Contents
Optima! Help

Optima! provides tools to define, document, and simulate a process. For information on using the Optima! capabilities, choose a topic from the list below.

What's New With Version 2.5

Saving as HTML

Importing Flowcharter Charts

Getting Started

Optima! Quick Tutorial

Getting Started With Process Maps

Optima! Online Documentation


Optima! Online Documentation

Getting Started With Process Maps

Editing With Optima!

Working With Symbols and Lines

Working With Layout

Working With Text

Editing Using the Tabular View

Importing and Exporting

Modeling Activities

Describing Model Behavior

Running a Simulation

Using the Trace Window

Using Multiple Processes

Using Monitors

Report Results

Creating Graphs


Microsoft Office Compatible

Optima! is a Microsoft Office Compatible product, which means that its toolbars, menus, and accelerator keys are similar to those used by Microsoft Office. If you are already using Office or an Office Compatible product, then you will see that many tasks can be completed in a similar manner in Optima!. These similarities will make it easier for you to use Office Compatible products together.

Look for the Microsoft Office Compatible logo when purchasing software. For more information about the Microsoft Office Compatible program, and for a complete listing of Microsoft Office Compatible products, call Microsoft Customer Service at 1-800-426-9400. Customers outside the United States should contact their local Microsoft office.

Office Compatible Features Supported by Optima!

Optima! contains a Standard toolbar which is similar to the one in Microsoft Office. You can print a document just by pressing the "Print" button on the standard toolbar, and you can discover each button's function just by pointing to it with the mouse. This activates a ToolTip that displays the button's name.


Working With Dictionaries

If you havent set any options, the words in the process map are checked against a standard dictionary. To access a dictionary, click on the Dictionaries button in the Check Spelling dialog box. This brings up the Dictionaries dialog box. You can open and close user dictionaries, and edit the contents of an open user dictionary.

You can open some or all of your user dictionary files at any time. Only open dictionaries are checked during a spell-checking operation. The open dictionary name is displayed in the dialog box.

•	To select a dictionary, use the Files area.

This area contains the list of open dictionary files. The language and type of each dictionary is displayed.

•	To create a new user dictionary file, choose New.

When you select the New button, you specify the name, type, and language of the new dictionary.

•	To open a user dictionary, choose Add File.

A dialog box appears which you can use to select the dictionary to open. The set of open dictionaries is remembered, so once you add a dictionary file you dont need to add it again.

•	To remove a dictionary, choose Remove File.

This closes the currently selected dictionary. Closed dictionaries are not checked during a spelling check. Although the file is closed, it is not deleted. Closed dictionary files can be later opened using the Add File button.

•	To add a word to the current dictionary, choose Add Word.

This causes the word entered in the edit area of the Words list to be added to the currently selected dictionary. If the dictionary type is Auto Change or Conditionally Change, you must enter a word and a replacement, separated by a colon (e.g., the:the).

•	To delete a word, choose Delete Word.

This causes the word appearing in the edit area of the Words list to be removed from the currently selected dictionary. If the dictionary type is Auto Change or Conditionally Change, enter just the word without the colon or replacement word.

•	To add words from a text file into an open dictionary, use the Import button.

This adds the words contained within a text file to a dictionary. When you select the Import button, a dialog box appears to select the text file to be imported. The file containing the imported dictionary words must be of .txt type and each word must be individually separated by lines. If the dictionary type is Auto Change or Conditionally Change, words in the file must be in the proper form (e.g., teh:the).

•	To export a dictionary that you have created with the New button, choose Export.

This saves the contents of the currently selected dictionary to a text file. A dialog appears that you can use to select the name of the text file to which words in the dictionary are exported. The words are written to the file one per line.

When you add a dictionary, it is stored on disk in the standard Optima! directory: optima\spell. The file name prefix for dictionaries is .tlx.


Types of Dictionaries

User dictionaries can be several different types. The type indicates what happens when a word is found in the dictionary. You specify the type when you create a new dictionary.

•	Auto Change. Words in this dictionary are automatically replaced with other words. Typically, Auto Change dictionaries hold frequently misspelled words and their correct replacements. For example, the dictionary might contain the misspelled word receive and its replacement receive. Each entry contains a word and the replacement, separated by a color (e.g., recieve:receive).

•	Conditional Change. Words are presented to you as candidates for replacement, and are replaced with other words if you request. Typically, these dictionaries hold potentially misspelled words and their usual replacements. Each entry contains a word and the replacement, separated by a colon.

•	Exclude. Words are always considered misspelled, even if they are defined in other dictionaries. Typically, these dictionaries hold words you may use but dont want to appear in your writing. You might also use an Exclude dictionary to hold words you type by accident. For example, you might enter newt in an Exclude dictionary if you occasionally type newt when you mean to type neat.

•	Ignore. Words are considered correctly spelled. Typically, these dictionaries hold words you use but which dont appear in the other dictionaries. For example, you may add your family name or street name to an Ignore dictionary.


Spelling Options

Copyright Information

Wintertree Software Inc.
Sentry Spelling-Checker Engine Version 4.17
The Sentry Spelling-Checker Engine Copyright © 1996 Wintertree Software Inc.
69 Beddington Ave.
Nepean, ONT Canada K2J 3N4
(613) 825-6271 - FX(613) 825-5521

You can set the spelling environment so that words are checked according to any of the following options. You can set these by pressing the Options button in the Check Spelling dialog box.

•	Ignore capitalized words (e.g., Canada)

Any words beginning with a capital letter are ignored (i.e., are skipped over without being checked). You might enable this option if the text being checked contains many proper names.

•	Ignore all-caps words (e.g., ASAP)

Any words containing all capital letters are ignored. You might enable this option if the text being checked contains many acronyms.

•	Ignore words with numbers (e.g., Win95)

Any words containing embedded digits are ignored. Examples of such words include R2D2 and Q4. You might enable this option if the text being checked contains many code-words.

•	Ignore words with mixed case (e.g., OpenDoc)

Any words containing an unusual mixture of upper- and lower-case letters are ignored. Examples of such words include MicroHouse and CapsLock. You might enable this option if the text being checked contains many variable names or other symbols which use case changes to distinguish words.

•	Report words with mixed case

Any words containing mixed case are reported in the Check Spelling dialog box.

•	Report doubled words (e.g., the the)

Any words appearing twice in a row are reported.

•	Always suggest

A list of suggested replacements is automatically displayed when a misspelled word is reported. If this open is disabled, a list of suggestions can be obtained by pressing the Suggest button.


Quick Tutorial for Optima!

If you like to learn by performing hands-on tasks, you can get started with Optima! by going through the tutorial. Furthermore, you can substitute your own information, for example, department names, to create a process model with simulation results.

The tutorial assumes that you are familiar with basic Windows operations such as opening files and choosing icons from toolbars. The estimated time to complete the tutorial is 20 minutes.

You can position Optima! and the tutorial window so that both are visible on the screen, and use the mouse or Alt-Tab to switch between windows.

Next Screen


1. Draw the Process Map

A process map is a collection of symbols representing activities, connection lines, and modeling information. The map describes a process that occurs over time.

The basic unit that is processed in Optima! is called a transaction. During simulation, a generator issues transactions into the process flow at different intervals. Each transaction is processed by the individual activities in the flow using any resources that are required. The processing of transactions is a central concept in Optima! simulation.

1.1 Open a Map

1.	Open a new process map by invoking Optima!.

If you already have Optima! open, close any other process maps that you were working on and create a new file with File > New.

The workspace contains an untitled process.

2.	 (Optional) Click on the Maximize icon to use the whole screen.

The icon typically appears in the upper right corner of the window.

Next Screen


1.2 Create Departments

Each department is a horizontal area in a process map that contains symbols and connections. The symbols represent activities that occur within the individual department.

1.	 Click on the Add Dept. button in the Mapping toolbar.

If the toolbar isn't being displayed, use View > Toolbars to display it. Alternately, you can choose Add Dept from the Edit menu.

The Add Department dialog box appears.

2.	For Dept. Name, type: Dept. 2

3.	Click on Apply.

The Add Department dialog box remains open.

4.	For the next Dept. Name, type: Dept. 3

5.	Click on OK to close the dialog box.

The process map now has three departments. (The last department that you created remains selected.)

Next Screen


1.3 Add a Decision Symbol

1.	 Click on the diamond symbol icon in the Mapping toolbar.

2.	Move the "+" cursor into the workspace.

3.	Press and hold the mouse button while you position the diamond next to the Start symbol.

4.	Release the mouse button.

The newly created symbol remains selected.

Next Screen


1.4 Add an Activity Symbol

1.	 Click on the rectangle symbol icon in the Mapping toolbar.

2.	Move the "+" cursor into the workspace.

3.	Press and hold the mouse button while you position the rectangle in Dept. 2.

4.	Release the mouse button.

The newly created symbol is still selected.

Next Screen


1.5 Add Another Activity

1.	 Click on the rectangle symbol icon in the Mapping toolbar.

2.	Press the mouse button while you position a rectangle in Dept. 3.

3.	Release the mouse button.

The newly created symbol is still selected.

4.	Click in a blank area of the workspace to unselect the last symbol.

Next Screen


2. Add Text to the Symbols

The text associated with a symbol creates the label for the activity. You add text by selecting and typing directly into the symbol.

1.	Click to select the diamond symbol.

2.	Type the text: Ready?

3.	Click to select the rectangle in Dept. 2.

4.	Type the text: Review

5.	Click to select the first rectangle in Dept. 3.

6.	Type the text: Print

7.	Click in a blank area of the workspace to unselect the last symbol.

Next Screen


3. Connect

The connection lines between symbols indicate the flow of information through a process. The arrows are added to the connection lines in the direction in which the line is drawn.

3.1 Connect Two Symbols

1.	 Click on the selection arrow in the Mapping toolbar.

2.	Move the cursor inside the Start symbol, near the right side.

This becomes the source symbol for the connecting line.

3.	Press and hold the mouse button. (You'll release it after the next step.)

4.	Drag the selection arrow to the left interior of the "Ready?" diamond.

5.	Release the mouse button.

A line connects the source and destination symbols. The line remains selected.

6.	Click in a blank area of the workspace to unselect the connection line.

Next Screen


3.2 Connect a Decision Activity

The "Ready?" symbol indicates a decision point in the process flow. The output paths are labeled "No" and "Yes," by default.

1.	Connect the right of "Ready?" with "Review" in Dept. 2.

The "No" label for the first path appears automatically.

2.	Connect the bottom of "Ready" with "Print" in Dept. 3.

The "Yes" label for the second path also appears automatically. The connection line remains selected.

3.	Click in a blank area of the workspace to unselect the connection line.

Next Screen


4. Add Formatting

4.1 Select the Activities

A variety of formatting styles are available in Optima!, including font, line, border, fill, arrow, and overall process map formats. When a formatting style is chosen, it applies to all selected symbols (or you can change the default format for all newly created symbols).

1.	From the Edit menu, choose Select.

This brings up the Select dialog box.

2.	Choose to select Activities, and from the scrolling list next to Activities, choose All.

You can leave the other options unchecked.

3.	Click on OK to close the dialog box.

This selects all the symbols.

Next Screen


4.2 Add a Shadow

1.	With the activities still selected, from the Format menu, choose Border.

This brings up the Edit Border Format dialog box.

2.	For Shadow Color, choose Black.

You can leave the other options unchanged.

3.	Click on OK to close the dialog box.

4.	Click once in a blank area to unselect the symbols.

The symbols have a black shadow.

Next Screen


4.3 Set the Process Format

1.	From the Format menu, choose Process.

This brings up the Process Format Settings dialog box.

2.	Choose the Process Maps tab.

3.	For Process Color, choose Light Gray.

It's usually near the bottom of the scrolling list.

4.	Under Department Name Area, for Divider Width, choose the second line width in the scrolling list.

You can leave the other options unchanged.

5.	Click on OK to close the dialog box.

Next Screen


5. Edit the Activity

5.1 Add Decision Percentage

The percentage associated with a Decision determines the ratio of times that different output paths are taken.

1.	Double-click on the "Ready?" symbol.

This brings up the Edit Activity dialog box.

2.	Choose the Outputs tab.

3.	For the percentage of time that the "No" path is taken, enter: 25

If you pause for a few seconds, the dialog box is automatically updated so that the "Yes" percentage is set to 75.

You can leave the other options unchanged.

4.	Click on OK to close the dialog box.

5.	Click in a blank area of the workspace to unselect the activity.

Next Screen


5.2 Add Duration for Review

The duration is the amount of time required for an activity to complete processing.

1.	Double-click on the symbol labeled "Review."

This brings up the Edit Activity dialog box.

2.	Choose the Task tab.

3.	For Duration, as a Constant, enter 1

4.	For the time unit, choose Hours.

You can leave the other options unchanged.

5.	Click on OK.

This sets the "Review" activity to have a 1 hour duration.

Next Screen


5.3 Add Duration for Print

1.	Double-click on the symbol labeled "Print."

2.	Choose the Task tab, if it isn't already active.

3.	For Duration, as a Constant, enter 3

4.	For the time unit, choose Hours.

You can leave the other options unchanged.

5.	Click on OK.

This sets the "Print" activity to take 3 hours to complete.

Next Screen


6. Set the Simulation Data

6.1 Edit the Run Setup

The run setup specifies information about, among other things, the amount of time that is covered in the simulation period.

1.	 Click on the Run Setup icon in the Modeling toolbar.

If the toolbar isn't being displayed, use View > Toolbars to display it. Alternately, from the Model menu, choose Run Setup.

This brings up the Run Setup dialog box.

2.	Choose the Simulation Time tab.

3.	Near the bottom of the dialog box, for Simulation End, choose Custom.

4.	For the end time, enter: 5

5.	For the time unit, choose Days.

You can leave the other options unchanged.

6.	Click on OK to close the dialog box.

This sets the amount of time covered by the simulation to be five days.

Next Screen


6.2 Edit the Generator

The generator introduces transactions at a specified rate into the Start symbol.

1.	 Click on the Generator icon in the Modeling toolbar.

Alternately, from the Model menu, choose Generators. This brings up the Define Generators dialog box.

2.	With Generator 1 selected in Existing Generators, set the Generator Type to be Interarrival.

3.	For Interarrival Time, enter: 2

4.	For the time unit, choose Hours.

You can leave the other options unchanged.

5.	Click on OK to close the dialog box.

This specifies that a transaction enters the process every 2 hours.

Next Screen


6.3 Set the Resource Allocation

The resource allocation is the total number of resources available to the different departments in the process map. Each department has one worker, by default. This is enough to move one transaction through the department at a time. But in Dept. 3, the Print activity takes 3 hours. One worker can't keep ahead of transactions arriving every 2 hours, so we'll increase the resource count.

1.	 Click on the Resource icon in the Modeling toolbar.

Alternately, from the Model menu, choose Resources. This brings up the Define Resources dialog box.

2.	Under Resource Allocations, double-click on Dept. 1.

This brings up a dialog box specific to Dept. 1's worker resources.

3.	Under Resource Cost, for Hourly Rate, enter: 15.00

You can leave the other options unchanged.

4.	Click on OK to close the dialog box.

The Define Resources dialog box remains open.

5.	Under Resource Allocations, double-click on Dept. 2.

6.	For hourly rate, enter: 18.00

You can leave the other options unchanged.

7.	Click on OK to close the dialog box.

8.	Under Resource Allocations, double-click on the Dept. 3 entry.

9.	Increase the resource count to: 2

This step is important because it increases the resource allocation so that there are enough workers to perform the work.

10.	For hourly rate, enter: 14.00

You can leave the other options unchanged.

11.	Click on OK to close both dialog boxes.

Next Screen


7. Run a Trace Simulation

At this point, the model is ready to simulate. The simulation can run in the background or in the trace window. The trace window uses color and animation to display the different states of transactions being processed during simulation.

1.	 Click on the Trace icon in the Modeling toolbar.

Alternately, from the Run menu, choose Trace. This brings up a trace window.

2.	 (Optional) Click on the Maximize icon in the trace window.

3.	 To start the trace, click on the Start button.

While the trace is running, you can watch the transactions enter at the Start statement and take one of the two output paths from the "Ready?" activity.

4.	Let the trace finish processing.

The trace simulation takes approximately 30 seconds. You can keep an eye on the status line for information about the simulation completion. When the trace is finished, a Report window is displayed with data about the simulation.

Next Screen


8. Analyze the Report Results

After you look at the trace simulation, you can finish the quick tutorial by examining the report data that is produced as a result of the simulation.

1.	If the trace simulation didn't complete in the previous step, from the Run menu, choose Start.

When a run finishes, the report window is automatically displayed.

The report statistics are defined in Transaction Statistics, Activity Statistics, and Resource Statistics. You can also search for any statistic, by name, in the online help.

2.	 (Optional) Click on the Maximize icon in the report window.

3.	Click on the Time report tab.

This tab contains many different statistics gathered during simulation. For example, the average cycle is the amount of time it took to process the transaction, from start to end, including busy and waiting time.

4.	Click on the Cost tab.

The cost statistics are a result of the hourly rates that you set for the worker resources. For example, in Dept. 2, you set the worker's rate to be $18 an hour.

This is the end of the tutorial. If you want to save or print, do so now.

End of Tutorial


Getting Started With Process Maps

A process map provides a method of communicating information about activities that happen during the operation of a process. This includes how people, resources, budgets, schedules, and other properties interplay in the work environment.

You place symbols to show different activities in a process. You can place the activities into departments to create organizations or to show who is responsible for each task. After you have placed the symbols, you can connect them with lines and arrows to show the flow of the process.

Getting Started

Drawing a Symbol

Drawing Lines to Connect Symbols

Selecting and Canceling Selection

Adding Text

Adding Departments

Moving Symbols

Creating Easy Graphics

Saving and Closing


Getting Started

Before you start drawing, you may want to develop a plan for gathering the data you'll need. Possible questions you can ask are "What parts of the process should be focused on?" and "Which areas in the organization have the best potential for improvement?".

You may already have most of the data at hand and you can begin creating a process map quickly. If you have a more complicated process, particularly one that involves several departments within an organization, you and other members of your process team can begin by investigating the existing methods used to accomplish a process. Alternately, you may want to get started with the data that you currently have and then add to the process map as information becomes available.

About Process Maps

A process map is a drawing that shows how a group of people or an organization gets a particular task done. The process is a series of actions that leads to a result.

To specify a process, you first provide a detailed description, or a process map, of the process itself.

Opening a New Process Map

When you start Optima!, an untitled process opens.

Optima! has two ways of displaying your process map, graphical or tabular. The graphical view uses symbols to represent data. For information about the tabular view, see About Tables.

Note

If you already have your process sketched out on paper, the table view can be a good way to enter the data quickly.

When Optima! is displaying in a graphical view, the symbols and connections are drawn to illustrate the process flow.

The look and feel of Optima! is similar to many other Windows applications. If you are familiar with Windows, you can begin working quickly. Here are brief explanations of some of the elements that you'll see in the Optima! window.

•	Menu bar

The menu bar contains a list of menus (File, Edit, View,...). You open menus and then choose commands from them.

•	Toolbars

The toolbar is a group of icons that can be viewed or hidden. The Standard toolbar contains icons for actions such as opening files, printing and viewing, that are common to most Windows applications. The Mapping toolbar is used for drawing. For information on viewing toolbars, see Viewing Different Toolbars.

•	Work area

Displays the current process map. This area also displays other process maps, tables, scenarios, generators, and reports.

•	Status line

Displays brief descriptions for menu items or other status, for example, if a process is currently being simulated.

Starting Optima!

When you start Optima!, it automatically opens a new, untitled process. The Start symbol appears in the default department. From here, you can begin drawing and connecting symbols.


Drawing a Symbol

You draw a symbol by clicking on icons in the Mapping toolbar. The default symbols are a rectangle and a diamond. The rectangle is often used to represent an activity that takes time, and the diamond represents a place where a direction is determined for two possible outcomes.

You can draw a process map using just rectangles and diamonds. Many other symbols are also quickly available or you can create your own custom symbols. See About Symbols.

About the Mapping Toolbar

The Mapping toolbar contains symbols and other elements used to easily create the process map. When you are drawing symbols and connection lines, you'll use this toolbar.

If the Mapping toolbar isn't displayed on your screen, you can view it by using the View > Toolbars menu item.

Creating a Symbol

1.	Click on a symbol icon in the Mapping toolbar.

2.	Move the cursor into the process window.

The cursor changes to a "+" or cross-hair cursor.

3.	Press and hold the mouse button, using the outline to place the symbol where you want it.

A "no-draw" cursor means the symbol is outside the drawing area.

4.	Release the mouse button.

The newly created symbol remains selected so that you can add text or change it. See Selecting and Canceling Selection.

Creating Several Symbols

1.	Click on a symbol icon from the Mapping toolbar and place the symbol in the worksheet as described above.

2.	Cancel the selection of the symbol by clicking on an empty place in the worksheet.

This turns the cursor into a "+" cursor.

3.	With the "+" cursor active, you can directly place more of the same symbols.


Drawing Lines to Connect Symbols

A line that connects two symbols together shows the flow and direction of a process. In Optima!, the routing of connection lines is calculated automatically. You choose the source symbol and the destination symbol, and Optima! maintains the connection. If you move either of the symbols, the connection line is redrawn.

About Attachment Points

You can connect lines to symbols anywhere on the symbol outline.

All attachment points are on a grid which makes it easier to align symbols. There are pre-set attachment points that have a stronger "pull" than the other attachment points. If you place a line near one of these attachment points, it will snap to it. To override this pull, press the Ctrl key when you are connecting.

As you are drawing a connection line, an image of the line shows which attachment point the line will snap to. This lets you preview how the line looks before you release the mouse button.

About the Direction of Connection Lines

When you connect two symbols, an arrow appears at the end of the line and at other vertices. These lines and arrows represent the flow.

Optima! gives you a large amount of flexibility for drawing purposes. For example, you can change the format of an arrow to point to the opposite side or in both directions as a two-sided arrow. See Changing the Line and Arrow Format.

Regardless of which way the arrows point, a connection line between two symbols always has a starting and an ending point. These points provide necessary information for the simulator about the flow of the process. In other words, the movement of a process, during simulation, always continues along a defined path.

About Multiple Destinations

If there are multiple destinations from a single source, you can create them by drawing multiple lines.

Drawing a Connection Line

1.	Move the arrow cursor inside the source symbol.

You can choose any symbol to be a source symbol.

2.	Press and hold the mouse button.

3.	Drag the arrow cursor inside the destination symbol, near the desired attachment point, and release the mouse.

The arrow cursor must be inside the destination symbol to connect. To use a different attachment point than the standard four points, hold the Ctrl key down as you drag the arrow cursor.


Selecting and Canceling Selection

You select an item by clicking on it with the selection arrow. Many actions in Optima! require one or more selected items. For example, you must select a symbol before you can move it or change it. You can recognize a selected item by its sizing handles and shaded background.

Selecting an Item

1.	Position the arrow cursor anywhere within or over the item and click.

Selecting Several Items

You can draw a selection rectangle to select several items at the same time.

1.	If the cursor isn't an arrow, click on the selection arrow in the Mapping toolbar.

2.	Position the cursor to mark the first corner of the selection rectangle.

3.	Hold down the mouse button and drag the cursor diagonally across the items to select.

4.	Release the mouse button.

Make sure you start dragging on an empty portion of the worksheet and that the selection rectangle completely surrounds the items to select.

Selecting All Items

1.	From the Edit menu, choose Select All.

Selecting by Type

You can use the Select dialog box to precisely specify which items of the process map are selected. This is useful if you have a large process map and want to change the format, for example, of all diamond symbols.

1.	From the Edit menu, choose Select to bring up the Select dialog box.

Activities

You can choose All to select all symbols or Filter to further narrow the types of activities that are selected.

•	Inputs. Choose the types of inputs to be selected. See Inputs Tab.

•	Activity Type. Choose information about the task. See Task Tab.

•	Outputs. Choose the outputs. See Outputs Tab.

•	Symbol. All symbols that match this format are selected.

•	Department. Choose the specific department from which the activities are to be selected.

All departments

All department names are selected. You can use this to change the font, alignment, or fill of the department name areas. If you choose just this option, it doesn't select any of the contents of the departments, such as its activities, text, or connection lines.

All connection lines

All connection lines between symbols are selected. You can use this to change the line width, color, start or end styles, or connector option.

All decision text

All output labels are selected. For example, all of the Yes and No labels on Decision activities are selected. For information on how decision text is set, see Working With Case Text.

All field text

All field text is selected. This refers specifically to text that either is set or occurs as a result of settings in the Edit Activity dialog box. For example, field text includes an activity's duration, cost, and other statistics, but not its text label. For information on displaying field text, see Fields.

General text

All general text is selected or you can further filter the text by symbol. This term refers specifically to text that was created using the General Text icon (the "A") on the Mapping or Drawing toolbars. For information on creating general text, see "Creating a Text Area" in Adding Text.

All general drawing

All graphics created with the Drawing toolbar are selected. For information on the Drawing toolbar, see "To create a line, rectangle, ellipse, or arc" in Creating Easy Graphics.

All other drawing

All imported graphics are selected. See Linking and Embedding From Other Applications.

Adding Items to the Selection

1.	Select the first symbol.

2.	Press and hold down Shift and select each item you want to add.

Canceling Selection (Unselecting)

1.	Click the selection arrow in the Mapping toolbar or click in an empty place in the drawing.

Removing Items From Selection

1.	Place the cursor directly on the item to remove from selection.

2.	Press Ctrl and click the mouse button.


Adding Text

You can use text to provide labels and give information about the process flow. A full set of fonts and formats is available. Once you have added text, you can later edit it or change its font family, size, or style. See Editing Text.

Text is commonly used as a symbol or department name, or you can add text outside a symbol. Text can be anchored to a symbol or connection line, or it can float in a department.

Adding Text To a Symbol

1.	Select the symbol, if it isn't already selected.

2.	Enter the text.

The lines wrap automatically at spaces. You can press Enter to create a new line. If you make a mistake, use the back arrow or Delete key. If the text doesn't fit in the area, you can grow the width of the symbol to change the line wrapping. See Changing the Size.

3.	After you are done typing, go on to your next action.

This indicates that you are done editing. For example, one common action is to cancel the selection by moving the arrow cursor outside the symbol and clicking the mouse button.

Creating a Text Area

These steps create a text area outside a symbol. The text area maintains the same position in the department or below all departments, regardless of other symbols around it.

1.	Click on the General Text icon (the "A") in the Mapping toolbar.

When you move the cursor into the work area, it changes to a "+" cursor.

2.	Center the cursor where you want the text centered and click the mouse.

Text areas have a hidden border that you can hide or show.

3.	Type text into the area.

If you type more characters than one line, the height of the area grows automatically.

4.	After you have entered the text, click in a blank part of the work area to unselect the text.

The border line style for a text area is "hidden," by default. If you are showing hidden areas, the border is displayed as gray as an aid to viewing hidden areas. (See the following discussion "Viewing Hidden Areas.")

Text Area Borders and Fill Patterns

A text area has a white fill pattern, by default, and the border is hidden.

•	To change the color, line style, or width of the border, select the text area and from the Format menu, choose Border.

•	To change the fill pattern, select the text area and from the Format menu, choose Fill.

To create a transparent fill pattern, select a foreground style of None.

See Changing the Border and Fill Format.

Anchoring a Text Area

Anchored text is tied to a symbol or connection line. If the symbols are moved, the anchor remains attached. The anchor can be hidden or displayed.

1.	Create a text area.

2.	Place the cursor inside the text area and press the mouse button.

3.	Move the cursor to the inside of the anchoring symbol or line and release the mouse button.

If you are showing hidden lines, the anchoring line is gray. Otherwise, the anchor is hidden. You can change the line to other formats such as dotted or black. See Changing the Line and Arrow Format.

The anchor point can be moved to change its position, or the symbol or line to which it is attached. See Moving Connection Lines.

You can anchor a selected text area by holding down the Ctrl key. Use the mouse to move the center point of the text area over a symbol or line to anchor to, and release the mouse. You can anchor the text area to a symbol, connection line, graphic, or other text area.

Viewing Hidden Borders and Lines

•	From the Format menu, choose Show Hidden.

A check mark next to the menu indicates that hidden borders and lines are showing. You can toggle this menu item to hide and show hidden items.

Importing Text

You can add text or graphics as graphic objects from other Microsoft Windows applications such as Word for Windows or PowerPoint. See Copying and Pasting and Linking and Embedding From Other Applications. After you have imported a graphic object, you can anchor it following the same procedure as text areas.


Adding Departments

When you place a symbol, it is assigned to the department in which it resides. Later, if you move the department's position, the symbol is recognized as belonging to that department and automatically moves, also.

The default department in Optima! is named Dept. 1. Each department area is divided into a name area and the department workspace.

You can have several departments with the same name in a process map. However, the system treats these as a single department during simulation.

Adding a Department

1.	Click on the Add Dept. button.

Alternately, choose Add Dept from the Edit menu. The Add Department dialog box appears.

2.	For Dept. Name, insert a name for the department.

3.	To create another department, click on Apply and repeat step 2.

4.	Click on OK or Close to close the dialog box.

Changing Department Names

1.	Move the cursor into the department name area and click the mouse to select.

2.	Place the cursor where you want to edit, or at the end of the department name.

3.	Click a second time to place the department into the name-editing state.

•	To add or insert, start typing. The characters appear at the cursor position.

•	To make corrections, use the backspace or Delete key.

4.	When you finish editing, cancel the selection of the department by moving the cursor to a blank place and clicking the mouse button.

About Changing the Appearance of Departments

•	Font. Select one or all of the department name areas and choose Font from the Format menu. (If a department is in the name-editing state, unselect and then click to select again.) This procedure is described in Changing the Font and Text Style.

•	Rotate. Select the department name area and choose Alignment from the Format menu. See Setting Text Alignment and Rotation.

•	Color of name area. Select the department name area and choose Fill from the Format menu. See Changing the Border and Fill Format.

•	Color of entire department. Select the department and choose Process from the Format menu. See Process Map Format.

•	Divider lines. Select one or all of the department name areas and choose Process from the Format menu. See Process Map Format.

•	Height and width. The width of a department is determined automatically but you can change the height. See "Growing a Department" in Changing the Size.


Moving Symbols

After you draw a symbol, you can change its placement by selecting and moving it. A dotted outline moves with the cursor to show the placement. The connection lines re-route after a symbol moves if there is a more direct route. You can move the symbol anywhere in the work area. The grid is enabled but hidden by default. See Aligning Symbols and Using the Grid.

Moving a Symbol

1.	Select the symbol.

2.	Place the arrow cursor directly on one of the sides of the selected symbol.

Use the sides, not the corners. (The corners are used for sizing.)

3.	Press and hold the mouse button while you move the cursor.

You cannot drag an item above the top of the first department.

4.	When the symbol is placed where you want it, release the mouse button.

A Shortcut for Moving Symbols

Here's a shortcut for selecting a symbol so that it can be moved at the same time.

•	Hold the Shift key when you press the mouse button to select a symbol.

This both selects the symbol and changes the cursor to a Move cursor. Without releasing the mouse button, you can then use the mouse to move the symbol.

The Shift key also works to add to the current selection. If something is already selected, you can press the Shift key and add other items. The cursor changes to a Move cursor, so you can next easily move all the selected items.

Moving a Department Up and Down

The top left-hand corner is the anchor for departments. If you have several departments, you can move them to the top or bottom of the worksheet, or change their order. You cannot move a single department from its position at the top left.

1.	Move the cursor into the area containing the department name.

2.	Click the mouse to select the department.

3.	Place the cursor directly on the top border of the name area.

4.	Press and hold the mouse button as you move the department.

5.	When you are satisfied with the placement, release the mouse button.

Bringing to the Front or Sending to the Back

1.	Select the symbol or area.

•	From the Edit menu, choose Bring to Front.

The selected area is drawn so that it overlaps any other symbols.

•	From the Edit menu, choose Send to Back.

The selected area is drawn behind any other overlapping symbols.


Creating Easy Graphics

Although you can import graphics from almost any Windows applications, Optima! has easy-to-use drawing tools that you can use to create graphics or new symbols. The drawing tools are found on the Drawing toolbar which is not typically displayed until you open it. To view the Drawing toolbar, follow these steps:

1.	From the View menu, choose Toolbars.

This brings up the Toolbars dialog box. The toolbars that are currently displayed are marked.

2.	Choose the Drawing toolbar.

You can read the descriptive name of each icon by placing the mouse cursor over it without pressing the mouse button.

Is it a Graphic or a Symbol?

Graphics, for example, arcs or polygons, that you create with the Drawing toolbar are substantially different from Optima! symbols.

•	You create an Optima! symbol with the Mapping toolbar. Arrows on lines are drawn and maintained easily, and connection lines can be automatically routed and maintained. Each symbol can contain activity information for simulation.

•	You create a graphic with the Drawing toolbar. There are no automatic line connections or routing, and no activity information is available.

You can easily convert a graphic into a symbol in the same way that you create symbols from other applications. See Using Symbols From Other Applications.

Creating Graphics

In general, to create a graphic item from the Drawing toolbar, you click on the icon, move the cursor into the process map, and then drag the mouse to create it.

To create text

1.	Click on the General Text icon in the Drawing toolbar.

2.	Move the "+" cursor into the drawing area.

3.	Click the mouse button to create the text area.

You can type in the text area at any point when the "I" insert cursor is active. The height of the text area grows as you add more text.

4.	When you are finished, move the cursor outside of the text area.

To create a line, rectangle, ellipse, or arc

1.	Click on the icon in the Drawing toolbar.

2.	Move the cursor into the drawing area.

3.	Press and hold the mouse button.

4.	Move the cursor to the ending point and release.

To create a freeform shape (a polygon)

1.	Click on the icon to draw polygons in the Drawing toolbar.

2.	Move the cursor into the drawing area.

3.	Click to create straight line segments, and drag to create freeform shapes.

Each click is a point of the polygon.

4.	Double-click to end.

Other editing

•	To cancel a graphic while you are dragging, press the Esc key.

•	To change the format of a selected graphic, for example, the line or fill pattern, use the Format menu. Alternately, click the right mouse button to view a menu with formatting options.

•	To create a transparent graphic, set the foreground color to None. By default, symbols and graphics have a white fill pattern.


Saving and Closing

To keep your latest work safely on the disk, you should periodically save your Optima! process. A recommended practice is to save after completing 10 to 15 minutes of work. If you save frequently, you won't lose much work in case of a power failure or other problem. It's also a good habit to save your work before you print or make major changes.

When you save a process, Optima! remains open on the screen so that you can continue working. If you finish a process, close it to keep your screen uncluttered with process windows. If you haven't saved changes, a message asks if you want to save the changes when you quit Optima! or close the file.

Saving a New, Unnamed Process

1.	From the File menu, choose Save.

Alternately, click on the Save icon.

2.	For File Name, type a name.

Optima! saves the file in the current drive and directory, and adds an extension. Valid file extensions are ".pfd" for files and ".pft" for templates.

3.	If you want to save to a different drive or directory, either:

•	Select a different drive and directory, or:

•	Type the complete path in the File Name box. For example: process\design.pfd

4.	Click on OK to close the dialog box.

Saving An Existing Process

1.	From the File menu, choose Save.

The Save Indicator

The banner of an Optima! window contains its filename (or "Untitled" if the process hasn't been saved) and the process number. When you make any editing changes, an indicator is added to the banner to notify you that you haven't yet saved the changes.

For example, the following window banner shows no differences between the process being edited and the disk file.

Optima! - [FILE.PFD - Process1]

An asterisk following the filename indicates that changes have been made but you have not yet saved them to disk. For example, the following banner indicates changes.

Optima! - [FILE.PFD * - Process1]

Closing a Process

1.	From the File menu, choose Close.

This closes all windows associated with the file, including process, scenario, report, and trace windows.

If there are changes to be saved, you'll see a "Save file before closing?" prompt. A "yes" answer saves the changes and closes the file. A "no" answer discards the changes and closes the file. A "cancel" returns you back to editing in Optima! without doing anything.

Exiting Optima!

1.	From the File menu, choose Exit.

This closes all windows. If there are changes to a process since the last time you saved it, a dialog box prompts you to save changes.


Editing With Optima!

After you have placed and connected symbols, you may want to modify the process map. This includes undoing, copying and pasting, moving connection lines, changing the size of symbols, and checking the spelling of text in the process map.

Opening Files

Copying and Pasting

Undoing and Cutting

Moving Connection Lines

Changing the Size

Checking the Spelling


Opening Files

You use the File menu to open existing Optima! process maps.

Opening an Existing File

If you have opened the file recently, you can select it by name from the bottom of the File menu. Otherwise, follow these steps.

1.	Choose Open from the File menu or press Ctrl+O.

The Open File dialog box appears with the names of available files in the current directory.

Alternately, you can press the Open icon.

As you work more with Optima!, you may want to set a different default working directory for the Open File dialog box. This is done using the File > Properties menu item in the File Manager.

2.	Click on the file name that you want to open.

Alternately, you can enter the full path name of the file. For example: optima!\designs\map.pfd

If you don't see the file, examine the drive, directory and List Files of Type box. Optima! process maps are type ".pfd." Optima! templates are ".pft."

3.	Click on OK to close the Open File dialog box.

For information about how the list of recently opened files in the File menu is maintained, see Setting Default Values With optima.ini.

Creating a New File

1.	Choose New from the File menu or press Ctrl-N.

Alternately, click on the New icon.

This brings up the Template dialog box.

2.	Choose a template style, for example, Default.

The template style contains default characteristics about toolbars, fonts, line weights, colors, and fill patterns. For more information on creating and using templates, see Using Custom Templates.

3.	Click on OK to close the Template dialog box.

Making a Process Window Active

If you have two or more processes on the screen at one time, only one process is the active process at a time. The active process is always displayed in front of other windows and its title bar is highlighted.

•	Click anywhere within the borders of the process window that you want to make active, or choose its name from the Window menu.


Copying and Pasting

You can copy selected symbols or areas between departments or processes, or other applications. You can also copy entire departments, and paste them above or below other departments. There are three methods for copying:

•	Copying to the clipboard

•	Copying using the mouse

•	Shortcut for copying and connecting symbols

You choose which method works the best for you.

Copying to the Clipboard

The clipboard is used by many Windows applications as a method of exchanging data. Optima! uses the clipboard for copying between departments and process maps, and exchanging data with other applications. You can view the contents of the clipboard outside Optima! by double-clicking on the Clipboard application.

The clipboard keeps a copy of the latest area copied to it. The next item copied replaces the current item, so there is only one item in the clipboard at a time. You can use Paste to paste as many copies as you want until the next time you use Copy or Cut.

1.	Select the symbol, department, or area.

2.	From the Edit menu, choose Copy, or press Ctrl+C.

Alternately, click on the Copy icon. This places a copy of the selected area on the clipboard.

Copying Using the Mouse

1.	Select the symbol or area.

2.	Move the cursor over the outline of a selected symbol.

The cursor changes to a two-arrow "move" cursor. (If you don't have the cursor, move the mouse around the edge of the symbol.)

3.	Press and hold the Ctrl key.

The cursor indicates that a copy will be made of the selected area.

4.	Press and drag the mouse cursor to create a copy.

If you want to copy to another process, make sure that both process windows are visible. (You can use the Window menu items to do so.) Once both processes are visible, you can copy across process windows.

Shortcut to Copy and Connect Symbols

You can create symbols that automatically connect by following these steps.

1.	Select the symbol from which the copy is to be connected.

2.	Click on any of the Set Symbol icons to choose a type of symbol.

3.	Move the cursor into a blank area (outside the symbol).

The cursor changes to a cross-hair cursor.

4.	Press and hold the Alt key.

5.	Move the mouse cursor to a new position and click the left mouse button.

After you release the mouse, the symbol is automatically connected. You can repeat the steps to connect more symbols.

Copying to Other Windows Applications

To copy a process map into Microsoft Word or another Windows application, the steps are the same for copying between Optima! processes.

1.	Select all or part of the Optima! process map.

You can use the Edit > Select menu item to narrow the selection.

2.	From the Edit menu, choose Copy.

This copies it to the clipboard. If both applications are already open and visible, you can use the mouse and Ctrl key option.

3.	Open the other application and place the editing cursor at the position where you want to insert the process map.

4.	From the Edit menu, choose Paste.

You can use this same procedure to paste report results (discussed in later chapters on simulation) into a spreadsheet such as Microsoft Excel.

About Pasting From the Clipboard

When you paste from the clipboard, the contents are pasted directly over the originally-selected area with a slight offset. The new items remain selected and can be moved to the desired location.

1.	From the Edit menu, choose Paste, or press Ctrl+V.

Alternately, click on the Paste icon.

For information about embedding the clipboard contents in a specified format using Paste Special, see Linking and Embedding From Other Applications.

About Pasting Departments

If the selection on the clipboard contains departments, you choose where the department is pasted.

•	Select a single department, or an activity within a department, that you want for the destination.

•	If a department is not selected, or if multiple departments are selected, the area is pasted in the top department.

1.	From the Edit menu, choose Paste, or press Ctrl+V.

If a pasted area contains departments, it is pasted above the topmost selected department or below the bottom department.


Undoing and Cutting

Undo is a multi-level operation that cancels the last changes you made to the process map. By default, up to ten actions can be undone. To change this value, see Setting Default Values With optima.ini.

To delete a symbol, you can either cut it from the process map or you can use the Delete or Backspace keys. If you are intending to use the deleted symbol elsewhere, use Cut on the Edit menu to remove it. This stores the symbol on the Clipboard, and you can use Paste to insert it in another location. See Copying and Pasting.

Undoing or Undeleting

•	From the Edit menu, choose Undo or press Ctrl+Z.

Alternately, click on the Undo icon.

Undo is only available if there is an action that can be reversed.

Redoing

•	From the Edit menu, choose Redo or press Ctrl+Z.

Alternately, click on the Redo icon.

Redo is only available if there is an action that has been undone.

Cutting or Deleting a Symbol

1.	Select the symbol or area that you want to delete.

The area is highlighted to show that it is selected.

2.	From the Edit menu, choose Cut or press Ctrl+X.

Alternately, click on the Cut icon. This removes the symbol and places it on the clipboard.

Cutting or Deleting Text in a Symbol

1.	Select the symbol.

The area is highlighted to show that it is selected.

2.	Click in the text area.

This changes the symbol so that you can edit it. A dotted line appears as the internal border of the selected symbol.

3.	Press and drag the mouse to select the text inside the symbol.

4.	From the Edit menu, choose Cut or press Ctrl+X.

This removes the text from the worksheet and places it on the clipboard.

Cutting or Deleting an Entire Department

1.	Select the department by clicking in the department name area.

The area is highlighted to show that it is selected.

2.	From the Edit menu, choose Cut or press Ctrl+X.

This deletes the entire department including all symbols in it. If you delete the last department, Optima! reinitializes the process with a default department and a default Start symbol.

Restoring a Cut or Deleted Area

•	From the Edit menu, choose Undo or press Ctrl+Z.


Moving Connection Lines

In Drawing Lines to Connect Symbols, the method for placing connection lines is described. The connection lines show the flow of control between symbols. You can move the connection line to other attachment points on the same symbol or other symbols.

Selecting a Connection Line

1.	Place the cursor directly over the connection line.

2.	Click the mouse button.

Connecting to a Different Symbol

1.	Select the connection.

2.	Move the cursor directly over the attachment point.

The cursor changes to the two-arrow "move" cursor.

3.	Press and hold the mouse as you move the connection to a new symbol. When the cursor is inside an interior wall near the desired attachment point, release the mouse button.

There are pre-set attachment points that are easiest to connect. To use a different attachment point than the standard ones, hold the Ctrl key down as you drag the cursor.

Moving to a Different Attachment Point

1.	Select the connection line.

2.	Move the cursor directly over the current attachment point.

3.	Press and hold the mouse button as you move the connection to a new attachment point.

You'll release the mouse button in the next step.

