Aimsun 8 Users Manual

May 2014
2005-2014 TSS-Transport Simulation Systems

About this Manual

In this document we summarise some of the key developments in
version 8 of the Aimsun environment and their application to your
modelling work.
Our aim is to keep you informed of any changes so that you can
continue to get the best from Aimsun. As always, please be aware
that product data is subject to change without notice.
Features labelled 'Fast Track' have been added after the Aimsun 8
Final Release and they are only available to users in possession of a
valid SUS.
TSS-Transport Simulation Systems has made every effort to ensure
that all the information contained within this manual is as accurate
as possible. It should be stressed however, that this is a draft
version of the latest Aimsun Users Manual and as such, some of the
contents may be subject to change.
As always, we welcome your feedback (support@aimsun.com) in our
continued improvement and addition of new features to Aimsun.

Copyright
Copyright 1992-2014 TSS-Transport Simulation Systems, S.L.
All rights reserved. TSS-Transport Simulation Systems products
contain certain trade secrets and confidential and proprietary
information of TSS-Transport Simulation Systems. Use of this
copyright notice is precautionary and does not imply publication or
disclosure.

Trademark
Aimsun is trademark of TSS-Transport Simulation Systems. S.L.
Other brand or product names are trademarks or registered
trademarks of their respective holders.

Draft

ABOUT THIS MANUAL ........................................................................................... 2

COPYRIGHT ..................................................................................................... 2
TRADEMARK .................................................................................................... 2
1

INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................ 12
1.1
THE AIMSUN ENVIRONMENT......................................................................... 12
1.2
AIMSUN EXTENSION AND THE SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT KIT ........................................ 13
1.2.1 Example ....................................................................................... 13

NEW FEATURES ....................................................................................... 15

2.1

AIMSUN 8........................................................................................... 15

AIMSUN FILES .......................................................................................... 16

AIMSUN GRAPHICAL USER INTERFACE ........................................................... 17

4.1
THE WELCOME WINDOW ........................................................................... 17
4.2
THE APPLICATION WINDOW ........................................................................ 18
4.2.1 The Menu bar ................................................................................ 18
4.2.2 Task tool bar area .......................................................................... 18
4.2.3 2D Views Toolbars .......................................................................... 19
4.2.4 Windows ...................................................................................... 20
4.3
GRAPHICAL VIEWS .................................................................................. 22
4.4
CONTEXT MENU .................................................................................... 22
4.5
DIRECT MANIPULATION ............................................................................. 23
4.6
UNDO AND REDO ................................................................................... 23
4.7
COPY AND PASTE ................................................................................... 24
4.7.1 Graphical Objects ........................................................................... 24
4.7.2 Paste Context ................................................................................ 24
4.7.3 Drag and Drop ............................................................................... 24
4.7.4 Group/Ungroup .............................................................................. 25
4.7.5 Copy Snapshot ............................................................................... 25

AIMSUN CUSTOMIZATION............................................................................ 26
5.1
MODELS ............................................................................................ 26
5.2
PREFERENCES....................................................................................... 26
5.2.1 Preferences Editor .......................................................................... 26
5.3
TEMPLATES ......................................................................................... 30
5.4
AIMSUN PROJECT ................................................................................... 31
5.4.1 Aimsun Project properties ................................................................ 31
5.5
COMMAND LINE OPTIONS ............................................................................ 35

NETWORK ELEMENTS ................................................................................ 37

6.1
SECTIONS ........................................................................................... 37
6.1.1 Main and side lanes ......................................................................... 37
6.1.2 Lane identification ......................................................................... 38
6.1.3 Geometry specification .................................................................... 38
6.1.4 Reserved lanes............................................................................... 38
6.2
DETECTORS......................................................................................... 38
6.3
METERINGS ......................................................................................... 39
6.4
VARIABLE MESSAGE SIGNS (VMS'S) ................................................................. 41
6.5
NODES.............................................................................................. 41
6.5.1 Join nodes .................................................................................... 42
6.5.2 Junctions ..................................................................................... 42
6.5.3 Turns .......................................................................................... 42
6.5.4 Give-way and stop .......................................................................... 43
6.5.5 Stop Lines .................................................................................... 43
6.5.6 Signal groups ................................................................................. 43
6.6
PEDESTRIAN CROSSINGS ............................................................................ 44
6.7
CONTROLLERS ...................................................................................... 44
6.8
PUBLIC TRANSPORT STOPS ......................................................................... 44

Draft

6.9
6.10
6.11
6.12
6.13
6.14
6.15
6.16
6.17
6.18
6.19
6.20
6.21
6.22
7

PUBLIC TRANSPORT STATIONS ...................................................................... 44

PUBLIC TRANSPORT SECTIONS ...................................................................... 44
VEHICLE TYPES ..................................................................................... 45
CAMERAS ........................................................................................... 45
TEXTS, POLYGONS, POLYLINES AND 3D IMAGES .................................................... 45
CENTROIDS ......................................................................................... 45
CONTROL PLANS .................................................................................... 45
TRAFFIC STATES .................................................................................... 46
O/D MATRICES ..................................................................................... 46
O/D ROUTES ....................................................................................... 46
PUBLIC TRANSPORT LINES AND PUBLIC TRANSPORT PLANS.......................................... 46
SUBPATHS .......................................................................................... 47
SCENARIOS, EXPERIMENTS AND REPLICATIONS ...................................................... 47
SUBNETWORKS...................................................................................... 48

NETWORK EDITING ................................................................................... 49

7.1
VIEW NAVIGATION .................................................................................. 49
7.1.1 Bookmarks .................................................................................... 49
7.2
THE MOUSE ........................................................................................ 53
7.3
EDITING TOOLS ..................................................................................... 54
7.3.1 Continuous mode ............................................................................ 54
7.3.2 Keyboard Shortcuts ......................................................................... 54
7.4
COMMON OPERATIONS .............................................................................. 54
7.5
MARKS IN EDITORS.................................................................................. 55
7.6
LAYERS ............................................................................................. 55
7.6.1 Layers window ............................................................................... 56
7.6.2 Working with Layers ........................................................................ 56
7.6.3 Active Layer .................................................................................. 56
7.6.4 Layer Settings ............................................................................... 57
7.6.5 Layer editor .................................................................................. 57
7.6.6 Retrieving external layers................................................................. 58
7.6.7 Layer Level and Arrange Objects ........................................................ 58
7.6.8 Fast Objects Editing in a Layer ........................................................... 59
7.6.9 Filtering layers in the Layers window ................................................... 59
7.7
THE SELECTION TOOL .............................................................................. 60
7.7.1 Other Ways to Select ....................................................................... 61
7.7.2 Object Editor ................................................................................ 61
7.7.3 Translation ................................................................................... 61
7.7.4 Altitude Editing ............................................................................. 62
7.7.5 Direct Manipulation ........................................................................ 62
7.8
ROTATION TOOL.................................................................................... 62
7.9
PAN AND ZOOM TOOLS ............................................................................. 63
7.10
CAMERA ROTATION TOOL........................................................................... 64

NETWORK BACKGROUNDS .......................................................................... 65

8.1
IMPORTING ......................................................................................... 65
8.2
RETRIEVING ........................................................................................ 67
8.2.1 Automatic Retrieve ......................................................................... 67
8.2.2 Manual Retrieve ............................................................................. 67
8.3
PLACEMENT AND SCALE ............................................................................. 67
8.3.1 Placement .................................................................................... 68
8.3.2 Scale ........................................................................................... 68
8.3.3 Using the Positioner tab ................................................................... 69

LINE AND POLYGON EDITING ....................................................................... 72

9.1
LINE GRAPHICAL EDITING ........................................................................... 72
9.2
LINE TOOLS ........................................................................................ 74
9.2.1 New Straight Vertex Tool ................................................................. 74
9.2.2 New Curve Vertex Tool .................................................................... 74
9.2.3 Cut Tool ...................................................................................... 75

Draft

9.3
9.4
9.5
9.6
9.7
10

POLYLINE EDITOR .................................................................................. 76

EXTRUDED POLYLINE EDITOR ....................................................................... 76
POLYGON GRAPHICAL EDITING ..................................................................... 78
POLYGON EDITOR .................................................................................. 79
EXTRUDED POLYGON EDITOR ....................................................................... 81

SECTION EDITING ..................................................................................... 84

10.1
GRAPHICAL EDITING ................................................................................ 84
10.1.1 Section Segments ........................................................................... 85
10.2
SECTION EDITOR.................................................................................... 86
10.2.1 Name and External ID ...................................................................... 87
10.2.2 Road Type, Maximum Speed and Capacity ............................................. 88
10.2.3 Altitude ....................................................................................... 88
10.2.4 Dynamic models data....................................................................... 89
10.2.5 Static models data .......................................................................... 90
10.2.6 Lanes .......................................................................................... 90
10.3
SOLID LINES ........................................................................................ 93
10.4
LANE TYPES AND RESERVED LANES ................................................................. 94
10.4.1 Lane Reservation ............................................................................ 95
10.5
ROAD TYPES ........................................................................................ 96
10.5.1 Road Type Editor ............................................................................ 96
10.5.2 Default Road Type .......................................................................... 99
10.6
ADVANCED SECTION EDITING ....................................................................... 99
10.6.1 Section Altitude Editing .................................................................. 100
10.6.2 Cutting Sections in Two................................................................... 100
10.6.3 Joining Sections ............................................................................ 101

11

SECTION OBJECTS EDITING ....................................................................... 103

11.1
11.2
11.3
11.4
11.5
11.6
11.7
11.8
11.9

12

DETECTOR GRAPHICAL EDITING ................................................................... 103

DETECTOR EDITOR ................................................................................ 104
METERING GRAPHICAL EDITING .................................................................... 104
METERING EDITOR ................................................................................. 105
VMS GRAPHICAL EDITING ......................................................................... 106
VMS EDITOR ...................................................................................... 107
PUBLIC TRANSPORT STOP GRAPHICAL EDITING .................................................... 108
PUBLIC TRANSPORT STOP EDITOR.................................................................. 109
PEDESTRIAN CROSSING GRAPHICAL EDITING ....................................................... 112

NODE EDITING ....................................................................................... 114

12.1
NODE GRAPHICAL EDITING ........................................................................ 114
12.2
NODE EDITOR ..................................................................................... 114
12.2.1 Main Folder ................................................................................. 114
12.2.2 Turns ......................................................................................... 115
12.2.3 Note for Aimsun Micro and Meso Users ................................................ 121
12.2.4 Signal Groups folder ....................................................................... 122
12.2.5 Give way folder ............................................................................ 123
12.3
ROUNDABOUT CREATION ........................................................................... 124
12.3.1 Changing the number of lanes ........................................................... 126
12.4
SUPERNODES ...................................................................................... 126

13

CENTROIDS AND CENTROIDS CONFIGURATION EDITING .................................... 129

13.1
CENTROIDS CONFIGURATION ....................................................................... 129
13.1.1 Active Centroids Configuration ......................................................... 129
13.1.2 Centroids Configuration Editing ........................................................ 130
13.2
CENTROID MANIPULATION ......................................................................... 130
13.3
CENTROID EDITOR ................................................................................. 131
13.3.1 Connection Editing......................................................................... 133
13.3.2 Trips .......................................................................................... 134
13.3.3 O/D Routes .................................................................................. 134

Draft

14

O/D ROUTE EDITING ................................................................................ 136

14.1

O/D ROUTE EDITOR............................................................................... 136

15

SUBNETWORK EDITING ............................................................................ 138

16

NON-GRAPHICAL DATA EDITING ................................................................. 142

17 USER CLASSES, TRANSPORTATION MODES, TRIP PURPOSES, VEHICLE TYPES AND

VEHICLE CLASSES EDITING .............................................................................. 144
17.1
17.2
17.3
17.4
17.5
18

VEHICLE TYPE EDITOR ............................................................................. 144

VEHICLE CLASSES .................................................................................. 146
TRANSPORTATION MODES.......................................................................... 147
TRIP PURPOSES .................................................................................... 147
USER CLASSES ..................................................................................... 147

TRAFFIC DEMAND ................................................................................... 149

18.1
EDITING ORDER.................................................................................... 149
18.2
O/D MATRIX EDITING ............................................................................. 149
18.2.1 O/D Matrix Editor .......................................................................... 149
18.3
TRAFFIC STATES EDITING .......................................................................... 160
18.3.1 Traffic state editor ........................................................................ 161
18.4
TRAFFIC DEMAND .................................................................................. 163
18.4.1 Traffic demand Editor .................................................................... 164

19

CONTROL PLANS .................................................................................... 168

19.1
EDITING ORDER.................................................................................... 168
19.2
CONTROL PLAN EDITING ........................................................................... 168
19.2.1 Control Plan editor ........................................................................ 168
19.2.2 Control Plan Editor for Nodes ........................................................... 169
19.2.3 Control Plan Editor for Meterings ...................................................... 174
19.3
MASTER CONTROL PLAN ........................................................................... 176

20

PUBLIC TRANSPORT ................................................................................ 179

20.1
PUBLIC TRANSPORT LINE .......................................................................... 179
20.1.1 Public Transport Route ................................................................... 179
20.1.2 Public Transport Stops .................................................................... 179
20.1.3 Timetables and Schedules ................................................................ 180
20.1.4 Reserved Public Transport Lanes ....................................................... 180
20.2
PUBLIC TRANSPORT LINE EDITOR .................................................................. 180
20.2.1 Main folder .................................................................................. 181
20.2.2 Timetables folder .......................................................................... 182
20.2.3 Static Model folder ........................................................................ 185
20.2.4 Public Transport Sections folder ........................................................ 185
20.2.5 Public Transport Assignment Outputs folder ......................................... 186
20.3
PUBLIC TRANSPORT PLAN ......................................................................... 186
20.4
PUBLIC TRANSPORT PLAN EDITOR ................................................................. 187
20.4.1 Graphical Timetable ...................................................................... 187

21

SUBPATHS ............................................................................................ 188

21.1
SUBPATH EDITOR .................................................................................. 188
21.1.1 Editing a Subpath .......................................................................... 189

22

FUNCTIONS .......................................................................................... 190

22.1
22.2
22.3
22.4
22.5
22.6
22.7

Draft

BASIC COST FUNCTIONS / COST FUNCTIONS USING VEHICLE TYPES ................................. 190
K-INITIALS COST FUNCTIONS / K-INITIALS COST FUNCTIONS USING VEHICLE TYPES ............... 191
ROUTE CHOICE FUNCTIONS ........................................................................ 192
MACRO VOLUME DELAY FUNCTIONS ............................................................... 193
MACRO TURN PENALTY FUNCTIONS ................................................................ 195
MACRO JUNCTION DELAY FUNCTIONS.............................................................. 196
MACRO FUNCTION COMPONENTS .................................................................. 197

22.8
22.9
22.10
22.11
22.12
22.13
22.14
22.15
23

STOCHASTIC UTILITY FUNCTIONS .................................................................. 198

DISTRIBUTION + MODAL SPLIT FUNCTIONS ......................................................... 198
PUBLIC TRANSPORT WAITING TIME FUNCTIONS .................................................... 199
PUBLIC TRANSPORT DELAY FUNCTIONS ............................................................ 200
PUBLIC TRANSPORT TRANSFER PENALTY FUNCTIONS .............................................. 200
PUBLIC TRANSPORT BOARDING FUNCTIONS ........................................................ 201
ADJUSTMENT WEIGHT FUNCTIONS ................................................................. 201
FUNCTION EDITOR ................................................................................. 202

GROUPING CATEGORIES ........................................................................... 204

23.1
GROUPING......................................................................................... 204
23.1.1 Grouping Object Selection ............................................................... 205
23.1.2 Grouping Statistics ........................................................................ 206

24

NETWORK ATTRIBUTE OVERRIDES .............................................................. 207

24.1

25

CONNECTION TOOL ................................................................................ 209

25.1
25.2

26

APPLYING THE OVERRIDES ......................................................................... 207

CONNECTION TOOL TO CREATE CONNECTIONS...................................................... 209
CONNECTION TOOL TO CREATE TURNS ............................................................. 209

FIND ................................................................................................... 211

26.1
WORKING WITH SEARCH RESULTS.................................................................. 212
26.1.1 Refining a Search .......................................................................... 212
26.1.2 Result Selection ............................................................................ 212
26.1.3 Use of the Context Menu ................................................................. 212

27

TABLE VIEW .......................................................................................... 213

27.1
27.2
27.3
27.4
27.5

28

THE DATA VIEW ................................................................................... 214

THE SUMMARY VIEW ............................................................................... 214
FILTERING ......................................................................................... 214
COLUMN VISIBILITY ................................................................................ 215
CONFIGURATIONS .................................................................................. 215

INSPECTOR WINDOW ............................................................................... 216

28.1
28.2
28.3

MAIN VIEW ........................................................................................ 216

MULTIPLE SELECTION EDITING ..................................................................... 217
TIME SERIES ....................................................................................... 217

29

DYNAMIC LABELS ................................................................................... 218

30

PRINTING ............................................................................................. 221

30.1
DIRECT PRINT ..................................................................................... 221
30.1.1 PRINT PREVIEW.................................................................................... 221
30.1.2 EXPORT TO PDF ................................................................................... 222
30.2
PRINT LAYOUT [FAST TRACK: JULY 2013] ........................................................ 222
30.2.1 CREATION ......................................................................................... 222
30.2.2 WIZARD ........................................................................................... 222
30.2.2.1
Page Settings section ............................................................... 223
30.2.2.2
Layout Composition section ....................................................... 223
30.2.3 EDITOR ............................................................................................ 224
30.2.3.1
Configuring the elements .......................................................... 225
30.2.3.2
Adding and removing elements ................................................... 227
30.2.3.3
Configure the page format ........................................................ 227
30.2.3.4
Exporting the Print Layout ........................................................ 227

31

COLOUR RAMPS ..................................................................................... 228

32

MODES AND STYLES IN 2D VIEWS ............................................................... 230

32.1
32.2

Draft

VIEW STYLES ...................................................................................... 230

VIEW MODES ...................................................................................... 232

32.3
EXAMPLES ......................................................................................... 233
32.4
WIZARDS .......................................................................................... 238
32.4.1 View Style Wizard ......................................................................... 238
32.4.2 View Mode Wizard ......................................................................... 239
33

STATIC SHORTEST PATH .......................................................................... 241

34

CHECK AND FIX NETWORK ERRORS ............................................................. 242

35

TIME SERIES .......................................................................................... 245

35.1
TIME SERIES FOR A SINGLE OBJECT ................................................................ 245
35.2
TIME SERIES FOR MULTIPLE OBJECTS .............................................................. 247
35.2.1 Adding Time Series ........................................................................ 248
35.2.2 Removing Time Series ..................................................................... 248
35.2.3 Available Actions........................................................................... 249
35.2.4 Available Options .......................................................................... 249
35.3
COPYING DATA TO THE CLIPBOARD ................................................................ 249

36

EXTERNAL DATA .................................................................................... 251

36.1
REAL DATA SETS .................................................................................. 251
36.1.1 Real Data Set Creation .................................................................... 251
36.1.2 Real Data Set Filters ...................................................................... 252
36.1.3 Simple File Reader ......................................................................... 252
36.1.4 Retrieving Real Data ...................................................................... 256

37

PATH ANALYSIS TOOL ............................................................................. 257

37.1
PATH ANALYSIS .................................................................................... 257
37.1.1 Path Assignment ........................................................................... 257
37.1.2 Path Statistics .............................................................................. 262
37.1.3 En-Route Path Assignment Information ................................................ 264

38

SUPPORT FOR MULTI-NETWORK PROJECTS .................................................. 266

38.1
REVISIONS ......................................................................................... 266
38.1.1 New Revision ................................................................................ 266
38.1.2 Consolidate Revision ...................................................................... 268
38.2
MULTI-MODEL ..................................................................................... 268

39

COLUMNS ............................................................................................. 269

40

ADVANCED AIMSUN 3D ............................................................................ 270

40.1
3D INFO WINDOW ................................................................................. 270
40.1.1 Vehicles folder ............................................................................. 270
40.1.2 Shapes folder ............................................................................... 271
40.1.3 Textures folder ............................................................................. 272
40.2
VEHICLE'S 3D SHAPE EDITOR ...................................................................... 273
40.2.1 Colour definition ........................................................................... 274
40.2.2 Vehicle Shape rotations .................................................................. 274
40.2.3 Vehicle Shape dimensions ................................................................ 275
40.2.4 Camera displacement ..................................................................... 275
40.2.5 Shape animation ........................................................................... 276
40.3
VEHICLE EDITORS 3D SHAPES FOLDER............................................................. 277
40.3.1 Non-articulated vehicles ................................................................. 278
40.3.2 Articulated vehicles ....................................................................... 278
40.4
3D SHAPE EDITOR ................................................................................. 279
40.5
3D SHAPE OBJECTS ............................................................................... 280
40.6
3D SHAPE OBJECT EDITOR ........................................................................ 282
40.7
TEXTURE EDITOR .................................................................................. 282
40.8
3D IMAGES ........................................................................................ 283
40.8.1 3D Image Editor ............................................................................ 284
40.9
CAMERAS .......................................................................................... 285
40.9.1 Camera Editor .............................................................................. 286

Draft

40.9.2 Camera commands ......................................................................... 287

40.9.3 Default cameras ............................................................................ 287
40.9.4 Camera Routes ............................................................................. 287
40.10 SELECTED OBJECTS IN 3D VIEWS ................................................................... 288
40.11 NAVIGATION IN 3D VIEWS.......................................................................... 288
40.11.1 Selection tool ............................................................................... 288
40.11.2 Pan tool ...................................................................................... 289
40.11.3 Camera rotation tool ...................................................................... 289
40.11.4 Moving and rotating using the keyboard .............................................. 290
41

QUICK REFERENCE GUIDE TO AIMSUN COMMANDS .......................................... 291

41.1
MENU COMMANDS .................................................................................. 291
41.1.1 File Menu .................................................................................... 291
41.1.2 Edit Menu .................................................................................... 291
41.1.3 View Menu ................................................................................... 292
41.1.4 Arrange Menu ............................................................................... 293
41.1.5 Project Menu................................................................................ 293
41.1.6 Tools Menu .................................................................................. 293
41.1.7 Data Analysis Menu ........................................................................ 294
41.1.8 Bookmarks Menu ........................................................................... 294
41.1.9 Window Menu ............................................................................... 294
41.1.10 Help Menu ................................................................................... 294
41.2
GRAPHICAL OBJECTS CONTEXT MENUS ............................................................ 295
41.2.1 Polyline ...................................................................................... 295
41.2.2 Bezier Curve ................................................................................ 296
41.2.3 Polygon ...................................................................................... 296
41.2.4 Section ....................................................................................... 296
41.2.5 Node .......................................................................................... 296
41.2.6 Centroid ..................................................................................... 297
41.2.7 Controller ................................................................................... 297
41.2.8 Subnetwork ................................................................................. 297
41.3
NON GRAPHICAL OBJECTS CONTEXT MENUS ....................................................... 297
41.3.1 Road Type ................................................................................... 298
41.3.2 Centroid Configuration ................................................................... 298
41.3.3 Dynamic Scenario .......................................................................... 298
41.3.4 Dynamic Experiment ...................................................................... 298
41.3.5 Replication .................................................................................. 298
41.3.6 Average ...................................................................................... 299
41.3.7 Public Transport Line ..................................................................... 299
41.3.8 Strategy ...................................................................................... 299
41.3.9 Policy ......................................................................................... 299
41.3.10 Traffic Condition ........................................................................... 299
41.3.11 Python Script ............................................................................... 300
41.3.12 Real Data Set ............................................................................... 300
41.3.13 Grouping Category ......................................................................... 300
41.4
LAYER CONTEXT MENU ............................................................................. 300
41.5
LEGEND CONTEXT MENU ........................................................................... 301
41.6
LOG WINDOW CONTEXT MENU ..................................................................... 301
41.7
PROJECT FOLDERS CONTEXT MENUS ............................................................... 301
41.8
HOTKEYS LIST ..................................................................................... 301

42

AIMSUN SCRIPTING ................................................................................. 303

42.1
SCRIPTING ......................................................................................... 303
42.1.1 Creating a Python Script .................................................................. 303
42.1.2 Executing Scripts ........................................................................... 304

43

GIS IMPORTER/EXPORTER ......................................................................... 306

43.1
GIS IMPORTER ..................................................................................... 306
43.1.1 Importing in the Aimsun file ............................................................. 306
43.1.2 Importing as an External Layer .......................................................... 306

Draft

43.2
SHAPEFILE INTRODUCTION ......................................................................... 307
43.3
GIS FILE UNITS.................................................................................... 307
43.4
DATA REQUIREMENTS .............................................................................. 308
43.5
NETWORK CREATION .............................................................................. 308
43.5.1 Customization Services ................................................................... 308
43.6
IMPORTING A GIS FILE............................................................................. 308
43.7
NETWORK IMPORTER .............................................................................. 310
43.7.1 Road Types .................................................................................. 310
43.8
HOW THE NETWORK IMPORTER WORKS ............................................................ 311
43.8.1 Section Creation ........................................................................... 312
43.8.2 Node Creation .............................................................................. 314
43.8.3 Centroid Creation .......................................................................... 317
43.9
NAVTEQ IMPORTER ................................................................................ 317
43.10 CENTROID, VMS, DETECTOR AND BUILDING IMPORTER ............................................ 318
43.11 EXPORTING AN AIMSUN NETWORK TO SHAPEFILES .................................................. 318
43.11.1 Sections file ................................................................................. 319
43.11.1.1
Sections geo file ..................................................................... 319
43.11.2 Nodes file.................................................................................... 320
43.11.3 Turns file .................................................................................... 320
43.11.4 VMSs file ..................................................................................... 321
43.11.5 Meterings file ............................................................................... 321
43.11.6 Detectors file ............................................................................... 321
43.11.7 Centroids file ............................................................................... 321
43.11.8 Centroid connections file................................................................. 322
43.11.9 Public transport stops file ............................................................... 322
43.11.10
Labels file ............................................................................ 323
43.11.11
Polygons file.......................................................................... 323
43.12 TYPES AND OBJECTS IN AIMSUN ................................................................... 323
43.12.1 Incompatible Types ........................................................................ 324
44

OPENSTREETMAP IMPORTER ..................................................................... 325

44.1
44.2
44.3
44.4

45

TRANSCAD IMPORTER .............................................................................. 329

45.1

46

IMPORTING TRANSCAD GEOMETRY ................................................................ 329

CUBE IMPORTER .................................................................................... 330

46.1
46.2

47

IMPORT FROM TEMPLATE ........................................................................... 325

IMPORT FROM MENU ............................................................................... 327
OSM 3D IMPORTATION [FAST TRACK: NOVEMBER 2013]......................................... 328
OSM LICENSING ................................................................................... 328

IMPORTING CUBE GEOMETRY ..................................................................... 330

IMPORTING CUBE MATRICES ....................................................................... 330

CONTRAM IMPORTER ............................................................................... 331

47.1
IMPORTATION FROM CONTRAM TO AIMSUN ....................................................... 331
47.1.1 Importing a network from CONTRAM .................................................. 331
47.1.2 Importing CONTRAM simulation results ............................................... 332
47.2
RELATION BETWEEN CONTRAM AND AIMSUN OBJECTS ............................................ 333
47.2.1 Translation a CONTRAM network to an Aimsun network ........................... 333
47.2.2 Vehicle Types ............................................................................... 334
47.2.3 CONTRAM Maximum Speed ............................................................... 334
47.2.4 O/D matrices ............................................................................... 334
47.2.5 Control Plans ............................................................................... 334
47.2.6 Turn Closures ............................................................................... 334

48

PARAMICS IMPORTER .............................................................................. 335

48.1
IMPORTATION FROM PARAMICS TO AIMSUN ......................................................... 335
48.1.1 Importing a network from Paramics .................................................... 335
48.2
RELATION BETWEEN PARAMICS AND AIMSUN OBJECTS .............................................. 337
48.2.1 Nodes and centroids translation ........................................................ 337

Draft

10

48.2.2
48.2.3
48.2.4
48.2.5
48.2.6
48.2.7
48.2.8
49

Links translation ........................................................................... 339

Turns definition ............................................................................ 342
Priorities and Control Plans .............................................................. 343
Vehicles ...................................................................................... 344
O/D matrices ............................................................................... 344
Public Transport Lines .................................................................... 346
Detectors, Beacons (VMS) and Annotations ........................................... 347

VISSIM IMPORTER ................................................................................... 348

49.1
IMPORTATION FROM VISSIM TO AIMSUN ............................................................ 348
49.1.1 Importing a network from Vissim ....................................................... 349
49.2
RELATION BETWEEN VISSIM AND AIMSUN OBJECTS ................................................. 349
49.2.1 Vissim Links and Aimsun Sections ....................................................... 349
49.2.2 Vissim Parking Lots and Aimsun Centroids ............................................ 350
49.2.3 Aimsun Nodes ............................................................................... 350
49.2.4 Control Plans ............................................................................... 352
49.2.5 Vissim Matrices and Aimsun O/D matrices ............................................ 353
49.2.6 Vissim Vehicle Types ...................................................................... 353
49.2.7 Vissim Public Transport ................................................................... 353

50

VISUM IMPORTER ................................................................................... 354

50.1
50.2

51

ROAD XML IMPORTER .............................................................................. 356

51.1

52

SYNCHRO IMPORTER ............................................................................... 358

IMPORTING THE SIGNAL INFORMATION.............................................................. 359
IMPORTING THE WHOLE MODEL .................................................................... 360
SYNCHRO EXPORTER ............................................................................... 360
NAMING CONVENTIONS FOR SIGNAL CONTROL PARAMETERS ......................................... 365

3D FILE IMPORTER AND EXPORTER ............................................................. 366

53.1
53.2

54

RELATION BETWEEN ROADXML AND AIMSUN OBJECTS ............................................. 356

SYNCHRO IMPORTER AND EXPORTER .......................................................... 358

52.1
52.2
52.3
52.4
52.5

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IMPORTING A NETWORK FROM VISUM............................................................... 354

RELATION BETWEEN VISUM AND AIMSUN OBJECTS .................................................. 354

IMPORTER ......................................................................................... 366

EXPORTER ......................................................................................... 366

AIMSUN LICENSING ................................................................................. 368

54.1
LICENSING TECHNOLOGY ........................................................................... 368
54.1.1 Updating a HASP SRM license ............................................................ 369
54.1.2 Checking the state of a HASP SRM license ............................................ 369
54.1.3 HASP SRM Network licenses .............................................................. 369
54.2
LICENSING OPTIONS................................................................................ 370
54.2.1 Multiple dongle options .................................................................. 370
54.3
LEGION FOR AIMSUN LICENSING .................................................................... 370
54.4
LICENSE TROUBLESHOOTING ....................................................................... 371

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1 Introduction
The actual Aimsun manual conducted by TSS transportation
environment includes parts of Aimsun dynamic traffic simulators,
Microscopic, Mesoscopic and Hybrid, Aimsun Macroscopic modelling
tools and Aimsun travel demand modelling tools.
However, there is a variety of Aimsun manuals, each one, solid and
thorough explaining every detail of Aimsun. The manual of Aimsun
Dynamic Simulators provides the user with more detailed
information on the microscopic, mesoscopic and hybrid simulators,
the Aimsun Macroscopic Modelling Manual on the static model and
its operation in Aimsun, and furthermore the Aimsun Travel
Demand Modelling Manual on the four-step transportation planning
process.

1.1 The Aimsun Environment

Aimsun is an extensible environment that offers, in a single
application, all necessary tools that a transportation professional
would need.
TSS offers some of these tools. Other companies, using the Aimsun
Software Development Kit (platformSDK), incorporate with their
own solutions.
Currently, the Aimsun environment includes:
A network editor for 2D and 3D visualisations.
CAD files importer, GIS files importer/exporter and raster images
importer. Refer to the Network Backgrounds section for more
information.
OpenStreetMap importer.
Third party traffic and transportation software importers. Refer
to the CONTRAM Importer, Paramics Importer and Vissim
Importers for more information.
The microscopic simulator in Aimsun.
The mesoscopic simulator in Aimsun.
The hybrid simulator in Aimsun.
A macroscopic module that includes a static traffic assignment
feature, a collection of O/D matrix manipulation functionalities
(adjustment, traversal, balancing) and an optimal detector
location calculation.
A travel demand modelling module that includes trip generation,
trip distribution and modal split (which is simultaneous with trip
distribution).
An embedded pedestrian simulator from LEGION performed by
Aimsun microscopic simulator. Available only in the Windows
versions (both 32bit and 64bit).
Extensive scripting using the Python programming language.
Refer to the Aimsun scripting section for more information.
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Full extensibility and customization of the environment using

C++ and the Aimsun platformSDK (Software Development Kit).
An API to connect externally to the microsimulator during the
microsimulation to get and set information about vehicles,
demand, control, and traffic management ... The microsimulator
API is offered in both C and Python.
A microsimulator SDK (microSDK) to modify the behavioural
models of the desired vehicles. This microsimulator SDK is
offered in C++.
Planning software interfaces with Emme and SATURN.
Signal optimisation interface with SYNCHRO.
Adaptive control interfaces with SCATS, SCOOT, VS-Plus and
UTOPIA.

The application consists of two distinct versions, one with a

graphical interface and another one without it. This second version
is addressed Aimsun Console. The version with graphical interface is
available in five different editions: Small, Standard, Professional,
Advanced and Expert. The Aimsun Console, however, is only
available in the Professional, Advanced and Expert Editions.
The Professional, the Advanced and the Expert editions allow using
more than one CPU in order to accelerate the calculation during
the simulation as well as to enhance the O/D matrix manipulation
functionalities. Eventhough they are limited to use four cores (or
four single CPUs) for the Professional and Advanced and eight cores
for the Expert, additional core support can be provided separately.

1.2 Aimsun Extension and the Software Development Kit

Extension in Aimsun means that a developer can, using the
platformSDK, add new functionalities to the application. The
database can be extended with new elements, or new attributes
can be added to the current ones. The developer can add new
editors, new drawers (to represent the new elements in 2D and,
optionally, in 3D) and functions. New Importers/Exporters to import
any kind of data or to export the network to any format can be also
programmed. Everything can be incorporated into Aimsun.

1.2.1 Example
A company called FLCL wants to incorporate an application to
locate, in case of a traffic accident, the most appropriate hospital.
It has to be nearby and with capacity enough to attend the injured
people.
This new application will need two new elements to be added to
Aimsun: Hospital and Traffic Accident. The developer, using the
platformSDK, will write a plug-in in C++ that incorporates these
elements.

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The developer will also add some editors to these new elements
(classes in C++) to edit some parameters (as the specialties of the
hospital and the type of injures of the people involved in the
accident). A hospital-icon to represent its location on the map will
also be added. Then, the user will be allowed to connect the
hospital to several sections in the network to indicate the hospitals
entries (using an editing process similar to that of a centroid).
The developer will create the two users tools for the creation of
hospitals and traffic accidents in the tool bar.
The last addition will be a context menu in the traffic incident to
find the most appropriate hospital based on the kind of injures and
the distance.
1.2.1.1
Synergy
Developers can also offer functionalities based on other
components. For example, if the ALMO Content component (from
Momatec GmbH, http://www.momatec.de/) is present, then the
developer can allow the user to select a day of the week and search
for the nearest hospital based on travel time, and not on distance,
using the traffic conditions of that day.
Developers can also use the Aimsun Microsimulator to simulate the
movement of the ambulance from the hospital and back, possibly
applying some traffic management actions to facilitate the access
to the accident position.

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2 New Features
2.1 Aimsun 8
Please refer to the Aimsun 8 New Features document. There you
will find information about the main new features added to Aimsun.
The highlights are:

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Four-step modelling
Control plan outputs in dynamic simulations
Traffic management outputs in dynamic simulations
Improved 3D visualization

15

3 Aimsun Files
By structuring a model in Aimsun, a main file with extension ANG
will be created. Example: network.ang
Furthermore, several backup files will be created. The extensions
of these files are mentioned below:
ANG.OLD File: It is a backup copy of the model without the last
modifications. Once the model is saved, firstly the information
saved from the last time that is located in the *.ang file will be
written into the *.ang.old file and then the current model
information will be saved into the *.ang file.
ANG.AUTO File: By selecting the Auto Save option in the
Preferences, the model will be saved in every defined number
of minutes in this file. Note that the *.ang file is only
overwritten when the Save option has been explicitly selected.
ANG.LCK File: Aimsun file (*.ANG File) is used to lock the
current saved file as well as to inform any other user that the
existing file may be used or it is currently used by a different
user. It will also show the identity of the actual user. Hereafter
Aimsun will provide the second user with the information either
to open the Aimsun model as read-only or to break the lock that
was created by the initial user.
SANG File: This file contains the model information at the
beginning of a session. When the user will save the network for
the first time after its loading, the actual file *.sang will be
created. The information saved is the one contained in the *.ang
file before saving for the first time. Note, that the *.sang file is
not able to keep in memory any of the modifications done
during the last session.
ANG.TMP File: When an Aimsun model is about to be saved, this
file extension would be temporarily created during the process.
If the process of saving is successful, this file will be deleted
automatically. If the saving process fails, this file may be stored
in the memory. However, its contents would be unpredictable.
Lack of disk space, loss of network connection to the disk where
the file is about to be saved etc. are some obstacles that can
make the process of saving fail.

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4 Aimsun Graphical User Interface

Aimsun offers a state of the art interface that includes easy to use
editors, direct manipulation of all the graphical elements,
unlimited undo and redo, copy and paste within Aimsun, copy from
and paste to other applications and print support.
The following subsections will cover the application window
organization, the use of the mouse, the navigation on 2D and 3D
views, the selection and editing of elements and the use of the
context menu.

4.1 The Welcome Window

The welcome window that appears when Aimsun is launched
displays the following items (see next figure for details):
Existing projects: a list of the last open networks. The
number of items displayed can be user-customized in the
preferences menu. Refer to the Preferences section for
details.
Aimsun News: direct access to information located in the
Aimsun webpage regarding to the last software versions
released, the upcoming events and the latest news.
New project: a list of the available templates to be used
when a new project wants to be created. The UTM zone for
the new project can also be specified. Check the Northing
checkbox if you are referring to the north hemisphere.
Uncheck it if you use the south hemisphere.
Tutorials: Diversified tasks (exercises) explained in detail in
order to help the user to be more familiar with the Aimsun
environment.
The menu bar and application toolbars: covered in detail in
the next section.

Figure 1 Aimsun Welcome window

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4.2 The Application Window

The main application window includes three basic elements: a
menu bar, a tool button area and a collection of windows (editors,
drawing areas, information browser etc.). Any of these elements
can be opened and closed individually except for the Menu Bar that
cannot be closed.

Figure 2 Aimsun GUI in Windows

Figure 2 shows an example of Aimsun application window. It

contains:
A menu bar.
The active experiment and a task tool bar area (above).
A 2D View with a detailed representation of the network.
Project browser with all the non-graphical objects on it
(Scenarios, Experiments, Control Plans, O/D matrices etc.)
A list of all the available layers, including the layers on the DWG
drawing, in a non-visible side window under the Project one.
A main tool bar area (far left).

4.2.1 The Menu bar

The Menu bar is located in the top part of the application window.
It cannot be moved nor hidden.
Several functionalities are accessible in Aimsun via the Menu bar.
Please refer to the Menu commands section for detailed
information of all the options available in the menus.

4.2.2 Task tool bar area

Three different boxes are available:

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Experiment Box: This toolbar contains the main replication

operations such as Scenario Properties, Experiment
Properties and the types of replication to be chosen.

Figure 3 Experiment Box

Task Box: This box displays information about the processes

in Aimsun. It also hosts the play controls of the replication
such as the pause, fast forward, record and stop functions,
as well as the information box about an ongoing replication
running.

Figure 4 Task Box (empty and with content)

Find Box: In this field you can search for any graphical or
non-graphical elements anywhere inside the project.

4.2.3 2D Views Toolbars

2D Views in Aimsun offer a main graphical area where the network
is drawn and two toolbars with specific view information. These
two toolbars are explained below:
Mode View Tools: The view drawing mode used to draw the
selected graphical network elements in the view. A filter to
be applied to the drawing elements can also be chosen.
There will be a filter for the whole network and another one
for each subnetwork defined. Refer to the Subnetwork
Editing sections for details.
Time View Tools: The date and time of the 2D View can be
defined. If the drawing mode is based on a Time Series (refer
to the Time Series section for details), the Play button will
start an animation drawing the elements depending on the
values in every predefined number of seconds and during a
predefined interval. The dialog that opens when selecting
the Set Time option in the View Menu can be used to define
the parameters of this animation.
These toolbars can be shown by activating any of them from the
Tools submenu located in the View context menu accessed by
double-clicking on it. Once they are shown, the user can locate
them inside the 2D View window.

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Figure 5 2D View context menu

Using the View context menu the user can also:

Set that view as a Master View: all the pan actions applied to
this view will be also applied to all the other opened 2D
Views keeping the same centre point for all the views. Refer
to the Pan and Zoom Tools section for details on pan.
Apply a Filter: A filter to be applied to the drawing elements
can also be chosen. There will be a filter for the whole
network and another one for each subnetwork defined. Refer
to the Subnetwork Editing sections for details.

4.2.4 Windows
Aimsun shows information not only in views but also in other
windows that can be opened at the same time as the views. These
windows are:
Layers Window (shortcut key L): Includes all layers of a network.
Project Window (shortcut key P): Contains all the non-graphical
elements organized in a hierarchical list.
Types Window: Used to view and edit Aimsun types (or classes)
and their columns (or attributes). This is predominantly for
scripting operations.
Legend Window (shortcut key E): If the network elements are
drawn or coloured using a Drawing Mode, information about the
mode appears here.
Log Window (shortcut key O): Contains free text comments
related to elements in the Project Window. Various message
types appear here.
3D Info Window: A library of available textures and 3D models
available for the network. Refer to the Advanced Aimsun 3D
section for more information.
Table View Window (shortcut key T): Used to access and modify
attributes of Aimsun objects displayed in a table.
Inspector (shortcut key I): Used to quickly access and modify
attributes of the selected objects, and visualize their Time
Series.
Any of these windows can be opened by activating it from the
Windows submenu located in the Window menu, or pressing the
relevant shortcut key while no other windows is in focus.

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Once they are opened, they can be located wherever inside the
application window. Organized in tab folders: just drop any open
window over another to add the dropped one into a new tab.
An open window can be closed by pressing the relevant shortcut
key, or by deactivating it from the Windows submenu located in the
Window menu.
By pressing [SHIFT] plus the relevant shortcut key, all other nonview windows will be closed, and the relevant window will be open
alone. By pressing the [F11] key all active windows will be hidden.
Pressing [F11] again will reveal these windows. By pressing
[Ctrl+F11] the Aimsun application will fill the whole screen and by
pressing [Ctrl+F11] again it will recover its original dimensions.
When an editor has the focus, by pressing [F11] the active editor
will become more and more translucent as the [F11] is being
pressed and more and more opaque as the [F12] key is being
pressed.
Remember that the mouses right button will activate a context
menu in these windows when it is relevant.
4.2.4.1
Common Windows Functionality
Some Windows (Project, Legend, Types, 3D...) offer a tool bar with
options to filter the data, create new elements and select view
modes. The tool bar changes from Window to Window offering the
relevant options. The filter is a text area labelled as Filter (see
below). To create new elements there is an add button (labelled
with the plus symbol).

Figure 6 Filter and Add button in a Window

4.2.4.2
Filter Object in Project Window
Aimsun can filter the objects shown in the Project Window by
name, which is set in the Filter line edit, and by type, where any
type of object shown in the Project Window is listed. Filtering by
name is case insensitive, so it will not distinguish capital letters
from lower case letters, as Figure 7 depicts. It is also possible to
filter by ID or by external ID setting ID: and eid: respectively before
the value.

