Simulator Window
The Simulator window informs about the progress of the simulation. It opens with the start of the simulation.
The window consists of two parts: a left and a right one (see following figure).
The right part contains settings and extended information about the calculated results. This part is used to investigate the causes of errors in the model or simulation.
In the area on the top left-hand side are the buttons for starting, pausing, continuing and aborting the simulation. They function in principle similar to playing a piece of music on a media player. Next to it, you can see which of the four stadiums is currently being run through: Waiting for input, Simulation is running, Simulation is paused, or Simulation was completed.
Also on the left side is the window for the messages.
Display of Messages
During the simulation you can follow the progress in the display. The start and end times of the simulation, the steps performed, important events, and errors are output as messages (see following figure).
All messages are linked to websites where possible causes of errors and possible solutions are shown. These web pages are accessed via the help symbol 
at the end of the message line (see following figure).
Some messages contain the linked blue number of a faulty block. If you click on this blue number, further information on this block is displayed on the right (see first image above). Such a link is only active immediately after an executed simulation.
ID
Each error message has an ID (in the range 8001-8400), which can be displayed with a link to an explanation page on the Internet instead of the 
help symbol. To display the message IDs, click the Show IDs checkbox in the Messages section of the Simulator window on the right under the Settings tab (see the following figure).
You can use the message ID to look up the error message and possible solutions in the Error Messages article.
You can also hide certain IDs.
Log Level
The number of messages in the progress window is regulated by the following Log levels to be selected in the drop-down list before the simulation. The Log level setting is not saved in the project but in the TOP-Energy settings, and it remains in effect for subsequent simulations until it is changed again.
0 No messages
1 Errors
2 Default
3 Details
4 Debugging
5 All messages
It is recommended to leave the Log level at level 2 Default and to change to level 4 Debugging if errors occur in the simulation (see following figure).
Log level 1 Errors includes error messages and warnings.
Log level 3 Details is for experts. You can subsequently hide and show the Errors, Warnings, Model messages, or System messages by unchecking and checking the boxes below the message window, provided they are included in the selected log level.
Priority View
The list view displays the messages hronologically according to their occurrence. If there are a great many messages, the number of messages displayed can be limited after completion of the simulation for better clarity. After a click on the button 
with the tooltip Choose between priority or list view, the list view switches to the 
Priority view. In the priority view, the messages are sorted by priority and displayed by default in the order model messages, error messages, warnings. As far as can be determined, the message for the cause of the problem is at the top. Click on the button to return to the list view (see following slider).
Similar messages that occur in the same system of equations for several time steps are grouped together. The message then appears only once, preceded by the number of times the error occurred, e.g.,
378 x The linear optimization problem just calculated did not result in an optimum.
The Message 8390 indicates the frequent repetition of the same error message.
Information on Equations and Variables
The right part of the Simulator window displays detailed information about the equation systems organized in blocks.
Overview
In the section Solvable equation systems, the Overview shows how many blocks of each type were created (black numbers) and solved (green numbers) in the current simulation model (see following figure).
Under-determined systems and their variables and equations can be found in the section Unsolvable equation systems (red numbers).
During the running simulation, the Process information informs how far the linear optimization has progressed (in %). The number of Iterations for the current equation system is also displayed.
Variables
Under the tab Variables all calculated variables are displayed with the corresponding block number, the block type, the value and the unit (see the first figure in the following slider). The results can be filtered via the input field. By clicking on the blue block number (see second figure in the following slider) you can see a summary of the block under the tab Solvable equations.
For time-dependent variables there is a 
plot preview which gives a qualitative impression of the temporal course of the simulation results (see the two figures in the following slider).
Solvable Equations
The equations and result variables of the block are listed under the tab Solvable equations (see following figure).
The selection field for the block number is located in the upper left corner.
The variables defined by the user inputs are displayed in green.
The variables already calculated are shown in blue. By clicking on the blue marked already calculated variables you get to the block in which they were determined. Erroneous results can thus be traced back to their cause.
For time-dependent variables, a plot preview can be displayed (see the figure below).
Unsolvable
There is a similar overview as for solvable equations for under-determined blocks under the tab Unsolvable (see following figure).
Time Steps
In a time-dependent simulation, the time to which the results displayed on the right of the Simulator window refer can be selected under Current time step on the left (see following figure). With the arrow buttons you can jump to the previous or next time step.
Also note the message with ID 8220 which specifies the simulation period. In addition, the message with ID 8210 lists all time series that were specified by the user and thus influence the simulation period.
In the group Filter of the Simulation ribbon, you can limit the simulation period by filtering the simulation times.
Settings
In the right part of the Simulator window you can set breakpoints in the simulation process and filter the displayed messages in the Settings tab (see following figure).
Breakpoints are possible for errors, model messages, and warnings. The simulation then pauses automatically. The user has the opportunity to analyze the error. He can decide whether to continue or abort the simulation. This can make troubleshooting easier because subsequent errors can be avoided in this way.
In the case of repeated occurrence of a message, the number of its calls per equation system can be limited by specifying the maximum number of time steps for which the message is output, e.g.,
In the case of recurrences display identical messages per equation system no more than 6 times.
This is relevant for messages that apply to very many time steps, e.g., messages about the target function value in linear optimization or warnings about zero division. Ten repetitions are preset by default.
You can also hide certain messages by entering their number in the Ignore the following field. In this way, you can hide certain error messages, for example.
