BioBrowser User's Guide
Contents
1. t Change State Properties x State Name children_at_home Chart Type di Event orizontal Bar Cancel Line v Colour Set Colour If the chart type selected is Horizontal Bar a second colour will be presented for selection For logical states these will be the False and True colours For all other states types these will be used as a start colour and end colour in a colour interpolation process Setting and Saving Display Options Use the Format menu commands to change display options for the active biography window The View menu which includes the ToolBar and Status Bar display options are application global The Tools Options menu can be used to set and save session defaults and display default options for new biographies The Options dialog box consists of three tabs General Chart Defaults and Axes Defaults The General options will take effect immediately whereas the two Default tabs are used only with new biography creation The OK button will save these defaults to your application ini file The General tab below sets and saves session defaults used at application startup To change them during the session use the View and Tools menus BioBrowser User s Guide Version 4 0 3 Display and Output Options e 19 Options Ea General Chart Defaults Axes Defaults View m Language M Toolbar Set Language M Status Bar Timer Interval 4 secs Cancel T2. No second criteria AND with first criteria OF with first criteria Show SQL The new biography contains only one display band the navigation band for the filter tracking state It indicates the dates in which the actor s state characteristics were captured by the model the axis at the bottom of the screen indicates the start and end dates The display band does not have to be continuous On the top of this display band the number of actors which satisfied the filter criteria is displayed as well as which actor is presently being shown on the screen In the example below the first actor out of the twenty which were filtered is being displayed A later section State Selection and Navigation on page 12 will explain how more states can be added to the biography How to Use BioBrowser The Basics e 10 BioBrowser User s Guide Version 4 0 3 t Biog ile Es Filter tracking 1 20 14 4 gt rij 1999 2009 2019 2029 2039 2049 2059 2069 Time Database C Program Files bicbrowse demo mdb Filter Dominant person Vi Saving a Biography The File Save and File Save As Commands Once all desired states have been added formatted for style and colour you may optionally save the biography to file These files have extension bbr and may be retrieved at a later time against a compatible data base For compatibility the filter query must be non empty and all previously selected actor state pairs must exist i
3. mpp files which contain the Modgen model code which define the simulation model If the analyst wishes to change the type of actors to be tracked or change the complement of the states to be output then the Model must be re compiled This is discussed further in the Modgen Developer s Guide This guide should also be consulted by readers who are unfamiliar with the concepts outlined in the syntax and examples which follow Syntax of the Track Command track actor_name filter state_or_link state_or_link It is important to remember that only one track definition is allowed for each actor in the model In addition the filter specifies if and when an actor s states or links are to be output to the database file Example In this example the states which describe the person are only output to the database file when he she is married or remarried the dominant characteristic is discussed in the Modgen Developer s Guide Therefore if the person was married at age 25 divorced at age 40 and re married at age 50 then the database file would only contain information on this person from the ages of 25 through 40 and 50 to the age at death There are nine states which describe the characteristics of the individuals stored in the database file The last two items of the track definition are not variables but links to other individuals associated with this person In this case the database will contain information on the nine var
4. Data Longitudinally s ssssseesseesesesesrseeteserrsesesrsresesesesrsrenssenesrssersnesese Browsing the Data Cross Sectionally ssesseeesessseessesessssssssseserrsstssrsresrsnrnreneenereeneee Changing the Biography Filter ss ssssssesssssesessesessrstestssrsrtsersrseerrrsnrnrrsrentsntnrenereeneee Display and Output Options Formatting the Chart Area oo ccc ceseeessseeseecsesceeseecseecseseeecseesseaceceeeesseesasseeeeeees Setting and Saving Display Options cee eesesessseeseeeseseeeeseessescseeetesseecstseeeeeees Sending a Biography to the Printer or Clipboard 00 eee eeseeeneeeeeeeeeseeeeeees Appendix Creating a New Modgen Database File OVELVICW 2 fives Sei EOE EE AEA EE EAEN EREE SCENAPMOS SHIN GS ics 3 ceren esigue es e ar o aS AE a T T r AEE SITS Modgen Model State Tracking e ss sessssssseseeeessesesststrststsstrresesterstsstnrrsrenrsnenrenereereee Contents of the Database File rero eri ainge eE ETEEN OA Getting Started Introduction BioBrowser the Modgen Biography Browser is a stand alone software product which supplements the Modgen language used for dynamic longitudinal microsimulation modeling BioBrowser allows the analyst to graph the microdata generated by the model Its purpose is to aid in uncovering possible algorithmic errors in the model or to study some particularly interesting cases with respect to the specified Modgen model Microsimulation models written in the Modgen language genera