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Figure 7 Filter in Project

4.2.4.3
Filter Objects in Types Window
Aimsun allows the user to filter Aimsun types using the name shown
in the Types Window. Matching types will be expanded
automatically, as shows Figure 8.

Figure 8 Filter in Types

4.2.4.4
Filter Objects in Layers Window
Aimsun allows the user to filter Aimsun layers using the layers name
and also depending on the objects they contain, if they are internal
or external, active or even visible. Refer to the Filtering layers in
the Layers window section for more details.

4.3 Graphical Views

Aimsun offers multiple 2D and 3D views, up to four, for a network.
Use the command New View or New 3D View in the View menu to
create a new 2D or 3D view. Close any view using either the View
context menu or the Close command from the View menu.
Use the separator between views to enlarge or reduce the view
size.

4.4 Context Menu

Aimsun uses, as many modern applications, the mouses right
button to access to a context menu. This kind of menu displays a
list of operations that can be performed on the selected item. Any
object that can be selected will show a context menu.
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The shown menu will depend on the current selection. The context
menu of a section is different from the context menu of a node.
When the user chooses a command, Aimsun will apply this
command to all the selected objects and not only to the object
that the menu shows. This allows us, for example, to change the
speed of more than one section at the same time.
If any of the objects of a multiple selection does not accept the
command (for example sections Change Direction command cannot
be applied to a node), no change will take place on this object.

4.5 Direct Manipulation

As defined in Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia: Direct
manipulation is a human-computer interaction style that was
defined by Ben Shneiderman and which involves continuous
representation of objects of interest, and rapid, reversible,
incremental actions and feedback. The intention is to allow a user
to directly manipulate objects presented to them, using actions
that correspond at least loosely to the physical world. Having realworld metaphors for objects and actions can make it easier for a
user to learn and use an interface (some might say that the
interface is more natural or intuitive), and rapid, incremental
feedback allows a user to make fewer errors and complete tasks in
less time, because they can see the results of an action before
completing the action.
In Aimsun context that definition means, for example, changing the
section length dragging the end of the section to make it longer or
shorter, or moving an object up (in a 3D view) to change its altitude
or dropping an image on the face of a 3D object to change its
texture.

4.6 Undo and Redo

Any operation done using direct manipulation can be undone and
redone. Both operations are accessible from the Edit menu, from
the Edit operations toolbar or using the standard shortcuts
Control+Z for undo and Control+Y for redo.
If the user opens an editor and accepts the changes (pressing either
the OK button or the Enter key) the current undo/redo list of
commands will be discarded. That means that no undo will be
possible for commands applied before the modification made by
using the editor. This does not apply to the Inspector Window, that
will maintain the undo/redo capabilities even when modifying
parameters for different objects.

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There is no limit in the number of commands that can be stored in

the undo list except for the physical limit imposed by the available
amount of memory in the computer.

4.7 Copy and Paste

Aimsun allows the user to copy graphical elements (such as sections
or centroids) and non-graphical elements (such as O/D matrices or
vehicle types). The copy operation can be done using the Copy, or
Cut, and Paste commands (from the Edit menu, from the Edit
operations toolbar or using the standard shortcuts Control+C for
Copy, Control+X for cut and Control+V for paste) or via drag and
drop.

4.7.1 Graphical Objects

For graphical objects, the whole selection will be copied or cut at
once. When copying the selection, the selected objects will not be
affected. When cutting the selection, the selected objects will be
removed after placing a copy in the clipboard.
After copying or cutting objects, they can be pasted in a 2D view,
either in the current network or in another network edited in a
different Aimsun application instance.
After a paste operation, pasted objects will be selected. Any other
selected object will be unselected.

4.7.2 Paste Context

The paste operation needs a context, a place to put the data that
comes from the clipboard. This context will be a view (in the case
of graphical objects) or another object (for non-graphical objects).
This another object means the new owner of the pasted data. For
example, if an experiment is copied then the paste must be
executed on a scenario (as all the experiments must belong to a
scenario), it would be impossible to paste it to a replication (a
replication cannot contain an experiment).
The context where the paste operation will take place is the object
that has been selected by the user when the user executes the
Paste command, either from the Edit menu, from the Edit
operations toolbar or using the Control+V shortcut.

4.7.3 Drag and Drop

The Project browser supports drag and drop for copy/paste
operations. In a drag and drop operation the user selects the data
to be copied (an O/D matrix for example) and, without releasing
the mouses button, drags the data to drop it afterwards, releasing
the button while the mouse pointer is over the object where the
dragged data is to be copied.

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4.7.4 Group/Ungroup
Often it is convenient to group objects together to be copied and
pasted within the 2D view. By selecting several objects, then
selecting Group from the Arrange menu on the menu bar or in the
context menu, simple items (e.g. 2D shapes) can be combined into
more complex items to be copied elsewhere within the view.

4.7.5 Copy Snapshot

This operation (accessible from the Edit menu or the View context
menu) will take a snapshot of the current 2D view and will place it
as an image in the clipboard. This image can be pasted afterwards
in other applications (as an image editor or a text processor).

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5 Aimsun Customization
Aimsun can be customized in three ways: selecting the models to
work with and using preferences and templates. Preferences
change settings and the behaviour of the application. Templates
are files used as an initial state when a new project is created.
Furthermore, Aimsun can be launched using several commands to
define some properties.

5.1 Models
When working with an Aimsun Advanced or Aimsun Expert Edition,
Aimsun allows the user to hide, from the Edit menu, information
for anyone of the available models (Static, Meso and Micro). Untick
a model when the model is not going to be used in your project to
hide its parameters in the editors.

5.2 Preferences
Preferences are stored at two levels: system and document.
Preferences at system level are common to all the documents that
Aimsun will create and open. Preferences at document level are
only valid for the document in which they are set.
Some preferences only make sense at system level, as they are not
related to any particular document, for example, the number of
last opened files to be remembered and shown in the File menu.
Other preferences should be set in every particular document, for
example, the road side of vehicle movement. Different documents
can have different values for the same preference.
Both levels are accessible from the Preferences command in the
Edit menu. When no document has been opened, this command will
be used to edit the preferences at system level. When a document
has been loaded, the command will edit the model preferences.

5.2.1 Preferences Editor

The preferences that can be defined are:

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General Preferences
o Use Auto Save: when checked, the current document will
be saved periodically. The time interval between saves is
defined in the Auto Save Time (in minutes) option.
o Ask for a new name after creating non graphical objects:
whenever a new object is added to the project window, a
dialog will pop up to rename the object.
o Files in Open History. System preference to define the
number of documents previously open to be shown in the
26

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Aimsuns Welcome Window. It is only available when no

project is open.
Localisation Preferences
o Units: allows the metric or the English (Imperial) system
to be used.
o Rule of the Road: used to indicate to the simulator which
side will be used by slow traffic.
o North Angle: Indicates the angle (in degrees) between
the horizontal line, that is, the positive X-axis, and the
North direction of the network. There is no need to fill in
this preference as in Aimsun it is only used for
information purposes.
o Latitude and Longitude: Defines whether the Latitude
and Longitude will be shown as a decimal or using the
degree notation. Note that Latitude and Longitude will be
shown in 2D Views instead of the UTM coordinates when
the option Show Latitude and Longitude in the View Menu
is ticked.
o User Interface Language: allows the user to select the
language Aimsun will be displayed in. It can be set to
automatic, which will select the operating system
language, or to any of the languages available in the drop
down list. It is a system preference thus only available
when no project is open.
o Regional Settings: allows the user to specify Country and
Language he works with to be able to display numbers,
dates, in the expected format.
Nodes Preferences
o Distinguish Destination Lanes in Turns: Checking this
option allows us to define not only the origin lanes but to
select which subset of the destination section is going to
be the destination of the turn movement. When this
option is not set, the destination lanes in the destination
section of a turn dont have to be selected one by one,
but are all simultaneously selected just by selecting the
destination section. On the other hand, there might be
special turns for which vehicles coming from a certain
origin lane might not be allowed to all lanes of the
destination section but only to a subset of them. If this is
the case, it is not necessary to design the whole network
by checking this option. It is only necessary to change the
destination turn lanes when designing these particular
intersections.
o Default Road Type for Roundabouts: Indicates the default
road type of the internal sections belonging to a newly
created roundabout. If none is selected, the default road
type will be used. It is available only as a model
preference.
Oracle Preferences
27

o Enable logging in insert and delete: Unmark this option to

disable the logging when inserting or deleting data in an
Oracle database. This will speed-up the operation and
minimize the log usage.
Do not uncheck this option unless using an Oracle
database. Doing so will make the operation fail.
2D Preferences
o Background Colour: it is used to define the colour of the
networks background.
o Altitude Increment: it is the minimum increment applied
to the Z component of a selected vertex, when the
altitude is changed by pressing the CTRL key and dragging
the mouse in a 2D view.
o Lateral Size Factor: Used to calculate the inclination of
the end or beginning of a side lane. 0.5 is the default
value that will result in a 45 angle when drawing the end
or beginning of a side lane.
o Rotation Angle: It defines a rotation angle, expressed in
degrees, to be applied in the 2D views to the graphical
objects. Currently, this rotation is not applied to the
images or to any background.
3D Preferences
They will be used when drawing objects and animating the
simulation in 3D Views.
o General
Used to select whether to draw sections, blocks and
nodes, whether to draw yellow boxes nodes as normal
or yellow, whether to draw incidents or not and
whether to draw vehicles as boxes or as 3D models in
3D Views.
o Advanced
Light
Used to define the intensity of the ambient,
diffuse and specular components of the lighting
system. The range of the values allowed goes
from 0 to 255, 0 being equivalent to no
brightness and the 255 to a full bright setup.
Ambient light simulates the sort of light that
comes from every direction, lighting every face
of the objects whether those are facing the
direction of the light or not. Diffuse light
represents the direct component of the light,
that is, the one that comes from the light
source and only lights up the light-source-facing
areas. Finally, specular light simulate the
reflective intensity of shiny and glossy areas.
Sky and Floor
Sky Colour: colour used to draw the sky with
when not using a texture.
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Sky Texture: texture that will be applied to the

sky. To define a texture just click on the button
located at the right of the line and a file dialog
to choose the file will appear. It is only valid to
select
a
texture
file
from
the
(AIMSUN_HOME)/shapes/textures directory or
the
<network_directory>/shapes/textures
directory.
Floor Colour: colour used to draw the floor with
when not using a texture.
Floor Texture: texture that will be applied to
the floor. The process to select a texture is the
same as the one defined for the sky.
Simulation
Ramp meter as Barriers moving time: In 3D
views, any ramp meter can be drawn as a traffic
light or as a barrier. For a ramp meter with the
barrier drawing chosen (see the Metering Editor
section for details), the number of seconds
defined here will be the time that it takes the
barrier to move from the horizontal position to
the totally vertical one.
Position Traffic Lights after Intersections: To
locate the traffic lights after (when ticked) or
before (otherwise) the intersection where
vehicles stop.
Fog
Use Fog: to select whether or not to use fog in
the visualisation. When the user chooses to use
fog by checking this option, fog properties can
be set. These properties are:
Fog Colour: when clicking on the colour
button a colour dialog appears, in which
the desired fog colour can be selected.
Fog density: value that indicates the fog
density used in the fog equation.

The fog equation is:

-(density*z)
f=e
where z is the distance in eye coordinates
from origin to the fragment being fogged.

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Microsimulator preferences will be covered in the Aimsun

Dynamic Simulators Users Manual

Adaptive Control Interfaces will be covered in the Adaptive

Control Interfaces Manual

CAD Preferences

29

o Retrieve OFF Layers: When retrieving a CAD drawing this

preference controls whether layers marked as OFF (nonvisible) will be retrieved.
o Fast Draw (makes layer opaque): When selected, the CAD
layer is made opaque to increase the speed when being
drawn/redrawn.
o Deviation (a higher value lowers the quality but
increases the drawing speed): By default it is 0.000001
and it does not need to be changed unless you experience
an extremely low speed when zooming or panning in a 2D
View and the background is being drawn. The
recommended value in that specific case is 1.

5.3 Templates
There are two ways of creating a new project:
Using the New command in the File menu, a new project without
any object defined will be created
Selecting a template from the list of templates in the 'Welcome
window (see image below).

Figure 9 Template Chooser Window

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Once the template file is selected a new project will be created

containing all the objects in the template file. The Save command
will ask for a project name and location instead of overwriting the
used template file.
A template file is a normal Aimsun file and, thus, it can contain any
kind of objects but usually it will be used to:
Set the units type (Metric or English systems) and the road side
of vehicle movement.
Have some already created objects to be used later on such as:
o Vehicle types and classes.
o Lane types.
o Drawing Styles and Modes.
To create a new template file just create a new project, add new
objects, change the required preferences settings and save it in the
templates folder (this folder is in the Aimsun Application Home).

5.4 Aimsun project

Once a new project has been created either a blank new project or
using a template, it is recommended to define the project
properties.

5.4.1 Aimsun Project properties

The project properties can be edited by accessing the Project Menu
-> Properties option. The following editor will appear:

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Figure 10 Project editor

The properties to define are the Project Name, Projection, Project

Outputs Database, User Info and the Aimsun Version required if
any.
5.4.1.1
Project name
The project name can be specified using the editor shown in Figure
10.
It can also be specified in the Project Window either by clicking on
the Project Name or by right-clicking and selecting the Rename
option.

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Figure 11 Project renaming in the Project Window

5.4.1.2
Projection
The UTM Zone as well as whether the network is in the northern or
southern hemisphere can be specified there.
5.4.1.3
Project Outputs database
The available options are:
Automatic Databases (Access and SQLite)
Custom
The supported Databases are:
Windows 32 bits: Access, SQLite, ODBC and Postgres 8.
Windows 64 bits: SQLite and ODBC.
Linux: SQLite, MySQL, ODBC and Postgres 8.
Mac OS X: SQLite, MySQL, ODBC and Postgres 8.

In Windows versions, ODBC is the preferred method as it is faster

than Access and SQLite. Note that an Access database can be
accessed via ODBC.

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Automatic Databases

33

Aimsun can create two types of databases automatically, either an

Access database or a SQLite database. When selecting the
Automatic using Access option, Aimsun will create a new Access
database, if it doesnt exist, with the network name and at the
network folder. When selecting the Automatic using SQLite option,
Aimsun will create a new SQLite database, if it doesnt exist, with
the network name and at the network folder.

Custom

When selecting this option a list of all the available database

drivers will appear. They can be:
o Access (only available in the Windows 32bit version): If
Access is chosen, the user can browse to search for the
appropriate Access database, (file with the .mdb
extension) by pressing the browse button on the right.
The database, that needs to be previously created using
Microsoft Access, can be an empty database or can
contain previous data. If the database is not empty, the
simulation output data having the same replications IDs
will be overwritten, otherwise it will be added to the
existing data.
o ODBC: The user can select the ODBC data source among
all the data sources available in the computer in which
Aimsun is running. In this case the Parameters button will
allow the specification of the host that is running the
database and also it allows specification of a user name
and password if required by the database (Access
databases dont require it, Oracle usually does).

Figure 12 Project editor Database Parameters editor

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o Postgres 8: For this kind of database the user must select

the QPSQL driver, specify the database name and the
database parameters: username, password, host and
port.
o SQLite: For this kind of database the user must select the
QSQLite driver and a file with the extension *.sqlite or
*.db. If the file selected doesnt exist it will be
automatically created when storing the output data.
o MySQL: For this kind of database the user must select the
QMySQL driver, specify the database name and the
database parameters: username, password, host and
port.
5.4.1.4
Aimsun version required by the project
Once a project is finished and if the user wants to store the Aimsun
version used to calibrate the project it can be specified in the
Requires. If afterwards, the Aimsun project is open using a
different version of Aimsun, the application will issue a warning
message.

5.5 Command line options

When Aimsun is launched several options can be added to the
command line to launch it with specific properties. Aimsun can be
launched in a console with or without graphical user interface.
The way to do launch Aimsun with graphical user interface would
be to execute:
Aimsun.exe -<option> <option parameters>
The way to do launch Aimsun without graphical user interface
would be to execute:
aconsole.exe -<option> <option parameters>
The available options are:
-project XXXX

Loads a network where XXXX is the Aimsun

file name or the UID of the Aimsun network.
-force
Avoids checking whether the file to be open is
locked or not and it opens it no matter its
state.
-dontlookformissing Does not open dialogs to look for the missing
files not found while loading the Aimsun
network.
-cmd XXXX
Executes an action named XXXX over a target
(specified using a target command). The
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-target YYYY
-testplugins
-server
-proxy XXXX
-script XXXX
-locale XXXX
-translation XXXX
-stop_at H:MM:SS
-home XXXX
-instance XXXX
-dongleid XXXX
-version
-v
-log

-force_th XXXX

action currently available is:

execute to run a simulation or a static
traffic assignment depending on the scenario
type.
Object with ID YYYY to execute the kernel
action.
Writes a testplugins.txt file with the plugins
loaded and quits Aimsun.
Server mode when running the console.
Proxy to use, where XXXX is the proxy URL.
Loads and executes the Python script from
file XXXX.
Forces the locale to XXXX.
Forces the translation locale to XXXX.
Stops an interactive simulation at H:MM:SS.
Sets the Aimsun Home to folder XXXX.
Sets the Aimsun instance UID to XXXX.
Forces Aimsun to use only dongle XXXX (if
there are other dongles available).
Returns the Aimsun version and quits.
Shows all messages in console mode.
Writes all the messages in a log file. The log
file will be located where the operating
system stores the log files by user and
application.
For example in Windows it will be in:
C:\Users\your_user\AppData\Roaming\ TSSTransport Simulation Systems\Aimsun\ Logs
Forces to run the object executed with XXXX
threads or the maximum you license allows.

Examples:

Running replication with ID=147 without graphical user interface:

aconsole.exe project C:/models/myproject.ang cmd execute target 147

Running macro experiment with ID=147 without graphical user

interface and showing all messages:

aconsole.exe project C:/models/myproject.ang cmd execute target 147 v

Launching Aimsun with graphical user interface in spanish forcing

to use dongle with ID=1456274627:

Aimsun.exe dongleid 1456274627 translation es

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6 Network Elements
For the purpose of defining the network network geometry,
movements and so onAimsun uses certain basic objects that
provide the foundations upon which more elaborate concepts
control plans, O/D matrices, traffic states and so onare built.
These basic objects are texts, polygons, lines, sections, nodes,
centroids, controllers, detectors, ramp meters, Variable Message
Signs (VMS), public transport stops, public transport lines, vehicle
types, cameras and 3D images.

6.1 Sections
A section is a group of contiguous lanes where vehicles move in the
same direction. The partition of the traffic network into sections is
usually governed by the physical boundaries of the area and the
existence of turn movements. In an urban network, a section
corresponds closely to the road from one intersection to the next.
In a freeway area, a section can be the part of the road between
two ramps.
Entrance, exit, and right and left sides of a section are defined
according to the vehicles movement, as shown in Figure 13.
le ft

e n tra n c e

e xit

rig h t

Figure 13 Notation used in sections

6.1.1 Main and side lanes

Lanes in a section are classified as main lanes or side lanes. In a
main lane, vehicles can enter from other sections and exit to other
sections: a main lane is both an entrance and exit lane. A side lane
can be positioned either on the right or on the left side of the
section, and is either an entrance or an exit lane (see Figure 14).
While a section cannot exist without one or more main lanes, side
lanes are optional. A section is not allowed to have more than one
side lane per side.
exit side lane

entrance side lane

section

section

Figure 14 Types of side lanes

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6.1.2 Lane identification

Each lane in the section is identified with a number in the range
1,, n lanes, from the left to the right of the section, where side
lanes are also counted. Note: when using Aimsun Scripting or
Aimsun SDK functions and structures, the range goes from 0,, n-1.

6.1.3 Geometry specification

A section is mainly specified by its centerline and side lanes are
characterized by their width and length.
A section can have several straight or curve segments and its
entrance and exit angle can be modified.
It can also have solid lines defined between its lanes to forbid
vehicles lane changing.

6.1.4 Reserved lanes

Reserved lanes in a section are lanes where only one class of
vehicles is allowed. Reserved lanes can include both main and side
lanes. The most obvious example is bus lanes. Sometimes taxis can
also use these lanes, and this can be specified by defining the
public transport class of vehicles which the public bus and taxi
vehicle types may belong to.
Reserved lanes may be of two types: compulsory or optional.
Compulsory means that vehicles allowed in that reserved lane are
forced to use it, and optional means that vehicles allowed in that
reserved lane may use it or not depending on the traffic conditions
(e.g., bus lanes and high-occupancy vehicle lanes).

6.2 Detectors
Many types of detectors exist: pressure, magnetic, loop, video, and
others, but all of them are characterized by their measuring
capabilities. Measuring capabilities include vehicle count, presence,
speed, occupancy, density, headway and, as a special one, whether
the detected vehicle is an equipped one. The detector will always
distinguish between different vehicle types.
A detector can be positioned at any point in a section, and its width
can extend to more than one lane. A section can have no, one, or
multiple detectors. The only restriction is that a detector cannot be
shared by more than one section.
Figure 15 shows examples of detector positioning in a section. In
Section A, detector b is used to detect right-turn vehicles. Multiple
detectors as in (B) are possible using video detection.

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Figure 15 Examples of detector positioning in a section

length
distance

distance
length

Figure 16 Examples of how a detectors position is specified

Figure 17 shows an example of detector positioning at a ramp ramp

meter point, using standard notation:
Queue detector: to detect a queue before it blocks the upstream
section.
Check-in detector: to detect vehicles waiting.
Check-out detector: to adjust the green time to the desired
platoon length (can be connected directly to the ramp ramp
meter)
Merge detector: to detect vehicles waiting to merge, and thus
inhibit the green time in the ramp meter.
Main line detector: to detect the vehicles in the freeway and
thus adapt the control policy.

ma in lin e d e te c to r
ra mp
me te rin g

me rg e d e te c to r
c h e c k -o u t d e te c to r

q u e u e d e te c to r

c h e c k -in d e te c to r

Figure 17 Example of detector positioning at a ramp metering point

6.3 Meterings
Ramp meter takes place on entrance ramps to a freeway in order to
limit the flow of vehicles entering, thus ensuring a non-congested
flow on the freeway itself. Figure 18 shows an example in a singlelane section.
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Meterings can be implemented in a variety of ways. Aimsun uses

five types:
Green-time metering. Usually implemented as a traffic light, this
metering is characterized by a cycle time and a green time
duration.
Green-time by lane metering. It is a special type of green-time
metering that covers several lanes and where the green for each
lane is activated from the rightmost to the leftmost lane with a
delay between each lane activation.
Flow metering. This one controls the maximum flow of vehicles
that can pass through the signal. There are two important
parameters defining a flow metering. One is the maximum
number of vehicles allowed through each time (normally one,
but occasionally two). This is assumed to be fixed throughout the
history of the device. The other one is the maximum flow
allowed to go through the metering in a period of time.
Flow-ALINEA metering. This type of metering implements the
ALINEA strategy1, which calculates the flow allowed to enter in
order to maintain a desired occupancy on the main road.
Delay metering. This one delays every vehicle crossing it by a
fixed number of seconds. This type of metering is useful for
modelling certain types of obstacles to free flow, such as tolls or
customs barriers
Meterings can be positioned anywhere along the section; all lanes
are affected (unlike detectors, single lane metering is not
possible).

ramp meter
Figure 18 Ramp meter in a lane

There are three types of control

uncontrolled, fixed, or external.

policies

for

meterings:

In the real world, selective metering is used, i.e., an adjacent lane

with no metering where only certain selected classes of vehicles
(for example, public vehicles) are allowed through. In Aimsun, this
is modelled by considering the unmetered lane as a different

M. Papageorgiou, I. Papamichail, Overview of traffic signal operation policies for ramp

ramp meter. Transportation Research Record no. 2047, 2008, pp. 28-36.

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40

section. Figure 19 shows an example: vehicles that are not metered

turn from section 1 into section 3.

join
2

ramp
metering
g
4

3
Vehicle classdependent turning %s
Figure 19 Modelling a selective meter

6.4 Variable Message Signs (VMS's)

Variable message signs (VMS's) are used to inform drivers of
regulations or instructions that are applicable only during certain
periods of the day or under certain traffic conditions (Doughty,
1982).
The VMS is modelled as being located at a given position in a
section (see Figure 20) and as having a set of possible messages.

Figure 20 A VMS in a section

6.5 Nodes
A node is a point or an area in the network where vehicles change
their direction and/or disperse. Hence, a node has one or more
origin sections and one or more destination sections.
Nodes can be distinguished in two types: join nodes (joins) and
junction nodes. The main difference of these is that, while in a
junction there is a space between the origin and destination
sections, in the join node there is no space between these two
sections. In a join node, the number of origin lanes equals the
number of destination lanes. Junction nodes are often found on
arterials and streets; join nodes, on roads and highways.
Aimsun automatically identifies join and junction nodes and applies
the more suitable simulation model when running Aimsun Micro.

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6.5.1 Join nodes

Joins often model bifurcations (A), exit ramps (B), mergings (C),
and entrance ramps (D). Figure 21 shows how these various
situations can be modelled.
join
join

B
join
join

D
Figure 21 Examples of joins

6.5.2 Junctions
Turns occur within a junction. The user can specify give-ways and
stop signs between them that can solve conflicts between turns
arising in junctions without signals. In signalised junctions, a
sequence of stages is designed to avoid conflicts, but give-ways and
stops can also be specified. RTOR (right turn allowed on red) in
signalised intersections can also be defined.
Signal lights at a junction can be connected to a controller that
sends signal light changes according to a Pre-timed (fixed
controlled), Actuated or Adaptive strategy. Controllers are
explained in the Controllers section.

6.5.3 Turns
Turns are the allowed movements in a node between origin sections
and destination sections. Not all the lanes in both sections have to
be involved in a turn, as shown in Figure 22.

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d e stin a tio n
se c tio n

o rig in la n e s

d e stin a tio n
se c tio n

d e stin a tio n
se c tio n

Figure 22 Notation used in turns

6.5.4 Give-way and stop

Vehicles approaching a give-way check the trajectory and speed of
crossing vehicles and make the appropriate corrections to avoid
collisions. In the case of a stop sign, the vehicle stops at the
entrance of the junction and accelerates when it finds a big enough
gap between two successive vehicles.

6.5.5 Stop Lines

By default, when setting a give-way or a stop, Aimsun will place a
stop line by default at the end of the section. The user can also
create additional stop lines using the Turn context menu.
In order to create a new stop line, select the turn, right-click on it,
and choose New from the Stop Lines option in the context menu. If
it is the first stop line added, it will substitute the default one at
the end of the origin section
It is possible to remove a stop line placing the cursor over it and
using, in the Turn context menu, the Remove command from the
Stop Lines submenu.
This submenu also contains a command to remove all the stop lines.
After removing all the stop lines, the default one will be considered
again.

6.5.6 Signal groups

A signal group is the set of turn movements given right of way when
a given traffic light turns green. A phase-based approach is applied,
in which the cycle of the junction is divided into phases, each one
activating a particular set of signal groups.
The stop line for each signal group can be located at a certain
distance from the beginning of the junction.
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Furthermore, different signal groups per vehicle type can be

defined for the same turn movement.

6.6 Pedestrian Crossings

Aimsun supports pedestrian crossings of an arbitrary length either
at the beginning or at the end of a section. Pedestrian movements
will be part of the node in where the section is. Crossings at the
end of the section will be part of the node at the end of that
section. Crossings at the beginning of the section will be part of the
node at the beginning of that section.

6.7 Controllers
Controllers are entities designed to group network equipment:
signal groups, VMS's, metering devices and detectors together.
Their purpose is to represent the equivalent real world devices
used by traffic control systems or traffic management software
such as SCATS, for example.

6.8 Public Transport Stops

Public transport Stops are objects that can be positioned on and
associated with sections. There are three types of public transport
stops: normal, bus bay and terminal. In normal public transport
stops the public vehicles stop in the stop area, in bus bays the
vehicles stop outside the section nearby the public transport stop
area and terminals are public transport stations with a certain
capacity of vehicles.

6.9 Public Transport Stations

Public transport Stations group a set of Public Transport Stops and
contain information on connection times and walking times.
Connection times, when specified, will override the waiting time
for the following line to be boarded when making a transfer. Public
Transport Stations information is only taken into account for the
Static Public Transport Assignment and Adjustment.

6.10 Public Transport Sections

Public transport Sections are created automatically each time a
Public Transport Line is defined, and they are the segments from
one stop to the next one following the PT Line route. PT Sections
are afterwards editable, and contain the public transport cost for
the in-vehicle time in that segment, that is, a PT Delay function
must be selected for each PT Section. Public Transport Sections
information is only taken into account for the Static Public
Transport Assignment and Adjustment.

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6.11 Vehicle types

A vehicle type is the group into which a set of vehicles and drivers
with common physical characteristics have been aggregated for
their modelling in the simulation environment. For instance, types
such as car, taxi, public bus, private bus, LRT (Light Rail Transit),
SUV (Sport Utility Vehicle), truck and long truck can be defined.

6.12 Cameras
This object both models real life cameras and/or sets the main
perspectives for the later 3D visualization of the simulation
animation. Cameras can be translated, rotated in the 3D
environment, they can also zoom the image and a route can be set
for a given camera so that it automatically guides us through the
network during the animation.

6.13 Texts, Polygons, Polylines and 3D Images

Texts, polygons and polylines are used to write text and represent
the framework of additional features (walls, squares, buildings) in
which the traffic network is embedded. These can be convenient
for clarifying the view of a network, and adding reference points
that help to recognise the area to be modelled. 3D images are used
to add objects such as trees and traffic lights, to make the 3D views
more realistic.
Polylines are composed of several segments that can be either
straight or curve.

6.14 Centroids
A centroid is a source and/or a sink of vehicles. They are used to
define O/D matrices, as origin and destination points of the trips.

6.15 Control plans

A control plan specifies the control parameters applied to a set of
junctions and meterings in an area and starting at a specified time.
The main parameters for a junction are:
Control type: uncontrolled, fixed control, external or actuated.
Critical junction flag: a critical junction could be treated
differently in an external model.
Offset: used to set the beginning of the sequence of phases
regarding to the control plan's initial time, and therefore
synchronise adjacent junctions within the same control plan.
Phases: determine the different time periods of signal
activation.
Metering control parameters depend on the type of metering. The
main parameters for each case are:
Green-time metering: the cycle time and the green-time
duration.
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Green-time by lane metering: the cycle time, the green-time

duration and the lane offset.
Flow metering: maximum allowed flow.
Flow-ALINEA metering: initial flow, minimum flow, maximum
flow, regulator parameter, calculation interval, desired
downstream occupancy.
Delay metering: mean delay for each vehicle and the standard
deviation from the specified mean.

6.16 Traffic States

Each traffic state is a description of the state in each section in the
network and it is defined for a time interval. The traffic state in a
section is characterised by the following averaged measurements:
For those sections with entries not connected to any other
section (sections that act as vehicle entries to the network), the
entrance flow per vehicle type.
For each following section and turn: turn percentage.

6.17 O/D matrices

An O/D matrix contains data (for example, trips) for each
origin/destination pair of centroids in the centroid configuration,
for a given user class and time period.

6.18 O/D routes

O/D Routes for a Centroid Configuration can be defined, in order to
be used later in dynamic simulations.

6.19 Public Transport Lines and Public Transport Plans

When creating a public transport line, a set of timetables is edited
with the departure times and stop times for each period of the day.
A public transport plan simply consists of assigning one timetable to
each public transport line. In this way, a set of PT plans can be
used to model the different departure times and stop times of each
line at each time period through the simulation.
A Public transport line is modelled as a set of connected sections (a
fixed route) with a set of assigned public transport stops subset to
the total number of public transport stops on those sections.
The information associated with the bus line also includes the
timetable for that line for the different periods of the day. That
information includes departure times at the initial stop and stop
times for each bus stop. Different values can be input for different
scenarios for different days and time periods; one of those
scenarios is then chosen when designing a Public Transport Plan.
Public transport lines and public transport stops are connected in
the following way: a public transport line has several stops and,
reciprocally, several lines pass through a unique public transport
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stop. Different public transport lines can be connected to each

other if they give a coordinated service, and the timetable
departure times will then be conditioned to the on-time arrival of
its complementary line.

6.20 Subpaths
A subpath is a set of consecutive sections that can be used for
different purposes such as gathering statistics from the simulators
or be considered in a rerouting traffic management action as part
of the vehicle's path.

6.21 Scenarios, Experiments and Replications

A scenario is the container for the input data and experiments to
execute one of several processes: Aimsun microsimulations, Aimsun
mesosimulations, Aimsun hybrid simulations, Aimsun static traffic
and public transport assignments, Aimsun static demand and public
transport adjustments, trip generation, distribution + modal split
and the generic four-step model process.
The scenarios for the microscopic, mesoscopic and hybrid
simulators are Dynamic Scenarios, while the scenario for the static
traffic assignment is called Macro Assignment Scenario and the one
for the static demand adjustment is the Macro Adjustment
Scenario.
A scenario is composed of several parameters. For the ones
mentioned above, the main parameters are a traffic demand (a
group of O/D matrices or traffic states), and optionally, a public
transport plan, and a master control plan (a group of control plans)
for micro, meso and hybrid.
In Aimsun Microscopic, Mesoscopic and Hybrid simulators, each
dynamic scenario can have different dynamic experiments and each
experiment can have different replications. A replication will be
the object to be simulated. Refer to the Aimsun Dynamic
Simulators Manual for more details.
Each Macro Assignment Scenario can have different macro
experiments to calculate a static traffic assignment. The
experiment will be the object to be assigned. The same happens
with Macro Adjustment Scenarios, where the experiment will be
used to execute the adjustment. Refer to the Aimsun Macroscopic
Modelling Manual for more details.
The Trip Generation Scenario, the Distribution + Modal Split
Scenario and Four-step Model Scenario and corresponding
Experiments are additional processes that together with the Macro
Assignment, Public Transport Assignment and respective
Adjustment Scenarios and Experiments offer the complete
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functionalities for the Travel Demand Modelling using the Four-step

methodology. Refer to the Aimsun Travel Demand Modelling Manual
for more details.

6.22 Subnetworks
A subnetwork is a subarea of the global network that can be
analysed individually.
Usually, subnetworks are used in combination with the Aimsun
Macroscopic modelling component as it generates O/D matrices for
a sub-area. Hereafter, the O/D matrices can be introduced into the
submodels traffic demand in order to perform the Meso or the
Microscopic simulator of Aimsun.
If the demand information is known, the O/D matrices or Traffic
states can be also input manually as it is normally done with the
whole network.

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7 Network Editing
Aimsun includes a graphical editor (this means that all the graphical
properties of the elements can be edited using the mouse) for the
main traffic components: sections, nodes and centroids. It also adds
decorative elements as labels, lines, curves and polygons.
This chapter will explain the common operations for all the
graphical objects and how they are organized. The following
chapters will describe in detail the editing of each object type.

7.1 View Navigation

In 2D views, the user can use the pan and the zoom tools to move
around and change the drawing scale of a view.
The View menu includes two commands to change the view scale
(the zoom factor) and the position in 2D views:
Whole World to display in the view all the network elements.
Centre World to display the centre of the network in the centre
of the view (the zoom factor is not changed).
In 3D views, the user can also use the pan and the zoom tools as
well as the camera rotation tool to move around the view. Refer to
the Selected objects in 3D views section for more details.

7.1.1 Bookmarks
A bookmark is a useful way to move fast to an important area of a
network (static bookmarks) or to cover different areas of the
network automatically, showing one after the other (dynamic
bookmarks). The user can create as many bookmarks as required.

Figure 23 Bookmarks menu

To create new bookmarks use the Bookmark this Position command

from the Bookmarks menu. A dialog as the one in Figure 24 will
appear. The user must choose whether to create a Static or a
Dynamic Bookmark, and fill in its name. The new bookmark will be

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created with the current view position and zoom (on 2D views) or
the camera placement and settings (on 3D Views).

Figure 24 Bookmark Creation Dialog

Bookmarks can have 2D and 3D information, so the effect of the

bookmark will depend on whether it is activated on a 2D or a 3D
view. Select a static bookmark from the Bookmarks menu to move
to the marked area or a dynamic bookmark to start the animation
of the different areas. Use the Back and Forward options to change
from one bookmark to the previous or the next in the list of
bookmarks defined.
Use the Edit command from the Bookmarks menu to create more
bookmarks, to edit both types of bookmarks parameters and to add
more positions to the dynamic bookmarks.
Select a bookmark to view its information in the editor and in the
current view. Press the Delete button to delete it if desired.
7.1.1.1
Editing Static Bookmarks
There are two possibilities to edit the 2D or 3D settings of a static
bookmark. One is to prepare the desired view in the current 2D or
3D view and then press the Set Position From View button, the
second one is to fill in manually all the 2D or 3D parameters.
Furthermore, when creating a static bookmark the current time of
the view can be stored by checking the Store Time option so that
the view time will be changed to that time anytime the bookmark is
played.
The parameters defined for a bookmark can be copied and pasted
from one network to another by using the Copy and Paste buttons.

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Figure 25 Static Bookmark editing

7.1.1.2
Editing Dynamic Bookmarks
A dynamic bookmark consists of a set of positions along the network
that are followed one after the other. Add as many positions as
desired by using the Add button at the Dynamic Bookmark Settings
box, and set the time to change to the next position for each of
them. Positions will be added with a default value of 10 seconds.
For every dynamic bookmark, there are two options to move from
one position to the next one. When the Move Camera option is
checked, the view will move continuously in the specified number
of seconds from one position to the next, by linear interpolation of
the settings. If this option is not checked, then the view will move
from one position to the next after the specified number of
seconds.

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When creating a dynamic bookmark the current time of the view

can be stored by checking the Store Time option so that the view
time will be changed to that time anytime the bookmark is played.
The parameters defined for a bookmark can be copied and pasted
from one network to another by using the Copy and Paste buttons.
The way of editing each positions settings is the same as in static
bookmarks.

Figure 26 Dynamic Bookmark editing

When a position is selected, it is shown in the current view.

Select a position and press the Remove button to remove it.
When editing or selecting a dynamic bookmark from the Bookmarks
menu, the following buttons will be available to control the
position changes:

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It starts the movement from the last shown

position of the bookmark.
It goes back to the first position of the
dynamic bookmark.
Skips to the next position.
Stops the movement at the current position.
If the play button is pressed, then the movement
will continue from this position on.
In Figure 27 is shown the dialog when a dynamic bookmark is
activated.

Figure 27 Dynamic Bookmark Dialog

When the Auto-Rewind and Play option is checked, the dynamic

view bookmark animation will restart automatically once it has
reached the end. There will be no need to press the play button
each time it reaches the end.

7.2 The Mouse

The uses of the mouses buttons in 2D views are:
Left button click: performs an operation depending on the
selected tool (selection, rotation, object creation ).
Middle button click and drag: pan.
Wheel button: zoom in or zoom out (depending of the wheel
movement).
Right button click: context menu.
In 3D views, the mouses buttons are used in the following way:
Left button click: while the selection tool is active, clicking onto
an object will select it in both 2D and 3D views, and clicking
onto a vehicle will create a new camera placed inside the
vehicle to follow its movement.
Middle button click and drag: to move up, down, left or right
(depending on the mouse movement done while the button is
pressed).
Wheel button: to move the camera forward or backwards
(depending of the wheel movement).
Right button click: not used.

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7.3 Editing Tools

There are three main types of editing tools:
Selection tools: Used to select objects.
Modifier tools: Used to change some attributes of graphical
objects using direct manipulation.
Creator tools: Used to add new graphical objects.

7.3.1 Continuous mode

Some tools (creators and connection) will become inactivate
automatically after a single use. This means that for creating, let
say, two centroids, the user must select the centroid tool, create
the centroid and select again the centroid tool to create another
one.
The continuous mode for a tool will keep the designed tool active
until it is explicitly deactivated (activating another tool). This mode
is activated by selecting the tool with a double click instead of a
single click.
Note that when the continuous mode of a tool is activated by no
other action rather than the tool action can be performed.

7.3.2 Keyboard Shortcuts

The main tools can be activated from the keyboard pressing the
following keys:
Key Sequence
F5
F6
F7
Control + R
F9

Tool
Selection
Pan
Zoom
Rotation
Connection

7.4 Common Operations

All the graphical objects support some common operations and
their editors offer similar functionalities.
Objects can be selected, either individually or in groups (by area or
using the Shift key). Then, operations can be applied to the whole
selection at once. They can be translated and rotated, their
altitude can be modified, they can be deleted pressing the Delete
key.
Other, more specific, operations can be applied to objects of the
same type using the context menu (for example setting all the
selected nodes as Yellow Box). Note that commands invoked from
the context menu will be applied (when possible) to all the
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selected objects and not just to the object that showed the context
menu.
A double click on an object will make its editor appear (and if the
object is already edited the editor will be sent to front).
Selected objects will be renamed pressing the Rename key (F2 key
by default).
When the user wants to show the object identifier for an object in
a 2D view, the Show Label command found in its context menu can
be used. For example, to show the identifiers of all the sections in
a 2D view, just select all the sections, open the context menu of
any section and select the Show Label option. The label will be the
sections identifier followed by the sections name, if any. When
the objects labels are shown, they can be hidden again by
selecting the Hide Label option.

7.5 Marks in Editors

When an object is edited and it affects or uses other objects, these
objects will be drawn in the active 2D view (if any) using the mark
colours. If more than one object must be marked and they play
different roles, then different mark colours will be used as follow:
Name
First mark colour (primary)
Second mark colour (secondary)
Third mark colour
Fourth mark colour
Fifth mark colour
Sixth mark colour

Colour

This colour ramp, as any colour ramp used in Aimsun, can be

customized. See the Colour Ramps section for details.
Examples of the mark colour usage are:
The public transport line will show the sections that are part of
the route using the primary mark colour.
While assigning turns to a Signal Group the turns that are already
part of the signal are drawn using the primary mark colour. The
turn selected is drawn using the secondary mark colour.
In general, the editor will try to offer as much context information
as possible to ease the editing process.

7.6 Layers
Aimsun organizes objects in layers. The use of layers has a dual
role: to determine the drawing order (what is drawn over what) and
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to hold together related objects (for example, decorative elements

in a layer and main roads in another).
In GIS applications, a layer contains a feature that corresponds to a
single element type. In the same layer, it is not possible to mix
different object types (roads and rivers for example). Aimsun, on
the other hand, does not force any particular aggregation of the
graphical objects.
In Aimsun, there are two types of layers: the internal ones, where
the objects contained in them are stored into the Aimsun database,
and external ones, where the objects contained in them are stored
in a separated file or files.

7.6.1 Layers window

The list of layers in the current project is displayed in the Layers
window. The Layers window can be displayed or hidden by
accessing the Window ->Windows ->Layers window.

7.6.2 Working with Layers

New layers can be created either accessing the New Layer option
located in the View Menu or clicking on the + button in the top part
of the layers window. When done, an untitled layer with no objects
will be added to the model.
By opening a layers context menu and selecting the New Layer
option, a new layer inside the selected one will be added.
To rename a layer, open its context menu and select the Rename
option.
To delete a layer, open its context menu and select the Remove
option. All the objects inside the layer will also be removed.

7.6.3 Active Layer

When a graphical object is created it will be added to the active
layer (an active layer has its icon in blue, the rest are drawn in
dark grey if data is available and in light grey when data has not
been retrieved). Using the layer context menu (Activate option) the
user can turn on the desired layer into the active one.

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Figure 28 Layers Browser: the active layer is Network

7.6.4 Layer Settings

Layers can be visible (ON) or non-visible (OFF). The check mark in
the Layers Window controls the visibility of the layer. When a layer
is visible, its objects are drawn in the 2D views and when it is nonvisible, its objects are hidden.

