Quick Start: Your First Project¶
This guided first session takes about ten minutes. You will open a bundled sample, explore it, edit a module, and save your own copy. New to the concepts? Read Introduction & Concepts first.
1. Launch SimGe¶
When SimGe starts, the SimGe — Get Started dialog appears with these choices:
| Choice | What it does |
|---|---|
| Create New Project | Opens the New Project wizard (details). |
| Start Empty | Closes the dialog and starts with no project. |
| Open Samples → Chat / STMS | Loads one of the bundled sample projects. |
| Open a Project | Browses for an existing .fap project file. |
| Recent Projects | Reopens a project you used recently. |
For this walkthrough, click Open Samples → Chat.
You can reopen this dialog's choices at any time from the Start Page workspace.
2. Get your bearings¶
Once the Chat sample loads, the main window shows three things:
- Project Explorer (left) — a tree of your project: the Object Models root with FOM Modules, SOM Modules, and the read-only MOM library, plus Federate Applications.
- Workspaces (center) — tabbed editing areas. The Start Page opens here first.
- Status bar (bottom) — save state, busy activity, and contextual hints.
On the Start Page, find the FOM Modules Dependency Graph: it shows the sample's modules and how they depend on one another. Hover a node for a summary. (More in Start Page.)
3. Open a module in the editor¶
In the Project Explorer, expand Object Models → FOM Modules, then double-click a module (for example, the Chat FOM module).
The module opens in the Object Model Editor (OME) as a new workspace tab. The OME presents the model as a set of tables — Objects, Interactions, Attributes, Parameters, Datatypes, and more.
- Select the Objects table to see the object classes.
- Double-click an object class to open its editor and inspect its attributes.
See OME for a full tour of every table and editor.
4. Make a small change¶
- In the OME, open the Objects table and double-click a class.
- Change a value (for example, an attribute's order or transportation), then confirm with OK.
- Notice the status bar switch to Unsaved changes.
Editing tip: dependency and standard (MOM) modules open read-only by design; edit your own FOM/SOM modules instead.
5. Save your own copy¶
The bundled samples are installed in a shared, read-only location, so Save is disabled for them. To keep your edits:
- Choose Save As.
- Pick a writable folder (your Documents folder is offered by default).
- SimGe writes your editable copy there; from now on, ordinary Save works.
See Opening & Saving Projects for the details.
6. Where to go next¶
| Goal | Chapter |
|---|---|
| Understand modules and dependencies | Modular FOM Concepts |
| Add, rename, or merge modules | Managing Modules |
| Edit object/interaction models in depth | OME |
| Bring in an existing FED/FDD | Importing & Exporting |
| Design which applications join the federation | FAME |
| Generate federate code | Code Generator |
Next: The SimGe Workspace