General Preferences

The General Preferences dialog (Figure 1, right) contains a set of basic options for controlling the @RISK add-in. These options generally have a global impact, affecting things across the entire application. The General Preferences window contains three option groups:

• Product Language - Select the display language for all @RISK windows and dialogs.
• Results - Configurations for the behavior of @RISK, including when and where to save simulation results and how to display percentiles.
• Other Options - Options for window size and online or local help, among others.

Product Language

The @RISK interface is localized in multiple languages. When the @RISK installer is run, a prompt is presented for which language to use. This option allows the original choice to be changed. It should be noted - the Product Language option only changes the language option for @RISK windows and dialogs; it does not change the language used in standard Excel windows and dialogs. It is possible to use two different languages, one for Excel and one for @RISK!

Results

These options control how simulation results are displayed and saved in @RISK. Simulations in @RISK generate random data for each input distribution , as well as calculated data for each output. This data is used to generate graphs and calculate statistics. To be able to generate such results in additional simulations, the results must be saved.

@RISK simulation data can be stored in two places. For data that is not too large, storing @RISK data directly in a workbook is the most convenient option. That data is then tied directly to the model and will automatically beopened in @RISK when the model workbook is opened. However, if the data is too large, or in scenarios where multiple sets of results need to be stored, simulation results can instead be stored in an external file, with the extension .RSK5. (This file format was first introduced in @RISK version 5.0, which gives it its name.)

Results stored in external files can be opened from the 'Open Simulation File' command on the Utilities Menu.

The Results options are:

• Save Results - This option controls what happens when saving an @RISK workbook that was part of a simulation. The four options are:
• • Prompt when Saving Workbook - This is the default behavior for @RISK. This option presents the Save Simulation Data window (Figure 2, right) asking how @RISK data should be stored. See Saving Simulation Data for more information.
  • Automatically Save in Workbook - @RISK will automatically store simulation data in the appropriate workbooks, as long as the results are not too large.
  • Save to External File – This option will still present the Save Simulation data window but will default to the external file selection where a file name and location can be specified.
  • Never Save - With this option selected, @RISK will not ever save simulation results. However, a new simulation can always be re-run to create a new set of @RISK results.
• Percentiles - Numerous windows and graphs display percentiles for @RISK theoretical and simulated distributions. The percentile options configure which percentiles should be reported and how they should be displayed. See Configuring Percentiles for more information.

Other Options

Other application configurations that do not fit the above categories are included in this option group. The settings available are:

• Default Window Size - Many @RISK windows have dynamic sizes. This setting controls the default size to use for these windows.
• Depending on the size of monitor being used and what other applications are running, it might be appropriate to increase or decrease the default window size.
• Use Online Help - @RISK’s help system is available in both online and local configurations. Online help, which is the default, has the advantage of continual updates and improvements from Palisade. The local help system is appropriate for systems that are running without access to the Internet.
• Show Welcome Screen - This setting controls if @RISK’s Welcome Screen is automatically displayed when the products starts.
• Insert RiskStatic Property Function - If this option is selected, a RiskStatic property function will automatically be added whenever a numeric value is replaced with an @RISK distribution function. This will preserve the original cell value when a simulation is not running. See the RiskStatic function documentation for more information.