About the simulation log

After starting a simulation, the Simulation Log appears in the main view area of the application. The log shows status messages from the simulator, as well as other messages generated as a result of job management, and lets you monitor simulation progress. You can interact with the log by bookmarking certain messages and using the 'Find' feature to search for a desired term. Otherwise, information in the log is read-only.

The log view does not have to be open for messages to be collected. Even if the application is closed, the log messages are collected and will be available the next time the solution file is opened. Messages can be copied from the job log. Select the messages of interest, right click and select Copy to copy the messages to the clipboard.

The Simulation Log view is split into two distinct areas, the Bookmark (left) pane, which lists all of the bookmarked messages, and the main log view, which shows all of the timestamped simulation messages.

The Bookmark pane and message color-coding

Important log messages, such as warnings and errors, are color-coded. By default, all color-coded messages are compiled in the Bookmark pane so that you may quickly review the most pertinent messages, and are in chronological order. The messages in the Bookmark pane can be thought of as links; clicking a message in this pane will move the main log view to the section in which the clicked message resides and also highlights the message itself. This will allow you to view the full message, as well as its context. The following colors are used to highlight important messages in both the Bookmark pane and the main log view:

Green Status message. Normally indicates a change in job stage.
Yellow Warning message. Indicates a potential problem with the simulation.
Red Error message. Indicates a severe problem with the simulation.

Main log view and the Log toolbar

Raw log information is displayed in the main log view in a general text format, and the log can be scrolled up and down to review messages. As the simulation progresses, the focus in the view remains at the bottom, so that you may view the most recent messages. You can interact with the main view through the Log Toolbar, which is located at the top of the view.

The Log toolbar

With the Log toolbar you can save, copy, find, and bookmark messages in the log, as well as other interactions. The table below describes the features available in the Log toolbar.

Save  Opens a standard save dialog so that you may save a copy of the log as a plain .txt file.

Print  Opens a standard print dialog so that you may print the log.

Copy  Copies the log to the clipboard so that it may be pasted in another application.

Find  Opens a Find dialog where you can type in and search for a specific term or terms.

Bookmark  Adds a bookmark at the selected line in the log. This bookmark appears in the Bookmarks pane (left pane).

Previous Bookmark  Focuses both the Bookmarks pane and the main log view on the previous bookmark.

Next Bookmark  Focuses both the Bookmarks pane and the main log view on the next bookmark.

Delete Bookmark  Deletes the currently selected bookmark.

Show Bookmark Pane  Opens and closes the Bookmark pane.

Pause Update  While the simulation is running, prevents any new messages from being displayed until the button is pressed again.