This chapter provides information to help users resolve problems which are preventing Aspen Simulation Workbook from running properly.
Required Software
The table below documents the operating system and MS Office requirements for Aspen Simulation Workbook V7.1. In addition, ASW V7.1 requires
Microsoft .NET Framework 2.0. (This is standard with Windows XP).
Windows Vista (Business Edition) SP1 Windows Vista (Enterprise Edition) SP1 Windows XP SP3 (Professional Edition) Operating System
Windows Server 2008
Microsoft Office 2007 SP1 (Vista and Windows Server 2008 only)
Microsoft Office Compatibility1 Microsoft Office 2003 SP3 (XP only - not supported on Vista or Windows Server 2008)
Aspen Simulation Workbook can run files locally on the same desktop, or remotely over a network using a server. When running files locally, two products must be installed on your desktop computer: Aspen Simulation Workbook and the appropriate process simulation software (Aspen HYSYS and/or Aspen Plus). Additional products, such as Aspen Polymers Plus, may also be required if the underlying models use these types of layered features. All of the required software is delivered on the set of aspenONE DVDs.
Managing Multiple Versions of
ASW and Other MS Excel Add-
Ins
You may install more than one version of Aspen Simulation Workbook on a particular computer, however only one version can be active at any particular time. This is an inherent limitation of MS Excel (Excel does not support
concurrent add-in versions).
You can use the Aspen Simulation Workbook Add-In manager to activate a particular version of ASW. Some users prefer to keep ASW inactive when working with conventional MS Excel worksheets to avoid viewing the ASW toolbars and to maximize the performance of Excel (ASW does make Excel open a bit more slowly). The add-in manager can also be used to temporarily deactivate third-party Excel add-ins which may interfere with Aspen
Simulation Workbook (for example, some versions of the Google Excel Add-In are known to interfere with ASW for unknown reasons).
To open the ASW Add-in Manager click the Windows Start button, select All Programs | AspenTech | Aspen Engineering Suite | Aspen Simulation Workbook 2006 | Aspen Simulation Workbook Add-in Manager. Check the option boxes to activate an add-in, uncheck the boxes to deactivate the add-in. Only one version of Aspen Simulation Workbook (formerly Aspen OSE Workbook) may be activated at a given time. Click OK to finish.
Troubleshooting Guide
Problem 1: After installing ASW, the ASW toolbars do not
appear in Excel and the Aspen menu does not appear in
the Excel menu structure
If only the toolbars do not appear, they may simply not be selected to be displayed. In Excel, select View | Toolbars and ensure the two Aspen Simulation Workbook toolbars are selected. If these toolbars are not found in the list, see the resolution for problem 2, below.
When both the toolbars and Aspen menu are missing, it is usually the result of the workbook add-in not being registered correctly. This may occur when Excel was open when ASW was installed. To resolve this problem, log in as a user in the Administrators group, shut down all instances of Excel, open a Command Prompt window, and enter this command:
regsvr32 "%CommonProgramFiles%\AspenTech Shared\Aspen Simulation Workbook 2006\ASWXLAddinLoader.dll"
Problem 2: After installing ASW, the ASW toolbars are
grayed out, and the Aspen menu does not appear in the
Excel menu structure
The toolbars may be disabled by Excel. To check for this problem: 1 Open Excel.
2 Click Help | About Microsoft Excel.
3 Click Disabled Items. If Aspen Simulation Workbook appears in the list, remove it.
To check for another way the add-in could be disabled: 1 Click Tools | Customize.
2 Click the Commands tab. 3 Under Categories, click Tools.
4 In the Commands list, select COM Add-Ins.
5 Click the Tools menu and drag the COM Add-Ins item to this menu, just below the Add-Ins command. Then close the Customize dialog box. 6 Run the COM Add-Ins command you just added to the Tools menu. 7 Verify that Aspen Simulation Workbook is in the list. Verify that it is
checked (enabled). And verify that its path is ASWXLAddinLoader.dll in the Aspen Simulation Workbook installation folder.
Problem 3: When opening Excel, a message appears
indicating that macros are disabled
To resolve this problem:
1 Run Tools | Macros | Security.
2 Either set the security level to Medium or Low, or check Trust all installed addins. The Medium security level is preferred, because it leaves the Excel security system in place. In this mode you will be prompted to allow macros to run when you open a file.
