Searching for a particular element

Navigating through large or complicated diagrams is made easier by the search facility. This will highlight the element you are looking for, and centre it in the window, if the model diagram extends beyond the window's edges. You can search for elements using text contained in the element's caption, equation or description and comments, using the "Find" tool.

The simplest way is to use the two tools provided on the toolbar:

• "Find" calls up a dialogue box into which you enter the text, and specify which text elements to search
• "Find Next" searches for successive occurrences of variables satisfying your search criterion

Elements are searched in order, with the first to match the text being highlighted. If this is not the one you want, or you want to find others using the same text, use the "Find Next" tool. Alternatively, you can choose the commands "Find..." and "Find next" on the Edit menu.

Searching equations is a useful way to find where a particular function is used. For example, searching for the text "rand" in equations will find all the elements using the functions "rand_var" and "rand_const". It is also a useful way to find the elements that are influenced by a particular element. These are of course also indicated by influence arrows, but on large diagrams these can be difficult to follow, and if the element is ghosted, may also originate from the ghost. In that case, enter the name of the element in the "Find" dialogue box and search for its use in equations.

The description and comments associated with an element are entered using the equation dialogue window, as is the equation itself. The caption (or name) of an element is entered on the model diagram.

Note that the text is case-sensitive, so "VAR" will not mach "var". Note also that the text will match its use anywhere within the text elements searched, so "ar" will match both "car" and "arm".

In: Contents >> Working with model diagrams