5. and Output Options e 21 Appendix Creating a New Modgen Database File Overview If you want to make a biography using different actors and or states you will need to create a new database using Modgen The creation of the database file occurs with the execution of a Modgen simulation model and therefore requires some knowledge of the Modgen simulation environment The name location and contents of this special file are controlled as follows e the filename its location within the directory structure and the number of simulated lifetimes contained within the database file are defined through a Modgen scenario and its Scenario Settings dialog box Modgen manages model run outputs by using the scenario name followed by a bracketed identifier indicating the type of Modgen output and an extension indicating the type of file For tracking outputs the convention used is scenario_name trk mdb e the set of actor states to be displayed by BioBrowser must first be listed in the model variable tracking facility within the Modgen source code for the specific simulation model This set including the tracking filter for each actor are required by the model at compile time and can not be dynamically set at run time Scenario Settings There are a variety of Modgen scenario settings which determine the nature of each specific simulation The scenario settings are discussed in complete detail in the Modgen User s Guide However there are three mai
6. biography demo bbr has been supplied with the installation software Choose the Open button E BioBrowse demo mdb x You may create a new biography on this database or open a previously saved biography from a bbr file If you Cancel use the File menu or the toolbar to issue the File New or File Open commands Look in E BioBrowse a Demo bbr Files of type Biobrowse bbr x Cancel Creating a New Biography The File New Biography Command Creating a new biography involves the selection of the actors which you want to graph by choosing a starting actor and a filter The way in which the open database was defined in the Modgen model will limit the available choices The Starting actor is the type of actor whose state characteristics will be graphed Other actors who are linked to these starting actors e g parents spouses or children may be added later in the BioBrowser process In our example two starting actors are available i persons whose states are included in the database only if they are dominant actors or other married or remarried individuals and i1 children BioBrowser User s Guide Version 4 0 3 How to Use BioBrowser The Basics e 9 This choice of starting actor may give a large set of actors to be graphed depending on the size of the Modgen database The filter criteria enables you to narrow the focus of the biography Select a state an operator on that state and a value This generate
7. your selection is complete State Selection and Navigation e 12 BioBrowser User s Guide Version 4 0 3 ia Add insert states iof x State selection dominant Dominant Cancel children_at_home Number of Children Present mar status Marital Status marstat_legal Marital Status CLU included mlChildren Children sex Sex tracking dominant mar_status MARRIED mar_status REMARRIED 1 Note above that the description of the tracking state contains the tracking condition for this actor used at database creation time In this case non dominant persons spouses are tracked only when their marital status is married or remarried State Navigation Navigate by using the First Previous Next and Last buttons shown above or by using a pop up menu over a navigation band The pop up menu has the additional functionality of a Go To command The first navigation band always refers to the filter query If you add a linked actor a new navigation band is created by BioBrowser This band differs from the topmost band in several ways First unlike the topmost display band which shows the tracking state for the filtered in actors those for the linked actors graphically display the time frame in which the related actors are linked to the filtered in actors as opposed to when the related actors were tracked by Modgen If you wish to see the tracking state then you may add it as a separate displ
8. 3 The BioBrowser Menu and Toolbar e 5 t Biogl OP x Filter tracking 1 20 gt Employed 14 gt gt a Insert Delete Show Longitudinal Data 2007 Show Cross Sectional Data State Properties 2057 2067 2077 2087 Database E Statistics Canada BioBro Filter Dominant Person Filter tracking 1 20 Insert Delete eee GoTo gt Employed First Previous 14 gt gt a Next Last 2007 2017 2027 2037 2047 2 Show Longitudinal Data Time Show Cross Sectional Data State Properties Database E Statistics Canada BioBro Filter Dominant Person The BioBrowser Menu and Toolbar e 6 BioBrowser User s Guide Version 4 0 3 The Toolbar The toolbar provides quick access to the most frequently used menu items and commands in the BioBrowser application Each button is described by a Tool Tip or status bar description If you have a small screen at low resolution you may choose not to display the Toolbar Choose Tools Options and Click on the View Toolbar Option Q 5 Description Create New Biography Open Saved Biography Save Biography Print active biography Undo Last Add Show or hide grid lines Show or hide guide lines Change background colour Change chart colour Invoke BioBrowser Help E e ee Fe E Lit 5 ee Le La e E BioBrowser User s Guide Version 4 0 3 C
