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Qiana C avatar image
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Qiana C asked Matthew Gillespie commented

Breaking Models

2processor-example.fsm

I have found that in the flow diagram models, if i have a working flow diagram, and then accidentally move a block to attach to another block by mistake, and then immediately change it back to the way it was, the model will not run as before.

See attached. I have been following the tutorial

https://docs.flexsim.com/en/19.2/Tutorials/ProcessFlow/Tutorial1UsingSharedAssets/1-2MakeResourceActList/

I originally moved the 'transport tasks' block to attach under the 'create tokens' block by mistake. I then immediately moved it back to its original state, and now the model no longer works after 'resetting' the model. I think it is strange that making a slight mistake will break the model entirely.

I find this very important, because I am looking into whether or not Flexsim would be the best software to use for a particular project where I would not be the main user, and that being 'difficult to break' the model accidentally is one of the most important requirements.

Thanks,

Qiana

FlexSim 19.2.4
process flowbug
2processor-example.fsm (4.2 MiB)
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Matthew Gillespie avatar image Matthew Gillespie ♦♦ commented ·

You're right, this should not be breaking the model like this. We'll look into this and fix the issue as quickly as we can.

Thanks for pointing this out and thanks for the great replication steps.

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Qiana C avatar image Qiana C Matthew Gillespie ♦♦ commented ·

Thanks!

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Qiana C avatar image Qiana C Matthew Gillespie ♦♦ commented ·

I noticed that once I put the 'transport tasks' block back to where it was, I forgot to re-add the arrow from 'create tokens' back to the top of 'pull from list' in the 'task creation' section. This did fix that issue, but after more disassembly and re-assembly, it became even more difficult to get up and working again. Is there a more refined way of version control so that I can make sure I don't break what I know works going forward?

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tannerp avatar image tannerp Qiana C commented ·

@Qiana C The easiest way to save versions of FlexSim is to use CTRL+SHIFT+S to save iterations of your model. That way, whenever you make edits that you're a little uneasy about, you have a reserve model to fall back on.

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Matthew Gillespie avatar image
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Matthew Gillespie answered Matthew Gillespie commented

When you combine the Transport Tasks block of activities with the create tokens block it changes the destination of the Create Tokens activity from the Assign Labels activity to the Pull From List activity. It does this because a token is always created at the start of a block of activities. However, when you split the block back apart the destination is still set to use the Pull From List activity.

So you're just missing one more step - you need to change the Create Token's destination field back to pointing at the Create Tokens activity. After I did this the model runs correctly. Also if I combine the two blocks together and then immediately undo the change with Ctrl-z everything is put back exactly the way it was before.

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Qiana C avatar image Qiana C commented ·

Gotcha, that makes sense! Thanks! I understand ctrl+z is a better method, but I am testing flexsim for its user-friendliness and trying to find its quirks.

So basically what I have learned here is that when you move blocks around you may be changing other settings without realizing it, correct?

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Matthew Gillespie avatar image Matthew Gillespie ♦♦ Qiana C commented ·

Not usually. I think you'll rarely see settings change just by moving blocks around.

It only changed in this case because the Create Tokens activity references another activity in the flow and then you moved that activity into the same block as the Create Tokens activity.

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