Ignacio Martinez (U Chicago/Argonne, Vensim distributor, and all around nice guy) has developed a nifty tool that exploits Vensim’s open text file format and .dll to make very thorough, browsable model documentation.
It’s incredibly simple to use. Just unzip the archive, fire up the .exe, and point it at a model (.mdl format; it’ll also read some information out of an accompanying published .vpm, if there is one, but that’s not needed):
It creates a set of html documentation in your model’s directory, with nifty features like the following:
A master table of results
A list of overly-complex equations
A table of variable usage in model views (very useful for finding hidden structure)
A hyperlinked equation listing, with various ordering options
You can download it here. SDM-Doc-4_3_5.zip Be aware that this is unsupported beta software, so use at your own risk (I don’t think there is any, but I think I need to say that).
Update: a new version: SDM-Doc-4_3_17.zip Even newer: SDM-Doc 4_3_21.zip (note: having a bit of trouble with it, so you might want to stick with the v17 link for the moment)
Latest and greatest: SDM-Doc-4_6_01.zip
This is now hosted as an open source project at systemdynamics.org; see http://tools.systemdynamics.org/sdm-doc/ for the latest.
This is a nifty tool!
Tried to download and got Error 404 – Not Found for 4_3_17 version
Sorry – not sure what happened. It should be working now.
Working now – thanks.
I am a PhD student. I need to use system dynamic for my research. Can I free download SDM-Doc-4_3_17.zip or SDM-Doc 4_3_21.zip (Vensim model documentation tool)
thanks a lot
Everything here is free – just click the links above to download.
We are looking for someone to make a Vensim model and I was wondering if you’re up for the job and how much it would cost. You may contact me via the email address here. Thank you!
I am using free vensim ple software. How do I see the Vensim equation of a published model (with the software) in the software?
You should be able to click on any variable using the equation tool and see/edit the equation, as you would in any normal .vmf or .mdl format model. These .vpm published models do not use any security features to lock up the code.