7.6.5 Layer editor

Using the layer editor, it is also possible to control the layer
visibility by zoom scale (that is, make a layer visible based on the
current zoom level).

Figure 29 Layer Editor

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Objects in a layer can be editable or non-editable (when it appears

in the Layer Browser with a cross). When editing is not possible,
the layers objects are drawn but no object can be selected. Check
the Allow Object Editing option to be able to select the layers
objects in the 2D Views.
The level parameter defines which layers will be drawn over other
layers in 2D Views. Layers with high level are drawn over layers
with a lower level. All the objects inside a layer are drawn in any
order. See the Layer Level and Arrange Objects section for more
details.
A layer can also have its units specified in different ways such as
meters, inches and pixels. The user should also specify the
Universal Transverse Mercator (UTM) longitude zone (in the range
1-60) to ensure correct handling of coordinates (particularly
important if looking to export data to external applications, such as
vehicle trajectories).
Simple geometry (points, lines and polygons) can be drawn using
either its own colour and brush attributes or the ones specified in
the layer dialog.
Finally the Transformation tab provides simple transformation
functions for the layer.

7.6.6 Retrieving external layers

At the time of opening, external layers will be retrieved if they
were saved with the Auto Retrieve button (located in the Layer
editor) checked.
At any moment, a non-retrieved external layer can be explicitly
retrieved by opening its upper layer (the one that contains all the
sub-layers) context menu and selecting the Retrieve External Data
option or by clicking in the Retrieve button located in the Retrieve
folder of the main layers editor.
For CAD drawings, there is a preference (Retrieve OFF Layers, in
the Preferences command in the Edit menu) that controls if the
data contained in OFF layers will be also retrieved. Retrieving OFF
layers data allows the user to see the contents of the layer later
on but consumes more memory. If OFF layers are not retrieved then
these layers cannot show its contents (as this data has not been
loaded) but less memory is required. Anyway, OFF layers can be
retrieved at any time if desired.

7.6.7 Layer Level and Arrange Objects

A layer has a level used to specify the drawing order on 2D views.
Layers with a higher level will be drawn over lower level layers.
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This property can be used to draw correctly elevated bridges or

roads over other elements.
In 3D views, the Z coordinate is used to determine what is over
what. No level information will be used in 3D views.
Objects can be moved, using the Arrange option in their context
menu to a new layer (Move to Layer). This command is applied over
all the currently selected objects.

7.6.8 Fast Objects Editing in a Layer

All the objects in a layer can be selected with the Select All
command from the layer context menu. Combining this command
with the Move Selection to View Centre command from the Edit
menu the user can move quickly graphical objects to a new
location.
Using the Select All command, it is possible to change other
parameters of the objects contained in a layer. To do so, select all
the objects in a layer, then open the context menu of any of the
selected objects and execute the desired command.

7.6.9 Filtering layers in the Layers window

The layers that are displayed in the Layers window can be filtered
(see Figure 30) by:

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Name: when a name is written in the filter part on the top of the
layers window, only the layers whose name contains the one
specified, will be displayed among the layers in one of the following
groups:
All: All the layers.
Non empty: The layers that contain any object.
Empty: The layers without objects.
Internal: the internal layers.
External: the external layers:
Active: the active layer.
Visible: the visible layers.

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Figure 30 Filtering layers

7.7 The Selection Tool

Use this tool to select objects, to open the editor for an object and
to manipulate the graphical elements.

Figure 31 Selection Tool

A click on an object will select it and any other selected object will
be deselected. If the user clicks on no object, the previously
selected objects will be deselected.
If the Shift button is pressed during a selection, the process will be
modified as:
If the object is not selected, it will be selected and the rest of
the selected objects will remain selected.
If the object was selected it will be unselected, keeping the rest
of the selected objects selected.
Another possibility is to select all the objects inside an area. Press
on the drawing area and, without releasing the button, move the
mouse to define a selection rectangle. Release the mouses button
to select all the objects placed totally inside this rectangle.
When more than one object lie at the same point, if the Alt key is
pressed while the left mouse button is clicked, then a list with all
the objects laying at that point will appear to be able to select the
desired one. For example, in Figure 32 two sections and a polygon
are located where the mouse has been clicked.

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Figure 32 Object selection when several ones lie at the same point

7.7.1 Other Ways to Select

It

is also possible to select objects using mechanisms as:

Select all the found objects in the Find Dialog.
Select all the objects inside a layer.
Select all the objects in the current network using the Select All
command in the Edit menu.
Inverse Selection in the Edit menu that will deselect the current
selected objects and it will select the ones that were not
selected.

7.7.2 Object Editor

A double click on an object will open its editor. The editor dialog
will always show the OK and Cancel buttons. Pressing the ESC key is
equivalent to pressing the Cancel button.
If an object is completely behind one of its dynamic labels, pressing
the Alt key while double-clicking will open the object editor and
not the dynamic label editor.
Even when more than one object is selected, only one editor will
be opened, the corresponding to the target object (the object that
receives the double click). The commands in the context menu,
however, will be applied to all the relevant selected objects.
It is not possible to do an Undo of a change performed by an editor
dialog.

7.7.3 Translation
The selection tool can also be used to translate all the selected
objects to a new position. Press on a selected object and, without
releasing the button, move the mouse to translate the current
selection to a new position. Release the button to end the
translation operation.
This operation, as all the direct manipulation operations, is
undoable.
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7.7.4 Altitude Editing

The altitude of each object can be changed if the translation is
done while pressing the CONTROL key. This will tell Aimsun to
change the Z coordinate of the selection instead of its X and Y
coordinates.
There are two other possibilities to change the altitude of a
graphical object or a selection of them: by using the Change
Altitude option in the Arrange menu, or this same option (Arrange
/ Change Altitude) in the graphical object's context menu. On both
cases, the dialog in Figure 33 is shown. The new Altitude can be
defined in this dialog, and if the Relative option is checked, then
the meters specified will be added to the current altitude.

Figure 33 Change Altitude Dialog

It is possible to change the altitude of one or several points of a

section, polyline or polygon. Select the points to be changed
instead of the whole object.

7.7.5 Direct Manipulation

The shape attributes of a selected object can also be edited using
the selection tool using direct manipulation. For example, it is
possible to change the length of a section, to change its lane width
or to add a new side lane (on-ramp or off-ramps). Refer to the
Section Editing for details about how to do it.

7.8 Rotation Tool

This tool allows the rotation around a centre (that can be changed)
of all the selected objects. Press on the view and move the mouse
to rotate the current selection.

Figure 34 Rotation Tool

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Press and translate the rotation centre (that appears as a big cross)
to a new placement using the mouse. By default, the rotation
centre is the centre of the current selection.
The rotation tool can be used as a selection tool to select or
unselect elements using the click and Shift + click operations.

7.9 Pan and Zoom Tools

Use the Pan tool to move around a 2D view. Select the tool, press
on the view and, without releasing the mouse, move the pointer to
navigate in the view.

Figure 35 Pan and Zoom Tools

The Pan tool is also available using the middle mouse button when
another tool is being used. This allows the user to move around
even when another tool is selected and in use (for example, during
the section creation, it is possible to move the view).
The Zoom tool is used to change the 2D view scale. This tool is also
available using the wheel mouse.
The view scale determines not only how close the objects will
appear but also which objects are visible (using the layer visibility
setting).
When two 2D views are available, using the Zoom to select an area
while pressing the Alt key in one view will make the other view
show this area.
Another useful feature to move around the network methodically is
available when the Pan or the Zoom tools are selected. When any
of these tools is active, the arrow keys and the extended keyboard
number keys with the Num Lock deactivated will produce the
corresponding views:

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Up key: moves up keeping the top half of the current view at

the bottom of the new view.
Down key: moves down keeping the bottom half of the current
view at the top of the new view.
Left key: moves to the left keeping the right half of the
current view on the left of the new view.
Right key: moves to the right keeping the left half of the
current view on the right of the new view.
5 key: centres the view.
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Page up key: zooms in.

Page down key: zooms out.
Insert key: shows the whole view.

When any of the four arrow keys is pressed while pressing the
Control key, a whole view and not only half of it is moved.

7.10 Camera Rotation Tool

This tool is used in 3D views to rotate the view camera for changing
the current viewed area of the network.

Figure 36 Camera Rotation

Refer to the Selected objects in 3D views section for more details

about navigation in 3D views.

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8 Network Backgrounds
The user can place images and vectorial drawings in Aimsun as
blueprints to draw the network on them. At this moment the
accepted formats are:
Vector formats: CAD files in DXF, DWG and DGN formats, and GIS
files in Shapefile format.
Raster Images, manual geolocation: JPEG, GIF, PNG, BMP.
Raster Images, automatic geolocation: JPEG 2000, ECW, MrSID.
Normally any file to be used as a background will be in one of these
formats or can be converted easily to one of them.

8.1 Importing
The import process starts using the Import command from the File
menu. Select the file type to import and, from a file browser
dialog, the file to be imported. Depending on the file type, a
second dialog will ask for additional information.

Figure 37 Import options

The imported file will not be stored in the Aimsun database, only
the location of the file will be saved, minimizing the database size.
It is possible then that the user changes the location of the Aimsun
network to another computer or any of these external files to a
new folder. In the case that it is not possible to find the imported
file in the original location, when the user opens again the
network, the application will try to locate automatically the
missing files looking in the same folder where the Aimsun network
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is. If the file cannot be found, then the application will ask for its
new location. However, a network can be opened again even if
none of its external files can be located.
To be able to import any file an existing network must be open or a
new one must be created first.
8.1.1.1
CAD Files
CAD files, such as DWG, DXF or DGN files, are imported in a layer
with the same name as the imported file and each CAD layer is
imported as a sublayer. The CAD objects cannot be translated or
scaled but the user can hide any individual layer and change how
Aimsun draws each layer content.
Individual objects in a CAD file can neither be edited nor selected.
When importing a CAD file, the dialog in Figure 38 will be shown.
The geo units in which the CAD file is codified, either meters, feet
or user defined must be specified, and also the type of text
encoding of the CAD file. User defined units let the user supply a
multiplication factor used to scale the coordinates. If System
encoding is chosen, the settings of the Operating System will be
used.

Figure 38 CAD Importer Dialog

8.1.1.2
GIS Files
They will be placed, as CAD files, in their own layer. Objects
imported from a GIS file, unlike the CAD ones, can be selected and,
by doing a double click, an information window will be opened
where all the non-graphical information will be shown.
For more information about importing GIS files, see the GIS
Importer/Exporter.

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8.1.1.3
Raster Files
Each image will be placed in a layer as a graphical object, as a
sublayer of the Images layer. An image can be selected, translated
and scaled.
The automatic creation and distribution on layers of the network
backgrounds has the aim of simplifying the task of choosing which
background layers are shown and which are not.

8.2 Retrieving
When a network is loaded, the user can manually select which
external files will be read automatically and which ones will be
read later on. Reading all the external files automatically saves the
user the operation of selecting what to load but increases the load
time and the memory usage. It is therefore advisable to select for
automatic load only those files that will be useful for the current
task.

8.2.1 Automatic Retrieve

Use the Background editor (that can be opened by double-clicking
on the Background Layer in the Layers Window) to set the Auto
Retrieve property. This option is in the Retrieve folder, and when
checked, every time the network is loaded this file will be
retrieved.

Figure 39 External file retrieve operations

8.2.2 Manual Retrieve

Use the Retrieve button in the editor, the Retrieve command in the
image context menu or the Retrieve External Data from the layer
context menu that has the image or vector drawing. Note that this
layer command will retrieve all the external data found in it and
also in all its sublayers.

8.3 Placement and Scale

Some formats already include information about their position,
scale and rotation (DXF, DWG, DGN, Shapefiles, JPEG 2000, ECW
and MrSID) so they will be placed at the correct position
automatically.
Other formats (JPEG, GIF, PNG and BMP) must be translated to the
desired location and scaled to their correct size in meters or feet.
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If its layer is protected against editing, it will not be possible to

select an image to move it or scale it. See Layer editor section for
more information.

8.3.1 Placement
Select the image (CAD files cannot be moved) by clicking on it and
use the mouse to drag it to its final position. When selected, the
image will not be shown; only its position will be pointed out. To
make the image visible while selected, double click on it to show
its editor and check the option Show contents while selected.

Figure 40 Selection and translation of an image

8.3.2 Scale
An image scale can be modified using its editor. From there, the
user can select two different scale methods: pixel factor or image
scale. Ask your image provider about the method to be used and
values.

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Figure 41 Image Editor

The DPIs method sets the image scale (as for example 1:5000) and
its resolution in DPIs (Dots per Inch).
The pixel factor is used to specify the size of each pixel in either
meters or feet. For example, an image of 1000 horizontal pixels
with a pixel size of 1 meter will have a total width of 1000 metres;
if the pixel size is 0.5 then the width will be 500 metres.

8.3.3 Using the Positioner tab

An alternative method to place and scale the image is to use the
Positioner tab folder in the image editor. This allows the image to
be placed at the desired location and at the desired scale by
specifying two corresponding points on both the layer (usually
against the underlying CAD file) and the image.
First, select Reference Point 1, in this case the centre of a
roundabout, by clicking in the view as shown in Figure 42:

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Figure 42 Selecting the first reference point

Then select the second reference point (the roundabout to the

south, Figure 43):

Figure 43 Selecting the second reference point

Then select the corresponding points on the image (Figure 44 and

Figure 45):

Figure 44 Selecting corresponding image point 1

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Figure 45 Selecting corresponding image point 2

With all points set, clicking Scale and Translate (Figure 46)
positions and scales the image according to the chosen points
(Figure 47).

Figure 46 Select Scale

and Translate

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Figure 47 Positioned and Scaled

according to points specified

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9 Line and Polygon Editing

A line is composed of a collection of points that defines straight
segments and curved ones. Each point can be edited and removed
individually. Once the line is created, new vertexes can be added.
A polygon is a group of straight lines where the first vertex matches
with the last one. A polygon can be extruded to become a 3D block.

9.1 Line Graphical Editing

There are two tools to create lines. A straight line can be created
using the Polyline tool. To do it, click on the tool, press on the view
and then press again as many times as vertexes are wanted to be
added to the polyline. A vertex will be created on each of the
points where the user clicks on the view. A double click ends the
editing (this last point will also be part of the polyline).

Figure 48 Polyline Tool

The context menu of a polyline allows it to be extruded to convert

it into a 3D wall. Use the Extrude polyline option in its context
menu to do this.

Figure 49 Polyline Extrusion

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A curve line can be created using the Bezier Curve tool. To do it,
follow the same instructions as for the straight polyline creation.

Figure 50 Bezier Curve Tool

Every segment of the curve polyline will be created with one

control point. Control points are used to define the curvature of
the segment. In the next figure, control points are circled in red
and the segments start and end vertexes are circled in blue.

Figure 51 Bezier Curve with two control points

Once a line is created, new vertexes can be added (using the New
Vertex Tool), new control points can be added to curve lines (using
the New Curve Vertex Tool) and it can also be broken into two
lines, using the Cut tool. See the Line Tools section for details.
Furthermore, whenever a vertex is dragged, the total line length
will be shown.
The context menu of both types of lines allows converting them to
sections. Use the Convert to section option to do it. First, select
the line, then right-click on it with the mouse to access its context
menu and finally select the Convert to section option. A new
section, with the selected line as centerline, will be created.

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Figure 52 Bezier Curve converted into a section

9.2 Line Tools

Three tools deal with lines: New Vertex, New Curve Vertex and Cut
tool.

9.2.1 New Straight Vertex Tool

Tool used to add new vertexes to either a straight or a curve
polyline, that is, create two segments from an existing one.

Figure 53 New Vertex Tool

To add a new vertex, first select the polyline, and then click on the
New Vertex Tool and finally left-click with the mouse on the view
where the polyline was selected and without releasing the mouse
button draw a line that intersects with the point in the line where
the vertex is to be added. Release the mouse button and a new
vertex will appear in the line.

Figure 54 Adding a new vertex to a polyline

Selecting a vertex and dragging it will change the shape of the line
in both segments to which the vertex belongs.

9.2.2 New Curve Vertex Tool

Tool used to add new control points to a curve polylines segment.
A maximum of two control points can be added to a segment.

Figure 55 New Control Point

To do it, first select the curve, and then click on the New Curve
Vertex Tool and finally left-click with the mouse on the view where
the curve was selected and without releasing the mouse button
draw a line that intersects with the point in the curve where the
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control point is to be added. Release the mouse button. A new

control point will appear in the line.

Figure 56 Adding a control point to a curve segment

Selecting a control point and dragging it will change the shape of

the curve segment to which the control point belongs.
Sections and turns offer this tool as an entry in the context menu.

9.2.3 Cut Tool

Tool used to divide any kind of line into two.

Figure 57 Cut Tool

To do it, first select the line to be converted into two, and then
click on the Cut Tool and finally left-click with the mouse on the
view where the line was selected and without releasing the mouse
button draw a line that intersects with the selected line where the
cut is to be performed. Release the mouse button. Two new
vertexes will be created, one for each of the new lines. Only one of
the resulting lines will remain selected.

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9.3 Polyline Editor

The polyline editor is used to change the values of different
attributes for a single polyline.

Figure 58 Polyline Editor Main Folder

The following parameters can be defined:

Object Name
External ID
Altitude: distance to the Z = 0 plane at which the polyline
will be located.
Line Colour: Colour used to draw the polyline in the 2D View.
Line Style: solid, dash, dots or a combination.
Line Width, either in meters, feet or pixels.
The length of the polyline is also shown.

9.4 Extruded Polyline Editor

The extruded polyline editor is used to change the values of
different attributes for a single extruded polyline.

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Figure 59 Extruded polyline Editor Main Folder

All the properties that can be defined in the polyline editor can
also be defined in the extruded polyline editor. Furthermore, the
Brush Colour can be also defined in the Main folder of the editor.
In the 3D folder, shown in the next figure, the parameters that can
be defined are the height of the extruded polyline and textures
used in 3D views.

Figure 60 Extruded polyline Editor 3D Folder

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Figure 61 Textures Editor

For each possible texture (a row in the table), there is a button to

select the desired texture (Select column) and another one to
discard the current one (Discard column). When the button to
select a texture is pressed, a textures editor with all the available
textures will appear. Note that only image files located in the
AIMSUN_HOME/shapes/textures
or
in
the
<network_directory>/shapes/textures folders will appear. The
number of horizontal repetitions and the number of vertical
repetitions of the texture can also be defined.

Figure 62 Texture Example

The textures can also be assigned to a polyline by selecting the

desired texture in the 3D Info window (see the section 3D Info
Window for more details) and dragging it over the polygon either in
a 2D or 3D view. When dragging a texture without any other key
pressed, the texture will be applied to all the faces. If it is dragged
with the Ctrl key pressed then it will be applied to only the pointed
face.

9.5 Polygon Graphical Editing

A polygon can be created using the Polygon Tool. To do it, click on
the tool, press on the view and then press again as many times as
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vertexes have to be added to the polygon. A double click ends the

editing connecting the last point with the first one.

Figure 63 Polygon Tool

Once a polygon has been created, new vertexes can be added using
the New Vertex Tool. See the New Straight Vertex Tool section for
details.
The context menu of a polygon allows it to be extruded to convert
it into a 3D block, a polyhedron with the initial polygon as base.
Use the Extrude polygon option in its context menu to do it.

Figure 64 Polygon Extrusion

9.6 Polygon Editor

The polygon editor is used to change the values of different
attributes for a single polygon. On the other hand, when using the
context menu, all the selected polygons will be changed at once.

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Figure 65 Polygon Editor Main Folder

There are several folders in this editor. In the Main folder, shown in
the previous figure, the following parameters can be defined:
Altitude: distance to the Z = 0 plane at which the polygon
will be located.
Line Colour and Line Style for 2D views.
Brush Colour and Brush Style for 2D views.
Line width, in either pixels, meters or feet.
In the 3D folder, shown in the next figure, the parameters that can
be defined are the top and bottom textures used in 3D views.

Figure 66 Polygon Editor 3D Folder

As explained for the Extruded Polyline Editor section, the textures

can also be assigned to a polygon by selecting the desired texture
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in the 3D Info window (see the section 3D Info Window for more
details) and dragging it over the polygon either in a 2D or 3D view.
When dragging a texture without any other key pressed, the
texture will be applied to the top face. If it is dragged with the Ctrl
key pressed then it will be applied to the bottom face.
In the OSM tab we have the Open Street Map information if we are
working from a file opened or created with the Open Street Map
importer. It is simply informative and we can assign the object a
group and a type name.

Figure 67 Polygon Editor OSM Folder

Note that this tab does not appear if we are not using a file created
with OSM data.

9.7 Extruded Polygon Editor

The extruded polygon editor is used to change the values of
different attributes for a single extruded polygon. On the other
hand, when using the context menu, all the selected extruded
polygons will be changed at once.

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Figure 68 Extruded polygon Editor Main Folder

As in the Polygon editor, there are two folders in this editor. All the
properties that can be defined in the polygon editor can be defined
in the extruded polygon editor. Furthermore, in this editor new
properties can be defined in the 3D folder:
The block height, that is, the height of the lateral faces or
the distance between the bottom and top faces.
Whether to set different textures for each lateral face or
one for all lateral faces.
All the textures for the lateral faces, which can be defined
in the same way as the bottom and top ones (see the Polygon
Editor section for details). When the user has set to have
different textures in the lateral faces, a line for each face
appears and when selecting one of these lines in the editor,
the two vertexes that define the face will be drawn in red in
the 2D views.

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Figure 69 Extruded polygon Editor 3D folder

As explained for the bottom and top faces in the Polygon Editor
section, the textures in the lateral faces can also be defined
without using the editor. That is, selecting the desired texture in
the 3D Info window (see the section 3D Info Window for more
details) and dragging it over the desired face either in a 2D or 3D
view. When dragging it into a 2D view, the point to release the
mouse is any point in the lines faces. When dragging a texture
without any other key pressed, the texture will be applied to all
the lateral faces. If it is dragged with the Ctrl key pressed then it
will only be applied to the face where the mouse button has been
released.

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10 Section Editing
The section geometry is specified by a collection of points that
define straight segments and curves. Each point can be edited and
removed individually.

10.1 Graphical Editing

To create a section choose the Section tool, press on the view
where the section will start and then press again to add a new
section point. A double click ends the editing (this last point will be
the end of the section). To create a simple, straight section, press
once to specify the section start and then double click in the
position of the sections end.

Figure 70 Section Tool

When a section is selected, the center line and the update points
appear. Use the center line update points to modify the length and
shape of the section. Use the lateral update points to create or
remove side lanes. In a section without any side lane, by moving a
lateral update point from the section center line outwards, a new
lane is created as a side lane. On the other hand, moving it inwards
converts a full lane into a side lane. Use the angle section points to
change the entry and exit angles of the section.
Figure 71 shows a selected section showing its center line in red.
The points to modify the shape and length are circled in red. The
points to create side lanes are circled in green. Finally, the points
to modify the entrance or exit angle are circled in blue.

Figure 71 A selected section showing its center line in red

Update points can be removed simplifying the section geometry.

New points can be added using the New Vertex tool (either for
straight or curve segments). See the New Straight Vertex Tool and
New Curve Vertex Tool sections for more details. An entry in the
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section context menu allows also the creation of vertex in the

selected sections and turns. If more than one section or turn is
selected then the vertex of the target one (the one that
shows the menu) will be created on the selected location, in the
rest of sections or turns the vertex will be created in the middle.
A section can be cut in two using the Cut tool; see the Cutting
Sections in Two section for more details. And two sections can be
joined using the Join tool; see the Joining Sections section for more
details.
Lane width can be changed by clicking on any point in the contour
lines and dragging the mouse outside the section to increase the
width and inside the section to decrease the lane width. While
dragging, the new current width is shown. Note that the lane width
can be also changed using the section editor. See the Section Editor
section for more details. The context menu (select the section and
then right-click) can also be used to change the lane width.
The context menu can also be used to change the number of lanes,
change its direction, its type, and so on. The number of lanes can
also be changed using the Ctrl key combined with the numeric key
that indicates the number of desired lanes. If this is done while
having one or some sections selected, the change will only apply to
them. If no section is selected, then the change will apply to the
sections created from that moment on, that is, it will set the
default number of lanes.
There is another useful command using the sections context menu
to create a parallel section that goes in the opposite direction. To
do so, select the section, open its context menu and click on the
Generate Opposite direction option.
Finally, when opening the sections context menu, the lane on
which the pointer was is also selected and some properties of the
lane, such as the lane type, can also be set.

10.1.1

Section Segments
A section is formed by several segments. Each segment can be
either a straight segment (defined by the origin and the end points)
or a curve segment (defined by an origin point, an end point and
one or two control points).
Figure 71 shows a section with one segment, the middle point on
the red line is a control point for that segment.
Aimsun allows the user to apply some settings (for example the
speed or a reserved lane) to all the segments (that is, to all the
section) or to some segments of the section only.

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10.2 Section Editor

The section editor is used to change the values of different
attributes for a single section. Some of these attributes (such as the
name, the road type, the speed or the capacity) can be edited
without opening the editor using the sections context menu. When
using the context menu, more than one section can be changed at
once.
The attributes of a section can be categorized into:
Identifier: name and external ID.
Generic information: road type, speed, capacity and user
defined costs.
Physical characteristics: the initial and final altitude.
Dynamic models (Micro, Meso and Hybrid) related data.
Static models (Macro) related data.
Lanes data.
The editor also offers information on the section length (taking into
account the altitude or Z coordinate), the slope percentage and, in
the Lanes tab folder, the type of each lane.
The next image shows the main attributes that are defined for a
section.

Figure 72 Section Editor Main Folder

The next image shows the options that will appear when the three
models (micro, meso and macro) are selected.

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Figure 73 Section Editor Models Folder

10.2.1

Name and External ID

Aimsun does not validate these text fields in any way and they can
be empty.
Although a section can be renamed using its editor, it is more
convenient to use the Rename command from the section context
menu.
The External ID is useful to store in Aimsun an identifier, for the
same object, from an external database. For example, when a
network is created automatically from a GIS database, the External
ID will keep the identifier from that database automatically.
Aimsun allows discovery, manipulation and results presentation
using the External ID, which simplifies the data interchange.

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10.2.2

Road Type, Maximum Speed and Capacity

Sections are classified according to road types. A road type sets
default values for all the section parameters.
Changing the road type in the section editor will change all the
sections attributes defined in the Road Type. Changing values in
the road type editor will only change all the sections that use the
edited road type when the Update Sections button is pressed. See
the Road Type Editor section for more information.
For Aimsun Micro and Meso, the Maximum Speed is the observed
speed in a section that should correspond to the maximum legal
speed. And, again for Aimsun Micro, Meso and Macro, the capacity
is the theoretical section capacity. Aimsun Micro and Meso use
these two values during simulation, although the capacity is only
used in Route Choice functions depending on how the
attractiveness parameter has been defined. Other tools, for
example Emme or the Aimsun Macro, can use capacity or speed for
their volume delay functions calculations. Aimsun Macro will use
the capacity as it is, expressed in PCUs, in its calculations.

10.2.2.1
Capacity and Number of Lanes
The section capacity is presented and edited in this dialog. This
capacity, however, will be altered automatically if the user
changes the number of lanes of a section. In this case, the old
capacity will be used to calculate the lane capacity (before the
change) and the new capacity will be calculated using the lane
capacity and the new number of lanes. Side lanes will not be
considered to calculate the capacity per lane or the new section
capacity.
Examples:
The number of lanes of a section with two main lanes and a
capacity of 2000 veh/h is changed to three. The new capacity
will be 3000 veh/h ( 3 * 2000 / 2)
A section with a main lane and a side lane has a section capacity
of 1000 veh/h. The user removes the side lane. The capacity is
still 1000 veh/h.
The three user defined costs are available to contain any data the
user may need to store, for example they may be used as a cost
expressed in terms of time representing an economic value
associated with the section that can be used in any VDF function.

10.2.3

Altitude
The editor allows the modification of the altitude of both the initial
and end points. If the section has intermediate points and the
Calculate Intermediates option is checked, then the altitude of
these points will be calculated using linear interpolation.

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The altitude of the initial, ending and intermediate points can also
be edited using direct manipulation. See Advanced Section Editing
below.

10.2.4

Dynamic models data

The common data used by both dynamic simulators. The
parameters to define are:

Attractiveness: attractiveness of the section to be used in

the route choice model. By default, it has the same value as
the section capacity but the user can define a different value
for it, if desired.
Maximum Give Way Time Variation: local variability of the
Maximum Give Way Time attribute of the vehicle. It is an
absolute value that increases or decreases the vehicles
value.

10.2.4.1
Aimsun Microscopic simulator data
Attributes only used by Aimsun Micro can also be set in this editor.
The meaning of these attributes and how they are used is
documented in detail in the Aimsun Dynamic Simulators Users
Manual.
These parameters are:
Distance On-Ramp: distance, in seconds, before getting to
the end of a side lane considered as an on-ramp lane. By
default it is set to the Whole Ramp but a smaller distance
can be set.
Yellow Box Speed: A vehicle approaching a Yellow Box
junction will avoid entering the junction area whenever the
preceding vehicle is moving at a speed below this parameter
(in km/h or miles/h depending on the units set in
Preferences).
Visibility distance: distance to the end of a section, where
the gap-acceptance model will start to be applied.
Reaction Time Variation: Parameter that changes locally the
reaction time of the vehicles
Lane changing cooperation: Percentage of upstream vehicle
cooperation to create a gap for the vehicle that tries to
change lanes. It is used in Aimsun 7 dynamic simulators
behavioural core models.
For compatibility with Aimsun 6.1 and previous versions
networks two other parameters can be set:
Distance to Zone 1: distance, in seconds, from the end of
zone 1 to the next turn point, which is equal to the end of
the current section.

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Distance to Zone 2: distance, in seconds, from the end of

zone 2 to the next turn point, which is equal to the end of
the current section.

10.2.4.2
Aimsun Mesoscopic simulator data
Aimsun Mesoscopic simulator data has the following parameters:
Jam Density: denotes the capacity of the link.
Reaction Time Factor: it is a local parameter for the global
vehicle reaction time.
Lane Selection Model:
o Penalise shared lanes: Sets the lane selection model
to penalise lanes with shared turns.
o Penalise slow lanes: Sets the lane selection model to
penalise slow lanes.
All parameters are explained in the Aimsun Dynamic Simulators
Users Manual.

10.2.5

Static models data

The section editor allows selection of the VDF (volume delay
function) to be used by the transport planning operations.
The additional volume is a parameter representing a fixed flow on a
section specified in PCUs, which will go through it independently
of the rest of the flow on the network.
Also, in order to specify the restrictions that some vehicles might
have to access a part of the network (for example, bicycles banned
in highways) the Non-allowed Vehicle Types can be specified here
(or use the list defined at the Road Type level).

10.2.6

Lanes
This tab folder allows the editing of lane types (used to reserve a
lane for a particular vehicle class), to set speed by lane and/or by
segment and to modify the lane width for all the lanes in the
section.

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Figure 74 Lanes tab folder

10.2.6.1
Lane Width
The lane width is a value shared by all the lanes in the section.
10.2.6.2
Reserved Lanes Visibility Distance:
The visibility distance of the reserved lanes that will be used in the
target lanes model of the dynamic simulators. Refer to the Aimsun
Dynamic Simulators Users Manual for details.
10.2.6.3
Lane Types
Use the combo box to select the lane type of the lanes, if they are
reserved. See Lane Types and Reserved Lanes for more information.
10.2.6.4
Unreserving the First and/or Last Segment
It is possible to unreserve the first and/or the last segment of a
section lane, by unchecking the corresponding options (Reserve the
First Lane Segment and Reserve the Last Lane Segment).
Unreserving the first lane segment makes sense where the reserved
lane is introduced some distance into the section. Unreserving the
last lane segment makes sense where any traffic is allowed to enter
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in the final segment of the section, for example to maintain

discharge capacity at a signalized junction. When using the Aimsun
Microsimulator, unreserving the last lane segment is not required
where vehicles must enter the lane to make a turn only available
from that lane. Vehicles will enter the lane based on reaching
Distance Zone 2.
Figure 75 shows reserved lanes with last and first segments
unreserved for discharge capacity, but vehicles entering last
segment for turn even though it is reserved.

Figure 75 Reserved Lanes

Note that it is also possible to split the section in two (using the
Cut Tool) but it is better to use the reservation options to keep the
model as simple as possible (and as close to the physical model as
possible).
10.2.6.5
Detailed Speed
The speed can be set by lane and/or segment. If no speed is
specified, the sections maximum speed will be used by default and
the field will appear empty.
Use the Add button to create a new detailed speed. Select the
segment and the lane where the speed will be used and edit the
new speed limit. It is possible to select all the segments of a
particular lane (put Any in the segment column) or all the lanes of
a particular segment (put Any in the lane column). If both the
segment and the lane are set to Any, the speed defined will be
ignored, as it is equivalent to defining the section speed.
To remove detailed speed information, select it and press the
Remove button.

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Figure 76 Speeds defined for each segment and lane

10.2.6.6
Shoulder
Defines the width of a decorative shoulder that can be drawn at
each side of the section.

10.3 Solid Lines

Solid lines are created on the section using direct manipulation.
The steps required for editing a solid line are:
Activate the Solid Line tool and press on the section lane to the
left of the lane separator where the solid line needs to be
located.
Using the selection tool select the solid line (the section where
the solid line is placed needs to be selected first) and drag to
change its start or end points or move it to the left, right or
centre of the lane line.

Figure 77 Solid Line Tool

Solid lines are used in Aimsun microscopic simulator to prevent

vehicle changing lanes where they are located. Solid lines can be
located in three different ways obtaining different behaviours in
vehicles:

On top of the dotted line that separates two lanes. In this case
vehicles will not be allowed to change lanes from left to right
neither from right to left.

Figure 78 Solid Line between two lanes influencing both lanes

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On the left of the dotted line that separates two lanes in the sense
of vehicle circulation. In this case vehicles will not be allowed to
change lanes from left to right but they will be allowed to change
lanes from right to left.

Figure 79 Solid Line between two lanes influencing left lane

On the right of the dotted line that separates two lanes in the
sense of vehicle circulation. In this case vehicles will not be
allowed to change lanes from right to left right but they will be
allowed to change lanes from left to right.

Figure 80 Solid Line between two lanes influencing right lane

10.4 Lane Types and Reserved Lanes

Aimsun uses Lane Types to define different types of reserved lanes.
These types may be assigned to any lane in a section using the
sections context menu.
Before any editing, the lane type requires the existence of a
Vehicle Class, as the reservation is by class. Refer to the Vehicle
classes section for details.

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Figure 81 Lane Type Editor

10.4.1

Lane Reservation
The process to reserve a lane for a particular vehicle type is:
Create a Vehicle Class (using New Vehicle Class command from
the Project menu, or the context menu of the Vehicles folder in
the Project window) inside the Demand Data main folder.
For each vehicle type to be associated to this class, open the
vehicle type (double click on it), go to the Classes page and
mark the class.
Create a Lane Type (using New Lane Type command from the
Project menu or the Lane Types folders context menu located
inside the Infrastructure main folder).
Open the newly created Lane Type and assign to the class the
type of reserved use (select the class and change the type value
using the combo box).
Select the section, activate the context menu with the mouse
over the lane that will be changed, and choose the created Lane
Type from the list.
To change the type of a lane or to remove any lane type for a lane,
use the context menu.
Note that more than one section can be edited at the same time.
Just open the context menu with more than one section selected to
change the lane type for all the lanes selected.
Aimsun supports two types of reserved lanes: optional and
compulsory. Compulsory means that vehicles allowed in the
reserved lane are forced to use it and optional means that vehicles
allowed in the reserved lane may use it or not depending on the
traffic conditions (e.g., bus lanes and high-occupancy vehicle
lanes).

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A lane type can be defined as to be considered in the Two-Lane Car

Following model of the microscopic simulator or not. Refer to the
Aimsun Dynamic Simulators manual for further details.

10.5 Road Types

Road Types allow the classification of sections and the fast editing
of a set of sections with the Road Type Editor. They are created
using the Project menu (either from the menu bar or from the
Project Window) and are located inside the Infrastructure main
folder. All the common operations (rename, remove and properties)
are available for the Road Types by using their context menu. When
removing a Road Type, the sections belonging to it won't be
removed, but they will become associated to the default Road Type
instead. The default Road Type can be chosen at any time by
accessing the desired Road Type context menu and clicking on the
Set as Default option.

10.5.1

Road Type Editor

When the editor is open (see Figure 83), it shows, in the 2D views,
in primary mark colour (red by default) all the sections that belong
to this type as well as showing this number of sections in the
Information part of the editor.
The default parameters that can be defined in this dialog are:
In the Main folder:
Functional Class: the classification of the road according to
the character of service they are intended to provide.
Aimsun will use this information to hide low functional class
sections when the zoom level is very high, revealing more
details as the user zooms in.

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There are several possible classifications as:

o The Federal Highway Administration defines three: 1
for Arterial, 2 for Collector and 3 for Local roads.
o Navteq defines five: 1 for high volume and maximum
speed roads to 5 for low volume roads.
Maximum Speed, Capacity (per lane), Lane Width, User
Defined Cost, Second User Defined Cost and Third User
Defined Cost that are all explained in detail in the Section
Editor section.
Draw mode: sets the way sections belonging to this road type
will be drawn. The different possibilities are:
o As road: the default option.
o As Tramtrack: Two black lines inside the section will
be drawn as the tram rails.
o As Railway: Two black lines and rectangles all along
the section will be drawn to look like a railway.

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o Not drawn: In 2D views, sections with this draw mode

selected, together with their objects, will be drawn
when editing but they will not be drawn while
simulating. They will never be drawn in 3D views.
o Traffic lights only: Similar to the Not drawn mode
but, in this case, traffic lights and meterings will be
drawn while running a simulation in 2D and in 3D
views.
The textures used in the first three options in 3D views will
also be different among different options.
Internal (in a node): when this option is checked, sections
belonging to this type will be considered as being inside a
node so the whole section geometry will be taken into
account when calculating the conflict areas by the Aimsun
Microsimulator. Graphically, these sections will not be taken
into account when calculating and drawing the node polygon.
The Draw Mode can be set to Not Drawn to hide sections of
this type.
Shoulder: decorative shoulder to place at the sides of the
sections.

Figure 82 Road Type editor Main folder

In the Dynamic Models folder:

Give Way Model parameters for the dynamic models;
Distance Zone 1, Distance Zone 2, On-ramp Cooperation
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Distance, On-ramp Merging Distance, On-ramp Merge: first

Vehicle On is First Vehicle Off, Waiting Time Before Losing
Turn, eaction Time Variation, Reaction Time At Stop
Variation, Reaction Time At Traffic Light Variation, Lane
Changing Cooperation, Imprudent Lane-Changing Factor,
Sensitivity to Imprudent Lane-Changing Factor, Ac celeration
Variation Factor, Deceleration Variation Factor, Yellow Box
Speed and Consider Two-Lane Car-Following Model for the
microscopic model; Jam Density, Reaction Time Factor and
Look-ahead Distance for the mesoscopic model.

Figure 83 Road Type editor Dynamic Models folder

In the Static Model folder:

The Volume Delay Function and Additional volume for the
macroscopic model.
The list of Non-Allowed Vehicle Types. This list can be
overridden at the Section level.

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Figure 84 Road Type editor Macrocopic Model folder

It is possible to change the values of all the sections of a particular

type at once by pressing the Update Sections button. If the Update
Sections button is not pressed, the changes in this editor will not
affect to the existing sections, but to the sections created later and
assigned to this type.

10.5.2

Default Road Type

The Road Type is used as a template for newly created sections.
The one marked as the Default will be set as the type for new
sections and all the values of the attributes in the road type will be
copied in these new sections. When the Road Type of a section is
changed, all the section values are also changed to the ones
defined in the new Road Type.
Use the context menu to set a Road Type as the default one. In the
Project Window, the default road type will be marked in red.

10.6 Advanced Section Editing

Some additional actions simplify network editing and refinement.
They are:
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10.6.1

Altitude Editing
Section Cutting
Section Joining

Section Altitude Editing

Using the editor only the altitude of the first and last update points
can be modified directly. Intermediate points are set using linear
interpolation if the check Calculate Intermediates is marked.

Figure 85 Altitude Editing

It is possible to edit the altitude of each point individually using the

Selection Tool. To do so:
Press on the update point to be modified while pressing also the
Control key.
Drag the mouse up to increase the altitude of the selected point
Or drag the mouse down to decrease the altitude.
The point that is being modified will show its coordinates but only
the Z coordinate (corresponding to the altitude) will change.
It is also possible to change the altitude of all the section points at
once if no update point (but the section) is selected and the
previous operation is applied. The Z coordinate will be shown as
the mouse is moved. After releasing the mouse, the Z coordinate
will be applied to the whole section as an increment. Positive
values will be added to the current Z coordinates of all the
sections points. Negative vales will be subtracted.

10.6.2

Cutting Sections in Two

Sections can also be cut in two using the Cut Tool. This tool can be
used on selected sections. Once the desired sections are selected
and the Cut Tool button is pressed, a cutting line can be drawn (by
pressing, moving the mouse, releasing the mouse) and all the
selected sections will be cut in two in the intersection point
between each sections center line and the cut line.

Figure 86 Cut Tool

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As the cut will divide each section into two, a new section with the
same characteristics as the original one will be created for the
second part of the cutting while the original section will change its
geometry to fit in the first part.
When a section is cut into two, a node is created between both
sections. If the user cuts while pressing the Control key no node
will be created.

Figure 87 Cutting a section in two

10.6.3

Joining Sections
The Join command, available from the Section context menu, can
be used for joining two sections into one or to create a node (and
the related turns) used by the selected sections.

10.6.3.1
Joining Two Sections
Select two close sections (the end of one section must be close to
the beginning of another) and select the Join command. Both
sections will be joined into one or, more precisely, the section from
which the command has been executed will be expanded to
accommodate the other one. The other section will be removed.
Only sections that have the same number of lanes at the join point
can be joined.
10.6.3.2
Joining More Than Two Sections
Select the sections that will participate in the join node and select
the Join command. A node will be created with the corresponding
turns.
The current implementation works only for N to 1 and 1 to N
combinations. It is useful for the creation of merging and diverging
nodes as seen in Figure 88. As in the previous case, the number of
lanes at the end of the origin sections must be the same as the
number of lanes at the start of the destination sections.

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Figure 88 Creating a merging using the Join command

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11 Section Objects Editing

Several objects such as detectors, meterings, variable message
signs, bus stops and pedestrian crossings are located on sections.
All the tools to create these objects can be used in continuous
mode. If one of the tools is double-clicked, then several objects
can be added to the same or to different sections without having to
press the tool as many times as objects have to be added to the
network.
Lets see each one of them in detail.

11.1 Detector Graphical Editing

A detector can be created using the Detector Tool. To do this,
single click on the tool and then press on the section where the
detector is to be located in a 2D view.

Figure 89 Detector Tool

If all the detectors labels (ID and name) should be shown in a 2D

View, select the Show Label option found in the detectors context
menu of any detector.
Once the detector is located on a section it can be translated to
any position along the section by selecting and dragging it using the
mouse. If it wants to be moved to a different section, the Ctrl key
must be pressed when selecting and dragging it using the mouse to
the destination section.
A detector can be located in any number of section lanes. When
created it occupies all the lanes in the section. To change the lanes
it occupies, select it, click on any of the two lateral points (red
points in Figure 90) and drag the point to adapt the detector to the
desired lanes.
To change the length of a detector, select it, click on the front or
back point (blue points in Figure 90) and drag the point to adapt
the detectors length to the desired one.

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Figure 90 Detector selected

11.2 Detector Editor

Double-click on the desired detector to open its editor.

