
“production runs” for statistical analysis
• Run/SIMAN – view or write the model (.mod) and
experiment (.exp) files for the underlying SIMAN
model

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