D.1 Getting Help in Arena

Arena has an extensive help system. Each module’s dialog box has a Help button, which will bring up help specific to that module. The help files use hyper-links to important information. In fact, as can be seen in Figure D.1, Arena has an overview of the modeling process as part of the help system.

Figure D.1: Arena help system

Figure D.2: Arena folder structure

The example files are especially useful for getting a feel for what is possible with Arena . This text uses a number of Arena’s example models (as per Figure D.2) to illustrate various concepts. For example, the Smarts file folder has small Arena models that illustrate the use of particular modules. You are encouraged to explore and study the Help system. In addition to the on-line help system, the Environment comes with user manuals in the form of PDF documents, which includes an introductory tutorial in the “Arena User’s Guide” within the Online Books folder.

The following section provides an introduction to SIMAN for the primary purpose of helping you to understand potential error messages that you might get when developing and debugging an Arena model.