Not available in Source (public version)

This functionality is only available in the full version of Source. For further details on the difference between versions, please see our page About Source (public version)

Comparing scenarios

Source also has the capability of comparing two scenarios (both residing in either the same, or different projects) using the Source Difference tool. The goal of this tool is to compare similar scenarios, and is useful when several users are collaborating and making changes to a model. It allows them to view the exact changes made in a scenario.

Note: The Scenario Difference Tool can also be accessed in the absence of the Source user interface.

In Source, the Scenario Difference Tool is used as follows:

Choose Tools » Diff... to open the Scenario Diff dialog (Figure 8);
If you compare scenarios from the open project, these won't need to be loaded. Otherwise to load scenarios from other projects click Load project for Project 1 and Project 2 as required;
Click Find Differences;
This opens the Choose Scenario... dialog (Figure 7), where you choose a pair of scenarios from the Left and Right Scenario to compare and click on Find Differences which becomes activated only after the compared pair is successfully selected;
Once the comparison is complete, results are displayed in the bottom half of the Scenario Diff dialog; and
The dialog of Choose Scenario... (Figure 7) will continue to display until the Cancel button is clicked. Using the last two steps above, the user can compare alternative pairs of scenarios.

Based on the results, the panel on the left self-populates (Figure 8). Select an item in this list to view specific details on the right.

Figure 7. Choosing results display

Figure 8. Scenario Difference tool

The Scenario Difference Tool checks both model structure and values. If a dynamic value (such as a function or time series) is configured, the initial and final values may be different depending on the last run configuration of the models being compared. This does not necessarily indicate a structural difference.

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