Working with the Signal Monitor

You can perform a number of actions in the Signal Monitor which is the main user interface to view the results of a virtual execution.

Important: You can apply various filter options in the Signal Monitor. The results may vary depending on the order of applied filters.

For an overview of the Signal Monitor, see Signal Monitor Window.

This task shows you how to:

Before you begin: Launch a virtual execution.
See Also
About Virtual Execution

Display the Signal Monitor

You can minimize each Signal Monitor, if undocked. If minimized, it is represented by an icon on the right side of the screen.

Notes:
  • You can define the maximum number of Signal Monitor windows open at the same time by the option Maximum number of variable browsers. To specify this option, select Me > Preferences > App Preferences > 3D Modeling > Systems Modeling and Execution > Dymola Behavior Modeling , the Results tab. For more information, see Native Apps Preferences Guide: Results. If you open a new Signal Monitor when you have the maximum number of them already open, the oldest one is closed.
  • If you open a new model in a new tab, the present Signal Monitor windows are hidden. When you return to the previous model, they are displayed again.
  • You can dock Signal Monitor windows to each other. The result is one Signal Monitor window with tabs. Such a window minimized is represented by the icon on the right side of the screen.
Important: The Forced Value column is only displayed in the Signal Monitor window of the current active simulation.

To display the minimized Signal Monitor, click the wanted Signal Monitor or icon to the right on your screen.
The selected Signal Monitor appears.

By default, the name of the Signal Monitor is composed by the name of the simulated model and an index. The reason is to make the title unique in case you simulate the same model more than once.

Rename the Signal Monitor Window

You can rename the Signal Monitor window. This makes it easier for you to find the wanted Signal Monitor when, for example, several instances of Signal Monitor windows are minimized.

  1. To rename the active Signal Monitor, right-click any node in the Value column, and select Rename simulation title.
    The Rename simulation dialog box appears.
  2. In the New title box, enter the new name of the Signal Monitor window and click OK.
    The Signal Monitor window is renamed.

Hide and Display Columns

You can hide and display columns in the Signal Monitor. You can also use other commands to work with columns.

  1. Right-click any of the column headers and select Open Column Manager .
    The Column Manager displays all available columns and what columns are currently displayed.
  2. To manage the display of columns, do any of the following:
    • To display a selection of columns, select the columns by pressing Ctrl and click the column names, and then click Show Selection.
    • To hide a selection of columns, select the columns like above, and then click Hide Selection.
    • To display all columns, click Show All.
    • To hide all columns, click Hide All.

    Tip: As an alternative, you can, in the Column Manager, show or hide columns by clicking the check box in front of the column names.

    Note: You can only display the Forced Value column in the Signal Monitor window for the current simulation.

    It is also possible to select what columns to display without using the Column Manager. You can instead right-click any column header and select any of the following:

    • Hide Column: Hides the column you selected.
    • Show All Columns: Displays all columns.
    • Show Column > Value: Select Value (or another item) to display the item column.

    Notes:
    • The Show Column option is only visible when a column is hidden.
    • You can only display the Forced Value column in the Signal Monitor window for the current simulation.

    The display of the columns is updated according to your selection.

Sort the Content of the Signal Monitor Alphabetically

You can sort the column contents alphabetically. The sorting can be ascending or descending.

  1. Click the column header.
    An arrow appears in the column header.

    The contents are sorted in ascending alphabetical order.

  2. Click the column header again.
    The direction of the arrow reverses.

    The contents are sorted in descending alphabetical order.

Filter the Content by Name

You can filter the column contents by name.

Before you begin: This description assumes have you have not applied any name filtering already.
  1. To select what column you want the filter to work on, right-click the header and select Apply Filter on this Column.

    Important: If the command is not present for a column, that column is already selected for filtering.

    The default selection is the Name column.