Figure 91 Detector Editor

Using this editor the detector can be renamed. Note that this
option is also available opening the detectors context menu,
Rename command.
All the detectors measuring capabilities are specified here. Refer
to the Aimsun Dynamic Simulators Users Manual for details on the
measuring capabilities.

11.3 Metering Graphical Editing

A metering can be created using the Metering Tool. To do it, single
click on the tool and then press on the section where the metering
is to be located in a 2D view.

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Figure 92 Metering Tool

If all the meterings labels (ID and name) should be shown in a 2D

View, select the Show Label option found in the meterings context
menu of any metering.
Once the metering is located on a section it can be translated to
any position along the section by selecting and dragging it using the
mouse. If it wants to be moved to a different section, the Ctrl key
must be pressed when selecting and dragging it using the mouse to
the destination section.
A metering always occupies all the section lanes.

11.4 Metering Editor

Double-click on the desired metering to open its editor.

Figure 93 Metering Editor

Using this editor the metering can be renamed. Note that this
option is also available opening the meterings context menu,
Rename command.
The five types of meterings that can be defined are:
Green-time metering. Usually implemented as a traffic light, this
metering is characterized by a cycle time and a green time
duration.

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Green-time by lane metering. Usually implemented as a traffic

light, this metering is characterized by a cycle time, a green
time duration and an offset between lanes.
Flow metering. This one controls the maximum flow of vehicles
that can pass through the signal. An important parameter in a
flow metering is the number of vehicles allowed through each
time (normally one, but occasionally two). This is assumed to be
fixed throughout the history of the device.
Flow-ALINEA metering. This type of metering implements the
ALINEA strategy, which attempts to maximize the freeway
throughput by maintaining a desired occupancy on the main
road. Each Flow-ALINEA metering need to be associated with a
set of downstream detectors - single lane detectors with
occupancy measuring capability placed on the main road after
the merging. Since Flow-ALINEA is a particular type of flow
metering, the platoon size must also be set; it is assumed to be
fixed throughout the history of the device.
Delay metering. This one delays every vehicle crossing it by a
fixed number of seconds. This type of metering is useful for
modelling certain types of obstacles to free flow, such as tolls or
customs barriers

Finally, in the main folder the way the metering will be drawn in 3D
views can be selected among as drawing it as a traffic light, as a
barrier or as a bollard.

Figure 94 Meterings drawn as a Traffic Light, as a Barrier and as Bollards

The time a barrier will take to move from the stop (horizontal)
position to the completely open (vertical) position is specified in the
3D Preferences. The same preference applies to bollards.
To edit the control information associated with a metering please
see Control Plan Editor for Meterings.

11.5 VMS Graphical Editing

A VMS (variable message sign) can be created using the VMS Tool.
To do this, single click on the tool and then press on the section
where the VMS is to be located in a 2D view.
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Figure 95 VMS Tool

If all the VMSs labels (ID and name) should be shown in a 2D View,
select the Show Label option found in the VMSs context menu of
any VMS.
Once the VMS is located on a section it can be translated to any
position along the section selecting and dragging it using the
mouse. If it wants to be moved to a different section, the Ctrl key
must be pressed when selecting and dragging it using the mouse to
the destination section.
A VMS occupies all the section lanes always.

11.6 VMS Editor

Double-click on the desired VMS to open its editor.

Figure 96 VMS Editor

VMS can be renamed using the editor. Note that this option is also
available opening the VMSs context menu, Rename command.

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There are two different types of VMS, namely Gantry signs and
Boom poles. This differentiation is included for the sake of
completeness; it has no effect on simulations with Aimsun Micro.
In the Messages window, a list of all the existing messages for the
VMS is shown. Messages are created when defining actions. See the
Aimsun Dynamic Simulators Users Manual (Actions section) for
details.
When simulating using the Aimsun Simulator, the VMS active
message at each simulation step will be shown in the Current
Message label.

11.7 Public Transport Stop Graphical Editing

A public transport stop can be created using the Public Transport
Stop Tool. To do it, single click on the tool and then press on the
section where the public transport stop is to be located in a 2D
view.

Figure 97 Public transport Stop Tool

If all the public transport stops labels (ID and name) should be
shown in a 2D View, select the Show Label option found in the
public transport stops context menu of any public transport stop.
Once the public transport stop is located on a section it can be
translated to any position along the section by selecting and
dragging it using the mouse. If it wants to be moved to a different
section, the Ctrl key must be pressed when selecting and dragging
it using the mouse to the destination section.
A public transport stop occupies a single section lane. To change
the lane it occupies, select it and drag it to the desired lane.
To change the length of a public transport stop, select it, click on
the front or back point and drag the point to adapt the public
transport stops length to the desired one.

Figure 98 Public Transport Stop selected: points circled in red change Stop length

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11.8 Public transport Stop Editor

Double-click on the desired public transport stop to open its editor.

Figure 99 Public transport Stop Editor

Using this editor the public transport stop can be renamed. Note
that this option is also available opening the public transport stops
context menu, Rename command.
Public Transport stops are common within road networks and they
can influence the behaviour of traffic nearby. A critical element in
the efficiency of public transport operations is also the behaviour of
passengers boarding and alighting at stops. For that reason, Aimsun
Micro, Meso and Hybrid are able to model various types of PT stops
that can be found in road networks throughout the world.
Three types of PT stops are considered in Aimsun: Normal, Bus Bay
and Terminal.
11.8.1.1
Normal Stop
Normal public transport stops are those that occupy a certain lane
length. These are the simplest types of PT Stops. They are just
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indicated by a sign on the roadside and the public transport vehicle

stops alongside it to pick up or drop off passengers. Figure 100
shows the layout of this type of PT stop.

Figure 100 Normal Stop

11.8.1.2
Bus Bay Stop
Bays are those public transport stops located at one side of the
section so that public transport vehicles stopped within the bay do
not cause an obstruction within the section. The Bus Bay stop
provides a space for a public transport vehicle to pull in at the stop
and thus allows following traffic to pass the public transport vehicle
while it stops. The capacity of the bus bay stop depends on the
length of the bay (the lane aside) and on the length of the public
transport vehicles that stop there. Figure 101 illustrates a bus bay
stop.

Figure 101 Bus Bay Stop

Terminal Stop
Finally, the Terminal Stops are used to model public transport
stations or bus parking. They have room for a limited number of
public transport vehicles, which is a capacity defined as an
attribute of the stop. A picture of what is considered as a Bus
Terminal is shown in Figure 102.

11.8.1.3

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Bus Station
Figure 102 Terminal Stop

The graphical representation of the different types of Public

Transport Stops considered in Aimsun is shown in Figure 103.

Figure 103 Public Transport Stops in Aimsun

To obtain basic information about a particular PT Stop, double-click

on the public transport stop icon in the network view and the
Public transport Stop editor shown in Figure 104 will appear.

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Figure 104 Public transport Stop editor

A list of all the Public Transport Lines using the public transport
stop is also shown in the editor. Refer to the Public Transport
section for information on defining public transport lines and more
detailed information on public transport stops.
The Visibility Distance parameter is used by the Aimsun
Microsimulator, and is described in the public transport modelling
section of the Aimsun Dynamic Simulators Users Manual.

11.9 Pedestrian Crossing Graphical Editing

Use the Pedestrian Crossing Tool to create a new pedestrian
crossing. Select the tool and press over the start or the end of the
section to create a new one. Pedestrian crossings can be located at
the start or the end of a section (or in both) only but not anywhere
else on the section.

Figure 105 Pedestrian Crossing Tool

To change the length, select it, click on the front or back point and
drag the point to adapt the length to the desired one.

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Figure 106 Pedestrian Crossing with the points to change its length circled in red

If the pedestrian crossing wants to be moved to a different section,

the Ctrl key must be pressed when selecting and dragging it using
the mouse to the destination section.
Pedestrian crossings are, for Aimsun Micro, an extension of the
node. On top of them, the user can place turns to allow the
movement of pedestrians. These movements, as any other
movement in a node, can be controlled by traffic lights (as part of
a signal group).
When simulating a non-signalized pedestrian crossing, Aimsun
Microscopic simulator will give priority to the pedestrians over the
rest of vehicles. A give way or stop in the section is not required. If
placed, the give way or stop will be used in the intersection to
control the conflict movements there.
If the pedestrian area wants to be modelled as a yellow box area
(where no vehicles can stop inside) the Consider as Yellow Box
option must be ticked.
The Safety Margin front and Safety Margin back parameters are
used to model the distance the vehicles will keep with the
pedestrians generated using Legion for Aimsun.

Figure 107 Pedestrian crossing Editor

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12 Node Editing
A node is a point or an area in the network where vehicles change
their direction and/or disperse.

12.1 Node Graphical Editing

To create a node, press on the node tool and the editor for the new
node will open.

Figure 108 Node Tool

It is possible to create a node without using the node editor as seen

in the Joining More Than Two Sections section.
It is also possible to use the connection tool to create a node. Refer
to the Connection Tool section for details.

12.2 Node Editor

The editing of a node, including the modification of turns and signal
groups, is done in this editor.
The node editor is divided in four tab folders:
Main: Where turns will be created and edited.
Signal Groups: To create and assign turns to signal groups.
Give Way: To define manually priorities in conflicting turns.

12.2.1

Main Folder
The editor allows the renaming of the node and defining its
external ID. It is also possible to mark the node as a yellow box (no
vehicles are allowed to stop on it).

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Figure 109 Node Editor (Node Data and Turns)

12.2.2

Turns
The Node editor Main folder (see Figure 109) shows all the turns in
a node.

12.2.2.1
Turn Data Editing
Select a turn to list and/or edit its data. To remove a turn, select it
and press the Delete button. In the turn table, theThe signs that
can be associated to a turn are: None, Give Way sign, Stop or RTOR
(right turn on red allowed). The turn will be drawn using the
primary mark colour in the active 2D view.
Its information is distributed in four different folders:

Turn: (ID number): For each turn it lists the turn name, turn
external ID, length of the turn, the turn speed, whether this speed
is calculated automatically or not and whether it has a warning sign
(either a Stop, a Give Way or a RTOR (Right turn on red allowed) )
or not. If the node is a Yellow box it lists the Yellow Box Speed of
the turn and whether to use the Yellow Box Speed of the origin
section as the turn Yellow Box Speed or not.
The speed can be either manually inputtedmanual, that is, set by
the user, or automatic, then it is calculated by Aimsun. If it is set
to automatic, the speed will be evaluated whenever the origin
section, destination section or the turn geometry change.are

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changed. When turns are curved, the automatic speed is calculated

using the maximum curvature of the turn, whereas for straight
turns a tabulated dependency between angles and speeds is used
(see section 12.2.2.5Section 12.2.2.5 for more detail).
Also, a list of all the stop lines defined for the turn with their
position and length will be displayed. Refer to the Aimsun Dynamic
Simulators Manual for additional information about stop lines.

Figure 110 Stop lines and additional turn attributes

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Dynamic Models: The cost functions for the dynamic simulators

route choice calculations (see section Note for Aimsun Micro and
Meso Users) are found here.

116

Also the distance zones for the microscopic simulator, look-ahead

distance for the mesoscopic simulator and give way parameters for
both can be specified here. See Figure 111.

Figure 111 Dynamic Models turn attributes

Static Model: The macroscopic functions and parameters to be used

in the macroscopic model are found here. See Figure 112.

Figure 112 Static Model turn attributes

Attributes: All the additional turn attributes such as the ones

generated after a dynamic simulation or a static traffic assignment
as output will be listed there.

12.2.2.2
Turn Creation
Turns are created pressing the New button in the editor. Then press
over the origin section. The lane pressed will be used as the origin
lane. If more origin lanes should be added, the user must click on
them while pressing the Shift key. End the editing by pressing on
the destination section.
In the destination section it is also possible to specify which lanes
will be used in the turns if the preference value Distinguish
Destination Lanes in Turns is true (see section Preferences Editor).
If not, all the lanes will be selected by default. To specify the
destination lanes, use the Shift key as explained for the origin lanes
of the turn.
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12.2.2.3
Curve Turns
As with sections, new points can be added using the New Vertex
tool (either for straight or curve segments). See the New Straight
Vertex Tool and New Curve Vertex Tool sections for more details.
An entry in the turn context menu allows also the creation of
vertex in the selected sections and turns. If more than one section
or turn is selected then the vertex of the target one (the one that
shows the menu) will be created on the selected location, in the
rest of sections or turns the vertex will be created in the middle.

Figure 113 Curve Turn

12.2.2.4
Automatic Curve Turns
An easy way to curve all the turns in a node is to use the automatic
curve option. Select the desired node to curve its turns. Press the
right mouse button and select Curve Turns (Figure 114).

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Figure 114 Auto curve turns

Aimsun will automatically curve all the turns belonging to the

selected node. Bear in mind that for this purpose Aimsun will take
into account the entrance and exit angles of the sections to curve
the turns. See the result on Figure 115.

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Figure 115 Auto curve turns result

12.2.2.5
Automatic turn speed
In curved turns, the speed is calculated as the maximum speed a
vehicle can take without sliding off the road. The formula used is:
V=sqrt(g*Rmean*ft)
where g is the gravitational acceleration (g=127 for V in km/h and
Rmean in meters), Rmean the average radius found along the turn
and ft the friction coefficient (taken as 0.9). Rmean is obtained
from the equations of the first and second derivatives of the Bezier
Curve representing the turn. Rmean is computed as the average of
R(t)=||C(t)||^3/|C(t)C(t)| over the 20 points that define the
turn movement. To deal with the infinite values taken by the radius
in straight portions, we take its inverse to compute the mean and
invert it back to obtain the final result. Note that this method
favours small radius values. We apply a lower bound of 15 km/h to
the result.
To avoid unrealistic low speed values caused by rough editing, we
filter the result for small turn length (less than 5 meters) and small
angle between preceding and following sections (less than 30
degrees). In those cases a maximum speed variation with respect to
the mean speed of the turn Vmean, obtained by the mean of the
speed limit of the preceding and following section, is applied: for
short turns, a lower bound speed of Vmean - 5.0 * turn length is
applied whereas for small angle the lower bound speed is Vmean *
cosinus (3.*section angle).
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When turns are represented by straight lines, the speed is adapted

using a linear interpolation of the following tabulated dependency
between turn angle and speed, corrected for the length of the turn
by an additional term of 0.1 * turn length.
Angle
10 22 40 62 100
in degrees
Speed
115 60 25 15 9
in km/h

12.2.3

Note for Aimsun Micro and Meso Users

When running the simulation with an O/D matrix, a route choice
system distributes the vehicles over the different paths from each
origin to each destination. The distribution per path can depend on
the cost of each link that composes the path. A link, for Aimsun
Micro and Aimsun Meso, is a concept illustrated by Figure 116 and
Figure 117: it is the section length dedicated to a turn movement
from one node to the next plus the length of that turn movement.
The cost of each link depends on the cost function associated to it.
A different cost function can be used for the very first calculation
of routes at the beginning of the simulation (Initial in Figure 109) or
K-Initials in Figure 109), depending on the use of K-Initial shortest
path algorithm is applied or not, and for the successive calculations
from that point on (Dynamic in Figure 109). The default cost
function is travel time, but the user can select other cost functions
for specific situations like tolls or, for instance, cost functions that
take into account other factors like the psychological weight of low
speeds. In order to do this, it is only necessary to edit the desired
cost functions (refer to section Functions for details) and associate
them to the specific links. In order to associate a cost function to a
link it is only necessary to click at the Initial , K-Initials, and/or
Dynamic fields and select the desired cost function.

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Figure 116 Representation of Network as Sections and Nodes

2
7

6
3

Figure 117 Representation of Network as Links for Shortest Routes calculation

12.2.4

Signal Groups folder

The Signal Groups folder is where the user can store the groups of
turn movements associated to each traffic light. When the Signal
Groups folder is selected, the display will change to the dialog
window in Figure 118.

Figure 118 Signal Group Folder

Figure 118 shows that:

Signal 1 has been selected.
Two turn movements belong to this signal group (from
section 111 to sections 122 and 114). This information is
shown both at the editor window and graphically (by
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colouring the turns and sections involved using the primary

mark colour).
The vehicle class this signal group affects to ('Any' for all
vehicle classes).
The distance from the end of the sections, the vehicles
affected by this signal group will stop at.

To define a signal group, click on the New button and check the
turns belonging to the signal group. Note that a turn can belong to
one signal group only.
Additionally, when a microsimulation that includes Legion
pedestrians is going to be defined, it is possible to assign pedestrian
crossings to Signal Groups in order to define phases for pedestrians.
Refer to Aimsun Dynamic Simulators Users Manual section 13.3.1
for a detailed description.
To define different stop lines for different vehicle types select the
desired vehicle class and its distance from the end of the section.
In the following figure an example showing different stoplines for 2wheelers and the rest of vehicles has been defined.

12.2.5

Give way folder

For the turn movements with a warning sign defined (Give Way or
Stop sign) the user can define the relative turn priorities through
the Give Way folder.
The Give Way tab shows a table for the Dynamic Simulators in
which each cell corresponds to a pair of movements at the node. If
both turn movements have a give way or stop sign, the cell has a
"Priority" checkbox that allows defining which has right of way over
the other. If only one turn movement has a give way or stop sign,
the other has right of way over it by default.
If the option User Defined Priorities (Rows Give Way to Columns) is
not checked, the table is not editable. In this case, Aimsun
microsimulator will assign the relative priority between turns with a
give way or stop sign depending on the rule of the road. If the rule
of the road is set to Right, then priority to the right is assigned; if
the rule of the road is set to Left, then priority to the left is
assigned.
If this rule has to be overridden, check the option User Defined
Priorities (Rows Give Way to Columns) and check the cells in which
the turn movement of the row has to give way to the turn
movement of the column.

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Figure 119 Turn Priorities

Also the information for conflictive turnings is (optionally) filled in

here for the static models. For Macroscopic Junction Delay
functions, the geometrical conflicts among turnings can be
calculated automatically, but the user also has the possibility to
specify conflicts manually. The conflicting volume will always be
automatically calculated based on the information available (user
edited or default).

Figure 120 Conflict Turns

12.3 Roundabout creation

To create a roundabout, first create all the sections that will be
entering or leaving the roundabout as you can see on Figure 121.

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Figure 121 Roundabout entering/leaving sections

Once the sections are created, select all the participant sections
and press on the roundabout creation tool (Figure 122 Roundabout
tool).

Figure 122 Roundabout tool

Then, left click without releasing the mouse button to define the
centre of the roundabout. Drag the mouse to obtain the desired
radius and then release the mouse button.

Figure 123 Roundabout creation

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The roundabout tool will shorten the sections to maintain the

chosen radius, will create the intermediate sections and the nodes
with their turns to build the final roundabout (Figure 124).

Figure 124 Final roundabout

12.3.1

Changing the number of lanes

By default, the roundabout tool will create sections with the
default number of lanes. To change this, press CTRL + number of
lanes before releasing the left mouse button. For example, CTRL +
3 will create three lanes per section. Dont forget to readjust the
desired radius after changing the number of lanes per section.

12.4 Supernodes
Supernodes are only considered in macroscopic procedures. They
are used to represent situations in which it is not possible to model
the cost of traversing the sections and turns by the sum of the
individual components. The cost of traversing these set of sections
and turnings is rather dependent on the movement (e.g.
roundabout, coordinated junctions).
A Supernode can be created selecting one or more nodes, right
clicking on one of the nodes and selecting Create Supernode in the
context menu.

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Figure 125 Creating a Supernode

Double clicking on the Supernode opens the editor in which a Turn

Penalty Function and Junction Delay Function for each Supernode
Trajectory can be selected. The Default Turn Penalty Function is
the same as for a normal turn.

Figure 126 Selecting a TPF and JDF Function

In the conflicts tab the Supernode Trajectories that are considered

conflicting in the Junction Delay Functions can be defined.

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Figure 127 Defining Supernode Trajectory conflicts

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13 Centroids and Centroids Configuration Editing

Centroids are origin and/or destination of trips in a transportation
network when using O/D matrices. They can be connected to either
sections or nodes.
A connection is used to introduce flow in the network (a To
connection), in which case it is drawn in blue, or to extract flow
from the network (a From connection) in which case it is drawn in
green.
Centroids can be connected to more than one object. This means
that the centroid will introduce and/or extract flow in/from more
than one section or node. In this case, the user can decide how the
flow is assigned to each connection by setting the usage
percentage.
A set of centroids are grouped in a centroids configuration.

13.1 Centroids Configuration

Aimsun allows multiple configurations in a network. This is useful to
hold O/D matrices for the whole network and O/D matrices for sub
areas of this global network. They can also be used to represent
variations of demand due to future infrastructures (for example a
new road or a new park and ride area).
A centroids configuration holds a set of centroids and the related
(to these centroids) O/D matrices and O/D routes. A centroid is in
one, and only one, configuration.

13.1.1

Active Centroids Configuration

More than one configuration can exist in the same network but only
one can be active (for editing) or in use (in a simulation for
example) at the same time. Only centroids from the active
configuration will be drawn.
The active configuration is marked in the Project window with the
icon

in blue colour. The rest of configurations are marked in

grey
. A Centroids Configuration can be activated by right
clicking on it in the Project window and choosing the Activate
option. The previously active Centroids Configuration will
automatically be deactivated.

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Figure 128 Activating a Centroids Configuration

When the user creates a new centroid, it will be added to the

active configuration.

13.1.2

Centroids Configuration Editing

A new centroids configuration can be created from the Project
menu or using the Project Centroids Configuration folders context
menu. The new configuration becomes the active one.
Using its context menu, a centroids configuration can be deleted
using the Remove command, it can be activated with the Activate
command or renamed using the Rename command. It can also be
renamed by selecting it and pressing the rename key (F2 by
default).
Centroids configurations can be duplicated using drag and drop
(over the Centroids Configuration folder). This command will
duplicate the configuration and all the centroids, O/D matrices and
O/D routes in it.

13.2 Centroid Manipulation

Use the Centroid Tool to create new centroids. Select the tool and
press over a 2D view to mark the position of the new created
centroid.

Figure 129 Centroid Tool

A centroid can be moved (although changing its position will not

change the point where the flow enters or leaves the network),
renamed and duplicated (using Copy and Paste commands).
A centroid represents a zone, an area in the network, and so for
graphical visualisation its linked to a Polygon that can be edited
from its context menu.
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Figure 130 Editing the Centroids Polygon

The shape of the Polygon can be edited by the user, or the menu
option Tools -> Centroid Tessellator can be used to calculate an
automatic partition of the network:

Figure 131 Centroid Tessellator

13.3 Centroid Editor

Double click on the centroid to edit it. The user can, from its editor
(see Figure 132), connect the centroid to sections and nodes using
different settings. The editor also names the centroids
configuration that holds the centroid and in which matrices (Trips
folder) and routes (O/D Routes folder) it is used.

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Figure 132 Centroid Editor

When a centroid is connected to more than one object to insert or

attract traffic flow, it is possible to determine how these different
connections will be used in the dynamic simulators.
When set in Same Percentages to All, the usage percentage will be
evenly shared by all the connections - no editing of the percentage
is allowed.
When Same Percentages to All is not set, the user must edit the
usage percentage for each connection. The sum of percentages per
type must be 100.
Independently of the assigned percentage Aimsun is allowed to
discard this data and put or get the flow from the more attractive
connected object (as calculated by the Route Choice model). The
attributes Use Origin Percentage and Use Destination Percentage
control this behaviour. See the Aimsun Dynamic Simulators Manual
for more information.
The Use Best Entrance parameter sets whether the route choice
algorithm will take into account, for each origin centroid and for
each calculation, only the one shortest path from the entrance with
the lowest cost (Use Best Entrance checked) or one shortest path
from each entrance section (Use Best Entrance not checked).

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With any of the connections selected in the table (click on the

desired row, at the Object or ID column), pressing the Show
Connection Attributes button will change the editor view to the
connections information.

Figure 133 Connection Attributes editor

Press the Show All Connections to come back to the original view.

13.3.1

Connection Editing
Press the New button and then press on the section or node that
will be connected to the centroid.
A connection has the following attributes:
Type: To define if the vehicles will be generated to the
object or attracted from the object where this centroid is
connected to.
Percentage (Dynamic simulators): Whenever the Use Origin
Percentage or Use Destination Percentage options are ticked,
this parameter defines the percentage of vehicles to use this
connection.
Vehicle Class (Dynamic simulators): A centroid connection
can be used by specific vehicle types only. If that is the case,
a vehicle class with the allowed vehicle types must be
defined and selected here.
VDF (Macro): The Volume Delay Function that corresponds to
this connection.
Select the connection in the editor to change any of the above
parameters.

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Select a connection and press the Delete button to remove a

connection.
Connections can also be created outside the editor using the
Connection tool. Refer to the Connection Tool section for details.

13.3.2

Trips
In the Trips folder, the summarised information about the number
of O/D pair trips defined in each matrix, where the edited centroid
is origin or destination of the O/D pair, is shown.
When an information line is clicked, the other centroid in the O/D
pair is marked in the primary colour in the active 2D view.
The total generation and attraction capacity of the centroid for
every matrix is also shown.

Figure 134 Trips Folder

13.3.3

O/D Routes
In the O/D Routes folder, all the routes that start or end in the
edited centroid are shown.

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Figure 135 Routes Folder

When selecting any one of them, it is drawn in the 2D views using

the primary colour.
See the O/D Route Editing section for details on editing O/D
Routes.

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14 O/D Route Editing

An O/D route contains all the sections defining a path between an
origin centroid and a destination centroid.
Use the context menu of a Centroid Configuration to create a new
O/D Route. Then, a new empty O/D route will be added to the O/D
Routes folder inside the centroid configuration.
These O/D Routes are afterwards accessible from the O/D matrices,
so that the percentage of use of each of them can be defined.
Refer to the Path Assignment section for details.
O/D Routes are also listed in their origin and destination centroid
editors. Refer to the O/D Routes section for details.

14.1 O/D Route Editor

The O/D Route editor can be opened by double-clicking on the O/D
route in the Project Window (O/D Routes folder) or accessing to the
Properties in its context menu.
The O/D Route editor is used either to set the sections that will
define the O/D route, to modify the O/D route, or simply display
the O/D route.

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Figure 136 O/D Route Editor

Once the editor is open, an O/D route is defined by clicking on the

active 2D view the sections (in order) that will form the path. Some
intermediate sections can be omitted as long as there is a unique
path to go from the last specified section to the next one.
The sections belonging to the O/D route when the O/D route editor
is opened are drawn in the primary mark colour in the active 2D
view.

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15 Subnetwork Editing
A subnetwork is a subarea of the global network that can be
analysed individually.
Once the geometry for the area that needs to be analysed (without
taking into account the rest of the network) has been created, the
subnetwork can be defined. To do this, first create a polygon that
encloses the area. Refer to the Polygon Graphical Editing section
for details on creating a polygon.
Once the polygon has been created, it can be converted to a
Subnetwork right clicking on the polygon and selecting Convert To /
Subnetwork. This can be shown in Figure 137.

Figure 137 Subnetwork Creation

The polygon shape will change to a red discontinuous line defining

the border of the Subnetwork. Furthermore, a new subnetwork will
be added to the Project Window -> Subnetworks folder, as shown in
Figure 138.

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Figure 138 Subnetwork Polygon and line in the Project Browser

The Subnetwork editor can be accessed either by double clicking on

the subnetwork in the Project window or by double clicking on the
subnetwork polygon (provided that the subnetwork layer allows
edition, otherwise the subnetwork polygon is not selectable). The
appearance of the polygon can be changed in the subnetwork
editor, exactly as with regular polygons.

Figure 139 Subnetwork editor

If no information is entered in the editors Sections folder (that is,

the default state), the part of the network within the polygon lines
will belong to the subnetwork. A node is considered to belong to
the Subnetwork if at least one of its turns is completely inside the
polygon. A section belongs to the Subnetwork if at least the initial
or ending point in its central line is inside the polygon or if any of
its origin or destination nodes belongs to the Subnetwork.
Another way to define a subnetwork is by the selection of a set of
sections (for example, the highway part of a network).
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Figure 140 Sections folder in the Subnetwork editor

Then, the list of sections must be specified in the Sections folder.

Sections are selected directly in the view, and by pressing the Add
Selection button, they will be added to the list. In this case, the
subnetwork contains all the sections listed, plus all the nodes with
any of its turns connecting sections in the list, plus the sections
connected to the nodes belonging to the subnetwork. For example,
if all the sections of road type highway are listed, the subnetwork
will contain the highways as well as the on- and off-ramps
As usual, by opening a subnetworks context menu (right click on
the Subnetwork in the Project menu), the subnetwork can be
renamed. Other commands available using the context menu (see
Figure 141) are the creation of a centroids configuration for the
subnetwork, a traffic state, a traffic demand and scenarios for an
Aimsun Dynamic simulation or Macro Assignment or Adjustment or
Travel Demand Modelling scenarios. All these objects have the
same properties in a subnetwork as they have in the global
network. Refer to their specific sections for details.

Figure 141 Subnetwork Context Menu

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When creating the first subnetwork a new layer will be created

named subnetworks into which all subnetwork polygons will be
added, as shown in Figure 142.

Figure 142 Subnetworks Layer

If the existing subnetwork borders want to be protected from

editing the corresponding layer parameter Allow Object Editing will
need to be unchecked. By default, the subnetworks will be
editable. In order to access the context menu of the Subnetwork,
to access its editor by selection of the Subnetwork on the 2D View,
or to add/remove/modify its vertices, this parameter must be
checked.
In 2D views, when no filter is selected the whole network is drawn.
If only a subnetwork must be drawn in a 2D view, select it in the
Filters option from the View context menu.

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16 Non-Graphical Data Editing

All the non-graphical data (traffic demands, vehicle types, control
plans, dynamic scenarios) is located in the Project Browser and
data items are created from: (i) the Project menu; (ii) the context
menu on Project folders (for example, right clicking on the Vehicles
folder, as shown in Figure 143, reveals a context menu where a new
vehicle type or a new vehicle class may be created); or (iii) using
the context menu of some objects (O/D matrices are created from,
and placed into, a centroids configuration).

Figure 143 Right click on a project folder to access its context menu

From the Project Browser the user can edit (double click), rename
(context menu), duplicate (drag and drop) and delete (context
menu) this data.
The Project Browser organizes related data into folders. The
current version does not allow the free organization of the data
into user-defined folders. The only possible customization is to
change the name of these predefined folders.
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There are several main folders where all the objects are organised.
These folders and the objects that they contain are:

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Scenarios: where the dynamic, macro and travel demand

modelling scenarios will be located.
Network Attributes Overrides: where the Network
Attributes Overrides can be set.
Demand data: where the centroid configurations,
generation/attraction areas, distribution areas, parking
areas, generation/attraction data set and data set
attributes, the distribution data set, the traffic states, the
traffic demands, the traffic arrivals, the time periods, the
transportation modes, the initial states, the functions, the
macro function components, the traffic profiles, the vehicle
types, the vehicle classes, the trip purposes and the user
classes will be located.
Control: where the control plans and master control plans
will be located.
Public Transport: where the public transport lines, public
transport plans and public transport stations will be located.
Infrastructure: where the road types, the lane types,
subpaths and the optimal detector locations analysis (if the
Aimsun macro is loaded) will be listed.
Traffic Management: where all the traffic management
objects will be listed.
Data Analysis: where the view modes, view styles, real data
sets and grouping categories will be listed.
Subnetworks: where all the different subnetworks defined
for the global network will be listed.
Scripts: where all the existing python scripts will be listed.

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17 User Classes, Transportation Modes, Trip Purposes,

Vehicle Types and Vehicle Classes Editing
These five concepts are found in the Demand Data Folder, in the
Project window.
Use the Project menu or the Demand Data context menu to create
a new User Class, Transportation Mode, Trip Purpose, Vehicle Type
or Vehicle Class. They can also be created from their own folder
context menu (User Classes, Trip Purposes, Transportation Modes
and Vehicles, the last one containing both Vehicle Types and
Vehicle Classes).

Figure 144 User Classes, Vehicles, Transportation Modes and Trip Purposes folders

17.1 Vehicle Type Editor

The vehicle type editor is used to specify the physical
characteristics and the models parameters of a type of vehicle.
In the Main folder, the vehicle types Name and External ID can be
defined.
Also the vehicle types main parameters such as Length, Width and
Maximum Desired Speed can be defined. They are:

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Length: Mean, deviation, maximum and minimum values.

The length, in meters or feet, for this type of vehicle. This
parameter is used both for graphical and modelling purposes.
It has a direct influence on traffic modelling, as vehicle
length is taken into account in all vehicle behaviour models.
144

Width: Mean, deviation, maximum and minimum values. This

is the width, in meters or feet, for this type of vehicle. This
parameter is only used for graphical purposes and does not
have a direct influence on the traffic modelling.
Maximum desired speed: Mean, deviation, maximum and
minimum values.
This is the maximum speed, in km/h or miles/h, that this
type of vehicle can travel at any point in the network.
For example, one could define a sports car vehicle type
with a mean desired speed of 110 km/h, a deviation of 10
km/h, a maximum value of 140 km/h and a minimum value
of 90 km/h. Sports cars would be sampled from a Normal
(110,10) distribution.

To edit any of these values, click on the desired cell and type the
new value. These three parameters are defined using a mean value,
deviation, minimum and maximum value. When generating a
vehicle belonging to this vehicle type, the value for this parameter
will follow a normal distribution based on the values edited. Please
refer to the Aimsun Dynamic Simulators manual for more
information about it.
The Maximum Capacity denotes the maximum number of passengers
that can travel inside a vehicle of this vehicle type. This value can
be set either as a multiplying factor of vehicle length or as a total
value. This parameter is used by the Legion for Aimsun module
when loading pedestrians into public transport vehicles and also in
the Public Transport Assignment. Please refer to the Aimsun
Dynamic Simulators manual or the Aimsun Travel Demand Modelling
Manual for more information about it.
To set the vehicle as articulated and to define the articulated
parts, the Articulated folder must be used. Check the Articulated
button to set the vehicle as articulated. Add new articulated parts
by clicking on the Add button. Remove any undesired articulated
part by selecting it on the list and clicking on the Delete button.
In this folder the doors of the vehicle are also specified. This
information will only be used in Public Transport vehicles when
simulating pedestrians with Legion. See Aimsun Dynamic Simulators
manual for details on Legion for Aimsun.

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Figure 145 Vehicle Type Editors Main Folder

In the Dynamic Models and Microscopic Model folders the

parameters used by the dynamic simulators are defined. They are
mainly parameters such as the acceleration, deceleration, giveway
times, pollutant emission and fuel consumption, 2D and 3D
visualization shapes, vehicle classes and default dynamic
experiment parameters. Please refer to the Aimsun Dynamic
Simulators Manual for more information about them.
In the Static Models folder, two parameters are defined:
Transportation Mode and PCUs. A Vehicle Type can belong to a
Transportation Mode (for example, Car can belong to Mode
Private). This information is used when modelling the Travel
Demand with the Four-step Model. Please refer to the Aimsun
Travel Demand Modelling Manual for more details on Transportation
Modes and their usage.
The PCUs parameter (Passenger Car Unit) is a measure of the space
a Type of Vehicle needs compared to a passenger car. That is, the
private car is considered as the unit, 1 PCU, and the rest of vehicles
are converted to this unit by a factor.

17.2 Vehicle classes

The concept vehicle class is not associated with the physical
characteristics of each type of vehicle (e.g., cars, buses, and
trucks), but rather with the use of the network that vehicles make.
Examples include private vehicles, public vehicles, and emergency
vehicles. This is used later to specify for which sort of vehicles a
reserved lane is defined. For example, a bus vehicle type can
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have selective authorisation in some lanes because it belongs to

the public transport class. A vehicle type can belong to several
vehicle classes. For example, a guided taxi type can belong to the
public transport and guided classes.
The process of defining a class begins by selecting the
NewDemand Data Vehicle Class in the Project menu or in the
Project window either in the Demand data or in the Vehicles
folders context menu. This action will add a new Vehicle Class in
the Vehicles folder in the Project window.
Use the Rename option in its context menu to rename it.
To set a vehicle type as a member of a vehicle class, the vehicle
type editor must be used. See the Vehicle Type Editor section for
details.

17.3 Transportation Modes

Transportation Modes are used for the Travel Demand Modelling.
Every Vehicle Type (and thus, every User Class) can belong to only
one Transportation Mode.

17.4 Trip Purposes

If there is information on Trip Purposes, they can be listed and then
used to constitute a User Class pairing it with a Vehicle Type. This
allows having trip matrices for different trip purposes and also
assign them considering different generalized costs.
No extra information is contained in the Trip Purpose editor, apart
from its Name and External ID.

17.5 User classes

A User Class in Aimsun is the pair formed by a Vehicle Type + Trip
Purpose.
In a User Class, setting the Vehicle Type is mandatory, but not the
Trip Purpose. When no information on the Trip Purpose is available
and therefore no specific trip purpose is set, the user-class
considered will be the pair VehicleTypeAny (for example Car-Any,
we specify the vehicle type but not the trip purpose).
Also, when setting the Vehicle Type + Trip Purpose in the matrix
editor, if the combination does not exist yet as a User Class, it will
be automatically created.
There can only be a unique User Class for each Vehicle Type + Trip
Purpose combination.

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Figure 146 User Class editor

Each Vehicle Type can belong only to one Transportation Mode (see
Vehicle Type Editor section for more info) and consequently, a User
Class will be related with only on Transportation Mode, which is
listed in the editor (non-editable).

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18 Traffic Demand
18.1 Editing Order
The order for editing traffic demand data is:
Create and edit the vehicle types to be used.
Create and edit the Origin/Destination matrices or the Traffic
States that will be used for each vehicle type and time interval.
Create a new Traffic Demand and assign the O/D matrices or the
Traffic States that will compose it.
Also before Aimsun Macro, Meso, Hybrid or Micro simulations are
used we have to:
Assign the traffic demand to a scenario.
If required, assign values to variables in the scenario or in the
experiments.

18.2 O/D Matrix Editing

An O/D matrix contains all the trips that will be generated in a
network for a particular vehicle type and in a defined time period.
The cell (i,j) of an O/D matrix contains the number of vehicles
going from centroid i to centroid j. Matrices with other kind of
contents (cost, travel times, distances, etc.) can be also defined in
Aimsun, their edition is completely the same regardless of the type
of contents of the matrix.
Use the context menu of a Centroid Configuration to create a new
O/D matrix for it. The Centroid configurations folder is located
inside the Demand data in the Project window or inside the
subnetwork folder if the centroid configuration belongs to a
subnetwork.
For every new O/D matrix, its name will be assigned following the
structure matrix vehType: initialTime duration (for example,
matrix car: 08:00 01:00). When any of these parameters changes,
the name will be automatically updated, unless the user edits the
matrix name, in which case the automatic update will be
cancelled. The auto naming will be activated again if the user
introduces a void name, as it is compulsory for a matrix to have a
name.

18.2.1

O/D Matrix Editor

18.2.1.1
Main
In the Main folder, the user will specify the vehicle type to be used
and the time interval to which the data belongs. This information is
compulsory for later assignments/simulations. Optionally, the user
can specify the Trip Purpose and the Contents (what kind of data
the matrix contains: trips, travel times, distances, etc.). In order to
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define a Traffic Demand, the contents of the matrices should be

trips, but other kind of contents can be used for other meanings
(like skim matrices containing costs).
The pair formed by a Vehicle Type + Trip Purpose constitutes a User
Class in Aimsun (see section 17.5 User classes).

Figure 147 O/D Matrix editor Main folder

Also in the Main window, we can see a Summary of the matrix data,
with the number of Origins and Destinations, the Total value of the
matrix (adding all the cells up), the Minimum (different than zero)
and Maximum Value, and the number of Empty and Non Empty
cells.
Finally, the Store Location info is also available in this folder.
Regarding to the O/D matrix storage, it can be stored in the Aimsun
file, in an external text file or in the project outputs database
defined in the Project Properties.
Storing an O/D matrix in Aimsun means that the O/D matrix
information will be stored in the Aimsun file (the .ang file). For big
networks or even when working with networks where the matrix
information can be shared among different software packages,
storing the O/D matrix outside the Aimsun file can be useful.
When storing an O/D matrix in an external ASCII file, the file path,
the field separator to be used (tabulation or comma) and the
parameter used as ID for identifying the centroids in the ASCII file
must be defined (see Figure 148). For all the centroids, the stored
ID used can be the ID used in Aimsun, the External ID, or the Name.
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Figure 148 Parameters folder - Storing as ASCII file

The format of the ASCII file is the same one that is explained in the
Copy and Paste Matrix Options section e.g. the format can be of
Aimsun, Visum, Saturn or Emme. Only the centroids' IDs and the
trips information are stored in the ASCII file.
If the storing type chosen is the project outputs database, the
parameter used as the identifier must be defined (see Figure 149).
This ID, Name or external ID will be used to identify the centroids
and the O/D matrix itself.

Figure 149 Parameters folder Storing in a database

The data source, the username and password (these last two
parameters may be omitted, depending as to whether the database
requires them or not) are defined in the menu Project / Properties,
in the main tab folder (see Figure 150).

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Figure 150 Project Properties Editor Setting the Outputs Data Source

The information stored in the database will be the O/D matrix From
Time, its duration, all the trips, and the context information (that
is, weekday, season, weather and event).
When the storing type chosen is not the Aimsun file, that is, for
both external ASCII files and database, only data about the matrix
data location will be stored in the Aimsun file. When the Aimsun
file is opened again, it will automatically retrieve the matrix if the
external file is found or it will ask for the new location otherwise.
In any case, while the network is open, the matrix information can
be reread at any moment by using the Retrieve button.
The Store button is used to store the current matrix information in
the external file whenever it is pressed.
If the Store Matrix is checked then whenever the Aimsun model is
saved the O/D matrix information will also be stored in the external
file.
18.2.1.2
Cells
In the Cells tab folder, the number of trips (or any applicable data)
from each origin to each destination is listed/edited.
During the editing of a cell, if the centroid configuration to which
the matrix belongs is active, the origin (in rows) and the
destination (in columns) centroids will be marked in the active 2D
view. The primary mark colour will be used for the origin and the
secondary mark colour for the destination.
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The combo box to the top right of the editor, entitled Headers,
allows the specification of which centroid attribute should be
shown as row/column headers for the matrix, choosing among:
ID, External ID, Name, or combinations of these. Columns
and rows are ordered automatically based on these headers.

Figure 151 O/D Matrix Editor Editing trips from one centroid to another

Any Centroid Grouping Category can be selected in the Grouping

combo, in order to reduce the dimensions of the matrix while
visualizing it. All cells in the same grouping will be either added or
averaged depending on the Matrix Contents. For contents: Not Set,
Trips, Parking Slots, Distribution: Through Traffic and Individuals,
the sum is calculated for the aggregated cells, and for contents:
Costs, Travel Times, Distances, Tolls, Speed and Ratio, the average
(not weighted) is calculated. For Distribution: Blocked Cells, if one
of the cells is Blocked, the cell aggregated by Grouping Category
will also appear as Blocked.
The Allow Negative Values checkbox allows to have a negative
value in a cell when checked.
For the users convenience, when the checkbox Execute Operations
with Current Cell Value is active, a shortcut to add, subtract,
multiply or divide by a constant value (also available with Add and
Multiply operations) can be used by first selecting the desired cell,
then typing the desired operation (for example: +4) and then
pressing the Enter key. If no operation but a single value is written
(for example: 100), after pressing Enter, the selected cell will be
filled in with this value.

