Compatibility

Because it is based on these open technologies you can run IM models on iPad's, iPhone's or other tablets. It works! However, the IM interface is designed for a larger monitor so it is quite difficult using it on these small screens. Making a custom interface for touch/small-screen devices is on the TODO list.

Edit Properties

For an existing Insight the Edit Properties page provides several tabs as described below:

Edit the following properties associated with an Insight.

• Title. The displayed label for the Insight.
• Tags. The list of subject areas the Insight it considered to be related to. You can enter any subject labels you consider appropriate, each separated by a comma.
• Description. An explanation of the Insight that will help others in understanding it.
• Audience. Select one or more groups considered to be the relevant audience for the Insight.
• Notifications. Indicate whether a notification of changes should be sent to all those subscribed to this insight.
• Book Outline. Allows an indication if the Insight description is to appear in a Book and if so where.

Find an Insight

When the properties for an Insight are specified there is an option to tag an Insight with a set of labels considered relevant to the Insight. This page lists all the tags currently defined and the number of Insights with that tag. By selecting one of the tags a page will be displayed listing all the Insights which have that tag.

When you use the Search box in the upper right hand corner the default is "OR" for the terms you enter. There are several options to control the results:

• "AND" can be entered between terms, in quotes, so it will do a boolean AND on the terms,
• Minus "-" can be entered before a term which will omit results with that term, e.g., -loop would omit any search results containing the term "loop",
• Also you can enclose multiple terms in quotes to create a search for a more specific phrase, e.g., "balancing loop"

Groups

View the existing groups, the number of posts, members, and request membership in a group is you are not currently a member. You also have the option of checking a list of groups that you belong to and unsubscribing if you choose.

For the existing groups you can select one and actually view and respond to the posts in that group.

You can create a new group, of which you are then the owner, and others can request membership in your group, which you have to approve. If you elect to create a new group the options are:

• Title. The name of the group.
• Description. A short statement that helps others understand what the group is for. This description will appear on the Group page and the Edit Properties page.
• Mission statement. A more extensive statement of the purpose of the group.
• Membership requests. Options for how membership requests are to be handled.
  • Open. Membership requests are immediately accepted with no approval required.
  • Moderated. Membership request must be approved.
  • Invite only. Membership request must be created by an administrator.
  • Closed. Membership is exclusively managed by an administrator.
  • Private group. Should the group be visible only to its members?

Make an Insight

It is on this screen that you can build an Insight and simulate it. The first time you enter this page you might find it most helpful to read through the "Show me how to build an Insight..." note. You may also find the Simgua User Manual a great reference for specific functions used in defining equations for Insight elements.

There are several links above the toolbar that you should be familiar with. Note that the first three of these are not visible until you save a newly created insight the first time.

• Edit Insight Properties. Allows for update of the title, tags, description, audience, and status for the insight. It is from this page that you can also delete and insight.
• Edit Insight User Interface. Provides a context where you can build a custom user interface for your Insight.
• Discuss Insight. Enables you to post a message to the author of the insght as well as anyone subscribed to the insight. It is on this screen that you can subscribe or unsubscribe from an insight.
• Duplicate Insight. Allows you to make a copy of an existing Insight. You can make a duplicate of any insight, and the duplicate becomes your insight. This might be useful it you want to do some testing without changing an existing Insight or if you want to create a new Insight from an existing one.
• Help. Provides access to this Help documentation.
• Find More Insights. Takes you to the Find an Insight page which lists all the Insight Tags which you can select to locate an Insight in one of the Tag areas.
• Up Arrow. The small up arrow to the right of Find More Insights allows you to hide the toolbar. This might be useful when doing a presentation.

Notes added to an object will popup when you mouse over the object. 

The Toolbar consists of seven segments, each of which is described below.

