System Parameters include general user preferences for selection list appearance and overflow/underflow protection, and hardware options such as security key configuration and shading on printed reports. Context sensitive help on each tab is available by pressing F1 with the tab selected.
System parameters may be adjusted by selecting the Parameters item from the File Menu on the Menu Bar and then selecting System Parameters from the Submenu that is displayed. This opens the System Parameters window displaying a form with nine selectable tabs.
1. Use the list box below the label " Show current item in multiple selection lists as..." to adjust the way in which AXIS will highlight the current item in the selection list. You may choose from a cross-hatched framed box, framed box or solid box. You may find that your Windows colour scheme affects which option appears best to you;
2. Choose whether or not to display row numbers as the first column of the object list. Row numbers are always sequentially generated for the items in the current list starting at 1, regardless of the sort order selected. Row numbers are not the same as Object ID's, which are permanently assigned to each object in a Dataset and are always unique within each object type in a Dataset. Row numbers can be useful for counting numbers of objects and for selecting a range of objects in a sorted list;
3. Select "show user defined sort field" which will show another column called "Sort" in which you can enter any text or values and then sort by that column;
4. Select "show creation time" which will indicate when the object was created;
5. Select "show user name" which keeps track of the user who last modified the object;
6. Set the dates and times in AXIS to the format defined in your Windows settings or let AXIS decide which format to use.
The Security Key Tab allows you to preselect either parallel port security key (most common), USB security key or allow the system to auto-detect which port the key is using. Preselecting the specific port used will allow the system to load faster.
The Advanced Tab controls Underflow Checking, Dataset Compaction and the Additional Memory Usage by AXIS.
This Tab allows you to enable or disable underflow checking within the calculation routines. Underflow checking should normally be enabled as it does not slow the calculations.
Underflow checking detects when a number is too small to be represented by the variable type used. For example, if the number of lives left out of an initial population is set to 10 to the power of -60, you will get an underflow error - it is outside of the range of floating point values.
If an underflow error is reported, please send a copy of the Dataset or Cell to GGY so that we can fix the problem since this should not normally occur. You may be advised to turn off underflow checking so that you can carry on with your work. Normally this will be OK until GGY fixes the error or suggests a work-around.
In most cases, the underflow problem is a minor one, but occasionally the underlying cause can lead to wrong answers. Accordingly, it is important to keep underflow checking on unless instructed otherwise. Whenever a new update is installed, the Overflow/Underflow Checking switch will automatically be reset to have underflow checking on and overflow checking off (normal).
The dataset compaction box determines when to automatically use compaction. Compaction is a database operation that squeezes out redundant space from your dataset. Compacting datasets may free a significant amount of disk space and help the system work faster, so it is recommended that you compact datasets from time to time. Auto-compact projections will automatically compact projections after the size has changed by 1 MB. Auto-compact dataset on open will compact the dataset every time it is opened.
You can also control the allocation of additional memory to be used by AXIS. Please note that as you increase memory allocation to AXIS this may cause other applications to run more slowly.
The Printer Tab allows you to select the level of shading added to printed reports in order to highlight certain fields. Shading appears differently on different printers and you may find it necessary to increase or decrease the level of shading or even remove it to obtain attractive reports.
You can also control the print order for pages of tables. You can select to print first columns then rows or rows then columns.
You can also set the units for the page setup to inches or millimeters.
When you enter a path for backup or restoring a dataset or parts of a dataset, you can select a directory from a list of recently used ones stored by AXIS. How many of the most recently used directories to store and display is determined by the number entered on this tab under "Paths to save to favourites when backing up / restoring datasets". The maximum is 50 paths.
1. Specify the cursor action associated with the <Enter> key. You can select the appropriate option to move in any of four directions or no movement at all;
2. Specify the cursor action associated with the four arrow keys while editing a specific cell value within a table. The cursor always moves left and right within a field in the table until the end of the field is reached, however, if the option "Next Field" is selected once the end of the field is reached any further cursor movement takes you to the next field in the table whereas "Next character" leaves the cursor within the same field;
3. Choose to display blanks when the value of the cell is zero by using the "Blank for zeros" check box;
4. Select the number of decimal places displayed in table cells from the list box of values ranging from 0 to 5;
5. Set the column width displayed in cells in tables by selecting from the "Column Width" list box of values ranging from 4 to 20;
6. Choose to print the notepad attached to a table when printing table values;
7. Select how large tables are viewed from inside of a cell. You can choose to view the large tables as an extracted table, a partial table or as a full table.
The batch tab controls the following settings:
This dialogue box allows you to determine which batches will be shown during a batch run - you can select to show all the batches, or batches from the current module only.
Defines the order in which AXIS objects will be processed in a batch run. Setting this switch to "Object ID", for example, will cause AXIS to process the batch sequentially based on the object ID number.
Distributed processing allows the calculations involved in a batch run to be shared over multiple processor cores. Because the calculations are being shared, the amount of time required to process a batch job is significantly reduced. For a more complete description of Distributed Processing, refer to the AXIS Users Guide available from the AXIS help menu.
The distributed processing batch options section of this tab offers three options selected by radio buttons:
(1) Disabled:
Distributed processing will not take place.
(2) Standard Distributed Processing
Most users will use this method for their distributed processing. This method allows up to a maximum of 15 helpers in the same computer as the master.
(3) Use GridLink Module
AXIS GridLink is a Grid solution to managing a processor farm used for distributed processing of AXIS batch calculation runs. It offers a comprehensive set of tools that help you to create and manage a more efficient and secure production environment. GridLink is separately licensed according to the number of processor cores being managed in the farm. Contact GGY for further details.
The System Log Tab enables automatic System Log Archiving by AXIS, and offers control over the contents of the System Log and Batch operation with errors.
What is the System Log Archive?
The system log archive is a database table which stores old messages which have been cleared from the system log. While the system log is automatically cleared by AXIS on many occasions, such as when you exit the program normally, the archive only gets cleared if you manually clear it from the system log view, or automatically according to the retention parameters you choose. In order to manage the size of the archive, you can set the number of days and/or messages to store. If you have enabled auto-archiving of the system log, whenever AXIS updates the system log, its old contents will be added to the system log archive. Messages are not sent to the archive, however, if you have not enabled any archive options (which are turned off by default) in the system parameters or if you manually clear the current system log with the clear button, after viewing it.
The system log archive is not associated with any particular dataset or instance of the application running. Thus it can contain old messages from multiple datasets and various copies of AXIS.
In the first section of the Tab, you can enable system log archiving by choosing the maximum number of messages and/or days to save to the archive. Both of these options keep only the most recent messages. If you choose both options, for example, to store a maximum of 50 most recent messages and limit the archive to a maximum of 5 days, only messages which satisfy both conditions are stored.
You can only view the system log archive once it has been created by AXIS. The archive is created if any of the archive options are enabled in the System Log Tab of System Parameters, once the system log is updated and old messages are automatically sent to the archive. To view the archive, Select the System Log (under the File Menu) and the current system log will be displayed. In the top section, change the list box selection from "New messages" to "Archived". While you have Archive mode selected, any actions you perform on the system log, such as clearing, printing, and exporting, apply only to the archive. If the list box does not appear in the window, then the archive has not been created yet.
Using the System Log
You can also choose what level of messages will appear in the System Log. The default contents of the System Log consists of all warnings, errors, and information messages produced in the most recent batch or interactive run, but you can also ask for only certain types of messages. If you set a non zero number in the "Stop batch after_ errors logged" box, any batch processes that encounter that number of errors or more will pause and require user input before continuing. If you set this box to zero the batch processes will not be interrupted as a result of errors encountered.