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By default, only centroids with entrance connections will be listed

as origin centroids and only centroids with exit connections will be
listed as destination centroids. To list all the centroids as origin and
destination without considering their current connections the Show
All Centroids checkbox needs to be checked.
18.2.1.3
Operations
The operations, available from a combo box in the same editor,
are:
Join: to add another matrix to this one. This command modifies
the original matrix. The join types are:
o Concatenate: Sums the trip values of both matrices and
sums the time durations.
9
1
1
:
0
1
0 A: 100
:
:
0 Trips
0
0
0
0
B: 100
Trips
A join B: 200 Trips
Figure 152 Joining two O/D matrices as Concatenate

o Add: Sums the trip values but the duration of the original
matrix is not modified. The duration of the second matrix
is not taken into account
9
1
1
:
0
1
0 A: 100
:
:
0 Trips
0
0
0
0
B: 100
Trips
A + B: 200 Trips
Figure 153 Joining two O/D matrices as Sum

Split: Creates N new matrices dividing the number of trips

among the new matrices (see Figure 154). This command doesnt
modify the original matrix.
9
1
1
:
0
1
0 A: 100 Trips-Vehicles
:
:
0
0
0
0
0
A 82%: 82 Trips-Cars
A 18%: 18 Trips-Trucks
Figure 154 Split of trips in two matrices

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If the option Split Duration is activated, the new matrices will

have an initial time and duration automatically calculated to
cover, as time intervals, the one from the original matrix. The
duration will be splitted proportionally to the number of new
matrices, not to their percentage.
9
1
1
:
0
1
0 A: 100 Trips
:
:
0
0
0
0
0
A 50%: 50 Trips
A 50%: 50 Trips
Figure 155 Split of trips and duration in two matrices

If the option Automatic Factor is activated, then the percentages

will be distributed uniformly among all the new matrices
specified.
Add: Adds trips to the cells of the matrix, either to all the cells
of the matrix, to a selection of cells or by a condition. The
option Apply to Empty Cells allows adding trips to the empty
cells. When the option is not activated, the trips will be added
to the cells with defined trips only (i.e., with a number of trips
greater than 0).

Figure 156 Add operation

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Multiply: Multiplies the trips in the matrix by a factor, either for

the entire matrix, for a selection of cells or by a condition.
Transpose: Transposes the matrix or part of it.
Furness: Balances the matrix taking into account new generation
or attraction values in some centroids. See Aimsun Macroscopic
Modelling Manual for more details on this operation.
Filter: Does a filtering action (hide or highlight) on the cells of
the matrix that match the comparison condition given.
Classify: Colours the cells of the matrix according to a range of
values. These ranges can be calculated automatically or
specified by the user.
Redistribute: An O/D matrix has a specific cost distribution
based on any of its corresponding skim matrices (for example,
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the O/D distances matrix). After an adjustment, this distribution

might have been distorted, and it can be recovered by executing
a Redistribute operation that will need the following as input:
the matrix to be redistributed; its current corresponding skim
matrix; the original demand matrix; the original skim matrix
(these last two giving the cost distribution that you want to
recover).
Correction: This operation will apply the same (multiplicative)
changes to the current matrix that were made from an original
matrix to a manipulated matrix (for example, an adjusted
matrix) up to a maximum correction factor.
Cell-by-Cell Operations: adds, substracts, multiplies or divides
the cell values of the current matrix by the cell values in the
specified matrix.
Apply Traffic Profiles: This operation will apply the traffic
profiles selected per cell, obtaining O/D matrices for each
interval in the profile and with values multiplied by the
percentage stated in the profile.

18.2.1.4
Histogram
In this folder, a histogram based on the cell values is available. The
user can choose the number of intervals, and edit the ranges. The
Units can be number of Vehicles, or PCUs or any of these two in
percentages. Also, the Empty Cells (with a zero value) can be
included or not in the plot.
By selecting a secondary matrix, the histogram will be calculated
by weighting each cell by the corresponding cell in the secondary
matrix (for example, a distance matrix weighted by the number of
trips).

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Figure 157 Matrix Histogram

18.2.1.5
Path Assignment
In this folder, the percentage of use of the paths previously defined
as well as the percentage for the ICSP (Initial Calculated Shortest
Path) between a pair of O/D centroids can be assigned, so that
these values are taken into account for Dynamic simulations.
To do so, select an origin and a destination centroid (or list all of
them by selecting All). Then, all the paths defined for this O/D pair
will be listed. If it does not have any user-defined path, then only
its corresponding ICSP will be shown. The percentage of use of each
path in the current matrix can be set here. The total sum of the
percentages for each O/D pair and cannot be higher than 100.
Figure 158 shows how to set 65% of cars travelling from centroid SE
to centroid NE to use a user-defined path. The remaining 35% of
cars will choose among that path or other alternative paths
according to the active route choice function.

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Figure 158 Stochastic Path Assignment

In this folder, there is also a button to set the same percentage for
all the ICSP (Initial Calculated Shortest Paths). To do this, click on
the Set Common ICSP Percentage button. A new dialog will appear
in which the new ICSP percentage for all the O/D Pairs may be
defined.

Figure 159 Dialog to set the ICSP Percentage for all the O/D Pairs

18.2.1.6
Parameters
The editor has also a Parameters tab folder to define context data
to classify the O/D matrix. This context data is not used by the
simulator but can be relevant for other functionalities. The user
can store information about the day of the week, weather, season,
event and methodology used to calculate the O/D matrix.

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Figure 160 Parameters Folder

18.2.1.7
Copy and Paste Matrix Options
The O/D matrix editor allows the interchange of data with other
software using the copy and paste command.
To copy an O/D matrix or a selection of the cells from Aimsun to
any other software, select the desired cells and either click the
Copy button or press CTRL+C. The selection will be copied together
with its ID context, that is, the ID heading, and the centroid ID for
each row and column. When no cell is selected, the copy operation
will copy the whole matrix.
There are two possibilities to paste information into an O/D matrix:
with or without context.
When pasting without context, the paste data will be copied
exactly starting at the currently selected cell in the O/D matrix.

Figure 161 Structure of an O/D matrix with context

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There are three types of context, which must be specified in the

source table:
id: the centroids ID will be used to locate a cell.
name: the centroids name will be used to locate a cell.
eid: the centroids external ID will be used to locate a cell.
If the paste includes a context, the context type must be specified
in the heading (as in Figure 161 bordered in blue in Figure 162). In
this case, the cell that is currently selected in the editor is not
important and neither the order of the rows and columns: as each
cell is correctly identified by the context, the paste will
automatically fill the corresponding cells.

Figure 162 Result of the paste operation in an O/D matrix

18.2.1.8
Duplicate Matrix
The Duplicate button, in the bottom part of the matrix editor, can
be used to create a new matrix in the same centroid configuration
with the exact same data as the matrix that is being duplicated.

18.3 Traffic States editing

A traffic state contains all the input flows that will be generated in
a network for a particular vehicle type and a defined time period as
well as the turn proportions at nodes (when more than one turn is
possible from a section).

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Traffic States can be only used in Aimsun Dynamic Simulators, that

is Micro, Meso or Hybrid but not in Aimsun Macro. Aimsun Macro
requires O/D matrices.
Use the New/ Demand data / Traffic State option in the Project
menu, the Demand Data folders context menu or the Traffic States
folders context menu of the Project Window to create a new
Traffic State.
For every new Traffic State, its name will be assigned following the
structure state vehType: initialTime duration (for example, state
car: 08:00 01:00). When any of these parameters changes, the
name will be automatically updated, unless the user edits the
traffic state name, in which case the automatic update will be
cancelled. The auto naming will be activated again if the user
introduces a void name, as it is compulsory for a state to have a
name.

18.3.1

Traffic state editor

The traffic state editor is used to define all the traffic states
properties. Open it by double clicking on the desired traffic state in
the Project Window.

Figure 163 Input Folder

In the Input Flow folder, the vehicle type, the initial time and the
duration of the traffic state can be defined. In addition, the flows
entering each section can be specified. All the sections in the
network or only the ones that are entrance points to the network
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can be shown. Note that the Aimsun Micro Simulator will not take
into account the input flows defined in the intermediate sections.
Finally, a percentage (value between 0 and 100) of flow that will be
kept in a section, that is, will enter the section but not exit it, can
also be defined. Note that the Aimsun Simulator will not take into
account this value.
When defining the input flows, there is the possibility to do it
taking into account the input turns, that is, distinguishing among
the previous sections, or not. To do this, select, in this editor, the
desired section where to select among its entrances and press the
Use Input Turns button. One line for each section entrance will
appear.
In the Turn Info folder, all the turn percentages from a section to
all the sections accessible from it can be defined. This folder can
show all the sections or only sections where the percentages are
relevant, that is, sections with more than one turn. Similar to the
previous folder, the turn percentage can take into account where
the flow into the current section came from. If the flows preceding
section must be taken into account, select the section, in the
editor, and press the Use Input Turns button, if not, select the
section and press again in the Dont Use Input Turns button.

Figure 164 Traffic State Editor Turns Info folder

The user can also define exit flows instead of turn percentages
when these values are available. If the exit flows are specified,
then the turn percentages can be automatically calculated using
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the Recalculate Turn Percentage using Exit Flows button. Note that
the Aimsun Micro simulator will not take into account the turn
flows defined. It will use the turn percentages.
For example, when a traffic state is created using the flow
information of a static traffic assignment (done with the Aimsun
Macro) both the turn percentages and the turn flows are known.
The Highlight wrong definitions checkbox activates colouring on
the first column of the table. The cells will remain uncoloured
when the turn percentages are correctly defined; they will be
painted in red when the sum of the turn percentages coming from a
section is not equal to 100; and will be painted in orange when no
value is entered in the table for all the turns coming from a same
section. This orange highlighting does not necessarily mean the
definition is wrong, but it will be interpreted as if 100% of flow was
assigned to the first turn and 0% to the remaining turns.
Finally, in this editor, as in the O/D matrix editor, values can be
copied into or pasted from an external spreadsheet application
using the Copy/Paste buttons, and some parameters such as the
day of the week, weather, season, event and methodology used to
calculate the traffic state can be set.

18.4 Traffic Demand

In Aimsun, both the Traffic States and the O/D matrices are for a
unique vehicle type (plus trip purpose in the case of O/D matrices,
that is, for a unique user class) and for a unique time interval. For
example, an O/D matrix for the vehicle car, trip purpose Any
that starts at 8:00 AM and has a duration of 1 hour.
Several O/D matrices or Traffic States (but not a mixture of both)
will be grouped into a Traffic Demand. A Traffic Demand thus
contains traffic data for several vehicles (or several user classes)
and time intervals and can be used, for example, as input for an
Aimsun scenario (either static or dynamic).
9
1
1
:
0
1
0 Cars, O/D 1
:
:
0
0
0
0
0
Trucks, O/D 2
Trucks, O/D 3
HOV, O/D 4
Figure 165 A Traffic Demand for three vehicle types

A traffic demand can be created by accessing the New/ Demand

Data / Traffic Demand command either in the Project Menu, the
Demand Data folders context menu in the Project Window or in
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the Traffic Demand folders context menu. Once done, a new

traffic demand will be added to the Traffic Demands folder in the
Project Window.

18.4.1

Traffic demand Editor

Open the traffic demand editor by double clicking on the desired
traffic demand in the Project Window.

Figure 166 Traffic Demand Editor

In this editor, the user can select whether the traffic demand will
be composed of matrices or traffic states.
The time interval where this traffic demand will be applicable can
be defined modifying the Initial Time and Duration.
To add a demand item, that is, either an O/D matrix or a Traffic
State, the Add Demand Item button must be pressed. When
pressed, a list of all the O/D matrices grouped by Centroid
Configurations or all the Traffic states will be shown from which
the user can select the desired one. If the user chooses matrices,
by checking any of the Centroid Configurations all of its O/D
matrices are selected. User can also select single items or even all
of them by checking Select All.

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Figure 167 Traffic Demand Editor Select objects of type O/D matrix

Once selected, the item will be added to the Gantt diagram. Click
on the item in the Gantt diagram to select it. Once selected, it can
be scaled and moved to fit in the desired interval.

Figure 168 Gantt Editor

Press the Add Demand Item and repeat all the steps as many times
as demand items must be added. As the traffic demand items are
defined for a single vehicle type, there will be a line in the Gantt
Diagram for every vehicle type selected in the added items.
To remove an item, just select it in the Gantt diagram and press
the Remove Demand Item button.
The editor also offers the possibility to modify the initial time and
duration of an item without moving or scaling it in the Gantt
diagram but by typing times in the Demand Item properties folder
once it is selected.

Figure 169 Demand Item properties

NOTE: when using O/D Matrices, the duration defined for each
demand item in the Traffic Demand will be the duration used to
enter all the trips defined in the O/D matrix. Therefore, if the user
has defined an O/D matrix of 6000 trips from A to B with duration
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of 2 hours, and the demand item is defined for one hour, then
Aimsun Dynamic simulators will try to put 6000 vehicles in one
hour. The user can change the Factor to multiply any O/D matrix or
Traffic State by a factor to increase or decrease the flow or number
of trips without modifying the item itself.
There is also a global factor that affects all the traffic demand
items in a traffic demand.
These factors can be a percentage or a variable. If its a
percentage, the user can set 100 % to use all the trips, 50 % to use
half the trips, 120 % to generate 20 % more trips than the number
found in the O/D matrix or traffic state, and so on. If it is a
variable, the percentage value to be used (100 %, 120 %, 80 %,...)
will be set at the scenario or the experiment level. Look in the
Aimsun Dynamic Simulators Manual for more information about
defining variables.
When the traffic demand is based on O/D Matrices, a Traffic
Arrivals object can be also specified. This object is generated and
can be used in a dynamic simulation. Look in the Aimsun Dynamic
Simulators Manual for more information about defining and using
traffic arrivals.
The traffic demand includes also a Summary with the total number
of trips per O/D pair for each user class. Note that the summary
doesnt take into account factors defined as variables (as the final
value depends on the chosen scenario).

Figure 170 Traffic Demand summary showing trips for the car vehicle type

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The Profile folder shows the demand profile, that is, a diagram
showing the total number of trips of each of the matrices in the
demand, for each user class.

Figure 171 Traffic Demand profile

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19 Control Plans
A control plan specifies the control parameters applied to each
junction and metering in a network.

19.1 Editing Order

The editing order for control plan data is:
Create and edit the Control Plans that will be used.
Create a new Master Control Plan and assign the Control Plans
that will compose it.
When Aimsun Micro, Aimsun Meso or Aimsun Hybrid are going to be
used:
Assign the master control plan to a scenario.

19.2 Control Plan Editing

To create a new control plan select the New/ Control / Control
Plan option either in the Project Menu, in the Project Window
Control folders context menu or in the Project Window Control
Plan folders context menu. Once done, the new control plan will
be added inside the Control Plans folder in the Project Window.

19.2.1

Control Plan editor

Open the control plan editor by double-clicking on the desired
control plan in the Project Window.

Figure 172 Control plan editor

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In this editor, the control plan can be renamed. Use also the
Rename option in the Control Plans context menu to rename it.
The Initial Time at which this control plan was designed to start at
can be defined here. It is the absolute time at which the nodes'
group of phases will be set at time 0. This parameter was known as
Offset in previous versions.
The Initial Time doesnt have to match the time at which the
Control Plan will be set to start in the Master Control Plan. The
Control Plan will be applied in any case taking into account its
Initial Time. So, for example, if the Initial Time is set to 00:00:00,
the cycle on one node is 90 seconds and the Master Control Plan
states that the Control Plan is applied from 08:00:00, then at
08:00:00 the Control Plan in that node will be at second 30 of the
cycle.
A list with all the nodes in the network and the control type
associated to each of them is shown. When the control information
has not been specified in a node, the control type is set to
Unspecified. Otherwise, the control can be uncontrolled, fixed,
external or actuated.
To specify the control information in a node, double-click on the
desired node in this editors node list or right-click on the node in
any 2D view and select Edit Control Plan and the desired control
plan. The Control Plan editor for the node will open.
A list with all the meterings in the network and the control type
associated to each of them is also shown. As it happens with nodes,
when the control information has not been specified in a metering,
the control type is set to Unspecified. Otherwise, the control can
be uncontrolled, fixed, or external.
To specify the control information in a metering double-click on the
desired metering in this editors metering list or right-click on the
metering itself in any 2D view and select Edit Control Plan and the
desired control plan.

19.2.2

Control Plan Editor for Nodes

Use the node context menu to open the editor for the chosen
control plan. If there is not a control plan, you can create a new
one from this menu.

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Figure 173 Node context menu

You can also use the control plan editor, from the Project window,
to select the node to edit as previously discussed.

Figure 174 - Control editor for a node

Five different node types are available:

Uncontrolled: node managed by stops and give-ways. The
traffic lights, if any, are disconnected.
Fixed (or pre-timed): node managed by traffic lights with
fixed green-light phases. Different control plans may be
assigned to different time periods, to simulate the change of
timings depending on the time of day.
Actuated: Traffic control system that follows the NEMA
(National Electrical Manufacturers Association) standards.
For further details on those standards, please refer to NEMA

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Standards Publication TS 2-2003 v02.06 Traffic Controller

Assemblies with NTCIP Requirements.
External: It follows pre-timed control but can be combined
with an external control policy implemented using the
Aimsun Microsimulator API Extensions.
Unspecified: node without any control plan information
defined. This type is used when working with different zones
to let the simulator know that the control plan for the
previous zone is still in use.

The Offset parameter is used to synchronise adjacent nodes (green

wave). It formally specifies the displacement that is applied to the
node's cycle when the control plan is initialised (e.g., an offset of
3 means that 0 seconds after the beginning of the control plan, the
state of the traffic lights at this node will be the ones defined for
second 3 in the node's control plan).
The specified Yellow time is not inserted between one phase and
the next but it replaces the initial seconds of the red phase.
Consequently, if for a certain turn movement its green phase is
assigned 34 seconds and the rest of the cycle lasts 66 seconds, then
setting a 4 second yellow time will model that traffic light as 34
seconds of green light plus 4 seconds of yellow plus 62 seconds of
red light. The behaviour of vehicles under yellow light has two
phases depending on the red percentage defined, that indicates the
percentage of yellow time the vehicles will consider as red. The
first phase is the percentage of the yellow time (i.e. 3 seconds in
case of a 4 seconds yellow time with a red percentage of 25%) when
the drivers consider that yellow time is basically the same as green
time. During the rest of the yellow time (i.e. 1 second in case of a
4 seconds yellow time with a red percentage of 25%), the vehicles
apply a normal braking rate, instead of the maximum one they
could reach under red light.

Red percentage

Figure 175 - Red percentage modelling of the yellow

time

The yellow time defined for the node can be overwritten at the
level phase specifying a different yellow time for the desired
phase.
The Rest in Red parameter is only necessary for actuated control
and consequently it will only appear when the control type is
defined as Actuated. For further details on the Actuated and
Detectors folders please refer to Aimsun Dynamic Simulators Users
Manual.
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When the type is external, there is a critical check option used to

mark those nodes that may have a preferential treatment in a given
external adaptive system. This parameter is only considered when
the simulator is plugged to an external adaptive control system that
requires it as input.
Clicking the button where the cycle length is shown opens a dialog
where the cycle duration is defined in seconds.
19.2.2.1
Timing folder
In the Timing folder, the different phases of the intersection cycle
are defined. A phase is defined as a time period for which there are
no changes in the state of the traffic lights at that node.
The timing defined can be viewed as Phases or as Signal Groups.
When viewed as Phases, in the Gantt diagram the different phases
defined are drawn. When viewed as Signal Groups, the phases
visualization will change to a signals visualization where the green
and yellow times for each signal can be seen.
Phases are built in the following way: first the phase is created by
clicking on the Add Phase button; then it is modified by adapting it
in the Gantt diagram to its desired start time and duration and
finally selecting the signal groups (each active signal group enables
its associated turns) as being active (green) during that phase.
When making a phase longer by dragging its border, the
neighbouring phase is shrunk if necessary. If the drag is to the right,
and the [Ctrl] key is pressed the cycle time will grow instead,
maintaining the duration of the following phase.
The signal groups are listed in the Basics subfolder and they are
selected by ticking the Assigned to Phase column on the desired
signal group. The Flash in Green column is merely used for display
purposes and ticking it means the signal group will flash in yellow
during its green time instead of being drawn in green.
The Interphase parameter located in the Basics subfolder is an
optional type of phase to model the fixed clearance time in
between phases. This type of phase is then set between phases. For
instance, an intersection with a 60-second cycle and two equally
important movements (symmetric distribution of time), could be
modelled with:
2 phases
2 interphases (each interphase in between the two phases)
24 second phases and 6 second interphases
3 second yellow time

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This would produce 24 seconds of green light, 3 seconds of yellow

light and 3 seconds of clearance time plus 30 additional seconds of
red light (that is a total of 33 seconds of red light) for each one of
the movements.
In Fixed Controls, a Minimum Duration field, taken into account for
Preemption, will be shown. Refer to the Aimsun Dynamic Simulators
Users Manual for further information. For External Control, the
Minimum Duration and Maximum Duration fields are available.
Finally, the yellow time for each phase can be defined as the same
one defined for the node or as a different value specific for the
phase being edited.
When a phase is selected, the allowed turns, that is, the turns
associated with the active signal groups, are drawn in the active 2D
view in the primary mark colour.
When the Control type has been set to Fixed and the timing is set
to be viewed as Signal Groups, it enables a different way of
defining the control plan. This method bypasses the need to define
Phases and consists of defining Start Time and Duration for each
signal group. The buttons Add Signal Column and Remove Signal
Column can be used to add or remove a pair of columns from the
end of the table so more than one Start Time-Duration pair can be
inserted per signal group.
When the Control type has been set to Actuated or External, a
Minimum and Maximum Duration for each phase can also be
specified. For further details on the Actuated and Detectors folders
please refer to Aimsun Dynamic Simulators Users Manual or to
NEMA Standards Publication TS 2-2003 v02.06 Traffic Controller
Assemblies with NTCIP Requirements.

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Figure 176 Editing a Control Plan using Signal Start Time and Duration

19.2.2.2
Pre-emption folder
The pre-emption folder is an editing window for the different preemption strategies, which lines to attend, the nature of the service
and which detector will trigger the service.
For further details on the Pre-emption folder, please refer to the
Aimsun Dynamic Simulators Users Manual.

19.2.3

Control Plan Editor for Meterings

Use the metering context menu to open the editor for the chosen
control plan. If there is not a control plan, you can create a new
one from this menu.

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Figure 177 - Metering context menu

You can also use the control plan editor, from the Project window,
to select the metering to edit as previously discussed.

Figure 178 - Metering Control folder

The control type policies associated to the metering can be:

Unspecified: when no control editing has been made.
Uncontrolled: when the metering device is assumed to be
disconnected.
Fixed: when a fixed criterion for allowing flow to go through
is used. That means that none of the parameters of the
metering will vary in time for this control.
External: the parameters initially set can vary between a
given maximum and minimum depending on traffic
conditions and according to an external user-set algorithm
(using the Aimsun Micro API).
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Depending on the metering type, different parameters need to be

defined:

For green time meterings, the user must set the cycles total
time (that is, the time of green plus the time of red), the
yellow time, the offset of the first green time related to the
initial time of the control plan, the time of green and, if the
control type is external, a minimum and a maximum time of
green.
For green time by lane meterings, the user must set the
cycles total time (that is, the time of green plus the time of
red); the yellow time; the offset of the first green time
related to the initial time of the control plan: the time of
green: if the control type is external, a minimum and a
maximum time of green: and the lane offset in seconds, that
is the delay to activate the green of a lane once the lane on
its right has activated its green.
For flow meterings, the user must set the desired flow in
vehicles per hour that is to be achieved with the metering.
The platoon of vehicles specified for the metering will
indicate the maximum number of vehicles that will go
through the metering during each green.
For Flow-ALINEA meterings, the user must set an initial value
of flow to be used before the first calculation, the range
(minimum and maximum) of admissible values of flow, a
regulator parameter, the interval at which the flow is
recalculated and the target occupancy on the main road.
For delay meterings, the user must set the metering mean
delay for each vehicle and the standard deviation from the
specified mean.

19.3 Master Control Plan

The user can have several control plans by time period that will be
combined in a master control plan.
A master control plan can be created by accessing the New/
Control / Master Control Plan command either in the project Menu,
in the Project Window Control folders context menu or in the
Project Window Master Control Plan folders context menu. Once
done, a new master control plan will be added to the Master
Control Plans folder in the Project Window.
The editor is similar to the one used to edit a traffic demand.
Double-click on the desired master control plan in the Project
Window or open its context menu and select the Properties option
to open the editor.

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Figure 179 Master Control Plan Editor

The time interval where this master control plan will be applicable
can be defined editing the initial time and the duration of the
Master Control Plan.
To add a control plan the Add Control Plan Item button must be
pressed. When pressed, a list of all the Control Plans will be shown
from where the user can select the desired one.

Figure 180 Add Control Item

Once selected, the item will be added to the Gantt diagram. If no

initial time and duration was set, then the control plan will be
added at its own Initial Time with a default duration of one hour.
Click on the item to select it, then it can be scaled and moved to
fit in the desired interval.

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Figure 181 - Gantt editors item editing

If a different Control Plan must be applied for the following time

period, press the Add Control Plan Item and repeat all the steps as
many times as control plans must be added.
To remove an item, just select it in the Gantt diagram and press
the Remove Control Plan Item button.
The editor also offers the possibility to modify the initial time and
duration of an item without moving or scaling it in the Gantt
diagram but typing times in the Control Item properties folder once
it is selected.
As usual, when dealing with big networks, control plans can be
grouped by areas, each one with a different collection of
intersection. Every time the first control plan is selected for a
zone, a new empty zone will appear in the Master Control Plan
editor. Select the desired zone by clicking on its label, and then
press Add Control Plan Item button.

Figure 182 - Zone selection button

Control information is processed from top to bottom, from the first

to the last zone. If two control plans contain information for the
same node different that Unspecified, the last one will prevail.

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20 Public Transport
The main difference between public transport vehicles and other
road traffic is that they follow fixed routes and that they also try to
adhere to a pre-defined timetable. Public Transport Modelling is
applied in Aimsun Micro, Meso, Hybrid or Macro, whenever a Public
Transport Plan is loaded in a Scenario. Refer to the Aimsun Dynamic
Simulators Manual and the Aimsun Macroscopic Modelling Manual
for details on defining Scenarios.
Also, from a macroscopic point of view, Static Public Transport
Assignments and Adjustments can be executed in Aimsun. In this
case, a Demand of Public Transport passengers use the Public
Transport infrastructure to get to their destination. Please refer to
the Aimsun Travel Demand Modelling Manual for more details.

20.1 Public Transport Line

A Public Transport (PT) Line is composed of a route and a set of
public transport stops as well as of a set of timetables. Each
Schedule (slice of time with the same characteristics) or each
Departure in the case of a Schedule of type Fixed will use the
specified Public Transport Vehicle (bus, minibus, tram, etc.).
Notice that PT Lines are not taken into account in the simulation
model unless a Public Transport Plan is chosen in the scenario to be
simulated by Aimsun Micro, Meso, Hybrid or Macro.
A network can contain as many PT Lines as required. All the
existing PT lines are listed in the Project Window in the Public
Transport Lines folder inside the Public Transport main folder.
To create a new public transport line, select the New/ Public
Transport / Public Transport Line option either in the Project Menu
or in the Project Window Public Transport Lines folders context
menu. Once done, the new public transport line will be added
inside the Public Transport Lines folder in the Project Window
inside the Public Transport main folder.

20.1.1

Public Transport Route

A Public Transport Route is a fixed series of consecutive sections
through which each PT vehicle of the line will have to pass, from an
origin to a destination. The first section of the PT route is the
origin, where the PT vehicles are input into the network. The
departure frequencies or times are defined in each Schedule of a
Timetable. The last section of the PT route is the destination,
where the vehicles are removed from the network.

20.1.2

Public Transport Stops

Public Transport Stops (for example, bus stops) are the locations
along the Public Transport Route at which public transport vehicles

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must stop for a certain amount of time in order to pick up or drop

off passengers. Each PT stop belongs to only one section, while a
section may have several PT stops. However, for a particular PT
Line, no more than one PT stop can be used in the same section.
Different public transport lines can use the same PT stop.

20.1.3

Timetables and Schedules

The passage of public transport vehicles along a route is usually
governed by a timetable, which contains different intervals
(schedules) with different frequencies. The PT vehicle starts at its
origin at a given time according to the timetable, it stops at the
defined stops for a predefined amount of time and it can also be
expected to leave intermediate stops along the route at predicted
times. This last option allows passengers along the route to know
when they should arrive at the stop in order to catch the vehicle
they require.

20.1.4

Reserved Public Transport Lanes

Reserved PT Lanes can be optionally defined along a PT Route. A
reserved PT lane is an area of the carriageway reserved for the use
of PT vehicles and occasionally other permitted vehicles, for all or
part of the day. They allow PT vehicles to bypass traffic queues,
usually on approaches to signalised junctions or roundabouts. To
define a reserved lane for PT vehicles only, it is required that the
PT vehicles belong to the class allowed in the reserved lane and
that the reserved lane is defined as Compulsory. Please refer to
sections Error! Reference source not found. and Error! Reference
urce not found. for more information on how to reserve lanes.

20.2 Public Transport Line Editor

Double-click on a PT Line in the Project Window or open its context
menu and click on the Properties command to open the Public
Transport Line editor. All the sections composing the line will be
highlighted in a different colour on the network (see Figure 183).
The selected route will be highlighted in red, the selected section
in the route list is highlighted in orange, and the PT Stops belonging
to the PT Line are highlighted in green.

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Figure 183 - 2D View when a Public line editor is opened

20.2.1

Main folder
The Main folder in the Public Transport Line editor is shown in
Figure 184. It contains the Route the PT Line follows. Each section
can have a PT Stop associated in case a PT Stop has been created
on the section (refer to the Public Transport Stop Graphical Editing
section for details). Note that a section can have more than one PT
Stop defined but only one PT Stop per section can be associated to
each particular line.

Figure 184 - Public Transport Line Editor

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Each route may have a number of PT stops, at which the PT

vehicles will have to stop along their trip for a certain amount of
time. The stop times are defined in the Timetable. PT lines with no
PT stops are also accepted and in that case, PT vehicles will not
stop at any PT stop during their trip.
20.2.1.1
Editing a Public Transport Line Route
To add sections to the route, ensure the Edit Route checkbox is
selected, and then simply click on them in the 2D view. Sections
are added after the currently highlighted section in the route list. If
no section is selected the new section will be added as the last
one. When the Auto Connect option is on, the editor automatically
connects two unconnected sections using the shortest path (in
distance) between the two, so it is not necessary to select each
section individually, instead it is possible to select a section several
sections ahead.
If new sections must be added in the middle of a route, just select
in the editor the preceding section and then click on the view for
each new section.
Pressing the [Ctrl] key while clicking on a section will add this
section before the one selected in the list. If no section is selected,
the section will be added as the first one.
The Delete All button will completely erase the route, while the
Delete button will just erase the selected section from the route
list. It is possible to change the route order or a selected section
using the Up and Down buttons.
If the user unchecks the Edit Route toggle, no section will be added
when clicking over it on the view. The dialog will instead select
that section on the route list (if it is present).
The option Auto Connect helps the edition by automatically
connecting two unconnected sections using the shortest path (in
distance). Also, if the geometry of the network has changed and a
section used by a line was deleted, this option will try to
reconstruct the PT Line too.
The Auto Pan will pan the view to the selected objects if active.

20.2.2

Timetables folder
Timetable data is presented in the Timetables tab folder of the
Public Transport Line editor, as shown in Figure 185.
A Timetable consists of a set of Time Slices, each one indicating the
Public Transport Vehicle's Departures Schedule and the Dwell Times
(time the vehicle remains stopped) at each PT stop allocated to the
line.

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Each Schedule has an Initial Time and a Duration to allow defining

the interval when the Public Transport Vehicles will be generated.

Figure 185 - Public Transport Line Timetables

The PT Vehicle Departures Schedule can be defined in terms of

Frequency of Departure or by a set of Fixed Departure Times. The
types of schedules that can be selected in the dialog are:
Interval (Punctual): type of schedule selected when PT vehicles
are generated periodically at regular intervals for the time
interval of the selected slice. This regular interval is defined as
the frequency of vehicle departures based on the theoretical
time defined. In order to define this, the time interval between
departures and the standard deviation from that value must be
specified. If, for example, a time interval of 5 minutes with a
deviation of 1 minute has been defined, the departure time will
be at 5 minutes (plus/minus the deviation), at 10 minutes, at 15
minutes,
Interval (Cumulative): type of schedule selected when PT
vehicles are generated periodically at regular intervals for the
time interval of the selected slice. This regular interval is
defined as the frequency of vehicle departures based on the
time of the previous departure. In order to define this, the time
elapsed from previous departure and the standard deviation
from that time must be specified. If, for example, a time
interval of 5 minutes with a deviation of 1 minute has been
defined, the first departure time will be at 5 minutes
(plus/minus the deviation). Imagine it results in a vehicle
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generated at 8:05:45. Then, 5 minutes will be added to this time

and the deviation will be also considered again but with a mean
time of 8:10:45 instead of 8:10:00 as it will be in the Interval
(Punctual) type.
Fixed: this third option allows creating a list or timetable with
the departure time for each vehicle, and also the standard
deviation from that departure time, as in the other schedules.

In the three cases, the Deviation value will be used as standard

deviation to sample the PT vehicles departures from a Normal
Distribution.
The Vehicle Type toggle is where to define which of the vehicle
types in a model is to depart at the selected departure for the
selected schedule slice. If the Schedule Interval is defined, all
vehicles will be of the same type for the entire slice. If the Fixed
Schedule is defined, a different type to each departure of the same
slice can be associated.
The Linked to Line parameter makes it possible to provide a
precondition for the departure of a line, linked to the arrival of
another PT vehicle during the simulation. Before departing, a
linked vehicle will check whether a vehicle from the line to which
it is linked arrived after the departure of the previous vehicle from
the current line). If the Interval Schedules are being used, all
vehicles on the edited line will be linked to the other line. If a
Fixed Schedule is being used, not all departures have to be linked,
optionally only a selected subset can be linked. This means that it
will be checked if a vehicle from the linked PT line arrived in the
period since the last linked departure. Also, in order to give time to
passengers to move from one PT Line to the other, a Link Delay
Time can be specified, that will delay the departure of the second
vehicle after the arrival of the first one. Furthermore, the linked
behaviour can be applied starting at the second vehicle. If the first
vehicle wants to be generated always, untick the Link First
Vehicle option. This is useful when modelling circular lines, for
example, as the first vehicle will not wait for any other to arrive.
Finally, for each PT Stop along the route, the mean stop time and a
deviation are defined. The time that the PT vehicle will remain
stopped at each PT stop is also sampled from a Normal distribution.
There is no passenger generation model implemented. Only the
waiting time of public transport vehicles at stops is used to model
the passengers boarding and alighting times. The user can model
different passenger rates just by ensuring that public transport
vehicles stop for a suitable length of time at each stop.
The Set All Times... button opens an editor (show in Figure 186)
that allows a mean time and a deviation to be set so that when the
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OK button is pressed; these will be applied to all the stops in the

line.

Figure 186 Editor for the stop times in a public transport line

Furthermore, if the Show Offsets option is checked, an offset at

each stop can also be defined.
The offset needs to be defined when an expected arrival time at an
intermediate stop must be considered. This value will indicate the
number of seconds from the departure time of the public transport
vehicle to the stop. If the traffic conditions allow the vehicle to get
to the stop earlier than expected, then it will wait until the
expected time has elapsed. If you do not want the Offsets to be
considered in the simulation and just want them for information
purposes or to be used by the Aimsun API then the Non-applied
Offsets (Informative Value Only) should be ticked.

20.2.3

Static Model folder

In this folder, the costs related to the fares are specified. These
values are taken into account in the Public Transport Assignment.

Figure 187 Fares for PT Assignment

20.2.4

Public Transport Sections folder

For every segment in the route within each pair of consecutive PT
Stops (and from first section to first stop, last stop to last section)
Public Transport Sections are created automatically.
In this folder, the Public Transport Sections that form the route are
listed.

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Figure 188 List of Public Transport Sections that form the PT Route

20.2.5

Public Transport Assignment Outputs folder

One of the main outputs of a Public Transport Assignment is the PT
Line loads, together with the boardings and alightnings. In this
folder, this information is presented as a histogram and also in
tables.

Figure 189 Line loads, boardings and alightnings for a PT Assignment

20.3 Public Transport Plan

A Public Transport Plan consists of a list of Timetables that will be
used for each line included in it.
As many PT Plans as required can be defined. All the existing PT
plans are listed in the Project Window in the Public Transport Plans
folder inside the Public Transport main folder.
To create a new public transport plan select the New/ Public
Transport / Public Transport Plan option either in the Project
Menu, in the Project Window Public Transport folders context
menu or in the Project Window Public Transport Plans folders
context menu. Once done, the new public transport plan will be
listed in the Public Transport Plans folder in the Project Window.

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20.4 Public Transport Plan Editor

Double-click on a PT Plan in the Project Window or open its context
menu and click on the Properties command to open the Public
Transport Plan editor (shown in Figure 190).

Figure 190 - Public Transport Plan editor

In this editor, a list of all the available Public Transport Lines along
with their timetables is shown, allowing the desired ones to be
added to the Public Transport Plan. To do this, select the desired
timetable in the list on the left, click the green single arrow button
and the line and timetable will appear in the list on the right, that
is, they will be added to the Plan. Click the green double arrow
button to add all of the lines in the list on the left to the Plan in
one go.
If a PT line and timetable has to be removed from the PT Plan,
select it in the list on the right and click the red single arrow
button. Click the red double arrow button to remove all of the lines
in the Plan at once.
Once all the PT lines and timetables have been added to the PT
Plan, the OK button must be clicked to accept the changes.
The list of available PT Lines and Timetables contains a filter to
display only the desired line by its IDs, names,

20.4.1

Graphical Timetable
The graphical timetable shows the space-time graphic for Public
Transport vehicles. For more information, check the Aimsun
Dynamic Simulators Users Manual.

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21 Subpaths
A subpath is a set of consecutive sections that can have any length
and can be located anywhere on the model.
Subpaths have two main uses:
To gather statistics for a stream.
To be used in rerouting traffic management actions as part
of the new vehicle's route.
A network can contain as many subpaths as desired. All the existing
subpaths are listed in the Project Window in the Subpaths folder
inside the Infrastructure main folder.
To create a new subpath, select the New/ Infrastructure /
Subpath option either in the Project Menu or in the Project Window
Infrastructure folders context menu. Once done, the new will be
added inside the Subpaths folder in the Project Window inside the
Infrastructure main folder.

21.1 Subpath Editor

Double-click on a subpath in the Project Window or open its
context menu and click on the Properties command to open the
Subpath editor (shown in the figure below).

Figure 191 Subpath editor

The sections belonging to the subpath will be listed and highlighted

in the active 2D view.
The length of the sections plus turns that connect them will be
displayed in the bottom part of the editor.

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21.1.1

Editing a Subpath
To add sections to the subpath simply click on them in the 2D view.
Sections are added after the currently highlighted section in the
subpath list. If no section is selected the new section will be added
as the last one.
When the Autoconnect option is ticked, the editor automatically
connects two unconnected sections using the shortest path (in
distance) between the two (so it is not necessary to select each
section individually, instead it is possible to select a section several
sections ahead.
If new sections must be added in the middle a route just select in
the editor the preceding section and the start to click on the view
for each new section.
Pressing the [Ctrl] key while clicking on a section will add this
section before the one selected in the list. If no section is selected
the section will be added as the first one.
The Clear button will completely erase the route, while the
Delete button will just erase the selected section. It is possible to
change the route order or a selected section using the Up and Down
buttons.
At any time and once the sections have been selected, the Check
connectivity option will detect any unconnected pair of sections
and warn accordingly.

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22 Functions
The function editor allows the user to define cost functions using
the Python language. Several types of functions can be defined:
Basic Cost Functions for the dynamic simulators
Cost Functions for the dynamic simulators using Vehicle Types
K-Initials Cost Functions for the dynamic simulators
K-Initials Cost Functions for the dynamic simulators using Vehicle
Types
Route Choice Functions for the dynamic simulators
Macro VDF (Volume Delay Functions)
Macro TPF (Turn Penalty Functions)
Macro JDF (Junction Delay Functions)
Distribution + Modal Split
Public Transport Waiting Time
Public Transport Delay
Public Transport Transfer Penalty
Public Transport Boarding Function
Stochastic Utility Function
Adjustment Weight Function
For an overview of the Python programming language and its syntax
the reader is referred to the reference manual of python which can
be found at: http://docs.python.org/reference/.
In the following descriptions, all measurements have been
expressed using the metric system. If the network has been built
using English system units, the user should read miles instead of
kilometres and feet instead of meters.

22.1 Basic Cost Functions / Cost functions using vehicle types

Basic Cost Functions allow the user to define, for each link, a
generalised cost function not restricted to travel time only. These
functions will be used in the Dynamic Route Assignment. They
return the cost of a link without distinguishing per vehicle type.
Therefore, they cannot make use of variables that have any vehicle
type reference, so all vehicle types will have a common cost.
The Cost functions using vehicle type are the same as the basic cost
functions with the only difference that now the vehicle type can be
used to distinguish between costs for vehicles.
Signature: cost(context, manager, section, turn, travelTime)
double
where: context is a GKFunctionCostContext python
object.
manager is a DTAManager python object.
section is a DTASection python object.
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turn is a DTATurn python object.

travelTime is an unused object.
A complete overview of the methods that can be used for each
object can be found in the Aimsun Scripting Documents. In this
section the most common methods are mentioned and an example
of a basic cost function will be given.
The context object contains the user class for which the Volume
Delay Function is being evaluated. In the case of a basic cost
function this object will not be available. In the case of a cost
function using vehicle type, the user class will provide the vehicle
for which the function is being evaluated.
The manager object contains the maximum section attractiveness,
maximum turn attractiveness, attractiveness weight and user
defined cost weight.
The section object contains among others the section
attractiveness, speed, length and capacity.
The turn object contains among others the turn origin, destination,
attractiveness, length and speed.
The travelTime object which is not used.
Example:
def cost(context, manager, section, turn, travelTime):
time = section.getStaTravelT(manager)
dist = section.length3D()
w = manager.getUserDefinedCostWeight()
aSec = section.getAttractiveness()
aMax = manager.getMaxSectAttractiveness()
attract = w * (1 - aSec/aMax)
cost = time + dist + attract
return cost

22.2 K-Initials Cost Functions / K-Initials Cost Functions using

Vehicle Types
K-Initials Cost Functions allow the user to define, for each link, a
generalised cost function not restricted to travel time only. These
functions will be used in the Dynamic Route Assignment to
calculate the K-Initial Shortest Paths. They return the cost of a link
without distinguishing per vehicle type. Therefore, they cannot
make use of variables that have any vehicle type reference, so all
vehicle types will have a common cost.
The K-Initials Cost Functions Using Vehicle Type are the same as the
K-Initials Cost Functions with the only difference that now the
vehicle type can be used to distinguish between costs for vehicles.
Signature:
kinicost(context,
funcVolume) double

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section,

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191

where:

context is a GKFunctionCostContext python

object.
manager is a DTAManager python object.
section is a DTASection python object.
turn is a DTATurn python object.
funcVolume is the volume to evaluate this
function with.