4.	When you have placed the cursor inside an interior wall next to the new attachment point, release the mouse button.

Deleting a Connection Line

1.	Select the connection line.

2.	Press the Delete key. Alternately, from the Edit menu you can choose Cut or Delete.


Changing the Size

When you start placing symbols, a standard size is drawn. If the size is not what you want, you can change it for individually-selected symbols or you can change its default size. The default size affects newly-created symbols. See "Changing the Symbol Type or Default" in About Symbols.

You change the size of a symbol or a department by using its sizing handles. Both departments and symbols grow automatically in length when you add more symbols or text.

Changing the Size of a Symbol

1.	Select the symbol that you want to grow or shrink.

Four sizing handles appear on the corners of the selected symbol.

2.	Position the arrow cursor over one of the four handles.

The cursor changes to a double-arrow cursor.

3.	Press the mouse button and drag the handle.

To grow the symbol, drag the handle away from the symbol. To reduce the size, drag the handle toward the middle of the symbol.

4.	When you are satisfied with the new size, release the mouse button.

5.	Cancel the selection.

Text inside the symbol wraps based on its new width. Also, the new height of the symbol becomes the minimum height for the department. You cannot grow a department to a height that is less than the minimum height.

For information on growing a symbol so that it spans a department, see Creating Symbols to Cross Departments. Also, see "Changing the Size of Several Symbols" in About Symbols.

Changing the Text Size

When you change the size of a symbol that contains a text object, its position adjusts to the change in size but the text size remains unchanged. To change the text size, you must use the Fonts menu.

1.	Select one or more symbols, or the departments that contain the text.

2.	From the Format menu, choose Fonts to bring up the Font dialog box.

3.	In the dialog box, set the new size.

4.	Click on OK to close the dialog box.

5.	Cancel the selection.

Growing a Department

When we talk about growing a department, there are several dimensions that can be taken into account.

•	Overall width. All departments have the same width. The width grows when you add symbols. It also shrinks, to a minimum width, when you delete symbols. The minimum width is defined to fit in a standard, portrait-oriented page that is being viewed at 100%.

•	Department height. A department's height grows automatically when you add or delete symbols within its boundaries. You can change it manually by growing the department name area. The height can vary for each department.

The height of the department name area is always the same as the department height.

•	Department name width. You can grow or shrink a department name area to accommodate text. Also see "Department Name Area" in Process Map Format.

To change the department height or width of the department name, follow these steps.

1.	Select the name area of the department to resize.

2.	Place the cursor over the sizing handle.

The cursor changes to a double-arrow cursor. Use the bottom handle to change the height; use the right handle to change the width.

3.	Press the mouse button and drag the handle.

4.	When you are satisfied with the new size, release the mouse button.

5.	Cancel the selection.

The text inside the department may wrap to a new line based on the new width.


Checking the Spelling

You can check the spelling of text in a process map. This includes the words inside symbols, department names, titles, and any text areas that you have created. The spelling is checked against a standard dictionary that contains most common American English words, or you can use other language dictionaries.

You can have up to 16 dictionaries open at once, including your own dictionaries. If a word isn't in the dictionary, suggestions can be made for the correct spelling.

To check the spelling in a process map, follow these steps.

1.	If you want to check just an area, select it first.

2.	From the Edit menu, choose Check Spelling.

Alternately, click on the Check Spelling icon.

If every word matches an entry in one of the active dictionaries, then a message states that the check is complete. A word is considered misspelled if it can not be located in any open dictionary, or is located in an Exclude dictionary. If misspelled words are found, a dialog box displays the words, one by one.

For each word displayed in the Not In Dictionary box, select the option you want.

•	To leave the word unchanged, choose Ignore.

If the same word appears later, it will be reported.

•	To leave all occurrences of the word unchanged, choose Ignore All.

You won't be prompted for this word again during this spelling session. If the word is one you use frequently, you can ignore it permanently by selecting Add.

•	To accept the spelling in the Change To box, choose the Change button.

You can enter word in the Change field by typing, or you can select one of the suggested replacements from the Suggestions list.

•	If spelling suggestions are not shown, view them by choosing Suggest.

This causes a set of suggested replacements to be displayed. Each time you select the Suggest button, a more intensive search for replacements is conducted. Once all possible suggestions are located, the Suggest button is disabled. (This button appears only if the Always Suggest option is disabled. See the following discussion "Dictionaries and Other Options.")

•	To accept the spelling for all occurrences of the word in the process map, choose Change All.

This causes this and all following occurrences of the reported word to be replaced with the word in the Change To field. If the word is one you frequently misspell, you might consider adding it to a Auto Change dictionary by using the Dictionaries button.

•	To add the word to the custom dictionary selected in the Add Words To box, choose Add.

This causes the reported word to be added to the dictionary selected in the Add Words To list. Use the Add button if a correctly-spelled word that you use often is reported as a misspelling. If the word is not used frequently, you may want to select the Ignore or Ignore All buttons instead.

Dictionaries and Other Options

The following options are available for spelling:

•	Ignore capitalized words

•	Ignore all-caps words

•	Ignore words with numbers

•	Ignore words with mixed case

•	Report words with mixed case

•	Report doubled words

•	Always suggest

For information on these options and the spelling dictionaries, see Working With Dictionaries, Types of Dictionaries, and Spelling Options.


Working With Symbols and Lines

When you draw a process map, you place symbols and connect them together with connection lines. You can add to a process map by applying different formats to the symbols, lines and arrows.

The symbols represent different activities within your process, and the connecting lines show the flow of the process. A useful feature of Optima! is the automatic line routing. When you connect symbols, the lines are drawn in routes that avoid other symbols. If you move one of the symbols, the lines are routed again. This can save a lot of time when you are making corrections to a process map and moving symbols around. And to add even more flexibility, Optima! lets you manually set the routing to place connection lines along a particular path.

About Symbols

Adding Symbols to the Mapping Toolbar

Using Symbols From Other Applications

Changing the Border and Fill Format

Creating Symbols to Cross Departments

About Lines and Line Routing

Changing the Line and Arrow Format


About Symbols

The Mapping toolbar contains common symbols such as rectangles and diamonds. You can customize the toolbar by adding other symbols from the standard Optima! library or from other drawing applications, or you can change the shape of any symbol to a different symbol.

Before you start working with symbols, check that the Mapping toolbar is displayed. This procedure is described in Drawing a Symbol.

Troubleshooting

You can set the default size and margins for all newly-created symbols with the Modify Symbol dialog box. A symbol default sets the initial settings; you can still modify the symbol's format or size.

Changing the Symbol Type or Default

1.	Select a symbol that you've drawn in the process map.

2.	From the Format menu, choose Symbol.

This brings up the Modify Symbol dialog box.

3.	Click on a new symbol from the list on the left.

A sample of the symbol appears in the Sample box. Each symbol has its own default margins and size.

4.	For Symbol Text Margins, enter a margin (also see the next step for setting how the margin is determined).

The default margins for a rectangle, for example, are 10 percent for the left and right margins and 12 percent for the top and bottom.

5.	Set how the margins are determined.

•	Fixed. A fixed margin remains the same regardless of the size of the symbol. The unit of measurement is set in the Windows control panel and can be inches, centimeters, points, etc.

•	Percentage. The margins are set as a percentage of the symbol.

•	Symbol Default. This resets the dialog box with the default margins for a selected symbol.

6.	For Symbol Size, set the exact height and width measurements.

7.	For Save as Default, this option specifies that the size of all newly created symbols matches the measurements set here.

For example, if you set a default height and width to .25 inches, then whenever you draw a new symbol, its dimensions are .25 by .25 inches.

Changing the Size of Several Symbols

You can change the size of several symbols with these steps.

1.	Select the symbols that you want to change.

2.	From the Format menu, choose Symbol.

This brings up the Modify Symbol dialog box.

3.	Set the Height and Width for the Symbol Size.

Editing Shortcut

When a symbol or a line is selected, you can click and release the right mouse button to display a menu. The menu contains formatting and modeling steps that are common to the selected item.


Adding Symbols to the Mapping Toolbar

You can customize the Mapping toolbar to contain frequently used Optima! symbols or other symbols that you have created with a graphics application.

Once you've customized the toolbar, you can save the file as a template so the toolbar is always available when you create process maps using that template. See Using Custom Templates.

1.	In a process window, from the View menu, choose Toolbars.

This brings up the Toolbars dialog box.

2.	Click on the Customize button.

This displays the Modify Symbol Choices dialog box. (Some of the choices are not displayed until you select a symbol.)

The "current" symbol in the dialog box is the symbol that will be acted on. The symbol is highlighted as one of the icons shown at the top of the dialog box. When you first open this dialog box, the symbol is blank at the end of the list. (It's the empty symbol with the ". . ." ellipsis in it.) After that, the selected symbol is always the last symbol that you edited.

3.	Click to choose a symbol to be added to the toolbar.

The list of symbols is displayed in a long list on the left side of the dialog box. If a symbol other than the ". . ." ellipsis symbol is currently selected, that symbol is replaced.

Activity defaults

Choose the defaults for new symbols of this type. You can set default input information, activity types, and output information for the activity. For information on activity defaults, see Modeling Activities

Tool tip text

Tool tips are brief, one- or two-word descriptions of a menu item or icon. Many standard Windows applications provide tool tips.

•	To edit the tool tip, press the Edit button.

This brings up the Edit Tool Tip Text dialog box. Enter the text that you want displayed as a tool tip. This gives you a way to add a name or helpful information about an icon in the toolbar. It's displayed when you place the cursor on the icon.

You can turn on the display of tool tips in the Toolbars dialog box. See "Viewing Different Toolbars" in Viewing.

Margins

This button brings up the Modify Symbol dialog box. See About Symbols.

Format

This button brings up the Symbol Style dialog box. You can use this dialog box to set the font, border, and fill characteristics of the symbol.

Fields

This button brings up the Activity Fields dialog box. See Fields.

Value class

This button brings up the Value Class dialog box. See Activity Base.


Using Symbols From Other Applications

You can create custom libraries of symbols using standard drawing packages or import symbols from other applications to add to the standard symbols. The symbol is saved with the current file. For example, you can add it to the Mapping toolbar or you can access it from the Symbol choices in the Format menu.

Creating a Custom Symbol

1.	Draw a symbol and copy it to the clipboard.

The clipboard is common to most Windows applications. See your drawing package documentation to cut or copy to the Clipboard.

2.	From the View menu, choose Toolbars.

This displays the Toolbars dialog box.

3.	Click on the Customize button.

This displays the Modify Symbol Choices dialog box.

4.	Click on Create Symbol.

This displays the Custom Symbols dialog box. The current file name is listed at the top of the dialog box.

New

If you are creating a new symbol, choose New. The scrolling list under New has other symbols that you have created in the current file. To edit one of these symbols, select it from the list.

Paste Symbol

This places a copy of the Clipboard in the symbol area. (The symbol is also pasted to use as the icon.)

Paste Icon button

If you want to use a different icon than the one created from the symbol, this option pastes an icon from the Clipboard. You can use a bitmap editor to create the icon.

Style

If the pasted symbol has customized fill or border styles, you can specify that individual or all objects retain their original style.

Clicking on the Style button brings up the Custom Symbol Style dialog box.

Each object is evaluated separately. You can move between the objects with the Previous and Next buttons. After you finish editing the current symbol object, close the dialog box.

When you finish editing the Custom Symbols dialog box, click on OK. The symbol appears at the bottom of the scrolling list. You can add it to the Mapping toolbar at this point or leave it in the scrolling list.

Troubleshooting

The icon and the dialog box may appear slightly different because of the number of pixels available to each one.

Defining Text Margins

When you create a symbol, you set the area in which text is displayed. You can grow or shrink this area, for example, if you have an unusual symbol in which you want the text placed in a specific area.

1.	In the Custom Symbols dialog box, paste or select a custom symbol to edit.

2.	Use the four arrows at the perimeter of the symbol to set the text area.

The text area determines where text is centered in the symbol.

3.	To close the Custom Symbols dialog box, click on OK.

Defining Arrow Positions

When you create a symbol, you set the arrowhead positions. The arrowheads can be moved so that they are closer or further away from the symbol, for example, if you have an unusual symbol that requires a longer line to connect.

1.	In the Custom Symbols dialog box, paste or select a symbol to edit.

2.	Use the four arrows next to the symbol to set the arrow positions.

The arrowheads indicate the four attachment points for arrows.

3.	To close the Custom Symbols dialog box, click on OK.


Changing the Border and Fill Format

The format of a selected symbol or text area includes the border and fill. You can change the format of one or more selected items.

If you select one or more departments, you choose whether the fill applies only to the department name area, the department process area, or both. This procedure is described below in "Changing the Fill." For other information on changing the background color or divider widths for selected departments, see Process Map Format.

Changing the Border

1.	Select one or more symbols or text areas.

2.	From the Format menu, choose Border to bring up the Edit Border Format dialog box.

•	Standard. This sets the border to a 1 point black border with no shadow (the default).

•	Custom. Select a border width (1, 2, or 3 points, dotted, or hidden), border color, or shadow color. The available colors depend on your screen and printer.

Changing the Fill

1.	Select one or more symbols, text areas, or departments.

2.	From the Format menu, choose Fill.

This displays the Edit Fill Format dialog box.

•	Standard. This sets the fill to white (the default).

•	Custom. Select a pattern, background, or foreground color. The available colors depend on the screen and printer.

If you don't select a pattern, the symbol or text area uses the foreground color as its primary color. The background color applies only to patterns. For example, if you choose a hatched pattern, the foreground (the hatching) is drawn in the foreground color and everything but the hatching is drawn in the background color.

To create a transparent fill, choose None for the foreground. To view this choice, scroll the foreground list to the top (above white).

•	Apply. This option appears if one or more departments is selected. Choose whether the fill applies to the department name area, the department process area, or both.

3.	Click on OK to close the dialog box.

To set a default border or fill, see Setting a Default Format.


Creating Symbols to Cross Departments

People are often called on to participate in a group program or activity. This happens if a meeting is held with representatives from several departments, for example, or when people from two different functional areas work together to produce a report. In Optima!, these are called cross-department activities.

To place an activity that spans departments, follow these steps.

1.	Hold down the CTRL key.

2.	Place the cursor over one of the four grow handles on a selected activity and press the mouse button.

The cursor changes to a cross-department cursor.

3.	Grow the symbol so that it spans all of the departments that participate in the activity.

When you are satisfied with the placement, release the mouse button.

4.	If there are departments within the span that you want to exclude, double-click on the activity.

This brings up the Edit Activity dialog box.

5.	Choose the Task tab.

6.	Click on the Exclude Depts. button.

This brings up the Exclude Departments dialog box.

7.	Move the names of any departments to be excluded from participation in the activity into the exclusion list.

8.	Click on OK to close the Exclude Departments dialog box.

9.	Click on OK to close the Edit Activity dialog box.

The symbol is drawn so that any departments that are excluded are shown with a dotted line.


About Lines and Line Routing

When you connect two symbols, Optima! automatically routes the line between them. Several factors are considered in the calculation of the routing, including where the symbols are placed on the process map and which attachment points are used.

If you make corrections to a process map, the automatic routing can save you a lot of time because the lines are automatically redrawn when you move a symbol. The best route is recalculated if you change or move something in the process map that affects the routing.

There are some cases when the connection lines created by the automatic routing aren't exactly what you want. Optima! has the flexibility to allow you to change all or part of the automatically-routed lines. The easiest way to do this is by picking up the segment of the line and moving it.

Moving a Line

1.	Select the line by clicking on it.

The cursor changes when it is over a line segment that can be moved.

A line is segmented wherever there is a joint, called a vertex. You can move individual line segments except for the beginning and end positions where the line is attached to a symbol.

2.	Press and hold the mouse to drag the line segment to a new position.

3.	Release the mouse when you are satisfied with the placement.

The new location remains in effect even if you move the symbols. If moving a segment doesn't give the exact results you want, you can add a manual vertex to influence where the line breaks.

To add a vertex

1.	Click on the line to select it.

2.	Click the right mouse button.

This brings up a popup menu.

3.	Select Add Vertex from the popup menu.

The cursor changes to an X-shape along the selected line to show valid positions where you can add a vertex.

If you add a vertex, it is maintained by Optima! until you move the symbols. There is a small amount at the beginning and end of each line in which you cannot create a vertex. The line segment is too small to break within the area. You'll see the cursor change shape as you pass over the area to indicate it is not a valid place for a vertex.

To delete a vertex

1.	Select the line segment.

2.	Click the right mouse button and select "Auto Route" from the menu.

This returns the line to its default shape and the routing is maintained automatically.


Changing the Line and Arrow Format

The format of a selected connection line or area includes the line width, line color, starting line and ending line format, and whether arrowheads are placed only at the end of a line or at all elbows. The line format also sets whether the selected line is drawn as a standard line or as a line containing a page connector.

Line Width, Color, and Arrows

1.	Select a single line or an area containing more than one line.

2.	From the Format menu, choose Lines.

Alternately, double-click on the line. This brings up the Edit Line Format dialog box.

•	Standard. Choose the default line format that has a 1-point width with a single, filled arrow head.

•	Custom. Select among the custom options.

Line width

Choose 1, 2, or 3 points, dotted, or hidden. Hidden lines do not have starting or ending formats or line colors.

Line color

Choose a line color. The available colors depend on the screen and printer that you are using.

Start style

Choose a starting style to indicate the beginning of a connection line.

End style

Choose an ending style to indicate the endpoint of a connection line.

Arrowhead only at end

Choose to have the arrow drawn only at the last point of each line.

Connectors

This line format option lets you set a connector on an individual line. A connector is a symbol that indicates a line connection (without displaying the line). You use connectors to improve readability if connecting lines overlap pages or span several departments.

You may need to move symbols further apart if there isn't enough room between them for the connector to be drawn. If you move a symbol that has a connector, the connector moves with the symbol.

You can also set connectors automatically whenever a line crosses a page boundary. For information on automatic connectors and formats, see Connectors.

There is one connector format for each process map. The format includes whether the symbol is round or directional, alphabetic or numeric format, if the corresponding page numbers are displayed, and the font choices.

Troubleshooting

If you use thick lines or multiple arrows, allow extra space between symbols so that connections aren't obscured.

Setting the Anchor Line Format

The anchor line connects text or graphics to symbols, lines, or other areas. You choose a line width or color for the anchor line, or you turn it hidden. (You cannot set an arrow format for an anchor.) By default, the line format for an anchor is always hidden for new text areas.

1.	Select the text area. This automatically selects the anchor also.

2.	From the Format menu, choose Lines.

This brings up the Edit Line Format dialog box.

3.	Select a line width (1, 2, or 3 points), dotted, or hidden.

4.	For Line Color, choose from the line colors.

The available colors depend on the screen and printer.

5.	For Start Style, choose from the selections in the list.

6.	For End Style, choose from the selections in the list.

You can view hidden lines with Show Hidden from the Format menu.


Working With Layout

The layout of a process map includes such things as the overall look of the map and the formats that set departments apart. It can include a bold font for a department name or a border around an important department. The process map can have titles to identify important details, such as its creation date, company or project name, the page number, or other information.

Process Map Format

Line Intersection and Skips

Connectors

Activity Numbering

Fields

Formatting Numbers

Picking Up and Applying Formats

Setting a Default Format

Viewing

Viewing Different Toolbars

Aligning Symbols and Using the Grid

Creating Headers and Footers

Printing

Using Custom Templates

Setting Default Values With optima.ini


Process Map Format

A process map has a background color, frame width, line color, and divider width. (You can also set border and fill by department.)

1.	From the Format menu, choose Process.

This brings up the Process Format Settings dialog box.

2.	Choose the Process Maps tab.

Process Color

The process color is the underlying color of the process map, which includes all of the department areas. Symbols are drawn over the process color. By default, the process color is white.

Frame Width

The frame width is the width of the overall process map frame. A frame can be 1, 2, or 3 points, dotted, or hidden (no frame).

Line Color

The line color of the process map includes frame and department lines. (This excludes symbols and connection lines which have their own colors.)

Horizontal Divider Width

The divider width is the width of the horizontal lines that divide departments. The divider can be 1, 2, or 3 points, dotted, or hidden.

Department Name Area

Department names can be positioned on the left side of the process map, right side, both, or neither. (The top is not an option). You set the formats in the Process Maps tab, just as you set other process map overall formats.

When you print, you can specify whether the department names only appear once (the By Process option) or are repeated on every page (By Page).

1.	From the Format menu, choose Process.

This brings up the Process Format Settings dialog box.

2.	Choose the Process Maps tab.

3.	For Departments, choose the positioning.

•	Name on Left

The department names are drawn on the left side of the process map. If you use the By Process printing option, the department names only appear on the first page.

•	Name on Right

Department names are drawn on the right side of the process map. If you print By Process, the department names only appear on the last (or only) page.

•	Name Left and Right

Department names are drawn on both the left and right sides of the process map. If you print By Process, the left side appears on the first page and the right side appears on the last.

•	No Name

The department name area is omitted. You can still name the departments, for simulation purposes, but the names are not displayed in the process map.

Note

You can turn off department names and change the line color of the process map to white to create a blank process map.

Vertical Divider Width

The vertical divider separates department name areas from the rest of the department. The divider can be 1, 2, or 3 points wide, dotted, or hidden.


Line Intersection and Skips

When you have several connection lines in a process map, it can sometimes be difficult to tell which line belongs to which path. You can eliminate this type of distraction by creating special formats for line intersection and skips.

Line Intersection and Skips

A line intersection occurs when two lines have the exact same destination. In other words, they attach at the same point on the same symbol.

A skip occurs when lines cross paths and continue on in different directions. A skip can be either horizontal or vertical.

You can set one line intersection and skip format for each process map.

1.	From the Format menu, choose Process.

This brings up the Process Format Settings dialog box.

2.	Choose the Lines tab.

A sample area in the dialog box indicates how each format looks.

3.	For Skips, choose from the scrolling list.

A skip format is provided for either a horizontal or vertical skip. The first choices, for instance, create formats where the horizontal lines are drawn to skip other lines.

4.	For Intersections, choose from the scrolling list.

The size of the intersection dot is fixed.

5.	For Intersection Color, choose a color.

The default is black.


Connectors

When a process map spans more than one page, you can have Optima! automatically create connectors for all lines that cross the page boundary. Connectors are matching symbols and line segments that indicate the line's source and destination. The connectors are useful if you have a complex map because they provide symbolic information about the flow of the process. After placement, you can move any connectors or activities, if desired.

You can also specify that a connector is used for a selected line, regardless of whether it crosses a page boundary. See Changing the Line and Arrow Format.

To set connectors, follow these steps.

1.	From the Format menu, choose Process.

This brings up the Process Format Settings dialog box.

2.	Choose the Connectors tab.

Automatic connectors

A connector is always inserted when a line crosses a page boundary.

Connectors are drawn next to their source and destination symbols. You can select and move a connector to a different position, for example, near a page boundary, if desired.

Shared destination connectors

The same connector is used if more than one line is connected to the same attachment point on a symbol.

Connectors that share a destination always have the same reference numbering. This option sets whether the connector symbols are shared.

View page breaks

The page breaks are shown with red, dotted lines. These indicate the exact place where a new page begins when the process map is printed. If the process map fits on one page, you won't see any page breaks.

The page size is set by the print options for the process map. The size can be specific units like inches, or relative to the requested pages of output.

A small page overlap is always present when you print a multiple-page process map. This allows you to put the different pages together easily by matching the overlapping areas.

Directional symbols

Directional symbols point toward a corresponding connection. (In other words, a directional symbol can point up, down, or across a page.) Compare this to the standard connector which is a circle.

Include page numbers

The page number is printed as part of the connector. An additional button lets you set the font for the page number.

Reference numbering

Choose Numeric or Alphabetic.

You can also specify the font, fill pattern and border of the connectors. These formats apply to all connectors in the process map.


Activity Numbering

Optima! has a flexible numbering system that can be used to number all activities or selected ones. The activity number is placed as an independent area or "field" on the symbol.

You can use activity numbering to identify the order in which the process activities occur or you can specify more complex numbers, for example, part numbers or revision tracking.

By default, the numbering starts with "1" but you can change the first number of the sequence or set any of the numbers on individual symbols. The format of the numbers are alphabetic or numeric, with your choice of separators such as a dash, and other prefixes or suffixes.

Viewing Numbers

1.	To display numbers only on specific activities, select them first.

Otherwise, the numbers are displayed on all activities.

2.	To obtain the Activity Numbering menu, click on the "#" (number) icon in the Mapping toolbar.

Alternately, from the Edit menu, choose Numbering.

The menu items change to indicate if there are selected items.

3.	To show numbers, choose Show on All Activities.

If there are selected activities, choose Show on Selected Activities. This displays numbers on the activities.

The numbers are assigned to each activity in the order that they were created. (To change the numbering to left-to-right, see the following discussion "Automatic Renumbering.")

Troubleshooting

If you deleted symbols while editing, instead of a series like 1, 2 and 3, the numbers may be 1, 4 and 5. This happened because you deleted the symbols that were numbered 2 and 3.

You can easily fix this by following the steps in "Automatic Renumbering."

Hiding Numbers

You can turn numbers off for all symbols or selected ones.

1.	Click on the "#" (number) icon in the Mapping toolbar.

2.	Choose "Hide on All Activities" or "Hide on Selected Activities."

If you hide the number on a selected activity, it doesn't affect the numbers on other activities although you can change the numbers if desired. See the following discussion "Changing Numbers."

Automatic Renumbering

You can number all activities in the order from left to right, top down. The numbering starts in the upper left corner, and continues from left to right, and then top down. In other words, symbols are evaluated one by one, within a vertical envelope, starting at the upper left corner and continuing to the lower right.

1.	Click on the "#" (number) icon in the Mapping toolbar.

2.	Choose Auto Renumber All Activities.

This brings up the Automatic Renumber dialog box.

3.	Choose a starting number.

4.	Choose how you want the activities numbered.

•	By Flow through Process. The numbers are placed in the order in which transactions follow the process flow.

•	Left to Right by Department. Instead of following the flow of transactions, the numbers increment from the left to the right, by department.

5.	Click on OK.

This renumbers all of the activities, starting at the number that you set.

Changing Numbers

You can change any of the numbers by manually setting them.

1.	Click on the "#" (number) icon in the Mapping toolbar.

This brings up the Activity Numbering menu.

2.	Click on Manual Renumber.

The Manual Renumber dialog box appears and the cursor changes to a "numbering" pointer. This is a context-sensitive dialog box that remains on the screen as you manually select activities for numbering.

3.	In the number area of the dialog box, enter a number to assign.

4.	Use the "#" cursor to click on the symbol.

You can continue to number other symbols by clicking on them. The number in the Manual Renumber dialog box is automatically incremented or you can change the number.

By default, numbers are centered at the top of a symbol, but you can specify a different location. For information on changing the location of the numbers or their format, see Fields.


Fields

A field is an area of the symbol that can be used to display information such as automatic numbering, statistics, or data about the activity. The fields are always updated after simulation. Some of the information that you can automatically display includes:

•	The duration of an activity, for example, 9 hours

•	Statistics about the activity

•	Comments about the activity

Adding or Displaying a Field

1.	Select one or more activities.

2.	From the Format menu, choose Fields.

This brings up the Activity Fields dialog box.

3.	Click on the Add Field button.

This brings up the Add Field Text dialog box.

4.	For Field Type, choose the type of field to add.

•	Numbering. This adds automatic numbers and is equivalent to the procedure described in "Viewing Numbers" in Activity Numbering.

•	Simulation Statistics. This adds statistics that were gathered about the activity during simulation. For more information on the individual simulation statistics, see Report Results

You can choose a statistic from the available list. The statistic can be pulled from a specific report or from the Summary page of the activity. If there is more than one set of data, you can specify the simulation, i.e., "Sim #2."

•	Activity Data. This adds modeling data from the activity. Each data set correlates to information that is set for the activity, and also reflects the data that is shown for each activity in the tabular view. For more information on the activity data, see Modeling Activities.

Collection. This is the type of input collection, for example None, Join, or Batch.

Start Name. This is the name of a start if it is defined as part of the Inputs tab, for example Start1.

Queue Method. The order for the input queue, for example FIFO, LIFO, Max Attribute, or Min Attribute.

Resources. These are any resources used by the activity, for example, worker.

Attributes Before. These are any attributes set before the duration is taken, for example Priority.

Attributes After. These are any attributes set after the duration is taken, for example, Count.

Duration. This is the duration of the activity, for example 5h.

Sub Process. Any processes that are called by the activity, for example, Process3.

Cost. The total cost of the activity, for example, $15.

Value. The class, for example, Base, VA, BVA, or NVA.

Capacity. The limit of transactions that can be processed, for example, 50.

Overtime. The type of overtime classification, for example, changeable, dedicated or department dedicated.

Outputs. The type of outputs, for example, Decision, Split, or Stop.

Comments. The comments, for example, a filename for an associated document.

Changing the Location of a Field

By default, fields are centered at the top of a symbol, but you can specify a different location.

1.	To change the locations of numbers for selected symbols, select the activities.

2.	From the Format menu, choose Fields.

This brings up the Activity Fields dialog box.

Current fields

You can select a current field to change its location; otherwise, you insert a new field.

Field location

Click to select the position. There are sixteen locations from which you can choose. These include external and internal positions, at the top and bottom, and right and left.


Formatting Numbers

The number format in the Activity Text Format dialog box lets you specify the style of the numbers that are displayed.

Number of fields

Choose 1, 2, or 3 fields for the incrementing numbers. For example, the number 1-A-3 has three fields. You can set a different format for each field.

Alpha

Choose to display the number as an alphabetic character. For example, "A" and "B" are increments for an alphabetic character. Otherwise, it is displayed as a number ("1," "2".)

Separator

(Only valid if there is more than one field.) Click on the icon to cycle through the choices. The default separator is a "-" (dash) character. Valid options are "-", ".", "<space>" and none.

Increment field

Choose which field is incremented when the activities are renumbered. If a field isn't incremented, it stays the same. For example, if the number format is "B-1", you can specify that the "B" doesn't change and the "1" is incremented, creating "B-1," "B-2."

Advanced options

Choose this box to define a prefix and suffix. Enter the prefix and suffix text and choose whether it is displayed or hidden.

Hide text

Choose whether to display the text or not. This is useful for turning off the display on a selected activity even though the number remains assigned.

Freeze text

Choose whether the activity number can be updated or not. A frozen number is kept even though the position of other activities would normally cause a change in numbering.


Picking Up and Applying Formats

After you have created a line or symbol that has a look that you like, you can apply its format to other items in the process map or to the default format definition. This is true for any format that can be changed for an individual object in the process map such as font choices, alignment, line and fill formats, and borders.

The exception is that you can't pick up and apply a symbol format (that is, its actual shape such as diamond or rectangle) using this technique.

1.	Select a single item with the format that you want to apply somewhere else.

2.	From the Format menu, choose Pick Up.

This menu item is grayed out if nothing is selected.

3.	Select one or more items to which you want to apply the format.

4.	From the Format menu, choose Apply.

This method of applying and picking up formats conforms to Windows guidelines.


Setting a Default Format

Most things in Optima! have format characteristics. For example, the text in a symbol has a type face, size, and justification. The characteristics of a newly-created item is called its default format. When you first create a process map, you may use the default formats (if no-one in your organization has already defined a template). As you create more process maps, you can change the default formats so that new items have the characteristics that you want. For example, when you create a department name, you may want it in bold face with a dark border.

You can set the default format for the process map that you are working on, or you can set the formats in a template so that all new process maps have the default formats that you want. See Using Custom Templates.

1.	From the Format, choose Process.

2.	Choose the Defaults tab.

3.	Choose the items, for example, connection lines, to select defaults.

The defaults are set for all items chosen.

4.	Set the defaults using the Format buttons.

Here's another quick method for setting a default format:

1.	Select the item.

2.	From the Format menu, choose Pick Up.

3.	Unselect.

4.	From the Format menu, choose Apply.


Viewing

You can change the display size of a worksheet as you work on it. You can view it at the full size or reduce it for an overview of a page or entire worksheet. The full size is 100% magnification, at which point the fonts appear at their true size. The viewing percentage affects only the screen display; it does not change the look or size of the printed output.

If you open a new window, it has the level of magnification you last chose. The setting on the View menu has a check mark on the current view.

Viewing the Best Fit

The Best Fit menu item gives you a shortcut for finding the largest viewing size that fits in the window without obscuring any data.

1.	From the View menu, choose Zoom.

This brings up the Zoom dialog box.

2.	Choose Best Fit.

If a symbol or area of the process map is selected, viewing the best fit displays the largest viewing size for the selected area.

Reducing or Increasing Size

1.	From the View menu, choose Zoom.

This brings up the Zoom dialog box.

2.	Choose the magnification to zoom.

Alternately, you can change the viewing percentage using the Zoom Control icon in the toolbar. Select one of the choices from the scrolling list or you can type a number instead. The available range is between 1 and 200.

Viewing Graphic or Tabular

Along with a graphical view of the process map, you can view or edit the data as a table. See Creating a Table.

•	To view the table, choose the Tabular command from the View menu.

•	To view the graphical display, choose Graphical from the View menu.


Viewing Different Toolbars

To view one of the Optima! toolbars, follow these steps.

1.	From the View menu, choose Toolbars.

This brings up the Toolbars dialog box.

2.	Choose the Toolbar to view.

•	Standard. The Standard toolbar has icons for opening and closing documents, printing, viewing and other procedures. See "Opening a New Process Map" in Getting Started.

•	Mapping. The Mapping toolbar has icons for creating departments, numbering, and symbols. See "About the Mapping Toolbar" in Drawing a Symbol.

•	Drawing. The Drawing toolbar has icons for drawing rectangles, circles, and arcs. See Creating Easy Graphics.

•	Modeling. The Modeling toolbar has icons for setting up and running simulation. See "About the Modeling Toolbar" in Getting Started With Simulation.

•	Trace. The Trace toolbar is used to run a trace simulation. See "Starting and Stopping" in About the Trace Window.

•	Expression. The Expression toolbar has icons for creating an expression that can be used in activities, generators, and other variables. See "About the Expression Toolbar" in Using Expressions.

Color buttons

Choose if the icons in the toolbar use color. The default is black and white.

Large button

Choose whether the icons are large and easy to view. The default are smaller icons.

Show ToolTips

Choose whether the icon displays a short description when you place the cursor over it.

For information on the Customize button, see Adding Symbols to the Mapping Toolbar.


Aligning Symbols and Using the Grid

You can use the Align menu items to line up symbols, both horizontally and vertically. You can also use the grid to make placement of symbols easier. The grid is a built-in reference system of marks to help you align symbols.

Grid Snapping

•	From the Grid menu, choose Snapping.

If Snapping is checked on the menu, the grid is already turned on. New symbols will snap to the grid. Symbols that are moved or copied also snap to the grid.

Showing the Grid

•	From the Grid menu, choose Show Grid.

 This turns the display of grid marks on. You must also enable the grid to snap to it.

Snapping to the Grid

1.	Select one or more symbols.

2.	If the grid is disabled, from the Grid menu, choose Snapping.

3.	From the Grid menu, choose Snap to Grid.

The selected symbols move to their nearest grid point. They may still need to be aligned.

Aligning Horizontally

1.	Select one or more symbols.

2.	From the Grid menu, choose Align Horiz.

The selected symbols are arranged in a straight row.

Aligning Vertically

1.	Select one or more symbols.

2.	From the Grid menu, choose Align Vert.

The selected symbols are arranged in a straight column.


Creating Headers and Footers

You can create headers and footers to customize a process map with the name, date, page count, or other information. There are six areas on the page: the top left, center, and right, and the same positions on the bottom. The page orientation that you set determines whether the headers and footers are placed vertically or horizontally. See "Changing the Page Orientation" in Printing.

For information on setting the margins and having the title apply to the process or by page, see "Selecting Printer Setup Options" in Printing.

Adding a Header and Footer

By default, the file name is centered at the top of each page. You can change this header or create different headers and footers with these steps.

1.	From the File menu, choose Page Setup.

This brings up the Graphical Page Setup dialog box.

2.	In the Titles area, choose Headers or Footers to bring up the dialog box.

By default, the filename is displayed in the center header.

3.	Click in the Left, Center, or Right area to select a position.

4.	To enter text, click on the Edit or Insert button.

You can enter text straight into the Title box, or click to embed a function that returns the file name, page number, and so on.

Title Functions

File Name	&F

Page number	&P

Date	&D

Total pages	&N

Time	&T

Name (process, report,	&C

or scenario)

5.	Use Frame Color as Background. This causes the background of the header or footer to match the line color of the frame. For information on setting the line color, see Process Map Format.

6.	Click on OK to close the Title dialog box.

•	You can select text to format, and choose the Font button to display the Font dialog box. You can use only one font, style, or size, per line, in each justification.

•	To delete a title, select it and click on the Delete button.

Note

To put an "&" character in a title, you can use the "&" escape character. For example, to put "R&D" in a title, use "R&&D" instead.

The headers and footers are only displayed on the screen when the Print Per Process option has been selected. See "Selecting Printer Setup Options" in Printing.


Printing

The first time that you print, you select a printer and the Print Setup options. Optima! can print on most printers and plotters, provided that you have a Windows driver for the device.

For instructions on installing your printer, see your Windows documentation and your printer manual.

Before you print, it's a good idea to inspect your process map on the screen, particularly if it's large. You can look at it by setting the viewing to Best Fit or a low viewing percentage. (The method to use for a "Print Preview" is to view page breaks.)

Viewing Page Breaks

The page breaks indicate the positions where a process map is divided when it is printed on multiple pages. The pages are always printed with a ¼ inch overlap to make it easier for you to put large process maps together from individual printed sheets of paper.

1.	From the View menu, choose Page Breaks.

This displays the outline of the pages as they will format when printed.

Printing a Process Map

1.	Display the process that you want to print in the active window.

2.	From the File menu, choose Print.

This displays the Print dialog box. To change the printer, click on Setup.

3.	For Print Range, choose the area to be printed.

•	All. The entire process map is printed.

•	Pages. You can insert the starting and ending page numbers. This choice is grayed out if the process map is less than one page.

4.	(This option varies depending on what type of printer you have.) For Print Quality, choose the resolution from the scrolling list.

The resolutions appear as dots per inch (dpi), or High, Medium, Low, or Draft. The higher the resolution, the better the print quality. For details, see the documentation for your printer.

5.	For Copies, enter the number of copies to be printed.

Quick Print

Click on the Print icon. This prints using the current defaults.

Canceling Printing

•	Press the Cancel button on the Printing dialog box, or press Esc.

Changing the Page Orientation

You can choose between portrait (vertical) and landscape (horizontal). When you change the orientation, Optima! adjusts the layout to the new orientation.

1.	From the File menu, choose Page Setup.

This brings up the Graphical Page Setup dialog box.

2.	For Orientation, choose Portrait or Landscape.

Selecting Printer Setup Options

To set up the printer, from the File menu, choose Page Setup. This brings up the Graphical Page Setup dialog box. Alternately, you can press the Setup button on the Print dialog box.

Individual process, scenario, and report windows can each have their own printer settings.

When you save a file, Optima! saves many of the printer settings, for example, the orientation, scaling, and title information, as long as the settings apply to the default printer. However, if the default printer is changed, for example, by another application, it can affect the saved printer settings.

Printer

Choose the printer you want to use, if more than one is available.

Note

Select the printer before you format your process map. The choice of fonts depends on the printer you have selected.

Orientation

Choose portrait (vertical) or landscape (horizontal) pages.

Paper

Choose the size and source from the options at your site.

Scaling

•	Reduce/Enlarge. Enter a percentage between 1 and 999. A percentage of 100 sets a printing factor in which the fonts are at their true size.

•	Fit To. The data fits on the number of pages that you specify. For example, if you print 2 pages wide by 2 pages tall, the data is sized so that it prints on exactly 4 pages. You can also use this option to change only one dimension of a printed sheet.

Titles

•	Per Page. Titles are placed on each individual page.

•	Process. Titles are placed for the entire output. For example, a centered title appears on the center-most sheet of paper and not other sheets.

This is the best way to print if you plan to cut and paste your printed output together, for example, for a large presentation.

For information on adding titles to a process map, see Creating Headers and Footers.

Page Order

•	Over then Down. Pages are printed in the order that the information flows horizontally and then vertically.

•	Down then Over. The page order is vertical and then horizontal.

Margins (Per Page only)

This specifies the indent from different sides of the paper. The margin is measured in the default unit of measurement set for your system.

Many printers cannot print within a small margin around the edge of the paper, typically ¼ inch. In this case, the width of the printer's margin is automatically added to the page margin.

•	Frame. This draws a framed outline around the process map at the margin line.

•	Depts. This repeats the department name areas on every page.

If the Depts. option is not selected (and if department names are on the left side of the map), then department names appear only on the first page.

For information on other options that may be available for your system on the Graphical Page Setup, review the printer documentation for your specific printer.

Troubleshooting a Printing Problem

Many customer service calls are related to questions about printing. The printing environment on any system can be very complex because it requires different applications, operating systems, and printing devices to work together synchronously. If you encounter a printing problem, the following are useful troubleshooting techniques that can help clear up the problem quickly.

•	Try printing from another application.

This can narrow the scope of the problem, i.e., by pinpointing if the problem happens with several applications or just Optima!.

•	Try rebooting the printer and the computer.

Sometimes the system needs to be rebooted to clear up an existing problem that may or may not be related to printing.

•	Check that you have the correct and most recent print server for your printer.

Even if you have already installed the correct print server, it may be out-of-date. An updated print server contains bug fixes and updates from the vendor. You can obtain the most recent print server from your vendor or you can often download print servers from the World Wide Web. For example, Hewlett Packard maintains versions of its print servers under "Printers & Peripherals" at: http://www.hp.com


Using Custom Templates

When you open a process map, you have the option of using one of the default templates or a template that you have created.

A template includes information about the initial setup when a process map is opened, including symbols on the Toolbar, the window layout, the default formats for fonts, lines, fill patterns, borders, and symbols, the initial simulation values, and default report formats.

The Default Template

The following are characteristics of the default template.

Font

Family	Arial

Effects	None

Color	Black

Style	Regular

Size	10-point

Lines

Thickness	1-point

Color	Black

Arrow Format	Single filled

Border

Border Width	1-point

Border Color	Black

Shadow Color	None

Fill

Pattern	None

Background Color	White

Foreground Color	White

Symbol

Rectangle

Choosing a Template

1.	With Optima! already started, choose New from the File menu.

This brings up the Template dialog box.

2.	Choose a template style, for example, Default.

3.	After you finish editing the dialog box, click on OK.

Creating a Template

1.	Create a process with the formats that you want.

2.	From the File menu, choose Save As.

This brings up the Save As dialog box.

3.	Enter a file name with a .pft suffix.

4.	Set the directory and drive to the Optima! directory, typically: optima!

You must save the file in the Optima! directory to access it as a template.

5.	Choose Templates (*.pft) under Save File as Type.

Using the ANSI Toolbar

1.	When you open a new process map, specify the template named "ansi."

The toolbar now contains the Ansi symbols.

Opening a Template to Edit

1.	With Optima! already started, choose Open from the File menu.

The Open File dialog box lists available files in the current directory.

2.	Examine the current drive and directory. It should be open to the template directory which is usually named "optima!". If it isn't, change to the correct drive or directory.

3.	Click on .pft in the List Files of Type box.

This displays the template files from which you can choose.

4.	Double-click on the template that you want to edit.

This opens the template for editing. You can make changes to the template and save it to the same location. Remember to keep a back-up.


Setting Default Values With optima.ini

The initialization file contains information and custom settings for running Optima! during different sessions. It is created in your system's windows directory and updated automatically when you edit a process map.

If the initialization file is moved or changed, your default values may unexpectedly change.

You typically set initialization values while you are using Optima! because the changes are recorded automatically.

Set information about how the toolbars are configured

[toolbars]

showtooltips=0

colorbuttons=0

largebuttons=0

showstandard=0

dockedstandard=0

showprocess=2

dockedprocess=0

showtrace=1

dockedtrace=0

showgraphics=2

dockedgraphics=0

showmodel=2

dockedmodel=0

showexpression=1

dockedexpression=0

[toolbars-Summary]

Bars=10

[Optima!]

