1. Analytica¶
1.1. About Analytica¶
According to Lumina Decision Systems (Lumina):
“Analytica is a visual software environment for building, exploring, and sharing quantitative decision models. If you find yourself struggling with complex spreadsheets, you will find Analytica a revelation.”
Analytica builds on spreadsheets by introducing Influence Diagrams (the “visual” element referenced above) and Intelligent Arrays. Intelligent arrays simplify coding, and make it considerably easier to dynamically expand the scope of the model (e.g., to include a different animal or microbe) and perform scenario analyses.
1.2. Editions and Versions¶
Analytica is available in three editions: Analytica Free, Analytica Professional, and Analytica Enterprise (compare the editions).
Tip
Analytica Free allows you to create and edit models with up to 101 nodes.
Analytica regularly releases updated versions. As of July 01, 2022: the current version of Analytica is 6.1.0,
1.3. iAM.AMR Minimum Requirements¶
To open and run the iAM.AMR models, you will need Analytica 5.0.0 Free (or greater). To create, edit, and run the iAM.AMR models, you will need Analytica 5.0.0 Professional (or greater).
Why?
- the iAM.AMR models generally have more than 101 nodes.
- we avoid the use of features supported only in the Enterprise edition (e.g., large arrarys).
- we use encryption in the Hub module (v4.2+).
- we use local (replacing var) for local variables (v5.0+).
Tip
Analytica v5.0 also introduced multi-threaded computation.
1.4. Install Analytica¶
All editions of Analytica are installed using the same installer. If the installation fails (e.g., due to lack of administrative rights), you can install Analytica using the “extract-and-run” procedure.
1.5. Learn and Troubleshoot Analytica¶
There are two first-party resources for learning and troubleshooting: the Analytica User Guide, and the Analytica Wiki. Both are accessible from the help menu within Analytica.
There are also resources specific to the iAM.AMR project, including recordings of past meetings, in the iAM.AMR Team Repo (login required).
1.6. Tips and tricks¶
1.6.1. Text size¶
To increase text size, navigate to the Edit > Preferences dialog, and ensure “Large text in attributes & tables” is selected.
To further increase text size, press F12 to open the Typescript window. Then, type the command: AttributeFontSize:15, where 15 is desired font size. For reference, the “Large text” size is 13pt.
1.6.2. Search Shortcuts¶
You can use search shortcuts to trigger a custom search from your browser’s address bar (e.g., only returning results from the Analytica wiki).
To use a search shortcut, type the shortcut’s name (i.e., keyword) and the search terms into the address bar (e.g., if the shortcut is “ANA” use: ANA search terms).
Tip
These instructions are for Firefox, but similar instructions apply for Google Chrome.
1.6.2.1. Shortcut to Search using Wiki¶
To create a shortcut that uses the Analytica Wiki search box, navigate to the Analytica Wiki, right-click in the search bar, and select “Add keyword for this search”.
1.6.2.2. Shortcut to Search using Google¶
To create a shortcut that uses Google to search the Analytica Wiki, right-click in the bookmarks bar, and select Create a bookmark. Then, set the location to https://www.google.com/search?q=site%3Aanalytica.com+%s.