A complete overview of the methods that can be used for each

object can be found in the Aimsun Scripting Documentation. In this
section the most common methods are mentioned and an example
of a basic cost function is given.
The context object contains the user class for which the Volume
Delay Function is being evaluated. In the case of a basic cost
function this object will not be available. In the case of a cost
function using vehicle type, the user class will provide the vehicle
for which the function is being evaluated.
The manager object contains the maximum section attractiveness,
maximum turn attractiveness, attractiveness weight and user
defined cost weight.
The section object contains among others the section
attractiveness, speed, length and capacity.
The turn object contains among others the turn origin, destination,
attractiveness, length and speed.
The funcVolume object is the volume to evaluate this function
with.
Example:
def kinicost(context, manager, section, turn, funcVolume):
dist = section.length3D()
cost = 10*funcVolume + dist
return cost

22.3 Route Choice Functions

Route Choice functions are defined to be used as a user-defined
Route Choice Model. They give the probability for a shortest path.
Signature: rcf (context, manager, path, section, origin,
secondPath) double
where: context is a GKFunctionCostContext python
object
.
manager is a DTAManager python object.
path is a DTAPossiblePath python object.
section is a DTASection python object.
origin is a DTACentroid python object.
secondPath is a DTAPossiblePath python object.

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The context object contains the user class for which the Route
Choice Function is being evaluated.
The manager object contains the maximum section attractiveness,
maximum turn attractiveness, attractiveness weight and user
defined cost weight.
The path object contains variables for the path cost, travel time
and distance.
The section object contains among others the entrance section
attractiveness, speed, length and capacity.
The origin object contains variables for the entrances sections and
percentages.
The secondPath object contains variables for the path cost, travel
time and distance for a second path to evaluate the function when
needed.
Example:
def rcf(context, manager, path, section, origin, secondPath):
cost = path. getSPCurrentCost ( manager, context.userClass.getVehicle())
return cost

22.4 Macro Volume Delay Functions

The Macro VDF (Volume Delay Function) is used to model the travel
time or the cost on a section or connection as a function of
different parameters such as the volume of the section, its
capacity, its length, etc. This type of function is taken into account
when doing a static traffic assignment. For more information about
VDFs and their role in the assignment, please refer to the Aimsun
Macroscopic Modelling Manual.
Section modelling:
Signature: VDF (context, section, volume) double
where: context, section and volume are Python objects
of the following type: GKFunctionCostContext,
CMacroSection and GKFunctionVolume.
A complete overview of the methods that can be used for each
object can be found in the Aimsun Scripting Documents. In this
section the most common methods are mentioned and an example
of a basic Volume Delay Function is given.
The context object contains the user class for which the Volume
Delay Function is being evaluated.
The section object contains the sections parameters that can be
used in the macroscopic assignment. The parameters that can be
consulted are: capacity, length, speed, user defined costs,
additional costs, number of lanes and user defined attributes.
The volume object contains the volume for which the Volume Delay
Function must be evaluated. Three different volumes can be
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consulted, total volume, volume per vehicle type and volume per
user class. The Volumes are variable values that change during the
assignment process.
Function Body:
In the body of the VDF any other arbitrary function that has been
defined before the function declaration of the VDF can be used.
Example:
def distance(context, section, volume):
return section.length3D() / 1000.0
def tTime(context, section, volume):
t0 = 60.0 * distance(context,section,volume) / section.getSpeed()
c = section.getCapacity()
v = volume.getVolume()
t = t0 * ( 1 + 0.15 * (v/c)**4 )
return t
def vToll(context, section, volume):
t = 0.15 * distance(context,section,volume)
return t
def fToll(context, section, volume):
t = section. getUserDefinedCost()
return t
def vdf(context, section, volume):
c1 = 1.0
c2 = 0.1
purpose = context.userClass.getPurpose()
if purpose != None:
if purpose.getName() == work:
c2 = 0.15
c3 = 0.2
time = tTime(context,section,volume)
dist = distance(context,section,volume)
toll = vToll(context,section,volume)
toll = toll + fToll(context,section,volume)
cost = c1 * time + c2 * dist + c3 * toll
return cost

Connection modelling:
Signature: VDF (context, connection, volume) double
where: context, connection and volume are Python
objects
of
the
following
type:
GKFunctionCostContext, CMacroConnection and
GKFunctionVolume.
A complete overview of the methods that can be used for each
object can be found in the Aimsun Scripting Documents. In this
section the most common methods are mentioned.
The context and volume objects are the same as for the Volume
Delay Function used for sections. The connection object contains
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the parameters of the connection that can used during a

macroscopic assignment. The parameters that can be consulted
are: length and user defined attributes.
Function Body:
In the body of the VDF any other arbitrary function that has been
defined before the function declaration of the VDF can be used.
Example:
def vdf(context, connection, volume):
length = connection.getLength()
c1 = 0.05
return c1 * length

22.5 Macro Turn Penalty Functions

The Macro TPF (Turn Penalty Function) is used to model the travel
time or the cost on a turn as a function of different parameters
such as the volume of the turn, its length, etc. This function is
taken into account when doing a static traffic assignment. For more
information about TPFs and their role in the assignment, please
refer to the Aimsun Macroscopic Modelling Manual.
Signature: TPF (context, turn, volume) double
where: context, turn and volume are Python objects of
the following type: GKFunctionCostContext,
CMAcroTurn and GKFunctionVolume.
A complete overview of the methods that can be used for each
object can be found in the Aimsun Scripting Manual. In this section
the most common methods are mentioned.
The context and volume objects are the same as for the Volume
Delay Function. The turn object contains the parameters of the
turn that may be used during a macroscopic assignment. The
parameters that can be consulted are: length, speed, additional
volume, additional costs and user defined attributes.
Function Body:
In the body of the TPF any other arbitrary function that has been
defined before the function declaration of the function can be
used.
Example:
def distance(context, turn, volume):
return turn.length3D() / 1000.0
def tTime(context, turn, volume):
t = 60.0 * distance(context,turn,volume) / turn.getSpeed()
return t
def tpf(context, turn, volume):

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c1 = 1.0
c2 = 0.1
purpose = context.userClass.getPurpose()
if purpose != None:
if purpose.getName() == "work":
c2 = 0.15
time = tTime(context,turn,volume)
dist = distance(context,turn,volume)
cost = c1 * time + c2 * dist
return cost

22.6 Macro Junction Delay Functions

The JDF (Junction Delay Function) is used to model the travel time
or the cost on a turn as a function of volumes of conflicting turns.
This function is taken into account when doing a static traffic
assignment. For more information about JDFs and their role in the
assignment, please refer to the Aimsun Macroscopic Modelling
Manual.
Signature: JDF (context,
conflictVolume) double
where:

turn,

singleVolume,

ownVolume,

context, turn and singleVolume, ownVolume,

conflictVolume are Python objects of the
following
type:
GKFunctionCostContext,
CMAcroTurn and GKFunctionVolume.

A complete overview of the methods that can be used for each

object can be found in the Aimsun Scripting Manual. In this section
the most common methods are mentioned.
context and turn are identical to the context and turn of the TPF.
singleVolume is the volume passing through the turn. ownVolume
is the total volume of all the turns that share an origin lane with
the turn. conflictVolume is the total volume of turns that
geometrically conflict with the turn (automatic option) or the
volume of turns specified by the user in the Conflict Turns table in
the Node editor.
Function Body:
In the body of the JDF any other arbitrary function that has been
defined before the function declaration of the function can be
used.
Example:
def jdf(context, turn, singleVolume, ownVolume, conflictVolume):
volume = singleVolume.getVolume()
conflict = conflictVolume.getVolume()
ratio = 0.0
if ( volume != 0.0):
ratio = conflict / volume

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delay = 0.2 * ratio

return delay

22.7 Macro Function Components

In the Functions folder we can also create Macro Function
Components. They are used to get extra Outputs from the Static
Traffic Assignment at the level of Sections, Connections and
Turnings but also for Paths statistics. Any of the subfunctions in a
VDF, TPF or JDF can be declared as a Component, by stating the
key word which is the subfunctions name. Then, the code
corresponding to this subfunction will be evaluated separately and
a new column for sections, connections, turnings and paths will be
created containing the subfunction values.

Figure 192 - Macro Function Component

The Function String must coincide with the name of the

corresponding subfunction.
Also, Derived Components can be declared, that is, the
combination of other components. For example, if we create a
Travel Time component and a Distance component, we can also
calculate Speed without declaring it as a subfunction in the VDF,
TPF or JDF, but as a combination of the existing components, as
shown in the image below. Defining the Speed as a derived
component will give us the path mean speed, whereas defining it as
a non-derived component would add up the speeds through the
path.

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Figure 193 Macro Function Derived Component

22.8 Stochastic Utility Functions

The SUF (Stochastic Utility Function) is a utility function that is
used to calculate the probabilities each path is being used. This
function is taken into account when doing a Stochastic Traffic
Assignment. For more information about SUFs and their role in the
assignment, please refer to the Aimsun Macroscopic Modelling
Manual.
Signature: SUF (context, pathChoice) double
where:

context and pathChoice are Python objects of the

following type: GKFunctionCostContext and
GKPathChoice.

A complete overview of the methods that can be used for each

object can be found in the Aimsun Scripting Manual. In this section
the most common methods are mentioned.
context is identical to the context of the VDF. pathChoice is a set
of paths and their costs.
Example:
def suf(context, pathChoice):
mu = 100
total = 0.0
cost = 0.0
res = []
for pathCost in pathChoice.getCosts():
total += math.exp( mu * 1.0/pathCost )
for pathCost in pathChoice.getCosts():
res.append( math.exp(mu* 1.0/pathCost) / total )
return res

22.9 Distribution + Modal Split Functions

The DMS (Distribution + Modal Split Function) is used to model the
resistance to make a trip with each of the available Transportation
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Modes. This function is taken into account when executing the

Distribution + Modal Split process. For more information about DMSs
and their role in the Four-step Model, please refer to the Aimsun
Travel Demand Modelling Manual.
Signature: DMS (mode, cost) double
where:

mode
is
a
Python
object
of
type
GKTransportationMode and cost is a double.

A complete overview of the methods that can be used for each

object can be found in the Aimsun Scripting Manual. In this section
the most common methods are mentioned.
mode is a Transportation Mode and cost is the skim matrix value.
Example:
def dms(mode, cost):
res = 0.0
name = str(mode.getName())
if name == Car:
res = 100.0 * math.exp(-0.00008*cost**3)
if name == Bicycle:
res = 70.0 * math.exp(-0.0005*cost**3)
return res

22.10

Public Transport Waiting Time Functions

The PWF (Public Transport Waiting Time Function) is used to model
the waiting time on a Public Transport Stop until boarding a
vehicle. This function is taken into account when doing a Public
Transport Assignment. For more information about PWFs and their
role in the Public Transport Assignment, please refer to the Aimsun
Travel Demand Modelling Manual.
Signature: PWF (context, interval) double
where:

context
is
a
Python
object
of
type
GKFunctionCostContext and interval is a double.

A complete overview of the methods that can be used for each

object can be found in the Aimsun Scripting Manual. In this section
the most common methods are mentioned.
context gives the experiment context and interval is the combined
mean headway between public transport vehicle arrivals of the
possible boarding lines.
Example:
def pwf( context, interval ):
frequency = 60.0 / interval
res = 20.0 * math.exp(-0.3 * frequency)

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return res

22.11

Public Transport Delay Functions

The PDF (Public Transport Delay Function) is used to model the
travel time or the cost on a Public Transport Section (that is, the
in-vehicle time). This function is taken into account when doing a
Public Transport Assignment. For more information about PDFs and
their role in the assignment, please refer to the Aimsun Travel
Demand Modelling Manual.
Signature: PDF (context, line, ptsection) double
where:

context, line and ptsection are Python objects of

the following type: GKFunctionCostContext,
GKPublicLine and GKPTSection.

A complete overview of the methods that can be used for each

object can be found in the Aimsun Scripting Manual. In this section
the most common methods are mentioned.
context is identical to the context of the PWF. line is the volume
Public Transport Line. ptsection is the Public Transport Section
being evaluated.
Example:
def getFare( line, ptsection ):
distFact = line.getDistanceFare()
distance = ptsection.getDistance()
res = distFact * distance
return res
def pdf( context, line, ptsection ):
inVehicleTime = 0.0
distance = ptsection.getDistance()
speed = 25.0
inVehicleTime = distance / speed
fare = getFare(line, ptsection)
c1 = 1.0
c2 = 1.0
res = c1 * inVehicleTime + c2 * fare
return res

22.12

Public Transport Transfer Penalty Functions

The PTP (Public Transport Transfer Penalty Function) is used to
model the penalty for doing a transfer from line to line during a
public transport trip. Usually people avoid transfers in public
transport because of the discomfort they produce, so this function
will penalise the decision to make a transfer. For more information
about PTPs and their role in the Public Transport Assignment,
please refer to the Aimsun Travel Demand Modelling Manual.

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Signature: PTP (context) double

where:

context
is
a
Python
GKFunctionCostContext.

object

of

type

A complete overview of the methods that can be used for each

object can be found in the Aimsun Scripting Manual. In this section
the most common methods are mentioned.
context is identical to the context of the PWF.
Example:
def ptp( context ):
res = 7.0
return res

22.13

Public Transport Boarding Functions

The PBF (Public Transport Boarding Function) is used to model the
cost for boarding a public transport vehicle. This function is taken
into account when doing a Public Transport Assignment. For more
information about PBFs and their role in the assignment, please
refer to the Aimsun Travel Demand Modelling Manual.
Signature: PBF (context, line, stop) double
where:

context, line, and stop are Python objects of the

following
type:
GKFunctionCostContext,
GKPublicLine and GKBusStop.

A complete overview of the methods that can be used for each

object can be found in the Aimsun Scripting Manual. In this section
the most common methods are mentioned.
context is identical to the context of the PWF. line is the Public
Transport Line the passenger wants to board to. stop is the stop at
which the passenger is waiting to board.
Example:
def pbf(context, line, stop):
res = line.getBoardingFare()
return res

22.14

Adjustment Weight Functions

The ADW (Adjustment Weight Function) is used to give different
(not fixed) weights to the counts (to the difference between counts
and assigned volumes) in the adjustment process. It returns a value
that multiplies the Reliabilites previously set by the user (1 by

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default). This function is taken into account when doing an

Adjustment. For more information about ADWs and their role in the
Adjustment, please refer to the Aimsun Macroscopic Modelling
Manual.
Signature: ADW (observed) double
where:

observed is a double.

observed is the value in the Time Series used in the Adjustment,

the count that has to be compared with the assigned volume.
Example:
def adw(observed):
res = 1.0
if observed>0.0:
res = 1.0/math.pow(observed,0.5)
else:
res = 0.0
return res

22.15

Function Editor
Using the editor, the function can be renamed; its type can be
selected among the available ones (cost, cost with vehicle type,
route choice, macro volume delay function, macro turn penalty or
junction delay function) and its definition (or function code) can be
written. In the current version, this definition is set by typing it in
the function code box. To ease the task a button that verifies if the
code is right (in terms of following the predefined function items)
or wrong is also available. When pressing the Verify button a
window informs the user if the function is well written or it
indicates where the first error is found.

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Figure 194 Function Editor

A graph can also be drawn by selecting a specific experiment, a

specific vehicle type and the trip purpose (if applicable).
The Usage folder shows how many objects use this function,
colouring them in the active 2D view.

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23 Grouping Categories
A Grouping Category is an Aimsun object type and can keep as
many groupings as desired.
Having groupings allows to automatically obtain the mean or
average data of the objects included in the grouping. It is easy to
get the number of vehicles generated in a certain area or the mean
speed of all the sections entering a particular neighbourhood, for
example. Screen lines can also be calculated by means of groups.
To create a new Grouping Category object right click on the DATA
ANALYSIS folder in the Project window and select New/Grouping
Category.

Figure 195 - New Grouping Category Object context menu

Open the grouping category editor to define the type of objects it

will contain.

Figure 196 - Grouping Category editor

23.1 Grouping
A Grouping is a set of objects of the same type (defined inside a
Grouping Category). It can also be linked to an area defined by a
polygon. There are two ways of creating a Grouping:
The first option is available from any Grouping Category object
New.../Grouping context menu.
The second option becomes available after building a Polygon
object. Right click on it and select Convert To/ Grouping.
After converting a Polygon into a Grouping, the following dialog
pops up to select the Grouping Category that you want to add the
new Grouping to.

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Figure 197 - Grouping Category Selection

Double click on any Grouping object to access the list of objects

belonging to the Grouping and edit it. In addition to adding an
object to the grouping, the user can set an And or Or. Usually all
the objects will be added with an And, but for some usages of the
Groupings the Or may be useful, for example for a Link Analysis of
paths that either use a section X or a section Y. And takes
precedence over Or.

Figure 198 Group Editor

23.1.1

Grouping Object Selection

It is possible to add objects to a Grouping in four different ways:
Once the Grouping editor is open, by clicking on objects that
have the same type than the type defined in the Grouping
Category.
Having selected some objects in the 2D View and clicking
Add Selection button in the Grouping editor.

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For those Grouping Objects that are linked to a polygon area,

select Build option in the Grouping Category context menu.
It will automatically calculate which objects are inside the
Grouping areas and add those that belong to the Grouping
Category Object Type.

Figure 199 Grouping Category Build

For those Groupings linked to a polygon area, select Build

option in the Grouping context menu. It will automatically
calculate which objects are inside the Grouping area and add
those that belong to the Grouping Category Object Type.

Figure 200 Grouping Build

23.1.2

Grouping Statistics
After simulating a network, the Refresh Statistics option, available
in the Grouping Category context menu, calculates for all groupings
the aggregation or mean (depending on the Time Series aggregation
type) of all available statistics in the Grouping objects. It is also
available at a Grouping level to calculate just the statistic for the
specific grouping.

Figure 201 Refresh Statistics for all the Groupings of a Grouping Category

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24 Network Attribute Overrides

One of the reasons to create different Aimsun .ang files for each
scenario you want to simulate or assign is to change attribute
values that are used in the simulation or assignment process but
cannot be modified with traffic management actions, such as
section distance zones, capacities, section VDFs, turn penalties and
so on.
The aim of the Network Attribute Override objects is to allow the
modification of those attributes without having to replicate
networks for each configuration.
To create a new Network Attribute Override object, select
Project/New/Network Attributes Override menu
Double click on it and the following editor will bring up:

Figure 202 - Network Attributes Override Editor

To add new objects, the user has to click over, select the object
and the attribute to override, then press the Add (+) button
Once the object has been added, it is possible to change the
attribute as desired.

24.1 Applying the Overrides

From any experiment main tab folder (see Figure 203), it is possible
to select which overrides you want to apply before starting the
simulation or assignment process.

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Figure 203 Override object selection

Note that the original values in the Aimsun network are always kept
and the changes defined in the overrides are only present in the
static or dynamic simulation model.

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25 Connection Tool
The connection tool is used to create connections between two
objects. These connections can be between centroids and sections,
centroids and nodes, controllers and detectors ... But also, they
can be used between two sections to create a turn.

25.1 Connection tool to create connections

To create all types of connections between objects, click on the
Connection tool. The use of the Connection tool to create turns
between sections is more complex than the other cases so it is
explained in detail in the next section. Click once if only one
connection must be created or double click to activate it in
continuous mode if more than one connection must be created.

Figure 204 Connection Tool

After that, click on the object that will be the origin of the
connection and without releasing the mouse button drag the mouse
to the destination object of the connection. Finally, release the
mouse on the destination object and a new connection will be
created.
In the case of centroids, when the Connection tool is selected if the
user clicks on the centroid and without releasing the mouse button
moves the mouse to the desired section or node and then releases
the mouse, a To connection will be created. If the mouse click
starts on a section or node and ends on the centroid then a From
connection will be created.

25.2 Connection tool to create turns

To use the connection tool to create turns, first click on the tool,
then press on the origin section of the turn and without releasing
the mouse move it to the destination section. When the mouse
button is released, the connection, that is a node with a single
turn, is added.

Figure 205 Creating a node using the Connection Tool

If the user wants to add more than one turn to the same node using
the connection tool and the sections involved in the second turn do
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not belong to the node yet, just select the node before creating the
second turn. Remember that the tool can be used in continuous
mode (by double-clicking on it) if more than one turn is to be
added.
The behaviour of the connection tool when connecting two sections
is the following one:

If the Ctrl key is pressed while creating the connection, a

turn from all the origin lanes to all the destination lanes will
be created.
If the Ctrl key is not pressed while creating the connection,
when the number of origin and destination lanes is different,
for the turn the section with fewer lanes will be matched
with the closest lanes in the other section. See Figure 206
for details.

Figure 206 Creating a turn with the connection tool

If the Ctrl key is not pressed and the origin section or the
destination one have all its lanes already involved in a turn,
then the new turn will use the rightmost or leftmost lane of
the sections that have all their lanes already involved in
turns or the lanes that are still not assigned in the sections if
any. In Figure 207, an example where the origin section has
all its lanes already involved in a turn is shown.

Figure 207 Creating a turn with the connection tool

The connection tool tries to ease the process of creating the

geometry but at anytime the node editor can be opened to refine
the turns created or to create special turns that cannot be created
using this tool.
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26 Find
Aimsun includes a find box that allows objects to be found by any
of their attributes. For example:
Find all sections whose speed is lower than 50 km/h.
Find all centroids connected to one object.
Find all VMSs in the network displaying a message (during a
simulation).

Figure 208 Find all the centroids connected to one object

The find dialog allows the user to specify an alphanumeric value, an

attribute, a particular type of object and an operator. The
attribute list varies in function of the object type (i.e. number of
lanes for a section, messages for a VMS).
The user can select the operators:
=: the value of the attribute of the objects the user is looking for
must be equal to the given value.
<>: the value of the attribute must be different.
>: the value of the attribute must be greater than the given
value.
<: the value of the attribute must be lower than the given value.
[]: range, a second field appears. The value of the attribute
must be in the range.
~: the found value matches the given regular expression (Perl's
regexp language).
It is possible to set All as the attribute to be used. In this case, the
dialog will look for the value in the Find field in all the attributes of
each object.
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It is also possible not to set a specific value in the Find field, using
the character *. A search of this symbol will produce a list of all
the objects specified in the Type field, whatever their attributes
are.
The result of a search will appear in the find dialog as a result list.
It will show the object type (section, node, centroids, O/D
matrix,), the ID, name and the value of the used attributed.
If the All attribute is used, the found value and the attribute in
which the value was found will be shown.
It the result of the search include graphical objects, they can be
selected by using the Select Results in view option.

26.1 Working with Search Results

Graphical objects, when selected in the result list, will be
highlighted using the primary mark colour.
A double click on any item in the list will open the editor for this
object.

26.1.1

Refining a Search
The Find in Results button activates a second search, based on a
different criterion, but this time only among the objects found on
the first search (to refine the search).

26.1.2

Result Selection
The Select Results selects on the view all the found graphical
objects (non-graphical objects will not be selected).

26.1.3

Use of the Context Menu

Select any item in the result list and press the right button to bring
its context menu.
In a graphical view, commands in the context menu are applied
when possible to all the selected graphical objects and not only to
the object that brought out the context menu. On the other hand,
commands executed from the search result list are executed only
on the object that brought the context menu.
It is possible, however, to execute a command for more than one
object in the search result list. Use the Select Results button and
then execute the command from the view.

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27 Table View
Aimsun provides a new way of accessing and modifying data of
Aimsun objects. It can be opened via the Window->Windows menu
or using the W quick shortcut.

Figure 209 An empty table view

On a regular Table View, there are six main interaction areas:

Type: Lets the user choose which Type should be listed on
the Data View.
Show: Lets the user choose which objects of the current type
should be shown on the Data View.
o All: Shows all the objects of the current type.
o Selected (in View): Shows the objects of the current
type that are selected in the current view.
o Filter: Lets the user define a condition to filter which
objects of the current type should be shown.
o Filter Selected (in View): Lets the user define a
condition to filter which of the objects of the current
type that are selected in the current view should be
shown.
Configuration: Lets the user choose which Table View
configuration to use.
Action: The Action button lets the user do some
miscellaneous actions:
o Column Visibility: Specifies which columns to show
o Show Inherited Types: Specifies whether to show or
not objects of types that inherit from current type,
for example, having it checked would show also
SubNetworks when Type is Polygon
o Save Configuration: Lets the user save the current
Table View Configuration
o Delete Configuration: Lets the user delete saved Table
View Configurations
o Copy: Copies data from the either the Data or the
Summary View
The Data View: Shows the data of all the objects that should
be shown according to the specified options

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The Summary View: Shows the common data of all the

objects that are shown on the Data View

27.1 The Data View

The Data View is the main part of the Table View. It is a table
where each column represents a property of the given type and
each row represents an object of the given type.

Figure 210 Table View showing polygon data

Columns of the Data View might be editable or not. For example,

the number of connections of Centroids is not editable while the
brush style of a Polygon is.
To edit a given value, just double click in the appropriate cell and
an editor suitable for the column data type will appear. Remember
to press Return to finish data modification.
When an object is selected in the Data View, it will appear marked
in the View if it is a View object.
Double clicking on the ID will centre the object in the View if it is a
View Object.

27.2 The Summary View

The Summary View shows the same columns than the Data View but
only one row. In that row, each cell will be empty if not all objects
of the Data View have the same value in that column or will have
the value of all objects of the Data View if they are the same.
Changing the value of a column in the Summary View changes the
value of that property for all objects shown on the Data View.

27.3 Filtering
The Table View provides filtering options to restrict the objects
shown on the Data View. Filtering works over any or a particular
Attribute of the current Type and the user can choose six different
filtering methods over that attribute.
=: the value of the attribute of the objects the user is
looking for must be equal to the given value.
<>: the value of the attribute must be different.
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>: the value of the attribute must be greater than the given
value.
<: the value of the attribute must be lower than the given
value.
~: the found value is matched by the given regular
expression.
[]: range, a second field appears. The value of the attribute
must be in the range.

27.4 Column Visibility

Types often have many attributes and sometimes it is interesting to
show only some of them. Using the column Visibility dialog it is
possible to choose which columns should be shown and which ones
should be hidden.

Figure 211 Editing the visibility of some columns

27.5 Configurations
Configurations are predefined queries for the Table View. A
configuration stores:
The type
The visible columns
The show mode
Filtering options
The current configuration can be changed using the Configurations
option list. Configurations can be saved and deleted using the
Action Menu.

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28 Inspector Window
The Inspector Window allows you to quickly check and modify
attributes of the selected objects, or to look at their time series, if
any. Go to Window / Windows / Inspector or use the I quick shortcut
and a window will pop up showing the attributes of the currently
selected objects as seen in the images below.

Figure 212 Opening the Inspector Window

Figure 213 Inspector dialog

28.1 Main View

The Inspector will display suitable editors to see and edit attributes
of the selected objects. Just change the value of the corresponding
field, and the attribute is directly modified, without the need of
any validation but remember that you can always cancel the
modification with the Undo command.
Similarly to the Table View, some of the attributes might not be
editable.
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28.2 Multiple Selection Editing

If the selection contains various objects, you will be able to edit all
of them at the same time, similarly to the Summary of the Table
View.
Likewise, for a given attribute, the field appears blank if the
selected objects have different values.
If the selection contains objects of different types (p.e. three
Sections and two Turns), only the attributes they have in common
will be displayed.

28.3 Time Series

Along with the Main tab where you can edit the objects
attributes, the Inspector offers a Time Series tab.
In this tab, you can visualize the Time Series exactly as you would
do in a typical object editor, at the difference that you can only
see the Time Series of one variable at a time.
In counterpart, as you can select various objects at a time, the
Time Series tab will display the variables of all of them in the
same graph.

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29 Dynamic Labels
Dynamic label functionality provides a method of displaying both
static and dynamic information about network elements as textual
labels.
To add a dynamic label to an element, right click on the element in
the 2D view to access its context menu, then select Dynamic Labels
/ Attribute Dynamic Label.

Figure 214 Dynamic Labels Context Menu

Select the required label, in this case, the detector name,

Figure 215 Dynamic Label Attribute Editor

Check tick boxes to show attribute name, units, change the colour
or the font size if required, then select OK in the editor. The label
will appear over the element, but it can be dragged to any desired
position.

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Figure 216 Label positioning

Multiple labels can be added, in this case the SI Section Speed as

well as the name.

Being dynamic, labels are updated with relevant information, for

example during a running simulation.

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Labels may be added to more than one element at once by

selecting all (for example by holding down the [Shift] key) then
selecting from the context menu on a selected element as normal.
Dynamic labels may be closed by selecting the label or labels, and
either pressing the [Delete] key, or by selecting Dynamic Labels /
Close / Selected from a labels context menu. Selecting Dynamic
labels / Close / All closes all labels in the view, while Dynamic
Labels / Close / Equal closes all labels in the model of the same
type as the first label selected.
There is another kind of Dynamic Labels, which are specific to show
Turn Attributes. See the Aimsun Dynamic Simulators Users Manual
for a detailed explanation.

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30 Printing
Aimsun offers tools for printing the active 2D view either in a
printer or to a PDF document for any paper size and orientation.

30.1 Direct Print

Use the Print command from the File menu to print the current 2D
view. A dialog will appear asking for the printer and the printers
settings.
From this dialog, the user can select to print the entire network or
just the visible area in the current view. To do so select, in Page
Range, select All to print the whole network or Selection to print
the current view area.

30.1.1

Print Preview
The Print Preview command, from the File menu, will open a dialog
allowing the user to prepare the document for printing and
reviewing the final result.

Figure 217 Print Preview dialog

Both the Print and the Export PDF will use the settings set using the
Page Setup command. This command allows the user to select the

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paper size, orientation, printer, colour print Finally, one can also
select the Drawing Mode to be printed.

30.1.2

Export to PDF
This command creates a new PDF document printing either the
whole network or the visible area as seem in a 2D view. It will ask
first for the name of the PDF file to be created and then for the
printing preferences as paper size and orientation.

Figure 218 Export to PDF settings

30.2 Print Layout

[Fast track: July 2013]

The Print Layout allows you to compose a graphic scene on a page,

including elements such as views of the network, legends, text, Time
Series graphs, or images. You can then print the Print Layout, or export it
to a PDF or an image.

30.2.1

Creation
To create a new Print Layout, right-click on the Data Analysis folder
in the Project Dock, and choose New/Print Layout; to edit it,
double-click on it in the Project Dock.

30.2.2

Wizard
When editing a new layout (or any empty layout), before displaying
the actual layout editor, you will be presented the Print Layout
Wizard dialog. This dialog will help you to quickly and easily fill a
Print Layout with a title, a subtitle, 1 or more maps or images, and
other common elements.

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30.2.2.1

Page Settings section

In the Page Settings section, you can define the page format to use
for the Print Layout: either a standard one, or a custom format.
Note about custom formats: when using a custom format, the Print
Layout will actually use a standard format, and adjust the margins
to match the custom parameters. It's most likely that your printer
won't allow you to print a custom format page, but there are no
such constraints with images: you can use custom formats to export
the Print Layout to an image of any dimension.

30.2.2.2

Layout Composition section

Here you can define which elements to include in your Print

Layout:

A title, a subtitle, a text containing document information (note

that by default, some special variables are used in this text.
Special variables for text are detailed below.), and a footer text.
The central part of the Print Layout will be occupied by one or
several maps, Time Series graph, or images. They can be laid out
vertically, horizontally, or in a grid.
by default, by creating a map element, a scale, a legend,
and a label indicating the view's time context will also be
created ;
by default, by creating a Time Series graph element, a
label indicating the graph title (automatically updated
according the displayed Time Series) will also be created ;
optionally, an individual footer label that will be created
and placed at the bottom of each element.

Clicking on Ok will create and fill the Print Layout with the chosen
elements; then you will only have to configure the specific
parameters of each element (map region and view mode, image
file, etc.) to obtain the desired Print Layout.

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You can also click on Ignore to leave the Print Layout empty.

Figure 219 The Print Layout Wizard: setting up a Landscape A4 Print Layout
with the central spaced shared horizontally by 2 elements: a map and an
image.

30.2.3

Editor
The Print Layout editor will allow you to configure the specific
parameters of each element, add new elements or remove existing
ones, change the page format, and more importantly, print or
export the Print Layout to PDF or an image file.
At the center of the Print Layout editor, you can see a preview of
the Print Layout. Use the zoom in/out buttons in the top tool bar,
or your standard keyboard shortcuts for zooming in/out (Ctrl+Plus
and Ctrl+Minus on Windows), to zoom in/out the preview.

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Figure 220 The Print Layout Editor showing the resulting Print Layout of the
wizard example, configured with a view mode and an image. The title
element is currently selected, for example to edit its text.

30.2.3.1

Configuring the elements

To configure an element, select it by clicking on it (you can select

several elements at a time with Ctrl+click, or by selecting): you will
see its attributes displayed in the editor at the right side of the
preview.

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General attributes. All the elements have those attributes in

common:
X,Y, Width and Height: they are expressed in % of the page
and allows to define the position and size of an element.
You can move the selected elements by drag & drop, and
resize them by moving their edges. You can also move the
selected elements by 1% increments using the keyboard
arrows.
Background: check it to draw an opaque background for the
element, and define its colour with the Colour button.
Draw frame: check it to draw a black frame at the border
of the element.
Z-ordering: click on 'To front' or 'To back' to bring the
element to the foreground or send it to the background.
Map:
When a map element is selected, you can check "Enable
Pan & Zoom Edition" to change the visible region of a map
by drag & dropping (exactly like the Pan of Aimsun's main
view) or using your mouse wheel. You can also set the
visible region using the editor's Center and Scale fields.
Time: to define the time context of the view.
Mode: to define the View Mode to be used on the view.

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Legend
Scale: changes the size of the font and of the legend's
items.
Mode: defines the mode to be shown by the legend. If the
legend element is above a map element, you can leave it
to 'Automatic' and the legend will use the mode defined in
the map element.
Style: defines the style to be shown by the legend, or
shows all the mode's styles if set to 'All'. Note that by
default, the selected style is the first color style of the
mode, as it is the most likely to be the interesting one.
Scale
The scale element will display the scale used by the map
element below it. If the scale is not above a map element,
it will show the scale of the closest map element.
Show Scale Label: check it to show the scale value in
"1:xxxx" format.
Time Series graph
This element displays Time Series graphs in the same way
as the Time Series Viewer.
To add Time Series to the graph, select it: a widget similar
to the Time Series Viewer appears and allow you to add
Time Series to your graph and configure it.
To have more details on how to use the Time Series
Viewer, see: 35.2 Time Series for Multiple Objects.
Text
The text of the text element supports special variables,
that are automatically replaced by the corresponding
value:
- ${A_AUTHOR}: author of the document
- ${A_VERSION}: Aimsun version
- ${A_PATH}: document path (file name not included)
- ${A_FILE_NAME}: document file name
- ${A_VIEW_CONTEXT}: underneath view's context
- ${A_VIEW_CONTEXT_NO_DATE}: underneath view's
context without date
- ${A_DATE}: current date
- ${A_TIME}: current time
- ${A_DATE_ISO}: current date in ISO format
- ${A_TIME_ISO}: current time in ISO format
- ${A_TIMESERIES_GRAPH_TITLE}: underneath Time Series
graph's title
You can also change the font, font size, color and
alignment of the text.
Image
By clicking on the 'Browse' button, you can choose in your
file system the image to be shown.

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30.2.3.2

Line
The line element draws vertical, horizontal and diagonal
lines. The color of the line is always black.

Adding and removing elements

To create a new element, click on one of the buttons in the left

tool bar. The corresponding new element will be added around the
center of the Print Layout.
You can also create new elements using the Copy-Paste keyboard
standard shortcuts: select some elements and trigger the copy
shortcut (Ctrl+C on Windows); then trigger the paste shortcut
(Ctrl+V on Windows) to create clones of the items.
To remove one (or several) elements, select it and press the delete
key.

30.2.3.3

Configure the page format

To change the page format, click on the 'Page Format' button in the
top tool bar.
If you want to use a custom format (to export an image of specific
dimensions), choose one of the standard page format, and adjust
the margins to match your needs.

30.2.3.4

Exporting the Print Layout

There are 3 ways to export the print layout.

Print
Export to PDF
Export to Image: creates a PNG image. The pixel size of the image
will be 4 times bigger than the defined size of the layout in points
(ex: 500 points width -> 2000 pixel width). Margins of the page are
not included in the image.

Note that only 'Export to Image' supports custom page formats.

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31 Colour Ramps
A colour ramp is a predefined group of colours used in Aimsun to
colour a group of objects when drawing in a 2D view depending on
any objects attribute. They are also used to colour the selected
object.
In Aimsun, several colour ramps are used. These colour ramps are:
MARK_COLORS: defined in the mark.xml file and used, for
example, to colour the selected objects
TIME_SERIES_WIDGET: defined in the lines.xml file and used
when drawing the time series graphics.
ASSIGNED_VOLUMES: defined in the assignedVolumes.xml file
and used in the Aimsun Macro component when showing the
static assignment results. See the Aimsun Macroscopic
Modelling manual for more details.
The colour ramps are defined in xml files that are located in the
<AIMSUN_HOME>/shared/color_ramps folder. There is an xml file
for each colour ramp.
The way to change the colours in a colour ramp is to edit directly
the xml file. The format of the colour ramps xml files is:
<color_ramp name="RAMP_NAME" type="RAMP_TYPE" coded="RAMP_CO/DED">
<color>COLOR_DATA</color>
<color>COLOR_DATA</color>
...
</color_ramp>

where:
RAMP_NAME: it is the name of the ramp.
RAMP_TYPE: it is the colour space to be used when
interpolating, either RGB or HSV.
RAMP_CO/DED: how colours are specified, either HEX or
DECIMAL
COLOR_DATA: the colour information. The format varies
according to RAMP_CO/DED:
o HEX: #RRGGBB, where:
RR is the hexadecimal red component from 00
to ff
GG is the hexadecimal green component from
00 to ff
BB is the hexadecimal blue component from 00
to ff
o DECIMAL: RRR GGG BBB (space separated), where:
RRR is the decimal red component from 0 to
255
GGG is the decimal green component from 0 to
255
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BBB is the decimal blue component from 0 to

255

Note that colours are specified in RGB. The RAMP_TYPE is used only
in the interpolation.
Example 1: a gray ramp using HEX
<color_ramp name="GRAY" type="RGB" coded="HEX">
<color>#000000</color>
<color>#ffffff</color>
</color_ramp>

Example 2: a gray ramp using DECIMAL

<color_ramp name="GRAY" type="RGB" coded="DECIMAL">
<color>0 0 0</color>
<color>255 255 255</color>
</color_ramp>

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32 Modes and Styles in 2D Views

Aimsun can show any graphical object in several ways based on the
values of its attributes. It can also show these attributes as labels
on the network. For example, it can show sections with a speed of
50 Km/h in red, 60 Km/h in blue or it can draw bars of 3 meters
width on sections with a density of 1000 and bars of 6 meters width
on the ones with a density of 2000.

32.1 View Styles

These effects are achieved using View Styles. To create a new View
Style select the New/ Data analysis / View Style option in the
Project Menu, or in the Project Window Data Analysis folders
context menu or in the Project Window View Styles folders context
menu. Once done, the new View Style will appear in the View
Styles folder inside the Data Analysis main folder in the Project
Window. Open the Style editor by double-clicking on it. A View
Style contains information on:
The type of object to be drawn (sections, nodes, centroids,
polygons)
The value of a selected attribute it will be based on (speed,
capacity, mean queue, length). The value can be that of an
attribute or the value of an attribute divided by other attribute.
Also the values can be normalised if the Normalise tick is
checked resulting in values ranging from 0.0 to 1.0.
The style chosen to draw the object (in red colour, using a width
of 3 meters, )
The conditions on when to apply this style, either for a
predefined zoom range or based on the value of an attribute.
The following table shows the different ways the object may be
drawn:
Type
Colour
Pen Width
Pen Style
Brush Style
Spot
Hide
Colour Opacity
Attribute
Diagram

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Effect
Changes the colour
Changes the pen width
Changes the pen style
Changes the brush style
Draws extra information over the object
Hides the object (it will not be drawn)
Changes the opacity of the colours defined in
another style
Adds a label with the value of the specified
attribute
Draws a diagram (circles, pies, histograms...)
on each object

230

After selecting the object, the attribute, and how it will be drawn,
different values for the effect must be selected (for example
different colours) based on the values of the selected attribute.
An attribute can be either continuous or discrete. The user will
group continuous values using ranges. Discrete values cannot be
grouped. For each discrete value or each range of continuous
values, the final effect can be modified (see Figure 221).
The user can use the Calculate Ranges button to calculate
automatic ranges.
When a label is displayed, the number of decimal digits to use in
the label can also be specified.
When defining a style that displays a label or a spot, the units of
the specified size can be defined, that is, if the value specified is in
meters or pixels.

Figure 221 View Style Editor Main folder

In the Conditions folder (see Figure 222), the zoom range this style
will be visible can be specified as well as if the style is going to be
applied to a subset of objects. This subset can be specified by
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selecting the attribute to filter objects by and the range of

matching values to apply the view style.

Figure 222 View Style Editor Conditions folder

32.2 View Modes

Several styles can be combined into one View Mode. The user will
then select, among all the available modes, which one will be
applied to the current view.
To create a new View Mode select the New/ Data Analysis / View
Mode option either in the Project Menu, in the Project Window
Data Analysis folders context menu or in the Project Window View
Modes folders context menu. Once done, the new View Mode will
appear in the Project Window inside the Data Analysis main folder.
Open the Mode editor by double-clicking on it.

Figure 223 View Mode Editor

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In the View Mode editor, the user can assign styles to the mode.
The dialog offers two lists with styles. The list above contains all
the styles that are not in the current mode. The list below contains
the styles that are already assigned to it. Use the arrows to add or
remove styles to/from the mode.
When drawing styles using spots, the user can select when these
spots are drawn: either after drawing all the objects in the layer (in
this case the spots will be over the objects) or before drawing the
objects (in this case the sport will be behind the objects). If the
style uses big spots is a good idea to draw them behind the objects
to clarify the plot.
A second option can be used to set the drawing orders of objects in
a layer (each layer will be draw in the order specify by its level)
based on the value of the attribute used in one of the styles in the
mode. The sorting will occur only when selecting the view mode.
Combined with the previous option can help to clarify a view mode
(for example when drawing isochrones).
It is also possible to set the view mode automatic activation:
Never: it will never be activated automatically.
Micro: it will be activated when a Microscopic simulation
finishes.
Meso: it will be activated when a Mesoscopic simulation
finishes.
Macro: it will be activated when a Macroscopic Traffic
assignment finishes.
Hybrid: it will be activated when a Hybrid simulation
finishes.
Dynamic: it will be activated when a dynamic simulation is
running.
Paths: it will be activated when checking the paths from any
dialog (i.e. Replication editor: Path Assignment tab folder).

32.3 Examples
The following example will create a View Mode that colours the
vehicles according to their origin centroids.

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Figure 224 - Vehicle by Origin Style

Create a New Mode and call it Vehicles by Origin. Create a new

Style and add it to the new mode. Edit the new style.
In the style editor, shown in Figure 224, choose Simulation Vehicle
as the Type, and Origin as the Attribute. Change the type of the
variable to Discrete. Keep Colour as the Representation.
Press the Calculate Ranges button. In the Automatic Ranges
Calculator dialog (Figure 225), choose Unique Values as the
Method. Press Calculate to get all the unique values. Press OK.

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Figure 225 Unique Values Classification

Edit the ranges if necessary. Select the new mode from the Drawing
Mode list in the current view.

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Figure 226 Vehicles by Origin Mode in action

Next example will create a View Mode where centroids are hidden.
Create a New Mode and call it Hide Centroids. Create a new Style
and add it to the new mode. Edit the new style.
In the style editor, shown in Figure 227, choose Type: Centroid, and
Attribute: ID. Set the type of the variable to Continuous, and the
Representation to Hide. Press the New button and set the range to
0.00 inf.

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Figure 227 Hide Centroids View Style

Figure 228 shows the network with the Drawing Mode set to Hide
Centroids.

Figure 228 Drawing Mode Hide Centroids

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32.4 Wizards
There are two wizards accessible via the Tools menu, Data Analysis
sub menu, to create new styles and new modes easily.

