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Click on an item in the above menu to find out what it does
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Creating new simulation trials in Demography allows you to run several
simulations at once. This is useful if you wish to compare what happens when a particular
parameter is changed. For example, you can set up several trials, each with a different
infant mortality rate, and compare how rapidly each population grows, or how each
age pyramid changes through time.
To add a new trial, choose the ìAdd New Trial...î command from the Trials menu.
A dialog box will appear asking you for a name for the new trial. When you are finished
entering the name of the trial, click on the OK button, or press the return or enter
key on your keyboard. If you decide you donít want to create the trial, use your
mouse to click on the Cancel button in the dialog box.
If you have created several trials, the trial that appears by default in all display
areas is called the "active trial". You can change the current active trial
by selecting "Choose Active Trial" from the Trials menu and choosing the
appropriate trial from the hierarchical menu.
You may also change the active trial for specific displays by clicking on the
trial button in the upper left hand corner of the display area. Holding the mouse
button down while the cursor is over this button will bring up a menu that allows
you to specify which trials are displayed.
If you decide you change the name of a trial that you created previously, choose
"Rename Trial" from the Trials menu. From the hierarchical menu, select
the trial that you wish to rename. A window will appear, asking you to enter the
new name for the trial.
If you decide you no longer need a trial that you have previously created, you can
delete it. Choose "Delete Trial" from the Trials menu. From the hierarchical
menu, select the trial that you wish to delete. A window will appear, asking you
to confirm that you want to delete. If not, click on the Cancel button. Otherwise,
click on the Delete button. The trial you selected will be removed.
When trials are created, they are always placed at the bottom of the list of trials
which determines where they appear in the various hierarchical menus. Use this command
to alter the order of that list. This can be useful when creating files for student
use or for presentation (e.g., when you wish to have the trials in the menu appear
in some other order than in the order they were created).
In Java Demography 2.0, this menu item appears grayed out, because we have
not yet implemented this function.