Studio 8 Features - Version History

Find the full list of Service Releases and Feature Packs launched for Studio 8.

Studio 8 Service Release 3 introducing Feature Pack 2 for SUA users
Studio 8 Service Release 2 includes Feature Pack 1 for SUA users
Studio 8 Service Release 1 introducing Feature Pack 1 for SUA users
Studio 8 Major Release

Studio 8 Service Release 3 with Feature Pack 2

Released January, 2010

The third service release of Studio 8 introduces Feature Pack 2 for users with Support and Upgrade Agreement (SUA). It also contains some improvements and a number of bug fixes available to all users.

New Features:

Powersim Studio now takes advantage of multi-core processing when running simulations.
Two new dockable windows - The Precedents List and the Dependents List - display information about the dependencies among the variables of your model. When analyzing the structure of the model you can use the new windows to navigate between dependent variables.
A new dockable window - The Value Inspector - lets you analyze and edit the values of selected variables.
Four new functions are provided to make working with series variable easier: CURSERIESLOOKUP, PREVSERIESLOOKUP, SERIESFINAL, and SERIESINITIAL.

Improvements:

Improved Value property page including data drill down possibilities, non-scrolling header columns, and enhanced dimension layout possibilities.
The time used to load large project files is now in many cases substantially reduced.
You are now allowed to perform optimization/risk management tasks even when series variables are involved in feedback structures.
Changes made in the Equations Window, unit windows, range windows, and dataset definition windows are now validated before they are applied.
If you open a project file that is already open in another instance of Powersim Studio, a warning is now displayed before the file is opened read only.
Improved dockable window management allowing multiple dockable windows on the same band.
Improved the recent file list logic when using multiple instances of Powersim Studio.
The folder of the currently open project file is now only displayed in the window caption when necessary to distinguish between open projects in multiple instances of Powersim Studio.
The full path of the project file currently under the mouse pointer in the recent file list of the File menu is now displayed in the status bar.
The Project Explorer now indicates the active view.
The recent file list now contains nine files rather than four.
When opening a project file, the tree in the Project Explorer is no longer fully expanded. Only the path to the active view is expanded.
When zooming diagrams with the scroll wheel, you can now hold down Shift and Control to zoom in steps of 2%.
Values of variables defined with an explicit temperature unit using @C or @F are now displayed using °C or °F.

Bug Fixes:

Fixed a problem with accumulated and average series variables of integer type that prevented the values from being displayed in the Value property page and in the Scatter, Time Graph and Time Table controls.
Changed the logic of Powersim Studio when closing read-only files to avoid inadvertently loosing changes.
Dragging the vertical scrollbar thumb to scroll the various treeviews now works in Windows 7 and Windows Vista.
Fixed a cosmetic problem that caused floating dockable windows to be moved each time Powersim Studio was started.
Fixed a cosmetic problem that sometimes caused flickering when moving dockable windows between bands.
Fixed a problem experienced when setting the time step in the case where a Fiscal calendar was used in combination with some series resolutions.
Fixed a problem experienced when writing data to a read-only workbook through a Spreadsheet Dataset.
Fixed a problem that caused flows to and from integer series levels to be incorrectly indicated as invalid.
Fixed a problem that in some cases made it difficult to start editing the name of an item in the Project Explorer by clicking the item.
Fixed a problem that prevented all decimals of the seconds part to be displayed when editing a time or time span value.
Fixed a problem that prevented enabling of feature packs when invoking the New Project Wizard from an empty workspace.
Fixed a problem that sometimes prevented resizing of floating dockable windows.
Fixed a problem with editing of values in the Value property page for variables using DISPLAYAS.
Fixed a problem with the PERIODINDEX and PERIODLENGTH functions when used in optimizations.
Fixed a problem with the SECOND function when used in projects with 'Enforce time unit consistency' switched off.
The "Include Child Variable" command on the shortcut menu of a submodel symbol can now only insert child variables in the active diagram. Previously you could insert variables in other diagrams, which would corrupt the model.
When doing an incorrect lookup in an array variable, the problematic expression is now correctly indicated.
Fixed some issues regarding input of text in Far East languages.
Fixed a problem that could cause Studio to terminate unexpectedly when changing the start time of the simulation to an earlier date. This could happen when auto reports had been used for series variables.
Fixed a problem with the FILLINZEROES flow function that sometimes caused Studio to terminate unexpectedly when one of the dimensions in the associated level used negative indices.
Fixed a problem that sometimes caused invalid unit texts to appear when starting to edit values in dialog boxes and property pages.
Fixed a problem that could cause a value of 0 seconds to be displayed as 00:00:?.

