SpreadSRVN installation instructions: ------------------------------------- WINDOWS: -------- 1. Make a directory called spreadsrvn in c:\. 2. Unzip contents of ZIP file into c:\spreadsrvn. Make sure you extract WITH directories. 3. Edit c:\autoexec.bat and insert the path c:\spreadsrvn\bin. Either re-run autoexec.bat, or reboot computer for changes to take effect. 4. If Perl is not on your computer, download a copy from http://www.activestate.com/Products/Download/Get.plex?id=ActivePerl and install it. 5. Must have Excel 97 or higher installed. UNIX: ----- 1. Make a directory called spreadsrvn in your home directory. 2. Unzip contents of ZIP file into ~/spreadsrvn. Make sure you extract WITH directories. 3. Add ~/spreadsrvn/conv_spread and ~/spreadsrvn/spread_conv to your path in your startup shell script (e.g. .csrhc, .bashrc...) 4. If command spreadconv and convspread do not work, make sure: a) Perl is installed on your machine. b) That the Perl location in spreadconv and convspread are pointing to the correct location. Typing the command "which perl" will tell you exact location of where Perl is installed. 5. Note that only the conversion utilities work under UNIX. Excel is still required unfortunately. Quick description of files/directories in the distribution: ----------------------------------------------------------- The 3 files in c:\spreadsrvn related to Excel which are: lqn_macros.xla - Visual basic macro file which generates templates of various model elements when constructing an LQN model. lqn_toolbar.xlb - Toolbar which appears with other Excel toolbars at the top. Selecting one of the various menu items trigger the Visual Basic macros in lqn_macros.xla to be exectued. lqn_model.xlt - A blank spreadsheet which has all the various columns properly spaced for proper display of the spreadsheet model. Then there are 3 directories which are: .\spread_conv - Takes an exported text version of an Excel spreadsheet and converts it to a LQN or SPEX file. Directory contains Perl files for the program spread_conv. .\conv_spread - Takes an LQN or SPEX file and generates a tab de-limited textfile suitable for importing into Excel. Directory contains files for the program conv_spread. .\bin - MS-DOS batch file to ease the executing of utilities spread_conv and conv_spread. Creating a new model in Excel: ------------------------------ 1. Load Excel, and close existing workbook (optional) 2. Open files lqn_macros.xla, lqn_toolbar.xlb (if LQN tool bar not present) and lqn_model.xlt. Order does not matter, toolbar may be autoloaded on subsequent invocations of Excel. When lqn_macros.xla is loaded, Excel will tell you this file has macros inside, you MUST select "ENABLE macros". 3. The LQN spreadsheet always needs to be initialized, so in the LQN toolbar, select Initialization and then either SPEX or LQN depending on type of spreadsheet desired. 4. Using macros under the Add menu, one can add various layered model elements into the spreadsheet. 5. When the model is finished, select Text Operations in the LQN toolbar, and then select Export to Textfile. 6. Run spreadconv on the exported text file to generate a LQN model which then can be solved or simulated. Recommended way of doing this is using MS-DOS prompt, by running either cmd or command (depending on what version of windows you are using). Go to directory where the exported file was save, and type spreadconv . Resulting file will be either a .lqn (LQN) or .xlqn (SPEX) file. Block Operations: ----------------- Various macros have been provided to make the manipulation of the model easier within the spreadsheet. These operations are: Cut - Place cursor anywhere on a block to cut it, with all it's descending model elements. Copy - Works same as cut, except does a copy operation. Paste - Place cursor over a desired location to paste. Cursor must be over a block of equal or higher precedence then the block in the clipboard. For example, trying to paste an entry into a Processor is illegal, yet pasting an entry into a task is legal. Delete - Works same as cut, except performs a delete operation. Comment - Comments out a selected block. Uncomment - Uncomments out a commented out block. Insert Row - Used for inserting rows in the Model initialzation and SPEX portions of the model file. Delete Row - Used for deleting inserted rows in the areas mentioned above. Miscellaneous tips on creating models: -------------------------------------- - All empty fields in yellow must be filled in with something, otherwise spreadconv will fail to generate a LQN or SPEX file. - Fields in red (for SPEX observations) are optional. - Use the tab key to go to the next point in the spreadsheet where input is allowed to be entered. Importing LQN/SPEX models into SpreadSRVN: ------------------------------------------ 1. Take and LQN or SPEX file and run it through the convspread utility. This will generate a text file suitable for importing into the spreadsheet. 2. Load up Excel, then in the LQN toolbar select Text Operations, then Import From Text File. Select the text file generated from step 1, and hit open. NOTE: MAKE SURE lqn_model.xlt is NOT LOADED into Excel. It is not necessary to open the template file for importing LQN models. 3. Excel macros will do their thing, and importing will be complete. Known Bugs: ----------- - The convspread utility does not like it when you specify SPEX variables after solver parameters like Convergence Limit. If your SPEX file has some variables after the solver parameters, move them above. This bug will be fixed in a later revision.