32.4.1

View Style Wizard

This wizard will assist the user in the creation of a new style and
optionally assigning it to an existing mode.
Figure 229 shows how to create a style that will colour the sections
based on the section speed.

Figure 229 Style creation using Wizard

If the Finish button is selected the style will be created with a

default group of ranges. If the Next button is pressed, the ranges
calculated will be shown and the user will be able to edit them.

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Figure 230 Style ranges

If the Next button is pressed, a list of all the existing modes will be
shown to assign the new style to the desired modes. To do it, tick
the desired modes.

Figure 231 List of available modes

32.4.2

View Mode Wizard

This wizard will assist the user in the creation of a new mode and
optionally assigning some existing styles to it.
Figure 232 shows the wizard dialog, which allows to define the
mode name as well as to decide whether to use existing styles,
create a new style or adapt an existing one.

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Figure 232 - Mode creation wizard

When selecting Use existing Styles a list of styles will be shown. If

the user chooses to Create a new style then the steps followed in
the View Style Wizard section must be done and finally, if the
option chosen is to Adapt an existing Style then a window to choose
the existing style to adapt and the style attribute will be shown.

Figure 233 List of available styles

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33 Static Shortest Path

The Shortest Path between two centroids or sections of the
network can be calculated with this tool, available in menu Data
Analysis/Shortest Path Calculator.
To start, the origin section or centroid must be selected, by
clicking on it in the view. The destination section or centroid is
chosen by clicking on it while holding the Control key pressed.
Another option is to write directly the ID of the desired object in
the corresponding box.
The dialog asks then for the criteria to calculate the shortest path.
There are three options: by distance, by time and by attribute.
Note that the calculation of a Shortest Path basing on Time takes
into account the free flow times to go through sections and nodes.
If the Attribute option is chosen, then the user must select the
section attribute and/or the turn attribute based on which the
shortest path will be calculated.
The restrictions box is used to specify the vehicle type for which we
want to calculate the shortest path, so that the reserved lanes not
allowed for that type are not taken into account.
Finally, the Shortest Path, if any, is shown in the view in the
primary colour, and the cost of the path is also shown in the dialog
window.

Figure 234 - Static Shortest Path

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34 Check and Fix Network Errors

Aimsun includes a network/subnetwork checker to point out coding
errors and warnings. The checker reports an error when it finds an
issue that must be fixed before using the network (for example
prior to a simulation or a traffic assignment). A warning is reported
when the issue permits the use of the network but it might be a
coding error (for example, a non-connected section).

Figure 235 Network checker

The network checker is available from the menu Tools as shown in

Figure 236:

Figure 236 Network checker options in menu Tools

The basic checks for network elements (sections, nodes, centroids

and road types) are:
Section Checks:
If a section has no Road Type Error.
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If the section is connected to more than one node at

destination or at origin Error.
If the section has only lateral lanes Error.
If not all the lanes at the beginning or at the end of the
section are connected Error.
If there is more than one Metering per segment Error.
If the section is a Floating Section (not connected)
Warning.
If a Non-Internal Section has the same origin and destination
node Warning.
If an entrance or exit section is not connected to any
centroid Warning

Road Type Checks:

If a road type has no VDF function Error.
Node Checks:
If the node type has been set to Node but should be either
Auto or Join Warning.
If the node type has been set as Join but should be either
Auto or Node Warning.
If origin or destination lanes in a turn are out of range (this
problem is fixed automatically) Warning.
If origin lanes in a turn intersect wrongly with origin lanes in
another turn Warning.
Conflicting turns not protected with a give-way, stop or
traffic light.
Centroid Checks:
If a centroid is unconnected Warning
Cost Functions:
If the syntax is incorrect Error
Route Checks:
If a route is not connected (this problem is fixed
automatically in some cases) Warning
If any subnetwork is available, the user can choose between
checking the whole network or one of the subnetworks.
The user can also check an O/D matrix, using a traffic demand, to
discover O/D pairs with a demand defined but no path between the
origin and the destination. The checker will look at any origin and
destination combination to which trips have been specified. Note
that this check can take a long time to complete. Depending on
each centroids percentage usage configuration, it will check that
there is a path from/to each centroid or from/to each connector.
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After running it, the checker information will appear both in the
Log Window and in the dialog. The dialog offers the same
capabilities as the Find Dialog, that is, the possibility to select an
object and to use its context menu or open its editor, as well as
centring the view on the selected object and colouring it with the
primary mark colour.
In order to prevent huge listings of errors and warnings in big
networks, the convention to list a maximum of 100 messages per
type of error or mistake has been taken.

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35 Time Series
Time series hold observations of a variable made over time. The
variable observations can be produced by a simulator (speed on a
road, vehicles number of stops); they can come from real world
data as detection measures or be calculated as an aggregation of
several values (level of service for nodes).
Aimsun offers a collection of tools to visualize, compare and print
this data. It is possible to show one or more time series of a single
object (a vehicle, a section) and also to show several (related)
time series of various objects.

35.1 Time Series for a Single Object

When the variables of an object have values for time series, they
are displayed in the object editor. The editor will contain a new
tab folder called Time Series as shown in Figure 237. Not only
graphical objects, such as sections or simulated vehicles, but also
Replications and Averages listed on the Project window will also
have this tab folder on its editor after being simulated/calculated.
See the Aimsun Dynamic Simulators Users Manual for more
information on the simulation objects.

Figure 237 Time Series tab folder

In this tab folder, up to ten time series can be visualized at the

same time, choosing them from the Variables tab folder. Press the
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Variables button to select the time series. Press any representation

buttons (graph, area, table) to show the selected data.

Figure 238 Selecting the variables in a time series plot

In the Variables tab folder the user can select as many variables to
plot as desired, including one as the X (time by default), with the
following limitations:
Only up to two variables with different units can be shown,
either using the left and right scale (speed and capacity) or the
left and bottom (density vs. capacity)
The time series must share the same interval and a common
time period (although one time series can be large than
another).
Check Lock Variable to change all time series to the same the
variables. Check the Lock User Class to change all the vehicles
types at once. Check the Lock Originator to change all the
replications (or real data sets) to the same.
This tab folder allows the representation of the data in three
different ways:
Graph: plots the selected time series.
Area: plots the selected time series as a filled area. There are
two possibilities, to show the data as it is, or to sum the time
series to the next one before drawing it, accumulating values.
Table: shows the numeric values of the selected time series.
The Use Date must be activated when the time series date in the
time series to be compared must to be used. In this case, only time
series matching in time and date can be simultaneously plotted.
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When this option is not checked, only the time in the time series
will need to match.
When the data is represented in Graph mode, the limits of the
graph can be adjusted (selecting the desired option in the Adjust
limits menu, inside the Action menu) either taking into account the
current object values only or all the object's values for the time
series. Taking into account all the objects' values is useful when
several objects must be compared, as the different graphs will be
in the same scale.
If the Deviation option is checked, then for time series that consist
of mean values, the deviation will be shown for each value: it will
be shown in brackets next to its value in the Table, as shown in
Figure 239, and in the Graph, the deviation is plotted.

Figure 239 Time Series Data in Table showing deviations

35.2 Time Series for Multiple Objects

The user can also plot time series from several objects on a unique
plot area. Use the Time Series Viewer available from the
Tools/Data Analysis menu (see Figure 240).
There

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are

two

ways

to

plot

the

time

series:

247

- Temporal graph: (this is the standard way) display the whole time
series as a curve using the time as absciss axis.
- Histogram: displays the value of the time series at just one
specific time as a histogram. The time is defined using the widget
in the top-right corner of the Time Series Viewer.
Apart from the Time defining widget, the other widget at the top of
the Time Series Viewer lets you define how the object should be
labeled: by Name, Id, External Id, ...

35.2.1

Adding Time Series

With the dialog opened, press on any object on a 2D View to select
it. Replications and Averages listed on the Project window can also
be selected. The available time series from the object will appear
in the Time Series combo box. Choose the desired time series and
press the Add button. Repeat the selection operation to choose
more objects and more time series.
When the first time series has been chosen, only compatible time
series with this first time series can be added. The Time Series
combo box will only show the compatibles ones.

Figure 240 Time Series Viewer

35.2.2

Removing Time Series

Use the Delete option after clicking on the Action button to remove
all the time series from the plot. Individual time series can be
removed too. To do so, click once on the time series label, shown
below the Interval label, to bring a context menu. Choose the
Remove command as shown in Figure 241.

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Figure 241 Removing a Time Series

35.2.3

Available Actions

35.2.4

Copy Data: see Copying Data to the Clipboard.

Copy Graph (Snapshot): see Copying Data to the Clipboard.
Set Scale... : opens a dialog to define the Min and Max of the
ordinate axis of the graph.
User Defined Scale : adjust the ordinate axis to the Min and
Max defined with the "Set Scale..." action.
Auto Scale: adjust the ordinate axis to the values of the
displayed Time Series of the displayed objects.
Auto Scale (All Objects): same as "Auto Scale", but
considering all the objects of the network.
Clear: clears the graph of all its Time Series.
Clear and Unselect: same as "Clear", but also unselecting all
selected objects in the view.

Available Options

Use Date: take the date information of the Time Series into
account (you can uncheck that option to compare two Time
Series that occur at the same time but at different days).
Show Value Labels: display the value of each point of the
Time Series as a text label on the graph.
Draw Scale Marks: display horizontal scale marks in the
background of the graph.
Smooth Curve: display the Time Series as smoothed curves
(instead of the default straight-lines).

35.3 Copying Data to the Clipboard

When Aimsun shows a time series, either in an object editor or in
the Time Series Viewer, it is possible to copy the displayed data to
the clipboard. Activate the Copy command pressing the Action
button then selecting Copy Data (to copy the data in tabular
format) or Snapshot (to copy a snapshot of the time series) or using
its shortcut (CONTROL+C). Then the data can be pasted to an
application such as Excel or Gnumeric, as seen in Figure 242.

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Figure 242 Two Time Series pasted in Excel

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36 External Data
Aimsun can read external data from text files and databases. Real
Data Sets are used to read external time series.

36.1 Real Data Sets

Aimsun can read external detection data as time series that can be
used to validate and calibrate a model, to adjust an O/D matrix or
to present the current traffic conditions on the Internet.
This section will show how to import the data. Its use is covered in
other sections (validation and calibration of a simulation in the
Aimsun Dynamic Simulators Users Manual for example).
A Real Data Set is a collection of one or more external sources of
information that contain detection data, for either detectors or
sections (cooked data). Usually this source will be a file but it can
be a database.
A Reader is assigned to each source. The Reader has the
responsibility for reading the data and allocating it to one or
several time series. At this moment, only two Readers exist, for
files that contain detection speed and/or count and for ALMO data.
Other Readers, for different file formats or different information
location (as databases), can be implemented using the Aimsun SDK
which would be used to code an extension that would read the
information.

36.1.1

Real Data Set Creation

Create a new Real Data Set using the Project menu. The new set
will appear in the Project Browser. Open the Real Data Set editor
by double-clicking on it (Figure 243).

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Figure 243 Editing a Real Data Set

Add as many readers as are necessary. When using the Real Data
Simple File Reader, one reader for each file that needs to be
imported at once will be required.

36.1.2

Real Data Set Filters

A real data set can contains a huge amount of data. For this reason
is possible to filter it by subnetwork or by time:
When filtering by subnetwork only data for objects inside the
subnetwork will be considered, the rest of the data will be
discarded.
When filtering by time only data that falls into the time
interval will be considered.

36.1.3

Simple File Reader

The reader must be configured before importing the data. It allows
the user to specify which is the file to be used, how to match data
from the file with objects in the network (ID Settings Area), the
time context (Date and Time Settings) and the columns to import
(Columns Area).

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Figure 244 Configuring a Simple File Retriever

36.1.3.1
ID Settings
Objects in Aimsun can be discriminated either by their identifier
(unique, assigned automatically to an object when it is created), by
their name or by their external identifier. The user can modify both
the name and the external identifier. We recommend editing the
external identifier in Aimsun and naming it as the real object (the
physical detector).
As neither external identifiers nor names have a uniqueness
restriction, the field Object Type can be used to avoid confusion
among several objects with the same name.
Usually the detector ID is in one of the columns but it can be coded
on the name of the file. In this case, the user must activate the Use
File Name As ID and must not include an ID when defining the
columns contents.

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36.1.3.2
Date and Time Settings
Values on the detection files must contain the time where the data
was collected. This time can be either absolute or relative and
might contain the data about day, month and year. All the formats
allowed are listed in the Type: combo box. Time data will be used
by Aimsun to create the time series that will hold the values.
The initial date has a dual role: it sets the time when the data
collection was started and is used to calculate the interval between
measures.
Even when there is only one measure for each object, Aimsun
requires the start date to calculate the duration of the interval
during which the data was collected.
An aggregation interval can be specified to generate a Real Data
Set in Aimsun with aggregated data for an interval multiple of the
data read. For example, read data every 5 minutes and generate a
Real Data Set in Aimsun with data every 15 minutes.
36.1.3.3
Reading Settings
The data to be read in the detection files do not need to start at
the beginning of the file. A preference to skip several lines that
mights contain headers, descriptions, can be specified in the
Lines to Skip parameter.
36.1.3.4
Columns
The data in the file to be read must be specified in columns. The
separator between columns can be a space, a tabulation, a comma
or a semi-colon.
The type of contents for each input file column must be specified in
the Type column. The possibilities are: ID, Time, Vehicle, Count,
Speed, Flow, Reliability, Not Used, Count Min, Count Max, Count
Dev, Speed Min, Speed Max, Speed Dev, Flow Min, Flow Max and
Flow Dev. The Vehicle Type column can be used where specific
vehicle type data is assigned to specific columns in the same file.
The number of columns is adjusted by adding or removing rows in
this dialog.
For example, if data was for a single detector and the input file
format was:
Time
hh:mm:ss

Car Count
integer

Bus Count
integer

Truck Count Average Speed

integer
float

The columns dialog would be filled as follows:

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Figure 245 Importing data from a single detector

Or, for example, if data was for multiple detectors in columns as

follows:
Detector
string

Time
hh:mm:ss

Vehicle
string

AuditInfo
string

Count
integer

Speed
float

Then columns would be specified as below:

Figure 246 Importing data from multiple detectors in one file

36.1.3.5
Example: Reading turns data
Turn data can be read using the turn identifiers but also through
the IDs of the section from which the turn originates and the
section at which the turn ends. An example of text file containing
count data for turns using the second option would be as shown in
Figure 247 below:

Figure 247 Turns count data on a text file

The first column contains the Section_From, the second column is

the Section_To, the third contains the count data and finally the
fourth is the time at which the count was collected.
It is compulsory that the text file lists the Section_From and the
Section_To in this order (some columns might be placed between
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them, but the Section_To column cannot appear before the

Section_From column).
The Real Data Simple File Reader Editor should be filled in as shown
in the next image (the Object Type must be set to Turn):

Figure 248 RD Simple File Reader Editor for Turns Data

36.1.4

Retrieving Real Data

To retrieve real data from a file, for example after a network has
been loaded in which real data sets have previously been specified,
right click on the real data set in the Project window to reveal its
context menu, and select Retrieve. Progress is shown in the Log
window (see Figure 249). Any errors during the retrieval are shown
in the log, in which case the retrieval fails.

Figure 249 Retrieving a real data set, showing success or failure

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37 Path Analysis Tool

37.1 Path Analysis
To get the insight into what is happening in a traffic assignment
(either static or dynamic), the user should have access to the
analysis of the used paths. There are two main sources of
information:
Path Assignment: the user can view all considered probabilities
when a vehicle enters the system.
Path Statistics: the user can view all paths statistics result of a
dynamic traffic assignment.
En-Route Paths: the user can view all probabilities considered
when a vehicle makes a path reassignment during the trip in a
dynamic traffic assignment.
All editors can be accessed by clicking the replication editor. See
Figure 250.

Figure 250 Replication editor

37.1.1

Path Assignment
This is the editor used to get the path assignment information. The
displayed information differs a little bit depending on the
assignment approach. When the assignment approach is the
Dynamic Traffic Assignment, the information can be visualized
either during the simulation or at the end of the simulation. During
the simulation, the current path assignment is displayed while at
the end of the simulation the final state (those paths used during
the last route choice cycle) is displayed. In both cases, a table with

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all paths information is available. Then by clicking over a row/path,

the path is shown in the centre view.
There are some filters to apply:
Show paths by origin centroid, click directly on the centroid
in the 2D centre view with the focus placed in the Origin
Centroid selector.
Show paths by destination centroid, click on a centroid in the
2D view, with the focus placed in the Destination Centroid
selector.
Show paths by time slice. The user has the option to select a
interval time slice or all intervals including or excluding the
warm-up period. Warm-up intervals are indicated with the
tag Warm-up before the time interval.
Show paths by user class. When the route choice takes into
account different vehicle types for calculating the shortest
path trees this filter can be applied to display only those
paths related to a specific vehicle type.
Show paths by entrance section. When a centroid has more
than one entrance connector and the Use Origin Percentage
is active the different connectors are considered as different
sources of entrance vehicles. The filter can be used to
display only those paths that are using a concrete entrance
section.
Show paths by exit section. The same argument can be used
for exit sections.
Show paths using a determined section. This filter can be
used to show all paths that are using a concrete section.

Figure 251 - Path Assignment editor

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Once the filters have been selected there are some options that
can be defined:
Show Paths with Different Colours. This option shows every
selected path with a different colour, otherwise all paths use
the same colour.
Aggregate Paths. For Static assignments, when using a
Incremental, MSA or Frank&Wolfe assignment method Aimsun
can show full set of paths in the order they have been
obtained for each iteration or can be aggregated to show
unique paths with the final usage percentages.
Expand All. Show the detailed information for all O/D pairs.
For each path, the following information is displayed:
User Class.
Origin Centroid.
Destination Centroid.
Volume. Number of generated trips considering the traffic
demand.
Percentage. Proportion of vehicles that are using the path
during the current state.
The cost in time (seconds) from each of the sections in the
path to the destination centroid. This can be calculated as
either the sum of IniCost(a) or Cost(a, vt) of all the arcs
composing the path.
The distance (metres) from each of the sections in the path
to the destination centroid.
The travel time in seconds from each of the sections in the
path to the destination centroid. This is equal to the cost
only if the attractiveness weight and user defined cost
weight parameters are set to zero. This information will be
only available when the Provide Travel Time parameter has
been checked. Refer to the Dynamic Traffic Assignment
section for details.
For each Origin/Destination pair the total volume and the average
cost, distance and travel time (weighted using the volume) is
calculated.
For example in Figure 252 the information for the O/D pair from
South to East is depicted for two vehicle types: car and truck.
The total volume for cars is 95 and the total volume for trucks is 5.
The average cost and travel time for cars is 78.29 and 21.14
respectively.

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Figure 252 - Origin/Destination path information

The detailed information of a path can be obtained by double

clicking over a path. In Figure 253 there is a list with all sections
that are in the path with the cost, distance and travel time from
the section to the destination.

Figure 253 Detailed information of a path

A link analysis of a selected section or grouping of sections can be

performed by clicking the action Link Analysis. A view mode
especially created to show the link analysis information is created
and all paths going through the selected set of sections are showed
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with the respective volumes. In there is an example of a link

analysis. In Figure 254 there is an example of a link analysis where
one section is selected.
There are other options that can be performed:
Create Routes from selected paths. This option creates OD
Routes from the selected set of paths.
Output Matrices. This option creates the skim matrices using
the current filter values. There are 3 output skim matrices:
trips, costs and travel time. In Figure 255 the trips skim
matrix for all intervals and O/D pairs is depicted.

Figure 254 Link Analysis

At any time, the current percentages that are using the vehicles in
the assignment process can be displayed simultaneously. This
output permits knowledge of the evolution of the shortest paths.
Once a path has been selected, the path information can be
displayed by double clicking over the path.
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Figure 255 Trips skim matrix

37.1.2

Path Statistics
While the Path Assignment tool can be used to study the assignment
process and only those paths that were calculated by the route
choice process are displayed, in the Path Statistics tab all used
paths (user defined routes, user defined shortest path trees and
route choice paths) are displayed. For each path the following
information is displayed: (by checking the deviation toggle button
the deviation is shown)
Origin Centroid. This is the origin centroid identifier.
Destination Centroid. This is the destination centroid
identifier.
Type: RC (Calculated by the Route Choice process), UDR
(User Defined routes), UDSPT (User Defined Shortest Path
Tree).
Vehicles Assigned: Number of assigned vehicles to the path
during a specific time interval.
% of Vehicles Assigned. The percentage of assigned vehicles
that use the path for a selected origin/destination. Any
vehicle that enters into the networks is counted as assigned.
Vehicles Entered. Number of vehicles that were assigned to
this path at a specific time interval and were able to follow
the path completely during the simulation time. (They
finished the path.)
Travel Time (Entrance) Mean. The mean travel time path for
all vehicles that used the path and start the simulation
during a specific interval time.
Vehicles Exited. Number of vehicles that exited the path
during a specific time interval.

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Travel Time (Exit) Mean. The mean travel time path for all
vehicles that used the path and exit the simulation during a
specific interval time.

In Figure 256 there is an example of an O/D pair with all used

paths. Notice that one of them is a user defined route. As can
be done in the Path Assignment editor the user can display more
than one path at the same time. These paths are coloured with
different colours.

Figure 256 Path Statistics window

Another graphical visualization that can be obtained in this page,

more suited for link analysis is available when a section, a list of
sections or a group of sections is selected. By checking the Link
Analysis checkbox, the view mode is switched to one where all the
paths in the list are coloured in red and the width of the bars on
the sections with volumes is proportional to the volume on them.

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Figure 257 Link Analysis for one section

The View Styles included in the Link Analysis View Mode are:
A style for the width of each section, proportional to its
volume.
A style for the colour: used sections are painted in red.
A style for the label of the assigned volumes on the sections.
Two styles to hide section objects and nodes.

37.1.3

En-Route Path Assignment Information

When a vehicle decides to make a reassignment of the path during
its trip, the decision is taken using probabilities calculated by the
Route Choice model.
En-Route Path Assignment dialog is located in the replication editor
in the same way as the path assignment and path statistics editor.
It is always accessed via the destination centroid. Consequently, a
destination centroid must be selected first. This can be done either
by selecting the centroid in the Destination list or by clicking on it
in the active 2D view. Once the destination centroid is selected,
the next step is to select an origin section to obtain the particular
path from that section to the destination centroid. This can be
done by selecting the section in the Origin Section list or by
clicking on it in the active 2D view. For the shortest path, a list of
probabilities of all shortest paths per vehicle type and per exit
section calculated by considering the route choice model is
displayed as can be seen in Figure 258.

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Figure 258 En-Route Path Assignment Information

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38 Support for Multi-network Projects

Aimsun includes the possibility to create revised networks from a
base network as well as two open two different models at the same
time. See the details in the following sub-sections.

38.1 Revisions
Network revisions arise from projects that start from an initial
situation and want to study changes or event
A revision is a network modification, which only stores those
elements that have been changed editing the network2.

38.1.1

New Revision
To create a revision of your current network (we will call it base
network) select Project/New Revision... and the following dialog
will bring up:

Figure 259 New Revision Dialog

where,

Base Network: Base network name

Configuration Name: It is the suffix network name
New Initial ID: It is the starting Aimsun object ID for the new
revision. By default, Aimsun calculates the value, but we
strongly recommend to increase it in order to let future
modifications in base network avoiding duplicate object IDs.

It's very important to define the project outputs database in base

network before starting producing new revisions.

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For example, in Figure 264, 30000 should be a reasonable

value.
Network Revision File: Destination revision folder.

Click Ok button and, automatically, Aimsun closes the base network

and opens the new revision, so it is ready to start the
modifications.
Figure 260 shows the base and the revised networks.

Figure 260 Revision modifications

Once we've got the some revisions, it is possible to make changes

on base network. Those changes will be applied when opening the
revision network, unless they affect some modified elements in the
revision (see Figure 261).

Figure 261 - Base to Revisions

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The figure above shows that base network (leftmost image) has a
couple of reserved lanes. When these changes are applied in
revisions, those that affect to updated elements are discarded.

38.1.2

Consolidate Revision
A Revision needs the base network to load the whole network, as it
only contains the modifications. It is possible to transform a
revision into a full network by joining the base and the revision
information in the same file. This can be done from
Project/Consolidate Revision

38.2 Multi-model
Aimsun can now open two files at the same time. A separate view is
created when you open two networks, as shown below:

Figure 262 Separate views for each network

The Project window shows which project is active. You make the
project active simply by clicking on it.

Figure 263 Project Window opened networks

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39 Columns
Columns contain data related to a type of object, as for example
statistical data. Simulating a replication, reading a real data set,
and executing a static assignment are examples of processes that
generate columns. Examples of columns are: level of service of
nodes during a simulation, observed counts for detectors, assigned
volumes for sections, etc.
These columns are created automatically, but there is a tool to
manage them that allows the user to delete any undesired temporal
columns. This feature is available at menu Tools/Data
Analysis/Remove Columns.

Figure 264 Remove Columns Dialog

To make easier to find a specific group of columns in the list, a

filter is available. The user can filter results by Type of object,
Name of the column and type of storage (whether it is a Temporal
Column or not). The Select All button selects all the columns in the
current list, and the Delete button removes all the selected
columns. The Dont Remove Used Columns option prevents the
deletion of columns that are currently used, even if they are
checked to be deleted.

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40 Advanced Aimsun 3D
Presently the editing is undertaken in a 2D view, but it is updated
in real time in a 3D view.
The main 3D features have been already introduced where
applicable, but lets see some of them in more detail.

40.1 3D Info Window

The 3D Info Window shows the library of textures and 3D models
available for the network. It can be shown by accessing the Window
Menu, Windows submenu, 3D Info option.

Figure 265 3D Info Window

There are three folders in this window:

The Vehicles folder: All the available 3DS files to be used as
vehicles in the 3D views will be shown.
The Shapes folder: All the available 3DS files to be used as
shapes, that is, decoration, in the 3D views will be shown.
The Textures folder: All the available image files to be used
in the 3D views will be shown.

40.1.1

Vehicles folder
Any simulation can be presented in a 2D View and/or in a 3D View.
In 3D views, the simulation vehicles use a 3DS shape to be
visualized. Refer to the Vehicle Type Editor section for details on
associating 3DS shapes to vehicles.

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Figure 266 3D Info Windows Vehicles Folder

The 3DS shapes that will be shown in this folder must be located in
the
<AIMSUN_HOME>/shapes/cars
or
in
the
<network
folder>/shapes/cars folder. The AIMSUN_HOME folder is the folder
where Aimsun is installed and the network folder is the folder
where the current .ang file is located.
There is a group of 3DS shapes available with the Aimsun
installation. However, the user can use its own 3DS files by just
copying them into the folders already explained.
When double-clicking on a vehicle shape in the vehicles folder, the
Vehicle's 3D Shape Editor will appear. There, all the shape
parameters can be defined. See the Vehicle's 3D Shape Editor
section for more details.

40.1.2

Shapes folder
The shapes used in 3D views as decoration objects will be shown
here. In order to use any 3DS file as shape they need to be located
either in the <AIMSUN_HOME>/shapes folder or in the <network
folder>/shapes folder.

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Figure 267 3D Info Windows Shapes Folder

As it happens with the 3DS used for vehicles, the user can use their
own 3DS files just copying them into the folders already explained.
When double-clicking on a shape in the Shapes folder, the 3D Shape
Editor will appear. There, all the shape parameters can be defined.
See the 3D Shape Editor section for more details.

40.1.3

Textures folder
The textures that can be used in 3D views will be shown here.
Image formats available to be used as textures are jpg, png, tga,
and gif files.

Figure 268 3D Info Windows Textures Folder

The images to be used as textures must be located in the

<AIMSUN_HOME>/shapes/textures folder or in the <network
folder>/shapes/textures folder.
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Textures can be applied to the sky and floor, to polygons, to blocks

(or extruded polygons) and to 3D Images.
When double-clicking on a texture in the Textures folder the
Texture Editor will appear. There, all the texture parameters can
be defined. See the Texture Editor section for more details.

40.2 Vehicle's 3D Shape Editor

The Vehicle's 3D Shape editor can be opened by double-clicking on
a 3DS Shape in the Vehicles folder in the 3D Info Window. It is used
to select the different colour sets that the 3DS shape will be drawn
with, as well as to define its dimensions, its rotations, the camera
displacement of the cameras that will be located inside it and its
animation parameters if any (see Figure 269). It also has an online
visualization of the shape with the current colour set definition.

Figure 269 Vehicle's 3D Shape Editor

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40.2.1

Colour definition
Any number of colour sets can be defined for a vehicle shape. The
only requirement is that the colour sets percentages must sum up
100. To define a new colour set, the Add button must be pressed.
This action will add a new line in the Set/Percentage column and a
list of random colours associated to each of the parts of the vehicle
shape in the columns <Material, Colour>. The colour associated to
each material (or part) has three components, Ambient, Diffuse
and Specular, which can be changed by clicking on the
corresponding coloured square. A colour editor will appear.
To remove any undesired colour set, select it and press the Remove
button.
To change the name of the colour set, double-click on the current
name and, when it becomes editable, type the new name.
To change the percentage assigned to the colour set, double-click
on the current percentage and, when it becomes editable, type the
new percentage.
While defining the colour sets for a vehicle shape, the Automatic
Percentages button can be checked to equally distribute all the
colour sets percentages.
Figure 270 displays three different colours for the same vehicle
shape.

Figure 270 Definition of different colours for the same vehicle shape

40.2.2

Vehicle Shape rotations

To draw the vehicles correctly while simulating, the shapes
associated to them must be rotated correctly, that is, in the
picture of the vehicle shown in this dialog:
- its front must face to the right of the dialog.
- its upper part must face up.
The following figure displays a shape before rotating it and the
same shape correctly rotated with its rotations defined.

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Figure 271 Vehicle Shape Rotations

These rotations are expressed in degrees and they can be set using
the Shape rotations part of the dialog

40.2.3

Vehicle Shape dimensions

In the Dimensions dialog section, the real length, width and height
of the shape can be defined. These dimensions are used to scale a
vehicle proportionally with a different length than the one
specified here.

40.2.4

Camera displacement
During the simulation, if the user clicks on a vehicle, a camera is
placed inside it to allow the user to follow its movement along the
network as the vehicles driver. The values defined here are used
to locate the camera inside the vehicle. The origin point (with
coordinates (0.0, 0.0, 0.0)) is the middle upper front point (see
Figure 272). The x coordinate is the distance the camera will move
from the origin point towards the back of the vehicle. The y
coordinate is the distance the camera will move towards the left of
the vehicle (the left supposing that the user is inside it). The z
coordinate is the distance the camera will move from the upper
part of the vehicle towards the bottom.

Figure 272 Camera Displacement

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40.2.5

Shape animation
A 3DS shape can have more than one frame to represent
movement. If a shape has frames to animate, these can be used in
the simulation. The properties found in this group define the shape
animation (see Figure 273).

Figure 273 Shape Animation Properties

A 3DS shape may have one frame that represents the stop position,
another one that represents the starting movement and several
more that make the movement loop. Our convention is that the
stop frame, if any, is the first frame; the start frame, if any, is the
following frame; and finally the rest of frames define the
movement.
Then, the properties that can be defined are:
Use animation: when selected, all the frames will be used in
loops during the simulation and when not selected, only the
first one will be used.
: when this button is pressed, the animation can be seen
in the bottom right section of the Shapes Dialog. In this
case, its shape changes to
. When the
button is
pressed, the animation is stopped.

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Use Stopped Frame: when selected, the first frame will be

considered as the stop frame so it will only be used when the
vehicle is stopped, that is, the movement loop will not use
it.
: when this button, next to the Stop or to the Start Frame,
is pressed, the frame can be seen in the bottom right green
square of the Dialog.
Use Start Frame: when selected, the second frame will be
used whenever the vehicle needs to start its movement, that
is, the movement loop will not use it.
Distance: here the user sets the distance that the shape will
cover when moving from the first animation frame to the last
one.

276

40.3 Vehicle editors 3D Shapes folder

In the vehicle editor in the Project Window, Vehicle Types and
Classes folder, there is a folder in which to define the 3DS shapes
that will be used in 3D views to draw all the simulation vehicles
that belong to the edited vehicle type.

Figure 274 Vehicles 3D Shapes Folder

The Calculate % is a utility that distributes the shapes equally in

each interval, saving users the work of inputting all the data if
merely a uniform distribution is required.
The Always vertical tick sets the shapes as to keep their vertical
line when moving on slopes. This option should be ticked for
pedestrians to make their movement realistic when going up or
down stairs but should be unticked for road vehicles to make them
look correctly when they go through sloped sections.
Two examples for editing non-articulated and articulated vehicles
3D Shapes follow.

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40.3.1

Non-articulated vehicles
In the case of a vehicle type called car, whose minimum and
maximum lengths are 3 and 6 meters, the user could, for example,
press the Add button six times to generate six different cases.
Each row in the list defines a 3DS shape that will be used in a subinterval of the vehicles minimum and maximum length in a certain
percentage. The intervals initial length (called from), the
intervals final length (called to) and the percentage parameters
can be changed by clicking on any of them and typing the new
value. The 3DS shape can be changed by selecting the desired one
in the list of available shapes that appears when clicking on the
current shape. The percentage must be a value between 0 and 100.
The following image shows that vehicles between 3 and 4 meters
will use the shapes s3 and sei with a probability of 50% each. Those
between 4 and 5 meters will use the shapes 4x4, bora and pickup
with probabilities 33%, 33%, 34% respectively, and all vehicles
between 5 and 6 meters will all use the shape espace_2909.

Figure 275 Definition of 3D Shapes for a vehicle

When a new shape is selected, it is drawn in the green square on

the bottom right (see Figure 274).
In the green square, the mouse can be used to rotate or zoom in
and out on the vehicle being previewed. Clicking without releasing
the left mouse button and moving the mouse up, down, left or right
rotates the vehicle. Clicking without releasing the right mouse
button and moving the mouse up/down zooms in and out on the
vehicle.

40.3.2

Articulated vehicles
An articulated vehicle is a vehicle that has a set of shapes
connected one after the other (see the example in Figure 276). To
define a vehicle as articulated, please refer to Vehicle Type Editor
section.

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Figure 276 Example of an articulated vehicle

When clicking the Add button for an articulated vehicle, a new

vehicle shape interval is added where the user can change the
initial and end length of the interval and the percentage (a value
between 0 and 100). In the articulated Properties part of the
editor, the shape for each part of the articulated vehicle can be
selected.
As it happens when the vehicle is not articulated, the current 3DS
shape selected is drawn in the green square and it can be rotated
and zoomed using the mouse.
Figure 277 shows the dialog when the shapes of an articulated
vehicle type have been defined.

Figure 277 Shapes definition for an articulated vehicle type

40.4 3D Shape Editor

The 3D Shape editor can be opened by double-clicking on a 3DS
Shape in the Shapes folder in the 3D Info Window. It is used to
define the dimensions the 3DS Shape will be drawn with in the
views (see Figure 278).

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Figure 278 3D Shape Editor

In this editor, the length, width and height defined in the 3DS file
are shown. The user can decide whether to use these dimensions
when adding a shape to the model or to define new ones. To do it,
the Use Original Dimensions option must be checked or unchecked.
When unchecked, a new length, width and height can be defined.
These last values will be the initial dimensions of the shape when
added to any model.
Note that, once added, any shape can be rescaled using its own
editor. Refer to the 3D Shape Object Editor section for more
details.

40.5 3D Shape Objects

3D Shape objects are decoration objects that can be added to any
model to add realism.
To add a 3D Shape object, open the 3D info window, activate the
Shapes folder, drag the desired 3D Shape among the available ones
and drop it into a 2D view.

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Figure 279 Drag and drop a 3D Shape to create a 3D shape object

Once the 3D Shape has been dropped, the 3D Shape object will be
created. A 2D wireframe projection of the shape will appear in the
2D views and the realistic representation of the 3D Shape will
appear in the 3D Views (see Figure 280).

Figure 280 3D Shape Object in a 2D view and in a 3D view

The 3D Shape object created will have the dimensions defined for
the 3D Shape used. Refer to the section for details.
To define new dimensions for this 3D Shape object different from
the initial ones the 3D Shape Object editor can be opened by
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double clicking on the 3D Shape Object. Refer to the 3D Shape

Object Editor section for details.

40.6 3D Shape Object Editor

When double-clicking on a 3D Shape Object on a 2D or 3D View, the
3D Shape Object Editor appears.

Figure 281 3D Shape Object Editor

In this editor, the length, width and height of the 3D Shape object
can be defined. When clicking on the OK button, the 3D Shape
object will be rescaled in all views. A checkbox allows defining
whether rendering in 2D will be a box or the 2D wireframe
projection of the shape. There is also a slider that overrides the
original brightness of the 3D model by adjusting its materials
properties. This is useful when your imported models, due to
differences in lighting between different programs, appear darker
or brighter than expected.

40.7 Texture Editor

When double-clicking on a Texture in the Textures folder of the 3D
Info Window the Texture Editor appears.

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Figure 282 Texture editor

Using this editor, a width and height for the texture can be
defined.
When a texture has a width and height defined and the Use
Texture's Width and Height option is checked, then the texture will
be scaled following these dimensions whenever applied into any
object and it will be automatically replicated. If the Use Texture's
Width and Height option is not checked then the texture will be
scaled following the number of horizontal and vertical repetitions
defined. Refer to the Polygon Editor and the Extruded Polygon
Editor sections for more details.

40.8 3D Images
3D images are used to add objects, such as trees and traffic lights,
to make the 3D views more realistic.
To add a 3D Image, select the 3D Image tool and click on a 2D view.
In a 2D View a 3D image is represented using a 2-point segment and
a circle on it that indicates the face where the texture will be
applied. This segment is going to become the support of the 3D
image.

Figure 283 3D Image Tool

Note that the 3D Image tool can be used in continuous mode (by
double-clicking on the icon) to add as many 3D images as desired
efficiently.
A 3D Image is like a wall but without depth. These images have two
main uses:
To add trees to the network. This option is very useful
because the tga files can have a transparent area and then
the trees are drawn efficiently (using a single polygon
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instead of thousands) but realistically using the texture (See

Figure 284).

Figure 284 Different trees representations used in 3D Views

To add any object (i.e.: advertisements) drawn in a tga or

png file. This is especially useful when adding textures that
have a transparent component. Figure 285 provides an
example of drawing a realistic streetlamp using a tga
texture.

Figure 285 Original TGA file vs. its representation in a 3D View

40.8.1

3D Image Editor
When double-clicking on a 3D Image the 3D image Editor appears.

Figure 286 3D Image Editor

In this editor, the images height as well as its texture can be

defined. To define the texture click on the texture path button and
select it. It also has a check box to set whether the image will
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always face the camera or not. The image is placed on a rectangle

and by selecting this option, the rectangle will rotate as the
camera moves in order to be permanently facing the camera so
that the face with the associated texture will be the only one seen.
In Figure 287, three different positions of the image can be seen.

Figure 287 3D Images different positions

A 3D image has an altitude, that is, the Z at which the base of the
image will be located. This altitude can be modified by selecting
the image in a 2D View and with the Control key pressed dragging
the mouse up or down. The current altitude will be shown while
dragging.
The width of a 3D image can be changed by editing the two
segment points that represents it in 2D.
Finally, a texture can be applied without using the editor by
dragging the desired texture from the 3D Info Window to the 3D
image in either a 2D or a 3D view.

40.9 Cameras
A camera sets up a point from which it will be possible to view the
network and the 3D animation in the 3D viewer environment. The
number of cameras that the user can create is not limited.
To add a new camera, select the Camera tool and click on a 2D
view.

Figure 288 Camera Tool

In a 2D View a camera is represented using the following shape:

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Figure 289 - 2D Camera representation

The camera head indicates where the camera is pointing. As with

any graphical object, a camera can be translated by selecting it
and dragging it in a 2D view to its new position. Using the Rotation
tool
, selecting the camera and rotating it in a 2D view can
change the aiming point.

40.9.1

Camera Editor
The camera editor will show the camera parameters. The editor
pops up by double clicking on a camera in a 2D view and by pressing
the Parameters button located in a 3D view (that will open the 3D
views current camera editor).

Figure 290 Camera Editor

Using the editor, the camera can be renamed and its location
parameters can be changed. To rename a camera its context menu
can also be used.
The parameters that define the camera location and where it is
pointing to are:
Position: Point at which the camera is located.
Centre: Any point in the cameras vision line.
VUp: Vector that defines the camera orientation in the plane
perpendicular to the Position-Centre line.
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Field of View: Changes the degrees of the angular extend of

the view that is seen in any given moment.

Figure 291 Camera Parameters

40.9.2

Camera commands
In the View menu, there are three commands that apply to
cameras:
Reset camera to place the camera in the active 3D view at its
initial position, undoing all the rotations, translations and zooms
that it may have undergone.
Set Camera parallel to floor to set the current camera in the
active 3D view parallel to the floors surface. This option is
particularly useful for fixing the cameras position from any
undesired rotations.
Set Camera perpendicular to floor to set the current camera in
the active 3D view perpendicular to the floors surface.

40.9.3

Default cameras
When a 3D view is opened for the first time, if no cameras exist
then four default cameras are created. These cameras are:
Main Camera: camera located at a default point from where
the whole network can be seen. Translations and rotations
are allowed.
Camera fixed X: fixed camera with the view line parallel to
the X-axis; only translations are allowed.
Camera fixed Y: fixed camera with the view line parallel to
the Y-axis; only translations are allowed.
Camera fixed Z: fixed camera with the view line parallel to
the Z-axis; only translations are allowed. This camera is
similar to the 2D views.

40.9.4

Camera Routes
A camera route is a group of camera positions that will be played
and animated in 3D views. Refer to the Editing Dynamic Bookmarks
for details on defining camera routes.

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40.10

Selected objects in 3D views

Selected objects are drawn with extra red lines in 3D views to
recognise them. See Figure 292.

Figure 292 - Selected object in a 2D and in a 3D View

40.11

Navigation in 3D views
To navigate in 3D views, the mouse and the keyboard can be used.
If it is desired to use the mouse, then the appropriate icons in the
View Commands tool bar must be selected previously.

Figure 293 Navigation tools

40.11.1

Selection tool
In 3D views, the selection tool is used to open the object editors
(by double-clicking on the desired object) and to create and locate
a camera inside a simulation vehicle during a simulation. This
camera will be updated with the vehicles position at every
simulation step. To do so, just single click on the desired vehicle.
Whenever a vehicle with a camera inside leaves the network, the
views that have the vehicles camera as the current one, change

Draft

288

back to the camera that was being used before the vehicle was
selected.

40.11.2

Pan tool
The pan tool is used in 3D views to move the 3D views active
camera to a new location.
To move it over the 2D plane perpendicular to the views
orientation, the left mouse button must pressed on any point of the
graphic area, and without releasing it, move the mouse to the
desired position (up, down, to the right or to the left).
If the desired movement is forward/backward, press the Ctrl key,
click and drag the mouse upwards/downwards to move the camera
forward/backwards.
Pressing the Shift key provides another function. Keeping the Shift
key pressed, the first mouse movement determines the direction of
movement. This means that, for instance, if the desired movement
is upwards and any other displacement due to lateral mouse drifts
is to be avoided, the way to proceed is to press the Shift key, click
on the graphic area and drag the mouse upwards. Maintaining the
Shift key pressed will also accelerate the displacement speed of the
camera. That is, if the Shift key is hold pressed and the movement
is maintained in the same direction:

moving the mouse

releasing the mouses button when the border of the application
window is reached
moving the mouse to the graphic area again
pressing the mouse's left button and keeping it pressed
going back to step 1

the displacement speed will meanwhile also increase.