Log=1

DevicePages=0

DeviceFormat=0

UndoLevel=10

List the names of the last-edited Optima! process map files, for example:

[FILES]

FILE1=C:\OPTIMA!\DESIGN1.PFD

FILE2=C:\OPTIMA!\DESIGN2.PFD

FILE3=C:\OPTIMA!\DESIGN3.PFD

FILE4=C:\OPTIMA!\DESIGN4.PFD

List the colors used for different transaction states in trace

[TRACE]

Moving=3

Working=4

Waiting=2

WaitingRes=5

WaitingSched=14

Describes position and visibility of toolbars

[toolbars-Bar1, etc.]

BarID=59423

Horz=0

Floating=1

XPos=-96

YPos=14

Bars=3

Bar#0=0

Bar#1=59410

Bar#2=0

Visible=0


Working With Text

Text can be used in a process map to label symbols and other graphics, and to provide additional information about a process. The type and style of font that you choose in different locations can provide additional context to the layout, and draw the reader's eye to important elements.

Editing Text

Changing the Font and Text Style

Working With Case Text

Setting Text Alignment and Rotation


Editing Text

You can edit text within symbols, text areas, and department name areas. To insert text, you first place an insertion point. The insertion point is a blinking, vertical line that indicates where the next text you type will appear.

For information on creating text, see Adding Text.

Adding Text to the End of a Line

1.	Select the symbol, department name, or text area.

2.	To add text to the end of the line, just start typing.

3.	After you are done typing, move the cursor out of the symbol and cancel the selection.

Inserting Text

1.	Select the symbol, department name, or a text area not within a symbol.

2.	Move the insert cursor into the text area and click the mouse to position the cursor.

You type text at the insert cursor.

3.	After you are done typing, move the cursor out of the symbol and cancel the selection.

Changing Text

1.	Select the symbol.

2.	Select the text.

You can do this by pressing the left mouse button when the cursor is at one side, and dragging the cursor to the other side. When the text is selected, release the mouse button.

The text that you type replaces the selected text. If you miss when selecting several words, release the left mouse button and try again.

3.	After you are done typing, move the cursor out of the symbol and cancel the selection.


Changing the Font and Text Style

Fonts and point size establish the look of text. A font is a set of characters with its own design. Each font comes in a range of sizes, measured in points. A point is a typographical measurement equal to 1/72 inch.

The font family, size, and style of the text are the same for the entire symbol. For instance, you cannot switch to a bolder font or a larger size in the middle of a label.

The Fonts dialog box displays a list of all Optima!-enabled fonts. When you start using Optima!, you should install a printer driver for your printer if it isn't installed already, and select the correct printer setup options in Optima!.

Changing the Font of a Selected Items

1.	Select one or more symbols (or a text area not within a symbol).

2.	From the Format menu, choose Fonts.

This displays the Font dialog box. The Sample area in the lower right corner displays the characteristics that you choose.

Font

Choose the font family. You can view the different families by selecting them and looking at them in the Sample area of the dialog box.

The Font list displays all screen fonts, TrueType fonts, and fonts valid for the current printer. A "TT" precedes all TrueType fonts, and a printer icon precedes printer fonts that are not TrueType fonts. Fonts with neither icon are Windows fonts, not TrueType, so they may not size or print as well as TrueType or printer fonts.

Effects

Choose strikeout or underlined text.

Color

Choose one of the available colors. You can choose colors even if you don't have a color screen. You can print in color if you have a plotter or color printer.

Font style

Choose regular, italic, bold, or bold italic.

Size

Choose a point size for the height of the characters.

Troubleshooting

When you change the font of selected items, it doesn't affect new text. You must change the default font to affect new text.

Setting the Default Text Format

After you have created text and you like how it looks, you may want to set the style for all text that you create from this point on. This is called the default text format. The default text format defines the way that all newly-created text looks. It doesn't affect existing text.

1.	Select a symbol, department name area, or a text area not within a symbol.

2.	Change the font of the area so that it has the characteristics that you want for the default text format.

3.	From the Format menu, choose Pick Up.

4.	Unselect.

5.	From the Format menu, choose Apply.

This last menu doesn't have any visible effect. You have set the default text format for all newly-created text. For an alternate method, see Setting a Default Format.


Working With Case Text

The text that is associated with multiple outputs from an activity is called case text because it labels the different cases that are possible.

For example, when you create a diamond, it is automatically created as a decision point with two cases, labeled Yes and No. These labels can be moved like other text but are changed as a characteristic of the activity.

Multiple Decision Activities

You can create an activity with several case outputs. Each case can continue along a different connection line. The case text that you enter is automatically assigned as a label for each case.

For modeling purposes, case activities are specified as outputs to an activity. (See also Outputs Tab.)

1.	Place a diamond or a symbol with adequate height to accommodate the different cases that you want to create.

You can grow the symbol later as you connect symbols if you need to alter its size or shape. For information on changing the size of a symbol, see Changing the Size.

2.	Double-click on the activity.

This brings up the Edit Activity dialog box.

3.	Choose the Outputs tab.

4.	If it isn't set already, set the first field to "Decision."

5.	For Case Text, choose one of the types.

Your choices are YesNo, TrueFalse, any types that you have already defined, and Other. The choices are set to each of the members of a type; for more information of types, see Defining Types.

If you choose Other, you can create your own case labels.

6.	(Other only) For # Cases, enter the number of cases that you want.

The number of cases is often equal to the number of connection lines that are drawn as outputs from the symbol. For example, assume there are three different cases for software components.

7.	(Other only) For Outputs, enter or change the text that you want displayed for each case and the percentage of time that each case occurs.

The total percentage of the cases equals 100%. You may need to scroll down to edit other case choices.

8.	Click on OK to close the Edit Activity dialog box.

9.	(Optional) Draw symbols for each of the outputs.

10.	(Optional) Draw connection lines to each of the outputs.

 Note

To change the case label for a connection line, select it and press Space. Each time you press Space, it cycles to the next available case output.

This works when you are creating a connection or when a connection line is selected.

The case text is inserted when you place each line.

Moving Case Text

The labels for an activity can be moved like other graphical objects.

1.	Click to select the label.

2.	Use the mouse to move the label to a new position.


Setting Text Alignment and Rotation

The text inside symbols, text areas, and department name areas can be justified and oriented in several ways. This gives you the flexibility to align text inside a symbol or rotate text for labels or department names.

1.	Select the symbol, department name area, or other text area that is not within a symbol.

2.	From the Format menu, choose Alignment.

This brings up the Edit Text Alignment dialog box.

3.	For Justification, choose how the text is to be aligned inside the text area.

There are different positions where you can place the text, depending on each of the horizontal and vertical sections that you choose.

4.	For Orientation, choose the direction that the text faces.

You can specify that the text is oriented horizontally or facing 90° left or right.

 You may need to grow the area so that it displays all of the characters, especially if one of the dimensions of the area has changed.

If you add text to a vertical area, the text will be rotated so that you can edit it. You can place the insert character at the point in the text where you want to insert or edit characters. The alignment for the text area appears if you move the cursor outside the text area and click the mouse.


Editing Using the Tabular View

Optima! provides a tabular view of the same data that is displayed graphically. The tabular view is an alternate method for defining a process map if you have a large amount of data to enter or if you prefer working with tables instead of graphics.

About Tables

Creating a Table

Connecting Symbols in Tables

Changing Styles in Tables

Moving, Copying, and Deleting Cells


About Tables

A process table provides a tabular view of a process map. The table contains the same information as a process map but in a different format. In the table, each department and activity is assigned a unique cell name, for example, B1. Connections to other symbols appear in the last column of the table as references to other cell names.

If a monitor has been created on an activity, it is indicated on the left of the cell number.

Editing Using Tables

1.	Open an existing process map.

The process map opens in the last displayed view. By default, this is the graphical view displayed at 100%.

2.	From the View menu, choose the Tabular command.

This displays the table.

Switching to Graphical View

1.	From the View menu, choose the Graphical command.

This brings up the graphical view. The process map is represented by symbols.

Viewing Columns

As you create more complex process maps, the amount of modeling data that can be associated with an activity can really add up. The information is stored in columns sorted by different modeling topics such as inputs, outputs, and so on.

You can choose which columns are displayed to make it easier to find the information that you need.

1.	From the View menu, choose Columns.

This brings up the Show/Hide Columns dialog box.

2.	Check to select the columns of tabular information that you want to view.

For more information on the types of information stored for inputs, resources, attributes, activity, outputs, comments and other fields, see Modeling Activities.


Creating a Table

You can create an Optima! process map by entering all the data in table format. Also, you can switch back and forth between table and graphical views.

Creating a New Table

1.	Open Optima!.

An unnamed, blank process appears.

Or, if you have already invoked Optima! and don't have a process open, from the File menu, choose New. Choose the default template and click on OK

2.	From the View menu, choose Tabular.

The initial table view appears. An arrow appears after the first symbol to indicate where the next activity that you create will go. The first cell is A1.

3.	Press Enter to create a new row for an activity.

The dark border indicates that an activity is selected. The second cell is A2.

4.	Enter the text that you want placed in the symbol.

5.	After you are finished entering text, press Enter to create a new activity.

The placement of the symbols is automatically set so that there is a reasonable amount of room between each symbol for a connection line. You can change the placement of the individual symbols in the graphical view.

6.	To edit the activity information, double-click in the selected activity area.

This displays the Edit Activity dialog box. You can change the activity type, set attributes, or specify functions in the same way that you can in graphical view. You can switch back to graphical view while you are editing.


Connecting Symbols in Tables

You can connect symbols in a table in a similar manner as when you edit using the graphical view. You use the mouse to choose the source and destination symbols, and Optima! chooses the appropriate attachment point.

Connecting a Symbol in a Table

1.	Use the View menu to choose Tabular, if you haven't already.

2.	Cancel the selection of any cells, if any are selected.

Place the arrow cursor in the source symbol.

3.	Press and drag the mouse button to the destination symbol.

4.	Release the mouse button.

The connection remains selected until you perform an action such as pressing Enter to create another activity. The attachment point is chosen by Optima!, as is the symbol placement. To change the layout, you can use the graphical view to edit the process map.

Deleting a Connection

1.	Use the View menu to choose Tabular, if you haven't already.

2.	Click on the connection that you want to select to delete.

3.	From the Edit menu, choose Delete. Alternately, press the Delete key.

Moving a Connection

To move a connection line, delete the old connection and create a new one.

Renumbering Cells

When you move and copy symbols and their connections, the cell numbering remains the same as when the cells were initially created. To re-number the cells so that they are based on the current horizontal configuration, press Ctrl-T.


Changing Styles in Tables

Most Optima! menus are available in either graphical or tabular view, and the method for editing is usually the same after items are selected. To change the font, fill, border, or symbol, select the cell area. To change the line or arrow, select the connection area.

Selecting One or More Cells

•	Click on a single cell to select it.

The cell has a heavier border to indicate that it is selected.

•	Drag and release the mouse button to select a range of cells.

•	Hold the Shift key and click on additional cells to add to the selection.

•	To cancel selection, click in an empty place outside the table.

Change the Font

1.	Select one or more cells in the table.

2.	From the Format menu, choose Fonts.

This displays the Font dialog box. You can choose from the options in Changing the Font and Text Style.

3.	After you finish editing the dialog box, click on OK.

Change the Line and Arrow Style

1.	Select one or more connection areas in the table.

2.	From the Format menu, choose Lines.

This displays the Edit Line Styles dialog box. You can choose among the options that are described in the section Changing the Line and Arrow Format.

3.	After you finish editing the dialog box, click on OK.

Change the Fill, Border, or Symbol

1.	Select one or more cells in the table.

•	To change the fill, choose Fill from the Format menu.

•	To change the border, choose Border from the Format menu.

•	To change the symbol, choose Symbol from the Format menu.

This displays the corresponding dialog boxes.

2.	After you finish editing the dialog box, click on OK.


Moving, Copying, and Deleting Cells

After you create a cell, you can move it by selecting it, and then cutting and pasting it using the clipboard. Connections between symbols that are moved using the clipboard have to be redrawn after the symbol is moved.

Moving One or More Cells

1.	Select the cell(s).

Selected cells have a heavier or highlighted border.

2.	From the Edit menu, choose Cut.

3.	Move the cursor to the cell directly above the new location and click.

4.	From the Edit menu, choose Paste.

The cells are renumbered.

5.	Create a new connection for the pasted cell.

Copying a Cell

1.	Select the cell(s).

2.	From the Edit menu, choose Copy to place a copy on the clipboard.

3.	Move the cursor to the cell above the new location and click the cursor.

4.	From the Edit menu, choose Paste.

Cutting or Deleting Cells

1.	Select one or more cells.

2.	From the Edit menu, choose Cut or Delete. Alternately, press Delete.


Importing and Exporting

Optima! has three types of importing and exporting options. First, you can include information created in other applications with the Optima! object linking and embedding (OLE) features.

Secondly, you can import FlowCharter files that are automatically converted into Optima! format.

And thirdly, an Optima! process map can be converted to Hypertext Markup Language (HTML) for display with a Web browser.

Linking and Embedding From Other Applications

Drag and Drop

Linking

Viewing as an Icon

Importing FlowCharter Charts

Saving as HTML


Linking and Embedding From Other Applications

OLE is a protocol that is used by many Windows applications to exchange information. Optima! acts as an OLE container application. You use OLE to include information from other programs into your process maps.

When you include OLE information, you choose whether to embed or link it. The main difference between linking and embedding is where the data is stored:

•	Embedded objects. These objects become part of the Optima! process map.

The advantage to embedding is that one process map contains all the information. If you copy the file to a floppy disk or another computer system, all of the objects are stored within it. The disadvantage is that size and performance are affected as the number of embedded objects increases.

•	Linked objects. These are kept in a source file and Optima! stores only the location of the source file.

The advantage to linking is that you ensure that the most recent information prepared by other users or computer systems can be kept up-to-date in your file. The disadvantage is that the linked objects could be moved or become unavailable.

Note

You can create an OLE link to any Windows application that acts as an OLE server (but not to other Optima! process maps).

Inserting a New Embedded Object

When you create a new object, it is automatically an embedded object because there is no file to link it to. An embedded object becomes part of the Optima! process map.

When you embed an object, you can specify either that its contents appear in the process map or an icon can be displayed instead. For example, you can put the contents of an Microsoft Excel chart in the process map, or you can display the Excel icon.

1.	From the Edit menu, choose Insert Object.

This brings up the Insert Object dialog box.

•	Create New. This invokes an application and create a new occurrence of one of its objects. For example, you can open a package like Microsoft Equation, design an formula, and insert it beneath a symbol in the process map.

•	Object Type. Select the type to be inserted. The list is composed of all applications that have registered themselves on your computer as OLE objects. The list varies from installation to installation, depending on the software that is available.

The registration database is the source of information used by applications that support OLE. This is the database used by Optima! to determine which objects are registered on your computer for OLE purposes.

The database is called reg.data. It is set up and maintained by Windows and Windows applications and is located in the Windows directory. If Optima! does not recognize an application object, it may be due to a problem in this database. The file should not be moved or deleted since doing so may result in a loss of functionality in applications that support OLE.

•	Create from File. Select this button to insert an object that already exists. This option changes the dialog box. Enter the full path name for the object or use the Browse button to locate the file. If you choose Link, the object is linked; otherwise, the object is embedded.

•	Display as Icon. Select this button if you want the object represented in the process map as an icon. This option changes the dialog box so that it displays the current icon. You can change it by clicking on the Change Icon button. See Viewing as an Icon.

After you click on OK, the requested application is opened. It may take a few moments to invoke.

When you are through creating or editing the object that you want, using the menus and commands of the new application, close the application. You can usually do this with the File > Exit menu.

Some applications will ask you to confirm that you want to close and update the process map; others don't. If you are satisfied with the object, be sure to choose "Yes" or "OK" to update the process map. After the application closes, control returns to the Optima! process map.

Editing an Embedded Object

•	Select the object and from the Edit menu, choose [Type] Object > Edit.

(The [Type] of object may appear in the menu. For example, the menu item for a document might be "Document Object.")

•	Alternately, you can double-click on the object or use the right mouse button.

This invokes the application that created the object. For example, if you have embedded a CorelDraw drawing, you can invoke CorelDraw and edit the drawing by double-clicking on it in the Optima! process map.

Converting an Embedded Object to a Different Format

1.	Select the object and from the Edit menu, choose [Type] Object > Convert.

This brings up the Convert dialog box. The current type of object is listed at the top.

•	Convert To. This option permanently converts the object to the new object type. A list of valid types for your computer system are displayed. For example, if the object is a graphic, then the list includes the graphic editors that recognize the current type (and therefore can be used to edit it).

•	Activate As. Choose this option to temporarily activate all embedded objects of the selected type.

For example, you can temporarily convert all PowerPoint drawings to a different graphic editor. When you edit the object, you use the application you choose, but changes are saved in the PowerPoint format.

This option is available only if there are two or more embedded objects of the same type.

•	Display as Icon. This displays the object as an icon. See Viewing as an Icon. You may want to change the icon at this point to correlate to the new format.


Drag and Drop

If you have a source application that supports "drag and drop" and OLE, you can create a embedded object by copying from a source file and pasting into a process map. You can either drag and drop a selected area or use the Paste Special menu.

1.	Open both the source file and the Optima! process map, and adjust the window sizes so that both applications are fully displayed on the screen.

2.	Select the area in the source file that you want to link.

3.	Drag the area into the process map.

•	To move the area, use the mouse to drag the area into the process map.

 The cursor indicates that the selected area is being moved.

•	To copy the area, press and hold the Ctrl key while you use the mouse.

The cursor changes to indicate that a copy is made of the selected area.

4.	Release the mouse key.

The area is embedded in the process map. The contents of the area are displayed, by default, instead of an icon.

If you drop an area directly over an activity symbol, the area is embedded in the symbol.

Using Paste Special

The Paste Specific menu lets you embed or link an object using the clipboard.

1.	Make sure that you save the source file before you link the information.

2.	Open the source file and select the information that you want to link.

3.	From the Edit menu, choose Copy.

This copies the selected area to the clipboard.

4.	Switch to Optima! and from the Edit menu, choose Paste Special.

This brings up the Paste Special dialog box.

5.	Choose whether to link or embed.

•	Paste. Select this option to embed the object.

•	Paste Link. Select this option to link the object.

6.	Under As, select the format you want.

7.	For Display as Icon, choose whether you want an icon or the contents.


Linking

You create a link to an object in Optima!. Using this method, you can create a link only to an entire file; you cannot link to a selection in a file.

1.	From the Edit menu, choose Insert Object.

This brings up the Insert Object dialog box.

2.	Choose to Create from File.

3.	Enter the pathname to the object or use the Browse button to locate it.

4.	Check the Link box.

5.	Choose if you want to display the contents of the object as an icon.

If you don't display as an icon, then the contents of the object are shown. For example, the first page of a Word document is displayed.

Editing Linked Information

After you have inserted linked objects into the process map, a list of the links is maintained. You can work with this list to update the links or change their characteristics.

1.	From the Edit menu, choose Links.

This brings up the Links dialog box. Each link is displayed with its pathname, type, and update method.

•	Update Now. This updates the linked object.

If the source has changed since you opened the process map or last updated the link, this option loads the new version.

•	Open Source. This opens the source file in its source application.

•	Change Source. This allows you to change the source file.

This brings up the Change Source dialog box. You can choose a different file by entering a new path or using the Network button to set the location.

•	Break Link. This breaks the link and disconnects from the application.

When you break a link, the linked information remains in your process map. However, it can no longer be updated. The link becomes a standard graphic. Once you break a link, you cannot reconnect it.

Controlling How Links Are Updated

Links are automatically updated every time that you open the process map, by default. You can change this so that the links are only updated on request.

1.	From the Edit menu, choose Links.

2.	Select the link that you want to update.

You can select multiple links by holding down the Ctrl key while you click each link.

3.	For Update, select one of the following:

•	Automatic. This updates linked information every time there's a change in the source file.

•	Manual. This updates linked information only when you choose.


Viewing as an Icon

When an object is inserted into the process map, you set whether its contents are displayed or represented by an icon. If you have already inserted an object, you can change it to an icon with these steps:

1.	Select the object by clicking on it.

2.	From the Edit menu, choose [Type] Object > Convert.

This brings up the Convert dialog box.

3.	Click on the Display as Icon box.

This changes the dialog box so that the current icon is displayed. To change it, click on the Change Icon button.

•	Current. This selects the icon that was most recently set.

•	Default. This selects the icon assigned by the object's original application.

•	From File. Enter the name of the file containing the icon. You can use the Browse button to locate the file, if necessary. Many executable files contain a group of icons that are used in the application, so try looking at individual .exe files to locate an icon.

•	Label. Enter or edit the text that is displayed beneath the icon.

You can use the right mouse button to convert an icon for any graphic, not just an OLE object. Also, Optima! supports a small icon that does not have a label. This is useful for objects attached to activities.


Importing FlowCharter Charts

You can take a FlowCharter chart and convert the data into an Optima! process map. You can then add simulation information and run the chart using Optima!.

Shapes and lines are automatically converted, as is their connectivity, as well as text and graphical information. All linked FlowCharter subcharts can optionally be imported so that the design maintains the hierarchy of processes.

To import a FlowCharter file into an Optima! process map, follow these steps.

1.	Invoke Optima! and close any process maps that you aren't using.

2.	From the File menu, choose Open.

This brings up the Open File dialog box.

3.	For Files of Type, choose FlowCharter Files.

This displays all files of type *.flo, *abc, *.af3, and *af2.

4.	Enter the File name and click on Open.

If links to other FlowCharter subcharts are found, you'll receive an Import Options message.

The import option applies to all of the linked FlowCharter charts in the file. If you choose Yes, the shapes are converted to Process activities and the contents of the linked files are converted into subprocesses. If you choose No, the shapes are converted to Work activities and the links are discarded. In other words, if you choose to not convert the links, then only the top-level chart is imported into Optima!. (Both Process and Work, as Task activities, are discussed in Task Tab.)

About Mapping and Connectivity

A FlowCharter chart is the equivalent of a process in Optima!. Similarly, a swimlane is the equivalent of a department in Optima!. When you convert a chart, it becomes an Optima! process.

•	Swimlanes. Horizontal swimlanes are automatically converted to Optima! departments, and their shapes are converted into activities within the appropriate departments. Because Optima! doesn't use vertical departments, vertical swimlanes in a FlowCharter chart are ignored. The activities in a chart without swimlanes (or one that has vertical swimlanes) are placed in a single department, "Dept. 1."

A shape is converted to either an activity or a graphic in Optima!. The difference between the two is that you can add simulation information to an activity and not a graphic. A graphic cannot be edited; it is treated as if it was pasted as a graphical object into Optima!. (See Creating Easy Graphics.) The criteria for whether a shape is converted to an activity or a graphic are as follows.

•	Activities. During conversion, any shape that is connected by a line to another shape, is automatically converted to an activity.

•	Graphics and lines. Any shape that is not connected to another shape is converted to a graphic. Also, any line that doesn't connect shapes is converted to a graphic.

Any line that connects shapes is automatically converted to a connection line.

•	Decisions and Splits. A shape that has more than one labeled output is converted to a Decision activity. A shape that has more than one unlabeled output, and is not a diamond shape, is converted to an implicit Split activity. (Both Decision and Split activities are discussed in Outputs Tab.)

•	Text. Any text object, other than text that labels an output line from a symbol, is converted to a text graphic.

•	OLE. Any OLE object is converted to an OLE graphic.

About Formatting

•	Formatting. Colors, fill patterns, borders, fonts, line styles, page setup, and other attributes are converted to their equivalent in Optima!, when possible. Some styles, particularly line styles, do not map directly.

•	Numbers. Shape numbers are converted to activity numbers.

About Modeling

•	Start points. All activities without inputs are made into Start points. The upper-left-most such activity is given the start name "Start" and has the default generator connected to it. (Start points are discussed in Inputs Tab.)

If there are no activities without inputs, then the upper-left-most activity is chosen as the Start point.

•	Duration and Fixed Cost. The FlowCharter data fields on a shape can be used to set duration and fixed cost. During conversion, the value of the first field of a shape that has a Field Type of "Duration" is used to specify the activity's work duration. Similarly, the first field that has a Field Type of "Currency" is converted to the activity's fixed cost. If fields of these types don't exist, or if there are no fields, then the duration and cost are set to zero for the activity. (Work duration and fixed costs are discussed in Task Tab.)


Saving as HTML

After you create a process map in Optima!, you can publish it using Hypertext Markup Language (HTML). HTML is a standard language that defines the layout, text, and graphics of a Web page.

When you save a file to HTML, you specify which parts of the process are to be saved as part of the Web page. This includes choosing some or all of the processes and subprocesses, scenario data, or report results, that make up the process map.

About HTML Compatibility

You can view the HTML output with a Web browser such as Netscape Navigator or Microsoft's Internet Explorer, or any other Web browser that supports the following:

•	Images. The Web browser should be able to view GIF files.

•	Client-side image maps. The Web browser should support client-side image maps so that the navigation from the process images works.

•	Tables. The Web browser should support tables because the HTML output makes extensive use of tables in the navigation elements and in the report output. Particularly recommended is a Web browser that supports color in table backgrounds.

Setting up Links to Other Web Pages

You can set up links to other Uniform Resource Locators (URLs) from any activity. (The procedure for adding comments to an activity is described in Summary Tab).

1.	Double-click on the activity.

2.	Choose the Summary page.

3.	For comments, enter the URL.

•	If a comment starts with "http://", then Optima! takes the comment text up to the first white space character as the URL.

•	If a comment starts with "URL(...)", it is also assumed to be an URL. This form is useful for specifying relative URLs that don't start with "http://".

Choosing Which Items to Include

You choose what is included as part of the Web page. (Smart defaults are set according to which window is active.)

•	In any active Optima! window, from the File menu, choose "Save as HTML."

This brings up the "Save as HTML" dialog box.

Save to Folder

Enter the folder name where the files for the page are to be stored.

Items to be Saved

You click to select the items. (A selected item is indicated by a check mark in front of its name.) If a process name appears more than once, all instances of the process name are automatically checked or cleared at the same time.

•	Processes. A list of all of the available processes is displayed. A simple process map may have only one process; others have many. An icon next to the file name gives additional information:

The process only appears once in the tree.

The process appears more than once.

The "More" icon indicates that subprocesses are shown elsewhere.

•	Reports. A list of available reports is displayed.

•	Scenarios. A list of available processes is displayed.

All, Hierarchy, By Dept. (Processes only)

The order in which the items are displayed depends on which tab you view. This option is only available when viewing processes.

•	All. Choose from an alphabetically ordered list of all the processes in the file.

•	Hierarchy. Choose from a tree describing the sub-process relationships between different processes. If you check or clear a parent process, by default, all its children are checked or cleared. You can override this by holding Shift when clicking an item.

•	By Dept. Choose from the list of processes arranged by departments that are used within the process. This allows you to determine all the processes that involve a given department. The departments are shown for organizational purposes only and cannot be edited.

HTML Page Image size (Processes only)

When a process is saved, the map image is broken up into one or more bitmaps which are saved as HTML. Just as when you print the process map, the number and proportion of the bitmaps is determined by the Page Setup (see "Selecting Printer Setup Options" in Printing. The Web page uses the same page breaks as the process map.

Therefore, the pagination remains steady between printing and saving to HTML. However, while the proportion of each image is fixed, the size is not. You can determine the size by setting the number of pixels used.

•	Pixels wide. Enter the number of pixels wide. Default: 640.

•	Pixels high. Enter the number of pixels high. Default: Depends on the page proportions. For an 8½" x 11" sheet, the default is 828.

The image size of reports and scenarios is formatted automatically.

When you press OK, the required HTML and GIF files are written to the folder specified. The "Save as HTML -- Finished" dialog is displayed.

The Start file depends on whether more than one process, report, or scenario was saved. If only one was saved, it is the Start file. Otherwise, the Start file is a global index that is created automatically.

Viewing the Results

You can view the results by pressing View in the "Save as HTML -- Finished" dialog box. This invokes your default Web browser and displays the Start file page.

To view the Web page at another time, you can enter the URL for the Start file using its path name.

Navigating Within HTML Pages

•	At the bottom of each Web page is an index of other processes, reports, or scenarios that were included, if any. Pages that are part of multiple-page processes also have an index.

•	You can click on an off-page connector to jump to the corresponding page.

•	You can click on a Process activity to jump to the first page of the subprocess (if the subprocess was also saved).


Modeling Activities

From airplanes to railroads, most of the models in everyday life are physical models. You can hold them in your hand. When we talk about models in Optima!, we refer to a software model of a process, not a physical one.

Building a process model in Optima! means describing a number of things about the process. This includes how long the different steps take, their inputs and outputs, operating schedules, the cost and availability of resources, etc.

Each activity in a process map has several different steps associated with it, i.e., all of the characteristics that can be assigned on the Edit Activity dialog box are available.

About Process Modeling

Inputs Tab

Joining

Batching

Queue Methods

Wait Time

Start Points

Groups

Resources Tab

Choosing a Resource

Resource Assignment Type

Resource Quantity

Resource Behavior

Resource Schedule

About Resources and Overtime

Resources Waiting

Acquiring by Group

Forcing From Family

Attributes Tab

Task Tab

Work

Process

Delay

Activity Base

Capacity

Limited Schedule

Overtime Behavior

Outputs Tab

Decision

Split

Member Split

Stop

Summary Tab

About Activity Processing


About Process Modeling

Process modeling is one of the most cost-effective and rewarding ideas to come along in years. It can help identify improvements and pinpoint errors before they occur. Statistics generated by process modeling can provide hard and fast numbers about cycle time, costs, problem areas, and bottlenecks. Some of the benefits of having these statistics available include gaining insight into processes, facilitating change, and enhancing communication within organizations.

A Process in Action

If you picture a busy train station, you can imagine many of the dynamics of a process in action. As trains arrive and depart, the station masters are busy making routing and timing decisions. Meanwhile, passengers wait in line to buy tickets or to board.

Over time, the train operators gather and examine statistics. This includes such things as the average travel time between cities, the length of time that a train typically waits before departing, and how much fuel is used per mile. These types of statistics help guide future decisions.

When you use modeling and simulation software, you simulate several weeks or months of activities within a matter of seconds. The results can help you make decisions to improve your processes or recommend changes. Of course, you can study the same choices by direct experimentation or by building prototypes. But a computer simulation can identify potential obstacles, problems, and threats to business opportunities in an efficient and effective way.

Preparing a Model

When you prepare a model, you first create a description or graphic of the process. This is done by drawing a process map. The process map is a series of activities, drawn as symbols, linked together. When you follow the connecting lines between symbols, you trace the process flow.

Activity

An activity is an individual step of a process map. Optima! represents an activity as a symbol in a flowchart.

Each symbol represents an activity, and each activity can set or determine the following information.

•	Inputs. An activity can have one or many inputs that arrive by way of incoming connection lines. The inputs are then "processed" or acted upon by the activity. The inputs may be handled sequentially or batched or by some other scheme.

For example, people drop interoffice memos (the inputs) into a collection box all morning. The memos stay in the box until noon, when a mail clerk collects them all (batching by time).

•	Resources. A resource is a person, machine, or other asset that may perform the activity. An activity can use several resources or more than one kind of resource simultaneously.

For example, when a new order is entered into a database of products to be shipped, it requires a worker and a computer (the resources). If either is busy, the new order is not entered until the resources are available.

•	Attributes. An attribute is a variable that keeps track of custom information. This allows you to use custom terminology, calculate your own statistics, or make a decision in the flowchart depending on a custom value.

For example, if an Inspection activity is performed, it sets an attribute named Checked to a value of True. Later in the flowchart, when a transaction has a Checked value equal to True, a decision may flow around another Inspection activity.

•	Task. The task information covers the duration that the activity takes to complete, its associated costs, activity base, and schedule.

For example, at an accounting firm that uses activity-based costing methods, an audit takes eight hours (the duration) at $15 an hour (the cost) and is considered to be Business Value Added (the activity base).

•	Outputs. The outgoing connection lines from an activity attach to other activities for further processing. You specify how the outputs are sent, such as a decision point with multiple paths.

For example, a company makes three types of ball-point pens: blue, black, and red (the outputs). Blue pens add an extra step. The company makes fifty percent blue pens, and twenty-five percent each of the others.

•	Summary. A summary page lets you see information about previous simulation results, as well as allows you to enter comments associated with the activity.

For example, a summary page shows that a clothing inspection activity inspected 40 pairs of jeans.

About Models

Process activities are of many different variations. The most common is an activity having a duration, or time, that the activity takes. For example, an activity may take four hours (constant duration) or between one and two days (distributed duration).

Another typical kind of activity is a decision point. If the process branches into different paths based on some percentage or a specification or production value, you set decision outputs for the activity.

Many models contain only activities that have duration and decision criteria. Often, you won't need anything more complex.

If desired, you can begin with models using the basic activity categories and then progress into more complex models.

About Transactions

In a process, activities occur in a series of individual steps. These steps are invoked by the movement of a number of tokens called transactions.

Transaction

A transaction is a token or object that flows through the process.

Because a transaction is generic, it can represent any number of things, such as an application in a loan process, a component in a manufacturing line, or a customer at a restaurant.

Transactions are introduced into the process flow by means of one or more generators. This topic is described in more detail in Generators. A generator issues transactions at a specified rate and quantity.

A generator can also initialize attributes for each transaction. This provides the method for customizing data about each transaction. For example, a transaction attribute value can be set or evaluated at any activity. For more information on this topic, see Transaction Attributes.

About the Process Flow

The path by which transactions flow through the process consists of the connection lines between activities. A transaction enters an activity through an incoming connection line. Likewise, a transaction is sent on to the next activity through the outgoing path.

A connection line has only one direction that a transaction can flow. This provides an unambiguous path for transactions at any activity. However, depending on the inputs and outputs of different activities, the transaction can split down several paths, join back into one, stop, or reach a decision point.

Split and Join

A transaction splits when an activity divides the transaction into multiple outputs that are active simultaneously. Transactions join when an activity takes multiple transactions as inputs and collects them into one transaction.

For information on splitting transactions, see Outputs Tab. For joining transactions, see Inputs Tab.

To learn more about how transactions flow through the process map, you can watch the Optima! trace view. See Using the Trace Window.

About a Transaction Family

A transaction family is a set of transactions that originated from the same transaction. The family is not named. When a transaction is split, all of the newly created transactions are assigned to the same family as the original transaction. This designation allows you to identify the members of a family.

Once there is a family, any split in the process flow creates new members of the original transaction family. In other words, a transaction has only one family.

For example, when an order comes into an audio equipment manufacturer, one copy of the order is sent to the Shipping department and another is sent to the Order Entry department. (This splits the transactions to perform parallel work.) If the order is not approved, the corresponding shipment is halted by stopping all members of the transaction family.

When to use family designations

•	Joining all family members back together

•	Setting transaction attributes for all family members

•	Stopping all members of a family when one member reaches an activity that stops output

Transaction attributes that have a family designation are identified by a special prefix. See About Attribute Prefixes.

About Queues in a Model

There are two categories of queues in Optima!, resource queues and activity queues. These queues are created and managed automatically. As a result, transactions that reach any activity are only processed when the necessary resources are available and the activity constraints are met.

•	Resource queues. If a resource isn't available, the transaction waits in a queue for that resource. One reason that a required resource might be unavailable is that the resource allocation is too low to handle the rate of transactions to be processed.

You set the number of resources required for an activity as part of its activity data. This is described in Resources Tab.

You set the resource allocation and the order in which transactions leave a resource queue (for example, first in, first out) as part of the scenario's resource definition. These topics are described in Resources and Resource Pools.

•	Activity queues. If a transaction has to wait because of activity constraints such as joining, batching, or capacity limits, it waits in a queue for that activity.

You set activity constraints and the order in which transactions leave the activity queue as part of the input description for the activity. This topic is described in InputsTab.

The queue method and the priority of each transaction determine the order in which the transactions leave the queue. Queues have the same default queue method, which is first in, first out (FIFO).

All transactions also have the same default priority. For information on changing the priority on an individual transaction so that it is processed ahead of other transactions, see Transaction Attributes and Setting a Priority on a Transaction.

A transaction waits in only one queue at a time. The order is described in About Activity Processing.

About Departments as Containers

A department is a container that has ownership of the activities and resources within it. This is used during simulation to categorize statistics. For example, you can compare the transaction times between two departments, or find organizational bottlenecks by monitoring activity time by department. You can use departments to represent any type of group such as manufacturing or customer service.

About Creating Activities

You can define modeling information for an activity by following these steps.

1.	Draw any symbol.

See the techniques in Drawing a Symbol.

2.	Double-click on the symbol.

This brings up the Edit Activity dialog box. Or, select the symbol and choose Activity from the Edit menu.

This dialog box is modal, so you can keep it up on the screen while you use other menus or interact with the process map. For example, you can select more activities and change their data without closing the dialog box. You can also create and modify modeling information such as schedules or attributes by using other toolbars and menus while the Edit Activity dialog box is open.

Each tab in the Edit Activity dialog box corresponds to the activity data.

The order of the tabs indicates the general order in which different aspects of the activity occur. See About Activity Processing.


Inputs Tab

The inputs to an activity convey transactions from other activities. Every transaction entering an activity, via one or more connecting lines, is an input to that activity. If you don't set any input collection, then the transaction continues on at the activity for further processing.

The types of input collections can be specified as one of the following:

•	Joining. This collects multiple transactions into one transaction.

•	Batching. This collects transactions for processing when a batch condition is met.

When a transaction enters an activity, depending on the type of input collection, the activity either begins processing the transaction, or waits for other inputs or resources. For a complete description of the order in which processing occurs, see About Activity Processing.

On inputs collection, you can also specify the following information:

•	Queue Methods. This sets the order in which transactions wait.

•	Start Points. This defines a point in the process where transactions are introduced.

•	Groups. This creates collections of transactions.


Joining

When inputs join, the system collects and combines multiple transactions into a single transaction. This is primarily used to reconnect split outputs.

Some example uses

•	Combine related work back together

•	Submit all completed items at one time

•	Collate all approved documents back into one

When to join inputs

•	After parallel work has been performed by split outputs. (See Outputs Tab.)

•	When you want only one transaction to be considered as complete. If the split transactions represent a single product or outcome, then you join the transactions back together.

For example, at a plastic die company, an order arrives with a payment. The order is split to different workers for processing. When this work is complete, the order is approved.

•	When inputs are joined, it is different from batching in that all of the transactions are joined into one and not kept separately.

To join inputs, double-click on a symbol to display the Edit Activity dialog box and choose the Inputs tab.

Join collection options

•	Input Paths. One transaction must come from each input path (connection line) into the activity.

This option is convenient if the activity has individual connection lines for each of the necessary inputs. (Other joining options can be used if the number of connection lines does not match the number of required joining transactions.)

For example, an office furniture supplier sells file cabinets. Each cabinet has a custom frame, a hanging drawer and a top file drawer. When a customer buys a cabinet, a request for each component is made to a different area in the warehouse. When the three components have all arrived, the cabinet can be assembled.

•	Entire Family. All transactions from previous Split activities join together. (Also see the following discussion "Joining by Family.")

For example, an electronics store receives a television set for repair. Because there are several models in the shop at any time, the parts are always labeled so that they aren't mixed up with some other television parts. After repairs are made, the television is assembled back together.

•	Count. This sets the number of transactions to join. You can enter a number, for example, 3, or use the Expression toolbar. For information on the Expression toolbar, see Using Expressions.

For example, a marketing fulfillment agency receives several boxes of blank floppy disks in the mail. Each box has 100 disks in it. A machine is set up to make promotional disks from the blank disks. Every time 100 disks are done, they are packaged back into the original boxes and sent on to the warehouse.

•	Attr Member. This option joins a transaction for each of the members of its attribute type. The transaction attribute must have a type other than Number because the type must have a finite list of members. If one member doesn't show up, the activity continues to wait.

For information on attribute types, see Defining Types.

For example, at a loading dock, workers take a sales receipt and retrieve an item from stock. The workers need two things to complete the order, the item and the receipt. This is modeled using an attribute named Product. Its custom type has two members: Item and Receipt. If transactions are joined using the Product attribute, two transactions join: one with an Item value and another with Receipt.

Same Family

The Same Family option further narrows the range of transactions to only family members. (The option is available if you are joining by input paths, count, or attribute member.)

For example, a family of five goes to the store. The parents split up their grocery shopping while the three kids look at toys. At the check-out stand, the parents meet back together to combine and buy their groceries. The Same Family option ensures that the parents meet their original spouse and not someone else's.

Joining by Family

A transaction family is an unnamed set of transactions that originated from the same transaction. When a transaction is split, all of the newly created transactions are assigned to the same family as the original transaction. This designation allows you to identify the members of a family.

Once there is a family, a split in the process flow creates new members of the original transaction family. A transaction has only one family.

If you join transactions with the Same Family option, you guarantee that the same family members combine. If other transactions come through the same activity before family members, they are not joined to that family (in other words, they wait for their own family).


Batching

You use a batch activity to collect transactions. As transactions collect, the activity does not do any further processing until the batch condition is met. A batch job differs from joining the transactions in that the transactions remain separate.

Some example uses

•	Hold all money orders until they are processed once a week

•	Send all orders only after twenty are accumulated

•	Collect six cans into each carton

When to use batching

•	You use a batch to group incoming transactions and process them when a condition or timed event occurs.

To create a batch activity, double-click on a symbol to display the Edit Activity dialog box and choose the Inputs tab.

Batch collection options

•	By Time. Choose from the list of events, for example, a Weekly schedule processes all transactions every Monday morning of every week. For information on event schedules, see Event Schedules.

For example, a branch bank in San Francisco receives money orders from customers throughout the day. Once a week, at 4:00 pm every Friday, it sends the money orders to a central bank in Los Angeles.

•	By Gate. This delays processing of a transaction until a condition is met. The condition is an expression that can check the value of an attribute.

For example, at a home and garden store, vouchers are given to customers when an advertised product is not available. The customer can redeem the voucher later when the product is back in stock. A purchasing agent flags the product as "In Stock" to notify the clerks.

S.InStock = Yes

When the value of the InStock scenario attribute is Yes, the clerks start accepting vouchers. See Attributes Tab and Attributes That Are Global.

A gate creates a queue as transactions are delayed, as described in Queue Methods. A subtle point about the queue is that it is set up differently depending on attributes. If only transaction attributes are used in the expression, the transactions go into separate queues by family. This means that transactions from several families can all be evaluated by the queue. However, if the expression has any other non-transaction attributes, all transactions are placed sequentially in one queue.

•	Count. Transactions are gathered until a count is reached. The number can be either a constant or an expression. When the count is reached, the transactions can proceed.

You can further modify this choice by specifying At Most or Assign to Group.

At Most. The count is the maximum instead of the total. Lesser amounts also gather.

For example, librarians handle as many requests as they can, up to five. They take less than five if there are fewer book requests waiting.

Assign to Group. This creates a group of transactions. See Groups. You can use the system default name ("Default") or the same name for several groups of similar transactions.

For information on how counts for transactions work with private subprocesses, see Process.

For example, for a bottling operation, every six cans are collected into a group called Carton.

•	Entire Group. Specify if all transactions that are members of a group are batched. Choose the group name from the scrolling list.

If you choose to batch an existing group, you can assign the transactions to another group at this point. This creates a new group of transactions.


Queue Methods

When inputs collect, you can choose the order in which the transactions wait in line at the activity. The queue method determines the order in which transactions leave the queue.

•	First in, first out

The first queued transactions are sent through first.

For example, when people arrive at a box office to purchase tickets, they wait at the back of the line.

•	Last in, first out

The last queued transactions are sent through first.

For example, the last person to enter a crowded elevator is the first person out.

•	Minimum of attribute

The transactions that have the lowest value for the specified attribute are sent through first. The attribute can be of any type.