    The result is:
    • The column is selected for filtering.
    • The contextual command Apply Filter on this Column is not available for the column header of this column.
  2. In the Filter box, start typing.
    The following is the result:
    • The filtering is dynamically applied for the selected column, that is, the content of the Signal Monitor window is filtered after each character you enter.
    • A filter icon appears in the header of the selected column.
      Important:
      • If you already use some of the filtering in the sections below, filtering by name might not work.
      • You may have filter icons in several columns if you have applied other types of filtering as well.
    Tips:
    • You can use wildcards such as * to help define your search criteria.
    • You can filter on the whole path of the node as well as the name of the node. This enables you to also filter on the names of intermediate nodes. The following rules apply:
      • If you type a dot "." or a bracket "[", the filtering is performed on the whole Modelica path of the node
      • Otherwise, the filtering is performed only on the node name.
    • Some examples of filtering (compare with the rules above):
      • To show all the variables named phi, enter *.phi
      • To show all the variables named V, inside components named resistor 1, resistor 2, etc., enter *.resistor*.V
      • To show all variables contained in a specific subcomponent C1, enter C1. or *.C1.*
      • To show any Modelica path that contains the character sequence abc (except if only in the variable name itself), enter that character sequence *abc*.*
  3. Optional: To use the typed text to filter another column instead, right-click the header of that column and select Apply Filter on this Column.
    • The filtering text is applied on that column instead.
    • The filter icon is moved to the header of that column.
  4. To clear the text filtering, click Clear the text filter after the Filter box.
    The following is the result:
    • The name filtering is removed. Any other filtering is still present.
    • The filter icon disappears from the column header.
      Important: The column is still selected for name filtering, if you again type in the Filter box, the filter is applied on this column.

Filter the Content by Variables being Forced or Unlocked

You can filter the content in the Signal Monitor by variables with forced value, or unlocked variables.

For forcing, see Signal Monitor Window.

  1. Right-click the column header of the Value column, and select, depending on what you want to filter:
    • Show only variables with forced value to display only variables with forced value.
      Note: You can only display forced values in the Signal Monitor of the current simulation. In other Signal Monitor windows the Forced Value column is hidden.
    • Show only unlocked variables to display only unlocked variables.
    The filtered result is displayed and a filter icon in the column header indicates that the filter is acting on this column.
  2. To remove the applied filter, right-click the filtered Value column and select Show All .
    The filtering of variables having a forced value, or being unlocked, is removed depending on what column you apply the command to. Other filterings are kept.

Filter the Content by Watchlists

You can filter the content in the Signal Monitor by variables included in a watchlist.

For the handling of watchlists, see Isolating Results in a Watchlist.

  1. Right-click the column header of the Watchlist column you want to apply the filter on, and select Show only selected variables .
    The filtered result is displayed and a filter icon in the column header indicates that the filter is acting on this column.
  2. To remove the applied filter, right-click the filtered Watchlist column and select Show All .
    The filtering of variables being in the watchlist is removed. Other filterings are kept.

Filter the Content by Breakpoints

You can filter the content of in the Signal Monitor by variables having breakpoints.

For breakpoint handling, see Applying Breakpoints.

  1. Right-click the column header of the Breakpoint column, and select Show only all breakpoints .
    The filtered result is displayed and a filter icon in the column header indicates that the filter is acting on this column.
  2. To remove the applied filter, right-click the filtered Breakpoint column and select Show All .
    The filtering of variables having breakpoints is removed. Other filterings are kept.

Center the Signal Monitor on a Node Corresponding to a Selected Animated 3D Shape

You can center the Signal Monitor on a node corresponding to a selected animated 3D shape. The node is also expanded.

From an animation, select a 3D shape and, from the context toolbar, click Show in Variable Browser .
The following is the result:
  • The Signal Monitor is centered on the node corresponding to the selected animated shape.
  • The Signal Monitor is expanded down to the relevant node, for example Shape of the component corresponding to the highlighted 3D shape
If several variable signal monitors are displayed, they are all centered and expanded the same way, but only the currently active Signal Monitor has a highlighting.

Specifying the Default Signal Monitor Panel Docking

You can specify the default Signal Monitor panel docking.

To control the default Signal Monitor panel docking, specify the option Default variable browser docking from Me > Preferences > Systems > Behavior Modeling, the Results tab, the Results Management Settings group.

The default is Stacked, that is, a new Signal Monitor is stacked in the same panel as the previous Signal Monitor, as a new tab.

For more information, see Native Apps Preferences Guide: Results.