9. Version 4 0 3 BioBrowser User s Guide By Statistics Canada This manual was produced using Doc To Help by ComponentOne Table of Contents Getting Started Introd cin oeie ioiii i nE E EEN EEE OO anise Contents Of BIOBTOWSET 1 00 0 sesessesesseceeceseseeeeseneeecscecesceseneecseeeeseeceaeeesenecaeseeeeeeneneeaes System Requirements and User Feedback ic esseeseeeseseeeeeeesseseseseeesseesseseeeeees Essential Components of a BioBrowser Session Modgen components ienie i o a A EE EE E E a rA BioBrowser components e sesssseessesresesesesssreretestrtstssetestsrstsettstetsestsrsrttssenesrseteresest The BioBrowser Menu and Toolbar Ment Command S a r a a cause bade A Ea heated E ANA MANE Nea DY i AAEE E E ERTE E E How to Use BioBrowser The Basics Beginning a BioBrowser Session ss sssssesseeeseseesretrsrsstsrtstestseeeetentnrrsrentsntsrenereeneee Opening an Existing Database File The File Open Database Command Opening a Saved Biography The File Open Command e ssesseerssiersresrsrerrrereerse Creating a New Biography The File New Biography Command Saving a Biography The File Save and File Save As Commands eee State Selection and Navigation Slate Sele Cth OM sic s5 sessssZeese nz cbek ce cae secs sa asee Bech s a sacha a ROE sa NOE a cE State Navigation sis coscecspceaeesess sev ee eer des e S EEE EEEE ESSE Browsing and Changing the Underlying Chart Data Browsing the
10. ay band Secondly for linked actors you are permitted to navigate beyond the total count for the current set of actors within the band This is useful when adding the same link more than once For example a person actor may be linked to multiple child actors This actor may have 0 to 6 children If you wish to see certain states for the first 2 children within the same biography window add the link to child state twice and position the navigation bands at 1 and 2 respectively These positions are retained as you navigate from person to person If the current person actor has no children this navigation will still work although the bands will show 1 0 and 2 0 and no states will be displayed In this case the First button will go to 1 0 the Last button will have no effect on the position With small screen resolutions you may choose to hide the navigation bands and use the pop up menus for movement This is illustrated below BioBrowser User s Guide Version 4 0 3 State Selection and Navigation e 13 Filter tracking 12 20 gt Employed Alternate keyboard navigation is available for the top filter band The Filter Browse menu contains a Go To and the four movements with optional Ctrl key equivalents Ctrl G for GoTo Ctrl Q for First Ctrl W for Previous Ctrl E for Next and Ctrl R for Last State Selection and Navigation e 14 BioBrowser User s Guide Version 4 0 3 Browsing and Changing the Underlying Chart Data Brow
11. cked position Deletion will delete the state at the clicked position without notification unless an actor band is deleted with dependent states below it In this case BioBrowser will issue a warning indicating how many states will be deleted and provide an option to ignore the delete The filter tracking band cannot be deleted You may add any number of states any number of times subject to the limitations of your monitor The states can be added in any order subject to maintaining the visual hierarchy of the link bands In this case the Add button for that band will be disabled The arrows indicate the indentation in the hierarchy Edit Undo Last Add can be used to repeatedly delete any number of states from the bottom up To automate navigation of the filtered in actors the topmost display band use the Timer command from the Tools Menu which will navigate through each actor automatically To go to a specific object in the filter band use the GoTo command in the Browse Menu All state selections and the current positions of navigation bands are saved with File Save Here is an example of the Add insert states dialog box for the demo file supplied with this application In this case the Add button from the top navigation band was clicked showing the states for the person actor Use extended selection to select unselect more than one state i e Ctrl Click to select unselect states Shift Click to select a range of states Press the OK button when