For example, a printer checks the number of pages in a document by using an attribute called NumberPages. The smallest documents always print first, so if a document has a NumberPages value of 3, it is printed before a document with a NumberPages value of 10.

•	Maximum of attribute

The transactions that have the highest value for the specified attribute are sent through first. The attribute can be of any type.

There are system transaction attributes that can affect the order of transactions in the queue, regardless of queue method. See Setting a Priority on a Transaction and Setting a Preempt on a Transaction.


Wait Time

When transactions wait at an activity because of input collection constraints (for example, because of joining or batching), you can specify whether the waiting time is categorized as blocked or inactive for the report results.

•	Blocked

The waiting time is categorized as blocked. For more information about how the time is reported after simulation, see Transaction Statistics.

•	Inactive

The waiting time is categorized as inactive.


Start Points

The terminus shape is the default start symbol. It is commonly used in flowcharting for beginning and ending symbols.

A start is a position in the process map where transactions are introduced. When you open a new process, a symbol labeled Start automatically appears as the first activity in Dept. 1. There is nothing unique or different about this symbol except that it has been defined as the starting point for the process (in other words, transactions enter the process at the start). You can move the start to a different department or location, or, like other symbols, you can change its text, shape, or activity data.

Some example uses

•	Modify the place where transactions start the process

•	Specify multiple places in a process where transactions can begin

•	Use one process map as a way of drawing multiple processes

How to define a start point

If you haven't changed the initial Start activity, the starting point is already defined. But if you deleted it, you must define a new Start activity before you can simulate.

1.	Double-click on the activity that represents the start.

2.	Choose the Inputs tab.

3.	Click to mark the Start Point box.

This brings up a list of start points that are already defined. To add a new name, type to replace the current name. If you choose a name already in use, the old start point is no longer used.

4.	Select the name of the start point.

Start points and generators

When you define a generator or create a subprocess, you choose a start point to introduce the transactions. There must be a starting point for every generator, although more than one generator can use the same starting point. When a simulation is run, each generator is checked to make sure that it is connected to a valid start point. See Generators for information about choosing a start point for a generator.

How to locate the start point

Often the start is the first symbol in the first department, although any symbol or activity can be a start. A process can have multiple start points.

If you have previously defined the start, or if you haven't cut or deleted the default start, you can verify its location with these steps.

1.	From the Model menu, choose the Find Start command.

This brings up the Find Start Point dialog box with a list of names.

2.	Choose the name of the starting point that you are verifying.

3.	Click on OK.

This selects the starting symbol.


Groups

A group is a named collection of transactions used to join specific transactions. The transactions are still separate transactions but you can identify them by a group name. You create a group name first by following these steps, and then you can assign it members when you specify a batch job.

To create a group

From the Model menu, choose Groups. This brings up the Define Groups dialog box.

•	To create a name, enter a name (up to 32 characters) and click on Add.

•	To delete a group name, select the name from the list and click on Delete.


Resources Tab

A resource is a person, machine, or other asset used to process a transaction. More specifically, in an Optima! process map, a resource provides the mechanism used by an activity to process transactions. When there are multiple transactions being processed, they can contend for resources.

You use the Resources Tab to set an activity's resource usage. An important distinction to make is that resource usage, which is specific to an activity, is different from resource allocation, which is the total number of resources available to a department.

For example, let's say Dept. 1 has been allocated two worker resources (the default is one). To process a transaction, each activity requests some number of resources. If the resources are available, the transaction is processed. Otherwise, the transaction waits at the activity until the resources become available.

For information about resource allocation, see Resources.

Some example resource usages

•	Acquire a laser printer to print a job

•	Assign five workers to a task

•	Specify that an operator is working on one job. If required equipment isn't available, the operator has to wait for it.

A few things to consider about resources

•	One worker resource is defined for every department, by default.

To use any resources other than workers, you first create them and then assign the resources in an activity. To create a resource, you give it a name, quantity, schedule, hourly rate, etc. See Resources.

•	A resource often works on one activity and then "floats" or moves to a different activity when it is needed.

The guidelines that control the movement of resources are the results of defining pools, or clusters of resources, in one or more departments. For more information about pools, see Resource Pools.

•	A resource can be requested to work on any activity in its assigned department(s).

In other words, a resource is not restricted to one activity. To restrict a resource, you can create the resource and only request it from one activity or you can place the activity in its own department.

•	Each department is created with its own pool that contains one worker. This quantity is only adequate enough to process a single transaction through the department at a time.

There must always be enough workers in the pool to cover the resource quantity that is requested by an activity. In other words, an activity cannot acquire two workers if only one worker is defined in the pool.

How to use a resource

The following characteristics can be chosen or defined for a resource.

•	Choosing a Resource. You choose from the list of available resources, for example, worker.

•	Resource Assignment Type. You specify whether the activity uses, acquires, or releases a resource.

•	Resource Behavior. You specify how the model acts if the resource is unavailable.

•	Resource Quantity. You set the number of resources required by the activity.

•	Resource Schedule. You define the active times during which the activity can use the resource.

•	About Resources and Overtime. This describes the different behaviors available if a resource encounters overtime conditions.

•	Resources Waiting. This describes what happens if the resource has to wait, for example, for a transaction or other resources to become available.

•	Acquiring by Group. This describes how to use resource assignments for groups of transactions.

•	Forcing From Family. This gives a method for releasing resources for all members of a family of transactions.

If a resource isn't required

When you create an activity, the system assumes one worker is needed to process a transaction for the activity.

However, some activities do not require any resources. If so, you can remove the entry from the resource page.


Choosing a Resource

To use workers or any of the resources that you have defined, double-click on a symbol to display the Edit Activity dialog box and choose the Resources tab.

•	To use an additional resource for this activity, press Add.

•	To cease the use of a particular resource for this activity, make the resource active by clicking in a field, and then press Remove. This can be used to specify an activity that does not require any resources.

Type of resource

•	Worker. This is a pre-defined labor resource. By default, one worker is listed. Most activities use one worker, at a minimum, to process each transaction.

For example, in a data entry department, one worker is used to perform and complete an activity labeled "Update File."

•	(User-defined resources.) These are resources that you have defined. For information about creating resources, see Resources.

For example, a consulting engagement uses the following resources: one consultant, an overhead projector, and a laptop computer.

•	Other. This category lets you break out cost independently from other resources. You can enter the cost as a value or expression.

You use Other if you don't want to model a specific resource but want to track a resource cost. Also, if an activity crosses more than one department, you use Other to further break out the costs by department.

For example, when 1000 copies of an in-house newspaper are published, each copy is stapled in three places and mailed. This uses a lot of staples but, in terms of this model, it isn't important to create a Staple resource. Instead, the Other category has a cost of $5 for staples.

Using resources by department

If an activity crosses more than one department, you select either the individual department or all departments to assign the resource. Also see Creating Symbols to Cross Departments.

For example, at an advertising firm, a meeting is held with two account representatives from Major Accounts, one graphic designer, one writer, and the manager of the Writers department.

Setting the cost category

This accumulates costs by activity base (the value-added categories).

•	Base. The cost category is inherited from the activity base. See "Activity Base" in Task Tab.

•	VA. Value Added. The resource is contributing to the creation or delivery of a product or service.

•	BVA. Business Value Added. The resource is useful to the business but does not contribute directly to the product or service.

•	NVA. No Value Added.

For example, a recording clerk, a records administrator, and a supervisor at the Records Department are all required to record an order. The recording clerk enters the policy and records the claim. The records administrator updates the records and prepares reports. The supervisor reviews and approves each order. Although the activity itself is VA, only the recording clerk is performing a VA activity. The records administrator is BVA and the supervisor is NVA.


Resource Assignment Type

You can specify that a resource is used for the duration of an activity, or that it is acquired or released.

•	Activity. Every time a transaction enters the activity, the resource is used and released. The activity uses the resource for the single task.

For example, a worker writes a report. After the report is finished, the worker is available to be used by other activities.

•	Acquire. Every time a transaction enters the activity, the resource is used and remains acquired with the transaction as the transaction moves to other activities.

This allows you to get the resource and hold it until you explicitly release it later.

A resource remains acquired until 1) the transaction leaves an activity that releases it, 2) the transaction reaches the end of the process flow, or 3) the transaction splits and the resource is released by other family members of the transaction (see the following discussion Forcing From Family).

A preempting transaction can also release a resource. For example, if the boss asks to use the printer while you are creating a book of home recipes, you automatically release the printer. See Setting a Preempt on a Transaction.

For example, the drivers for an express package service use hand-held computers for several things: to track packages, find locations, receive messages from the main office, and to record signatures when a package is delivered. At the beginning of a route, the driver acquires one of the computers. It is used for several activities and then returned when the delivery truck comes back to the main office.

•	Release. A resource that was previously acquired is now released and can be used by other transactions.

For example, at a print shop, the printing machine is cleaned regularly. When it is time to clean (i.e., a transaction enters the activity), a worker sets up and then remains acquired until all the cleaning tasks are done. The printing machine is acquired to have its rollers cleaned and toner changed, and then both resources are released.

In the same example, if two transactions enter the activity, then two workers and two printing machines are acquired and released. Furthermore, if a third transaction enters the activity and that transaction has previously acquired a printing machine, the third transaction still acquires and releases a worker and a printing machine. If either resource is not available, the transaction waits.


Resource Quantity

An activity specifies the number, or count, of each resource that is required. Each transaction that enters the activity requires this number of resources.

The number is subtracted from the total number of available resources after each transaction enters this activity. The count can be an expression; see Using Expressions.


Resource Behavior

The resource behavior determines how the model acts if a resource becomes unavailable, typically for scheduling reasons.

•	Changeable. A changeable resource can be exchanged with another resource when the resource becomes unavailable. The transaction takes any resource of the same type that is available.

A resource becomes unavailable if it is out of schedule, preempted, or it is not waiting (see the following discussion Resources Waiting).

For example, the receiving clerks at a large university bookstore can be changeable resources. Some work part-time shifts and others work in the evenings. At the end of their work schedule, the clerks stop unpacking books and go home. The next shift of clerks comes in and continues working where the last clerks stopped.

•	Dedicated. A dedicated resource is not exchanged when it is unavailable. The transaction waits until the dedicated resource is available.

For example, at the university bookstore, the purchasing agents work with their own vendors who specialize in sciences, languages, or art. When a purchasing agent goes home for the day or meets with someone, they finish the job when they return.

•	Department (dedicated). This resource operates like a dedicated resource, except that if an activity uses a resource in a department, all other activities in the department that the transaction goes through use the same resource.

This resource is not exchanged with another resource when it is not available. The transaction waits until another department dedicated resource is available.

For example, the clerks at the Registration Department issue vehicle registrations. When a clerk takes your application, he or she looks up the record, checks your application, takes the fee, and issues the registration. In other words, a clerk always follows an application through to completion.

•	Overtime Dedicated. See the following discussion About Resources and Overtime.

•	Out of Service. This is a dedicated resource except that an out of service resource accumulates time specifically as "out of service." This lets you track when resources are out of service for such things as maintenance or unscheduled downtime.


Resource Schedule

A resource's schedule is a list of times that determines when each resource is available. Every resource has its own schedule assigned to it as part of the scenario data. For example, some resources might be available only during the afternoon or evening shifts. Others can be available twenty-four hours.

Activities can have schedules assigned to them, as well. This allows for activities to take place only between certain times.

Many schedules have been defined for you. These include, among others, swing shift, night shift, or standard days with US holidays. You can choose a schedule that makes sense for each resource depending on your process. For example, you could create a schedule in which a resource is available between 8:00 am and 12:00 midnight, excluding US holidays.

If an activity tries to acquire a resource when no resource is available (i.e., not in schedule), then all transactions arriving at the activity must wait until the resource is back in schedule again.

For example, a screening machine is always available daily between the hours of 8:00 am and noon. If an activity such as "Print Labels" uses the machine, the activity will process transactions (and therefore use the machine) only between the hours of 8:00 and 10:00 am.


About Resources and Overtime

When labor or other resources are used, often overtime costs and schedules have to be addressed. There are several different ways that overtime can be instituted in a company. The Optima! overtime capability was designed to be very flexible to accommodate the different methods. When a resource is created, a schedule is attached to it. This schedule determines when the resource is available; any hours or days outside the schedule are potential time frames for overtime.

The activity itself limits whether a resource is eligible for overtime. Some activities do not allow overtime at all. Other activities do, but have rules about when overtime is used and which resources are used. See Task Tab.

If overtime is allowed on the activity, and a resource is about to go out of schedule but hasn't finished the activity, it can have one of several different behaviors. These are determined on an individual usage basis.

•	Changeable. If there are no resources to exchange with, then overtime is allowed up to the maximum overtime set for the resource currently acquired. If other resources have overtime available when the maximum overtime is reached, the resource is exchanged and uses its available overtime. This is true until there are no other resources of the same type that have overtime available.

If another resource becomes available (that is, it comes into schedule) then the overtime resource is exchanged to avoid overtime.

•	Dedicated and Department (Dedicated). Overtime is allowed until the maximum overtime for the resource is reached. The transaction waits until the resource comes into schedule again.

•	Overtime Dedicated. This behaves like a changeable resource until overtime is required. The resource that enters overtime is dedicated even if others become available. This happens up to the maximum overtime, then the activity waits until other resources are available.

•	Out of Service. A resource that is out of service behaves like a dedicated resource for the purposes of overtime.


Resources Waiting

When a transaction waits to be processed by an activity, the resources already acquired by that transaction can either wait or be released until the transaction can be processed.

•	Wait. The resource is not released while the transaction waits to be processed. Waiting time is accumulated for the resource.

For example, a printing press requires a setup for each printing job. The setup includes information about the type of paper stock being run, its dimensions, and the ink distribution. If the paper stock hasn't yet arrived for that particular job, then the printing press must wait until the paper arrives and cannot be used for other printing jobs.

•	Don't wait. The resource is released and can work on other transactions. When this transaction can be processed, a resource is automatically acquired again.

For example, when a sales order arrives at an Order Entry department, a copy is always made for their permanent records. If a sales order is received but the information is not right, the copier machine can still be used to make other copies until the corrected order arrives again.


Acquiring by Group

An activity can acquire resources for one transaction or all members of a group. A group is a set of transactions created by batching inputs.

If the first member of a group acquires a resource for the entire group, then all subsequent transactions in the group ignore the acquire request.


Forcing From Family

This is used if transactions have been split (creating a family of transactions) following an activity that acquires a resource. In that case, the split transactions share the same resource. The "forcing from family" option forces the release for all family members.


Attributes Tab

An attribute can define characteristics of transactions and other variables within a process, department, or scenario. It can be highly specific to the process that you are documenting. For complete information on attributes, see Describing Model Behavior.

Some example uses

•	Keep track of different quantities of two products, by name

•	Check the product type and perform different steps based on the results

•	Count how many times an assembly is reworked

When to use attributes

•	You use attributes as variables in activities and to specify modeling data.

•	An attribute has four characteristics: its name, type, location, and value. The name must be unique for every attribute within a location. The attribute type is the range of values that the attribute can have. The location provides a scope, or boundary, for the attribute.

For example, a scenario attribute, called Items, is incremented. Every time a transaction enters the activity, the attribute value increases by one.

S.Items = S.Items + 1

For example, an attribute named Burden is the total of two attributes, Workers and Overhead, added together and divided by the value of a third attribute, Rate.

Burden = (Workers + Overhead) / Rate

Setting an Attribute Value

To set an attribute, double-click on a symbol to display the Edit Activity dialog box and choose the Attributes tab.

Before and after duration

•	Before Duration. The value is set before the duration is taken. (Note that multiple attribute settings can occur both before and after the duration.)

•	After Duration. The value is set after the duration is taken.

To add an attribute

To add the setting of an attribute to an activity, click on Add. This brings up the Set Attribute dialog box. You can choose the attribute or define a new attribute and set its value. The value can be a constant or expression; see Using Expressions.

For information on priority and preemption, see Setting a Priority on a Transaction and Setting a Preempt on a Transaction.


Task Tab

The task tab contains information about how transactions are processed. The type of task can be specified as one of the following:

•	Work. This causes transactions to be processed for a specific amount of time.

•	Process. This connects the current process to another process for purposes of hierarchy or subprocessing.

•	Delay. This task halts processing for a specific amount of time.

Other specifications on the task tab include:

•	Activity Base. This includes a fixed cost and a value category.

•	Capacity. This limits the number of transactions that can be processed at one time.

•	Overtime Behavior. This sets how the activity behaves if resources go out of schedule.

•	Limited Schedule. This specifies if the time frame of the activity is limited to a schedule.


Work

A task that is defined as a work activity has a specified duration. The duration can be in seconds, minutes, or hours, or larger units of days, weeks, months, or years. You can mix different time units on different activities (for example, one activity can take three days and another four seconds) and they will be calculated correctly. By default, the duration is zero.

Some example uses

•	Set the time for film to develop to one hour

•	Set the time for shirts to be dry-cleaned between four and six days

To specify work, double-click on an activity to bring up the Edit Activity dialog box and choose the Task tab.

Options for work

The duration is the amount of working time required to complete the activity on a single transaction. Choose whether the duration is a constant, a distributed value, or an expression.

•	Constant. Fill in a duration value and the unit of time. For example: 20 hours.

•	Distributed. Set the range and the unit of time (for example, between 5 and 10 weeks). In a uniform distribution, all values have an equal chance of occurring. A normal distribution follows a normal distribution curve. You can compare these functions to others described in Using System-Defined Functions.

•	Expression. Enter the expression.

For example, when an electric heat pump company plans an installation, they know it takes three hours to set up a single package and five hours for a split system. The following expression sets the duration equal to three hours if the value of Installation is SinglePackage. Otherwise, the duration equals five hours.

In this example, Installation is a transaction attribute and SinglePackage is one of the members of its type. See Transaction Attributes.

If(Installation=SinglePackage, 3, 5)

See Using Expressions.

About negative numbers and fractional seconds in durations

If you set a duration to be the result of an expression, particularly using a distribution function, it is possible to generate a negative duration. In this case, Optima! sets the duration to zero.

Also, any duration that is specified as a fractional second uses a floor function. For example, 1.3 seconds is 1 second; 5.6 seconds is 5 seconds.

Excluding departments

If the activity crosses departments, you can use the scrolling list to exclude one or more departments for which the activity applies. Also see Creating Symbols to Cross Departments.


Process

You add hierarchy or concurrence to a model by using process activities. This connects the current process to another process that can run concurrently or as a subprocess.

Some example uses

•	Document a maintenance cycle as part of a larger business process

•	Run two different product lines at the same time

•	Create multiple independent processes on the same process map and link them together

A good rule of thumb is to organize activities into separate processes if they have essentially different outcomes or produce different products. See Using Multiple Processes.

To call or create a subprocess, double-click on any symbol to display the Edit Activity dialog box and choose the Task tab. Click on the Work category to choose Process.

•	Subprocess

A subprocess starts and completes, at which point the flow returns to the process that called it. A subprocess can be called by more than one process.

When you connect to a subprocess, you set the name of the process and a start point. If the process does not exist, you can create it by clicking on the New Process button.

For example, in a land-use planning agency, both the commercial and residential land-use departments must submit their permits for approval by a planning council. No additional work can happen on the permit until it has been approved or rejected. After the review is complete, the permits are returned to the original departments for further processing.

•	Concurrent Process

A separate process runs to the end of its own process flow. The process that called the concurrent process continues executing concurrently.

When you connect to a concurrent process, you set the name of the process and a start point. If the process does not exist, you can create it by clicking on the New Process button.

For example, several departments at an engineering firm rely on their Purchasing department to make arrangements for buying new computers. The departments give their specifications to Purchasing to place the order.

•	Private Subprocess

Similar to a subprocess, in that a subprocess completes and the flow returns to the process that called it. The difference between a regular subprocess and a private subprocess is that a private subprocess keeps track of transactions from the calling processes separately.

When you connect to a private subprocess, you set the name of the process and a start point. If the process does not exist, you can create it by clicking on the New Process button.

Any counts that are being kept (for example, an activity that collects inputs in the private subprocess) are maintained separately for each process. Also, family designations are kept separate, except for Join by Family. In other words, a private subprocess behaves more as if it was pasted into the process that called it, rather than as a regular subprocess.

For example, a micro-brewery sells small quantities of their own brands of bottled beers. When each batch of new beer has fermented, it is sent to be bottled into six-packs. It's important for them to keep bottle counts for each batch separate.

To view a subprocess

Press the Shift key and double-click on the activity. For more information, see Using Multiple Processes.

When a transaction enters a subprocess

•	A new transaction is issued into the specified process. The transaction doesn't have any family membership or siblings.

•	The new transaction has the same attribute values as the original transaction.

•	If the subprocess runs concurrently, both transactions continue along their respective paths.

If the subprocess does not run concurrently, only the subprocess transaction continues. The transaction in the main process waits until the transaction in the subprocess reaches an endpoint. An endpoint is an activity that doesn't have an outgoing connection line.

•	Any transaction attribute values or family assignments set in a subprocess are in effect when the transaction returns from the subprocess.

•	Any transaction attributes set with the Family option modifies that attribute in all siblings regardless of which process they are in.


Delay

You can use an activity to specify that transaction processing is delayed by a specific amount of time. Delay time is categorized as blocked time during simulation (see Transaction Statistics).

To specify a delay

Double-click on an activity to bring up the Edit Activity dialog box. Choose the Task tab.

Options for delay

•	Constant. Fill in a delay value and the unit of time. For example: 10 minutes.

•	Distributed. Set the range and the unit of time (for example, between 1 and 4 hours). In a uniform distribution, all values have an equal chance of occurring. A normal distribution follows a normal distribution curve. You can compare these functions to others described in Using System-Defined Functions.

•	Expression. Enter the expression; see Using Expressions.

Excluding departments

If the activity crosses departments, you can use the scrolling list to exclude one or more departments for which the activity applies. Also see Creating Symbols to Cross Departments.


Activity Base

Each activity can have a fixed cost and a value category. You can choose different colors to represent the value classes for a visual representation of which activities are designated Value Added and which are not (see the following discussion "Viewing Value Classifications").

The activity base can also be useful for categorizing statistics. This is done after simulation by sorting the report results into different activity bases.

To set a fixed cost

Enter a cost that is accrued each time a transaction is processed by the activity. The default is 0.

For example, a Sales department has an "Annual Review" activity. The review has a fixed cost of $2000.

The total cost of an activity is the sum of its fixed cost and the costs associated with resources used by the activity. (See "About Resource Costs" in Resources.)

For example, you hire a limousine service to take a new client out to dinner. This incurs two costs, one for the activity and one for the resources. For the activity, the fixed cost of the dinner is $100. For the resources, the limousine has a per-use cost of $45 for the evening and a $10 an hour cost for the driver. After a three-hour evening, the total cost for the activity is $175.

The cost categories

•	VA. Value Added. The activity contributes to the creation or delivery of a product or service.

•	BVA. Business Value Added. The activity is required by the business but does not contribute directly to the product or service.

•	NVA. No Value Added.

This becomes the value base for the activity. A resource can have its own value base or inherit this base. See Resources Tab.

For example, in a manufacturing process, when materials must be reworked, the activity is labeled NVA.

Viewing Value Classifications

To assign colors to different value activity classes, follow these steps.

1.	From the View menu, choose Value Class.

This brings up the View Value Classifications dialog box.

2.	Choose a classification color.

•	View VA. Set a color for all Value Added activities.

•	View BVA. Set a color for all Business-Value Added activities.

•	View NVA. Set a color for all No Value Added activities.

The default color classification is white.


Capacity

The capacity of an activity can be set to limit the number of transactions that can be processed at one time. This limit is enforced even if the necessary resources and transactions are available.

1.	Choose the capacity of the activity.

•	Unlimited (default). The activity places no limits on the number of transactions that can be processed simultaneously.

•	Number. Enter a number for the limit on transactions.

For example, an office has four phones. The most calls the office ever handles concurrently is four, regardless of how many workers are available.


Limited Schedule

The schedule defines the time frame in which the activity can be processed. You can choose from the many schedules that are already defined, or create a new schedule. For information on schedules, see Schedules.

Although schedules can be applied to separate activities, they are more simply applied to the resources used by the activities.


Overtime Behavior

The overtime behavior sets how the activity behaves if resources go out of schedule while the transaction is being processed. This behavior interacts with how overtime is specified for the resource (see "About Resources and Overtime" in Resources Tab).

•	Suspend. The activity does not allow overtime.

If a resource goes out of schedule, it stops work. Processing starts again when a resource is available.

If the activity goes out of schedule, work is stopped and resumed when the activity is again in schedule.

For example, a tax preparation service is available from 8:00 am until 8:00 pm, with a half-hour break in the afternoon. The morning shift works from 8:00 am to 2:30 pm and the afternoon shift works from 3:00 pm to 8:30 pm. The morning shift leaves at 2:30. Therefore, no work happens between 2:30 pm and 3:00 pm because resources are out of schedule. The next shift picks up until 8:30 pm. At this time, work stops for the night because the activity is out of schedule.

•	Don't Start. The activity is not started unless it can be completed in the activity schedule. Resources must be in schedule and available for the length of the activity.

For example, the doctors in a community hospital perform a four-hour operation. The surgery room is only available between 7:00 am and 4:00 pm. If an operation is not started before noon, or the doctors are delayed by other activities that make them unavailable, then the patient must wait until 7:00 am the next morning, at the earliest.

Resource availability can be affected by preemptive transactions. See Setting a Preempt on a Transaction.

•	OK If Started. The activity allows overtime for resources if the activity has started working on a transaction and a resource or activity goes out of schedule.

For example, customers leave their cars at an automobile repair shop and return after 6:00 pm to pick them up. The mechanics work from 8:00 am to 4:00 pm. However, if a repair takes longer than expected, the mechanic can work overtime to complete the repairs.

•	Always OK. Overtime is always allowed for resources when a transaction reaches this activity.

For example, when an alarm goes off at a power substation, the emergency workers are always authorized to work overtime to locate the problem.

•	Finish Queue. The activity allows overtime for resources to finish processing all of the transactions that are currently waiting in the queue.


Outputs Tab

The outputs from an activity convey transactions to other activities. Every transaction leaving an activity, via a connection line, is an input to another activity; otherwise, the transaction stops.

The outputs can be specified as one of the following:

•	Decision. This branches the transaction into different paths based on percentages, attribute values, or expressions.

•	Split. This divides a transaction into multiple transactions.

•	Member Split. This splits the transaction into a count equal to the number of members of an attribute type.

•	Stop. This terminates the transaction.

Some example uses

•	Create a decision point where there is a Yes path when a proposal is approved and a No path when it is not

•	Stop processing an order because its credit was not approved

•	Set four different path choices depending on the type of product


Decision

A decision is a point at which transactions can take one of several possible paths based on criteria that you set. The connection lines from a decision are automatically labeled in the process map. The first line correlates to the first decision (usually labeled No or False); the second line correlates to the second decision (Yes or True) and so on.

To create a decision, double-click on any symbol to bring up the Edit Activity dialog box and choose the Outputs tab.

Case text labels

•	Yes/No. The number of cases is 2: No (equal to 0) and Yes (1).

•	True/False. The number of cases is 2: False (equal to 0) and True (1).

•	User-defined types. These are custom types that you have previously defined. (The name of the actual type appears in the list.) Valid members of the type are displayed as outputs and cannot be edited. See Defining Types.

•	Other. The case labels can be edited. You set the # Cases to equal the number of output paths. This causes the Output list to add or subtract cases. The default is 2.

For example, three wires are color coded red, blue, or yellow. Whenever a transaction is processed by the activity, the red wire is chosen 50% of the time, blue is chosen 11%, and yellow, 39%.

For an example of creating a case activity, see Working With Case Text.

Case distribution

•	Statistical. You set percentages for the output distribution.

•	Expression. Enter an expression for the output distribution. The expression returns a value, for example, an attribute returns its value or the expression evaluation returns false (equal to 0) or true (1).

A return value of 0 uses the first path; 1 uses the second path, 2 uses the third path, etc. If the expression value is less than 0, it uses the first path. If the value is greater than the number of paths, it uses the last path. Expression values in between are rounded up to the nearest integer.

For example, in a Quality Assurance department, three quality tests are performed, depending on the software module. To create outputs for each test, an attribute called QualityTest is created with a user-defined type called Test. Test has three members: Alpha, Beta, and Gamma. Whenever a transaction enters this activity, the QualityTest attribute is evaluated and its value determines the path.

Also see Using Expressions.


Split

You can split the output of an activity to model work performed simultaneously by different departments or resources. The split transactions can be further processed and joined back together, at which point, a single transaction can continue on.

The new transactions are created with the same attribute values as the original.

For example, after a software product has been developed, it is written to three floppy disks. An installation test is performed on each disk. After all three disks have passed, the product is joined together and ready to ship.

Explicit and implicit splits

You can model parallel activities using an explicit Split activity, or, more commonly, you create multiple paths from any single symbol (this is called an implicit split). If you draw multiple paths from one activity to create an implicit split, you don't need to set a explicit Split activity.

When a transaction splits

•	One or more duplicate transactions are created.

•	All of the transactions are assigned to the same family.

•	The new transactions have the same attribute assignments of the original transaction. (An exception is when they are split by attribute member.)

•	The new transactions share the same resource acquisitions (those that were explicitly acquired) as the original transaction.

Split transactions can be combined back together by joining inputs at other activities. A join can collect the transactions by family so that only members of the same split family are joined. This ensures that members of other families aren't joined with the split transactions.

To create split outputs, double-click on any symbol to display the Edit Activity dialog box and choose the Outputs tab.

Options for splitting by count

The count is the number of transactions created by the split. The count can be a simple number or an expression. You can use the Expression toolbar to create the expression.

For information on expressions, see Using Expressions.

Note

A split is created implicitly by having multiple connection lines from one activity.


Member Split

An alternate method for splitting is to split the transaction into a count equal to the number of members of an attribute type. The split transactions can later be joined by attribute member; see Inputs Tab.

To create split outputs, double-click on any symbol to display the Edit Activity dialog box and choose the Outputs tab.

Options for splitting by member

When an activity splits outputs by member, you choose or create an attribute to specify the count. The following behavior occurs if you choose this option. The number of transactions created is equal to the number of members in the type and, furthermore, each transaction has its own unique value set for the attribute. This option is only valid with transaction attributes whose type is other than Number, so the list of transaction attributes is limited to valid attributes. For more information on attributes, see Transaction Attributes.

For example, an attribute named Flag has a type of YesNo. When you split by this attribute, two transactions are created; the first has a Flag attribute set to No, the second Yes.


Stop

If you stop processing, this can terminate the current transaction and some or all of the transaction's family members. This can be used to synchronize or coordinate parallel paths. To stop outputs, double-click on any symbol to display the Edit Activity dialog box and choose the Outputs tab.

Options for stopping outputs

•	Always. Stops all transaction(s) reaching this activity.

For example, if credit is not approved, all of the orders from that company are stopped.

•	Expression. Stops only transactions whose values equal this expression.

For example, in a catsup bottling plant, the catsup must be bottled and capped within twenty minutes. As each batch of catsup is processed for bottling, its preparation time is examined. If any batch is older than twenty minutes, it is stopped. The expression is:

TransWaitingTime() >= 20

Stop transaction

The current transaction is stopped, providing that it matches the criteria that you set for "Always" or "Expression." The transaction is stopped regardless of any connection lines that may be drawn as outputs from the symbol. If this box isn't checked, the current transaction continues.

For example, when a job application is submitted to an employment agency, it is evaluated by the admissions clerk. If there isn't a job opening, the clerk sends a letter to the applicant and files the application. At this point, the application (the current transaction) stops.

Stop family

All transaction family members are stopped, providing that they match the criteria that you set for "Always" or "Expression." If this box isn't checked, only the current transaction is a candidate to be stopped.

For example, petitions are submitted to an assembly to be placed on an upcoming docket. Several things can cause the petitions to be rejected: 1) If the signatures on the petition aren't valid, 2) If the petition doesn't meet basic criteria, and 3) If the petition was not circulated legally. Different committees examine the petitions for these three criteria. If any committee rejects a petition, it is automatically pulled from consideration by the other committees.


Summary Tab

The summary contains comments and statistics about the activity.

Comments and statistics can be optionally displayed in the process map. See Fields.

Comments

1.	Double-click on any symbol to display the Edit Activity dialog box.

2.	Choose the Summary tab.

3.	Choose Comments from the scrolling list.

4.	Type the comments that you want included as part of the activity data.

Statistics

1.	Double-click on any symbol to display the Edit Activity dialog box.

2.	Choose the Summary tab.

3.	Choose Statistics from the scrolling list.

A list of available statistics is displayed. These statistics are specific to this activity for the last simulation that has been run. The statistics are only available after the model has been run.


About Activity Processing

The simulation generator sends transactions through the process at predetermined times. A transaction follows the connectivity of the process map through the paths that you've drawn to connect symbols.

As a transaction enters an activity, a number of actions begin to happen. (All of these actions are optional and have smart defaults.)

To be more precise, when a transaction arrives at an activity, the simulator does the following things, in order.

1.	Acquires waiting resources

The simulator acquires the resources that are assigned to the transaction for the activity, even if the transaction has to wait for any reason.

This happens only for resources that you have defined to wait until the transaction can be processed. The resource's time can therefore be classified as waiting if the transaction is held up due to other constraints.

2.	Receives or waits on input collection constraints

Next, the simulator waits for any input collection constraints to be met. These are collection constraints that you have set. See the following discussion "Transaction Flow Constraints."

3.	Acquires non-waiting resources

The simulator acquires any resources that will automatically release if the transaction has to wait for any reason. They will be re-acquired when the transaction can continue.

These are called non-waiting resources because you have defined them to not wait if the transaction is held up.

4.	Sets "before duration" attributes

The simulator calculates any duration expressions and sets any attribute values that you have defined to happen before the duration.

5.	Takes duration or calls subprocess

The simulator accrues the amount of time that you set for its duration. Also at this point, it increments the cost for the activity. The cost is determined by the combination of resources used and the activity cost that you set.

6.	Sets "after duration" attributes

The simulator sets any attribute values that you have defined to happen after the duration.

7.	Releases resources

The simulator releases all resources that you have set to be released, including ones that are used just for this activity.

8.	Sends outputs

The simulator dispatches the output transactions, if any. This is the point where the transaction takes different routes depending on decision or case criteria, or it can split or stop.

9.	Updates summary and field text

The simulator adds time, cost, and other information for this transaction into the summary page.

Transaction Flow Constraints

A transaction ordinarily moves as far along the flow from activity to activity as it can. However, transactions can be held up due to any of the following conditions.

•	Input collection constraints

These constraints includes batching by time, batching by gate, and any batching or joining that collects inputs.

•	Resource availability

A resource can be unavailable if it has schedule or acquisition limits. This occurs when the resource is busy or out of service. If resources are unavailable, the transaction must wait until they become available again.

•	Activity schedule

Activity schedules provide constraints. For example, the activity can only process transactions during certain time periods.

•	Capacity

Capacity limits are set by the number of transactions that the activity can process at the same time. This includes physical constraints and other resources.

When Transactions Are Complete

Transactions follow the process flow created by the different activities in the process map. Imagine that the transaction is a marker in a board game. At each turn, you move one marker with your index finger as far as that marker can go, based on the roll of the die. As long as the marker is moving, you keep your finger on it. When the marker must stop, you remove your finger and go to another marker. Transactions work the same way. Your index finger represents the simulator.

The simulator moves the transaction until one of these occurs:

•	The transaction completes, or

•	The transaction has work to do (at an activity, for example), or

•	The transaction must wait for a resource to continue, or

•	A transaction must wait for some other constraint (see above).

A transaction is complete (i.e., no longer exists) when one of these conditions is met:

•	A transaction reaches an endpoint. A transaction moves until it reaches an activity that doesn't have any outgoing connection lines. (In the case of a transaction that is in a subprocess, the transaction returns to its original process until it reaches an endpoint.)

•	The simulation time runs out. (This is the amount set in the Run Setup dialog box.) Once the simulation time is over, the generator can't create any more transactions even if it isn't finished. Any transactions left in the middle of the process flow are stopped and do not count as completed transactions in the report statistics. However, a stopped transaction is still counted as part of the statistical calculations for any activity or resource that processed it before the simulation time ran out.


Describing Model Behavior

When a count or simple number is used in a model, for example, to set the duration for an activity or the length of time for simulation, you can often substitute an expression or choose from the large library of system functions.

Transaction Attributes

Setting a Priority on a Transaction

Setting a Preempt on a Transaction

Attributes That Are Global

About Attribute Prefixes

Defining Types

Using Expressions

Adding Operators to Expressions

Using System-Defined Functions

List of System-Defined Functions

Creating Your Own Functions


Transaction Attributes

Each transaction can have its own set of attribute values that uniquely describe the transaction.

Transaction Attribute

A transaction attribute is a variable that can have a unique value for each transaction.

Common uses for a transaction attribute

•	To set the duration of an activity based on the specifics of a transaction.

For example, an activity's duration is PageCount multiplied by 5. In other words, if PageCount is 100, the duration is 500 seconds.

•	To control the flow of certain transactions through a Decision output.

As each transaction is processed by the activity, the value of Color determines whether the transaction takes the Blue, Red, or Yellow path.

Defining a Transaction Attribute

The first step in using a transaction attribute is to define its name, location, and type. For example, we can create a definition for two user-defined attributes, Color and PageCount.

1.	From the Model menu, choose the Attributes command.

This brings up the Define Attributes dialog box. A list of existing attributes is displayed, for example, Color, sorted by location.

2.	To define an attribute, click on Add.

This brings up the Add New Attribute dialog box. For example, an attribute named PageCount is created with a type of Number.

Location

The location sets the scope, or extent, of an attribute. If you create an attribute with a Transaction location, for example, the attribute definition extends to all transactions. Each transaction can carry its own unique value for the attribute.

For information on the process, scenario, and department locations for attributes, see Attributes That Are Global.

Attribute name

The name must be 32 characters or less, and contain alpha-numeric characters. The name can contain an underscore character but no spaces.

Attribute type

The type of an attribute determines its range of possible values. A Number type indicates the value can be any floating point number, up to 15 digits of precision. Other pre-defined types are TrueFalse and YesNo, or you can create your own types. See Defining Types.

Setting a Value When the Transaction is Created

The value of a transaction attribute can be initialized when the transaction is created or it can be set at individual activities as transactions flow through the process. For example, after we define transaction attributes named Color, PageCount, and Fruit, their values can be initialized.

A generator is typically used to initialize transaction attributes. When you set the scenario data for simulation, you define the generator. (The topic of generators is covered in more detail in Generators.) By default, the value of an attribute is initialized to be its first member; for a number type, the initial value is 0.

There are two common ways to initialize a transaction attribute.

•	By distribution. You can have the generator set an initial value based on a range of values.

For example, we can begin by creating a transaction attribute called Fruit and a type called FruitDist. The valid members of the FruitDist type are Apple, Banana, and Orange.

Types are discussed in more detail in Defining Types.

The next step is to define a function called FruitDistribution. This function is the same type, FruitDist, as the Fruit attribute. Thirty percent of the time that FruitDistribution is called, Apple is returned; forty-five percent of the time, Banana; and twenty-five percent, Orange.

The next step is to define a generator to initialize Fruit with a value returned by FruitDistribution.

•	Constant value and multiple generators. You can use a constant to set the same value for any transaction created by a generator. This is done by defining a separate generator to initialize different values for the transaction attribute.

For example, one generator issues transactions in which Fruit is set to Apple, a second generator sets Fruit to Banana, and the third generator sets Fruit to Orange.

For information on creating multiple generators and defining attributes on a generator, see Generators.

Setting a Value in the Process Flow

The value of a transaction attribute can be set or changed on an activity. This method works particularly well if there is a decision in the process flow that identifies specific transactions. Every transaction that reaches the activity is assigned the attribute values.

The Attributes tab on the Edit Activity dialog box defines the value of attributes for any specific activity.

The topic of setting attributes on individual activities is covered in Attributes Tab.

About Monitors and Transaction Attributes

You can place monitors to track statistics based on transaction attributes. This is useful for looking at cycle time, waiting time, or any transaction statistics for specific transactions. See About Monitors.


Setting a Priority on a Transaction

You can use the Priority transaction attribute to specify the order in which transactions are handled. When transactions are queued, for example, waiting for a worker or at a batch activity, the highest priority transactions are always handled first.

•	A higher priority transaction goes ahead of all lower priority transactions that are waiting.

•	Two transactions with the same level of priority are processed in the order that they arrive. There is no priority in this case.

•	A higher priority transaction never acquires resources away from transactions that are already in process.

The Priority transaction attribute is pre-defined for you. You can set its value in any activity or generator definition.

•	Constant. The value can be between 0 and 127 where 0 is the lowest priority.

By default, transactions have a priority of 0.

•	Expression. You can define the priority value with an expression that uses different attributes, functions, and arithmetic operators. See Using Expressions.

The Family option extends the priority value to all members of the transaction's family. For example, in an Order Processing model, when the Sales department establishes a priority for an order, then all of the related family members, for example, the credit check and the work order, also receive the same priority value. For information on transaction families, see "About a Transaction Family" in About Process Modeling.


Setting a Preempt on a Transaction

You can use the Preempt transaction attribute to specify the order in which transactions are handled. A preemptive transaction takes resources away from other, non-preemptive transactions. It also works with the priority attribute to create two tiers of order.

The Preempt transaction attribute is pre-defined for you. You can set its value in the same way described previously for transaction attributes.

•	A preemptive transaction can acquire resources away from all equal or lower-priority transactions, even if the resource is already in use.

•	If two transactions have the same priority, a preemptive transaction is handled first.

•	If two transactions have the same priority and are both preemptive, then the transactions are handled in the order in which they arrive. There is no preemption in this case.

The Preempt transaction attribute is pre-defined for you. You can set its value in any activity or generator definition.

•	Constant. Choose True to turn on preemption or False to turn it off.

•	Expression. You can define the preemption value with an expression that uses different attributes, functions, and arithmetic operators. See Using Expressions.


Attributes That Are Global

The three attributes that are global in location are department, process, and scenario attributes. These are considered separately from transaction attributes because of their different purposes. Whereas a transaction attribute provides individual values for transactions, a global attribute sets a value that can be accessed by all transactions.

•	Scenario attributes have one global value at any time. This is the most commonly used global attribute.

•	Department attributes have separate values for each defined department. A department may exist in multiple processes.

•	Process attributes have unique or separate values for each process.

About Attribute Locations

1.	From the Model menu, choose Attributes.

This brings up the Define Attributes dialog box.

2.	Click on the Location designation that you want for the attribute.

The dialog box displays the attributes sorted by location. The active location is indicated by the shaded button.

Scenario Attributes (Global)

Scenario attributes are available to all activities. If a model has two scenarios, then the attribute values in Scenario1 are not available to activities in Scenario2. The scenario attribute prefix is "S." See About Attribute Prefixes.

For example, a Review Committee keeps track of the number of times that a document is reviewed during its entire revision cycle. This uses a scenario attribute called ReviewCount. Any activity that reviews the document increments the count by 1.

For information on scenarios, see Opening Multiple Scenarios.

Process Attributes (Global)

The value of a process attribute is available to activities in the process. The process encompasses the map and its activities. Activities in Process1, for example, can only check or set process attribute values in Process1. The process attribute prefix is "P." See About Attribute Prefixes.

Department Attributes (Global)

Department attributes are available to any activity in the same department, regardless of process.

The department attribute is "D." See About Attribute Prefixes.

For example, each department in a Tax Office has their own tax rate. The fixed cost for an activity is multiplied by the specific department's tax rate. A department attribute, Tax, is defined, with a different initial value for each department.

Setting Values of Global Attributes

The initial value for an attribute that is global in location can be set as part of the simulation data. See Getting Started With Simulation.

1.	Click on the Attributes icon in the Modeling toolbar.

Alternately, from the Model menu, choose Attributes. This brings up the Define Attributes dialog box.

