Using the Animator

Once the desired visual model is open in the Simulator the Animator can be used to simulate the functioning of the NCES system with the model. The Animator can be started by selecting the menu option Animator from the Tools menu.

The Tools menu Animator GUI

Apart from the visual model and the NCES system the animation is specified by a set of animation rules. The animation rules dictate how the visual model should be affected by state changes in the NCES. The animation rules can be specified by clicking on the Specify Rules button in the main Animator GUI. This will open a new window where the rules can be specified and edited.

Once the set of used animation rules has been specified the animation can be started by clicking on the Activate button. The visual model in the Simulator window will now start to reflect state changes in the NCES according to the animation rules. To stop the animation press the Stop button.

Note that unless the NCES which is opened in the NCES Analyzer is actually changing state no changes can be seen in the animation either. To view the animation it is also necessary to make the NCES change state. This can be accomplished by using the RG Walker feature of the NCES Analyzer. See the help files of the NCES Analyzer for information on how to use the RG Walker.