• Add Primitives. This segment has the set of tools used to add objects to the Insight you're creating. To add a Primitive click on it and then click where you would like that Primitive in the Insight. Once you place the Primitive in the insight a configuration panel will appear at the right of the screen for you to define the attributes of that Primitive. To remove a primitive select it and then press the Delete key or select Delete form the Actions segment of the Toolbar.
  • Stock. A stock stores a material or a resource. Lakes and Bank Accounts are both examples of stocks. One stores water while the other stores money.
  • Variable. A variable is a dynamically updated value in your model that synthesizes available data or provides a constant value for use in your equations. The birth rate of a population or the maximum volume of water in a lake are both possible uses of parameters.
  • Converter. Converters store a table of input and output data. When the input source takes on one of the input values, the converter takes on the corresponding output value. If no specific input value exists for the current source value, then the nearest input neighbors are averaged.
  • Ghost. Allows for the creation of a copy of "Stock", "Parameter", or "Converter" to place at a different location in an insight to make diagramming the insight easier. Note that you can connect "Links" from a ghosted element to another element in the model though any changes to a ghosted element must be made to the original instance of the element.
  • Text. Use this primitive to create an information label within the Insight. The test has no functional impact on the Insight and is simply used for information.
  • Picture. This primitive will allow you to include labeled positive and negative loop polarities. One you have positioned the picture you can choose the polarity as well as indicating whether it is clockwise or counterclockwise. Also there are no character restricting on the label for a picture. You can even make associated text multi-line by inserting Shift+Enter though you must edit in the drawing not in the (name) field.
    • In addition to the loop polarities there are additional picture objects on the drop down you may use.
    • If you enter an image URL in the Displayed Image field then that image will be displayed rather than one selected from the drop down for that field.
    • You can also draw links from a Picture to anything or to a Picture from anything. (This is a non standard capability, though often quite useful for other than Stock & Flow models).
    • You may also place HTML code in the label for a Picture primitive. This is often useful to connect the Picture with additional reference information.
  • Folder. Folders are used to encapsulate multiple elements of an insight into a labeled area that can then be collapsed. This is beneficial when dealing with large Insights allowing one to essential create levels of abstraction reducing the apparent complexity of the Insight. If you delete a folder it will also delete its current contents. To remove a folder without delete the contents you must first drag the contents outside the folder and then delete it.
• Connections.
  • Use Links. A link it used to make one of several valid connections to convey information from one Primitive to another, as follows: (Note that if you shift+click at a point on a link it will become a multi-segment link and you can move the segments individually). Also the default label for a Link is "Link" which is not displayed. If you assign any other label to the Link that label will be displayed on the Link in the Insight.  Also there are no character restricting on the label for a picture. You can even make associated text multi-line by inserting Shift+Enter though you must edit in the drawing not in the (name) field.
    • From a Variable to a Stock to set its initial value.
    • From a Stock or a Variable to a Flow to convey information.
    • From a Stock, a Variable or a Flow to a Variable to convey information.
    • While the above connections are the ones valid for Stock & Flow simulaiton models when devleoping Rich Pictures or Causal Loop Diagrams you can use a Link to connect any primitive to any other primitive, even Text.
  • Use Flows. A flow is used to make one of several valid connections to convey material of some sort as follows:
    • From a Cloud or a Stock to a Stock.
    • From a Stock to a Cloud or a Stock.
  • Reverse. The Reverse function is used to alter the direction of a Flow. Specifically if you want to draw a Flow from a Cloud to a Stock you have to initially draw it from the Stock to a Cloud and then reverse the direction.
• Actions. The functions in this section simply provide the standard content manipulation actions as in almost every window environment.
• Style.The functions in this section simply provide options for manipulating text and the Insight diagram in the standard manner.
• Tools.
  • Time Setting. Allows you to specify the simulation start and stop time as well as the time step and time  units for the simulation.
  • Download. Allows you to download your Insight for backup or for further analysis within Simgua.
  • Embed. Opens a dialog which presents you with the embed code to place your Insight on a web page. Note that there are three parameters in the embed code ?topBar=1&sideBar=1&zoom=1 that you may want to change.
  • topBar=1 indicated the top bar with the Zoom and Run buttons should be displayed. If you set this to 0 the bar will be suppressed though you can toggle it with the small arrow on the right of the bar once displayed.
  • sideBar=1 indicates the side bar where the description and parameters are should be displayed. If you set this to 0 the bar will be suppressed though you can toggle it with the small arrow at the top of the bar once displayed.
  • zoom=1 indicates the insight should be scaled to fit in the display window when presented. If you set this to 0 the insight will be displayed at 100%. You can alter the presentation once displaed with the Zoop options on the top bar.
• Save. When you initially create an Insight you must save it to give it a name and retain it. Before the insight is saved the button will read Save Insight. Once you initially save the insight the icon will dim and the label will read Insight Saved. The insight will autosave every time you make a change to the Insight. If you attempt to leave the page and the insight has not been saved you will recieve a dialogue asking you to confirm that you really want to leave the page. If the Insight doesn't automatically save for some reason you can click the icon to force a save.
• Simulate. Click the Run Simulation button to simulate the Insight if it is a complete stock & flow insight.

Referencing Primitives

Most times you will reference primitives in your equations using the following form:

[My Stock]

There is a second way of referencing primitives, however, using triangular brackets like follows:

<My Stock>

How do these two methods differ? The way to approach this question is to think of a primitive as a bucket that stores some substance. Thus each primitive is composed of two separate objects: the contents of the bucket and the bucket itself. The square-bracket syntax indicates the contents of the bucket; it returns a material object representing the current value of the primitive. The trianglebracket syntax, on the other hand, returns the bucket itself. In short, it returns a reference pointing directly to the primitive.