12. e the set of actors to be used in a biography navigation band A type of display band which also includes a set of buttons which allows the user to go from the display bands of one actor to another and add new states to the biography The buttons resemble the control buttons on the front of a CD player Essential Components of a BioBrowser Session e 4 BioBrowser User s Guide Version 4 0 3 The BioBrowser Menu and Toolbar Menu Commands The BioBrowser menu bar contains a set of standard menus available in most Microsoft Office applications as well as some application specific commands Some of the same functions may be available as Toolbar buttons or through keyboard equivalents Modgen BioBrowser File Edit View Manuia Tools Filter Window Help Cicl v Grid Lines Guide Lines v Navigation Bands Short State Names Line Width gt Bar Width gt Point Size gt Axes Properties Ctrl A BackGround Colour Chart Colour Font Demo bbr aof x Ready i Pop up menus Some commands are only available from pop up menus or by double clicking on the chart area over the display bands of the desired state Use the right mouse button click to access the pop up menus These menus will differ depending on whether or not the state is a simple state or a linked actor For simple states such as employed below the following commands are available BioBrowser User s Guide Version 4 0
13. er Criteria frame In the case of two conditions choose either the And with first criteria option or the Or with first criteria option The And criteria will be met if both conditions are satisfied at any time in the actor s lifetime Note very well that the conditions do not have to be met simultaneously over the same period of time The Or criteria will be met if either condition is satisfied at any time in the actor s lifetime Browsing and Changing the Underlying Chart Data e 16 BioBrowser User s Guide Version 4 0 3 Change Biography Filter m n a Dominant persons with earnings over 100K a e fems Ae a fm The above filter demonstrates the use of an And condition In this case the person actor must be dominant a state which is either True or False at birth and never changes and earnings must have exceeded 100 000 at any time in that person s lifetime BioBrowser User s Guide Version 4 0 3 Browsing and Changing the Underlying Chart Data 17 Display and Output Options Formatting the Chart Area When a state is added various defaults for chart presentation are used depending on its Modgen state type At present five chart types are permitted Line Level Horizontal Bar Point Eii _ f TE i e S rye ere wy Event gt es_state Studen Out of Education Syste Student ut of Education Syste BioB
14. he chart defaults used for new biography creation consists of the following display options To change these options for an already open biography use the Format menu Options x General Chart Defaults Axes Defaults Format Window Colours Grid Lines IV Navigation Bands Set Background Guide Lines Short State Names Set Chart Line Thickness 2 X Bar Width 75 X Chart Font ian Set Font Point Size 5 Axes defaults for new biography creation are set and saved within the third options tab Axes properties for an open biography can be set by double clicking the axes area of the chart window or by using the Axes Properties command from the Format menu Display and Output Options e 20 BioBrowser User s Guide Version 4 0 3 Options Note that all display options and axes properties currently in effect for the open biography are saved with the biography file Sending a Biography to the Printer or Clipboard To print a biography use File Print or the Print button on the toolbar The printed biographies are sized to fit the page while maintaining their aspect ratio The orientation used will depend on the aspect ratio of the biography window being printed i e if the window is wider than tall landscape will be used To send a biography to the clipboard use Edit Copy Ctrl C or the Toolbar copy button BioBrowser User s Guide Version 4 0 3 Display
15. iables defined in the track command on the person s spouse and children if they are present track Person dominant mar_status MARRIED mar_status REMARRIED es_state ed_level_ep sex dominant employed mar_status marstat_legal fte_earnings children_at_home l1Spouse mlChildren Example In this example the date of birth and sex states for a child actor are output to the database file once the child is established in a family the tentative characteristic is discussed in the Modgen Developer s Guide track Child tentative date_of_birth sex mlParents Contents of the Database File The MS Access file produced by a Modgen simulation contains a data table called History and the following dictionaries organized hierarchically BioBrowser User s Guide Version 4 0 3 Appendix Creating a New Modgen Database File 23 ActorDic actor dictionary ActorStateDic tracked state dictionary ActorLinkDic tracked linked actor dictionary TypeDic state type dictionary containing a pointer to a specific dictionary below The dictionaries for each state type are as follows SimpleTypeDic for simple state types e g integer double float LogicalDic for logical states ClassificationDic and ClassificationValueDic for classification states and their values RangeDic for range type states TypeDic for linked actors Any dictionary with textual identifiers wil
16. l contain record for each language implemented in the specific Modgen model as indicated by LanguageDic In addition a file version table called VersionInfo will indicate the version of the tracking file The BioBrowser uses this version to maintain backward compatibility if the tracking database design is changed The History table contains one record for each tracked state at one point in time A record is added to this table each time a tracked state changes for each tracked actor The History table fields used by BioBrowser are an object identifier time a state identifier and a value for the given state The ShowData window contains a subset of records from this table Since the object identifier is common across all records in the ShowData window its value is shown in the window caption 024 BioBrowser User s Guide Version 4 0 3