2.	For Location, choose Process, Scenario, or Department.

3.	Add or modify an existing attribute.

4.	 For Initial Value, choose how the value is expressed and the value.

•	Constant. Insert or choose a value from the list. The value must be of the defined type for the attribute. For example, if the type is Number, you can only enter a number.

•	Expression. Create the expression using attributes, functions, and arithmetic operators.

About transactions and report results

Report statistics contain information gathered about transactions that are global in location. See "Statistic" in About the Report Results.


About Attribute Prefixes

Optima! assigns a prefix to all non-transaction attributes to indicate their location. After you have defined an attribute, you see this prefix in the Attribute Settings list. In most cases, you won't need to do anything with the prefix. However, you must enter the prefix if you type the attribute name in an expression.

Type of attribute	Prefix

Transaction attribute	name

Process attribute	P.name

Scenario attribute	S.name

Department attribute	D.name

In a different context, the prefix F.name assigns a value to a transaction attribute for each of the individual members of the transaction's family. (A transaction family is created the first time a transaction is split.) For example, a transaction attribute is assigned a value with the expression: "F.layer = 3". This assigns "3" to "layer" for all other transactions that are family members of the transaction that has the assignment.

For information about transaction families, see "About a Transaction Family" in About Process Modeling.


Defining Types

The type of an attribute or function indicates its range of values. You can choose from the pre-defined types or you can define your own types. There are three pre-defined types: Number, YesNo, and TrueFalse.

•	A Number type sets the attribute value to any real number (to fifteen-digit precision).

•	A YesNo type has a value of either No (equal to 0) or Yes (1).

•	A TrueFalse type specifies that the attribute can either have a value of False (equal to 0) or True (1).

Types are also used to create Decision paths and as case text labels. This is described under "Decision" in Outputs Tab.

You can define a type by following these steps.

1.	From the Model menu, choose the Types command.

This brings up the Define Types dialog box.

2.	Enter a name for the type.

The name must be less than 32 characters and contain only alpha-numeric characters. The name can contain the underscore character but no spaces. Types are case-sensitive.

3.	Move the cursor into the Members box and click the mouse button.

4.	Type each of the members, pressing Enter to start a new line.

For example, if you define a type called Color, these might be members:

Members:

Yellow
Red

5.	To define another type after this one, click on Add.


Using Expressions

The values that you can set for modeling include simple and more complex expressions.

Expression

An expression is a mathematical statement that equals a value or distribution.

Expressions can combine functions, attributes, numbers, and members with different mathematical operators.

For example, on a "Test" activity, the first time a printed circuit board is tested, the test duration is 15 minutes. All subsequent tests take 25 minutes. The expression uses a function called "If." The first argument of the function is an attribute, "First_Time."

If(First_Time, 15, 25)

The advantage to using either the Expression builder or the Expression toolbar to create an expression is that you can often avoid common syntax errors.

About the Expression Builder

The Expression builder provides a useful interface for creating expressions. At many places where an expression is valid, you can either enter the expression manually or use the Expression builder.

About the Expression Toolbar

The Expression toolbar is an alternate method for editing expressions. It is only available for creating expressions in the Edit Activity dialog box. If the Expression toolbar isn't being displayed, from the View menu, choose Toolbars.

The Expression toolbar has buttons for each of the standard operators. Click on these buttons to insert the character into the expression, or enter the character by typing it. The buttons labeled "Paste members," "Paste functions," and "Paste operators" present dialog boxes containing the defined items from which you can choose. Alternately, you can enter the item by typing it in. The buttons provide a convenient shortcut for choosing the correct name.

Spaces are ignored in expressions but can be used to make the expression more readable.

Adding Attributes to Expressions

If you know the name of the attribute, you can type it in as the expression. Otherwise, follow these steps to choose from the list of defined attributes.

1.	In the Expression toolbar or builder, click on Paste Attribute.

This displays the Paste Attribute dialog box.

2.	Double-click on the attribute that you want to paste.

If the attribute doesn't appear in the scrolling list, it may not have been defined yet. See Transaction Attributes. Or, you may need to click on a different location to find it.

3.	When you finish editing the Paste Attributes dialog box, click on OK.

This pastes the attribute into the expression.

Note

Attribute names are case sensitive. If you type an attribute into an expression, use the correct lower- and upper-case characters.

Adding Members to Expressions

If you know the name of the member, for example, True or False, you can type it into the expression. Otherwise, follow these steps to choose from the list of valid members.

1.	In the Expression toolbar or builder, click on the Paste Member icon.

This displays the Paste Member dialog box.

2.	Click on the type.

3.	Double-click on the member.

This pastes the function into the expression.


Adding Operators to Expressions

The following are valid operators to use in an expression.

Operator	Description

+	Added to

-	Subtracted from

* 	Multiplied by

/	Divided by

=	Equal to

!	Not (logical negation)

<	Less than

>	Greater than

<=	Less than or equal to

>=	Greater than or equal to

& 	Logical "and." Both statements must
be true to return True.

|	Logical "or." Either statement must be
true to return True.

(  )	Parentheses

%	Mod operator. Returns a remainder after
a number is divided by a divisor.

,	Comma. Used to separate members of a
list of arguments.

Expressions are evaluated according to the operators used and the placement of parentheses. The operations are performed from left to right in the following order.

Operator	Description

( )	Parentheses

* /	Multiplication and division

+ -	Addition and subtraction

< > <= >= != 	Comparisons

& and |	Logical "and" and "or"


Using System-Defined Functions

Although you can often use a simple number or a distributed value for things such as durations, you use a function for a non-constant value or a range of numbers. Functions are also convenient for creating a single place to change a value used in multiple places.

A function is a mathematical correspondence that returns a value for every value passed to it or generated by the system. You cannot edit the system-defined functions but you can create new functions.

A function has one or more arguments. For example, the Between function returns a value that is uniform in the range between a minimum and maximum value. It has two arguments: min and max. You insert a minimum value which is the lowest value that the function returns and the maximum which is the highest. In the following expression, the duration of an activity is a uniform number between 5 and 15.

Expression:

Between(5,15)

Other system-defined functions map a number to a unit of time. For example, the following expression returns a value of 2, because there are 7200 seconds in two hours.

Expression:

Hours(7200)

Adding a Function to an Expression

1.	View the Expression toolbar.

2.	Click on the Paste Function icon.

This displays the Paste Functions dialog box.

3.	Click on the function that you want to use.

4.	Choose whether to paste the argument with the function.

If this box is checked, the parentheses and text are pasted in. If the box is unchecked, only the function name is pasted.

5.	Click on OK.


List of System-Defined Functions

•	Abs(Number)

This returns the absolute value of a number. The absolute value is the number without a sign. For example, Abs(-4) = 4, Abs(9) = 9.

•	BernoulliDist(Probability)

The Bernoulli distribution returns a value of 1 or 0; the argument indicates how frequently the value of 1 is returned on a percentage basis. For example, BernoulliDist(0.7) implies a value of 1 will be returned 70% of the time.

•	BetaDist(A,B,Min,Max)

This returns the cumulative Beta probability density function between the minimum and maximum values that you supply. The BetaDist function is commonly used to study variation in a percentage across samples.

•	Between(Min,Max)

This provides a uniformly-distributed number between the minimum and maximum values that you supply. For example, if you use Between(10,20), the value returned has an equal probability of being any real number from 10 to 20, both numbers inclusive. For example, 12.5 or 16.413.

•	BetweenNorm(Min,Max)

This provides a Normal random variable between a minimum and maximum value. For example, if you use BetweenNorm(10,20), the value returned is more likely to be 14, 15, or 16, and seldom 10 or 20.

This function is the same as NormDist (discussed later in this section) except that the mean and standard deviation are figured automatically according to the minimum and maximum values that you provide. Also, the value returned will always be inside the specified range.

•	BinomDist(N,Probability)

The binomial distribution models drawing or selecting items from a pool, where N is the number of items in the pool and Probability is the probability of each item being successfully drawn.

•	Ceiling(Num)

This returns a number rounded up to a whole number. The number can be zero or negative. For example, Ceiling(2.5) = 3, Ceiling(0) = 0, Ceiling(-4.37) = -4.

•	Cost(Value, Labor/Equipment/Other, Standard/Overtime)

This returns the costs accumulated on a transaction in the different cost categories. The cost is calculated up to the point in time in the simulation when the function is called. A value of zero returns all cost categories.

Value

1 = Value Added
2 = Business Value Added
3 = Value Added + Business Value Added
4 = No Value Added
5 = Value Added + No Value Added
6 = Business Value Added + No Value Added
7 = Value Added + Business Value Added + No Value Added (same as using 0)

Labor/Equipment/Other

1 = Labor
2 = Equipment
3 = Labor +Equipment
4 = Other
5 = Labor + Other
6 = Equipment + Other
7 = Labor + Equipment + Other (same as using 0)

Standard/Overtime

1 = Standard cost (non-overtime)
2 = Overtime
3 = Standard + Overtime (same as using 0)

For example, Cost(0,0,0) returns total costs in all categories. Cost(1,1,2) returns value-added, overtime labor costs. Cost(4,0,0) returns non-value added costs.

•	Days(Seconds)

This converts the argument from seconds to days. The Days function uses the run setup information to calculate how many hours are in a day. For example, if there are 8 hours in a day, then Days(201600) = 7.

•	DaysToSec(Days)

This converts the argument from days to seconds. This is the inverse function for Days().

•	ElapsedTime()

This returns the amount of time that has elapsed since the start of the simulation, in seconds. For example, ElapsedTime() after four hours of simulation = 14400.

•	ErlangDist(N,B)

The Erlang distribution generates random values where N is the mean distribution and B is the variance. Both N and B must be greater than zero and N is an integer. (The Erlang distribution is a subset of the Gamma distribution.)

aN xN-1 e-bx

(N-1)!

•	Exp(Num)

This returns e raised to the power of "Num." The constant e equals 2.71828182845904, the base of the natural logarithm. For example, Exp(1) = 2.71828.

•	ExponDist(Mean)

This provides an exponential random variable. The variable is described completely by specifying a single property, the mean. For example, if you specify ExponDist(15), the resulting value, over time, will be close to 15. Spikes of much larger or smaller numbers are always possible with the exponential distribution.

•	Floor(Num)

This rounds a number down to a whole number. For example, Floor(4.3) = 4, Floor(.119) = 0, Floor(-5.4) = -6.

•	GammaDist(A,B)

The Gamma distribution generates random values with the following density:

AB

Gamma(B) xB-1 e-Ax

•	Hours(Seconds)

This converts the argument from seconds to hours by dividing by 3600. For example, Hours(32400) = 9.

•	HoursToSec(Hours)

This converts the argument from hours to seconds. This is the inverse function for Hours().

•	If(Test,True,False)

This provides an If function that checks the condition of Test. If Test is true, the value returned is set by the variable labeled True. If Test is false, the value is set by the variable labeled False. The True and False arguments can be expressions themselves.

For example, if you have an attribute named Apple whose value is Red, then the following expression returns 5. If the value of Apple is Green, the expression returns 10.

If(Apple=Red,5,10)

Likewise, if Apple is Red, then the following expression returns 5. If Apple is Green, the expression returns 10. If Apple isn't Red or Green, the expression returns 15.

If(Apple=Red,5,(If(Apple=Green,10,15)))

•	Ln(Num)

This returns the natural logarithm (the inverse of the Exp function). The number must be positive. For example, Ln(55) = 4.00733, Ln(Exp(4)) = 4, Ln(2.71828) = .9999.

•	Log10(Num)

This returns the base 10 logarithm of a number. The number must be positive. For example, Log10(5) = .69897.

•	LogNormDist(Mean,Deviation)

This is the logarithmic normal distribution. The first parameter is the mean and the second is the deviation.

•	Max(Num,Num)

This returns the largest number of the two arguments. For example, Max(4,9) = 9.

•	Min(Num,Num)

This returns the smallest number of the two arguments. For example, Max(4,9) = 4.

•	Minutes(Seconds)

This converts the argument from seconds to minutes. For example, Minutes(4500) = 75.

•	MinutesToSec(Minutes)

This converts the argument from minutes to seconds. This is the inverse function for Minutes().

•	Months(Seconds)

This converts the argument from seconds to months. For example, for 8 hours in a day and 22 days in a month, Months(1267200) = 2.

•	MonthsToSec(Months)

This converts the argument from months to seconds. This is the inverse function for Months().

•	NormDist(Mean,Deviation)

Provides a Normal random variable described by its mean and its standard deviation. The values can range from 5 times the standard deviation.

•	NormSDist()

Provides a standard normal random variable where the mean is 0 and the standard deviation is 1. This function does not take any arguments.

•	PercentYes(Num)

The "Num" sets the percentage of the Yes path on a Decision activity. For example, PercentYes(95) sets the Decision route through the Yes path 95% of the time.

•	PoissonDist(Mean)

The Poisson distribution is a limiting form of the binomial distribution when, in the binomial expression, N tends to infinity and Probability tends to zero at the same time. Exponential interarrivals are the same as Poisson arrivals.

e-Mean Meanx

x!

•	Power(Num,Exp)

This returns Num to the power of Exp. For example, Power(5,3) = 125, Power(1,5) = 1, Power(10,5) = 100000.

•	Random()

Provides a standard normal random variable between 0 and 1.

•	Round(Num,Numdigits)

This rounds the number to the number of specified digits. If NumDigits is greater than zero, it rounds to the specified decimal places. If NumDigits equals zero, it rounds to the nearest integer. If NumDigits is less than zero, it rounds to the left of the decimal. For example, Round(3.45, 1) = 3.5, Round(11.5,-1) = 10.

•	Sqrt(Num)

This returns the positive square root. The number must be positive. For example, Sqrt(25) =5.

•	Time(Timetype)

This returns the amount of time that has accumulated on a transaction, in different categories, since the start of the simulation. The time is given in seconds.

0 = Cycle time
1 = Work time
2 = Resource waiting time
3 = Blocked time
4 = Inactive time

For example, if ten minutes of inactive time has accumulated, Time(4) returns 600.

•	TransServiceTime()

This returns the accumulated service time of a transaction up until the point that the function is evaluated. This doesn't include the duration on the current activity if it is evaluated as "Attribute Settings Before Duration."

•	TransWaitingTime()

This returns the accumulated waiting time of a transaction up until the point that the function is evaluated. This doesn't include the duration on the current activity if it is evaluated as "Attribute Settings Before Duration."

•	TriangleDistribution(Min,Max,Mean)

This returns the value of a Triangle distribution.

•	Trunc(Num,Numdigits)

This rounds the number toward zero to the nearest integer or nearest NumDigits decimal place. For example, Trunc(9.765,0) = 9, Trunc(9.765,2) = 9.76, Trunc(65, -1) = 60, Trunc (-9.765, 2) = -9.76.

•	Weeks(Seconds)

This converts the argument from seconds to weeks. The function uses the run setup information to calculate how many days are in a week. For example, if there are 5 days in a week and 8 hours in a day, then Weeks(6480000) = 45.

•	WeeksToSec(Weeks)

This converts the argument from weeks to seconds. This is the inverse function to Weeks().

•	WeibullDist(A,B)

The Weibull distribution is typically used for reliability analysis. It takes two parameters, A and B, and both must be greater than 0.

We(x) = ABx(B-1) e-AxB

•	Years(Seconds)

This converts the argument from seconds to years. The function uses the run setup to calculate the length of a year. For example, if there are 22 days in a month and 8 hours in a day, then Years(7603200) = 1.

•	YearsToSec(Years)

This converts the argument from years to seconds. This is the inverse function to Years().


Creating Your Own Functions

You can use functions to describe durations or other expressions in individual activities, or to initialize variables in the simulation data. A key advantage to a function is that you can change its definition and have it affect the values in several activities or expressions that use the function.

Adding a Function

The behavior of a function is set by the data that you provide and if you pass an argument to the function or not.

1.	From the Model menu, choose Functions.

This brings up the Define Functions dialog box.

2.	Click on Add to create a new function.

This brings up the Add New Function dialog box.

Function name

Enter a name for the function. The name can be up to 32 alphanumeric characters, including underscore but not spaces.

Function type

Choose from the scrolling list. You can define a new type by clicking on Define Type. See Defining Types.

Argument (mapping)

The function matches one set of values to another set. You pass an argument to a mapping function and Optima! maps it to a new value.

A mapping function offers a method to convert data from one format to another. You specify the type of argument passed to the function and the type returned. You can also set argument text to provide a prompt for the argument when the function appears in a activity. Additional choices for the text and type appear. For text, enter the prompt text that you want with the function.

For example, a function, called "DyeCost," maps colors to numbers. Colors is a user-defined type. If Red is passed to this function, it returns a value of 5. Likewise, Blue returns 8 and Green returns 4.

No Argument (distribution)

The function returns a value that exists proportionally between two or more numbers, based on the range that is defined.

In other words, values between 0 and 100 will be randomly assigned by Optima!. When this function is called a certain percentage of times, it returns the specified set of values.

Both distribution and mapping types of functions can have continuous or non-continuous values.

Defining a Function

To modify a function, from the Model menu, choose Functions. This brings up the Define Functions dialog box. A list of existing functions is displayed and the current function is highlighted.

To define the values of a function, click on the function name from the list of existing functions. To add a new function, see the previous discussion.

# Intervals

Enter the number of intervals, or areas, within the distribution range. The dialog box automatically updates to allow room for editing the interval values.

Continuous

Values are returned in a continuous range. The range of the arguments determines how often a value is returned.

For example, 30% of the time that the function is called, it returns a number between zero and five. Likewise, 55% of the time it is called (between 30 and 85), the function returns a number between five and two. And 15% of the time it is called, the function returns a number between two and four.

Non-continuous

The return values are confined to specific numbers instead of a range. You use a non-continuous function to return certain numbers or members of a type.

For example, 18% of the time that the function is called, it returns a value of 38. Likewise, 15% of the time (between 18 and 43), it returns 53, 19% of the time, it returns 22, and 38% of the time, it returns 58.

Interval

The intervals define the range for each area.

If the function takes an argument (i.e., it's a mapping function), the start and end values indicate the range of numbers that return another value. For example, an interval between 80 and 120 returns a value of 10. (You can change the end value of the last interval for a mapping function.)

If the function doesn't take an argument (i.e., it's a distribution function), the intervals define a percentage of time that, when the function is called, it returns a value. The last interval always has an end value of 100 percent.

Values

Enter a return value to correspond to each interval. The type of the value, for example, if it is a number or other type, is specified when you define the function. Also see Defining Types.


Running a Simulation

After you create the model for the process map, it is time to simulate it. When a process is simulated, it runs through a processor that takes the information in the process map, including the activities and accompanying logic, and runs it for a set amount of time. This produces statistical results based on the model.

Getting Started With Simulation

Run Setup

Simulation Time

Initialization and Reports

Snapshots

Generators

Resources

Resource Pools

Running the Simulation

Schedules

Defining a Schedule

Days

Hours

Composite Schedules

Event Schedules

Opening Multiple Scenarios

About the Scenario Window


Getting Started With Simulation

About the Modeling Toolbar

You use the Modeling toolbar to access the simulation icons. If the toolbar isn't displayed, you can view it by choosing View from the Toolbars menu.

About Optima! Simulation

The simulation method used by Optima! is called discrete event simulation. In a discrete event system, the system changes from one distinct state to another as activities occur in a series of individual steps. This change in state can occur in any of the potentially thousands of variables in the model. For example, the number of transactions in a particular queue decreases, or the status of a particular resource changed from busy to out of service.

In other words, an Optima! model changes state at discrete points in time as the result of simulation events.

A discrete system uses variables that can take on only particular values from among a finite (but potentially very large) set of alternatives. For example, the users of a telephone booth are engaged in a series of discrete activities. Customers arrive at the booth and wish to make a call. If the booth is busy, the caller creates or joins the waiting line. When the booth is available, the first person in line uses the phone for a certain amount of time. The person then leaves, making the booth available for the next caller.

At any given point in time, the state of the telephone booth can be specified by a variable indicating the particular activity being engaged in.

About the Optima! Environment

A simulation run uses one or more process maps in association with a scenario. This provides the environment for running the simulation.

Scenario

A scenario is a set of data about the simulation environment. It includes the run setup, generators, resources, schedule definitions, and other simulation options.

You can have several scenarios in one file for running different variations (see Opening Multiple Scenarios). Also, a simulation can use activities from more than one process and the results from multiple reports can be compared side-by-side.


Run Setup

In this step for providing scenario data, you define the type of simulation time used, when the simulation ends, and the time conversion units.

•	Simulation Time. This tab defines how time is viewing by the simulator, when simulation starts and ends, and time conversion units, if any.

In addition to the type of simulation time, you also specify when the simulation ends. You can have the simulation end when all generated transactions have completed their journey through the process map or after a specific amount of time, for example, 2 weeks.

•	Initialization and Reports. This tab defines where report results are created and also is used to set active limit and sequence values.

•	Snapshots. This tab is used to define snapshots, or points in time during simulation when data accumulation occurs.


Simulation Time

To set the simulation time and other run properties, follow these steps.

1.	Click on the Run Setup icon in the Modeling toolbar.

Alternately, from the Model menu, choose Run Setup. This brings up the Run Setup dialog box.

2.	Choose the Simulation Time tab.

Simulation time

This sets whether the simulation uses active time or operates around-the-clock. Many simulations use compressed time because all of the activities are performed within a regular time span. However, if you want to analyze any time that falls outside regular time spans, then use calendar time.

•	Compressed. A compressed model simulates only the active hours. The time is described as being compressed because the simulator only runs during the hours when activity occurs. For example, if an activity takes 10 hours, then one transaction completes in 10 hours.

•	Calendar. A calendar time model uses a twenty-four hour clock. This allows for regular activity time plus overtime or multiple shifts of resources. For example, if an activity takes 10 hours, and the resources are active for only 8 hours a day, then one transaction completes in 26 hours. This includes eight hours active time, 16 hours out of schedule, and two more hours active time to complete the activity.

Default schedule (Calendar time only)

Choose a schedule during which the simulation is active. This schedule becomes the default schedule which can be referred to in any place in the model that uses a schedule. This capability lets you define (and change) the schedule in one place, if desired. All resources and generators are also initially set to the default schedule. See Schedules.

Simulation start (Calendar time only)

•	By Weekday. The run starts on a Monday. You can change this to another day of the week by clicking on Change.

•	By Date. The run starts on the day listed in the dialog box, or you can change it by clicking on Change.

Simulation end

•	Transactions complete. All transactions finish or at least advance as far as the process flow allows them. This option is useful for models in which you analyze the time that it takes individual transactions to run through the process. For example, you measure how long it takes to introduce a new product to the market or the average time to manufacture a printed circuit board.

See "When Transactions are Complete" in About Activity Processing.

•	Custom. This is the length of time that the simulation runs. You can specify a number and a time unit. A custom end time is a good option for models in which you are analyzing resources because there is a set period of time in which many actions are occurring. (Compare this to a simulation that continues to run until all transactions are complete. After the generator finishes issuing transactions, then no new transactions vie for resources.)

When you set an end time, as you would expect, some transactions may not finish processing. For example, if the run takes one year, then some work will likely be in progress at the end of the year.

Time conversion

Time conversion units are used to calculate the durations for activities, interarrival generators, and, in the case of compressed time, report elements.

•	Calendar Time (standard). The standard time conversion units are 24 hours in a day, 7 days in a week.

•	Calendar Time (custom). You set time conversion units for hours in a day and days in a week. If you change these units, it can affect calculations of durations and interarrival generators, but not report results. Report statistics are calculated using the standard time conversion units for calendar time models (24 hours in a day, 7 days in a week).


Initialization and Reports

When you run a simulation, by default, the data is automatically created in a report called Report1. More simulation runs create more reports, i.e., Report2, Report3, and so on. You can specify a custom report name and whether the results are appended or replace an existing report. The reports are contained within the current Optima! .pfd file. You can also specify other run initialization options such as the active limit and the sequence.

1.	In the Run Setup dialog box, choose the Initialization/Reports tab.

Report

•	Create New Report. A new report is created each time you run a simulation. Any existing information in the report is always deleted before the new report is created.

•	Append to Report. The simulation results are added to the end of the report each time you run the simulator. This lets you compare results across multiple simulations.

•	Replace Simulation Run. The results replace a single simulation run by name. (This option is only available if a report already exists.)

Report name

Choose a name or create your own. If you have several report results, you can replace the results from a single simulation run. A list of names is displayed from which you can choose.

Active limits

Set an upper limit for the number of transactions that can be processed concurrently. The default is 1000. This sets a safety condition for the simulator in case you have inadvertently created a loop or other oversight in the modeling logic that would cause the model to generate too many transactions to process at one time.

Sequence

The sequence number seeds the random number generator. Optima! uses random number generators to create different values and events that occur in the process. Each random number generator uses a sequence. If the sequence number is the same, you can make exact comparisons across simulations. For example, a transaction follows the same path as it did in previous simulations.

During modeling, it's important that you generate enough transactions to ensure that the results are not skewed by a small sample. If you are only processing a small number of transactions, then you can run multiple simulations with different sequences to increase your sampling size.

Per activity

Specify if the set of numbers used by the random number generator is different for each activity. If all activities use the same random number generator, the randomness of each number is affected by other numbers that have already been generated. In other words, if the same numbers are used, one global change in the process affects other parts of the process. A different set of numbers for each activity (which is the default) allows numbers to be independently random. Either method allows for exact comparisons across simulations.


Snapshots

A snapshot is a defined time when data accumulation occurs. By default, data is captured in the report at the end of simulation. Using snapshots allows you to capture data at other points during simulation.

1.	In the Run Setup dialog box, choose the Snapshots tab.

•	Specific Time. A snapshot is taken at a set time. To add a snapshot, click on Add and enter the time and the unit that you want the snapshot to take place. Note that there is some file overhead associated with each snapshot because a lot of data is saved.

•	Scheduled Event. A snapshot is taken when the event occurs. You choose the event from the scrolling list. For example, a snapshot can be taken daily. See Event Schedules.


Generators

A generator introduces transactions into the process at the first activity or at other entry points. It provides a method for setting a rate at which transactions enter the process. You can think of the generator as the driving force behind the process. For example, each generated transaction can represent a customer submitting an order or a new product being developed.

Depending on the type of generator you choose, the transactions enter one at a time, in multiples, or whenever a resource is available.

To define a generator

1.	Click on the Generator icon in the Modeling toolbar.

Alternately, from the Model menu, choose Generators. This brings up the Define Generators dialog box.

•	For Existing Generators, click to select the generator name.

•	To create a new generator, click on Add.

•	To delete a generator, select it and click on Delete.

Start point

Choose the process name (if there is more than one process) and the name of the starting point. A start point corresponds to an activity that labels a start point. See Start Points.

Generator type

•	Completion. The generator introduces a transaction into the process, and then introduces another transaction only when the previous one has completed its journey through the process. You set a count for the total number of consecutive transactions to be generated.

A completion generator is useful for modeling how long a process takes, such as a product development cycle. There is seldom any resource contention between transactions in a completion generator model because one transaction always completes before the next transaction starts. (One exception is, of course, if an activity splits a transaction and the family members compete for resources among themselves.)

See "When Transactions are Complete" in About Activity Processing.

•	Demand. This generator sends a transaction to a start point every time a worker is available in the department containing the start point.

A demand generator is useful for finding out such things as maximum throughput of a process, such as the production capacity of a manufacturing line.

Note

The active limit sets the maximum number of transactions active in the process at any point in time. This places a limit on the generator. See Initialization and Reports.

•	Interarrival. This generator issues transactions at a defined rate. You set the count and interarrival time. This generator is useful for modeling regular processes such as an order entry system where transactions occur on some type of regular basis.

Active

Choose if the generator is generating any transactions. By default, a process has an active generator. An active generator works during simulation. The most common reason for deactivating a generator is for a subprocess. A subprocess typically gets transactions from other processes and not from a generator. See About Subprocesses.

Active period to generate transactions

The active period, by default, is the same as when the simulation starts and ends. You can set a start time if you want elapsed time to occur between the point when the simulation begins and the generator starts. Likewise, you can specify an end time when the generator stops issuing transactions.

Schedule of active period

Choose the schedule for the generator. A generator only issues transactions during active time in the schedule. See Schedules.

Count (Completion generator only)

Set the total number of transactions introduced during the simulation.

Initial and subsequent count (Interarrival generator only)

Set the number of transactions introduced at the generator start time and the number issued after the starting time, at subsequent points when the generator is about to generate a new transaction.

Interarrival time (Interarrival generator only)

Choose how often transactions are introduced.

•	Constant. Set a value and choose a unit of time. For example, a transaction is generated into the process every 2 hours.

•	Distributed. Set the distribution range, function, and unit of time. For example, a transaction is generated in a normal distribution between every 5 and 25 minutes. (For a brief description of normal and uniform  functions, see Using System-Defined Functions.)

•	Expression. Set the expression. Its value determines how often a transaction is generated. See Using Expressions.

Attribute settings

This adds an "Initial Attribute Settings" area to the dialog box. These values are set for all newly generated transactions. For general information on attributes, see Transaction Attributes.

You can only initialize transaction attributes in the generator. For information on initializing other global attributes, see Attributes That Are Global.


Resources

The resource list describes the number of workers and other resources available to the model. To define the resources, follow these steps.

1.	Click on the Resource icon in the Modeling toolbar.

Alternately, from the Model menu, choose Resources. This brings up the Define Resources dialog box.

Under "Existing Resources," the Worker resource is automatically defined for all models. This resource is automatically assigned a "Labor" resource type (see the "Resource Type" step).

•	To add a resource, click on the Add button

This brings up the Add New Resource dialog box. Type a new name under Resource Name and choose a Resource Type.

•	To modify a resource, select its name from the Existing Resources list and click on Modify.

Resource type

The resource type provides a method for you to create categories of resources. These are used to organize report results, for example, you can view statistics that are sorted by labor, equipment, or other. See Statistic.

•	Labor. This category typically describes human activity, i.e., people or positions that perform specific jobs.

•	Equipment. This category describes physical resources such as machines, computers, or other equipment used in an operation.

•	Other. This category is used for all other types of resources.

Resource count

This assigns the quantity of resources available.

Schedule

The schedule determines the active times for the resource. When a resource is in schedule, it can be used by activities to process transactions. When the resource is not in schedule, the transactions wait. For general information on schedules, see Schedules.

About Resource Costs

Activities can accumulate costs during simulation to provide data about different expenses. You set the costs to accumulate in two different places.

•	A cost can be part of an activity base that includes fixed and value cost. See Activity Base.

•	A cost can be set as a result of resources used. The resource cost for an activity is the combination of its resources' hourly rate, per use cost, and overtime hourly rate.

Different units of time are converted automatically; for example, a rate can be in hours while the duration is days.

•	Hourly Rate. The total hourly rate is calculated using the resource busy time (as defined in Transaction Statistics).

•	Per Use. This is a cost that accumulates each time the resource is used. For example, a duplicating machine accrues $.05 for every copy that is made.

Overtime

•	Hourly Rate. The overtime rate is calculated when a resource enters overtime. Whether a resource uses overtime depends on the resource behavior, the activity behavior, and the resource's schedule.

•	Maximum Hours Per Day. This sets the maximum overtime hours allowed for the resource on this activity. For example, a machine can only run two hours over its regular schedule.

For example, let's look at workers who are responsible for manufacturing plastic disks. The workers have a standard schedule. They are paid $12.00 an hour, $18 overtime, and are authorized to work up to one hour overtime a day.

The workers use a plastic extruding machine that is always available. The machine costs $100 an hour to run, plus there is a per use cost of $75.

For two hours in our example, assume one hour of regular time and one hour of overtime. One worker uses the machine. For the first hour, $12 of the worker's hourly rate is accumulated, plus $100 for the machine's hour and $75 per use. For the second hour, $18 of the worker's overtime rate is accumulated, plus another $100 for the machine's hour. The total for the two hours is $305.


Resource Pools

A pool is a group of identical resources. The resources in a pool are allocated and queued independently from other resources in other pools. You set the order that multiple pools are drawn from and the sequence for transactions to enter the queue. Each pool has its own allocation of resources.

Optima! creates one pool for each department, even if the pool only has one worker. All other types of resources are combined into shared pools.

1.	In the Define Resources dialog box, click on Advanced.

The same dialog box is updated to arrange the resources by pool.

2.	(Optional) For Resources, click to select a pool.

Newly created pools are appended after the selected pool.

3.	Click on the Add Pool button.

A new pool is created. The pool name is grayed out if there are no departments assigned to it. The pool name is a series set by the system, for example, Pool-B, Pool-C, and so on.

The report area displays the pool information. For example, Dept. 1 uses Pool-A exclusively and Dept. 2 uses Pool-B exclusively. Pool-C has a single worker but is not assigned to any department.

 4.	When more than one process is open, you have the option of sharing the resource pools between processes.

•	By Process. Pools are kept separately by process.

•	By Process (not checked). The pools are shared between processes.

Shared and unshared pools

A pool can be unshared or shared. In an unshared pool, resources are allocated to one department. In a shared pool, multiple departments and processes draw from the same pool when they acquire a resource.

You can view a diagram of shared pool allocations in the Scenario window under Resources. See About the Scenario Window.

To create shared or unshared pools, follow these steps.

1.	In the Define Resources dialog box, click on Advanced.

This updates the dialog box.

2.	For Department, double-click on the department name for which you are selecting one or more pools.

Alternately, you can click once to select the department name and click on Modify Pool. This brings up a dialog box specific to the resource, department, and process.

Selected pools

Select the pools for the department. Highlighted pools are added to the selection; unhighlighted are removed.

Search Order

Use the up and down arrows and the First and Last buttons to move the pools in the order to be searched from top to bottom.

Queuing method

Choose the order in which transactions wait before their resource requests are processed.

•	First In, First Out. Transactions queue in the order that they arrive.

•	First In, Last Out. Transactions queue in the reverse order.

•	Min of Attribute. Choose the transaction attribute that you want to queue by its minimum value.

•	Max of Attribute. Choose the transaction attribute that you want to queue by its maximum value.


Running the Simulation

You can start, stop, or run a trace simulation by clicking on the icons in the Modeling toolbar.

The first icon, an arrow, starts the simulator. The second icon, a box, stops the simulation. The third icon, a magnifying glass, starts a trace simulation (see Using the Trace Window).

Alternately, you can start and stop the simulator using the Run menu.

•	From the Run menu, choose Start.

This begins the simulation. If a process error or warning occurs, a message window appears. The simulation runs to completion so you generally don't need to stop it by hand.

•	To stop a simulation, from the Run menu, choose Stop.

You can stop a simulation at any point while it is running.

For information about reports, see Report Results.

If there are any warnings or error messages, they appear in the message window.

Note

If you double-click on an error in the message window, the source of the error is displayed.


Schedules

When you create the simulation data for a scenario, you can set the simulation to begin Monday morning at 8:00 am (which is the default) or you can designate the exact days and hours during which the simulation takes place. The specification is given as a schedule.

Schedule

A schedule is a list of active hours and days.

You can use schedules to set active times for the following:

•	Resources. A resource's schedule determines the times that the resource is available.

You set a resource's schedule when you define a resource. See Resources.

For example, at a management consultant firm, the consultants are available Monday through Friday from 8:00 am to 5:00 pm. If a client has a consulting question that arises during the evening, the question must wait until the morning to be addressed when the consultants are back at work.

Note that schedules can be applied directly to activities, however, they are more simply applied to the resources used by the activities.

•	Activities. An activity's schedule determines the times that the activity can process transactions.

You set an activity's schedule as part of the definition of the activity. See Task Tab.

For example, at a testing laboratory, the assistants always have a department meeting on the first Tuesday of the month. During this meeting time, no testing takes place.

•	Generators. The schedule for a generator determines the active period during which the generator can issue transactions.

You set a generator's schedule when you define the generator. See Generators.

For example, at a hoist and crane manufacturing warehouse, an order for a new crane only comes in during normal working hours. However, after an order is received, the workers work on building the crane during the night.

•	Events (Batch by time). An activity can process transactions at the point when a schedule event happens.

You set a batching event when you define the activity's inputs. See Batching. A list of available event schedules is provided in Event Schedules.

For example, a bank has an automatic cash machine in which customers can make deposits during the evening hours when the bank is closed. The bank processes the deposits at 9:00 am every morning.

Using Optima! Schedules

You can choose from a large set of schedules that are provided with Optima! or you define your own (see Defining a Schedule). A schedule consists of lists of the active days and hours.

Hours

•	Standard_Hours. The time periods are 8:00 am to 12:00 pm, 12:00 pm to 1:00 pm (out of service), and 1:00 pm to 5:00 pm.

•	Swing_Hours. The time periods are 4:00 pm to 8:00 pm, 8:00 pm to 9:00 pm (out of service), 9:00 pm to 12:00 am, and 12:00 am to 1:00 am.

•	Night_Hours. The time periods are 12:00 am to 4:00 am, 4:00 am to 5:00 am (out of service), and 5:00 am to 9:00 am.

Days

•	Standard. Monday through Friday.

•	Weekend_Days. Saturday and Sunday.

•	Holiday_Days. New Year's Day, Memorial Day, July Fourth, Labor Day, Thanksgiving Day, and Christmas Day.

•	Mondays. Every Monday.

•	Tuesdays. Every Tuesday.

•	Wednesdays. Every Wednesday.

•	Thursdays. Every Thursday.

•	Fridays. Every Friday.

•	Saturdays. Every Saturday.

•	Sundays. Every Sunday.

•	First_Day_of_Month. The first day of every month.

•	Last_Day_of_Month. The last day of every month.

Schedules

For each schedule, see the descriptions of "Days" and "Hours" for the complete time span.

•	Always. All hours and all days.

•	Standard. Standard_Days and Standard_Hours.

•	Swing. Standard_Days and Swing_Hours.

•	Night. Standard_Days and Night_Hours.

•	Standard_With_Holidays. Standard_Days and Standard_Hours, with the exception of Holiday_Days.

•	Swing_with_Holidays. Standard_Days and Swing_Hours, with the exception of Holiday_Days.

•	Night_with_Holidays. Standard_Days and Night_Hours, with the exception of Holiday_Days.

•	Two_Shifts. Standard_Days, with both Standard_Hours and Swing_Hours.

•	Three_Shifts. Standard_Days, with Standard_Hours, Swing_Hours, and Night_Hours.

•	US_Holidays. Standard_Days and Standard_Hours, with the exception of Holiday_Days.

When an activity or resource is described as being in schedule, it means that the current time is an active period. Likewise, when an activity or resource is out of schedule, it is not an active period. For example, if you choose the Always schedule on a generator, the generator can issue transactions at any time. Likewise, if you choose the Swing schedule on a generator, the generator can issue transactions only during the hours of 4:30 pm to 12:30 am.

About Schedules and Overtime

When you define a resource, you assign it a schedule. The schedule describes the time the resource is either available for work or out of service. Any time outside the schedule is considered to be inactive time and is a potential span for overtime. For example, a resource can be assigned to work during the standard shift. Any time before 8:00 am and after 5:00 pm is potentially overtime.

A resource is assigned an overtime rate and a maximum amount of overtime that it can work. For example, if a resource has a maximum overtime of zero, the resource never works outside its schedule. If the maximum overtime is two, the resource is eligible to work two hours a day during its inactive hours. For information on setting a resource's overtime rate and maximum amount, see Resources.


Defining a Schedule

To define a new schedule (or edit an existing one), follow these steps.

1.	Click on the Schedule icon in the Modeling toolbar.

Alternately, from the Model menu, choose Schedule. This brings up the Define Schedule dialog box.

•	To edit an existing schedule, select it.

•	To define a new schedule, click to select a schedule that is similar to the one you will be creating, and click on Add. This creates a copy of the schedule and brings up the Add New Schedule dialog box. You enter a new name (no spaces) and click on OK.

The name is selected in the list of existing schedules and a visual representation of the calendar is displayed in the dialog box. The colors of the days indicate their status.

•	Green. Days that are displayed in green represent active time.

•	Gray. Days that are displayed in gray are not part of the schedule and are therefore marked inactive.

•	Red (only in composite schedules). Days that are displayed in red are specifically marked inactive by another schedule.

You can click on a day to see the exact active hours. For example, if you click on January 9 in the Standard_with_Holidays schedule, the standard hours are displayed.

2.	From the Time Line, choose the days and hours to be included as active in the schedule.

To define a new Days schedule, see Days.

To define a new Hours schedule, see Hours.

3.	To add inactive time, create a composite schedule. See Composite Schedules.

Note

Any changes that you make to a schedule only apply to the currently active process map. To copy the schedule to other process maps or templates, use the Scenario window. See "Copying and Pasting Scenario Data" in About the Scenario Window.


Days

You can add or edit the definition for days within a schedule.

1.	Click on the Schedule icon in the Modeling toolbar.

Alternately, from the Model menu, choose Schedule. This brings up the Define Schedule dialog box.

2.	Under Time Line, next to Days, click on Define.

This brings up the Define Days dialog box.

Note

If you change the definition for Standard_Days (or any other day or hour schedules), it changes all schedules in the active process map that contain that day schedule.

You can select to edit an existing list, or click on Add to create a list.

•	Day Type. Choose which days are to be included. The choices are Selected Days, First Work Day, or Last Work Day.

For Selected Days, click on the days in the week or calendar to choose them.

•	Week Type. Choose among Weekly, Every N Weeks, or Calendar.

At this point, the days simply form a list; later, when the list is included in a composite schedule, you can specify whether the list is active or not active. For example, Holiday_Days is a list of standard holidays. When it is included in a composite schedule, it is specified as inactive (i.e., no one works on those days).


Hours

You can add or edit the definition for hours within a schedule.

1.	Click on the Schedule icon in the Modeling toolbar.

Alternately, from the Model menu, choose Schedule. This brings up the Define Schedule dialog box.

2.	Under Time Line, next to Hours, click on Define.

This brings up the Define Hours dialog box.

You can select to edit an existing list, or click on Add to create a new list.

•	Out of Service Span. This defines the currently selected time span as out of service. Out of service time is not eligible for overtime and is maintained as a separate statistic in the report results.

•	Paid. This defines the currently selected time span as paid (the default). An unpaid time span can be used for such things as coffee breaks.


Composite Schedules

If you want to define a schedule, you can edit an existing schedule or combine schedules to create a composite schedule.

Composite Schedule

A composite schedule is a combination of existing schedules and lists of days and hours, some of which may be inactive, that creates a new schedule.

Creating a composite schedule can save you time because it takes advantage of predefined components such as holidays. For example, a Swing_With_Holidays schedule is a composite schedule. It consists of the Swing schedule combined with the US_Holidays schedule. When a composite schedule is created, the days and hours form a "mask" or an overlay on the schedule, depending on whether the hours and days are active or not active.

To define a new schedule, you can start fresh, or pick and choose among existing schedules, and then add different active or inactive hours to make a new schedule.

To create a composite schedule

1.	Click on the Schedule icon in the Modeling toolbar.

Alternately, from the Model menu, choose Schedule. This brings up the Define Schedule dialog box.

2.	Under Time Line, click on Composite.

This brings up the Edit Composite Schedule dialog box.

A composite schedule can consist of more than one schedule and more than one list of days and hours. You can select to edit an existing composite, or click on Insert Days/Hours or Insert Schedule to create a new composite.

•	Choose a Days definition (or create a new one by clicking on Define).

•	Choose an Hours definition (or create a new one).

•	Specify whether the days and hours are inactive time (i.e., nothing happens during this time).

•	To insert another schedule, click on Insert Schedule.

This brings up a list of available schedules to choose from (or you can create a new one). You can also specify whether the schedule is active or not.


Event Schedules

An event schedule is a list of specific points in time, as compared to a regular schedule that includes time spans. You use an event schedule when you want to designate an event that happens at a single point in time, for example, a batch process.

Event hours

•	Morning. 8:00 am.

•	Afternoon. 1:00 pm.

•	End_of_Day. 5:00 pm.

Event days

For a list of event days, see Days.

Event schedules

•	Every_Morning. An event happens every morning.