What does this mean to you as a Simgua user? Most of the time, you just care about the current value of the primitive. In these cases you should use the square-bracket notation. Anytime you are referencing the primitive next to a multiplication, division, addition, or subtraction sign; you must use the squarebracket notation as you are referring to the primitive’s value. On the other hand, in some cases you need to get access to some property of the primitive itself. For instance, Simgua has a Delay function that allows you to obtain the past value of a primitive. You pass this function a reference to the primitive for which you want the past value and the length of time ago for which you want the value. Since you aren’t concerned with the current value of the primitive (for which we would use square-brackets), you should use the triangle-bracket notation for this function:

Delay(<My Stock>, 10)

The above returns the value of the primitive My Stock 10 time units ago. In the vast majority of cases, however, you will find yourself using the square-bracket notation.

When you insert a function that requires a primitive reference that argument of the function will be displaed as in the following fucntion?

Delay(<Primitive Reference>, Delay Length, Default Value)

The third form for referencing primitives occurs when using a conveyor. The bracket notation [stock] returns the quantity leaving the conveyor during the time step. To access the totoal quantity in the conveyor use the [[stock]] notation.

My Account

The My Account page allows you to View and Edit your personal information as well as administer Notifications and Shared Posts.

• View. This is the default tab which displays your current profile information. It indicates your username, when you joined, as well as the groups you are a member of. this tab also lists other relevant personal information below which there is a section listing any connections which currently exist between you and other members of InsightMaker.
• Edit. The Edit tab has two sub-tabs for editing Account information and Personal Information.
  • Account. This is where you can update your email address, change your password, select a picture that will display on your account. You can also indicate your personal contact preferences as well as the frequency you wish to be updated with regard to subscriptions.
  • Personal Information. Provides for specification of full name, location, interests and web page if you have one.
• Notifications. Contains five tabs listed below where there are the options to set the interactions with groups you are a member of.
  • Overview. General information about what you are able to define within Notifications.
  • Subscriptions. This tab contains a table of Threads each with a Description, Send Method, Send Interval, Status and Operations which you can control by selecting all threads, or individual threads, and updating the options from the Update Options drop down.
  • Group. This tab allows you to indicate the Type and Send Interval for updates made within the Groups you are a member of.
  • Thread. The Tread tab displays a page listing all the Threads you are currently subscribed to and allows you to change the Send Interval status of each one individually.
  • Add subscription. This tab allows you  to create a new subscription thread and indicate the Send Interval and Send Method for that subscription.
• Shared Posts. This tab presents a list of those Posts which are shared with others.

Recent Updates

Most Recent Additions

• Context Menu. If you rigth-click on the create an insight canvas a drop down menu will appear from which you can slect primitives to add to the canvas as the point you're clicking at. [12.05.18]
• JavaScript Engine Testing. The simulaiton engine is being rewritten in Javascript to improve the performance of simulations becasue the calculations will be done in the broswer rather than on the server. If you hold the "SHIFT" key when you click the "Run" button the new Javascript engine will be run. Please forward any comments to Gene Bellinger systemswiki@gmail.com.  [12.05.18]
• Incompatibilities with the new JavaScript engine:
• VB commans (looping, multiline logic, etc) aren't supported,
• The "time" function is tagged with units in the new verison. "seconds", "years" and other functions aren't taggged, what this means is that in hte old engine {1 meter/day}*time with time in years you would get {2 meters/day} in the new version you get {1 meter/day} * {365 day/year} * 2 = {370 meter}
• The initial stock value for a conveyor stock is now averaged over the enire set of stock compartments,
• The "tank" stock serialized mode is no longer supported
• Edit Notes Dialogue. The notes field is now a one line field though once you click in the field if you click on the down arrow on the righ an edit dialogue will open in which you can easily edit notes associated with primitives. [12.05.13]
• Java Scrip Simulaiton Engine. While not actually enabled in this release you can run it using the "runModel2()" API command. [12.05.10]
• Extended API. Functions ot mainpulate Inisght Maker models by programming the new Button primitive. Please refer to API Docs. [12.05.10]
• Improved Error Message Styling. [12.05.10]
• Improved Unit Selection Interface. Unit folders are now closed by default. No more scrolling to find what you're looking for. A folder has also been added at the top of the list which will contain a list of the units used in your model. [12.05.10]
• Text Primitive Notes. Text primitives are now structured such that the text field itself is the label of the field and you can add notes to the label. This will result in the "i" being displayed when you mouse over the text field. This actually supports the creation of text and link causal loop diagrams with the ability to elaborate on the elements of the diagram. [12.05.10]
• Improved Ghost Function. Ghosts will now mirror their source appearance even if the original source was an image. [12.04.15]
• Results Exporting. There are now export buttons on the Simulation Results window. Charts will be exported as .png files and Tables will be exported as .csv files. [12.04.15]
• Buttons. The initial entrant into the controllability domain is provided with the Button primitive. You can write JavaScript associated with a Button and employ a number of predefined functions. [12.04.15]
• runModel(); //Run the model
• expandFolder(getType("Folder")); //Expand all folders in the model
• collapseFolder(getType("Folder")); //Collapse all folders in the mode
  
