Other Useful Information

Saving Your Process Model

It is wise to save your process model periodically while working. To save the model:

  1. Select the File pull-down menu from the tool bar. Click on Save As.

  2. Enter a name for your process model and find a directory to save it to. Click Save.

  3. There will be 6 files created everytime you Save As. If you are saving to a floppy disc or to your AFS space it is possible to only keep two or three of those files to successfully re-open your process model. If you are not sure which ones are necessary, simply keep all of them.

  4. The name of your process model will now appear on the window. From this point on, select Save under the File menu to save your process while you work.

Printing Your Process Model

The flowsheet and results are valuable documents verifying your work. ASPEN PLUS™ allows you to individually print a flowsheet, stream-by-stream result pages, and a history file.

The Flowsheet. To print your process model's flowsheet do the following while the flowsheet window is active:

  1. Select the File pull down menu from the tool bar. Click on Print or Print Preview.

  2. select the correct printer from the pull-down menu and hit OK.

Stream-by-Stream Results. To print the stream-by-stream results, follow steps 4 above while the results window is active.

The History File. Printing the history file of your process model will allow you to step through all of the computer code used in solving the simulation. The history file keeps track of all previous ASPEN PLUS™ runs executed while you've been logged on. Depending on the complexity of the process model, the history file can be very lengthy (100 pages or more!). Therefore, evaluate whether a hard copy of this file is necessary before you print.

ASPEN PLUS™ creates the history file after completing one run of the process simulation. To print the history file do the following:

  1. Browse to the directory with your saved ASPEN PLUS™ files. Find the file with a ".his" extension. It will have this as its icon.

  2. Double click on the file and it will open in Notepad or a similar program.

  3. From Notepad select Print from the File pull-down menu.

Changing Names of Streams and Unit Operations

ASPEN PLUSTM arbitrarily assigns ID names to all streams and unit operations on the flowsheet you create. If you wish to change the ID name, do the following:

  1. With the RIGHT mouse button, click on the ID box of the stream to pull down a menu.

  2. About half of the way down the menu, select Rename Block or Rename Stream whichever the case may be.

  3. When the Rename box appears, type in the desired ID name and click OK.

Exiting ASPEN PLUS™

When finished with your process model, do the following to exit the ASPEN PLUS™ program:

  1. Pull down the File menu.

  2. Click on Exit.

  3. A window will appear asking if you wish to save your process model run. Click No if you do not wish to save the run, or Yes if you do.

  4. The ASPEN PLUS™ window will disappear and you will return to the Windows™ desktop.