Storage System Slot Label Data Type - Assign as string data instead of number?

[luke_l2]

[ FlexSim 20.1.0 ]

Would like to use paint slot labels tool to identify location names in pallet racking to create existing warehouse layout. Preferred over addressing scheme, because difficult to make my facility's existing warehousing location naming scheme work with flexsim addressing tool.

When creating slot labels for storage system, do not see the option to change/assign data type to a string from a number. All of the location names I'm dealing with from an existing db are strings i.e. D0014L, C0077R - Format: X0000Z is X = Aisle, 0000 is even/odd to depict which side of aisle the location is on and Z is either L or R to dictate if the pallet is in the left/right slot of the bay - bays in our WH are 2 pallets/slots wide. Currently, as a workaround, I've arbitrarily assigned numerical IDs to each Location name string in a global table and am painting slots using the ID # instead of the location string itself. It would be much easier to paint the slots using the location strings, but I haven't been able to find if the paint slot label tool works with labels of data types other than numerical. Please let me know if I need to provide more info and/or if it's possible to paint slot labels with string data. Thanks!

[regan_blackett · Accepted solution]

Hi @Luke L2,

Strings can be used as slot label values by putting quotation marks around the text string:

[luke_l2]

Thanks for the reply @Regan Blackett! So I got that far on my own and thought I was doing something wrong because FlexSim wasn’t accepting my entered string values within quotations.

I started by adding the label “Location” under the slot labels tab of the storage system properties and created my own color palette with some test strings to use with the slot label painter. When selecting the values dropdown in the slot label painter quick props, everything looks good with just the strings I created in my color palette showing up. When I try selecting any of the string values, flexsim doesn’t use the correct color for that string and creates a value of 0 with color black in the color palette on its own. At this point, regardless of which string I select in the dropdown, they all get the color black and don’t work as intended. That was why I originally thought the slot label painter would only work with numerical data labels. Now knowing that strings should work with the slot label painter, I’m not sure what I might be missing or if there’s an issue with the slot label painter tool itself. Appreciate your help thus far!

[luke_l2]

Quick follow-up - so I tried typing strings in directly to the value field as opposed to creating color palettes with strings loaded from global tables. The method I was trying would've saved me the time of manually keying in every location name string when painting slot labels, but typing them manually does work. Still not sure what exactly was wrong with using color pallets, but I should still be able to do what I need to - just with a little more keying.

[benjamin_w2]

Hi @Luke L2, It looks like your images didn't upload. Sometimes this forum will delete the pictures if you edit your post. Could you re-upload them?

[luke_l2]

Hi @Benjamin W2, thanks for the heads up - hopefully this works. I can still see images from original response, so I wasn't aware.

[benjamin_w2]

@Luke L2, Yeah, they are still loaded in your cache. We can't see the one's you just posted either. If you delete your cookies (ctl+shift+delete) you will see that they didn't show up.

So far, this usually happens whenever you edit a post.

[luke_l2]

@Benjamin W2 Interesting, I just cleared my cache and I couldn't see the images. Once I logged back into my flexsim account, I can see them again. Not sure why that is. Speaking of clearing stored items - in flexsim is there a way to clear all created storage slot labels and associated stored values/colors? I tried the manual typing of the string into the values field of the slot painter that @Regan Blackett suggested and it works for new strings that aren't strings I was using when testing with the color palette. I tried deleting labels from the slot labels tab of the storage system properties window and the deleted slot label still shows up as an option in the label dropdown of the storage slot label painter quick properties. Basically would like to hit the reset button on all things slot label related and start fresh with manually entering the strings to the value field of the slot label painter.

[luke_l2]

Trying to upload as files rather than using insert image option.

StorageSystem.JPG

PaintSlots.JPG

FlexSim 2020 - Norplas Current WH Modeling.fsm 5_21_2020 7_45_42 AM.png

FlexSim 2020 - Norplas Current WH Modeling.fsm 5_21_2020 7_46_07 AM.png

[joerg_vogel_HsH]

@Luke L2,

There are some steps in the right order essentially.

