Before you can run your simulation model, you must have an active model and an active experiment, and the active experiment must have at least one design point selected or highlighted in the Experiment window. (For more information about experiments, see Chapter 5: Experiments.) Although a project can have multiple models and experiments associated with it and multiple windows visible in the Project window, only one model and one experiment are considered active at any particular time. The active model and active experiment are identified by bold text for their names in the Project Explorer window. To activate a model or experiment, you can either select the name in the Project Explorer window or select the window associated with the model or experiment in the Project window.

After you have a valid model and experiment selected (that is, active), you can use any of the following methods to start the simulation running. You can select the icon on the toolbar or select Run→Start from the main menu. You can also select the icon on the toolbar or select Run→Augment. (See Chapter 5: Experiments, for additional information about augment run.)

Simulation Studio attempts to synchronize the active model and active experiment, initializes the model by using the experiment, and begins running the simulation. If this process is successful, the active model and experiment transition into the running state, and their labels are displayed using a red font in the Project Explorer.

You can stop or pause a running simulation at any point by selecting either the icon on the toolbar or Run→Pause from the main menu. While the simulation model is running, only the Pause and Reset icons are selectable on the toolbar. When the simulation has finished running, the Pause icon is not selectable. Note: The simulation clock might not be advancing and no animation might be visible, but the simulation engine might still be processing data.

During the early stages of developing and validating your simulation model, it is often useful to employ the animation feature in Simulation Studio. Animation can be switched on and off using the toolbar icon or by selecting the Animate option on the Run menu. When animation is activated, the flow of information is graphically depicted in the Model window, with value movement visualized with blue icons and entity movement with red icons. These blue and red icons are shown traversing the various links in the model. Although animation slows the execution of the model, it can provide valuable insight when debugging your model or demonstrating the mechanics of your model to others. You can control the animation speed using the slider control located next to the toolbar icon.

Another option is the ability to display the simulation clock and replication count while the simulation is running. These values can provide you valuable feedback on the status and progress of your model execution. Controls for these options are provided under the Run→Show menu.

Finally, selecting the icon or Run→Reset reinitializes the states of the simulation clock and random number stream, and also invokes any reset method on any blocks in the active model.