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Formula node

Create Formula node

To create a Formula node:

  • Hover the mouse pointer above the blank node placeholder. “+ New node” title will appear.
  • Click on this title. Pop-up menu with node details will appear.
  • Type in the node name. The counter at the right end of the line shows how many symbols out of allowed 128 symbols are already used.
  • Select the node type by clicking on the gray-colored Fx pictogram.
  • Click anywhere outside of the node.

AIMES does not allow any two nodes to have the same names. If your project contains several hundreds of nodes please be creative giving nodes their names. As well as Project and Sheet names are limited to 128 symbols Node name could also be no longer than 128 symbols.

Create input connections

The content of the formula node is a more or less complex formula which receives data from data nodes. We will call connections from those data nodes “Input connections”.

To create input connection go to the Sheet - Model design view.

  • Hover the mouse pointer over the data node you want to connect. Below the node a Connect to.. tab will appear.
  • Click on this Connect to.. tab. Near the mouse pointer a pictogram with this data node name will appear.
  • Hover the mouse pointer over the formula node you want to connect. A pictogram of incoming connection will appear on the formula node.
  • Click on the formula node. An arrow representing connection from data node to formula node will appear.
  • You can perform the same process in both directions: from data to formula node and vice versa.

Data node could only be an input connection for a formula node. Formula node could be an input as well as output connection for another formula node. Hence while creating connection between two formula nodes when you hover the mouse pointer over the second formula node it will be divided in halves giving you an option to use this node as input or output.

Set up Formula node content

To set up Formula node either:

  • double click on it
  • or right-click on it and choose “Details” from the pop-up menu.

Build a formula you need in the expression manager. While building a formula you can use:

  • Data from input connections.
  • Temporal variables, one of which is Time.

Typical workflow could look like:

  • Click in the expression manager to the right of the equal sign and a cursor will appear there.
  • Look at the input connections menu on the left. There you can see names of data nodes connected to the current formula node. Start typing one of the names of input data nodes. The pop-up menu will appear to the right of the cursor offering you a choice of input data. Click on the name you need. The pictogram of a data node will appear in the expression manager.
  • Add a math operator
    • Click on the math operator pictograms in the expression manager or
    • Use your keyboard to type +, -, *, /, (, ). For other operators use the method above.
  • Combine data and operators, use arrow keys and mouse to navigate inside expression builder.

TIME variable pending

Use variable Time to reference different columns of the data table.
- for the first column of your project period Time=0 - for the second Time=1 - for the third Time=2 - etc.

For the time periods before your project starts use:

  • for the first (from right to left) period (column) before your project start Time=-1
  • for the second period (column) before your project start Time=-2
  • etc.

Another use of Time variable are relative links. To reference the previous time period use: (Time-1)

Pending.

Data versions used for calculation.

Formula node receives data from Data node. Data node may have several versions of data. When you enter the formula in Formula node you need to check if this formula calculation will work out fine without errors. To perform this calculation check click on the Run button (small triangle at right part of the Path menu). At the moment of calculation check Formula node needs to know which version of data to use. Formula node will use the last opened version of data. This version is marked by sigh Use for calculation check on the version tab.
When you are editing a Formula node and need to change the version of data used for calculation check:

  • look at the left to Input and output connections menu
  • in the Input connections section find the data node where you need to change the data version
  • double click on this data node name and it will open on the main screen
  • look at the versions tab and see which version is marked Used for calculation check
  • if you need a different version to be used for calculation check click on its tab. This tab will now be marked Used for calculation check
  • to get back to calculation node either click Back button of your browser or double click on Calculation node name at the output connections panel on the left.

IMPORTANT NOTE
Which version of data will be used for calculation check and for scenario testing are two different things.

  • Used for calculation check version is only used for calculation check. This mark is not taken into account while scenario testing.
  • While testing scenario those versions of data will be used which you will mark by turning on radio buttons at Select data versions for scenario panel at scenarios tab. Used for calculation check mark is not taken into account.

Using variable in Formula node

Pending.