17. n settings which must be understood in order to create an appropriate database file for the Biographical Browser e In the Scenario Settings General tab select MS Access tracking This setting tells Modgen that in addition to the other outputs specified a tracking database file is requested as output for this model run e For case based models select the number of cases in the Scenario Settings General tab As a general rule it is important to specify a small number here since all of the simulated cases which meet the tracking filter will be included in the database file The size of this file can become very large very quickly depending on the number of cases and states included In addition variable tracking will slow the simulation down considerably e For time based models select the time units in the Scenario Settings General tab The demonstration file accompanying this release demo trk mdb contains 20 cases which for this model corresponds to 20 simulated lifetimes of a person actor whose dominant state is True It was created from the Statistics Canada model LifePaths Modgen Model State Tracking The tracking facility provided by the Modgen language controls the type of actors to be included in the database file along with the list of states which are to be analyzed with BioBrowser Appendix Creating a New Modgen Database File e 22 BioBrowser User s Guide Version 4 0 3 The track command must be included in one of the
18. n the open database All style colour and navigation positions are saved Save in ja BioBrowse i c zz g a Demo bbr File name Save as type BioBrowse bbr 7 Cancel I Open as read only If you have altered the state data within a biography the window caption will display an asterisk after the file name until you save the biography This visual asterisk cue is not set however by navigation or by changes to global biography options BioBrowser User s Guide Version 4 0 3 How to Use BioBrowser The Basics e 11 State Selection and Navigation State Selection Once a biography is created you may modify and enhance it by adding display bands for different states You may add display bands of the states for the filtered in actors e g their earnings You may also add display bands for linked actors e g their spouses as well as for the states of these linked actors e g the educational status of the spouses The following set of buttons is used for state selection and navigation EKKA In order Add First Previous Next and Last Add more states by using the Add button shown above and displayed to the right of the chart area States added using the button are always added to the bottom of the chart area However for more functionality use the pop up menus over the chart area These menus allow both insertion and deletion of states anywhere on the screen Insertion will insert the state after the cli
19. of longitudinal graphics showing the characteristics of the actors at different points in time All of these graphical representations can be saved for editing at some future time and or routed to a printer or clipboard Specifying the contents of the database file requires the analyst to have some knowledge of the Modgen simulation environment A section below describes the components of Modgen with which one must be familiar to successfully create a database file Further details can be found in the Modgen Developer s Guide Contents of BioBrowser The Modgen Biography Browser BioBrowser installation package consists of a sample database file demo trk mdb and a sample biography file demo bbr These files are referred to extensively to provide worked examples of the browser The nature of these files will be discussed in How to Use BioBrowser The Basics on page 8 BioBrowser User s Guide Version 4 0 3 Getting Started e 1 System Requirements and User Feedback BioBrowser has been tested on Windows XP and does not have substantial requirements for CPU disk or memory Users with questions or problems with any aspect of this software are welcome to contact the development team at microsimulation statcan gc ca Getting Started e 2 BioBrowser User s Guide Version 4 0 3 Essential Components of a BioBrowser Session Modgen components Before using BioBrowser it is important for the analyst to understand some of the essential com
20. opy active biography to clipboard Show or hide navigation bands Menu Equivalent File New File Open File Save File Print Edit Copy Edit Undo Last Add Format Grid Lines Format Guide Lines Format Navigation Bands Format BackGround Colour Format Chart Colour Help Contents The BioBrowser Menu and Toolbar e 7 How to Use BioBrowser The Basics This section introduces the basics of using BioBrowser Beginning a BioBrowser Session To begin a BioBrowser session click the Start button on your toolbar choose Programs and then select BioBrowser Opening an Existing Database File The File Open Database Command BioBrowser automatically invokes this command at the start of every session A database file created by Modgen must be open before any graphical representations saved as a biography can be created Although only one database file can be open at a time any number of biographies can be viewed simultaneously A sample database demo trk mdb has been supplied as part of the BioBrowser installation Open Database Look in E BioBrowse m File name mdb Files of type Database mdb 7 Cancel J Open as read only How to Use BioBrowser The Basics e 8 BioBrowser User s Guide Version 4 0 3 Opening a Saved Biography The File Open Command After you have opened the database upon the startup of BioBrowser you will be asked to either create a new biography or open a saved biography One saved
