The SimulatePro Setup tab contains the following buttons and controls.
Enable Simulate – Sets the SIMULATE parameter to Enabled on all blocks with direct input reference in the currently selected node.
Disable Simulate – Sets the SIMULATE parameter to Disabled on all blocks with direct input reference in the currently selected node.
Setup Mode – Sets the target mode to the currently defined setup mode on all blocks with direct output reference in all modules in the currently selected node.
Normal Mode – Sets the target mode on all blocks with direct output reference in the currently selected node to each block's configured normal mode.
Save – Save the current state of the simulation. You are prompted for a description. The file is stamped with the date and time.
Restore – Restore the simulation state from a saved state. This button opens the Select Restore Time dialog from which you select a file for the time and date to restore.
Initialize Dynamic Blocks – Resets all dynamic blocks (DI, DO, PIN, PID, Fuzzy, MPC, MPC-PRO, Rate Limit, Ratio, Splitter, Integrator, and Filter) in the currently selected node to their initial steady state conditions.
The modules' configured execution period and the Real-Time Execution Multiplier determine the execution rate of modules running in the workstation. Time dependent function blocks use the actual configured execution period in their calculations. Thus, the behavior of the blocks is such that their calculations are done faster or slower than real time, depending on the Real-Time Execution Multiplier.
Real-Time Execution Multiplier Slider Bar – Sets the execution rate for the simulation node. You can set the execution multiplier anywhere from 30 times slower than real-time to 30 times faster than real-time. An execution rate of 0 stops execution. An execution rate of 1 is defined as real-time. Regardless of the execution rate, modules will not run faster than 100ms.
Pause Execution – Saves the current execution rate of the simulation node and then sets the execution rate to stopped (0). The slider bar continues to show the saved rate but the execution rate status bar entry shows Paused. The Pause Execution button is disabled when the simulation is shown as Paused.
Resume Execution – Sets the execution rate of the simulation node to the currently saved execution rate. The currently saved execution rate can be determined from the slider bar or by placing the cursor over the slider bar, which then displays the exact rate as a tooltip. The Resume Execution button is only enabled when the simulation is shown as Paused.
Operator changes can be played back after being restored from a saved file. The changes are played back at the rate specified by the Real-Time Execution Multiplier.
Playback From – Shows the date and time at which the selected operator changes were saved.
Update – Opens a dialog for selecting a time frame and refreshes details in the Playback View window with values saved in the SimulatePro playback database during the selected time frame.
Show/Hide Detail – Shows or hides the playback details.
Playback buttons – Start and cancel the playback, go to the next change event, and go to the previous and next save request points. Use the Pause Execution and Resume Execution buttons in the Real-Time Execution Multiplier area for these functions.
Progress bar – Shows the progress of the playback. The red markers on the progress bar show the save request points.
Playback View window – Lists details about the change events to be played back. Select an event record, and then right-click to open a context menu of commands. Select to clear the change event records from the Playback View window.