The database translation utility can be used to simplify the setup for complex analyses. This option can be accessed from the Tools
Options Database Translation command. The Database Translator dialog will appear.
Select the .asd file of the model for which you want to edit the database in the Model to Translate field. Press the Browse button to search your computer for the location. The .asd file is located in the design scenario folder located under the model.ds_data folder where the model was created. (See the page Setting Up and Performing the Analysis: File Extensions for an overview of the folder and file structure.)
Specify the original format of the database that you want to translate in the Original Format field. If you are translating this model from the original model you will want to set this drop-down box to Native Format - FoxPro Database (*.dbf). If you are translating this model from another format back into the native format, you will want to select the format you used to edit the database.
Select the type of format that you want the database translated into in the Output Format field. You can choose between Microsoft Access Database (97 or 2000) and Text Files. If you choose text files, the database will be translated into .csv files that can be opened in a spreadsheet program. If you have already edited the database, and you want to translate it back to the Autodesk Simulation native format, select Native Format - FoxPro Database (*.dbf).
You can specify when you want the translator to warn you about database replacement in the When to Warn drop-down box. If you select Whenever replacing, you will be warned every time you press the Translate button (except for the first time). If you select When replaced database is newer, you will be warned every time that you try to replace a newer database with an older one. If you select Never, you will never be warned and the existing files will always be overwritten.
When you have specified the desired settings, press the Translate button. A status dialog will appear telling you how many entries were converted in each database. If you translated the file into a Microsoft Access database, there will be a filename.mdb file in the location of the model. If you translated the file into text files, there will be five .csv files in the filename.mod subfolder of the directory where the model is located. These files are the text files that you can edit. The .csv files can be opened in Microsoft Excel as well as any spreadsheet program or text editor.
After you have made the necessary changes to the database, you must perform the translation again to translate the model back into the Native Format - FoxPro Database (*.dbf).