21. ponents of Modgen database mdb files These files are created by Modgen during the simulation phase of the model They contain the raw data necessary to construct the graphical representation created by BioBrowser Although the database files can be read by BioBrowser BioBrowser can never modify the contents of these files All BioBrowser sessions begin by opening a pre existing database file dominant actors These elements are at the core of any Modgen simulation exercise Dominant actors are usually persons or households which are created at the beginning of the simulation process and undergo changes to their characteristics as they proceed through their lives Dominant actors are defined by their characteristics states and by the events which transform their states non dominant actors Modgen simulates one case at a time where a set of dominant actors undergoes changes to its states One possible change to a person actor s state is a marriage or a common law union When this event has occurred Modgen generates an appropriate spouse This spouse another person actor is termed a non dominant person actor Once created non dominant actors undergo the same possible events as the dominant actors of the same type Non dominant actors are linked to their dominant actor tentative actors The process of generating a non dominant actor in Modgen involves generating a sequence of potential candidates The candidates who are not chosen a
22. r also shown there to open the database file directly with MS Access and perform further analysis in that environment BioBrowser User s Guide Version 4 0 3 Browsing and Changing the Underlying Chart Data e 15 Browsing the Data Cross Sectionally To browse the chart data for all states at a specific point in time use the Show Cross Sectional Data command in the state pop up menu This command will open a window showing state values for all selected states at the point in time on the X axis where the mouse was clicked w Show Cross Sectional Data of Xx File Edit Time 2044 Eal a True Employed True Full Time Equivalent Earnings 68443 9933078914 Marital Status CLU included Married Separated Education System State Out of Education System Linked gt gt Employed gt gt Full Time Equivalent Earnings 1 73183 072521 761 Changing the Biography Filter Once the biography is open use menu item Filter Criteria to change both the biography filter and its description If the filter is changed and the resulting query is not empty the biography filter tracking band is reset to position 1 Use menu item Filter Description to change only the filter description without affecting the position of the filter tracking band You may choose either 1 or 2 conditions for the criteria both containing a state operator and value combination In the case of one condition select the No second criteria option within the Filt
23. re termed tentative actors since they have no links to any of the dominant actors in the model states These elements define the characteristics of the actors over the span of their lifetimes Examples of states might include age employment status or educational attainment States can be scalars or arrays Before beginning to use BioBrowser a database file needs to be created using Modgen If you want to examine states which are not in the database a new Modgen simulation must be run and a new database file needs to be created A sample database demo trk mdb was included with this software package For more information on creating new databases in Modgen please refer to the Modgen Developer s Guide or for a quick overview refresher see Appendix Creating a New Modgen Database File on page 22 BioBrowser User s Guide Version 4 0 3 Essential Components of a BioBrowser Session e 3 BioBrowser components BioBrowser takes the database and creates graphics of the characteristics of the actors In addition to the above Modgen concepts there are other concepts which relate specifically to BioBrowser biography bbr files These files contain the graphical representations which the analyst has created during a BioBrowser session The biography files can be created saved and edited by the analyst during a BioBrowser session display band The graphical display of a state or linked actor filter The criteria used to narrow or refin
