Difference between revisions of "Differences between ACP and Desktop Analytica"
 
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<small>[[Analytica Cloud Player|<<back to Analytica Cloud Player]]</small>
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[[Category: Analytica Cloud Platform]]
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[[Category:Analytica editions]]
  
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= How ACP is like and improves on the Analytica Player =
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Analytica Cloud Platform (ACP) lets you share and run via a web browser any model created in desktop Analytica (DTA).  A model looks and works almost the same on the web with ACP and on a desktop with DTA.  But, there are some important differences. ACP offers some special user-interface features that let you create a better user experience for a web application, which has some different opportunities and challenges than a desktop application.  Plus a few special features of DTA have not yet made it to ACP. This page explains the main differences.
  
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ACP offers almost all the features of the desktop Analytica Player edition. Both editions let you open a model, view diagrams, object windows, and results as graphs or tables. They let you change any variable designated as an input, including as an Edit table; but they won't let you change other variables or create new objects. ACP lets users save a model with changed inputs so you can continue with the changes in a later session.
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== ACP is like desktop Analytica in Browse Mode==
  
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ACP offers several enhancements not available in desktop Analytica:
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[[Analytica Cloud Platform]] (ACP) offers almost all the features of desktop Analytica (DTA) in [[Browse mode]]. ACP lets you open a model, view influence diagrams, object windows, and results as graphs or tables. You can change any variable designated as an input, including fields for text or number, Checkbox es and Choice menus, and Edit tables containing them. But, ACP doesn't have an [[Edit mode]], to create or modify objects in influence diagrams or their definitions.  If you want to change or extend a model, you should do it with Analytica on your desktop (or laptop).
  
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* Like most web applications, you use a ''single'' click not a double click to drill down -- for example, to open a module diagram.
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A smaller difference is button clicks: In ACP, you click just once on a variable node in a Diagram to see its edit table or result view -- or on a module node to open its diagram view. In desktop Analytica, you double click to do  these things -- or more usually you click on the relevant hover icon that appears below a node when you move your cursor over it. A double click on a variable node opens its Object view, and a double-click on a module opens its diagram.
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* You can display a result table or graph, or edit table, ''embedded'' in a diagram, instead of having to open the result or edit table in a separate window. As a model author in desktop Analytica, you simply make the height of the input or output node greater than four times the default size, i.e. 104 pixels (52 nodesize units). When you upload and open the model with ACP, the graph or table appears embedded in its parent diagram, in the rectangle with size and location specified for the node.
 
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* It offers tabbed user-interface styles, in which you can access modules by clicking tabs across the top (or down the left side) of the window.
 
  
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== ACP Features not in desktop Analytica ==
  
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= Other differences =
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ACP, like most web applications,  shows the model via a single browser window, where DTA, like many desktop applications, uses multiple windows.  Most ACP features are designed to provide a user-interface experience similar to other web applications, and to
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reduce the limitations of a single window.  You can run any Analytica model directly in ACP, but to to convert it to a web-application that works well for end users, you should understand and use some of these special ACP features. 
  
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==UI Differences==
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* ACP offers a tabbed navigation style with modules listed as tabs across the top or down the left side of the window -- providing a familiar navigation style for web users. You can set all or selected modules to appear as tabs. ACP also offers a navigation style more like DTA, with an [[Outline window|outline view]] (expandable module hierarchy, similar to a file browser) on the left, or a hierarchy bar across the top to show current context.  Or you can just show the top model as a single page to make a simple web application, with no tabs and no access to submodules, if your end users don't need to see all the gory details. See [[ACP Style Library]] for how to choose these options.
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ACP has a few differences from Analytica in its user interface:
 
  
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* ACP, like most Web applications, shows only one window at a time, unlike the multi-Window interface of Analytica on the desktop, which is similar to many desktop applications.
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* ACP can display a result table or graph, or edit table, embedded in a user interface diagram, instead of requiring a separate window to show the table or graph as in DTA. In this way, you can see one or more tables and graphs in the same window. You can make a user input embed its edit table, or user output embed its result table or graph, simply by making the node tall enough (>=104 pixels or four times the default node height). Or you can create a Frame node, which is a special text node which shows the edit table or result of any user input or output when you click on it. See [[Embed table or graph with ACP]].
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* A single click on a variable usually displays its ''result'' as a table or graph -- not its object window.
 
