Technical Guide - Version 1.0

isee NetSim™ is a utility that allows you to publish your iThink and STELLA models to the Internet. Publishing models to the web makes it easy to share your models with anyone, even if they don’t have iThink or STELLA. All they need is a browser with Adobe Flash Player 9 support and a connection to the location where you will publish the models (either an Internet connection, or a connection to a Web server that is running the isee NetSim Server software).

To publish models with isee NetSim, you must do the following:

1. Prepare the model Interface by laying it out in pages.
2. Check the model meets isee NetSim requirements and does not include unsupported objects or features.
3. Export the model from iThink or STELLA as a NetSim (*.TXM) file.
4. Use the isee NetSim wizard to publish the model to the location you select.

The first step to preparing your model for isee NetSim is to carefully lay out the Interface layer of your model so that the page size is appropriate for your viewers and all of the interface objects fit inside those pages.

If you are building a model from scratch you should plan the lay out of the Interface layer as you build the model. If you are publishing an existing model, you may need to make some minor changes to the layout to be sure that objects appear correctly on pages before you export or publish the file.

To lay out interface pages

1. In iThink or STELLA, open the model whose pages you want to publish.
2. Go to the Interface layer.
3. From the Interface menu, choose Interface Prefs. The Interface Level Preferences dialog box opens.

4. To enable pages on the Interface layer, select the Show Pages check box.
5. Use the Width and Height boxes to specify the size of the Interface layer in pages. For example, to have the Interface layer be divided into just two pages across, type 2 in the Width box and 1 in the Height box. The Total Pages value updates to indicate the total number of pages you've specified.
6. Click the Page Size button. The Page Size and Runtime Options dialog box opens

7. Select the appropriate Page Size option. This option determines how the pages will be formatted based on the screen resolution you select. In general, we recommend that you select the 800 x 600 option, unless you are sure all of your model viewers will be using a different screen resolution.

   Note:  Selecting Other allows you to enter a custom page size. By default, Other will be the same size as your printer settings.

8. Use the Home Page box to specify which page is the starting page when users view your published model. The Home Page is also the page that users will be navigated to if you include a Home button on the Interface.
9. Click OK.

The Interface layer now shows dashed lines that indicate the boundaries of the pages you specified.

10. Create and/or arrange interface objects on the pages. When you define navigation buttons, you can use the previous page, next page, and home page options to navigate between pages.

Tip: To easily move many objects at once, zoom out on the model and then use drag-select to select multiple objects at once, then drag one selected object to move them all the same direction and distance.
 

isee NetSim requirements

To publish your model using isee NetSim, it cannot contain any of the following:

• Queues
• Ovens
• Cycle-time structure
• Unsupported builtin functions including:

The export process will fail and let you know if your model does not conform to these requirements.

NOTE: Conveyor stock types will export with some limitations:

• Transient results will differ slightly if the conveyor uses variable transit time.
• Inflow limits and capacity constraints are not supported.
• "Integer only" and exponential leakage fractions are not supported.

If your model contains interface objects that are not yet supported by NetSim, the export will not fail, but you will receive a message during publication that lets you know the objects have been excluded from the model.

Below is a current list of unsupported interface objects:

• Graphical Input Devices
• Scatter and Sketchable Graphs
• Tracing Buttons
• Loop Pads
• Sectors and Sensi on/off switches
• High level mapping tools including Process Frames and
  Bundled Flows and Connectors

Note:  Some interface objects have options in STELLA and iThink that either don’t make sense for the web or aren’t yet supported by isee NetSim. The following table lists the options that are not currently available on the web:

Exporting Models for Publication

To publish models with isee NetSim, you need to export the model from iThink or STELLA as a NetSim (.TXM) file

To export a model file for publication

1. Open the model file that you want to publish in iThink or STELLA.
2. From the File menu, choose Export for NetSim. The Save NetSim file as dialog box opens.
3. Navigate to the location where you want to save the file.
4. In the File name box, type the name you want to give the file (by default, the name is the same as the model file’s name).
5. In the Save as type box, make sure that NetSim file (*.TXM) is selected.
6. Click Save.
7. You can now publish the TXM file with isee NetSim.
    

Publishing Models with isee NetSim

1. Start isee NetSim by double-clicking the icon on your desktop. The first page of the wizard opens.

   

   This page provides an introduction to the process and reminds you that you need to first export your model in order to publish it with isee NetSim.
   Note: You can hide this page in the future by selecting the Skip this Page Next Time check box.

2. Click Next. The second page of the wizard appears.

3. Click the Browse button at the top of the page to navigate to and select the .TXM file that you want to publish.
4. Under “Publishing URL”, select where you want to publish the model:

• To publish the model to Forio Broadcast, select Forio Broadcast. Forio Broadcast provides free access for iThink and STELLA users to publish their models on a web site.
• To publish the model to any other web site, select Other and then type the full URL of the web site where you want to publish the model.

Note: If your Internet connection goes through a proxy server, see configuring isee NetSim for Internet proxy server connections.

5. Under “Login Information”, type your user name and password for the location where you want to publish the model. If you do not yet have an account, click the Don't have an account? link to create an account by providing a username, password, and contact information.

Note: If you have already created an account but have forgotten your password, click the Forgot User Name/Password? link. You will be prompted to enter identifying information so that your account name or password can be emailed to you.

6. To save your login information for the future, select the Remember me on this system check box.
7. If you have already published one or more models, you can see a list of your published models by clicking the View or delete my published models... link. A web page appears that displays a list of your published models. Use this page to view or delete your published models.
8. Click Next. The next page of the wizard appears, which displays the status of the publication process. isee NetSim logs in to the specified site and publishes the model.

Once isee NetSim has finished publishing the model, the simulation automatically launches in your browser.

9. When you are finished publishing models with isee NetSim, click Exit in the wizard.

To configure your isee NetSim installation to connect through a proxy server:

1. Navigate to the directory where isee NetSim is installed. For Windows, the default installation directory is C:\Program Files\isee systems\isee NetSim 1.0.2
2. Create a copy of the file named netsim.ini and rename it oldnetsim.ini
3. Open the file named netsim.ini.
4. Locate the line in the file containing Proxy URL::
5. Enter the host name or IP address of the proxy server. For example,

   Proxy URL::myproxy.iseesystems.com OR

   Proxy URL::192.168.168.100

6. By default, isee NetSim will connect to port 1080. To specify a different port number, enter a colon followed by the port number after the host name or IP address. For example,

   Proxy URL::myproxy.iseesystems.com:4400 OR

   Proxy URL::192.168.168.100:4400

7. Go to the File menu and select Save to save your changes to the netsim.ini configuration file.