STISIM Drive - Files Option

The first option listed in STISIM Drive's main menu bar is the File option. Choosing this option by clicking on it provides the following menu choices:

Doesn't seem like a lot there, but what is there is very important. This menu allows you to control various file operations, especially the loading, saving and printing of configuration files and the creation and loading of project files. You can also print the current simulation information and run log from this menu.

As you should have learned earlier, the configuration file contains all of the parameters that specify the simulator's current configuration. These include lighting effects, vehicle characteristics, simulation colors and more. By using the Load and Save Configuration options, you will be able to save numerous simulator configurations and retrieve them later based on the scenario you will be running. When you chose either the Load or Save Configuration option, a dialog box similar to the following will appear:

By default, this box will display all files in the STISIM Drive root directory with a CFG extension. At this point you may either type in the name of the file that you would like to load or save, or, choose a file using the mouse and double click on it. If you are trying to save to a file name that already exists, the program will prompt you to make sure that this is really what you wanted to do. If you requested to load a configuration file, then after the file is loaded, the name of the new configuration file will appear inside a box in the left corner of the status bar at the bottom of the screen. You may also print the currently loaded configuration file by clicking on the Print Configuration option. This provides you with a detailed listing of all the options that are set using the Configuration option in the Options menu. When you choose to print the currently loaded configuration, STISIM Drive will display its standard printing dialog box that will allow you to specify various printing parameters.

The two middle sections of the File menu (between the Save Configuration option and the Exit option) contain the most recently used project and configuration files. STISIM Drive keeps track of these files for you so that you can easily switch between multiple configurations and projects, and also provides a way of tracking what configurations and options you have been running. The first section (right below the Save Configuration option) contains the 4 most recently used project files, while the one beneath it contains the 4 most recently used configuration files. If the project or configuration that you would like to run exists in the list, simply choose it by clicking on it and the program will use this as its current file. If a file is in the list but no longer exists, then an error will be displayed and the file will be removed from the list. Each time you create a new file and use it, the program will automatically add the file to the list. If you choose a file from the list, it will then go to the top of the list. This is important because when the program starts it will automatically assign the first project and configuration that are listed. You can always change these after the program starts, but initially the program will always assign the first file in the list. If the program can not find the first configuration file in the list, then it will try to load the STISIM.CFG configuration file. If you are using the batch option for running the program, the files found in the batch command line will override the first files listed in the most recent files lists, and they will become the first option in the list. STISIM Drive comes with several different configuration files. The STISIM.CFG file is for systems using an optical encoder interface, the Joystick.CFG file is for systems using a joystick controller, and the Analog.CFG file is for systems that use an analog interface with potentiometers. At least as a starting point, you should use the configuration file that corresponds to your system.

A final note about the most recent files lists. You may have noticed, there are 4 entries in the example shown. Although we tend to be psychic (or is it psychotic, we can never tell), if you have created less then 4 files we don't put the names of the files you will create in the future because that tends to freak people out. Therefore, if you have created less than 4 files, only the files you have created will be displayed. We hope that you are using the program a lot and designing multitudes of scenarios so that these options are useful.

STISIM Drive can be used in several different ways, the most flexible and popular approach is to use a combination of configuration and events files. In this case a separate configuration and separate event file are used to specify the simulation run that will take place. This is the most flexible because you can mix and match various files to come up with different simulator configurations. However, once you have a particular combination that you want frozen, you may not want to rely on the current files because someone can inadvertently go in and make a change, or you may want to distribute the scenario but not allow users to see exactly how you set it up. Therefore, in these cases we have provided a project option that takes the currently specified configuration and events files and combines them into a project file that is protected and cannot be simply viewed and modified. In addition, you can password protect the project files so that you can create them and then go back into them and modify them at a later date, but unless someone has the password, they will be unable to modify the scenario.

The Print Simulation Information and Print Run Log options simply let you print the current contents of the Simulation Information and Run Log list boxes that are found in the main program window. This can be useful for documenting your progress and for troubleshooting purposes. The simulation information list provides a running list of what has happened during the configuration of a new run. It is most powerful when an error occurs and you can view the box to see what the program was doing just before the error occurred. This same information is also contained in a log file called STISIMDrive.Log that is created when the program starts. The difference between the log file and the list box is that the list box is cleared before each new run whereas the log file continues until program execution ends. In any event, either of these can be used to help resolve any problems that occur. The Print Run Log option simply allows you to print a listing of all of the runs that have occurred since the program was started. This can be a handy feature at the end of the day when you are shutting down because it gives a complete record of all the days runs. Whenever you choose either of these printing options STISIM Drive will display its standard printing dialog box that will allow you to specify various printing parameters.

This brings us to the final option in the File menu, the Exit option. As the name implies clicking on this option will exit you from the STISIM Drive program, but not before checking to see if you saved all of the changes that you made to your configuration. If the changes were saved (assuming there were some made), then the program will leave you alone and exit quietly. However, if configuration changes were made and not saved, then the program will politely inform you of this oversight with the following message:

At this point you may choose to save the configuration file by choosing Yes, exit the program without saving the configuration by choosing No, or return to the program, disregarding the exit command by choosing cancel. Just another friendly piece of superb programming to help prevent you from pulling your hair out.