Exit
Exit: where an item can permanently leave a model
Items leave a model via an Exit object.
Items that move into an exit will permanently disappear from a model and cannot be recalled.
However Exits can also be used to send Items to other locations, via broadcasting or throwing.
Exits can be classified as “Logical Only”. They do not have capacity.
Exit States
Idle The exit is always idle.
Items are never blocked from entering an exit.
Exit Modes
Exits have four modes, all of which are configured from Object Edit View
Normal Exit
This mode is very simple.
The item arrives at an exit and disappears from the model space.
Thus the exit represents a boundary point for the system being modelled.
Broadcast Exit
This mode enables you to ‘Broadcast’ a message across the entire model hierarchy.
When an item passes into a Broadcast Exit, the broadcast is generated.
Any Broadcast Entries tuned in to receive that particular broadcast will produce an item just like the one that caused the Broadcast (as long as that item class has a path leaving the BC Entry).
After you select a broadcast, the name of the exit will be changed to the name of that broadcast.
If the same broadcast is assigned to more than one broadcast entry, numbers will be added to ensure the exit object has a unique name.
Wormhole Exit
This mode allows you to ‘cheat the system’.
Normally you cannot send an item along a path from one subsystem to a distant subsystem without having to respect the hierarchy of subsystems in the model.
However with the combination of the Wormhole Exit and the Wormhole Entry, you can pass an item from one subsystem to another directly. This is useful, sometimes.
A wormhole entry-exit pairing is always one to one.
Items passing through wormhole-space are able to be blocked.
Note that an unconnected wormhole exit gives an error rather than acting blocked.
Throw Exit (Place Item into Object)
This is an advanced and little-used exit mode.
This Exit Mode is only available to exits located within an Application Panel.
This mode works by reading an item system attribute (s.Item Location) that specifies the name of the Object the item is to be ‘thrown’ to.
Objects being thrown to must be included in the _Model Objects list.
- For full details refer to this page: Throw Exit
Exit Configuration Options
An exit can be configured to pause or halt the model run if an item passes into it, delivering a message onto the screen.
In this way they may be useful as ‘Alerts’ or 'Error Traps' to ensure that improper model behaviour is detected and identified. Refer to Standard Exit Options.
Exits should not be confused with Portal Exits which transport an item back to a Portal in the screen above the subsystem.
Standard Exit Options
The Object Edit Menu for an Exit has the following options specific to all Modes:
Item Count
Enables User Definable Messages.
Configuring the Exit Object enables action to be taken when a certain number of items enter an Exit.
The "Exit" object may be configured to take action when a certain number of items (specified by the stop count) enter it.
With a stop count of 1, the exit can act as an eror catcher (with a user definable message) or to just notify the user that a certain event has occurred (leaving the model paused so the user can examine the model, then continue the run).
A model builder can use this to warn of situations arising during a model run which break assumptions made in the model's construction.
Error traps may thus be enabled.
Action at Count
Enables selection of the following actions to be taken when the Item Count value is exceeded:
Action
Description
- Continue
- The run will continue if it was paused.
- Pause
- Shows message and model pauses.
- Stop Current Run
- Stops run. For a multiple run, the next run is started.
- Stop All Runs
- Terminates run and all other runs in a multiple run.
- Stop All Runs and Quit
- Terminates run and all other runs in a multiple run and closes Planimate®.
- Stop Current Run and Restart
- Terminates run and starts a fresh run. This lets a run be restarted without having to have the Run Behaviour Settings option "Restart when model stops" on.
- Stop All Runs, Save and Quit
- Terminates run and all other runs in a multiple run, saves the MDL file and closes Planimate®. This is useful for batch runs which modify tables in the models which you want to retain.
Message Text
This enables a short message to be entered for display when a Stop Action occurs.
Options
Here you can set three options for an Exit that has an Item Count greater than zero.
Show Object’s Window
Switches screen to screen of exit.
Display Message
Shows message, when user OK's it, the run resumes.
Include Name in Message
Includes the Exit Object’s Name in front of the message
Refer to Editing Object Properties for information about editing properties common to all objects.
Exit Articles
- Portal Exit
- Portal Entry
- Hiding Portal Entries and Portal Exits
- Naming Portal Entries and Portal Exits
- Throw Exit
- Exit Limit Count
- Exit Operation Mode
- Exit Stop Actions
- Exit Stop Options