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* It offers several styles for displaying and navigating the module hierarchy. The default shows buttons along the top to open the parent diagram, object window, and result window for a selected node, similar to desktop Analytica. It can also show an expandable tree to view and navigate the module hierarchy, similar to the desktop Outline view. But ACP also offers tabbed interfaces, which are more familiar for web applications. Tab styles include tabs across the top or down the left side of the window. The leftmost (or topmost) tab corresponds to the diagram for the main module. The other tabs correspond to modules in the top model.
 
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* You can embed edit tables and result tables and graphs within a diagram. Simply expand an input or output node to be more than 100 pixels high, and it will show the table or graph instead of a button to open the table or graph. Alternatively, you can define Frames (special text nodes) in the diagram. Then any click on an input or output, or standard node, will show the table or graph in a Frame. This lets you review and modify inputs and see the results immediately in the same Diagram window.
 
  
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See '''[[CloudPlayerStyles Attribute Values]]''' for details on how to select outline view or tab styles.
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* You can show bevels and/or shadows on nodes to make diagrams appear more dramatic. See [[ACP Style Library]].
  
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See this page for [[ACP Rendering tables and graphs on the diagram|More on Embedded Tables and Graphs...]]
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* Autocalc:  You can set a model to automatically calculate result tables or graphs when you open a diagram (user interface tab) with those results.
  
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==Linked Modules/Libraries==
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<div style="display:none">* Press icon on top right of a result graph or table to copy data, or right-click to download data to a text file.</div>
  
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If your model contains any linked modules or linked libraries, you need to make sure to upload the model file and all of its linked files into the same directory so that ACP will find them. Alternatively, you can embed the linked modules and libraries into the model so that it becomes a single file. There are several ways to do that:
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* ACP lets you control these and many other details of user interaction by setting the [[AcpStyles]]  for the Model, Module, and other objects.
  
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* In Analytica, you publish the model to ACP by clicking the Publish to Cloud menu item on the File menu.  Analytica will automatically convert Linked Modules/Libraries to be embedded.
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* The easiest way to use these ACP-specific user-interface features is to import the [[ACP Style Library]] into your model in DTA, and make the selections you want using that library.
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* Open the model. Go through each linked module or library and convert it to the embedded equivalent. You can do this in their object windows. Change its Class to an embedded (i.e. not linked) module or library using the pulldown menu at top left of the Object window. Or you can change the Class in the Attribute Panel, selecting the Class attribute, and then setting the desired class.
 
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* If the model has a lot of linked libraries or modules, it may be easier to select '''Save a copy in ..''' from the '''file''' menu. In the '''Save...''' dialog, check the 'Save everything in one file by embedding linked modules' checkbox.  (Available in Analytica 4.2 and later.) See screenshot:
 
  
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[[Image:Save everything in one file.png]]
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== DTA features not available in ACP ==
  
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= Features of Analytica not available in ACP =
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Some features of Desktop Analytica (DTA) in browse mode are not (yet) available in ACP:
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* Dialog boxes for styles, formats, and preferences, including the [[Graph setup dialog]], [[Number format]], [[Diagram Style dialog|Diagram]] and [[Node Style Dialog]]s, [[Uncertainty Setup dialog|Uncertainty Setup]], and [[Preferences dialog]].  ACP uses whatever options and styles you chose in Analytica before uploading the model to ACP.  
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These features of Analytica Player are not available in ACP:
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* Ability to copy and paste a subset of values from and to a table.  
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* Dialog boxes to change computation and display options, such as the Graph setup, Number format, Diagram and Node styles, Uncertainty Setup, and Preferences dialogs.  It uses whatever options and styles you chose in Analytica before uploading the model to ACP.  
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* Ability to copy diagrams and graphs -- but you can always use Snagit or a similar application to copy directly from the screen.
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* Slicer menus in graphs for multidimensional results, including the Color key, Symbol key, Symbol Size Key, and the bar origin.
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* The interactive dialog function: [[ShowProgressBar]].
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* Clickable references.
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* The interactive dialog function [[AskMsgChoice]] is supported, except for the combo box option is not supported.
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* It has limited ability to copy and paste a subset of values from and to a table.  
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* These table features:
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* It does not let you copy diagrams and graphs -- except if you use Snagit or a similar application to copy directly from the screen.
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** Support for the '[[Check]]' attribute. This includes table-cell validation checking based on the [[Check]] and [[Domain]] attributes.
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* No support for the 'Check' attribute
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** Display of huge tables. Avoid tables with more than 20,000 cells in the slice being displayed.
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* No support for 'MsgBox' function, Progress bar, or other interactive dialogs functions used in Analytica definitions.
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** Inclusion of comparison index or comparison variables is a second column header. (Only one column index is currently displayed in ACP, whereas 2 column indexes appear in a DTA table when these comparison features are used).
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** Most [[What%27s_new_in_Analytica_5.0%3F#Cell-level_formatting|Cell level Table formatting]] options are supported in tables, except for [[CellOnClick]] or [[CellEntry]]. Also, cell-level formatting of row or column header cells or totals row or columns is not yet supported.
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** Clickable references.
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* No support for displaying [[Icon images in a node]].
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* [[What%27s_new_in_Analytica_5.0%3F#New_icons_and_pop-up_node_controls|Popup node controls]]
 