•	Every_Afternoon. An event happens every afternoon.

•	Every_End_of_Day. An event happens every End_of_Day.

•	Weekly. An event happens Monday morning of every week.

•	First_of_Month. An event happens on the first morning of every month.

•	Last_of_Month. An event happens on the last morning of every month.

To define an event schedule.

1.	Click on the Event icon in the Modeling toolbar.

Alternately, from the Model menu, choose Event. This brings up the Define Event dialog box. A list of existing events is displayed.

•	To see the definition for an existing event, click to select it.

The dialog box is updated to show the weekly or monthly calendar that displays the event. You can view the hours of the event by clicking on a specific day in the calendar.

You can select to edit an existing list, or click on Add to create a new event.

•	Days. Choose a list or create a new one by clicking on Define.

•	Hours. Choose a list or create a new one by clicking on Define.

Events are used primarily when you are specifying to batch inputs by time. See Batching.


Opening Multiple Scenarios

You can create multiple scenarios to compare models. A model consists of one or more process maps, reports, and scenario data. You can use multiple scenarios to save time if you find that you make a lot of changes to the scenario data between simulations. You can create two or more versions of the scenario data to compare the results of such things as changing the number of transactions generated or the value of an attribute.

The run setup, generators, resources, schedules, initializations, function definitions and monitoring information apply only to a single scenario. You must supply this information for each scenario (or use the defaults).

Opening a New Scenario

1.	From the File menu, choose Scenarios.

This brings up the Scenarios dialog box.

2.	Click on New.

This creates and opens the new scenario.

Copying a Scenario

When you open a new scenario, it contains the system defaults. If you have set up a scenario and wish to use it as the basis for a new scenario, you can use the Copy and Paste buttons.

1.	From the File menu, choose Scenarios.

This brings up the Scenarios dialog box.

2.	Click to select the name of the scenario that you wish to copy.

3.	Click on the Copy button.

This copies the scenario to the clipboard.

Pasting a Scenario

After you have copied a scenario to the clipboard, you can paste it to create a new scenario.

1.	In the Scenarios dialog box, click on the Paste button.

This pastes a copy of the scenario information on the clipboard to create a new scenario. The new scenario is the last number in the sequence (for example, Scenario4 if there were previously three scenarios).

The Paste button only appears if a scenario has been copied to the clipboard. You can also copy and paste scenarios between files.

2.	Double-click on the new scenario name.

This opens the copied scenario.

Deleting or Renaming a Scenario

1.	From the File menu, choose Scenarios.

This brings up the Scenarios dialog box.

2.	Click under "Scenario names" to select a scenario.

•	To delete, click on the Delete button.

This removes the scenario.

•	To rename, click on Rename.

This brings up the Rename dialog box. The name can contain up to 64 alphanumeric characters, including underscore and space characters.


About the Scenario Window

The scenario window contains a listing of all of the scenario data that you can set with the icons in the Modeling toolbar (Run Setup, Generators, Resources, etc.,) or the Model menu.

You use the scenario window to set global aspects of simulation. The scenario window is in outline form. Click on a Plus button to expand or Minus button to collapse a topic. After you expand a topic, you can double-click on any item to bring up the dialog box to change its value. After you set global data, you use the Run menu in this window to start the simulation.

You can follow these steps to open a scenario window.

1.	Click on the View Scenarios icon in the Modeling toolbar.

Alternately, from the File menu, choose Scenarios. This displays the Scenario dialog box that contains a list of available scenario names.

2.	Double-click on the name of the scenario to open, typically Scenario1.

Alternately, you can select the name and click on Open.

The Scenario window opens. You can click on the outline buttons to expand and contract them. Some categories are grayed out because their members are not used in any activities.

Note

Once you have a window open, use the Windows menu to view it. Using the File > Scenario menu opens another copy of the scenario in another window.

You can delete unused data whenever it is no longer needed. For example, if you created a function that is no longer used, its definition is kept in the scenario window for later use but it is grayed out. You can delete it by selecting and pressing the Delete key.

Copying and Pasting Scenario Data

To copy scenario data, for example, a generator definition or schedule, into another process map, follow these steps.

1.	In the Scenario window, click to expand the topic so that you can view the data that you want to copy.

2.	Click to select the data.

For example, the "Standard_Hours" schedule is selected.

3.	From the Edit menu, choose Copy.

This copies the item to the clipboard.

4.	Open the Scenario window in another process map.

5.	Click to expand this topic to view the data that matches what you've copied to the clipboard.

In other words, if you've copied a Generator definition, click to view the Generator definitions.

6.	From the Edit menu, choose Paste.

About the Generator Timeline

The timeline is a visual method for checking the simulation time. It appears when you have defined a custom starting or ending time. The top half of the timeline shows units of simulated time. A red line marks the actual length of the simulation as set in the control data. The bottom half of the timeline indicates how long the generator is going to issue transactions.

Arranging Windows

Once you have opened any of the Optima! windows, you can use the Window menu to arrange the windows on the screen or to view them one at a time.

The Window menu contains standard Windows items.

Reopening a Window

If you close a process, scenario, or report window, you can open it again by choosing Process, Scenario, or Report from the File menu.


Using the Trace Window

The trace window gives you a visual portrayal of the flow of transactions. You can observe the movement of transactions from activity to activity. Often, you can visually troubleshoot a model by simply watching the trace window because you can see how the model is working.

In addition to its visual quality and its ability to communicate different states by changing colors, the trace window lets you interact with the simulation. You can view or set the value of attributes at any point during the simulation. This lets you examine alternate paths without changing the model. Or you can set pause points that let you simulate to a certain point, and then you can examine the individual components.

About the Trace Window

Transactions and Attributes in the Trace Window

Using Pause Points


About the Trace Window

The trace window gives you a visual way to analyze and troubleshoot. You can see the path that a transaction takes as it follows the process flow. Different colors represent different states. The Trace toolbar has a slider to change the speed of the trace and buttons for starting and stopping.

Viewing the Trace Window

•	From the Model menu, choose the Trace icon.

Alternately, from the Run menu, choose Trace. This brings up a trace window.

•	To display the Trace toolbar, choose Toolbars from the View menu.

This brings up the Toolbars dialog box where you can choose to view the Trace toolbar.

•	To set the viewing percentage, use the View combo box in the Process toolbar.

Alternately, you can choose Zoom from the View menu. This brings up the Zoom dialog box where you can set the viewing percentage. If you choose View All and change the size of the trace window, the percentage is recalculated to continue to display the entire map.

•	To use the entire window, click on the Maximize icon.

Starting and Stopping

The trace buttons are located on the Trace toolbar. You can also access any of these options from the Run menu.

•	To start the trace, click on the Start button.

•	To step through the trace, click on Step.

•	To pause the trace, click on Pause. Start again by clicking on Start/Resume.

•	To stop the trace, click on the Stop button.

•	To go to the next Pause point, click on the Go To Pause button.

Note

To keep the report window from displaying over the trace window when the simulation is complete, the report window can be turned into an icon.

About the Trace Colors

Different colors provide information about the state of each transaction.

•	A green transaction is moving after completing an activity.

•	A blue transaction is working. For example, the transaction is at an activity that has a work duration associated with it.

•	A magenta transaction is blocked because it is waiting for a condition to change (other than resource availability). For example, a transaction waits for a batching condition to be met or is blocked by a delay duration.

•	A yellow transaction is waiting for resources to become available.

•	A gray transaction is waiting because of a schedule that is inactive (for example, after 5:00 pm using the Standard schedule). The schedule may apply to either a resource used by the activity, or the activity itself.

Changing the Trace Colors

1.	From the Control menu, choose Colors.

This brings up the Trace Colors dialog box.

2.	Use the scrolling lists to choose the new colors.

3.	After you are through editing the dialog box, click on OK.

Note

The trace window can be used to view more than one process. See "Using the Trace Window With Multiple Processes" in Tips For Working With Multiple Processes.

About the Trace Numbers

The trace numbers add further clarification to the trace colors (only one trace color is displayed on an activity at a time). When more than one transaction accumulates for processing at any activity, the trace window displays the total number of transactions at the activity and how many are in the shown state.

You can check the state of the other transactions. See "Viewing Transactions" in Transactions and Attributes in the Trace Window.


Transactions and Attributes in the Trace Window

You can view transaction information and set the value of an attribute in the trace window. The ability to change an attribute during simulation allows you to modify information on the transaction to validate different situations in your model. This can be a valuable debugging technique.

Viewing Transactions

During a trace simulation, you can view transaction information in the lower area of the window.

1.	From the View menu, choose Transactions.

This divides the trace window into areas. The left side has a numbered list that represents transactions flowing through the process map.

2.	To view the attributes associated with a transaction, click on the number.

This displays the attributes for the selected transaction in the right side. By double-clicking on the attribute value, you can change the value of the selected transaction attribute when the trace is paused.

Selecting a transaction also highlights the transaction in the trace window.

Note

Duration is a transaction attribute that can be changed, but changing it will not have an affect on the current activity. It can therefore be viewed as informational only.

3.	To close the transaction area of the window, from the View menu, click to toggle the choice of Transactions.

Viewing Attribute Values

1.	From the View menu, choose Attributes.

This adds a lower area to the trace window for viewing attribute values. The lower area lists the values of scenario, process, and department attributes with each transaction moving through the simulation.

2.	To remove the attribute area of the trace window, from the View menu, click to toggle the choice of Attributes.

This closes the Attributes area of the trace window.

Setting Attributes

To set an attribute during the trace simulation, you must first pause the trace or be using the Step icon to step through each activity.

1.	In the Attributes area, click on the attribute that you want to set.

You can step to a place in the process where the attribute is used.

2.	From the Control menu, choose Set Attribute.

This brings up the Set Attribute dialog box.

3.	Set the new value.

4.	Click on OK to close the Set Attribute dialog box.


Using Pause Points

A pause point is a breaking position that you can place in a trace simulation. When you run a trace, transactions stop at any pause points. You can use this break to examine attributes or values associated with the transaction.

The following steps insert a pause point.

1.	In the trace window, click to select the activity where the pause point is to be placed.

2.	From the Control menu, choose Set Pause Point.

•	For Always, transactions are always stopped at this pause point.

•	For Expression True, the expression builder appears. Insert an expression that you want to be evaluated for each transaction.

For example, in the following expression, the trace pauses if an attribute named "OrderType" is set to "WestCoast."

OrderType = WestCoast

•	If you choose After Count, a scrolling counter appears. Enter a count. When the number of transactions through the activity equals the count, the next transaction is paused.

3.	Click on OK to close the dialog box.

During the trace simulation, you can use pause points to start and stop simulation.

•	To go to a pause point, choose Go To Pause in the Trace toolbar.

Alternately, from the Run menu, choose Go to Pause. This runs the simulation at its fastest speed (i.e., not changing the colors) until it reaches the pause point. This is a useful time-saver when the point that you wish to analyze occurs well into the simulation.

•	To continue past a pause point, click on Resume in the Trace toolbar.

•	To edit a pause point, from the View menu, choose Pause Points.

This divides the trace window. The lower area displays pause points and their definitions. Double-click on a pause point to edit it.

•	To delete a pause point, select the pause point. To do so, view the pause points in the lower half of the trace window. Click to select the pause point definition and from the Control menu, choose Delete Pause Point.

•	To delete all pause points, from the Control menu, choose Delete All Pause Points.


Using Multiple Processes

About Process Hierarchy

Working With Processes

Creating Concurrent Processes

About Subprocesses

Tips For Working With Multiple Processes


About Process Hierarchy

When you build a model that has multiple sets of activities, you may wish to create structure in a hierarchy.

•	Parallel or concurrent processes. In a model that has two or more parallel processes, the product or outcome of one of the processes tends to be different than the product or outcome of the other process.

To create a parallel process, you typically use the File > Processes menu. See "Creating a New Process" in Working With Processes.

For example, consider a main process of manufacturing circuit boards. This process has a different goal from the maintenance department which keeps the machines oiled and repaired every two months. In this case, the maintenance steps can be treated as a parallel process with its own generator. This type of model provides a powerful method for modeling resource contention.

•	Subprocesses. Is there an organizational reason to create a hierarchy?

To create a subprocess, you typically edit the activity. See Process .

If you have different audiences for segments of the process map, you can split the highest-level activities into the main process map and make subordinate activities into subprocesses.


Working With Processes

Every file containing a process map contains, by default, at least one process. If you are working with multiple processes, you create the processes within the same file for use as either concurrent processes or subprocesses.

Creating a New Process

1.	From the File menu, choose Processes.

This brings up the Processes dialog box.

The list of processes can be displayed by All, Hierarchy, or By Dept.. You can click on the "+" button to expand an item.

All. All of the processes in the file are listed in alphabetical order.

Hierarchy. The relationships between different processes are shown.

By Dept. This is a list of all departments in the file. You can expand a department to view the processes in which each department is used.

2.	For New, choose this button to create a new process in the same file.

This displays the Template dialog box.

•	Choose a template style, for example, Default.

The template has settings for fonts, line weights, colors, and fill patterns.

3.	For Open, select an existing process to open.

For example, if you select "Process2" and click on Open, a window is displayed with the contents of Process2.

4.	For Rename, select a process to change its name.

This brings up the Rename dialog box. You can enter a new name for the process. For example, you can rename "Process1" to "Engineering."

5.	For Copy, select a process and click to copy the contents of the process to the clipboard.

6.	For Paste, click to copy the contents of the clipboard into a new process.

For an example of using Copy and Paste to work with processes, see "Building Hierarchy From Existing Process Maps" in Tips for Working With Multiple Processes.

Viewing Hierarchy in a Process Map

1.	From the File menu, choose Processes.

This brings up the Processes dialog box.

2.	Choose the Hierarchy tab to view the relationships between different processes.

An icon next to the file name gives additional information:

The process only appears once in the tree.

The process appears more than once.

The "More" icon indicates that subprocesses are shown elsewhere.

Opening an Existing Process

1.	From the File menu, choose Processes.

This bring up the Processes dialog box.

2.	Click on the process name that you want to open.

3.	Click on Open.


Creating Concurrent Processes

A concurrent process is any process that operates simultaneously with other processes. Concurrent processes are typically used to contend for resources or set values that cause events to happen in other processes.

About Generators for Concurrent Processes

Each process has one or more generators, one or more Start activities, and starting and ending times. A generator can be actively issuing transactions or you can deactivate it so that the process receives transactions only from Process activities in another process. In this sense, a Process activity is like a generator.

Any process that receives its transactions solely from another process is a subprocess. See About Subprocesses.

Adding or Deactivating Generators

A generator is automatically created for every process. The generator determines how often transactions are issued.

The generator for a subprocess is inactive, by default.

•	To add a generator, click on the Generator icon.

This brings up the Define Generator dialog box.  See Generators.

Each generator introduces transactions into the process according to the instructions in its generator definition. For example, one generator can issue transactions between every two and four days, and in the same process, another generator can issue transactions every day.

•	If you want a process to only receive transactions from a Process activity, you can deactivate or delete the generator. See Generators.

•	You can leave the generator active if the subprocess also operates as an independent process.


About Subprocesses

To create hierarchy in a process map, you can use subprocesses. The top-level process typically contains high-level activities, with other subprocesses containing the subordinate activities.

In a hierarchical process map, the generator for a subprocess is typically inactive. Transactions are issued instead by higher-level Process activities in another process.

There is some amount of overhead associated with multiple processes, mostly in the time it takes for you to create the maps but also in maintenance and simulation time. This is a trade-off to be considered if you are creating a large number of hierarchical layers (10 or more).

Viewing a Subprocess

1.	Click to select a Process activity.

2.	From the View menu, choose Process.

Note

To view the subprocess of a selected Process activity, press the Shift key and double-click on the mouse.

To quickly find all the Process activities, from the Edit menu, choose Select. This dialog box lets you select all Process activities.

Private and Non-Private Subprocesses

The transactions in a non-private subprocess interact with other transactions while those in a private subprocess do not. Private subprocesses ensure that transactions are kept separate for purposes of splitting and joining.

Assume you have two processes that use the same subprocess for creating a technical document. The Process activity, titled "Create document" is the same for both processes.

Although the subprocess is the same, the transactions are kept apart. By using a private subprocess, you ensure that a joining activity collects the right chapters for the parent process.


Tips For Working With Multiple Processes

Windowing Techniques

The Window menu items are useful for viewing windows containing different processes.

For example, you can have windows open for two processes and then choose Tile Horizontal from the Window menu. This creates a horizontal configuration that allows you to view both of the processes. If you have other windows open, you can turn them into icons so that they don't block other windows.

Using the Trace Window With Multiple Processes

You can use the trace window to look at several processes at the same time.

1.	Use Run > Trace to create a trace window of Process1.

2.	Make a copy of the window using Window > New Window.

3.	From the View menu, choose Process to select the process to view.

Building Hierarchy From Existing Process Maps

You can take existing process maps and copy them into a single process map to build a hierarchical process map.

1.	Open a new process map that represents the highest-level activities.

For example, assume you open a new, untitled process map.

2.	Save the process map.

For example, you can save it as "Top."

3.	(Optional) Draw symbols to represent the highest-level activities.

Later, after the subprocesses have been created, you can specify which symbol references another subprocess.

4.	Without exiting Optima! or closing the first process map, open a second process map.

For example, open a file that you have already created for the Sales department.

5.	From the Window menu, choose Tile Horizontally (or Cascade) to view both process maps.

6.	Activate the window containing the second process map ("Sales.")

7.	From the File menu, choose Processes.

This brings up the Processes dialog box.

8.	Click on Copy.

This copies the contents of the "Sales" process map to the clipboard.

9.	Close the Processes dialog box.

10.	Click to select the process for "Top." (Process1).

11.	From the File menu, choose Processes.

This brings up the Processes dialog box.

12.	Click on Paste.

This copies the clipboard (the "Sales" process map) into Process2 in the original file contains "Top." You can repeat the steps to copy other existing files into new processes.

13.	Activate the first window and create Process activities for the other processes.

You do this by double-clicking on an activity and specifying process information on the Task tab. See "Creating a Subprocess" in Task Tab.

14.	One at a time, activate each of the subprocesses and from the Model menu, choose Generators.

15.	In the Generators dialog box, specify that the generator for each subprocess in not Active.


Using Monitors

A monitor is a data filter that can be placed on any activity in the process map to collect data. The types of data include basic transaction statistics such as busy and waiting time, number of transactions, or the value of attributes at certain points.

Monitors provide one method for you to validate a model by checking intermediate statistics. For example, you can place a monitor to tabulate the number of transactions that reach an activity. You can also use starting and ending monitors to gather data about a specific segment of the process flow.

About Monitors

Defining Monitors

Locating Monitors

Deleting or Removing Monitors


About Monitors

A monitor collects statistics about transactions and attribute data. The statistics are gathered at the activities that you specify in the process map. Monitors can collect a wide spectrum of information.

•	Count. This counts the transactions at a specific point to track how many times a transaction reached an activity. This can represent scrapped units or canceled orders.

•	Basic transaction statistics. This collects basic statistics either between two points or from the start point to the current monitor. You can use this to collect statistics such as service time or waiting time between two points. For information on these statistics, see Transaction Statistics.

•	Filtered data. This further filters the data, for example, how many transactions matched a specific attribute value.

•	Accumulated values. This value can be cumulatively increased every time a transaction passes through the activity.

When Monitors are Evaluated

Monitors are evaluated during simulation at the start of an activity. This affects monitor statistics because the activity containing the monitor is not included in the statistics. For example, if a monitor keeps track of basic statistics such as service time and busy time, it does not include time statistics for the activity on which the monitor is placed.

Viewing Monitor Statistics

After you have run a simulation, you can view monitor results in the Report window by adding a report element. The element can be added to any of the tabs, for example, the Custom tab. In the report element, you specify statistics specifically gathered by monitors. See Statistic.

Monitors in Tabular View

Activities with monitors placed on them have a monitor indicator displayed to the left of the activity.


Defining Monitors

1.	In a process window, select the activity on which you want to place a monitor.

2.	Click on the Monitor icon in the Model toolbar.

Alternately, from the Model menu, choose Monitors. This brings up the Define Monitors dialog box. The list of existing monitors is displayed.

The number after a monitor name indicates the number of placements of the monitor. For example, "Test(1)" indicates that the "Test" monitor has been placed on one activity.

•	To add a new monitor, click on Add.

This brings up the Add New Monitor dialog box. You can use it to specify the monitor name and type.

•	To modify a monitor, select it and click on Modify.

This brings up the Modify Monitor Type dialog box. You can use it to change the monitor type.

Monitor name

Enter a name for the monitor. You can use any characters except spaces and these special characters: * ? , ; [ ] + = \ / : | < >.

Monitor type

•	Individual. Individual monitors collect data only at a particular activity, for example, from the beginning to this point. This is useful for keeping track of different counts, for example, the number of transactions that are processed at an activity.

•	Start. A Start monitor marks transactions so that End monitors can collect statistics on them. You set which transactions are marked with an expression in the Start monitor.

For example, this Start monitor definition, shown in the Scenario window, marks transactions when the Count attribute is greater than 100.

Monitor1 - Start
   Basic
   Accumulate:
   Count > 100

•	End. An End monitor collects statistics from all Start monitors or a specific monitor, and can further filter the transactions with an expression.

•	Start and End. A Start and End monitor has two purposes: It can mark transactions and also collect statistics from other Start monitors.

After you have specified the name and monitor type, click on OK to close the dialog box. The monitor remains selected in the list of Existing Monitors, so further edits affect the selected monitor.

Data collection type

•	Basic. The monitor collects all basic transaction statistics. The definitions for these statistics are given in Transaction Statistics.

•	Attribute. In addition to the basic statistic collection, the monitor adds the value of an attribute. A list of defined attributes appears. Click to select the attribute. The value is added to the previous values.

For non-numeric attributes, the value is based on the member's enumeration value (i.e., the first member is 0, the second member 1).

Accumulate

•	Always. The monitor accumulates the requested information for every transaction.

•	Expression. The monitor only accumulates information when the expression is true.

When you choose Expression, the expression builder appears. See Using Expressions.

From (End Monitor only)

If the monitor is an End Monitor, choose the starting point from which to accumulate data.

•	All. Transactions are accumulated from all Start monitors.

•	(Monitor name). Transactions are accumulated only from the specified Start monitor.

Placing a monitor

When you define a monitor, you place it on the selected activity by clicking on Place.

The number after a monitor name indicates the number of placements of the monitor.


Locating Monitors

Finding a single monitor

1.	Click on the Monitor icon in the Model toolbar.

Alternately, from the Model menu, choose Monitors. This brings up the Define Monitors dialog box.

2.	From Existing Monitors, click to select the monitor name that you want to find.

This displays the Find button within the dialog box.

3.	Click on Find.

This closes the Monitors dialog box and selects the activity containing the monitor. You can delete, remove, or place the monitor on a different activity.

Finding multiple occurrences

1.	Click on the Monitor icon in the Model toolbar.

Alternately, from the Model menu, choose Monitors. This brings up the Define Monitors dialog box.

2.	Click to select the monitor name that you want to find.

The number after the monitor name indicates how many occurrences there are.

3.	Click on Find.

This brings up the Find Monitor - Next Location dialog box. The name and number of monitors is displayed.

In the Find Monitor - Next Location dialog box:

•	To select all monitor locations, click on Select All.

•	To find the next occurrence, click on Find Next.

•	To find the previous occurrence, click on Find Prev.

4.	To close the Find Monitor - Next Location dialog box, click on Cancel.


Deleting or Removing Monitors

1.	From the Model menu, choose Monitors.

2.	Click to select the name of the monitor.

•	To remove the monitor from the current location, click on Remove. This removes the monitor but does not delete it so you can still place it on other activities.

If you have placed the monitor on more than one activity, clicking on Remove will remove it from the current location.

•	To delete the monitor definition, click on the Delete button.


Report Results

When you run a simulation, statistics are gathered about process times, costs, resource utilization, and queues. These statistics are further categorized depending on whether they apply to transactions, activities, resources, or monitors.

You can use custom statistics to create your own unique combinations of the standard statistics. This allows you to set such things as costing information or revenue formulas. Your custom statistics are updated and calculated automatically with each simulation.

You can also maintain several sets of named simulation data to compare results across simulation runs and scenarios.

About the Report Results

Statistic

Structure

Filters

Formats

Transaction Statistics

Activity Statistics

Resource Statistics

Creating Custom Statistics

Naming or Deleting Simulation Data

Cross-Department Statistics


About the Report Results

After you run a simulation, using either the Run menu or the trace window, the report window is updated with data gathered about the simulation. The report window is divided into tabs. Each of the tabs is a general category of statistics under which several report elements reside.

Report Element

A report element represents a table or graph of statistical data. Each report element has a title and a collection of data associated with it.

You can copy and paste any report elements into other Windows applications such as a word processor or spreadsheet.

Viewing the Report Window

1.	Run the simulation.

See Running the Simulation. The report window opens automatically.

2.	If the report window is obscured or not displayed, from the Window menu, choose the Report window.

Alternately, from the File menu, choose Reports. This dialog box lets you specify a report window to display.

3.	Select one of the report tabs for specific report elements.

Several tabs are available in the report window. Also, a combination box at the far right of the tabs can be used to specify the type of statistics that you want to see displayed in the tab window. These are general categories such as overall (statistics that relate more globally to the model, i.e., elapsed time), activities, departments, resources, and processes.

•	Time. This tab includes statistics about transaction times, primarily cycle time and service time. Statistics are available that show overall transaction times, and times are also categorized by department, by process, and by activity.

•	Cost. This tab contains statistics about costs related to transactions, activities and resources.

•	Resource. This tab contains statistics related to resource utilization, resource time categorizations, and activity and resource costs.

•	Queue. This tab contains statistics collected when transactions waited in queues for resources or waited in queues at activities to be processed (either blocked or inactive).

•	Custom. The custom tab is intended for your use to create a custom page of statistics. You can copy and paste statistics from any of the other report tabbed pages, or you can add new report elements.

4.	For Default, this button appears on the tabbed report window if you have made changes to any of the settings for the default report elements. You can return any of the tabs to their default settings by clicking on Default.

You can change, delete, or add additional elements to a single report, or open additional reports.

If you add report elements after you run a simulation, you can view the new statistics without re-simulating. However, if you change the process map or scenario information, you must simulate again to view new results.

Troubleshooting

To see report results for new attributes, monitors, or other changes that you made to the process map or scenario information, you must run the simulation again before you can view the results.

Editing Report Elements

You can change the contents or structure of a report element in any of the tabbed pages of the Report window.

1.	Double-click on the report element.

This brings up the Edit Report Element dialog box. There are four tabs in the dialog box: Statistic, Structure, Filters, and Formats.

To add a new report element, from the Edit menu, choose New Element.


Statistic

The Statistic tab provides a method for specifying which statistics are displayed in a report element. You access it by double-clicking on any report element.

Most report elements already contain a number of different statistics that typically are viewed together in the same category.  You can use the Statistic tab to remove or add other statistics.

About abbreviations

Many of the names of the statistics are abbreviated in the dialog boxes and report elements. You can look up the definition for any abbreviation by using Search in the online help.

Statistics category

The statistics category displays the type of information available for viewing. The list varies depending on the type of data that is available in the model and whether you choose single or multiple statistics.

•	Transactions. See Transaction Statistics.

•	Resources. See Resource Statistics.

•	Activities. See Activity Statistics.

•	Custom Stats. This list contains all custom statistics that you have created, and other system-defined custom statistics, i.e., time and workers. See Creating Custom Statistics.

•	Monitors. This list contains all monitored data collection points. See Using Monitors.

•	Scenario Attributes, Process Attributes, and Department Attributes. This list contains the attributes that you have defined.

Single or multiple statistics

•	Single. Choose this option if you want to display a single statistic in the report element. This gives you the ability to vary two other values in the report table, i.e., multiple simulations, appended to columns, and rows varied by department.

The list of statistics is displayed in a scrolling list. You can click to select or unselect an item from the list.

•	Multiple. Choose this option if you want to display and compare several statistics in the report element. This gives you statistics in the columns and allows you to vary only the rows, i.e., multiple statistics by activity.

The dialog box displays a list of the statistics that the report element currently contains. You choose which statistics to include from the list of all statistics that are available.

•	To replace a statistic, select it and click on Modify.

Alternately, double-click on it. This brings up the Modify Statistic dialog box which lets you select a statistic to replace the selected one.

•	To remove a statistic, select it and click on Remove.

•	To change the order of the statistics, select and use the arrows to move a statistic up and down in the list.

•	Το add a new statistic to the report element, click on Add.

This brings up the Add Statistic dialog box. You can choose value categories, resource categories, or resource rates to further modify some of the statistics, particularly cost statistics.

For example, the Total Cost statistic can display only overtime rates (Total OT Costs) or all rates.

The new statistic is added to the end of the list.


Structure

The Structure tab provides the method for defining row legends and choosing which columns of statistics are displayed. You access it by double-clicking on any report element.

Column labels

Choose which columns are displayed. This choice is not available in report elements that have multiple statistics.

The list depends on the type of data that is available in the model. You can select one or more items from the list.

•	Simulations. Choose from the simulation data sets that are available. The data sets are described in Naming or Deleting Simulation Data.

Only one simulation set is available if the model has been simulated only once or if you haven't appended to the report. See Initialization and Reports.

•	Snapshots. Choose from the available snapshots. For example, you can set the report element to display the data captured after 8 hours of simulation. See Snapshots for information about creating snapshots.

If snapshot data is shown cumulatively, each snapshot is added to the last. The cumulative data can start at the beginning of simulation or at the starting point you set.

Row legends

Choose how you want the rows labeled in the report. The list only contains items that are relevant to the model.

•	None. Only one overall row is displayed.

•	Processes. The rows are displayed by process.

•	Departments. The rows are displayed by department.

•	Activities. The rows are displayed by activity. You can further modify this choice as hierarchical or by showing department name.

Hierarchical. The activities are listed in hierarchies.

Show Dept. Name. The department names are displayed as part of the activity label (default).

•	Simulations. The rows are displayed by simulations.

•	Resources. The rows are displayed by resource.

•	Pools. The rows appear in the order of resource pools.


Filters

The Filters tab provides a method to further filter the statistics by individual departments, processes, or snapshots. You access it by double-clicking on any report element.

The options available on the Filters tab vary depending on the type of data available in the model. Indeed, for some models, none of the Filters options apply and so therefore, the Filters tab is unavailable.

Departments

Choose whether all departments are included in each statistic cell or pick a single department by name. This option is only available if there is more than one department.

Processes

Choose whether all processes are included in each statistic cell or a single process.

This option is only available if there is more than one process.

Snapshots

Choose which snapshot to include in the data for each statistic cell. This option is only available if snapshots have been created.

Start at (snapshots only)

Choose which snapshot to begin including data into each cell. You can use this feature to look at only data after a certain amount of start-up time. This allows for loading transactions into the process to emulate steady state.


Formats

The Format tab provides a method for sorting the statistics in a report element, and specifying time units, number formats, and display options. You access it by double-clicking on any report element.

Sorting

The sorting format determines the order of the columns.

The statistic(s) in the current report element determines the order that the columns are sorted in. For example, for the statistic # of Transactions, the columns are sorted in the order of the number of transactions.

For Ascending, columns are ordered by the smallest number first. If Ascending isn't checked (descending), columns are ordered largest first.

Maximum number of rows

The maximum number of rows can be limited or unlimited. You enter a number to limit the rows. This option, combined with the above sorting capability, makes it easy to view a subset of relevant activities. For example, if you have 20 departments, you can display three by limiting the number of rows to three.

If the rows are limited, the number of displayed rows is shown in the title of the report element, for example, "1 of 2 rows."

Time unit

You set a specific time unit or Auto (automatic). An automatic time unit is calculated to the largest reasonable time unit, given the data.

Number format

Choose the degrees of precision that you want numbers displayed. A default number format is calculated to the largest reasonable number format. For example, a number format of 0.##### might display ".00350" whereas a number format of 0 produces "<1."

Tabular or graph

Choose whether to display the report element as tabular or graph. A tabular report element contains only text; a graph contains graphics, for example, a bar chart or line graph.


Transaction Statistics

Transaction statistics are used to analyze the time and cost of transactions in the model. Transaction statistics are calculated only for transactions that finish processing, either by completing the flow through the process map or by reaching an activity that has no further connections.

In the default Report window, both the Time and Cost tabs have report elements containing transaction statistics. (Remember that you can also add your own report elements to any tab or create additional reports.)

Note

Only completed transactions are included in transaction statistics. See When Transactions are Complete in About Activity Processing.

If a model uses multiple processes to create hierarchy, the transaction statistics, by default, combine the results of all processes. For example, the transaction count is equal to the total number of transactions in all processes. You can change the row legends of the report element to view the results of a specific process. See "Row Legends" in Structure.

Transaction Formulas

The following calculations are available in many of the transaction statistics.

•	Total (Tot)

The combination of all of the completed transaction statistics. If you apply a filter to the statistic, then only specific, completed transactions are counted. See Filters.

•	Average (Avg)

The total divided by the count of completed transactions. If you apply a filter, then only specific, completed transactions are counted (same as totals).

Transaction Count

•	Total # Transactions (#Trans)

The number of transactions that have completed the process. This doesn't include the transactions that are still in the process when the simulation ends.

Even if a transaction leaves and re-enters a department, it is counted only once in the department's total. For information about viewing statistics by department, see "Row Legends" in Structure.

Transaction Time Statistics (Time tab)

The time that a transaction spends being processed can be categorized as either working, waiting for resource time, blocked time, or inactive time.

•	Working Time (Avg Work, Tot Work)

The time spent in working for the duration of an activity. (The working duration is defined in Task Tab.)

Also, see the following note "About Joined Transactions."

•	Waiting for Resource Time (Avg Res Wait, Tot Res Wait)

The time a transaction spends at an activity waiting for a resource that is currently busy with another transaction or out of service.

•	Blocked Time (Avg Block, Tot Block)

The time a transaction spends blocked at an activity. This can occur when an activity batches by time or by gate, during a Delay duration, or when a capacity limit is reached. Blocked time does not include any time spent waiting for a resource at an activity.

•	Inactive Time (Avg Inact, Tot Inact)

The time a transaction spends at an activity waiting because the necessary resources or the activity are not in schedule (i.e., inactive).

•	Cycle Time (Avg Cycle, Tot Cycle)

The wall clock time that it takes a transaction to complete. This is a combination of working time and waiting time.

The cycle time calculation depends on whether the model uses compressed or calendar time. See Simulation Time.

Also, see the following note "About Joined Transactions."

Tot Cycle = Tot Work + Tot Res Wait + Tot Block + Tot Inact

For example, using calendar time mode, a car (transaction) enters an Automobile Repair Center at 4:00 pm. It takes two hours to complete the transaction, but the mechanic leaves at 5:00 pm and comes back in at 8:00 am. Also, the mechanic is busy with other things until 9:00 am. The cycle time, therefore, is eighteen hours (two hours working, one hour waiting for resource and 15 hours inactive).

•	Service Time (Avg Serv, Tot Serv)

The actual amount of time that the transaction is being processed. This is a combination of working time, waiting for resource time, and blocked time, but not inactive time.

Also, see the following note "About Joined Transactions."

Tot Serv = Tot Work + Tot Res Wait + Tot Block

For example, in the Automobile Repair Center example, the service time is three hours (two hours working and one hour waiting).

Note

In a compressed time model, cycle time and service time are the same thing. See Simulation Time.

•	Waiting Time (Avg Wait, Tot Wait)

The wall clock time that a transaction waits to be processed.

Tot Wait = Tot Res Wait + Tot Block + Tot Inact

For example, in the Automobile Repair Center example, the waiting time is 16 hours (one hour waiting for resource and 15 hours inactive time).

•	Service Waiting Time (Avg Serv Wait, Tot Serv Wait)

The time that the transaction waited while being processed (not inactive).

Tot Serv Wait = Tot Res Wait + Tot Block

For example, in the Automobile Repair Center example, the service waiting time is one hour (one hour waiting for resource).

About Joined Transactions

When transactions join, special logic is applied to normalize the time statistics. In other words, the times for the transactions must be merged in a way that makes sense for a single transaction.

The joined transactions are compared two at a time and the statistics for the transaction with the largest cycle time are used. If the transactions have equal cycle time, then largest service time is used. If this is equal, working time is used. If this is equal, resource waiting time is used. And if this is equal, blocked time is used.

Transaction Cost Statistics (Cost tab)

The cost is a combination of fixed costs and resource costs for the activity. See Activity Base and About Resource Costs in Resources.

The transaction costs can be categorized in several ways, as value type (VA, BVA, or NVA), resource types (Labor, Equipment, or Other), or time (Standard or Overtime). Fixed activity costs are added into the "Other" resource costs.

You can click to select different combinations of the costs when you insert a cost statistic.

Troubleshooting

A transaction can accumulate costs in two value-types for the same activity if the fixed cost has a different category than a resource being used at that activity.

The value-type costs are divided as follows:

•	VA (Avg VA Cost, Tot VA Cost)

Costs that are marked as Value Added (to the process).

•	BVA (Avg BVA Cost, Tot BVA Cost)

Costs that are marked as Business Value Added (to the business but not the process).

•	NVA (Avg NVA Cost, Tot NVA Cost)

Costs that are marked as Non Value Added.

The resource-type costs are divided as follows:

•	Labor Cost (Avg Lbr Cost, Tot Lbr Cost)

The cost of labor resources that the transaction used.

•	Equipment Cost (Avg Eq Cost, Tot Eq Cost)

The cost of equipment resources that the transaction used.

•	Other Cost (Avg Oth Cost, Tot Oth Cost)

The cost of other resources and fixed activity costs. This includes:

Fixed activity cost. See Activity Base.

Other resources. This is the cost of resources categorized as "Other" in the resource definition. See Resource Costs in Resource Statistics.

Other costs. These are for unmodeled resources or department breakdown for cross-department activities. See the Other resource category in Using Resources (in the Edit Activity dialog box) in Resources Tab.

The time costs are divided as follows:

•	Standard (Avg Std Cost, Tot Std Cost)

The cost of resources working within normally scheduled hours. If no overtime is worked, then total cost equals standard cost.

•	Overtime (Avg OT Cost, Tot OT Cost)

The cost of resources working overtime.


Activity Statistics

Activity statistics are used to analyze the behavior of transactions being processed at activities.

In the Report window, the Time, Cost, Resource, and Queue tabs have report elements containing activity statistics.

Each row of the report element is identified by the text label of the activity, with or without a department name. For example, an activity labeled "Prepare report" can appear in the report element as "Prepare report" or "Dept. 1 - Prepare report." See the "Show Department Name" row legends option on Structure. You can also add the process name if there is more than one process.

The order of the activities in a report element is affected by whether the report element is sorted and whether the element is hierarchical. If it is sorted, you can choose the sorting format; see Formats. If the element is hierarchical, the activities in each process are sorted separately. Otherwise, the regular sorting format is used. See the hierarchical row legends option on Structure.

Formulas

The following calculations are available in many of the activity time and queue statistics.

•	Total (Tot)

For time statistics, the total time is calculated for each activity. If you apply a filter to the statistic, then only specific, completed transactions are counted. See Filters.

•	Average (Avg)

For time statistics, the average is the total time for the activity divided by the count of completed transactions. For queue statistics, the denominator depends on the statistic.

•	Maximum (Max)

The highest number accumulated for the statistic at any one point in time, i.e., the "high-water mark".

•	Minimum (Min)

The lowest number accumulated for the statistic at any one point in time.

Activity Time Statistics (Time tab)

Activity times are similar to transaction times, except the times are calculated for each activity as transactions are processed. The time statistics are working time, waiting for resource time, blocked time, inactive time, cycle time, service time, waiting time, and service waiting time. For a definition of any of these times, see Transaction Statistics.

Activity Cost Statistics (Cost tab)

Activity costs are similar to transaction costs, except the costs are calculated for each individual activity as transactions are processed. An activity can accumulate costs categorized by value type, by resource type, and by standard or overtime. For a description of each of these costs, see Transaction Costs in Transaction Statistics.

Activity Queue Statistics (Queue tab)

•	Maximum Capacity Used (Max Cap Used)

The largest number of transactions processed in the activity at any one time.

•	Average #Waiting Transactions (Avg #Wait)

The average number of transactions that were waiting to be processed at the activity, at any one point in time that any transactions were waiting. (In other words, this is the average length of the line if there is a line at all.)

•	Maximum #Waiting Transactions (Max #Wait)

The highest number in the queue, or the largest number of transactions that were waiting to be processed by the activity at any one point in time.

•	Total #Transactions that Waited for Resources (Tot #Res Wait)

The total number of transactions that waited to be processed by resources at the activity.

•	Total #Transactions Blocked (Tot #Block)

The total number of transactions that had to wait to be processed by the activity because of a blocking condition. A blocked condition can occur when an activity batches by time or by gate, during a Delay activity, or when capacity limits are met.

•	Resource Waiting Time (Avg Res Wait, Tot Res Wait)

The total time that resources that were already acquired for a transaction had to wait because of blocked or waiting for resource conditions. See Resources Waiting.

•	Total #Waiting Transactions (Tot #Wait)

The total number of transactions that had to wait to be processed by the activity. This is a combination of the total count spent waiting for resources and total blocked count.

Tot #Wait = Tot #Res Wait + Tot #Block


Resource Statistics

Resource statistics are used to analyze data that has been collected about resources, including workers and other resources that you have defined.

In the Report window, the Cost, Resource, and Queue tabs have report elements containing resource statistics.

Formulas

The following calculations are available in many of the resource statistics.

•	Total (Tot)

The total is the sum of time or costs accrued by the resource. If you apply a filter to the statistic, then only specific things such as departments, resources or pools are counted. For example, totals that are filtered by department only include processing time that occurred in the department. See Filters.

•	Average (Avg)

The total divided by the count of resources. If you apply a filter, then only specific departments, resources, or pools are counted.

Resource Time Statistics (Resource tab)

•	Workers (Count)

The total number of workers for one or all departments.

•	Total Elapsed Time (Time)

The amount of time that elapsed between the simulation starting and ending times.

During simulation, a resource can always be classified as busy, out of service, idle, or inactive. You set how a resource "spends" its time when you specify how activities acquire and use it, for how long, and by its schedule.

The sum of a resource's time equals the total elapsed time of the simulation.

•	Busy Time (Avg Busy, Tot Busy)

The time that a resource spends working, i.e., processing a transaction. This time is paid.

Also see the following discussion on the two subsets of busy time: waiting versus non-waiting time, and standard time versus overtime.

•	Out of Service Time (Avg OOS, Tot OOS)

The time that a resource is active but unavailable to process transactions. A resource can also be acquired by an activity as out of service. Out of service time can be paid or unpaid, depending on how the time span is defined in the resource's schedule.

•	Idle Time (Avg Idle, Tot Idle)

The time that a resource spends available for use but not currently processing a transaction. This time is paid.

•	Inactive Time

The remaining time when a resource is out of schedule. This time is unpaid.

Subsets of Resource Busy Time

•	Resource Waiting Time and Non-Waiting Time (Avg Res Wait, Tot Res Wait)

The time that a resource spends waiting. This occurs when an activity processing a transaction acquires a resource with the Wait option, and the transaction must wait for some reason (for example, waiting for another resource, or the transaction incurs blocked or inactive time).

Tot Busy = Tot Res Wait + (Total resource non-waiting time)

See Resources Waiting.

•	Resource Standard Time and Resource Overtime (Avg OT, Tot OT)

The time that a resource spends in standard time or overtime. A resource is in overtime if an activity acquires a resource and requires that it finish processing the transaction even though the resource should go out of schedule (become inactive) prior to finishing.

Tot Busy = (Resource standard time) + Tot OT

See About Resources and Overtime.

Combinations of Resource Times

•	Resource Utilization (Res Util%)

The percentage of scheduled active time (when a resource should be in schedule) that a resource is busy but not out of service.