Problem 4: The error message, Compile Error: Invalid
Character may result when using an ASW file created in
another locale
An ASW file created in one locale may contain macro names using local characters which are invalid in another locale under a different character set. In addition, when the default control or sheet names are used, Excel will change these names when the file is moved to a new locale but the names in
macro code which references these controls may not be updated. To resolve this problem:
1 Right-click each control and select Properties.
2 Change the (Name) property of each control using only Standard English characters (for example, A-Z, a-z, and/or numerals 1 through 9). Do not allow default control names to be used because they can be locale- dependent.
3 Verify that any macros you write are coded in standard English characters. 4 Rename any sheets containing such macros in the same manner. This will
ensure macros which reference the sheet will use the correct name. Any macro code on other sheets which refers to the renamed sheets may need to be updated to use the new name.
Problem 5: If Aspen Simulation Workbook v2006 and
v2006.5 are installed on a PC, and one of those versions is
uninstalled, the remaining version will stop working.
In this situation during the uninstall process, a dynamic link library file (i.e., CXSInteropCOM.dll) used by both versions of Aspen Simulation Workbook becomes unregistered.
When this occurs, CXSInteropCOM.dll must be re-registered to enable the remaining version to function properly.
1 Find the CXSInteropCOM.dll file. (In a typical installation it should be at the following location: C:\Program Files\Common Files\Aspen Tech Shared\Aspen CXS 2006.5 directory)
2 Open a command prompt window
(Start\Programs\Accessories\Command Prompt)
3 At the command prompt, type: regsvr32 "<full path to CXSInteropCOM.dll>" and then hit the Enter Key.
4 In a typical installation, the <full path to CXSInteropCOM.dll> should be replaced with the actual path to the component file. For example, the full line will likely be: regsvr32 "C:\Program Files\Common
Files\Aspen Tech Shared\Aspen CXS 2006.5\CXSInteropCOM.dll" (You need to include the quotation marks.) A message box confirming that the component has been registered should then be displayed.
Index
AAspen Plus Suite, 110
Aspen Simulation Workbook for Aspen Modeler Products, 116 AspenTech support, 3
AspenTech Support Center, 3 Automation
Functions, 57, 85 Macros, 86 B
Bringing a Simulation Model into ASW, 8
C
Case Types, 26, 62
Changing links to a new simulation, 12
customer support, 3 D
Deleting a simulation which has variables associated with it in the Variable Organizer, 12 documentation, 2
E
e-bulletins, 3
Embedding Simulation Case Files in MS Excel, 68
Embeding and exporting the simulation, 13
Exporting and Importing Variable Lists, 30
help desk, 3 I
Installing Aspen Remote Simulation Server (ARSS) on Windows Vista, 73
L
Limiting End-User Access to Simulation Case Files and Data, 75
M
Manage Simulations Page Toolbar Selections, 11
Model Authors, 2 Model User, 2
Monitoring the Remote Simulation Server, 75
Multiple Cases using, 26, 62 O
Open the Simulation References Window, 8 Organizer, 21 Navigation Pane, 22 Variable Grid, 40 P Plant Tags, 63 grouping, 67 quality mapping, 82 quality parameters, 84 retrieving, 63 tables, 85 R
Running Aspen Remote Simulation Server on Windows Vista, 74 S Setting a Simulation to be Remotely Executed, 13 Simulation Cases running, 90, 92 viewing, 94
Visual Basic Automation, 95 Simulation Log Files, 94 Simulation Runs, 95 support, technical, 3 T
Tables
Enhanced Table Template, 51 Instant Table Template, 51 Plant Tags, 85
Table Wizard, 46 styles in Excel, 54 technical support, 3 Toolbars, 5 Design Toolbar, 5 Organizer, 35 Run Toolbar, 6 Workbook Design, 5 Workbook Run, 6 U
Using ASW with Esteco ModeFrontier, 107
Using ASW with Oracle CrystalBall, 108 V Variable Browser, 33 Query, 34 W
web site, technical support, 3 Workflow
running simulation cases, 90 Working with the Manage