What's New

Getting Started Files

Pulse tutorials files are now included in the installation and can be accessed directly through the Library Browser.

Launch Documentation

Both an analyst and author can now access and launch the documentation document belonging to a task/solution/process directly through the Library Browser.

Pulse as an Application

Pulse can be selected as an Application in the Generic Task. The script will then be executed using Pulse internal Python Interpreter.

The following known issues will be addressed in a future release as we continuously improve performance of the software:

• Pulse is not supported on Linux.
• Undo/Redo operations are currently not supported.
• Loops are currently not supported, even though the Block Diagram can be used to create them.
• If Project and Study names are changed in Pulse, the respective Directory names are only updated through Save As.
• Block Diagram known issues:
  • The Block Diagram is intermittently not updated properly. To restore the proper display, save the session and reload.
  • Navigating between studies through the window decoration in block diagram is intermittently working.
  • For HD graphic cards or monitors, the icon inside the block is displayed off-set of the block.

Manage the Input GUI

Design and control how input is requested for each task through the Input GUI.

Import Pulse Libraries to Script

Directly import Pulse API Libraries to your script in Script Editor.

Manage the Input GUI

For scenarios when a task requires multiple inputs, authors can now organize and add structure to the dialog to make it clearer and more intuitive for the analyst. The design and structure of the dialog can be managed by adding tabs, groups, and reorganizing variables in the Input GUI Tab in Edit Task dialog.

Figure 1. Input GUI: Before Structure is Added	Figure 2. Input GUI: After Structure is Added

Control Visibility and Dynamic Dialogs

The visibility of layouts and variables can be controlled automatically through Active Condition. This action can be used to create dynamic dialogs. In the example below, the variable Action determines what will be shown in the dialog. If an analyst were to change Action to Cylinder, the dialog will update and show all variables belonging to the Cylinder Layout.

Figure 3. Input GUI: Dynamic Dialog	Figure 4. Input GUI: Dynamic Dialog

Import Pulse Libraries to Script

It is now possible to import the required Pulse Libraries to your script directly through the Pulse Script Editor. Supported for: Python, OML, TCL, and LUA.

Figure 5. Import Pulse Libraries

The following known issues will be addressed in a future release as we continuously improve performance of the software:

• Pulse is not supported on Linux in this release.
• Undo/Redo operations are currently not supported.
• Loops are currently not supported even though Block diagram allows for creation of them.
• If Project and Study names are changed in Pulse, the respective Directory names are only updated at Save As.
• Block Diagram known issues:
  • The Block Diagram is intermittently not updated properly. To restore the proper display, save the session and reload.
  • Navigating between studies through the window decoration in block diagram is intermittently working.
  • For HD graphic cards or monitors, the icon inside the block is displayed off-set of the block.

Analyst & Author View

Introducing separate views for two main user profiles of Pulse: Author and Analyst.

Organize and Compare through Project and Studies

Organize, package, and share Projects and compare Design iteration or load scenarios through studies.

Assisted Data Flow Management

Create and reuse modularized tasks and solutions easily with improved dataflow management and variable mapping.

Dataflow Traceability and Control

Control and monitor dataflow, requirements, and KPIs.

Script Editor

Review and Edit application scripts with Pulse native Script editor.

Analyst and Author View

Introducing separate views for different user profiles of Pulse.

• Author: Transform complex, manual or semi-automatic workflows into streamlined processes.
• Analyst: Execute an existing process to solve a real-world engineering problem.

There are limited edit capabilities in Analyst view. As an example, Author can define what type of properties should belong to a project, while the Analyst can modify or review the values if the Author has designed it that way. It is the responsibility of the Author do define an intuitive process for the Analyst.

Figure 6. Example Differences Between Author and Analyst Mode

Organize and Compare Through Project and Studies

Organize all necessary studies within one project. Each study can be of different or same nature, how it’s defined depend on the objective within each project. Some examples include:

• For easy iteration management, Duplicate a study, modify variables and rerun.
• Create a project with one study for each investigation required to evaluate all requirements of a product.

Figure 7. Example of a Project and Study Setup

The Author can define project and study properties for the Analyst to review or fill out. See Figure 6.

Assisted Dataflow Management

Various improvements have been made to dataflow management to aid the Author in definition of modularized tasks and to minimize efforts on definition of UI to request for required inputs.

• Variables: All input and output to a task, files as well as scalars, are now managed through Variables and should be assigned to the tasks in which they are required. In a true modularized process, all tasks should be able to run on their own.
• GUI Description: All Variables which originates from user input will, on definition, get assigned a GUI Description. The GUI description defines how, through what type of widget, the user will be requested to provide input for that specific variable in the User input dialog at execution of the task.

  
  
  Figure 8.

• Mapping of Variables: Dataflow between tasks is achieved by mapping input and output variables. This is managed through the Link Editor or Variable Browser.

  
  
  Figure 9. Mapping of Output to Input using Link Editor

• Variable Browser: Introducing the Variable Browser to manage and review the dataflow as well as editing variable values. Study variables, scalar as well as files, can be created and assigned to tasks.

  
  
  Figure 10. Use Variable Browser to Manage and Review Variable Relationship and Values

Dataflow Traceability and Control

To aid Authors in debugging and allowing Analysts to control and monitor requirements and KPIs more easily, we have introduced capabilities to review the value of variables at each point in a process. This is available both in setup mode and runtime. While executing, you can easily probe each step and track the evolution of a variable value over the entire process.

Figure 11. Review and Track Evolution of Variable Values

Script Editor

Review and edit scripts directly in Pulse through the default Pulse Script Editor or change to an Editor of choice in preferences.

Figure 12. Edit and Review Scripts

Pause & Restart Process

Authors can now save time on debugging because it is no longer necessary to rerun an entire process from start to finish when a step fails. You can now modify the failed step and restart from there. Analysts can pause and save a project mid process, continue the next day, or even package and share a project with a colleague who can pick up from the paused point.

Explore Library, Current Study, and Run Directories.

Access files and data from either the library or in the current working directory directly from within Pulse.

Variable APIs

APIs to query and define Pulse variable data from within an application script have been improved and adapted to new Variable enhancements. New APIs exists for all supported script languages.

The following known issues will be addressed in a future release as we continuously improve performance of the software:

• Pulse is not supported on Linux in this release.
• Undo/Redo operations is currently not supported.
• Loops are currently not supported even though Block diagram allows for creation of them.
• If Project and Study names are changed in Pulse the respective Directory names are only updated at Save As.
• Pulse User API for Python is not working properly for Python.
• Block Diagram issues:
  • The Block Diagram is intermittently not updated properly. To restore the proper display, save the session and reload.
  • Navigating between studies through the window decoration in block diagram is intermittently working.
  • For HD graphic cards or monitors, the icon inside the block is displayed off-set of the block.

• Process Variables and dataflow: All reported issues related to process variables and dataflow have been solved by the introduction of the new Variables.
• Run Activate, Inspire, and Compose Tasks: Issues with executing Activate, Inspire, and Compose task have been resolved. No need to modify application definition.
• Proper execution of Launch Tasks: Launch tasks utilizing an application which is launched through a .bat script is now not causing the task to fail.