Adaptations:

The "Project Window" has changed name to "Project Explorer" and the "Task Window" has changed name to "Task Assistant" as a part of a unified look and feel for all dockable windows.

Studio 8 Service Release 2 with Feature Pack 1

Released October, 2009

The second service release of Studio 8 contains a couple of improvements and a number of bug fixes.

Improvements:

Studio 8 is now compatible with Windows 7
Presentations for files made in commercial Powersim Studio editions can now also be displayed in Studio Demo. In this case, the presentation functionality is limited to the functionality available in the Studio Cockpit edition.
New command line argument to start Powersim Studio as Cockpit (/cockpit).

Bug Fixes:

Fixed a problem with the file format compatibility and the Check Condition action when used in the Action Button. The Check Condition action is a file-format-dependent feature, but in some cases the file format compatibility was not set correctly. If such a file is loaded in a version of Studio prior to Studio 8 Service Release 1, Check Condition actions will be lost. If you have used Check Condition actions in Action Buttons, please go to the Compatibility page in the Project Settings dialog and make sure that Studio 8 file format is selected and that Feature Pack 1 features are enabled.
Fixed a problem with copy/paste and file format compatibility. When copying objects with file-format-dependent features, the file format compatibility was in some cases not set correctly causing settings to be lost in the pasted objects.
Fixed a problem that in some cases caused levels using the XLDATA function to not be initialized correctly.
Fixed a problem that in rare cases could cause optimizations to fail.
Fixed a problem that hindered optimizations to work with models containing series variables.
Fixed a problem that could cause a critical error when optimizing simulations with invalid objectives or decisions.
Fixed a problem with the Database Dataset that sometimes caused wrong values to be read or written when the simulation horizon was less than a year.
Fixed a problem that in some cases caused incorrect indicators to be displayed on links to series variables.
Fixed a cosmetic problem with the placement of context help windows on Windows Vista and Windows 7.
Fixed a problem with the intro screen of Studio Demo. In some cases this problem prevented the user from starting Studio.
Fixed a problem in Studio Demo that made it impossible to open and save game files for the Studio sample files.
Fixed a problem that caused hyperlink symbols saved in Studio 8 with a file format compatible with Studio 7 or Studio 2005 to not work when loaded in Studio 7 or Studio 2005.

Studio 8 Service Release 1 with Feature Pack 1

Released July, 2009

The first service release of Studio 8 introduces Feature Pack 1 for users with Support and Upgrade Agreement (SUA). It also contains some improvements and bug fixes available to all users.

New Features:

Introduced the Check Condition action that lets you perform other actions based on the value of a logical scalar.
Introduced a group of five new actions (Create Excel Document, Dimension Excel Workbook, Write Value To Excel, Activate Excel Sheet, and Delete Excel Sheet) that let you write values of variables to a document created in Excel when an Action Button is pushed or when an event occurs.
Added Blank Value display option in the Number format, allowing certain values to be displayed as empty text.
Added Unit display option in the Number format, giving the ablity to hide the unit from the displayed value.
The COMPOSITESERIES function can now be used to define series variables using the Accumulated and Average series types.

Improvements:

Introduced the Connect Submodels dialog box that makes it easier to connect the public child variables of two submodels.
A new column in the Equations Window lets you view the ID of a variable (useful when programming solutions with Studio SDK).
Previously a message box could appear asking whether to turn off The 'Automatic History' simulation setting. When occurring in the middle of an operation, this question could be perceived as a distraction, and in some situations even cause the operation to fail. This setting is now turned off silently when the number of recorded variable elements has exceeded a certain limit.

