What's new in Simile v4.3?

Released 27 June 2005

Serious bug fixes

• Cutting or copying a selection from inside a submodel caused links across the submodel boundary to be invisibly 'broken' at the boundary, requiring reconnection.
• Corrected a problem that could cause file parameters to fail to load if they had ghosts outside their submodel
• Execution process crashed when getting values (e.g., for a popup) from an association submodel with a variable-membership base model
• A lot of work has been done solving problems related to inter-process communication on different platforms. This should greatly improve reliability.

Less important bug fixes

• Sketch graph data no longer gets confused between different separately built submodels
• Saving a file parameter setup used to ignore changes since it was last loaded
• Trying to 'paste' the clipboard into a submodel could sometimes paste outside the submodel
• Occasionally it would not accept a valid combination of physical units for a compartment and a connecting flow
• Selection and unselection are now better at consistently highlighting what will be copied, and what deleted
• Displaying components extremely small and then zooming in to them caused clicks to select the wrong one
• Delete key now always deletes the selection except if some text is being edited (in which case it deletes a character)
• Deleting a submodel boundary could make a model no longer runnable, by changing dimensions of inputs to components outside -- these are now shown in red when this happens
• Replacing a sketch graph with a lookup table used to cause the equation not to be accepted
• Flows are now much better at staying attached to their endpoints when one or the other is dragged
• Code for hiding/showing components at deeper nesting has been improved, sorting out some redrawing and re-routing problems
• Problems specifying 'boolean' as the type for fixed or variable parameters have been fixed
• Equation editor no longer hangs if you put 'makearray()' in the argument of 'element()'
• Packaged models will now open properly when opened by clicking or dragging their Explorer icon
• Running the model for a time that is not an exact multiple of the time step caused integration errors
• Old time series data was not forgotten if it was removed but no new value created for the same time point
• Simile would not run properly with some very peculiar desktop colour schemes
• There was a problem opening models on network drives
• using '...is...' to specify the membership of a relation between submodels could cause spurious values to appear if the expression was not always within the range of indices of the base model being selected. Now, out-of-range indices are removed.

Major improvements

• Execution loop now executes in c++ rather than scripting language, so models run faster
• Fixed parameters and time series data are stored in c++ arrays, so models reset and run faster
• 'Undo' and 'redo' functions no longer require redrawing the whole diagram, so they are faster and can be used to illustrate model construction as a step-by-step animation
• There is now a version for the Apple Mac (MacOS X only).

Minor enhancements

• Keypad in equation dialog now has a custom button to enter user-definable text, an AC button to clear the entry field, and is coloured
• Time series data can be 'looped' so it repeats after a certain time
• Table function made more comprehensible -- arguments need no longer be enclosed in a list
• Snapshot window now allows model values to be logged to file as it runs -- this is much quicker than using the table I/O tool
• Unit definitions extended, and can now include multiplier prefix letters (e.g., mW)
• Windows installer now checks license code when it is entered
• Unix versions now include dialogue for license code rather than user having to edit the file
• Influences can be made 'transparent' so they only appear when endpoints selected
• Equation listing tool is better laid out and more informative
• Functions in the equation language are now case-insensitive
• File parameter dialogue box now always shows the controls whatever size it is
• Resetting model is now the default option after loading new parameters
• Appearance is now more consistent with the look-and-feel of the OS (thanks to Tile Widget Set)
• Line breaks in component names no longer mess up widgets in which they appear (they are replaced by spaces)
• Context-sensitive help now works in more situations
• Run control looks neater
• The user interface for defining enumerated types has been improved

I/O tool enhancements

• I/O tool graphics can now be printed
• XY Plotter has option to display current positions only
• Value popups on plotter traces now more accurate
• Grid square and polygon helpers now use distinct (non-sequential) user-selectable colours when displaying enumerated-type values, and have more informative popup messages
• Input sliders are no longer removed from their helper by 'clear all displays' button

Download Simile Version 4.3 now.

Upgrading To upgrade from previous versions of Simile 4 (4.0, 4.1 and 4.2) please visit the free upgrade page

If you are interested in upgrading from v3.x, we are offering existing Simile v3.x customers the special upgrade price of US$ 245 for the Standard Edition. Please contact sales@simulistics.com.