Interface Basics

The Scenarios Tab

The HexSim workspace tab contains a list of the scenarios present in the workspace. When a scenario is selected (by double-clicking, or by using the context menu), it opens up in a scenario tab. Multiple scenarios can be opened simultaneously, and each will appear in its own tab. Each scenario tab contains a set of simulation parameters, a list of HexSim populations, an event sequence, and a list of the scenario's spatial data. Also, the Scenario drop-down menu provides users with access to a large number of important functions. These constructs are discussed below. Different scenarios need not have any similarities except that they must all reference the parent workspace's spatial data.

The Spatial Data Viewer

HexSim includes a tool for viewing HexMaps and Barrier maps. The Spatial Data Viewer can be accessed from the HexMap and Barrier map context menus (see image below), or by simply double-clicking on a spatial data time step. In addition to providing a display of a HexMap or Barrier map, the Spatial Data Viewer provides File, View, and Edit menus, a Status Bar, and a Navigation Window. These features are all shown in the figure below.

Running Simulations

Each model is represented by a single HexSim scenario, and a simulation is the execution of a scenario. Simulations are started from the HexSim Monitor. The Monitor window is called up from the Scenario menu, by selecting the Run Simulation option. When called from the Scenario menu, the HexSim Monitor comes up with a server, scenario, and schema pre-loaded. The Server Location is the path to the folder containing the HexSim application. The Scenario File is the path to the scenario being run. The Schema Location is the path to the scenario.xsd file currently being used. This file will typically reside in the HexSim application directory.