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Modeler's Corner
Little-Known Tricks for Quickly
Inserting Links
Eina Ooka
GoldSim Technology Group
eooka@goldsim.com
Creating links is simple when a GoldSim
model is small, but becomes more complex as the model and its hierarchy
grows. In large models finding the right element can become quite
tedious. As a result, GoldSim has a number of features to ease the
process of creating links and locating the right element.
Utilizing
Previous and Home Buttons
The screenshot below is of an
“Insert Link” dialog in a supply chain model. Note the search
box (and search options) along with the Previous and Home
buttons at the top of the dialog. Surprisingly, very few modelers
utilize these timesaving features of GoldSim.
The Previous and Home
buttons are useful when you have a multilayered model and would like make
a number of references to elements in a particular location.
When you open the dialog from an input
field of an element, GoldSim assumes that in most instances you will want
to link to a nearby element, and selects the element that you called the
Insert Link dialog from. For example, if you are creating a
reference in the input filed of the “Desired_Inventory”
element, the dialog will open with the Desired_Inventory element
highlighted, as shown above.
Many users are not aware that GoldSim remembers the last element you linked to using the Insert
Link dialog. For instance, if you had previously referenced the
Delay element in the Product_in_Transit Container, clicking the Previous
button will open the Product_in_Transit Container and highlight the Delay
element as shown below:
If a link that you are trying to make
is in the same Container as before, this can save you time by allowing
you to go directly to this particular Container. Note that holding the Ctrl
key while opening the Insert Link… dialog has the same effect as
opening the dialog and pressing the Previous button.
Pressing the Home link
returns to the directory of the element you are linking to.
Utilizing
Search within the Insert Link Dialog
Within a large model, searching by
element ID is one of the fastest ways to find the element that you are
trying to link to. You may type in a part of element ID and GoldSim will
search all elements including the expression. You can also choose (in
Search Options) to search by Descriptions and Notes.
Shortcut
Keys for Opening the Context Menu and Insert Link Browser
When an input field is selected, Ctrl
+ M is equivalent to right clicking within an input field. This
opens up the context menu:
You can also use Ctrl + I
to directly open the Insert Link dialog (it is the equivalent of
right-clicking and selecting Insert Link… and pressing the Previous
button).
Suggestions?
Do you have any suggestions for future
Modeler's Corner articles? If so, we'd love to hear from you. Please
contact us at support@goldsim.com.
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