Tot Busy

(Total scheduled active time) - Tot OOS

The total scheduled active time is calculated by figuring the total number of hours during which the resource is scheduled to be active during the entire simulation. For example, assume a simulation runs for two calendar days using the Standard schedule. This creates 18 hours scheduled active time and two hours out of service time (lunch breaks) for a total of 16 hours. If the total busy time for a worker is eight hours, the resource utilization is 50%.

•	Non-Waiting Resource Utilization (NW Util%)

The percentage of scheduled active time (when a resource should be in schedule) that a resource is busy but not waiting or out of service.

Tot Busy - Tot Res Wait

(Total scheduled active time) - Tot OOS

If the worker in the previous example has accrued two hours waiting for another resource, then the non-waiting resource utilization is 37.50%.

Note

It is possible to get over 100% resource utilization because overtime can cause busy time outside of the scheduled active time.

Resource Cost Statistics (Cost and Resource tabs)

The costs associated with a resource are specified when you define a resource (see "About Resource Costs" in Resources) and at the point in time when an activity uses a resource (see the "Other" resource category in Choosing a Resource).

The resource paid times are divided into the following categories (also see the previous discussion on resource standard time in "Subsets of Resource Busy Time").

•	Resource Standard Paid Time

A resource's normally scheduled hours. This includes busy time, out of service time (but only if it has been marked paid in the schedule) and idle time.

(Resource standard paid time) = Tot Busy + Tot OOS (paid) + Tot Idle

•	Resource Overtime (Avg OT, Tot OT)

The amount of time that a resource worked overtime.

A resource's cost is the combination of standard cost, overtime cost, and any per use costs.

•	Standard Cost (Avg Std Cost, Tot Std Cost)

The cost of the resource working during standard hours. This is the result of multiplying the resource's standard paid hours by the hourly rate that is specified in the resource definition. (See above for the definition of resource standard paid time.)

Tot Std Cost = (Resource standard paid time) * (Resource's standard hourly rate)

•	Overtime Cost (Avg OT Cost, Tot OT Cost)

The cost of the resource working during overtime. This is the result of multiplying the overtime hours by the overtime hourly rate of the resource.

Tot OT Cost = Tot OT * (Resource's overtime hourly rate)

•	Use Cost (Avg Use Cost, Tot Use Cost)

The per use cost is determined by the number of transactions that are processed. The cost is incurred whenever an activity uses the resource, either as "Acquire" or "Activity," to process a transaction.

Tot Use Cost = (Number of times the resource is used) * (Resource's per use cost)

Resource Queue Statistics (Queue tab)

These resource queue statistics are used to examine the behavior of transactions requesting the use of resources at activities.

Note

The difference between a resource queue and an activity queue (see Activity Statistics) is that a resource queue is created when transactions are waiting for a resource. Activity queues are created when transactions wait at an activity to be processed.

•	Total # Trans (#Trans)

The number of requests of this resource queue from transactions.

•	Total # Waiting Trans (Tot Wait#)

The number of requests of this resource queue that cannot be serviced (e.g., all resources busy) causing the transactions to wait.

•	Maximum Number of Waiting Transactions (Max Wait#)

The highest number in the queue, or the largest number of transactions that were waiting for a resource at this queue at any one point in time.

•	Average Number of Waiting Transactions (Avg Wait#)

This is the average number of transactions that were waiting at the queue at any one point in time, when any were waiting.

•	Transaction Waiting Time (Avg Wait, Tot Wait)

The time that transactions waited for resources from this queue, including all transactions that didn't wait (i.e., their waiting time was zero). For example, if two transactions waited 10 minutes and two other transactions didn't wait, then the total transaction waiting time is 20 minutes and the average transaction waiting time is 5 minutes.

•	Average Non-zero Transaction Waiting Time (Avg NZ Wait)

The average time that transactions that waited for resources from this queue, not including any transactions that didn't wait (i.e., all waiting times are greater than zero). In the above example, the average non-zero transaction waiting time is 10 minutes.


Creating Custom Statistics

You can create custom statistics to make calculations that are specific to your design, using arithmetic operators, scenario attributes, and functions.

1.	With a report window active, from the Edit menu, choose Custom Stats.

This brings up the Custom Statistics dialog box.

•	To modify a statistic, select it and click on Modify.

•	To delete a statistic, select it and click on Delete.

2.	To add a new statistic, click on the Add button.

This brings up the Edit Custom Statistic dialog box.

3.	For Name, enter a brief name to describe the statistic.

4.	Choose Transaction, Resource, Expression, or Monitor.

•	Transaction. Choose one of the statistics: Total Time Elapsed, Completion Count, Service Time, Waiting Time, Cycle Time, Work Time, Resource Wait Time, Blocked Time, Cost, VA Cost, BVA Cost, or NVA Cost.

For example, TotalOrders equals the number of transactions that complete.

TotalOrders = Completion Count

•	Resource. Choose the name of the resource and one of the following: Count, Use Count, Time Busy, Time Out Of Service, Time Waiting, Total Cost, Busy Cost, Use Cost, Time Idle, and Overtime.

For example, InUse equals the time busy for resource named Laser.

InUse = Laser Time Busy

•	Expression. Click to use scenario attributes, functions, members, operators, and already-defined custom statistic names to create an expression.

For example, if the wage rate is $15 per hour, then you use the following expression.

Wage = 15 * Hours(Time)

•	Monitor. Choose the name of the monitor and one of the following: Completion Count, Service Time, Waiting Time, Attribute Value, Cycle Time, Work Time, Resource Wait Time, Blocked Time, Cost, VA Cost, BVA Cost, or NVA Cost.

For example, Total Count equals the number of transactions that have come through a monitor.

TotalCount = Pass Count

5.	For Hidden, check the box to indicate that the statistic is hidden (i.e., not part of the output results in the report). You can click to toggle the box.

6.	After you finish editing the Custom Statistics dialog box, click on OK.

The definition of the custom statistic is added, by default, to the Custom tab on the report window, unless you have specified that it is hidden.

Once you have created a custom statistic, you view its results by creating a report element with Custom Stats as the Statistic category. The statistic can be added to any tab (i.e., Time, Cost, Resource) in the report window.


Naming or Deleting Simulation Data

You can choose that a new report is appended to an existing report so that you can view the results of a subsequent simulation or replace it. See Initialization and Reports.

When you compare data by appending to the report, you can replace the data from one or more of the simulation runs with a new simulation run. By default, the simulation runs are named Sim #1, Sim #2, and so on. These names appear in the Run Setup dialog box and in the report elements. To change the name of the simulation run, follow these steps:

1.	From the Edit menu, choose Simulation Data.

This brings up the Simulation Data dialog box. It contains a list of the simulation runs that are currently appended to the report. If a name is grayed out, it is unassigned.

2.	Select a simulation name by clicking on it.

3.	Click on the Name button to bring up the Name Simulation Data dialog box.

4.	Enter a name.

5.	Click on OK to close the Name Simulation Data dialog box.

6.	Click on Close to close the Simulation Data dialog box.


Cross-Department Statistics

When activities span multiple departments, the report results take into account the shared elements of time, cost, and resources.

In the report results, a cross-department activity appears in each of the departments that participate in the activity. You use the Structure tab of the Edit Report Element dialog box to specify if individual departments appear in the row legends (see Structure).

For information on drawing cross-department activities, see Creating Symbols to Cross Departments.

Time

Transaction Statistics

When a transaction is processed in a cross-department activity, time accumulates in the same manner as for an activity in one department. In other words, the time that the transaction spends being processed accumulates the same for one department as for several. Like all transaction statistics, the time can be either working, waiting for resource, blocked, or inactive time. If you look at the transaction statistics by department, you'll see that the time accumulates the same in each department that participates in the cross-department activity.

For example, at a Support Agency, a service bulletin (the transaction) is reviewed for one hour by editors from two departments. The transaction working time is one hour, so each department accumulates one hour of working time.

An interesting result of work being performed in parallel is that time accumulates in several departments concurrently. If you add up the working times of several departments, the sum can easily exceed the total elapsed time of the simulation. In the above example, the total service time is one hour and not two hours.

Activity Statistics

When a transaction is processed by a cross-department activity, the activity accumulates time. Like all activity statistics, this means that the activity can be accumulating work time, resource waiting time, blocked time, or inactive time. If you look at this time sorted by department, you'll see that each department accumulates the same time.

For example, at a Software Code Review meeting, a participant from each of three departments attends a meeting that takes three hours. The activity accrues three hours in each department but the total working time is three hours and not nine hours.

Cost

Transaction Statistics

Transaction costs for a cross-department activity are the result of adding or accumulating both fixed costs and resource costs. When a transaction is processed, the fixed cost of the activity is split equally among all participating departments. The resource costs are assigned to their individual departments.

Let's begin with a simple example that uses only a fixed activity cost and no resource costs. For a bulk mailing of a brochure (the transaction), two departments share in the purchase of a mailing list that costs $400. The transaction has a total cost of $400, of which $200 is accrued in each department.

Activity Statistics

Each of the departments that participate in a cross-department activity accrue activity statistics.

To continue the previous example, let's look at how the fixed costs are created for an activity. Fixed costs are assigned as part of the Activity Base.

Let's add resource costs to the previous example. The labels for the brochure (still the transaction) are printed using a computer from Dept. A and another printer from Dept. B (the two resources). Creating the labels takes one hour.

The activity still has a fixed cost of $400 to buy the mailing list. The computer in Dept. A costs $20 per hour and the printer in Dept. B costs $40 per hour.

By default, the fixed costs for a cross-department activity apply to all participating departments. However, you can use the "Other" resource type to model fixed activity costs that are used by individual departments. The "Other" resource type is described in Resources Tab.

For general information on resource costs, see "About Resource Costs" in Resources.

Resources

The resources associated with a cross-department activity can be used by an individual department or by all departments that participate in the activity. In other words, in the Resources tab of the Edit Activity dialog box, you can name an individual department or choose "All" departments. If a resource is specified for "All" departments, then each department uses its own instance of the resource.

For example, in a Corporate Planning Division, two departments participate in a two-hour planning meeting. The activity specifies that it uses one worker resource and one laptop computer, each of which we defined to exist in a separate pool by department. The resource specification applies to both departments, that is, each department uses one of their own workers and one of their own computers, for a total of two of each.

The resource statistics indicate which departments used individual resources.

For information on specifying resources for cross-department activities, see Resources Tab.


Edit Statement dialog box
Activity (Edit menu)

The Edit Activity dialog box is used to set activity information. You can also view the dialog box by double-clicking on any symbol in a process map.

Choose an activity type below, for more information on the specific dialog box options.

Other Information

This menu is only available in a process window when an activity is selected.

See

Inputs Tab

Resources Tab

Attributes Tab

Task Tab

Outputs Tab

Summary Tab


Activity Text Format dialog box
Activity Text Format

This lets you set the format of the numbers used in activity text. You can set custom prefixes and suffixes.

See

Formatting Numbers

See Also

Fields


Add Department (Edit menu)

This creates areas of the process map, called departments, as basic organizational elements.

The formats for the background color, frame width, and department name area are set as part of the process map format.

Other information

The menu is available in a process window only.

See

Adding Departments

Process Map Format

Setting a Default Format


Add New Function dialog box
Add New Function

This lets you add a new function. You set the type of arguments and return value for the function.

See

Creating Your Own Functions

Defining Types

List of Functions


Add New Resource dialog box
Add New Resource

This lets you add a new resource by name and resource type.

See

Defining Resources

Using Resources in an Activity


Add Statistic dialog box
Add Statistic

This dialog box lets you add a statistic to a current report element in the report window.

See

StatisticTab


Align Horiz (Grid menu)

This moves the selected items so that they are arranged in a straight row. This menu item is used to line up symbols.

You must select the items before you can use this menu.

Other Information

The menu is available when there are selected items in a process window.

See

Aligning Symbols and Using the Grid


Align Vert (Grid menu)

This moves the selected items so that they are arranged in a straight column. This menu item is used to line up symbols.

You must select the items before you can use this menu.

Other Information

The menu is available when there are selected items in a process window.

See

Aligning Symbols and Using the Grid


Apply (Format menu)

This lets you apply the formats that were picked up.

See

Picking Up and Applying Formats


Apply to Defaults (Format menu)

This lets you set a default format based on formats that were picked up.

See

Picking Up and Applying Formats

Setting a Default Format


Arrange Icons (Window menu)

This is a standard Windows menu item. It arranges all Optima! windows that are being displayed as icons into a row.


Attributes (View menu)

This displays information about attributes in the bottom half of the trace window. The lower half lists the values of scenario, process, and department attributes with each transaction moving through the simulation.

You can remove the attribute area of the trace window by toggling this menu.

Other Information

This menu is available in the trace window only

See

Using the Trace Window

Describing Model Behavior

Transaction Attributes

Attributes That Are Global


Automatic Renumber menu
Automatic Renumber

This renumbers all of the symbols.

See

Activity Numbering


Border (Format menu)

This sets the border format for symbols.

Other Information

This menu is available in a process window only:

See

Changing the Border and Fill Format

Setting a Default Format

About Symbols


Bring to Front (Edit menu)

This places the selected items on top of any other items that are overlapped. This menu item is useful if you have symbols that are partially obscured.

Other Information

The menu is available when there are selected items in a process window.

See

Moving Symbols


Cascade (Window menu)

This is a standard Windows menu. It arranges all displayed Optima! windows so that they overlap in a cascade. The title bars are still visible. This menu item is useful for organizing several windows.


Check (Run menu)

This checks the process map for errors. If there are errors, the message window appears with any errors in it. You can double-click on any error to view the activity in which the error occurs.

After you are through with the message window, you can close it by double-clicking on the top-left window icon.


Check Spelling (Edit menu)

This lets you check the spelling of all text, including symbol text, headers, footers, and department names.

See

Checking the Spelling

Working With Dictionaries

Types of Dictionaries

Spelling Options


Value Class (View menu)

This lets you set the cost classifications for an activity. A value class can be Value Added (VA), Business Value Added (BVA) and No Value Added (NVA).

See

Activity Base


Value Class

This lets you set the cost classifications for activities. A value class can be Value Added (VA), Business Value Added (BVA) and No Value Added (NVA).

See

Activity Base


Clear (Edit menu)

This removes all selected items. Unlike the Cut menu, the deleted items are not placed on the clipboard. Deleted items cannot be recovered except by using the Undo menu as the next action.

See

Undoing and Cutting


Clear (Messages menu)

This clears all of the messages from the message window.

Other Information

The menu is available in a message window only.


Close (File menu)

This closes the file. Optima! checks if any changes have been made to the file. If there are, a dialog box asks whether you want to save the changes or not.

If you have not specified a filename, you are prompted for one.

See

Saving and Closing


Columns (View menu)

This lets you specify which columns of the tables are displayed. The columns are related to the different types of information that is available for an activity, i.e., its inputs, resources, attributes.

See

About Tables (Viewing Columns)

Modeling Activities


Connectors dialog box (Process Format Settings)
Connectors (Process Format Settings)

This specifies how page connectors are displayed for the process map. You can also specify a connector as an individual line format.

See

Connectors Tab

See Also

Changing the Line and Arrow Format


Copy (Edit menu)

This places a copy of all selected items on the clipboard where they can be accessed with the Paste menu item. Items stay on the clipboard only until you do another Cut or Copy.

Other Information

This menu is available in all windows. One or more items must be selected.

See

Copying and Pasting


Custom Stats (Edit menu)

This displays the statistics that have been defined. You can also add or modify statistics.

See

Creating Custom Statistics


Custom Symbols dialog box
Custom Symbols

This lets you create symbols using any standard Windows drawing tool. You draw the symbol and then copy it to the system clipboard to import it into Optima!.

See

Using Symbols From Other Applications


Custom Symbols Styles dialog box
Custom Symbol Styles

If objects in a custom symbol have style information (i.e., fill or border styles), you can specify which individual objects retain their original style.

Each object is evaluated separately. You can move between the objects with the Previous and Next buttons.

See

Using Symbols From Other Applications


Cut (Edit menu)

This deletes all selected items. Deleted items are placed on the clipboard where they can be accessed with the Paste menu. Items stay on the clipboard only until you do another Cut or Copy.

See

Undoing and Cutting


Add New Attribute dialog box
Add New Attribute

This lets you create a new attribute. Attributes are variables that can be assigned values by different activities during simulation. To create an attribute, you assign it a location, name, and type.

See

Describing Model Behavior

Transaction Attributes

Attributes That Are Global

Defining Types


Define Attributes (Model menu)

This allows you to define, modify, or delete attributes. Attributes are variables that can be assigned values by different activities during simulation.

See

Describing Model Behavior

Transaction Attributes

Attributes That Are Global

Defining Types

Setting an Attribute on an Activity


Add New Day dialog box
Add New Day

This lets you add a name for a new list of days. The list of days can be combined with other calendar hours and schedules to create a custom schedule.

See

Days

See Also

Hours

Defining a Schedule

About Schedules

Composite Schedules

Event Schedules


Define Events (Model menu)
Define Event (Model menu)

This lets you define regularly occurring times, or events, in addition to the events that are pre-defined in the system.

See

Event Schedules

See Also

About Schedules

Hours

Days

Composite Schedules


Add New Function dialog box
Add New Function

This lets you create a new custom function. Functions can describe durations or other expressions in individual activities, or initialize variables in the simulation data. You enter a name, type, and whether the function takes an argument or not.

See

Creating a New Function

Defining Types

Using Expressions

Using System-Defined Functions

List of Functions


Define Generators dialog box
Define Generators

The Define Generators dialog box lets you define the rate, type, and start position in which transactions are generated.

See

Generators

Running a Simulation

About the Scenario Window


Define Groups (Model menu)

This allows you to create groups. A group is a collection of transactions that is assigned when inputs are collected and batch processed.

See

Inputs Tab


Add New Hours dialog box
Add New Hours

This lets you add a name for a new list of hours. The list of hours can be combined with other calendar days and schedules to create a composite schedule.

See

Hours

See Also

Days

Defining a Schedule

About Schedules

Event Schedules

Composite Schedules


Add New Monitors dialog box
Add New Monitors

This lets you create monitors to look at values at specific points during simulation.

See

Defining Monitors

Locating Monitors


Add New Resource dialog box
Add New Resource

This adds a new resource. Resources are used to process transactions at an activity. You can add a new resource by entering a name and choosing from the resource types.

See

Defining Resources

Resource Pools

Using Resources on an Activity

Running a Simulation


Add New Schedule dialog box
Add New Schedule

This lets you add a name for a new schedule. The schedule can be used in the model to specify when activities, resources, and generators are active or inactive.

See

Defining a Schedule

About Schedules

See Also

Days

Hours

Event Schedules

Composite Schedules


Define Types (Model menu)

This creates a type. The type of an attribute or function indicates its range of values. There are pre-defined types, i.e., Number, YesNo, and TrueFalse, or you can create your own.

See

Defining Types

Using Expressions

Describing Model Behavior


Delete All Pause Points (Control menu)

This deletes all pause points that have been created in the trace window.

Other Information

This menu is available only in the trace window.

See

Using Pause Points


Delete Pause Point (Control menu)

This deletes the selected pause point.

To delete a pause point, you must first select it. To do so, view the pause points in the lower half of the trace window using the View menu. Click to select the pause point definition and from the Control menu, choose Delete Pause Point.

Other Information

This menu is available only in the trace window.

See

Using the Trace Window ("Using Pause Points")


Edit (Edit menu)

This menu item is grayed out because there are no scenario items selected for editing.

To select a scenario item, first make a scenario window active. The scenario window is in outline form, so you use the Plus and Minus buttons to expand or collapse an area. Click in the data area below an area title to select it.


Edit Composite Schedule dialog box
Edit Composite Schedule

This lets you create a composite schedule. A composite schedule is a combination of existing schedules and other custom days or hours definitions.

See

Composite Schedules

About Schedules

See Also

Defining a Schedule

Days

Hours

Event Schedules


Edit Custom Statistic dialog box
Edit Custom Statistic

This allows you to add or modify custom statistics to accumulate data in addition to the standard simulation.

See

Creating Custom Statistics

Time and Workers (Custom Resource Statistic)


Edit Fill Formats (Format menu)
Edit Fill Format

This lets you change the fill format of symbols.

Other Information

This menu is only available in an active process window.

See

Changing the Border and Fill Format

Picking Up and Applying Formats

Setting a Default Format


Edit Report Element (Edit menu)

This defines an element in the active report window. Each element is a separate area in the report. The title of the element is determined by the contents that you set for it.

See

Report Results

Statistic Tab

Structure Tab

Filters Tab

Formats Tab


Edit Report Element (Filters)

The Filter tab lets you choose which departments, processes, or snapshots are displayed in the report element.

See

Filters Tab

See

About the Report Results

Transaction Statistics

Activity Statistics

Resource Statistics

Creating Graphs


Edit Report Element (Format)

The Format tab lets you choose the order in which you want the data sorted, the maximum number of rows, and whether to display the report element as a table or graph.

See

Format Tab

See Also

About the Report Results

Transaction Statistics

Activity Statistics

Resource Statistics

Creating Graphs


Edit Report Element (Statistic)

The Statistic tab lets you choose which statistics are displayed in the report element.

See

Statistic Tab

See Also

About the Report Results

Transaction Statistics

Activity Statistics

Resource Statistics

Creating Graphs


Edit Report Element (Structure)

The Structure tab lets you choose the column labels and row labels that are displayed in the report element.

See

Structure Tab

See Also

About the Report Results

Transaction Statistics

Activity Statistics

Resource Statistics

Creating Graphs


Edit Text Alignment (Edit menu)

This defines the alignment of text.

See

Setting Text Alignment and Rotation

Setting a Default Format

Using Symbols From Other Applications (Defining Text Margins)


Snapping (Grid Menu)

This toggle turns the grid on and off. The grid is a built-in reference system of marks to help you align symbols. When the grid is enabled, newly-created symbols are aligned on a grid to give a regular appearance. When the grid is disabled, new symbols can be placed anywhere. Symbols that are moved or copied also snap to the grid if it is turned on.

Symbols that are created, moved, or resized when the grid is disabled do not automatically snap to the grid when it is enabled later.

Other Information

This menu is only available in an active process window.

See

Align Horiz

Align Vert

Aligning Symbols and Using the Grid


Error dialog box
Error

A programming error has occurred. Please FAX the following information about the error so that we can track down the problem, if possible.

FAX Number: 503-691-2451

The information that we will need:

•	A brief description of the error

•	A copy of the log file created when the error occurred. The log file is automatically created by Optima!. It resides in the Optima! directory,for example, c:\optima\optima1.log

Check the date to make sure that the log file is current. Existing files are not deleted when an error occurs, so your log file might be named optima2.log, optima3.log, etc. The name of the log file is displayed in the dialog box.

•	If possible, the process map that you were working on when the error occurred

Thank you.


Exclude Departments dialog box
Exclude Departments

This lets you set the specific departments that are included or excluded when a symbol crosses departments.

See

Creating Symbols to Cross Departments


Exit (File menu)

This closes Optima!. If any files have been changed, you are prompted to save them before the application exits.

See

Saving and Closing


Activity Fields (Format menu)

This lets you display or add information fields about an activity in the process map. A field is an area of the symbol that can be automatically updated after simulation.

See

Fields

See Also

Activity Numbering

Formatting Numbers


Find Monitor Next Location dialog box
Find Monitor Next Location

This lets you search for the next occurrence of the selected monitor.

Other Information

To access this dialog box, select a monitor name with multiple occurrences in the Define Monitors dialog box, and click on the Find button.

This dialog box is available in process and scenario windows.

See

Locating Monitors

Using Monitors


Find Start (Model menu)

This locates the named starting point. By default, the Start symbol is a starting point.

If a Start is not currently defined, this menu is grayed out.

This menu is useful for locating the start in a complicated process map, if it has been deleted or changed from the default.

Other Information

This menu is only available in an active process window.

See

Start Points


Fonts (Format menu)

This lets you change the font of text.

Other Information

This menu is available in a process window only.

See

Changing the Font and Text Style

Adding Text

Editing Text

Setting a Default Format

Setting Text Alignment and Rotation

Using Symbols From Other Applications (Defining Text Margins)


Go To (Messages menu)

This menu selects the activity that corresponds to the message in the message window. For example, if you have made a syntax error in an expression, you can locate the activity by selecting the message and using this menu.

Other Information

This dialog box is only available in a message window.


Go To Next (Messages menu)

This menu highlights the next message in the message window and selects the corresponding activity that is causing the message.

Other Information

This dialog box is only available in a message window.


Go To Pause (Run menu)

This menu moves the trace simulation to the next pause point. A pause point is a breaking position that you can place in a trace simulation.

Optima! moves to the next pause point without displaying any intermediate drawing of the trace.

Other Information

This dialog box is only available in a trace window.

See

Using the Trace Window ("Using Pause Points")


Go To Previous (Messages menu)

This menu highlights the message previous to the currently selected message in the message window, and selects the corresponding activity that is causing the message.

Other Information

This dialog box is only available in a message window.


Graph (Edit menu)

This lets you edit the format of the graph.

See

Creating Graphs


Graphical (View menu)

This displays the graphical view of the process map. (The alternative view is tabular.)

See

Viewing


Graphical (View Trace menu)

This displays the graphical view of the process map in the trace window. (The alternative view is tabular.)

Other Information

This menu is available when the trace window is active.

See

Using the Trace Window


Headers and Footers dialog box
Headers and Footers

This dialog box displays the current headers or footers. There are three justification fields: left, center, and right.

The fields can contain plain text or functions that return the file name, page number, and so on.

See

Creating Headers and Footers


Insert Object (Edit menu)

This lets you insert OLE (Object Linking and Embedding) objects into a process map.

See

Linking and Embedding From Other Applications


Lines (Format menu)

This lets you change the format of lines.

Other Information

This menu is only available in an active process window.

See

Changing the Line and Arrow Format

Drawing Lines to Connect Symbols

Moving Connection Lines

Connectors

Setting a Default Format


Lines dialog box (Process Format Settings)
Lines (Process Format Settings)

This lets you set the format for line skips and intersections. You can have one format per process map.

See

Lines Tab

See Also

Process Map Format


Links (Edit menu)

This lets you edit or update OLE (Object Linking and Embedding) objects.

See

Linking

Linking and Embedding From Other Applications


Manual Renumber menu
Manual Renumber

This lets you set the individual numbers of symbols.

See

Activity Numbering


Messages (Window menu)

This opens a message window. If any errors have occurred in the simulation, they appear in the message window.

This menu item is grayed out if a window menu is already open.


Define Days dialog box
Define Days

This lets you add a new list of days or modify an existing one. The list of days can be combined with other calendar hours and schedules to create a custom schedule.

See

Days

See Also

Days

Hours

Defining a Schedule

About Schedules

Composite Schedules

Event Schedules


Define Functions (Model menu)

This lets you create or edit a custom function. You use functions to describe durations or other expressions in individual activities, or to initialize variables in the simulation data.

If you have previously defined a function, you can select it from the list of existing functions and modify it.

See

Creating or Modifying a Function

Defining Types

Using Expressions

Using System-Defined Functions

List of Functions


Define Hours (Model menu)

This lets you create a new list of hours or modify an existing one. The list of hours can be combined with other calendar days and schedules to create a composite schedule.

See

Hours

See Also

Days

Defining a Schedule

About Schedules

Event Schedules

Composite Schedules


Monitors (Model menu)

This lets you create monitors to look at values at specific points during simulation.

See

Defining Monitors

Locating Monitors


Define Resources (Model menu)

This lets you add or edit the resources that are used to process transactions at activities. You can either modify an existing resource or add a new one. You define the number or resources, their schedule, and costs.

See

Defining Resources

Resource Pools

Using Resources on an Activity

Running a Simulation


Define Schedule (Model menu)

This lets you define a list of hours and days, in addition to the schedules that are pre-defined in the system. The schedule can be used in the model to specify when activities, resources, and generators are active or inactive.

See

Defining a Schedule

About Schedules

See Also

Hours

Days

Event Schedules

Composite Schedules


Modify Function dialog box
Modify Function

This lets you edit an existing function. You can change the type of arguments and return value for the function.

See

Creating Your Own Functions

Defining Types

List of Functions


Modify Resource dialog box
Modify Resource

This lets you change the name and type of a resource.

See

Defining Resources

Using Resources in an Activity


Modify Symbol Choices dialog box
Modify Symbol Choices

This lets you add or remove symbols from the Mapping toolbar.

The symbols that are currently on the Mapping toolbar are displayed along the top of the dialog box.

The choices for new symbols appear in the scrolling list that runs along the left side of the dialog box.

•	To change an existing symbols shape:

Select the symbol from the set of symbols displayed along the top of the dialog box. Click on a different symbol to replace the selected symbol.

•	To add a new symbol to the toolbar:

Click on the Add button. This inserts a blank symbol. With the blank symbol selected, click on a new symbol to replace it.

•	To delete a symbol:

Select it and click on the Remove button.

•	To change a symbol into a blank:

Click on the first symbol in the scrolling list.

Other Information

This menu is only available in an active process window.

See

Adding Symbols to the Mapping Toolbar

See Also

About Symbols


Recently Open Files (File menu)
Recently Opened Files (File menu)

The paths shown in the File menu are for the Optima! files that you have most recently opened. If a file is listed in the menu, you can open it with this menu item instead of using the longer method of specifying a path in the Open File dialog box.


Name Simulation Data dialog box
Name Simulation Data

This dialog box allows you to name simulation runs. By default, the simulation runs are named Sim #1, Sim #2, and so on. You can change the name so that it reflects the purpose of the simulation.

The simulation data names appear in the Run Setup dialog box and in the results shown in the report elements.

See

About the Report Results

Run Setup


New (File menu)

This opens a new file. The file is untitled until you save or close it.

When you choose this menu, the Template dialog box appears. You can choose the default template, which uses the internal default information, or you choose a template file.

See

Template Dialog Box

Opening Files

Using Custom Templates


New Window (Window menu)

This is a standard Windows menu. It makes a copy of the active window. The copy contains the exact data as the original window. However, each window can have its own viewing percentage. Any editing that you do in one window is simultaneously done in the other.

One use for this menu is to create two windows, and then view one in graphical view and the other in tabular. You can enter the data in tabular view and watch how the symbols appears graphically.

See

Viewing


No Memory

There is no more memory available to Optima! on your system.

Optima! cannot recover and must exit. You will lose any unsaved changes you have made in Optima!. After exiting, the memory used by Optima! will become available to your other programs.

The most likely cause of this problem is insufficient disk space which is needed to provide virtual memory to the application. If you have other programs running, you may be able to exit them to recover memory.


No Memory (Win32S)
No Memory

There is no more memory available to Optima! on your system.

Optima! cannot recover and must exit. You will lose any unsaved changes you have made in Optima!. We recommend that you restart your computer now since abnormal termination of a Windows application can leave shared system memory and other resources locked up.

There are several possible causes for this problem. Since Optima! uses the Win32s system from Microsoft, it requires a large amount of virtual memory even though it uses relatively little real memory. You should insure that the Virtual Memory dialog box under the 386 Enhanced control panel provides at least 16 megabytes of virtual memory. In general, the sum of real memory (RAM) and the virtual memory setting should exceed 24 megabytes for small scale usage of Optima!, and 32 megabytes for lage scale usage.


Numbering (Edit menu)

This lets you display or hide automatic numbers on symbols. You can change the placement or format of the number by changing the field display for the symbol.

See

Activity Numbering

Fields

Formatting Numbers


Object (Edit menu)

This lets you edit an OLE (Object Linking and Embedding) object using its original application.

See

Linking and Embedding From Other Applications


Open File (File menu)

This gives you access to existing files that you can edit. You can use the Open File dialog box to locate and open an existing file.

You can convert FlowCharter charts to Optima! by choosing FlowCharter Files for the type of file, and entering the file name.

See

Opening Files

Using Custom Templates

See Also

Importing FlowCharter Charts


Page Breaks (View menu)

This lets you preview the pages as they will appear printed. The page breaks depend on the size of paper that you specified for your printer, and the size of the output.

The page breaks appears as red or gray dotted lines.

You can affect the page break by assigning the "Fit to" setup for how many pages fit on a sheet of paper, or the scaling factor so that the image is increased or decreased. This is done in the page setup.

See

Viewing

Printing

Connectors


Printer Setup dialog box
Page Setup (File menu)

Graphical Page Setup

You use the graphical page setup the first time you use a printer or plotter and whenever you want to change to a different printer or plotter. Your printer choice and settings remain in effect every time you print until you change them.

See

Printing

Creating Headers and Footers


Paste (Edit menu)

This places a copy of the clipboard into the active window. You can paste the contents from the clipboard multiple times.

See

Copying and Pasting


Paste Attribute dialog box
Paste Attribute

This provides a list of already-defined attributes to choose from. The attribute name is copied to the system clipboard where it can be pasted into expressions.

See

Describing Model Behavior

Transaction Attributes

Attributes That Are Global


Paste Custom Statistic dialog box
Paste Custom Statistic

This provides a list of already-defined statistics. The statistic name is copied to the clipboard where it can be pasted into expressions.

See

Creating Custom Statistics

Using Expressions


Paste Function dialog box
Paste Function

This provides a list of already-defined functions. The function name is copied to the clipboard where it can be pasted into expressions.

See

Using System-Defined Functions

List of Functions

Using Expressions


Paste Member dialog box
Paste Member

This provides a list of already-defined members of a type. The member name is copied to the clipboard where it can be pasted into expressions.

See

Using Expressions

Defining Types


Paste Monitor dialog box
Paste Monitor

This provides a list of already-defined monitors. The monitor name is copied to the clipboard where it can be pasted into expressions.

See

Using Expressions

Defining Monitors


Paste Operators dialog box
Paste Operators

This lets you choose from a list of valid operators that can be used in expressions.

See

Using Expressions


Paste Special (Edit menu)

This lets you embed or link an object.

See

Drag and Drop

Linking and Embedding From Other Applications


Pause (Run menu)

The Pause menu item allows you to stop a simulation from continuing to process. The simulation is suspended until you resume it or stop it. You can do this by choosing Resume or Stop from the Run menu.

When a simulation is paused in the trace window, you can examine attributes of the paused transaction by using the View menu.

Choosing this menu is the same as clicking on the Pause button in the trace window controls.

Other Information

This menu is available in the trace window only.

See

Using Pause Points


Pause Points (View menu)

This menu shows the definitions for the pause points that have been set in the trace window. The definitions appear in the lower half of the trace window.

To disable the display, you can toggle the menu.

While pause definitions are being displayed, you can edit their definition by double-clicking on them. You can also delete the selected definition by choosing Delete Pause Point from the Control menu.

Other Information

This menu is available in the trace window only.

See

Using Pause Points


Pick Up (Format menu)

This lets you pick up all of the formats of a selected object.

See

Picking Up and Applying Formats


Print (File menu)

This prints the contents of the active window.

See

Printing


Process (Format menu)

This specifies the global formats for the process map.

See

Line Intersection and Skips

Connectors

Process Map Format

Defaults


Process (View menu)

This lets you view the subprocess or concurrent process that is referenced by an activity that uses a subprocess.

Other Information

•	This menu is available in a process window only.

•	The symbol that uses the subprocess must be selected.

See

About Subprocesses

Task Tab


Process (View Trace menu)
Process (View menu)

This menu opens additional processes in the trace window.

Other Information

This menu is available in the trace window only.

See

Tips for Working With Multiple Processes

Using the Trace Window


Process Format Settings (Defaults)

This lets you choose the default settings for text, connection lines, and symbol settings.

See

Defaults Tab


Process Maps (Process Format Settings)

This sets the overall format for a process map.

See

Process Maps Tab

See

Lines Tab

Connectors Tab

Defaults Tab


Processes (File menu)

This opens new or existing processes. Processes can be used to create a structure for a model. Each process has its own generator to activate transactions. Also, each generator can start and stop at different times during the simulation.

See

Processes Dialog Box

See Also

Using Multiple Processes


Rename Component dialog box
Rename Component

This dialog box is used to rename processes, scenarios, or reports.

See

Processes (File menu)

Scenarios (File menu)

Reports (File menu)


Reports (File menu)

This opens new or existing reports. You can have several reports open with different elements describing the same data. (You can also have several elements in the same report.)

See

About the Report Results

Run Setup


Resource Allocations dialog box
Resource Allocations

This lets you increase or decrease the resource allocations, by individual departments or pools.

See

Resource Pools

Resources


Resources By Department dialog box
Resources By Worker, Dept., Process

This dialog box is specific to the resources for one department in one process.

See

Resource Pools

See Also

Resources

Resources (Scenario)


Resume (Run menu)

The Resume menu item allows you to restart a simulation that has been paused.

Choosing this menu is the same as clicking on the Resume button in the trace window controls.

Other Information

This menu is available in the trace window only.

See

Using the Trace Window


Run Setup dialog box
Run Setup

This specifies scenario data for the simulation, including how the simulation time is classified and time conversion units.

See

Simulation Time

Initialization and Reports

Snapshots

Running a Simulation

About the Scenario Window


Save (File menu)

This makes a copy of the active process in a location that you have set previously. If the file is new, you must specify a file name the first time that you execute this command. To change the location where a file is saved, use the Save As menu item.

See

Saving and Closing


Save As (File menu)

This makes a copy of the active process in a location that you specify by file name, directory, and drive.

Once you save a file using Save As, its location is set until the next time you use Save As. You can use the Save menu to save time after you have first saved a file using Save As.

See

Saving and Closing


Save as HTML dialog box
Save as HTML

This lets you save an Optima! process map as a Hypertext Markup Language (HTML) file. This creates a Web page that can be viewed by a standard Web browser such as Netscape Navigator or Microsofts Internet Explorer.

See

Saving as HTML


Scenarios (File menu)

This opens a new or existing scenario.

See

Opening Multiple Scenarios

Running a Simulation

About the Scenario Window


Select (Edit menu)

This offers several options for selecting items in a process map.

Other Information

This menu is only available in an active process window.

See

Selecting and Canceling Selection


Select All (Edit menu)

This menu selects all of a process map or the report elements. The report elements can be copied and pasted into other Windows applications.

See

Selecting and Canceling Selection


Send (File menu)

This brings up the Send Mail application. You must have Exchange Messaging from Microsoft installed in order to use Send Mail.

More help is available by choosing from the Help menu in Send Mail.


Send to Back (Edit menu)

This places the selected items at the bottom of any other items that are overlapped.

Other Information

This menu is only available in an active process window.

See

Moving Symbols


Set Attribute Value dialog box
Set Attribute Value

This sets the value of an attribute. Attributes are variables that can be assigned values by different activities during simulation.

See

Describing Model Behavior

Transaction Attributes

Attributes That Are Global

Defining Types

Attributes Tab


Set Attribute dialog box
Set Attribute

This dialog box is used to create an attribute.

See

Describing Model Behavior

Transaction Attributes

Attributes That Are Global

Attributes Tab


Set Pause Point (Control menu)

This menu sets a breaking position, or pause, in a trace simulation. You can use this to run the trace until a specific condition is met. For example, a pause can occur whenever a transaction is processed by a specific activity or after some count is exceeded.

Other Information

This menu is only available in a trace window.

See

Using Pause Points

Using the Trace Window

Using Expressions


Set Snapshot Time dialog box
Set Snapshot Time

This dialog box appears when you choose to set a snapshot from the Run Setup dialog box. A snapshot is a defined time when data accumulation occurs.

See

"Snapshots" in Run Setup


Show Grid (Grid menu)

This toggle turns the display of grid marks on and off.

Other Information

This menu is available in an active process window only.

See

Aligning Symbols and Using the Grid


Show Hidden (Format menu)

This menu toggles the viewing of hidden items. You can make lines and text areas hidden so that they do not display or print. By showing hidden items, you can verify their placement.

See

Adding Text ("Viewing Hidden Areas")


Show/Hide Columns dialog box
Show/Hide Columns

This lets you choose the activity data that is displayed in the tabular columns.

See

Viewing Columns

Inputs Tab

Resources Tab

Attributes Tab

Task Tab

Outputs Tab

SummaryTab


Simulation Data (Edit menu)

This allows you to specify the simulation runs that are shown in a report. A list of simulation names is currently available. You can change the name of existing simulation runs or delete them.

See

Naming or Deleting Simulation Data


Simulation Data (Edit menu, grayed out)

This menu item is grayed out because there is no available simulation data.


Snap to Grid (Grid menu)

This moves the selected symbols to their nearest grid point.

Other Information

The menu is available when there are selected items in the process window. Also, this menu appears only if the grid is enabled.

See

Aligning Symbols and Using the Grid


Split (Window menu)

This divides the current window into two segments. Each is a window on the same information so if you make a change in one window, it will be reflected in the other.


Start (Run menu)

This begins the simulation. When it is through, the results automatically appear on the screen in a report window. If an error occurs, the message window appears.

See

Starting and Stopping Simulation


Status (View menu)

This toggles the visibility of brief, one-line status messages at the bottom of the Optima! window. The messages provide quick help on menu items and other simulation status. If there is a check mark on the Status menu, the messages are visible. Otherwise, the messages are turned off.


Step (Run menu)

This moves all transactions in a trace window forward one step.

Other Information

The menu is available in the trace window only.

See

Using the Trace Window


Stop (Run menu)

This stops the simulation in progress. The simulator quits running and there is no output of data in the report.

Other Information

This menu is available in all windows whenever a simulation is currently running.

See

Running the Simulation


Symbol (Format menu)

This lets you change a symbol to a different symbol. You can use any of the standard Optima! symbols or create your own and add them to this dialog box.

Other Information

This menu is only available in an active process window.

See

About Symbols

Using Symbols From Other Applications


Symbol Format dialog box
Symbol Format

This lets you specify the font, border, and fill of the current symbol.

See

Changing the Font and Text Style

Changing the Border and Fill Format

See Also

About Symbols


Tabular (View menu)

This lets you view the process map in tabular format. You can use the menus and mouse to edit the table the same as you can to edit a graphical process map. Any editing that you can do while drawing a process map can be done in the table, also.

To create a new row, press Enter. You can type directly into the cell.

To change the format or type of symbol, use the Format menus. To connect symbols, drag the mouse cursor from the symbol column of the source symbol to the destination symbol.

Other Information

The menu is only available in an active process window.

See

About Tables


Tabular (View trace menu)

This lets you view the process map in tabular format. The trace operates in the same way regardless of whether you are viewing tabular or graphical.

Other Information

The menu is only available in an active trace window.

See

Using the Trace Window


Template dialog box
Template

This is used to create a new file, process, scenario, or report.

•	For a new file, the file is untitled until you save or close it.

•	For new processes, the default names are Process1, Process2, ...

•	For new scenarios, the default names are Scenario1, Scenario2, ...

•	For new reports, the default names are Report1, Report2, ...

The menu opens a new item based on the template that you choose. The default template uses internal Optima! defaults. You can create a template file named "default.pft" and place it in the template directory to be used when the default template is chosen.

See

Opening Files

Using Custom Templates


Tile Horizontally (Window menu)

This places all open Optima! windows in a horizontal row so that a part of each window is visible.


Tile Vertically (Window menu)

This places all open Optima! windows in a vertical row so that a part of each window is visible.


Titles dialog box
Titles

This dialog box lets you insert text or a Title function in the selected justification field (left, center, or right).

See

Creating Headers and Footers

Printing


Toolbars (View menu)

This lets you view all of the toolbars that are available in Optima!.

See

Viewing Different Toolbars


Edit Tooltip Text dialog box
Edit Tooltip Text

This lets you associate tooltip text with a symbol. A tooltip is a brief comment, typically three or four words, that describes the function of the symbol. The tooltip serves as a reminder or helpful hint to anyone who works with the symbol, for example, in a template.

After you create a symbol and place it in a toolbar, you view the tooltip by placing the cursor over the symbol. Tooltips are displayed in the status line at the bottom of the screen.

You turn tooltips on and off by using the View > Toolbars dialog box.

See

Adding Symbols to the Mapping Toolbar

About Symbols


Trace (Run menu)

This brings up a trace window. The trace window is used to analyze or troubleshoot a process map by viewing the individual transactions as they follow the process flow.

