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Each process flow has a variety of properties (settings) you can use to change the way process flows appear visually. You can use these settings to:

• Improve how your process flow communicates visually.
• Assist with debugging so that you can better observe potential problems in your process flow.
• Make your process flow more aesthetically appealing, perhaps for branding.

There are basically two tools in process flow that can control process flow visuals:

• The Visualization Tab - The Visualization tab is one of the tabs that are available in the Process Flow Properties. You can use these properties to change how tokens and activities will look during a simulation run. You can change things such as the whether to show or hide links between activities or child and parent tokens. You can also make the color or shape of tokens change dynamically during a simulation run.
• The Theme Dialog Box - You can use the Theme dialog box to change the default colors, text, connection visuals, and other visual properties. You can also use this dialog box to select one of FlexSim's pre-set visual themes or to create a new theme.

The Visualization Tab properties will be explained in the following sections. See Using Process Flow Themes for more information about the Theme dialog box.

The Visualization Tab

The Visualization tab is one of the tabs that are available in the Process Flow Properties dialog box. You can use these properties to change how tokens and activities will look during a simulation run.

To get to this tab:

1. Click on an empty area somewhere in the process flow (so that nothing else is selected).
2. In Quick Properties, at the bottom of the Process Flow Properties group, click the More Properties button.
3. The Process Flow Properties dialog box will appear. Click the Visualization tab.

The properties that are available in the Visualization tab are shown in the following image:

Each property will be explained in the following sections:

• Display Parent/Child Links Use the Display Parent/Child Links menu to control how links between parent and child tokens will be displayed in the process flow. (See Sub Process Flows for an explanation of parent and children tokens.)

  Use the color selector next to the menu to determine the color of the link that will be drawn between parent and children tokens.

  This menu has the following options:

  • When selecting token: all generations - When you click on a token during a simulation run, you'll see a thin line between the parent and any of its children tokens, grandchildren tokens, etc. This option is the default.
  • When selecting token: one generation - When you click on a token during a simulation run, you'll see a thin line between the parent and any of its children tokens but not its grandchildren tokens.
  • Never display - The links between parent and children tokens will never be displayed.
  • Always display - The links between parent and children tokens will always be displayed, even when a token is not selected.
• Display Inter-Activity Links Use the Display Inter-Activity Links menu to control how links between activities will be displayed in the process flow. Links are different from connectors. Links are logical connections between activities that do not necessarily control how tokens flow from one activity to another.

  Any shared asset activities usually require an inter-activity link. For example, Acquire Resource activity will usually be linked to a Resource activity so that it can get permission to access that resource if it is available.

  Any activities that initiate a sub flow will require an inter-activity link. For example, Create Tokens and Run Sub Flow activities are usually linked to activities on a sub flow. (See Sub Process Flows - Linking to Sub Flows for more information.)

  Use the color selector next to the menu to determine the color of the link that will be drawn between linked activities.

  This menu has the following options:

  • When selecting activity block - When you click on a linked activity, you'll see a thin line between the linked activities. This option is the default.
  • Allow Toggling - You can manually show or hide a thin line between the linked activities directly in your process flow. To show or hide the links, select the activity block and click on the Eye symbol to switch between hiding and showing.
  • Never display - Inter-activity links will never be displayed.
  • Always display - Inter-activity links will always be displayed.
• Token Text Use the Display menu in the Token Text group to determine what text will display inside tokens during a simulation. The menu has the following options:
  • Number of Children - If a token has children tokens, it will display how many children it currently has, as shown in the following image:

    

  • Label Value - The token will display the value of a label. Use the Label Name menu to select the label that the token will get the value from.
  • Custom - The token will display custom information. Use the Custom box to select the information that will be displayed.

  Use the color selector to determine the color of the text that will display inside the token.

• Token Colors You can use the Token Colors settings to dynamically change the color of tokens during a simulation run based on a label value. For example, in the following image, the tokens will each have a different color based on the value in the itemType label:

  

  The Label Name menu sets the label that you will use to define the color scheme for the tokens in the Process Flow. It will dynamically search for any labels that exist in the process flow.

  If the Define Legend checkbox is checked, you will be able to set the colors that will be associated with certain values on the label. Click the Add button to add a color. Click inside the newly added color to change the color or the value it should be associated with in the label.

• Token Shapes You can use the Token Shapes settings to dynamically change the shape of tokens during a simulation run based on a label value. For example, in the following image, the tokens will each have a different shape based on the value in the itemType label:

  

  The Label Name menu sets the label that you will use to define the shapes for the tokens in the Process Flow. It will dynamically search for any labels that exist in the process flow.

  If the Define Legend checkbox is checked, you will be able to set the shapes that will be associated with certain values on the label. Click the Add button to add a shape. Click inside the newly added shape to change the shape or the value it should be associated with in the label.