• // Ask the user for a value, set the primitive named "Birth Rate" to that value, and then run the model
• var birth_rate = showPrompt("Set the birth rate:");
• setValue(getName("Rabbit Birth Rate"), birth_rate);
• runModel();
• getValue(primtive)
• showChoice("Prompt") //returns a boolean
• showURL("url") //opens a new window with the url
• Edit Description Enhancement. The Edit description dialogue, in the model create/modify window, is now rezieable and provides some HTML formatting controls for the description text. [12.03.25]
• New Primitive and Connections Icons. Replacement icons have been installed for Stock, Variable, Converter, Use Links and Use Flows. The idea was to provide icons which were a bit more pictorially representative of what the item was used for. [12.03.19]
• Units Button in Equations Editor. When you open the Eduqations Editor dialogue for Stock, Flow, Variable, or Converter you will find a button at the bottom of the dialogue to access the Units dialogue. This was added as a work around for small display winows in Google Chrome and IE. In those two broswers if you can't see the Units field in the parameters window when you scroll down to it and click on it the dialogue doesn't open but rather scrolls back up so you can't see it. This does not appear to happen in Firefox. Note no actual functiality has been changed. [12.03.17]
• Text Links. One can now use the Link tool to create links between Text and other Text or other Primitives. This is often quite useful when developing Rich Pictures. [12.01.01]
• Label Positioning. The text label associated with primitives can now be positioned at the Middle, Top, Right, Bottom or Left of the primitive using the Label Positon parameter of the object. [11.12.21]
• Entry Page. The main entry page for new users and if you're not logged in has been updated hopefully to prove a more inviting view. The main entry page for logged in users has also been streamlined. [11.12.14]
• Make an Insight. When you enter this page there is now a working model on the page with some notes on developing an insight. It was felt this would be more useful than a blank canvas. [11.12.13]
• Note Display. If you mouse over an element for which a note has been added a small "i" appears in the upper right corner of the element. If you click on the "i" the note will be displayed in a note window that will persist until you either click the "i" again or click the close box in the upper right corner of the note window. [11.12.01]
• Equation Editor Acccess. If you mouse over an element that can have an embedded equation a small "=" sign will disply in the upper left corner of the element. If you click this element it will open the equation editor window. [11.12.01]
• Share Insight. Share buttons for Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Email have been placed in the description panel on the right of the "Make an Insight" screen. [11.12.01]
• Insight Discussion. This link at the top of the "Make an Insight" screen now takes you to the discussion thread for the insight. On this thread you can choose to subscribe/unsubscribe from the discussion assocated with an insight and you can choose to make a post to the discussion. [11.12.01]
• Display Reconfigure. The display primitive has been removed from the Primitives segment of the toolbar. Once you run a simulation a display configuration window will be displayed. This will allow you to configure the displays as you deem appropriate. As data for all items generated during the simulation you can reconfigure the displays and view them as you deem necessary without having to run the simulation again. [11.11.30]
• Picture HTML Label. The label field of the Picture primitive may now contain HTML code. This makes it easy to code HTML for the label to contain a link to a URL for further information. [11.11.24]
• Recent Insights. Additional panel added to main Insight Maker page which shows insights recently created or updated [11.11.19].

General Release Additions 11.10.21

• Primitive Images. You can now replace the image for Stock, Variable, Display, Converter and Picture either with an image from the drop down or with a URL reference to an image on the web.
• Primitive Alignment Grid. When you move primitives on the canvas there are automatic alignment lines which appear to assist in aligning primitives. To override the grid click the item and hold down the ALT key when moving the item.
• Smart Converters. If there is an input to a Converter it automatically takes the input as base for the converter rather than time.
• Insight Styling. There are additional styling options such as setting the background color of the diagram itself.
• Graphs. Hovering over lines on a graph now shows the X and Y coordinate values and you can turn specific lines on or off by clicking on their label in the legend. Graphs are resizable.
• Scratchpad. A scratchpad has been added which will allow you to draw, with a mouse or pen tablet, over the canvas portion of the page. This is a temporary facility for the purpose of explaining models during a presentation or making a video. The drawing is not saved though may be turned off so you can access the model layer and then turned back on. There are options for multiple colors as well as multiple layers of undo and area erase.

Sample Insights

Here are some Insights to get you started. Think we should add something here? Submit a Feedback item to us and we'll get right back to you.

Recent Updates & News

• Insight Maker Updates
• Insight Maker News: Mar-Apr, 2012
• Insight Maker News: Jan-Feb, 2012