See

Using the Trace Window


Trace Colors (Control Colors menu)

This dialog box displays the colors that are used during a trace simulation to indicate the status of different transactions as they move between statements.

To change a color, select a new color from the scrolling list.

Other Information

The menu is available in a trace window only.

See

Using the Trace Window


Transactions (View menu)

This displays information about transactions in the lower half of the trace window.

Other Information

The menu is available in the trace window only.

See

Using the Trace Window


Undo and Redo (Edit menu)

Undo cancels the last action. If the action cannot be undone, the Undo menu item is grayed out.

Redo cancels the last Undo. Redo is available on the menu only if an undone action can be redone.

Other Information

The menu is available in all windows whenever an action can be undone or redone.

See

Undoing and Cutting


Select Window (Window menu)

This dialog box lets you choose, by name, which window to display. It is available only when there are more than ten windows open.


Window name (Window menu)

This is a standards Window menu item. It makes the window that you choose the active window.

The Window name has two elements. The first element is the file name, if the contents of the window have been saved, or Untitled if they have not. The second element is the name of the window.

The process window suffix is Process1, Process2, ...

The scenario window suffix is Scenario1, Scenario2, ...

A trace window has a Trace prefix, followed by the file name and process window name.

The report window suffix is Report1, Report2, ...

The message window is named Message.


Zoom (View menu)

This lets you set a specify viewing percentage for the active window. Each window has its own current viewing percentage.

See

Viewing


2D Gallery property page

Click for more information on any of the following graphs.

Pie chart

Polar graph

Bubble graph

Scatter graph

Line chart

Bar chart

Area chart

Gantt chart

High-Low chart

Candlestick chart

Box-Whisker chart

Time Series chart

For more information on a style or property page, see Graph Control Dialog Box.


3D Gallery property page

Click for more information on any of the following graphs.

Pie chart

Bar chart

Tape chart

Area chart

Scatter graph

Surface graph

For more information on a style or property page, see Graph Control Dialog Box.


Pie chart

The pie chart, one of the simplest graph types, consists of a circle (or "pie") divided into two or more sections ("slices"). Pie charts show the proportion of parts to the whole. By labeling each pie slice with the quantity it represents, you can also allow a comparison of parts to each other, although not as effectively as you could with a bar graph or other graph type.

•	Each pie chart can graph only one data set, with each data point represented by a pie slice.

•	Negative data points are ignored and not shown.

•	You can draw any pie chart in either 2D or 3D form.

•	You can highlight any slice by "exploding" it (moving it slightly away from the center of the pie).

Use a pie chart...

•	To graph a single data set when your primary message is the relationship of the parts to the whole.

Other graph types to consider

•	If you're more concerned with comparing parts to each other than to the whole, try a 2D bar graph or 3D bar graph.

•	If you have more than one data set and want to compare parts to the whole (one data set compared to the sum of all data sets), consider a stacked bar graph or area graph.


Polar graph

The polar graph is essentially a line graph drawn on a circular grid, showing trends in values on the basis of angles. Like logarithmic graphs, polar graphs are useful primarily in mathematical and statistical applications.

•	In a polar graph, the independent variable is charted on the angular axis, based on an origin (zero point) of three o'clock. The dependent variable is charted on the radial axis, with the origin at the center of the circle.

•	Polar graphs can chart multiple data sets, each represented by a single line, with as many data points as are meaningful.

•	If you don't supply an angular position for each data point, the Graph Control automatically places the first point at an angle of 0, with subsequent points at increments of 360 (degrees) divided by the total number of points.

•	In drawing a polar graph, you can use any combination of lines, symbols, and "sticks" drawn between points and the center origin.

Use a polar graph...

•	To graph according to angles or other criteria particularly suited to a circular format.

•	To graph repeating data sets that flow into each other. For example, you can graph temperatures hour by hour for several consecutive days, representing each day in a different color or pattern.

Other graph types to consider

•	Any data set you can chart on a polar graph can also be shown on a line graph. Line graphs are usually more readable, but they can't represent angles graphically or show multiple data sets linked end to end.


Bubble graph

The bubble graph lets you chart three variables in two dimensions. It's a special form of the scatter graph showing "bubbles," which are circular markers of variable size plotted on an X-Y grid. The size of each bubble is typically used to show the data point's relative importance, such as the percentage of gross sales it represents.

•	In a bubble graph, all three variables are independent. You can choose which variable to show on the X axis, which to show on the Y axis, and which to show by the size of the bubble.

•	You must supply values for the X position, Y position, and bubble size for each point.

•	You can't draw curves on a bubble graph.

Use a bubble graph...

•	When you have three variables to graph and want to show them on a single set of axes.


2D scatter graph

The 2D scatter graph consists of plotted points "scattered" around an X-Y grid. The pattern may reveal a relationship between the two variables measured by the X and Y axes.

•	Scatter graphs can chart multiple data sets, each represented by a different symbol, each having any number of data points.

•	You can display scatter plots alone, curves alone, or both together. The combination is determined by your selections in the Style property page.

Use a scatter graph...

•	To view actual measurements or observations on a grid, possibly revealing patterns and trends in those data.

•	With plotted points alone when you want to show the data empirically, without suggesting a relationship between the X and Y variables.

•	With a curve alone when you want to show the relationship between the X and Y variables as suggested by the data, irrespective of the actual data points.

•	With both plotted points and a curve when you want to show the empirical data as well as suggest trends.

Other graph types to consider

•	When you're graphing against only two variables and you can plot points at regular intervals along the X axis without specifying X positions, you should generally use a line graph with symbols instead of a 2D scatter graph.


3D scatter graph

The 3D scatter graph consists of plotted points "scattered" around an X-Y-Z space. The pattern may reveal a relationship between the three variables measured by the X, Y, and Z axes.

•	Scatter graphs can chart multiple data sets, each represented by a different symbol, each having any number of data points.

•	In defining a scatter graph, you usually supply an X position for each data point. However, you can supply no X positions and have the Graph Control automatically place points at X increments of 1, starting at 0.

•	You can emphasize the Y value of each plotted point by selecting the Sticks option in the Style property page.

Use a 3D scatter graph...

•	To view actual measurements or observations in 3D space, possibly revealing patterns and trends in those data.

Other graph types to consider

•	When you're graphing against three variables, consider a bubble graph, which is generally easier to read than a 3D scatter graph. Instead of using three axes (X, Y, and Z), bubble graphs plot "bubbles" of different sizes along an X and a Y axis. The third variable is shown by the size of each bubble.


Line graph

The line graph consists of one or more lines (or sequences of symbols) drawn on an X-Y grid. These graphs let you show trends in values over a continuous scale.

•	In a line graph, the X axis usually represents an independent variable, which is most often a time scale. The Y axis usually shows a dependent variable, such as a quantity or percentage.

•	In drawing a line graph, you can use any combination of lines, symbols, and vertical "sticks." You can choose this combination in the Style property page.

•	In the Style property page, you can select to show the X axis, Y axis, or both in a logarithmic scale  creating a lin/log, log/lin, or log/log graph. These graph types are used mainly in scientific and statistical applications.

Use a line graph...

•	To show the trend of one or more data sets over time or another continuous scale.

Other graph types to consider

•	If your main focus is on the quantities at various data points rather than the trends in those quantities, consider an absolute area graph.

•	If you're graphing discrete values  with data points that are based on two independent variables and don't necessarily occur at regular intervals  use a 2D scatter graph.

•	If your data points aren't consecutive  for example, if you want to graph data only for 1987, 1990, and 1992  a 2D bar graph or 3D bar graph may be more appropriate.


2D bar graph

A bar graph consists of two or more parallel bars of equal width drawn on an X-Y grid. Bar graphs compare amounts to each other. They can also suggest trends, especially in vertical form.

•	2D bar graphs are available in three styles: simple, stacked, and stacked percentage. You can choose this style on the Style property page.

•	You can draw bars either vertically or horizontally. In the vertical format, viewers tend to attribute a left-to-right sequence to the bars, whether you intend one or not. To choose vertical or horizontal bars, go to the Style property page.

Use a bar graph...

•	In simple form when you want to compare values to each other.

•	In clustered form (simple style with multiple data sets) when you want to compare corresponding data points of multiple data sets to each other.

•	In stacked form when you want to compare each data set to the sum of all sets.

•	In stacked percentage form when you want to show a percentage breakdown of the sum of data sets.

Other graph types to consider

•	If you're graphing only one data set and you want to compare parts to the whole rather than to each other, use a pie chart.

•	When the trend of values is your primary concern, and especially when you want to imply a gradual flow between data points, consider a line graph or area graph.


3D bar graph

A bar graph consists of two or more parallel bars of equal width drawn on an X-Y grid. Bar graphs compare amounts to each other. They can also suggest trends, especially in vertical form.

•	3D bar graphs are available in four styles: simple, stacked, stacked percentage, and z-clustered. You can choose this style on the Style property page.

•	You can draw bars either vertically or horizontally. In the vertical format, viewers tend to attribute a left-to-right sequence to the bars, whether you intend one or not. To choose vertical or horizontal bars, go to the Style property page.

Use a bar graph...

•	In simple form when you want to compare values to each other.

•	In clustered (simple style with multiple data sets) or z-clustered form when you want to compare corresponding data points of multiple data sets to each other.

•	In stacked form when you want to compare each data set to the sum of all sets.

•	In stacked percentage form when you want to show a percentage breakdown of the sum of data sets.

Other graph types to consider

•	If you're graphing only one data set and you want to compare parts to the whole rather than to each other, use a pie chart.

•	When the trend of values is your primary concern, and especially when you want to imply a gradual flow between data points, consider a line graph or area graph.


Area graph

The area graph consists of one or more lines drawn on an X-Y grid, with the area between the line and the X axis filled in. Like line graphs, area graphs show trends in values but give greater emphasis to quantities.

•	Area graphs are available in three forms: stacked, absolute, and stacked percentage. You can choose one of these forms on the Style property page.

•	Negative data points are ignored and not shown.

•	You can draw any area graph in either 2D or 3D form.

Use an area graph...

•	To show the trend of one or more data sets over time or another continuous scale, with an emphasis on quantities.

•	In cumulative form when you want to compare each data set to the sum of all sets.

•	In absolute form when you want to compare data sets to each other. Absolute area graphs work better in 3D.

•	In percentage form when you want to view trends in the percentage breakdown of the sum of data sets.

Other graph types to consider

•	If you want to emphasize trends themselves (the downward or upward movement of values) over quantities, use a line graph.

•	If you want data points to stand as separate entities rather than flowing together, consider a 2D bar graph or 3D bar graph (in stacked or stacked percentage form) rather than a cumulative or percentage area graph.


Gantt chart

The Graph Control's Gantt chart is a specialized version of the horizontal bar graph in simple or stacked form. It's used almost exclusively to show a project schedule, with each bar or bar segment marking the start time, duration, and completion time of a task.

•	Depending on your needs, you can have each bar represent either a single task (one solid bar) or a sequence of tasks (stacked bar).

•	Gantt charts are made up of at least two data sets. The first set contains the values for the start point of each bar, and subsequent sets contain the end points of each bar segment.

•	Unlike bar graphs, Gantt charts are always drawn horizontally and only in 2D form.

•	The Graph Control automatically places Gantt bars along the Y axis at increments of 1, starting at 1.

•	In default form, Gantt chart bars are drawn with no spaces between them. You can add spaces if you choose. Go to the Style property page and select the Spaced option.

•	You can't show negative data points on a Gantt chart.

Use a Gantt chart...

•	To graph a project schedule when you know the start time and end time for each task.

Other graph types to consider

•	If every task starts at the same point, you can use a 2D bar graph or 3D bar graph (in simple or stacked form) to show the same information.


High-low-close graph

The high-low-close (HLC) graph lets you chart a range of values on an X-Y grid. The range is shown as a vertical bar, with horizontal crossbars for the high, the low, and a normative value usually called the close. An alternate version, the open-high-low-close (OHLC) graph, adds a fourth crossbar for another normative value usually called the open.

•	When you click the High-Low icon on the 2D Gallery property page, you get an HLC graph by default. To get an OHLC graph, go to the Style property page and select the 'Open' Values option.

•	An HLC graph must have three data sets (high, low, and close values), and an OHLC graph must have four data sets (open, high, low, and close values). There's no limit on the number of data points you can graph, but each data set should have the same number.

•	You can optionally draw the graph without the open and close bars, without the high and low bars, or with no bars at all. These options are available in the Style property page.

Use a high-low-close graph...

•	When you're charting stock prices.

•	When you're charting other values that can be set up in a similar fashion with three (HLC) or four (OHLC) data sets  for example, high, low, and average daily temperatures by month.

Other graph types to consider

•	If you're considering the OHLC graph, be sure to look at the candlestick graph as well. It shows the same information and also emphasizes the trend (up or down) of close values from point to point.

•	If you want to chart only the closing prices for stocks, use a line graph.


Candlestick graph

The candlestick graph is an alternative to the open-high-low-close graph. It consists of a series of boxes, with lines extending up and down from the ends, drawn on an X-Y grid. The top and bottom of each box indicate the open and close values. If the open value is higher, the box is filled with a color; if the close value is higher, the box is filled with white. The ascending and descending lines indicate the high and low values for that point.

Like open-high-low-close graphs, candlestick graphs are most often used to plot stock prices. The addition of the boxes helps you differentiate between "up" and "down" days of trading.

•	The candlestick graph requires four data sets (open, high, low, and close values), each of which should have the same number of data points.

•	If you don't supply an X position for each data point, the Graph Control automatically places points at increments of 1, starting at 0.

•	No style variants are available.

Use a candlestick graph...

•	When you're charting stock prices with open, high, low, and close values and want to emphasize whether prices are up or down each day.

•	When you're charting other values that can be set up in a similar fashion with four data sets.

Other graph types to consider

•	The open-high-low-close graph serves the same purpose as the candlestick graph, but with less emphasis on whether each plot point shows an "up" or "down." A possible advantage of open-high-low-close over candlestick is that you can fit curves into high-low-close graphs to indicate trends in values.


Box-whisker graph

The box-whisker graph illustrates the spread of data groups around their medians, using a "box" and "whiskers" to break down each data group by percentile.

In creating a box-whisker graph, you can either specify the seven percentile parameters for each symbol (provide "parametric" data) or supply a group of "raw" data for the Graph Control to process and graph.

•	With parametric data, you need exactly seven data sets, which specify the values at percentiles of 5, 10, 25, 50 (the median), 75, 90, and 95.

•	With raw data, you need enough data sets to hold all the values making up each group (always at least seven sets). In drawing the graph, the Graph Control sorts the values for each group, then assigns the seven percentile positions (5, 10, 25, 50, 75, 90, or 95) to the values closest to those percentiles. For example, in a group of 20 values, the second value would be shown as the tenth percentile.

•	For raw data, you can optionally add symbols to the graph showing each value. If a group contains duplicate values, only one symbol is shown at that position.

•	The number of data points is the number of box-whisker symbols.

Use a box-whisker graph...

•	When you want to show how the values in one or more data groups are distributed around their medians. You can either specify the percentile breakdowns of the data groups or provide raw data and have the Graph Control determine the percentile breakdowns.


Time series graph

The time series graph is unique among the Graph Control's graph offerings. Unlike other graphs, it shows open-ended streams of data, rather than finite data sets. These streams of data must be provided by the application  you can't create your own time series graph just by clicking on the Time Series icon and then entering values in the Data property page.

A time series graph consists of a dynamic X-Y grid in which points are added one at a time to the right-hand edge. When the graph reaches the limit of points it can show, the oldest data begins to drop off the left edge. The time-series graph is the only graph type that appears to move on the screen.

A time series graph is ideal for plotting real-time data. You don't need the data series in hand when you start the graph, so you can plot values as they arrive from a source.

•	Time series graphs can chart multiple data sets, each represented by a single sequence of symbols.

•	Because time series graphs represent continuous streams of data, they must be displayed on screen to show all the data. Printouts of time series graphs can show only freeze-frames of the graph captured at particular times.

Use a time series graph...

•	When you're collecting data at regular intervals in real time.

•	When you're displaying stored data retrieved in real time and you want to emphasize the dynamic nature of the data.

Other graph types to consider

•	If you want to show every data point at one time, use a static graph type, such as a line graph or 2D scatter graph.


Tape graph

The tape graph is a 3D form of the line graph. It gives you only one styling option  "tapes" drawn between data points  but is otherwise the same as the line graph.


Surface graph

The surface graph lets you represent data topographically in three dimensions. The graph uses an X-Z grid drawn at regular increments in the X and Z directions, with one Y value for each X-Z intersection. The color scale of the graph is automatically keyed to the height of points, helping the viewer differentiate between higher and lower values.

•	A surface graph represents a minimum of two data sets and usually at least three. Each data set holds the Y values of a row of points along the X axis. The first set applies to the row of points perpendicular to the Z origin (the "back" of the graph), and subsequent sets apply to additional rows.

•	All panels of the surface graph (the rectangles formed by the X and Z grids) are colored according to their height. You specify the colors at the maximum and minimum points of the axis, and the Graph Control interpolates colors between these points.

•	In drawing a surface graph, you can use lines to show the edges of each panel, fill each panel with a solid color, or use both lines and fills. You can also add side walls to the front and right edges of the graph if you choose. All of these options are available in the Style property page.

Other graph types to consider

•	If your data points have irregularly spaced Z values, consider a 3D scatter graph.

•	If your data points have irregularly spaced X values but regular Z values, try a 3D bar graph or tape graph.


Graph Control Dialog Box

Click for more information on any of the following style or property pages.

Style page (Area graph)

Style page (Bar graph)

Style page (Box Whisker graph)

Style page (Gantt chart)

Style page (High-low-close graph)

Style page (Line graph)

Style page (Pie chart)

Style page (Polar chart)

Style page (Scatter graph - 2D)

Style page (Scatter graph - 3D)

Style page (Surface graph)

Titles property page

Axis property page (Graph types with X-Y grids)

Axis property page (Polar graphs)

3D property page

Fonts property page

Markers property page

Background property page


Style property page (Area graph)
Style page (Area graph)

Stacked (default)

Select this option for "stacked"  cumulative  layers. Each data set is drawn on top of any previous ones.

Absolute

Select this option to draw each data set from the Y origin. This form is much more readable in 3D.

Stacked %

Select this option to draw each data set as a percentage of a whole.


Style property page (Bar graph)
Style page (Bar graph)

Horizontal

Select this option for a graph with bars drawn horizontally.

Vertical (default)

Select this option for a graph with bars drawn vertically, which is sometimes called a column graph.

Simple (default)

Select this option to draw one bar per data point. If you have more than one data set, corresponding points from each set are shown as "clustered" bars.

Stacked

Select this option to divide bars into segments, showing multiple data sets at corresponding data points.

Stacked %

Select this option to divide bars into segments representing percentages of a whole. Each complete bar will be the same length, but the breakdown of segments will vary according to their percentages at each data point.

Z-Clustered (available for 3D bar graphs only)

Select this option to draw multiple sets of bars, one bar per data point, with subsequent sets drawn in front of previous ones. In this form, smaller bars may be hidden behind larger values.


Style property page (Box-whisker graph)
Style page (Box-whisker graph)

Parametric Data

Select this option if you want to specify the seven values making up the box-whisker graph.

Raw Data (default)

Select this option if you want the Graph Control to process a group of data and produce the seven values making up the box-whisker graph.

Show Samples (default is on)

Select this option to show the actual data values (samples) from which the box-whisker graph is produced, superimposed as symbols over the box-whisker graphics. Deselect it to show no samples.


Style property page (Gantt chart)
Style page (Gantt chart)

Spaced (default is off)

Select this option to place spaces between Gantt bars. Deselect it to draw all bars adjacent to each other.


Style property page (High-low-close graph)
Style page (High-low-close graph)

Data group

By default, a high-low-close graph charts three data sets: high values, low values, and closing values. In the Data group, you can enable a fourth data set for opening values, creating an open-high-low-close graph.

'Open' Values (default is off).

Select this option for an open-high-low-close graph. Deselect it for a high-low-close graph.

No High/Low Ticks (default is off)

Select this option to disable high and low ticks. Deselect it to show those ticks.

No Open/Close Ticks (default is off)

Select this option to disable open and close ticks. Deselect it to show those ticks.


Style property page (Line graph including log/lin, lin/log and log/log)
Style page (Line graph  including log/lin, lin/log and log/log)

Symbols (default is off)

Select this option to draw a symbol at the position of each data point. Deselect it for no symbols.

Lines (default is off)

Select this option to draw lines between data points. Deselect it for no lines.

Note that if all options in the Markers group (Symbols, Lines, and Sticks) are deselected, lines are drawn in any case.

Sticks (default is off)

Select this option to draw a vertical "stick" between each data point and the Y origin. Deselect it for no sticks.

Y Axis (default is off)

Select this option for a logarithmic Y axis. If you select Y Axis and leave X Axis off, you'll get a log/lin graph; if you select both, you'll get a log/log graph.

X Axis (default is off)

Select this option for a logarithmic X axis. If you select X Axis and leave Y Axis off, you'll get a lin/log graph; if you select both, you'll get a log/log graph.


Style property page (Pie chart)
Style page (Pie chart)

Off (default is off)

Select this option to draw a pie chart with no labels for the slices. Deselect it to draw labels.

Connecting Lines (default is on)

Select this option to have connecting lines drawn between pie slices and their labels. Deselect it for no connecting lines.

Colored as Slices (default is off)

Select this option to have pie labels drawn in the same colors as their corresponding slices. Deselect it to have every label drawn in a single color (black by default, or as specified on the Fonts property page).

% Data Values (default is off)

Select this option to have pie labels show the percentage values of their slices (as related to the whole). Deselect it to have labels show the actual values of their slices.


Style property page (Polar graph)
Style page (Polar graph)

Symbols (default is off)

Select this option to draw a symbol at the position of each data point. Deselect it for no symbols.

Lines (default is off)

Select this option to draw lines between data points. Deselect it for no lines.

Note that if all options in the Markers group (Symbols, Lines, and Sticks) are deselected, lines are drawn in any case.

Sticks (default is off)

Select this option to draw a "stick" between each data point and the origin. Deselect it for no sticks.


Style property page (2D scatter graph)
Style page (Scatter graph  2D)

Symbols (default is on)

Symbols are drawn along with curves.


Style property page (3D scatter graph)
Style page (Scatter graph  3D)

Markers group

All 3D scatter graphs are drawn with symbols representing data points. In the Markers group, you can also enable vertical "sticks" for the graph.

Sticks (default is off). Select this option to draw a vertical stick between each data point and the Y origin plane. Deselect it for no sticks.


Style property page (Surface graph)
Style page (Surface graph)

Markers group

In the Markers group, you can choose style options for your 3D surface graph. The surface graph is based on a grid of cells drawn in the plane of the Y origin  in other words, the graph would appear as a flat grid of rectangles if viewed from above. Each point lies at the intersection of the lines of this grid (which determines its X and Z values); the "elevation" of each point is its Y value, which is set by the GraphData property.

To differentiate cells of the grid, you can use filled panels, boundary lines, or both.

Filled Panels (default is on). Select this option to fill in the cells of a surface graph grid with "panels" (actually paired triangles) of color. Deselect it for no panels.

The color range of panels is determined by your settings in the Grade Color group.

Boundary Lines (default is on). This option lets you draw lines along the edges of each cell of the surface graph grid.

•	If Filled Panels is selected, select Boundary Lines to draw lines (which are always black) and deselect it for no lines.

•	If Filled Panels is deselected, lines are drawn in any case. Their color range is determined by your settings in the Grade Color group.

Min

This box sets the color for the lowest point on the surface graph.

Max

This box sets the color for the highest point on the surface graph.

On (default is off)

Select this option to draw side walls around the perimeter of the graph in the X and Z planes. Deselect it for no side walls.

Color

This box sets the color for the side walls, using the current color palette.


Titles property page

Graph Title

In this box, you can enter text for the graph title, which can be up to 80 characters in length. This title appears centered at the top of the graphing window.

When you enter text for a title, the Graph Control adjusts the rest of the graphing window to provide space--either redrawing the graph and associated objects at a smaller size or decreasing the space between objects. When you clear the text box for a title, you disable it and provide more space for the rest of the graph.

If you enter a title that's too long to appear in a single line, the Graph Control automatically word-wraps it. If a title doesn't display at all, it's because the Graph Control can't make the font small enough to fit all the text in the space provided. Increase the size of the graphing window to make the title appear.

Title text

When you enter text for a title, the Graph Control adjusts the rest of the graphing window to provide space--either redrawing the graph and associated objects at a smaller size or decreasing the space between objects. When you clear the text box for a title, you disable it and provide more space for the rest of the graph.

If you enter a title that's too long to appear in a single line, the Graph Control automatically word-wraps it. If a title doesn't display at all, it's because the Graph Control can't make the font small enough to fit all the text in the space provided. Increase the size of the graphing window to make the title appear.

Bottom Title

In this box, you can enter text for the bottom title, which can be up to 80 characters in length. This title appears centered at the bottom of the graphing window. A bottom title frequently explains the X axis.

When you enter text for a title, the Graph Control adjusts the rest of the graphing window to provide space--either redrawing the graph and associated objects at a smaller size or decreasing the space between objects. When you clear the text box for a title, you disable it and provide more space for the rest of the graph.

If you enter a title that's too long to appear in a single line, the Graph Control automatically word-wraps it. If a title doesn't display at all, it's because the Graph Control can't make the font small enough to fit all the text in the space provided. Increase the size of the graphing window to make the title appear.

Left Title

This box lets you enter text for the left title, which can be up to 80 characters in length.

When you enter text for a title, the Graph Control adjusts the rest of the graphing window to provide space--either redrawing the graph and associated objects at a smaller size or decreasing the space between objects. When you clear the text box for a title, you disable it and provide more space for the rest of the graph.

If you enter a title that's too long to appear in a single line, the Graph Control automatically word-wraps it. If a title doesn't display at all, it's because the Graph Control can't make the font small enough to fit all the text in the space provided. Increase the size of the graphing window to make the title appear.

Horizontal (default)

Select this option if you want the title to print horizontally.

Up

Select this option if you want the title to print vertically, running in an upward direction.

Down

Select this option if you want the title to print vertically, running in a downward direction.

Right Title

This box lets you enter text for the right title, which can be up to 80 characters in length. The right title frequently explains the right-hand Y axis.

When you enter text for a title, the Graph Control adjusts the rest of the graphing window to provide space--either redrawing the graph and associated objects at a smaller size or decreasing the space between objects. When you clear the text box for a title, you disable it and provide more space for the rest of the graph.

If you enter a title that's too long to appear in a single line, the Graph Control automatically word-wraps it. If a title doesn't display at all, it's because the Graph Control can't make the font small enough to fit all the text in the space provided. Increase the size of the graphing window to make the title appear.


Axis property page (Graphs with X-Y grids)
Axis property page (Graph types with X-Y grids)

X

Select this option to view and/or change the settings for the X axis.

Y Primary

Select this option to view and/or change the settings for the primary Y axis.

Y Overlay

Select this option to view and/or change the settings for the Y axis.

Note You can't set Position options for Y Overlay because that axis is always drawn at the right.

Z

Select this option to view and/or change the settings for the Z axis.

Note You can't set Position options for Z because that axis is always drawn at the bottom right.

Color of Axes (default is automatic black or white)

In this list box, you can choose a color for axes from the current color palette. The same color is applied to all axes. The default color is automatic black or white, whichever provides more contrast.

Variable (default)

•	When X is selected in the Apply to Axis group, select this option to draw the X axis intersecting the Y origin, whether that's at the top, bottom, or middle of the graph.

•	When Y Primary is selected in the Apply to Axis group, select this option to draw the primary Y axis intersecting the X origin, whether that's at the left, right, or middle of the graph.

Left or Top

•	When X is selected in the Apply to Axis group, select this option to draw the X axis at the top of the graph, regardless of the location of the Y origin.

•	When Y Primary is selected in the Apply to Axis group, select this option to draw the primary Y axis at the left edge of the graph, regardless of the location of the X origin.

Right or Bottom

•	When X is selected in the Apply to Axis group, select this option to draw the X axis at the bottom of the graph, regardless of the location of the Y origin.

•	When Y Primary is selected in the Apply to Axis group, select this option to draw the primary Y axis at the right edge of the graph, regardless of the location of the X origin.

Zero Origin (default for all X-Y-Z graphs except time series)

Select this option to draw the axis including the origin (zero) and extending far enough in the positive and negative directions to include all of the graph's values.

Variable Origin

Select this option to have the axis "zoom in" on the range of the graph's actual values, whether or not that range includes zero.

For X and Z axes, this option differs from Auto only if you specify X or Z values for data points.

User-Defined (default for time series graphs)

Select this option to set your own values for the minimum, maximum, and number of ticks for the axis. When you select User-Defined, the settings in the Range group are enabled.

Max (enabled by selecting User-Defined in the Scale group)

The Max setting is generally the maximum point of the axis, with the following exceptions:

•	If you have a positive Max with a negative Min, the Graph Control may adjust the maximum or minimum point so that it lies on a tick. See Ticks.

•	In 3D graphs, if you specify a Max that's too low to show all your data values, the Graph Control moves the maximum point to show all the values. The Ticks setting still applies.

•	For X and Z axes without specific X or Z values, the Max setting is ignored. The maximum point of the axis is equal to the number of points or sets you're graphing.

Min (enabled by selecting User-Defined in the Scale group)

The Min setting is generally the minimum point of the axis, with the following exceptions:

•	If you have a positive Max with a negative Min, the Graph Control may adjust the maximum or minimum point so that it lies on a tick. See Ticks.

•	In 3D graphs, if you specify a Min that's too high to show all your data values, the Graph Control moves the minimum point to show all the values. The Ticks setting still applies.

•	For X and Z axes without specific X or Z values, the Min setting is ignored. The minimum point of the axis is always 0.

Ticks (enabled by selecting User-Defined in the Scale group)

The Ticks setting determines the number of ticks along the selected axis. (Note that ticks are distinct from tick marks  see the Tick Marks group.) The effect depends on the axis and the nature of your data:

•	For Y axes, X axes with specific X values, and Z axes with specific Z values, the Ticks setting specifies the number of ticks from the origin to the setting of either Max or Min, whichever has the higher magnitude (distance from 0). For example, if you set Min to -50 and Max to 20, Ticks applies to the axis segment between 0 and -50.

•	To determine the Ticks value you want to set, divide the length of the axis (or axis segment) by the desired interval between ticks. For the axis segment 0 to -50 we've just described (whose length is 50 units), if you want to place ticks 25 units apart, set Ticks to 2.

•	Both the maximum and minimum points of an axis must fall on a tick. If you have a negative Min with a positive Max, the Graph Control may have to move the minimum or maximum point to make this happen. In our example axis, ticks would be placed at -50, -25, 0, and 25  overriding the Max setting of 20.

•	For Z axes without specific Z values (3D bar, tape, area, and surface graphs), you can't specify Ticks. The option is disabled.

Show (default is on)

Select this option to show labels along the axis. Deselect it for no labels.

Vertical (available for X and Z axes only; default is off)

Select this option to display X or Z labels vertically (rotated 90 degrees counterclockwise). Deselect it for horizontal labels.

The Vertical option is normally used with text labels. It lets you use a larger font for labels because you don't need as much space horizontally.

Every (available for X axis only; default is 1)

The Every setting determines the frequency with which labels are displayed. A setting of 1 places a label at every tick along the X axis, a setting of 2 places a label at every other tick (beginning with the origin), and so on.

Show (available for X and Y Primary axes only; default is on)

Select this option to draw tick marks along the axis. Deselect it for no tick marks.

If you have a Y Overlay axis, your Show setting for Y Primary also applies to Y Overlay. Either both axes have tick marks or both don't.

Minor (available for X and Y Primary axes; default is off)

Select this option to draw five "minor" tick marks between standard tick marks.

Every (available for X axis with zero or variable origin only; default is 1)

If you select Zero Origin or Variable Origin in the Scale group, you can use the Every setting to specify the frequency with which tick marks are displayed along the X axis. An Every setting of 1 places a mark at each tick, a setting of 2 places a mark at every other tick, and so on.

The X axis must end with a tick mark. If you set an Every value that doesn't include the last value on the axis, the Graph Control will extend the axis so that it ends on a tick mark.

Show (available for X and Y Primary axes only; default is off)

Select this option to draw grid lines perpendicular to the axis, intersecting each tick mark. Deselect it for no grid lines.

Line (default is solid)

In this list box, you can choose a style for grid lines. The same style is applied to both X and Y grids.

Color (default is automatic black or white)

In this list box, you can choose a color for grids from the current palette. The same color is applied to both X and Y grids. The default color is automatic black or white, whichever provides more contrast.


Axis property page (Polar graphs)

Angular (default)

Select this option to view and/or change the angular axis, which is marked by a series of radial lines ("spokes") at angular increments. The origin is three o'clock.

Radial

Select this option to view and/or change the settings for the radial axis, which is marked by a series of concentric circles.

Color of Axes (default is automatic black or white)

In this list box, you can choose a color for axes from the current color palette. The same color is applied to both the angular and radial axes. The default color is automatic black or white, whichever provides more contrast.

Show (default is on)

Select this option to show numeric labels along both the angular and radial axes. Deselect it for no labels along either axis.

Show (default is off)

Select this option to enable grid lines for the axes. Deselect it for no grid lines.

•	For angular axes, the Graph Control draws grid lines between the origin and outer wall of the polar graph at angles of 45, 135, 225, and 315 degrees.

•	For radial axes, the Graph Control draws four concentric circles at regular increments between the origin and the outer wall of the polar graph.

Line (default is solid)

In this list box, you can choose a style for grid lines. The same style is applied to both angular and radial grids.

Color (default is automatic black or white)

In this list box, you can choose a color for grids from the current palette. The same color is applied to both angular and radial grids. The default color is automatic black or white, whichever provides more contrast.


3D property page

Off (available only for 3D bar, tape, and area graphs)

Select this option for standard 3D. This option is included for compatibility with earlier editions of the Graph Control. Standard 3D doesn't support such True3D options as rotating cages and Z axis labels. All you can do is set the color of the walls and edges of the graph's "cage."

Perspective (default)

Select this option for True3D with perspective projection. You can use the In-Out scroll bar to control the perspective at which graphs are drawn.

Isometric

Select this option for True3D with isometric projection. In this mode, angles are rendered as if the graph is viewed from an infinite distance (so all parallels are preserved in the drawing), and the In-Out scroll bar is disabled.

In-Out

The In-Out scroll bar controls the degree of perspective foreshortening  or the perceived "distance" from which the graph is viewed  for a True3D graph with perspective projection. This setting determines the acuteness of the angles in the graph.

The default In-Out bar setting places the viewing distance at about twice the width of the graph, which is defined as 50 units. Each click "in" decreases the viewing distance by one unit (to a minimum of 0 units, a distance about equal to the graph's width), and each click "out" increases the viewing distance by one unit (to a maximum of 100, a distance about four times the graph's width).

The In-Out scroll bar is disabled for True3D graphs with isometric projection. In those graphs, angles are drawn as if the viewing distance were infinite, so all parallels are preserved.

Up-Down (default is halfway up the graph)

The Up-Down bar sets the vertical viewing angle for a True3D graph.

The default Up-Down bar setting places the viewing angle halfway up the graph, which is defined as 0 degrees. Each click up or down shifts the angle by one degree, to a maximum of 90 degrees (directly above the graph) and a minimum of -60 degrees (somewhat below the "floor" of the graph cage).

Left-Right (default is facing the front of the graph)

The Left-Right bar sets the horizontal viewing angle for a True3D graph.

The default Left-Right bar setting places the viewing angle directly facing the front of the graph. Each click to the left or right shifts the angle by one degree, to a maximum of 180 degrees (to the right) and a minimum of -180 (to the left). The values of 180 and -180 provide the same view  directly facing the rear of the graph.

Cage flips

If you select a viewing angle that would normally cause part of the graph to be obscured, the back or side wall "flips" to the opposite edge of the cage, letting you see the whole graph.

Off (default)

Select this option to disable cage flips.

Back and Side

Select this option to enable cage flips for both the back wall and side wall.

Back Only

Select this option to enable cage flips for the back wall only. This option makes it easier for the viewer to stay oriented to the graph, because the side wall always represents the left edge of the cage.

Depth

This scroll bar lets you vary the projected depth of True3D graphs.

The default Depth setting provides equal increments for units in the X and Z directions  a graph with an equal number of points and sets would be of equal width and depth. The numeric value for this default is 100. Each click to the left decreases the value by 5 (to a minimum of 10) and each click to the right increases it by 5 (to a maximum of 1000).

X Gap

This scroll bar lets you set the gap between the bars of a True3D bar graph. This gap is in the X direction for vertical bar graphs and in the Y direction for horizontal bar graphs.

The default X Gap setting is 20 percent of the entire possible width of each bar  the remaining 80 percent is occupied by the bar itself. Each click to the left decreases the gap percentage by 1 (to a minimum of 0) and each click to the right increases it by 1 (to a maximum of 95). At the minimum X Gap setting of 0, there's no gap between bars.

Z Gap

This scroll bar lets you set the gap in the Z (depth) direction between data sets in three kinds of True3D graphs with multiple data sets: bar (z-clustered style), area (absolute style), and tape.

The default Z Gap setting is 20 percent of the entire possible width of each bar (or area plot or tape)  the remaining 80 percent is occupied by the bar itself. Each click to the left decreases the gap percentage by 1 (to a minimum of 0) and each click to the right increases it by 1 (to a maximum of 95). At the minimum Z Gap setting of 0, there's no gap between bars.

Wall Color (default is automatic color)

In this list box, you can choose a color for the walls and floor of a True3D graph cage from the current palette. The same color is applied to the back wall, side wall, and floor of the cage.

Thick Walls (default is on)

Select this option if you want the walls and floor of the True3D cage to appear "thick," with edges. Deselect it for "thin" walls, which have no discernible edges.

Edge Color (default is automatic color)

In this list box, you can choose a color for the edges of a True3D graph cage from the current palette. This setting is disabled if you deselect the Thick Walls option.


Fonts property page (in graphs)
Fonts property page

Graph Title (default)

Select this option to apply font settings to the graph's title, which always appears centered at the top of the graphing window.

Other Titles

Select this option to apply font settings to the graph's left, right, and bottom titles. The same settings apply to all three of these titles.

Labels

Select this option to apply font settings to the graph's labels  including axis labels (for graphs with X-Y-Z grids and polar graphs), pie chart labels, and data labels. The same settings apply to all labels in use in the graph.

Legend

Select this option to apply font settings to the graph's legend.

Name (default is Arial)

In this list box, you can choose any installed Windows font for the selected text.

Italic (default is off)

Select this option to have the Graph Control italicize the text.

Bold (default is off)

Select this option to have the Graph Control display the text in boldface.

Underline (default is off)

Select this option to have the Graph Control underline the text.

Smart Scale (default is on)

Select this option to have the Graph Control automatically use smaller type if the size you specify (using the Smaller-Bigger scroll bar) makes the text too large for the available space. If the Graph Control can't make the type small enough to fit, the text won't display at all.

If you deselect Smart Scale, the Graph Control won't attempt to use type smaller than you specify with the Smaller-Bigger scroll bar. If the text is too large for the space available, it simply won't display.

Smaller-Bigger

This scroll bar lets you set the size of type. If Smart Scale is selected, the Graph Control may override your setting to make the text small enough to fit in the graphing window.

Each click on the Smaller end of the scroll bar decreases the text size by 5 arbitrary units (to a minimum of 50), and each click on the Bigger end increases it by 5 units (to a maximum of 500). The initial size depends on which type of text you're sizing.

Reset

Click this button to reset the text size to the default.


Markers property page (in graphs)
Markers property page

Click to Select a Point or Set

When you move the mouse pointer over the graph drawing at the upper left of the Markers page, the pointer becomes a large arrow. Point and click on the marker you want to apply settings to.

Apply To group

This group shows you the point or set number of the graph object you've selected in the graph illustration.

Set. For all graph types except pie, bubble, and bar graphs having one data set, a Set number is shown. Your settings apply to a particular data set.

Point. For pie charts, bubble graphs, and bar graphs having one data set, a Point number is shown. Your settings apply to a particular data point.

Reset All button

Click this button to return all values in the Markers property page to their default.

Color (default is automatic color selection)

In this list box, you can choose a color for the selected marker from the current palette.

By default, the Graph Control assigns an automatic series of colors to markers, chosen for variety. If you override this default by setting your own color for one marker, you have to set colors for the remaining markers as well  otherwise, they'll be shown in black.

Pattern list box

The Pattern list box is enabled for pie, bubble, bar, area, Gantt, box-whisker, and tape graphs.

Pattern (default is solid). From this list box, you can choose a pattern for the selected marker. If you don't choose one, the marker appears in a solid color.

Symbols group

The options in this group are enabled for polar, scatter, line and logarithmic, time series, and (Size bar only) high-low-close and open-high-low-close graphs.

Symbol (default is automatic symbol). In this list box, you can choose one of 14 symbol options.

By default, the Graph Control assigns an automatic series of symbols to data sets, chosen for variety. If you override this default by setting your own symbol for one set, you have to set symbols for any remaining sets as well  otherwise, they'll all default to the first available symbol (+).

Size. This scroll bar sets the size for symbols, based on a default of 100 arbitrary units. Each click to the left decreases the symbol size by 5 units (to a minimum of 10), and each click to the right increases it by 5 units (to a maximum of 1000).

Lines group

The Lines group is enabled for polar, line and logarithmic, and (Thick check box only) high-low-close and open-high-low-close graphs.

Thick (default is on). Select this option to enable thick lines, which are three pixels thick by default. Deselect it for thin lines, which are one pixel thick.

For polar, line, and logarithmic graphs, you can choose a line thickness of one to five pixels (overriding the default three pixels) in the list box. This setting applies to all lines in the graph. You can't set your own thickness for high-low-close or open-high-low-close markers, which are always three pixels thick when Thick is on.

Patterned (default is off). Select this option to enable patterned lines. Then, in the list box, you can choose a pattern for each line.


Background property page (in graphs)
Background property page

Apply To

In the Apply To subgroup, you can select the graph object you want to apply styles and colors to  the Graph Title (default), Bottom Title, Left Title, Right Title, Legend, or Graph (including the graph itself and its axes).

No Style (default)

Select this option for no styling effect.

Border

Select this option to draw a border around the object.

Drop Shadow

Select this option to draw a black drop shadow behind the object.

Raised

Select this option to draw a border with a "raised" appearance around the object.

Lowered

Select this option to draw a border with a "lowered" appearance around the object.

Text Color (default is automatic black or white)

In this list box, you can choose a color for the object's text from the current palette. The default color is automatic black or white, whichever provides the most contrast.

Background (default is automatic black or white)

In this list box, you can choose a background color for the rectangular area surrounding a graph. The default color is automatic black or white, whichever provides the most contrast.

Position (default is right-hand center)

If your graph has a legend, you can use these buttons to set the legend's position around the edges of the graphing window.

If you choose the top center or bottom center position, legend items are drawn horizontally in a single row. At all other positions, legend items are stacked vertically.

Size (default is maximum)

This scroll bar lets you set the size of a legend  including the text, marker, and gap between items. The Size setting is a percentage of the maximum legend size. The default setting is 100, and each click to the left or right decreases or increases the setting by 1 (to a minimum of 0 or maximum of 100).

Background Color (default is light gray)

In this list box, you can choose a background color for the graphing window from the current color palette.

Backdrop (default is None)

This list box lets you choose a type of graphic image (bitmap or metafile) to use for the backdrop of the graphing window. You also choose how the image is displayed  centered, tiled, or stretched.

File

In this text box, you can enter the filename for the graph's backdrop image. If you don't include a path to the file as part of this string, the Graph Control searches the current directory. The appropriate file extension (.BMP or .WMF) is added automatically, according to your selection in the Backdrop list box.

Browse

Click this button if you want to call up a standard Windows Open dialog to locate a backdrop file.