We plan to add these and other features over time to ACP. Let us know if something is missing that you would really like to have.
 
We plan to add these and other features over time to ACP. Let us know if something is missing that you would really like to have.
  
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= Features of ACP not available in Analytica =
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===Linked Modules/Libraries===
  
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ACP offers several options to modify the style of the user interface:
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ACP can run a model that uses separately [[Filed modules and libraries]], just like DTA.  You need to make sure to upload all the linked files into the same directory so that ACP will find them. Alternatively, you can embed the linked modules and libraries into the model so that it becomes a single file. There are several ways to do that:
  
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'''Tables and graphs in the diagram'''
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* In Analytica, you publish the model to ACP by clicking the Publish to Cloud menu item on the File menu.  Analytica will automatically convert Linked Modules/Libraries to be embedded.
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* Embed edit tables and result tables and graphs in their parent diagram, so you can see the diagram and results in the Browser window.
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* Open the model. Go through each linked module or library and convert it to the embedded equivalent. You can do this in their object windows. Change its [[Class]] to an embedded (i.e. not linked) module or library using the pulldown menu at top left of the [[Object window]]. Or you can change the Class in the [[Attribute panel]], selecting the [[Class]] attribute, and then setting the desired class.  
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* Reserve a space in a diagram to show the edit table, or result table or graph for any node you select in the diagram. This is especially handy for web applications.
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* If the model has a lot of linked libraries or modules, it may be easier to select '''Save a copy in ..''' from the '''file''' menu. In the '''Save...''' dialog, check the ''Save everything in one file by embedding linked modules'' checkbox.  (Available in Analytica 4.2 and later.) See screenshot:<br/><br/>
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'''[[ACP Rendering tables and graphs on the diagram|More on Embedded Tables and Graphs...]]'''
 
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'''Using CloudPlayerStyles attribute settings'''
 
  
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* Don't display the the outline view (the default is on.) The outline is useful to help users navigate around large models, but not needed for small models or when you don't want users to look at all its details.
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:[[Image:Save everything in one file.png]]
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* Display only the top diagram, and not any submodules -- especially useful for web applications.
 
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* Add bevels and shadows to nodes to make diagrams appear more dramatic.
 
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* Tell ACP not to display things, e.g. don't allow users to save, or restrict model browsing so certain parts of your model are not accessible.
 
  
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You can control these options with keywords added to the '''CloudPlayerStyles''' attribute. See '''[[CloudPlayerStyles Attribute Values]]''' for details.
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==See Also==
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* [[Analytica Cloud Platform]]
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* [[AcpStyles]]
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* [[ACP Rendering tables and graphs on the diagram]]
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* [[Editions of Analytica]]

Latest revision as of 08:56, 20 June 2022


Analytica Cloud Platform (ACP) lets you share and run via a web browser any model created in desktop Analytica (DTA). A model looks and works almost the same on the web with ACP and on a desktop with DTA. But, there are some important differences. ACP offers some special user-interface features that let you create a better user experience for a web application, which has some different opportunities and challenges than a desktop application. Plus a few special features of DTA have not yet made it to ACP. This page explains the main differences.

ACP is like desktop Analytica in Browse Mode

Analytica Cloud Platform (ACP) offers almost all the features of desktop Analytica (DTA) in Browse mode. ACP lets you open a model, view influence diagrams, object windows, and results as graphs or tables. You can change any variable designated as an input, including fields for text or number, Checkbox es and Choice menus, and Edit tables containing them. But, ACP doesn't have an Edit mode, to create or modify objects in influence diagrams or their definitions. If you want to change or extend a model, you should do it with Analytica on your desktop (or laptop).

