# Interface, Model & Equation Preferences

## Interface Prefs...

Interface Prefs... is unique to the Interface menu. Choosing Interface Prefs... takes you to the Interface Level Preferences dialog, which allows you to set the visual characteristics of the Interface level. The Interface Level Preferences dialog is shown in Figure 3-16.

Figure 3-16 Interface Level Preferences Dialog

## Model Prefs...

Model Prefs... is unique to the Model menu. Choosing Model Prefs... takes you to the Model Preferences dialog, which allows you to set the visual characteristics of the model diagram on the Map/Model level. The Model Preferences dialog is shown in Figure 3-17.

Figure 3-17 Model Preferences Dialog

More detail on saving output to an external file (Windows versions only): Your package comes with an Excel™ Template we've created that will enable you to open the externally-saved file and then view data as graphs, tables, etc. That template is called "HPS Chart Wizard.xlt" When you installed the ithink or STELLA software, it was placed in the software's program directory. It's a good idea to move it into the "XLStart" folder (associated with Microsoft Office™). Doing so will facilitate creating new charts without writing over already-existing ones. The XLStart folder can be located in "C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office\XLStart" if you installed Microsoft Office with the default settings.

Open the wizard by selecting a New Excel document, and selecting HPS Chart Wizard from the General tab, and it will open to a blank Excel spreadsheet containing two buttons. The first says "Import Model Data." Click it, and you'll be given a dialog box from which you can select the output file you wish to open. Click "Open" within the dialog to open the output file you've selected, and you'll get an "Import Data" dialog that will enable you to select up to 254 variables to be brought into the spreadsheet (you can bring in only 254 at a time because that is the size of one "sheet"). The illustration shown as Figure 3-17a shows the dialog after the "All >" button has been clicked.

Figure 3-17a Importing Data

Once you've got the variables you might wish to display imported into the spreadsheet, click the "Create / Edit Charts > >" button and you'll see a dialog box like what's shown in Figure 3-17b.

Figure 3-17b Creating & Editing Charts

Click the "New Chart" button (or if you have previously created charts, you may click to select it, and then opt for one of the three "Edit" buttons shown in the illustration. When you click "New Chart," a dialog like what you see in Figure 3-17c will appear...

Figure 3-17c Adding Entities to a Chart

Click-select, then enter as many variables as you would like to appear on the chart. Then click "Close." Click "New Chart" again to create another new chart.

After exiting the dialog and looking at the charts you've created, should you wish to create new charts (or edit existing ones), click "Sheet 1" at the bottom of the spreadsheet to return you to the two buttons. Then, click the "View / Edit Charts" button. To get at the values in the data set that you've imported, click the "Values" tab at the bottom of the spreadsheet. You can then operate upon the data just as you would data in any spreadsheet.

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## Equation Prefs...

Equation Prefs... is unique to the Equations menu. It takes you to the Equation Preferences dialog, which allows you to set the visual characteristics of the Equations list. The Equation Preferences Dialog is shown in Figure 3-18.

Figure 3-18 Equation Preferences Dialog