24. rowser recognizes the following Modgen state types and plots them by default according to their state type State Type Default Chart Type Integer Level Long Level Floating Point Line Double Line Time Line Logical Horizontal Bar Classification Event Range Level The Line style draws one line between 2 adjacent points whereas the Level style draws two lines a vertical then a horizontal between 2 points The Horizontal Bar although most appropriate for logical classification and range type of Modgen states can be used on all states For continuous states such as float or double the horizontal bar uses colour interpolation from a start and end colour defined by the user No legend is available for Horizontal Bar Display and Output Options e 18 BioBrowser User s Guide Version 4 0 3 The default colour for Line Level and Point plots is blue The default colours for Horizontal Bar are white and gray You can control the line thickness band width and point size for the biography but not at the level of a single state At present these settings are global to the biography window All such settings are saved with the biography Double click on a chart within a biography or right click on it and select State Properties from the pop up menu to re format it for chart type and colour A format string for the Y Axis labels where appropriate can be changed at this time as well The following dialog box is used to set or adjust these properties
25. s a SQL query on the database The result of the query is a set of actors which satisfy the filter criteria At present two states can be used to determine the filter When selecting two states you must choose if the criteria will be joined with an And or an Or condition If the result of the query is non empty then a new biography is opened Once the biography is open you may change the criteria using menu item Filter Criteria as discussed in Changing the Biography Filter on page 16 The tracking state is a variable which indicates the ranges of time in which the actors and their states are included in the database If you wish to browse all the starting actors set the filter to Tracking TRUE in the Filter Criteria section of the Biography Filter dialog box In the Filter Description box you may change the textual description of the filter you have chosen It will appear on the bottom of the BioBrowser screen In the example below all person actors whose dominant state is True were selected for browsing This is a logical state whose value is either True or False for the actor s lifetime Since the demo trk mdb file was created with only 20 cases all 20 actors will meet this criteria ia Biography Filter EI Starting Actor Person Core Individual Open Child Child lt BPR Cancel Filter Description Dominant person Filter Criteria State Operator Value dominant 7 7 TRUE 7
26. sing the Data Longitudinally To browse the actual data underlying a specific state in the chart use the Show Longitudinal Data command in the state pop up menu This command will open a window showing exact times and values used to plot the data It typically contains values of two states the tracking state and the actual state selected The highlighted cell in the Time column of the grid will be the closest time of lesser or equal value to the X axis position of the mouse when the window was opened Biog ol x Object 29 State 321 N ME EG File Edit Filter tracking 3 20 2031 20322118033 321 2034 79946840406 321 Humber of Children Present 321 BE MMMM 2 i 321 2043 71989075997 321 aaa ala at a 2045 49322353895 321 2051 79946840406 321 2054 20322118033 321 aaa aa aaa ala aca 2058 54327216665 321 woe nono amp oh 2011 2021 2031 2041 2051 2061 2071 2081 Time Database C Program Files biobrowse Filter Dominant person Ua Copy any selected block of this data to the clipboard using Edit Copy or Ctrl C To select an entire column click its header tile To select all data within the window click and drag across all header tiles The Show Longitudinal Data window contains a subset of records from the History table of the database file Advanced users may wish to use the object identifier shown in the caption optionally with the state identifie
27. te synthetic lifetimes of individual actors Each actor is defined as a set of states which describe the characteristics of the actor For example an actor could be a male individual whose attributes are described through the following states age sex marital status and health status The values of these states change as the actor progresses through his lifetime In our example the individual s age would change on each birthday while the marital status would change at the time point at which he she was married divorced etc BioBrowser is a tool which allows the analyst to graphically examine the characteristics and attributes of an actor over the course of his her lifetime The BioBrowser can graphically present one or many states for one or many simulated lifetimes In this way BioBrowser complements the other reporting features inherent in Modgen which are designed to provide detailed cross sectional information on a collection of actors at a given reference time or state The graphical representations produced by BioBrowser originate from a special database file which is the product of a Modgen model simulation run Once this file has been created there exists a variety of possible graphics which the analyst can create with BioBrowser The specifications of these graphics are controlled by the user through drop down menus and options Therefore an analyst with a limited knowledge of the Modgen modeling environment can create an impressive array
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