A smaller difference is button clicks: In ACP, you click just once on a variable node in a Diagram to see its edit table or result view -- or on a module node to open its diagram view. In desktop Analytica, you double click to do these things -- or more usually you click on the relevant hover icon that appears below a node when you move your cursor over it. A double click on a variable node opens its Object view, and a double-click on a module opens its diagram.

ACP Features not in desktop Analytica

ACP, like most web applications, shows the model via a single browser window, where DTA, like many desktop applications, uses multiple windows. Most ACP features are designed to provide a user-interface experience similar to other web applications, and to reduce the limitations of a single window. You can run any Analytica model directly in ACP, but to to convert it to a web-application that works well for end users, you should understand and use some of these special ACP features.

  • ACP offers a tabbed navigation style with modules listed as tabs across the top or down the left side of the window -- providing a familiar navigation style for web users. You can set all or selected modules to appear as tabs. ACP also offers a navigation style more like DTA, with an outline view (expandable module hierarchy, similar to a file browser) on the left, or a hierarchy bar across the top to show current context. Or you can just show the top model as a single page to make a simple web application, with no tabs and no access to submodules, if your end users don't need to see all the gory details. See ACP Style Library for how to choose these options.
  • ACP can display a result table or graph, or edit table, embedded in a user interface diagram, instead of requiring a separate window to show the table or graph as in DTA. In this way, you can see one or more tables and graphs in the same window. You can make a user input embed its edit table, or user output embed its result table or graph, simply by making the node tall enough (>=104 pixels or four times the default node height). Or you can create a Frame node, which is a special text node which shows the edit table or result of any user input or output when you click on it. See Embed table or graph with ACP.
  • You can show bevels and/or shadows on nodes to make diagrams appear more dramatic. See ACP Style Library.
  • Autocalc: You can set a model to automatically calculate result tables or graphs when you open a diagram (user interface tab) with those results.
* Press icon on top right of a result graph or table to copy data, or right-click to download data to a text file.
  • ACP lets you control these and many other details of user interaction by setting the AcpStyles for the Model, Module, and other objects.
  • The easiest way to use these ACP-specific user-interface features is to import the ACP Style Library into your model in DTA, and make the selections you want using that library.

DTA features not available in ACP

Some features of Desktop Analytica (DTA) in browse mode are not (yet) available in ACP:

  • Dialog boxes for styles, formats, and preferences, including the Graph setup dialog, Number format, Diagram and Node Style Dialogs, Uncertainty Setup, and Preferences dialog. ACP uses whatever options and styles you chose in Analytica before uploading the model to ACP.
  • Ability to copy and paste a subset of values from and to a table.
  • Ability to copy diagrams and graphs -- but you can always use Snagit or a similar application to copy directly from the screen.
  • The interactive dialog function: ShowProgressBar.
  • The interactive dialog function AskMsgChoice is supported, except for the combo box option is not supported.
  • These table features:
    • Support for the 'Check' attribute. This includes table-cell validation checking based on the Check and Domain attributes.
    • Display of huge tables. Avoid tables with more than 20,000 cells in the slice being displayed.
    • Inclusion of comparison index or comparison variables is a second column header. (Only one column index is currently displayed in ACP, whereas 2 column indexes appear in a DTA table when these comparison features are used).
    • Most Cell level Table formatting options are supported in tables, except for CellOnClick or CellEntry. Also, cell-level formatting of row or column header cells or totals row or columns is not yet supported.
    • Clickable references.
  • No support for displaying Icon images in a node.
  • Popup node controls

We plan to add these and other features over time to ACP. Let us know if something is missing that you would really like to have.

Linked Modules/Libraries

ACP can run a model that uses separately Filed modules and libraries, just like DTA. You need to make sure to upload all the linked files into the same directory so that ACP will find them. Alternatively, you can embed the linked modules and libraries into the model so that it becomes a single file. There are several ways to do that:

  • In Analytica, you publish the model to ACP by clicking the Publish to Cloud menu item on the File menu. Analytica will automatically convert Linked Modules/Libraries to be embedded.
  • Open the model. Go through each linked module or library and convert it to the embedded equivalent. You can do this in their object windows. Change its Class to an embedded (i.e. not linked) module or library using the pulldown menu at top left of the Object window. Or you can change the Class in the Attribute panel, selecting the Class attribute, and then setting the desired class.
  • If the model has a lot of linked libraries or modules, it may be easier to select Save a copy in .. from the file menu. In the Save... dialog, check the Save everything in one file by embedding linked modules checkbox. (Available in Analytica 4.2 and later.) See screenshot:

Save everything in one file.png

See Also

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