Bug Fixes:

Fixed several problems regarding logical, accumulated series variables.
Fixed a problem sometimes resulting in a critical error when invoking the Function Wizard from the Variable Definition property page.
Fixed a problem with Action Buttons and submodels. Set Value and Copy Value actions only permitted public variables as source and/or destination. This caused problems when inserting components as submodels and when defining Action Buttons inside submodels.
Fixed a problem sometimes experienced when copying Action Buttons. Set Value and Copy Value actions assigned to the return values of a Message Box action would loose their source and/or destination.
Fixed a problem with the mouse cursor in diagrams. The wrong cursor would sometimes be displayed on object boundaries, making it difficult to size and move objects.
Fixed a problem with the Copy Value Action property page. Using subscripts in either Source or Destination would sometimes wrongfully generate a dimension mismatch error.
Fixed a problem with the Set Value Action property page. For calendar-independent simulations, entering a time value in the Value field would sometimes wrongfully generate a Syntax Error.
Fixed a problem sometimes causing unknown exception when deleting a diagram containing Time Table controls.
Fixed a problem that sometimes caused an unknown exception when a series variable became undefined while the Equations Window was open with the Value column visible.
Fixed a problem that prevented the INITIF function from working with start-up and series variables.
Fixed problems with the ARRAVERAGE, ARRMAX, ARRMIN, ARRSTDEV, and ARRSTDEVP functions when used with two or three parameters.
Fixed a problem sometimes causing Studio to crash when searching in the Details Window with the "Auto-synchronize Details with Diagrams" option selected.
Fixed a problem that in rare cases caused Studio to crash when deleting multi-level hierarchical submodels.
Fixed a problem that caused wrong period names to be displayed in the Value property page for series variables of type "Last".

Studio 8 Major Release

Released April, 2009.

The first release of Studio 8 contains a range of new features as well as some improvements and bug fixes.

Features:

Series variables allow you to work with time series of values in your models. All series variables have an implicit time dimension defined by a common, project-wide series resolution, for example a month or a year. Through a start-up series variable you can provide a time series of values over the entire horizon before simulating (start-up variables are calculated at the beginning of the simulation and remain unchanged throughout the simulation). You can use both future and historic values for such a time series in the equations of other model variables.
Five new functions are provided to make working with series variable easier: COMPOSITESERIES, PERIODINDEX, PERIODLENGTH, PREV, and SERIES.
Start-up variables are calculated in the beginning of the simulation only, and are guaranteed not to be changed later in the simulation.
The ARRNPV function lets you calculate the net present value given a series of cash flows in a vector.
The IRR function lets you calculate the internal rate of return given a series of cash flows in a vector.
You can now keep track of who last changed a variable, range or unit by switching on collaboration features in the Advanced page of the Project Settings dialog.
You can now use a set of sheets as one of the dimensions when importing data from Excel with the XLDATA function. This means that you can import data to three-dimensional array variables. For this to work, the data must have identical layout on all of the sheets involved.
You can now read text values from Excel into an integer variable using the XLDATA function. The text values are translated into integers according to a specified enumeration range.
It is now possible to use defined names in Excel, in addition to direct cell area references, when importing data with the XLDATA function.
When the Database Dataset is used with calendar-dependent simulations, you can now use hour and minute periods provided that the calendar is set to Gregorian.
The ARRAVERAGE, ARRMAX, ARRMIN, ARRPRODUCT, ARRSTDEV, ARRSTDEVP, and ARRSUM functions now take two new optional parameters allowing partial array operations.
Added Limit times displayed to simulation horizon property to select whether values for intervals that are not within the simulation horizon should be displayed or not in the Time Table control.

Improvements:

Studio now allows you to replace text in treeview windows like the Equations Window.
Three new columns in the Equations Window let you view and/or modify whether a variable has automatic type, dimensions, or unit. By sorting according to one of these columns you can easily find all variables having explicit (non-automatic) type, dimensions, or unit.
Selection handles of small objects are now sometimes automatically hidden to make it easier to move the objects without inadvertently sizing them. This was typically a problem in diagrams that were zoomed far out.
Smarter naming of copied variables, avoiding multiple "Copy of ...".
Use the new Cockpit edition to distribute simulators created in Studio Enterprise. Cockpit replaces the discontinued Player edition, and is a low-cost alternative to the Executive edition when not all of the advanced features of Executive are needed.

Bug Fixes:

Fixed a problem with pasting of texts in Far East languages into diagrams.
Fixed a problem that sometimes caused an unknown exception after deleting a variable with diagrams in a project with multiple simulations.
Fixed a problem preventing editing of logical values in the Chart and Time Graph controls.
Fixed a minor issue with editing of integers values in the Chart and Time Graph controls.
Fixed a problem with scale of connection variables not being updated when loading simulations or activating runs/games.