• Create a color palette. Set the name of a color equal to the string you will later assign. Choose a color.
• Open the Storage System in Toolbox
• Add a label in Slot Labels, set a name for the label and choose a color palette of the right values you want to set.
• Reset model
• Activate Paint Slot Labels

Quick Properties: Storage Slot Label Painter

• choose a Label name from Picklist (small black down arrow)
• choose a Value from Picklist (small black down arrow)

paint slots in racks

my_label_values_by_my_color_palette_name.fsm

[luke_l2]

@Jörg Vogel Thank you! This method worked for me when creating all new string values to use in my color palette. I'm still getting this unusual error with the original string values that I used to try to set up the first attempt at a color palette. When I try selecting or typing in any of the original string values, flexsim doesn’t use the correct color for those strings and creates a value of 0 with color black in the color palette on its own. With none of the original string values working as intended with the slot painter tool. I feel like I may have ran into some bizarre glitch and am likely going to create a new model and follow your steps to slot label painting from the start.

[joerg_vogel_HsH]

You find your created color palettes in the model tree below tools node. If you open a color object with a mouse click on ">" icon on the highlighted object icon, then you can edit the names, the color components red, green, blue and transparent alpha chanel values in the range of [0..1]. The color mixing is additive.

The color called alpha is red in the color palette object "for_myID".

Before you can use any changed values of a color, you have to reset the model, then you can paint slots of a rack.

If you rename a color, then there will be the old color node still available. You see this only, if you reset the model.

You can delete a color node, but if slots are still painted by this color name, then this color gets default components assigned to and it is created anew at last node under the node "colorNodes" after a reset.

[joerg_vogel_HsH]

@Luke L2, the name of your colors is the problem. I can replicate the issue. The sequence of "000" is interpreted as number 0.00. And it is independend from the characters before or behind this sequence. If there is a Sequence of "00" then there have to be at least 2 characters which don't contain another zero. Even if you add other single characters than zeros between them doesn't make any difference, for example "0t0t0".@phil.bobo @anthony.johnson

[luke_l2]

Thanks @Jörg Vogel, really appreciate the detailed breakdown. I think I've pinpointed the issue after creating a new model and following your steps to slot painting via a custom pallet. I created my pallet off of existing warehouse location name data and think I've realized where the problem lies within flexsim itself. I was wondering if you, @Benjamin W2 or @Regan Blackett would be willing to try and recreate the scenario yourselves - shouldn't take too long to try. So I realized the problem with slot label painter lies in using string values with 3 or more 0's in the string, which just happened to be all of my original sample strings that I tried - "G0002L", "G0002R"... "G0010R". Whenever there are 3 or more zeros (they don't necessarily have to be in consecutive order) in a string entered into the slot label quick props value field, it seems to be treated as a numerical zero and assigned the color black instead of it’s actual assigned color from the color palette. I’ve walked through a bunch of different strings and it seems to be consistent.

Examples of strings that do work (2 or less 0’s):

“G0021R”

“G0105L”

“F0011L”

Examples of strings that don’t work (3 or more 0’s):

“G0002R”

“D0000L”

“B0010R”

Would you be willing to try this and see if you run into the same issue? Appreciate your help working through this!

[joerg_vogel_HsH]

hi @Luke L2, issue is confirmed. I found it myself 15 hours ago and wrote a comment above in this thread. I came to the same conclusion as you did. It has something to do with the amount of following zero characters in a name string. I had tested a bit more to identify which combination are causing this problem. Too many zero characters are interpreted in a string as value of 0.00. Then this color is created with a name of “0” and black is assigned. Sorry, you have to find it by your own, too. I mentioned this comment to Phil Bobo and Anthony Johnson. They will certainly look into this issue. And probably it is put under revision for next bug fix release. I think someone will describe this problem in an article, too. Regards Jörg

[luke_l2]

@Jörg Vogel Awesome, thanks for the confirmation. I enjoyed the troubleshooting process, so no worries. Thanks again for helping figure this one out!

[luke_l2]

@phil.bobo @anthony.johnson Any word on this issue and if it will be addressed in the next flexsim update? Thanks!

[anthony_johnsonT83CM]

We'll get this fixed in the next bug fix release