40.11.3

Camera rotation tool

The camera rotation mode
allows the user to rotate the views
active camera taking as the centre of rotation the position of the
camera. To rotate the camera, the left mouse button must be
pressed and, without releasing it, the mouse must be moved in the
desired direction.
If the Ctrl key is pressed while moving the mouse, the camera
moves forward or backwards as in translation mode.
The effect of pressing the Shift key is the same as in translation
mode: it filters movement drifts and accelerates the rotation
speed.

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289

The rotation tool

40.11.4

is not used in 3D Views.

Moving and rotating using the keyboard

As explained previously, the user can move and rotate a camera
using the mouse. It is also possible to move and rotate it using the
keyboard arrows and the control and shift keys.
The main camera movements and rotations are movement forwards
and backwards and rotation right or left. The arrows used to do this
are as follows:

However, for all the movements and rotations to be accessible via

the keyboard, the function of the arrows changes depending upon
whether the ctrl or shift keys are pressed.
When the Ctrl key is pressed, the arrow keys functions are:

Finally, when the shift key is pressed the arrow keys functions are:

These movements are valid for cameras that allow translations and
rotations. When a camera only allows translations, the movements
with the keyboard are only translations.

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290

41 Quick reference guide to Aimsun Commands

Brief explanation of all the commands available using either the
menu or the objects context menu.

41.1 Menu commands

41.1.1

File Menu

41.1.2

Edit Menu

Draft

New: opens a new empty network.

Open: opens an existing network.
Close: closes the current network.
Save: saves the currently open network.
Save as: saves the currently open network, with the option
to provide a new name.
Import: imports CAD files or other third-party software files
depending on the components loaded as, for example, Emme
networks or CONTRAM networks into the current Aimsun
network.
Export: exports the current Aimsun network to several
formats (as shapefiles, image files, Emme, ).
Print: prints the current 2D view.
Print Preview: opens the print preview window.
Export to PDF: saves the current 2D view in PDF format.
Recent Files: list of the last opened files for a fast access in
case any of them is to be opened again.
Quit: exits the application.

Undo: undoes last action.

Redo: redoes last action.
Cut: removes the selected objects and places them on the
clipboard.
Copy: copies the selected objects to the clipboard.
Copy Snapshot: stores in the clipboard an image similar to
the active 2D View.
Paste: copies from the clipboard to the center of the
drawing area.
Paste at Original Location: copies from the clipboard to the
drawing area keeping the original coordinates of the copied
objects.
Clear: deletes the selected objects.
Select All: selects all the objects in the drawing area.
Inverse Selection: unselects all selected objects and selects
all those that were not selected.
Find: opens an editor where to find objects that match the
criteria.
Move Selection to View Centre: locates the selected objects
in the centre of the view.
291

41.1.3

View Menu

Draft

Models: show or hide parameters for Aimsun Macro and

Travel Demand Modelling, Aimsun Meso and Aimsun Micro.
Only visible when the edition is an Aimsun Advanced or
Aimsun Expert.
Labels: customizes the font size of on view labels.
Customizes also the content of the Show Label command (ID,
name, external ID)
Preferences: opens the Preferences editor where to specify
the overall parameters of the traffic network currently being
edited if any or the overall system parameters otherwise.

New 2D View: creates a new 2D View of the current network.

New 3D View: creates a new 3D View of the current network.
Close Current View: closes the active view.
Full Screen: Maximises the Aimsun application.
New Layer: adds an empty layer to the group of layers.
Set Time: opens a dialog where to set the view current time,
the time interval that must be shown, the animation
refreshing rate and parameters about the time series used in
the view mode used.
Centre World: locates the whole network in the centre of
the active 2D View.
Whole World: changes the zoom of the current 2D view to fit
the whole network.
Max Zoom for Visible Car Detail: Adapts the 2D view zoom to
allow the simulation vehicles visualisation.
Pan to...: opens a dialog to select the coordinates where to
centre the view.
Pan to Object being edited: centres the view in the current
edited object in a dialog.
Show Latitude and Longitude: toggles the display of
coordinates as latitude and longitude instead of UTM
coordinates.
Show Object Tooltips: Activates tooltips in 2D view objects.
Centroids: toggles whether to display the centroid polygon,
centroid points and centroid connections in the views.
Supernodes: toggles whether to display supernodes and
supernodes objects in the views.
Reset Camera: retrieves the initial parameters of the current
camera in the active 3D view.
Set Camera Parallel To Floor: removes all the vertical
rotations (pitch angle) of the current camera in the active 3D
view.
Set Camera Perpendicular To Floor: changes the rotations of
the current camera in the active 3D view to make it similar
to a 2D View camera.

292

41.1.4

Arrange Menu

41.1.5

New: creates Aimsun objects, in the current Aimsun

project.
New Revision: creates a revision network of the current
Aimsun project.
Consolidate Revision in Base: applies all the changes done in
this revision to the base network and removes the link
between the base and the revised networks.
Consolidate Revision in this Revision: converts the current
open revision network into a base network removing the link
between the base and the revised networks.
Revision Info: opens the properties of the current revision.
Properties: opens the properties of the current project.

Tools Menu

Draft

Group: groups the current selection of 2D objects in one

Ungroup: breaks an object.
Align Centres: translates the current selection to align the
centre of all selected objects.
Change Altitude: changes the altitude of the selected
objects.
Move to Layer: moves the selected objects to the selected
layer (i.e. Network, Network Layers, Images, Images
Layers).

Project Menu

41.1.6

Show/Hide Dynamic Labels: shows or hides the dynamic

labels defined in the currently open Aimsun networks.
Select Equal Dynamic Labels: selects all the dynamic labels
that are defined as the one currently selected.
Close All Dynamic Labels: closes all the dynamic labels.
Close Selected Dynamic Labels: closes all the selected
dynamic labels.
Close Equal Dynamic Labels: closes all the dynamic labels
that are equal (showing the same attribute) as the selected
one.
Quality: Defines the quality of the 2D visualization among
Low, Medium or High.
Grey Mode: Visualizes the current 2D view with a white,
black and grey aspect.

Public Transport Sections: opens the list of public transport

sections available.
Check and Fix Network: checks the network for errors. If
errors are found it opens an editor to fix the errors.
Set External IDs: sets external IDs automatically for objects
of a given type.

293

41.1.7

Data Analysis Menu

41.1.8

Windows: lets the user define which windows are visible or

not. If the window is currently visible, a check mark will
appear next to the name in the menu.
Tools Toolbar: lets the user define which toolbars are visible
or not. If the toolbar is currently visible, a check mark will
appear next to its name in the menu.
Welcome: displays the Welcome Widget to be able to open a
second model.

Help Menu

Draft

Bookmark this Position: adds the current network view

position and scale to the list of existing bookmarks.
Edit: opens and editor for editing existing bookmarks.
List of existing bookmarks: list of previously added
bookmarks.

Window Menu

41.1.10

New View Mode Wizard: opens a wizard dialog for creating

view modes.
New View Style Wizard: opens a wizard dialog for creating
view styles.
Time Series Viewer: opens the dialog for viewing Time
Series.
Close All open Time Series Viewers: closes all opened time
series viewers.
Delete Temporary Columns: opens the dialog for removing
existing columns in the model.
Space Time Diagram: shows a space-time diagram of a
selection of detector.
Data Comparison: opens the dialog for comparing two
different experiments or sets of data.
Decision Table:
Shortest Path Calculator: opens the shortest path viewer
tool.
Isochrones: opens the isochrones dialog.

Bookmarks Menu

41.1.9

Show Location in Google Maps: Opens a browser and loads

into Google Maps the visible location (requires a network in
UTM coordinates and a correct UTM Zone in the layers).
Import Turns from Shapefile
Import Nodes from Turns
Translate Selected Sections

Manuals: opens a window with the selected users manual.

Licenses: opens a window containing a list of all the
licences modules, their expiration date and SUS information.
294

About: opens the Aimsun intro window.

About Plug-ins: for the selected component opens its intro
window if any.

41.2 Graphical objects context menus

The context menu of any graphical object is opened by right
clicking on the desired object in a 2D View.
For all the graphical objects there are several common operations
accessible opening their context menu. These commands are:
Show Label: shows in the 2D views the labels identifier:
name for all the objects belonging to the same type as the
type of the object owning the opened context menu.
Dynamic Labels:
o New:
Attribute Dynamic Label: Opens a dialog where
to select the attribute the dynamic label in the
2D views will be based on.
o Select Equal: Selects all the dynamic labels that are
equal to the one displayed for the object rightclicked.
o Close:
All: Closes all the current visible dynamic labels
Selected: Closes all the selected dynamic labels
Equal: Closes all the dynamic labels that are
showing the same attribute, but for other
objects, as the one that open the context
menu.
Rename: opens a window where the object can be renamed.
Delete: deletes the object.
Properties: opens the object editor.
Arrange:
o Group: groups the current selected objects all
together.
o Align Centres: translates the current selected objects
to make their central point be located at the same
place.
o Change Altitude: changes the object's altitude, that
is, places its bottom part where indicated.
o Move to Layer: moves the selected objects to the
selected layer (i.e. Network, Network Layers,
Images, Images Layers).
Generate Pedestrian Obstacle: generates a pedestrian
obstacle for Legion for Aimsun with the objects shape.
For each graphical object its operations are:

41.2.1

Polyline

Draft

Convert to Section: converts the polyline to a section.

295

41.2.2

Bezier Curve

41.2.3

Change Section Direction: changes the direction of the

section to the opposite direction.
Generate Opposite Direction: creates a new section next to
the current section with the opposite direction.
Add curve vertex: adds a curve vertex to the section.
Join: joins the selected sections.
Speed: opens a dialog to select the new speed for all the
selected sections.
Capacity: opens a dialog to select the new capacity for all
the selected sections.
Lane Width: opens a dialog to select the new lane width
for all the selected sections.
Road Type: changes the road type of the selected sections
updating the section attributes to the ones defined in the
road type.
Road Type (Keeping Attributes): changes the road type of
the selected sections without updating the other attributes
of the section.
Number of lanes: changes the number of lanes of the
selected sections.
Lane Type: changes the type of the clicked lane.
Convert to Polygon: converts the section to a polygon by
adding the line that joins the first and last point.

Node

Draft

Select objects inside: selects in the 2D view all the objects

that have some part inside the polygon.
Convert to: converts the polygon into a grouping,
subnetwork or microsimulation area.
Extrude: converts the polygon to a 3D block.

Section

41.2.5

Convert to Section: converts the Bezier curve to a section.

Convert to Polygon: converts the Bezier curve to a polygon
by adding the line that joins the first and last point.

Polygon

41.2.4

Convert to Polygon: converts the polyline to a polygon by

adding the line that joins the first and last point.
Extrude: converts the polyline to a 3D polyline.
Join: joins two selected polylines.

Edit Control Plan: All the defined control plans will be listed
to select the one to be edited.
Yellow Box: the node will be considered as a yellow box
node when checked and as a normal node otherwise.
296

41.2.6

Centroid

41.2.7

Join Centroids: When two centroids are selected, this option

will join all their connections into one centroid updating the
O/D matrices and O/D routes accordingly.
Edit Polygon: draws the points that define the centroid
polygon to be able to edit it.
Hide/Show Connections: hides or shows the connections of
the selected centroids with the sections or nodes.

Controller

41.2.8

Curve Turns: curves all the turns in the node changing the
geometry of each one of them.
Show/Hide Turns Label: shows or hides in the 2D views the
labels identifier: name for all the turns belonging to the
node that opened the context menu.
Merge: merges the selected nodes into one.
Split: splits the selected node in several nodes, one being
each one of the polygons the original node had.
Advanced Editor: Opens the advanced node editor where to
see the connections and conflicts that will be used in the
microsimulation. Refer to the Aimsun Dynamic Simulators
Users Manual for more details.

Hide/Show Connections: hides or shows the connections of

the selected controllers with the nodes.

Subnetwork

Generate Static Traversal: Refer to the Aimsun Macroscopic

Modelling Tools Manual for details.
Generate Dynamic Traversal: Refer to the Aimsun Dynamic
Simulators Users Manual for details.
New
o Scenario: creates a new scenario, either dynamic or
macro, for the subnetwork.
o Traffic Demand: creates a new traffic demand for the
subnetwork.
o Centroids Configuration: creates a new centroid
configuration for the subnetwork.
o Traffic State: creates a new traffic state for the
subnetwork.
Select objects inside: selects in the 2D view all the objects
that have some part inside the subnetwork.

41.3 Non Graphical objects context menus

The context menu of any non-graphical object is opened by right
clicking on the desired object in the Project Window.

Draft

297

For all the non-graphical objects there are several common

operations accessible opening their context menu. These commands
are:
Rename: opens a window where the object can be renamed.
Delete: deletes the object.
Properties: opens the object editor.
For each non-graphical object the rest of its operations, if any, are:

41.3.1

Road Type

41.3.2

Centroid Configuration

41.3.3

New:
o O/D matrix: creates a new matrix in the selected
centroid configuration.
o O/D route: creates a new route in the selected
centroid configuration.
Activate: sets the centroid configuration as the active one.

Dynamic Scenario

41.3.4

Set As default: sets the road type as default. It means that

from this instant all sections will be created using this road
type.

New Experiment: creates a new experiment in the selected

scenario.

Dynamic Experiment

New
o

Replication: opens an editor for creating replications

in the experiment.
o Average: creates a new average in the experiment for
a set of replications.

41.3.5

Replication

Draft

Animated Simulation: starts an interactive simulation. It

opens the interactive simulation editor, which lets the user
start the simulation, define the simulation speed and a
simulation stop time.
Animated Simulation (Quick start): starts an interactive
simulation. It opens the interactive simulation editor, which
lets the user define the simulation speed and a simulation
stop time. After the warm-up the simulation is automatically
started.
Batch Simulation: starts a batch simulation.
Save Simulation State:
Retrieve Replication Data: loads the replication data that
was stored into the database.
Retrieve Path Assignment Results:
298

41.3.6

Average

41.3.7

New:
o Lane closure: creates a new lane closure action for
the selected policy.
o Turn closure: creates a new turn closure action for
the selected policy.
o Speed change: creates a new speed change action for
the selected policy.
o Force turn: creates a new force turn action for the
selected policy.
o Rerouting: creates a new rerouting action for the
selected policy.
o Section incident: creates a new section incident
action for the selected policy.
o Periodic Section incident: creates a new periodic
section incident action for the selected policy.
o Control plan change: creates a new control plan
change action for the selected policy.
o Meso Behavioural Parameters Change:
o Deactivate Reserved Lane:

Traffic Condition

Draft

New Policy: creates a new policy for the selected strategy.

Policy

41.3.10

Select Route Sections: selects those sections that belong to

the public transport line.

Strategy

41.3.9

Calculate: calculates the average of the chosen set of

replications. If a database is set in the scenario, it stores the
average in the database too.
Simulate Pending Replications: simulates those replications
with status set as Not simulated yet.
Reset Replications: Sets the status of all the replications that
belong to this average to Not simulated yet.
Retrieve Average Data: loads the average data that was
stored into the database.
Retrieve Average and Replications Data: loads the average
data that was stored into the database as well as the data
for all the replications belonging to it.

Public Transport Line

41.3.8

Retrieve Path Costs:

New:
o Lane closure: creates a new lane closure action for
the selected traffic condition.
299

o Turn closure: creates a new turn closure action for

the selected policy.
o Speed change: creates a new speed change action for
the selected traffic condition.
o Force turn: creates a new force turn action for the
selected traffic condition.
o Rerouting: creates a new rerouting action for the
selected traffic condition.
o Section incident: creates a new section incident
action for the selected traffic condition.
o Periodic Section incident: creates a new periodic
section incident action for the selected policy.
o Control plan change: creates a new control plan
change action for the selected traffic condition.
o Meso Behavioural Parameters Change:
o Deactivate Reserved Lane:

41.3.11

Python Script

41.3.12

Real Data Set

41.3.13

Execute: executes the python script. Refer to the Aimsun

Scripting Manual for details on defining scripts.

Retrieve: retrieves the data of the selected real data set.

Grouping Category

New: creates a new grouping.

Build: adds to the groupings linked to a polygon area the
objects inside the polygon that belong to the Grouping
Category Object Type.
Refresh Statistics: recalculates the statistics of all the
groupings defined in the grouping category.

41.4 Layer context menu

The context menu of a layer is opened by right clicking on the
desired layer in the Layers Window. The available operations for
layers are:
Generate Pedestrian Obstacles: generates a pedestrian
obstacle to be used with Legion for Aimsun for each one of
the objects in the layer.
Retrieve External Data: retrieves the layer so all its contents
can be accessible by the user.
Unload External Data: unloads the layer contents so they will
be no longer accessible by the user and the amount of
memory used by Aimsun will decrease.
New Layer: creates a new sublayer.
Activate: sets the layer as the active one so all the new
created objects will be added to it.

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300

Centre in View: centres the view on the centre point of the

layer
Move Selection to this layer: Moves all the selected objects
to this layer.
Select All: selects all the layer objects in the active 2D View.
Show All: shows all the layer objects in the active 2D View.
Hide All: hides all the layer objects in the active 2D View.
Rename: opens a window where the layer may be renamed.
Remove: removes the layer.
Properties: opens the layers editor.

41.5 Legend context menu

Copy snapshot: copies the contents of the legend to the

clipboard.

41.6 Log Window context menu

Save Log: Saves the log messages into an html file.

Clear: clears the log window by removing all of its contents.

41.7 Project Folders context menus

Right clicking on root folders within the Project window reveals
their context menus. Apart from the Rename option available to all
folders, new non-graphical objects relevant to each folder may be
created. For example, a New / Vehicle Type may be created from
the Vehicle Types and Classes folders context menu, which will be
placed in this folder.

41.8 Hotkeys list

The hotkeys currently implemented inside the Aimsun application
are:

Draft

F5 : Selection
F6 : Pan
F7 : Zoom
Control + R : Rotation
F9 : Connection

L : Layers Windows
P : Project Window
E : Legend Window
O : Log Window
T : Table View Window
I : Inspector

F2 : Rename.
F11 : Decrease current editor's opacity.
F12 : Increase current editor's opacity.

301

ESC : Closes current editor.

Ctrl+Q : Quit Aimsun.

Ctrl+G : Group the selection.
Ctrl+U : Ungroup the selection.
Ctrl+F11 : Maximizes the app (returns to the original size when
clicked again).
Ctrl+P : Print.
Ctrl+M : Joins the two selected sections

Draft

Ctrl+Number : when a section is selected changes the number of

lanes. Without a section selected changes the default number of
lanes for the future sections that will be created.

When an object is selected, the arrows move it.

When the pan tool is selected, the arrows move the view.

302

42 Aimsun scripting
42.1 Scripting
Python scripting is ideal for writing small utilities to automate some
operations that would be done manually with the GUI. Typical tasks
that might be performed with scripting are:
Modifying the model
Importing or exporting data
Performing calculations with the data of the model
Modifying the meta data model
A prerequisite to using the scripting capabilities of Aimsun is some
knowledge of how to program in Python (something not covered in
this manual), and with this background the users can introduce
themselves to classes and methods within Aimsun, and the
conventions of their use.
Theres a specific manual for scripting (Aimsun Scripting Manual)
which includes examples that will introduce the reader to the
effective use of scripting. It will also explain the conventions of
use: what is it allowed, what is it not allowed and what it is the
best way to do common tasks. The documentation of all the Aimsun
classes and methods available in scripting is provided as a
collection of browsable HTML documents (TSS-Transport Simulation
Systems\Aimsun 7.0\programming\scripting\docs\index.html).

42.1.1

Creating a Python Script

Python Scripts can be created from Project/New/Python Script
menu.

Figure 294 New Python Script

Draft

303

Double click on the new python script to open its editor. The next
figure shows an example of Python Script.

Figure 295 Average Calculator Script

42.1.2

Executing Scripts
A Python Script can be executed either from its editor or from its
context menu. Use the Execute button to do it inside the editor.
Also assign a script to an object type is possible. The script will
then appear in the context menu of any object of that type, under
the item Scripts. The selected object can be accessed within the
script using the variable target.
Use the Add Script to a Menu option to assign a script to an object
type.
Finally the script can be saved into an external file by checking the
External File checkbox and typing the path. To save the
modifications done while editing the script code into the external
file the Save button needs to be used.

Draft

304

Figure 296 - Assigning a script to Sections

For example, the script to print the ID of the selected object is:
print target.getId()

42.1.2.1
Automatic Initializations
The scripting environment in Aimsun is initialized executing the
script initial.py located in the folder TSS-Transport Simulation
Systems\Aimsun 7.0\shared\scripts\model\.
It imports the following Python modules that contain the
fundamental Aimsun classes required for model editing:
PyANGBasic: Qt classes
PyANGKernel: Aimsun Kernel classes
PyANGGui: Aimsun GUI classes
In order to use the capabilities offered by the plug-ins, it is
required to import the related modules. For example, to launch a
Microscopic simulation within a script the PyANGAimsun module
must be imported
from PyANGAimsun import *

Then, redirects the standard output to Aimsun Log window.

Finally, it preinitializes the following variables:
model: contains the current network model
target: contains the object from which the script is
executed, if the script is linked to an object type (see
Figure 296)
selection: contains the objects currently selected

Draft

305

43 GIS Importer/Exporter
The objective of this plug-in is to load GIS files (ESRI Shapefiles or
MapInfo Files) into Aimsun and to extract as much information as
possible from it to create a transportation network. Using this tool
is possible to create networks from several sources as Navteq or
TeleAtlas maps or from other transportation packages as Cube,
TransCAD or any other that can export its network data into GIS
files.
It also allows the export of certain information from the network
geometry to shapefiles.

43.1 GIS importer

The importer can put the data in Aimsun in two different ways:
1. As Aimsun objects stored in the ANG file.
2. As an external layer

43.1.1

Importing in the Aimsun file

Aimsun stores all the network information in a single binary file
with the ANG extension. When importing data from another format
it creates Aimsun objects that are stored in such file. The GIS file
will no longer be used.

43.1.2

Importing as an External Layer

For some file formats (CAD, GIS, Raster Images) it is possible to
store not the contents of the imported data but a pointer to the
file where the data was imported from. In this case, some part of
the information will reside in the Aimsun file and some part will be
on external files in its original format.

Figure 297 External Data on Aimsun

Draft

306

Aimsun uses external layers to know when the data in a drawing

layer comes from an external source. This kind of layer, on
document retrieval, reads the external data and incorporates it
into the Aimsun model (if the Auto Retrieve is active, otherwise the
user can load the data at any moment using the Retrieve
command). On document save, only the location of the external file
will be stored.
Data in an external layer cannot be edited in Aimsun.

43.2 Shapefile Introduction

The Shapefile spatial data format is open and published by ESRI.
Shapefiles store non-topological geometry and attribute
information for the spatial features in a data set. Shapefiles can
support point, line, and area features. The shapefile concept
includes as many as five file types with specific file extensions.
These files should be stored in the same workspace3.
Shapefile file extensions and their function:
1. .shp: the feature geometry.
2. .shx: an index to the feature geometry.
3. .dbf: the associated dBASE file of attribute information.
4. .sbn and .sbx: a spatial index of the features.
5. .ain and .aih: the attribute index of active fields in a table or a
themes attribute table.
When the user imports a shapefile to create data in the Aimsun file
the importer will use the feature geometry (shp) to create one
object for each object found in the shapefile. It will then use the
attribute information to set the Aimsun object attributes.
For example: if the user chooses to create a network from a
shapefile the importer will create a section for each object in
shapefile. The geometry (must be either a line or polyline) will be
used as the centre line of each section. The attribute information
will be used to set the number of lanes, capacity, road type, etc.

43.3 GIS File Units

Aimsun uses the metric system internally. When importing a GIS
file, its coordinates are transformed to metres if they are in feet or
latitude and longitude. In the second case, a conversion to WGS84
UTM coordinates is used.

Draft

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43.4 Data Requirements

The amount and quality of the data found in the GIS file will
determine the quality of the imported data. If no number of lanes
information is present, the importer will create single lane
sections, if no speed information is found a default speed will be
set (using the active road type) and so on.

43.5 Network Creation

Usually GIS data does not contain detailed geometry information of
a traffic network. The missing information can be:
On ramp or off ramp information: A section contains only the
main lanes or, if the on/off ramp is included, it is coded as a full
lane.
Space for the nodes: a node is coded as a point instead of as an
area.
Turn information: The section connectivity, if present, only
codes all to all lanes turns (instead of, for example, only left
most lane is used to turn to section Y from section X).
The importer will automatically create the node area based on the
in and out sections geometry and will do its best to create the
correct turn information. No on or off ramp will be created.
However, the importer can be enhanced to extract non-standard
information, see Customization Services.

43.5.1

Customization Services
The main objective of the importer is to create a network with the
highest quality and amount of information. If the information is
coded in a format not supported by Aimsun, or if extra data can be
extracted from other sources of information then TSS offers
customization services to enhance the importer.
These services include modification of the importer logic (to add
implicit rules) and the inclusion of interfaces to other data sources
(such as Access or Excel files, spatial databases and files in custom
data formats).

43.6 Importing a GIS File

This initial dialog asks for the importing process to use (create an
external layer, create the network geometry and topology, create
detectors or centroids or VMS, create buildings), the units and
locale and the attributes in the GIS file to use as name and external
IDs of the created objects.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Draft

Start Aimsun.
Create a new document using a template.
From the File menu, execute the Import / GIS command.
Locate the GIS file to import
The GIS Importer dialog appears:
308

Figure 298 GIS Importer Dialog

6. The type name is used to assign a type to each object imported.

The type name must refer either to a type that doesnt exist or
to the name of an already existing type that can be used by the
objects that will be imported. For more information, see the
point Types and Objects in Aimsun below.
7. Set the correct units. The importer will try to guess the correct
value.
8. If you are importing data in a language not covered by the ASCII
character set (as Chinese, Japanese) set the correct Encoding.
9. Set the attribute in the shape file to be used as the external
identifier. Aimsun will put its own identifier on each imported
object. The external identifier is also used to keep the identifier
used in the shape file.
10. Set the attribute to be used as the name of each object.
11. Set how Aimsun will import the file:
As an External Layer: the file is imported as it is, no
modification is carried out and no data is created in the
Aimsun file. Only the path to the GIS file is stored. When
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the user retrieves an Aimsun file that contains an external

layer it will load the data from this GIS file.
As an Internal Layer: the file is converted into lines and
points. After the conversion, the original file will no longer
be used. The created objects will be stored in the Aimsun
file.
As a Network: the file will be converted into an Aimsun
network. After the conversion, the original file will no
longer be used. The created objects will be stored in the
Aimsun file. A dialog asking for extra information will
appear.
As Centroids, VMS, Detectors or Bus Stops: the file will be
used to create the selected Aimsun objects (centroids,
VMS, detectors or public transport stops). After the
conversion, the file will not be used. The created objects
will be stored in the Aimsun file.
As Buildings: For each polygon on the file, an extruded
polygon with the selected height will be created. The
height can be either random, fixed, or can come from one
of the attributes of the objects.
12. The imported objects will be placed in a new layer whose name
will be the name of the used type.

43.7 Network Importer

The network importer will extract as much information as possible
from a GIS file to create an Aimsun network. See How the Network
Importer Works for a detailed description.
Only GIS files that contain lines or polylines can be used to create a
network. The importer will not work with polygons, arcs, points or
multi-patch files.
The dialog will ask for information about the sections (in the Main
tab folder), how to connect these sections (Topology tab folder),
whether the links include Centroid Connections (Centroids tab
folder) and whether any attribute can be used to assign VDFs to the
sections.
The attributes number of lanes, speed and capacity can have two
values, for the normal direction and for opposite directions in the
case that a single link generates both directions.

43.7.1

Road Types
Before importing, the user can create as many road types as
desired, which will be used to initialize values in the section when
it is created.

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Figure 299 Road Type Editor

When the network importer creates the sections on the network it

is possible to use an attribute in the shapefile to specify the road
type to be used. If no equivalence is defined, the new sections will
have the default road type (as designed by the user using the Set as
Default command in the Road Type context menu).
If no value or attribute correspondence is specified in the network
importer dialog for a particular section attribute then the importer
will use, if possible, the values found in the road type.
If the user wants to set the values from the road type instead, this
can be done by setting the following values in the importer:
Speed: Select None
Capacity: Select None
Lane Width: Leave the field blank.

43.8 How the Network Importer Works

The network importer will create a section for each polyline found
in the GIS file. Then it will create the nodes using the From Node
and To Node attributes. Each node will contain all the possible
turns between all the sections in that node. Then it will process
each turn to remove the U-Turns and to fine-tune the lanes used in
each turn. It will expand the nodes from a point to an area
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(optional step). The last (optional) step will be the import of extra
node information from another GIS file.

43.8.1

Section Creation
Each polyline or line found in the GIS file will be converted to a
new section.

Figure 300 Network Importer Dialog: Sections

It is currently possible to specify, based on the attributes on the

GIS file, values for number of lanes, speed and capacity. If no
information is present for any of these attributes the following
values will be used:
Attribute
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Value
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Number of lanes
Speed
Capacity

1
Speed from Road Type
Capacity from Road Type

The road type can be set in the Network Importer dialog. If no road
type is set then the default Road Type will be set. It is possible to
add a number of lanes by road type if no attribute for number of
lanes is specified in the Section Basic area.
Note that Aimsun uses metric units internally. The imported GIS file
will create sections in metres. If the GIS file units were metres then
the geometry in the GIS file and the centre line of the sections will
be the same (unless some post processing is applied such as making
space for the nodes).
43.8.1.1
Links to Skip
Some GIS files can include links that maybe are not required, for
example a metro or train line. It is possible to skip using the Road
Type Attribute and setting a 0 as the number of lanes. In this case
it is not required to assign an Aimsun Road Type.
43.8.1.2
Single and Dual Direction
Usually the polyline in the GIS file codes a centreline of a single
section, and the order of the points in the polyline determines the
direction of flow. However, the importer also supports the
following alternatives:
Inverse sections: The direction of flow is the inverse of the point
order.
Dual directions: The polyline codes the separation line between
two sections, one in each direction.
It is possible to combine both possibilities (inverse and dual).
Use the Direction of Flow area to tell the importer how to discover
the right direction and if the polyline codes dual direction.
To do so select the attribute that has the information and put for
each possibility the number, character or text that identifies the
correct setting. Put a non-valid entry if a setting is not possible.
Example: a GIS file has an attribute named DIR with these possible
values:
1: Single Direction
-1: Inversed Direction
0: Dual Direction
So write 1, -1 and 0 for the three first possibilities. For the last
possibility (Dual Direction Inversed) put anything that is not 1, -1 or
0.

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43.8.1.3
Number of Lanes and Dual Direction
When a single polyline generates two sections, one in each
direction, the number of lanes attribute found in the GIS file can be
considered as the sum of all the lanes in both directions or as the
number of lanes for each direction.
Activate the toggle button Share Lanes in Dual Direction to divide
the number of lanes between both sections.
43.8.1.4
Overlapped Sections
Some shapefiles contain two overlapped centrelines for each
direction of flow. Figure 301 shows two links, 1 and 2, which
connect two nodes, A and B. Aimsun can automatically move these
overlapped centrelines to ensure a more correct network geometry.
2
A

B
1

Figure 301 Dual direction using two centerlines

This operation is activated by checking the Unoverlap Sections

option. The application will look for pair of sections that connects
opposite nodes (section 1 goes from A to B, section 2 from B to A)
and will displace the sections outside the original centreline.
The current Rule of the Road will be used (as set in Preferences) to
determine which section will be translated to the left of the
centreline and which one will be translated to the right.

43.8.2

Node Creation
If the GIS file contains topological information (in our case how
objects are connected), it can be used to create nodes where
sections on the network are connected. The From Node and To
Node attributes are used to create such nodes.

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Figure 302 Network Importer Dialog: Nodes

After a node is created, turns on the node are also created to

physically connect sections, to each other. As no information is
available on which section is connected with which, the importer
creates a connection between all the sections in the node.
43.8.2.1
Turn Refinement
Aimsun can specify not only which sections are connected to which
sections in a node but also which lanes are used in a turn. For
example, in a right turn, maybe only the rightmost lane of a section
allows such a turn and the rest of the lanes are used to go straight
ahead.

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Figure 303 Example of a turn in Aimsun

The importer classifies the turns to determine if they are a u-turn,

left, right or straight turn. It uses the angle that forms the sections
that are connected before the node is expanded.
After the turn angles have been calculated and the turns classified
the importer will assign some or all of the lanes to the turn,
considering other turns that start in the section, as follows:
Turn Type
Left
Left
Left
Right
Right
Right
Straight

Other
Sections
Straight
None
Right
Straight
None
Left
None

Turns

on Lanes Used
Left most
All
Half (left most)
Right most
All
Half (right most)
All

43.8.2.2
Expanding the Node
The last step will convert the node from a point to an area giving
space to the turns. It will compress the sections that are part of the
node reducing each section. The compression will make the section
shorter but neither section will be removed nor any point on it.
The compression size will depend of the number of lanes of the
sections involved. The importer will use the maximum size of the
section width (number of lanes * lane size) divided by 2 and, to the
result, it will add a 10%.
This space will ensure a correct node area for most of the cases but
it will not try to guarantee that some sections do not overlap the
node.
43.8.2.3
Adding Extra Node Information
The user can specify a second GIS file with node information. The
importer creates nodes based on the From Node and To Node
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settings. Each node created will have as its external identifier the
value of the From Node or To Node attribute.
In order to use this second GIS file the importer must match the
nodes created when importing the network with the nodes found in
this shapefile. The importer will ask for the attribute that contains
the identifier of the node. It will also ask for the attribute that
contains the name of the node.
No geometrical information will be loaded, only the attributes and
its values.

43.8.3

Centroid Creation
Some GIS files contain centroid connections as links. In this case,
Aimsun can automatically create the centroids and connect them to
the corresponding section or node.
In the Centroid tab folder, enable the Centroid connections in Links
option and then tell the importer how it can recognize connections.
You can either differentiate from links using a range of identifiers
or the value of an attribute.
The second option allows a list of identifiers and/or a close range
of values. The IDs are separated by commas, the range by the -
symbol. In order to differentiate the minus symbol from a negative
number please add a space after the symbol, for example: - 9. If
the second value in the range is not present, then all the range
from the lower value up will be used. Example of valid inputs are:
Links 1,2 and 3: 1,2,3
From 1 to 20 (included): 1 20
From 20 (included): 20 -

43.9 Navteq Importer

Aimsun includes an importer of Navteq maps in Shapefiles format.
It sets automatically the correspondence between Aimsun and
Navteq attributes and then uses internally the previously
documented Network Importer.

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Figure 304 Navteq Importer dialog

The importer dialog allows filtering the data that will be imported
using Zip codes. When defining a range of zip codes only the
features matching them will be imported. If no zip code range is
set, the importer will import all the data.

43.10

Centroid, VMS, Detector and Building Importer

The centroid importer creates unconnected centroids in the
network so, if possible, its better to create centroids using the
Network Importer (see Centroid Creation). It can be used with
shapefiles that contains points or areas:
1. From points: each point will be used to create a centroid. The
point will not be created.
2. From areas: a centroid will be created in the centre of each
area. The area will not be created.
For VMS and detectors the importer asks for the section in which
the object resides and the offset to the section start.
The building importer will use the polygon in the shapefile to
create an extruded polygon (with 3D information) and with the
height as specified either in an attribute of the shapefile or using a
random number.

43.11

Exporting an Aimsun network to shapefiles

Using the Export command from the File menu it is possible to
export some network information in several shapefiles.
The exporter will ask for the folder where the files will be
generated. If the folder contains previous files, they will be

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overwritten. Then it will generate files for the following type of

objects:
Sections
Nodes
Turns
VMSs
Meterings
Detectors
Centroids
Centroid connections
Public transport stops
Labels
Polygons

43.11.1

Sections file
Sections will be placed in a shapefile with multiple arc shapes with
Z coordinate (SHPT_ARCZ). The generated files are:
sections.shp
sections.shx
sections.dbf
The attributes written in the DBF file are:
id: Aimsun Identifier.
name: Object name.
nb_lanes: Number of lanes.
speed: Section speed in km/h.
capacity: Section capacity in PCUs/h.
fnode: Origin node (using the Aimsun node identifier).
tnode: Destination node (using the Aimsun node identifier).
rd_type: Road Type identifier

43.11.1.1 Sections geo file

Additional files to provide the X and Y coordinates of the two
extreme points on the axis of the section, and of the 4 extreme
points to the edge of the section (entrance point at right, entrance
point at left, exit point at left and exit point at right; left and right
considering the section direction) are also created. These files are:
sectionsgeo.shp
sectionsgeo.shx
sectionsgeo.dbf
The attributes written in the DBF file are the X and Y coordinates of
the above mentioned 6 points:
fx -> X of the axis point at the entrance
fy -> Y of the axis point at the entrance
tx -> X of the axis point at the exit
ty -> Y of the axis point at the exit
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43.11.2

lfx -> X of the left point at the entrance

lfy -> Y of the left point at the entrance
rfx -> X of the right point at the entrance
rfy -> Y of the right point at the entrance
ltx -> X of the left point at the exit
lty -> Y of the left point at the exit
rtx -> X of the right point at the exit
rty -> Y of the right point at the exit

Nodes file
Nodes will be placed in a shapefile with one point shape with Z
coordinate (SHPT_POINTZ). The generated files are:
nodes.shp
nodes.shx
nodes.dbf
The attributes written in the DBF file are:
id: Aimsun Identifier.
name: Object name.
intersection: a 0 if it is a simple node or a 1 if it is a complex
node.

43.11.3

Turns file
Turns will be placed in a shapefile with multiple arc shapes with Z
coordinate (SHPT_ARCZ). The generated files are:
turns.shp
turns.shx
turns.dbf
The attributes written in the DBF file are:
id: Aimsun Identifier.
id_node: Aimsun node identifier.
speed: Turn speed in km/h.
sign: Warning sign. Possible values are:
o 0: no sign
o 1: give-way
o 2: stop
fsection: origin section (using the Aimsun section identifier)
tsection: destination section (using the Aimsun section identifier)
flaneA: Origin lane, left most.
flaneB: Origin lane, right most.
tlaneA: Destination lane, left most.
tlaneB: Destination lane, right most.

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43.11.4

VMSs file
VMSs will be placed in a shapefile with one point shape with Z
coordinate (SHPT_POINTZ). The generated files are:
vms.shp
vms.shx
vms.dbf
The attributes written in the DBF file are:
id: Aimsun Identifier.
name: Object name.
section_id: identifier of the section
position: position, in metres, from the entrance of the section

43.11.5

Meterings file
Meterings will be placed in a shapefile with one point shape with Z
coordinate (SHPT_POINTZ). The generated files are:
meterings.shp
meterings.shx
meterings.dbf
The attributes written in the DBF file are:
id: Aimsun Identifier.
name: Object name.
section_id: identifier of the section
position: position, in metres, from the entrance of the section

43.11.6

Detectors file
Detectors will be placed in a shapefile with one point shape with Z
coordinate (SHPT_POINTZ). The generated files are:
detectors.shp
detectors.shx
detectors.dbf
The attributes written in the DBF file are:
id: Aimsun Identifier.
name: Object name.
section_id: identifier of the section.
position: position, in metres, from the entrance of the section.
length: detector length in metres.
from_lane: left most lane in where the detector is (numbered
from 0 to N-1).
to_lane: right most lane in where the detector is (numbered
from 0 to N-1).

43.11.7

Centroids file
Centroids will be placed in a shapefile with one point shape with Z
coordinate (SHPT_POINTZ). The generated files are:
centroids.shp

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centroids.shx
centroids.dbf

The attributes written in the DBF file are:

id: Aimsun Identifier.
name: Object name.
type: type of the centroid connections, either from, to, from_to
or none.
percentages: percentages defined for the centroid, either
nothing, origin, destination, both or same.

43.11.8

Centroid connections file

Centroids will be placed in a shapefile with multiple point shapes
with Z coordinate (SHPT_ARCZ). The generated files are:
centroid_connections.shp
centroid_connections.shx
centroid_connections.dbf
The attributes written in the DBF file are:
id_cent: Aimsun Identifier for the centroid.
id_object: Aimsun Identifier for the object connected (either a
section or a node).
obj_type: Whether the connection is to a section or to a node
direction: whether the connection is a from (from the object to
the centroid) or a to connection (to the object from the
centroid).
percentage: percentage defined for the connection in the
centroid editor.

43.11.9

Public transport stops file

Public transport stops will be placed in a shapefile with one point
shape with Z coordinate (SHPT_POINTZ). The generated files are:
bus_stops.shp
bus_stops.shx
bus_stops.dbf
The attributes written in the DBF file are:
id: Aimsun Identifier.
name: Object name.
section_id: identifier of the section
position: position, in metres, from the entrance of the section
length: length, in meters.
Lane: lane where the stop is located
stop_type: stop type, either 0 if normal, 1 if bus bay or 2 if bus
terminus.

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43.11.10

Labels file

Labels will be placed in a shapefile with one point shape with Z

coordinate (SHPT_POINTZ). The generated files are:
labels.shp
labels.shx
labels.dbf
The attributes written in the DBF file are:
id: Aimsun Identifier.
name: Object name.
label: ASCII version of the label (Aimsun uses UNICODE strings
but shapefiles do not).

43.11.11

Polygons file

Labels will be placed in a shapefile with multiple point shapes with

Z coordinate (SHPT_POINTZ). The generated files are:
polygons.shp
polygons.shx
polygons.dbf
The attributes written in the DBF file are:
id: Aimsun Identifier.
name: Object name.
layer: Polygons layer.
fill: a 1 if it is filled and 0 otherwise
color: polygons brush colour.

43.12

Types and Objects in Aimsun

A GIS file contains geometry and attribute information for spatial
features. The geometry can be points, lines and areas. The
information assigned to the geometry is what makes a feature type
different from another one. For example, a GIS file can contain
points that represent airports or cities. The difference between one
type and another is the information associated with it (number of
terminals in an airport or number of inhabitants in a city).
When Aimsun imports a GIS file it creates objects of a type based
on the geometry type used in it. The problem is how to deal with
the attributes. For example, when importing airports (points) and
later on cities (points too), Aimsun will create points for each new
object. If it adds the attributes to all the points then a given point
will have airport and city attributes but some of them, depending
of the type, will be unused.
On the other hand, if the attributes are only added to the relevant
points, then the same type of objects (point) will have different
information on different instances of it.

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The solution implemented in Aimsun is the extensible object model

in which:
1. New types can be add to the system at run time
2. New attributes can be added to any type at run time.
Following the example, Aimsun will create a new type, Airport, to
hold all the airports. For this type, the attributes found in the GIS
file will be used. In this way, Aimsun will know which points are
airports, which are cities and which are simple points.
The new type is created as a subtype of a geometrical Aimsun type
based on the type held in the GIS file.
This is the reason because the GIS Importer asks for the name of
the type to be used for the new objects.

43.12.1

Incompatible Types
When Aimsun imports a GIS file it uses the specified type name
(from the GIS Importer dialog) to create a new type or to use it if it
was already present. If the type was already present then it must
be compatible with the information found in the GIS file. That is:
1. The geometrical type must be the same. It is not possible to use
the type City for points and, later on, try to use it for polygons.
2. The attributes on the type must be the same. In this case, we
cannot first import cities creating the City type and then try to
import airports using the same type (an unusual operation) as
the attributes of the airports GIS file will not be present in the
City type.
When an incompatibility happens, the importer will present the
following error dialog:

Figure 305 Incompatible types error message

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44 OpenStreetMapOpen Street Map Importer

You can start a new project importing a map from OpenStreetMap
or you can import an OpenStreetMap onto an existing project.Open
Street Map.

44.1 Import from template

To create a new project importing an OpenStreetMap file, go to the
New Project tab and zoom in at the place of interest.

Figure 306 Open Street Map New Project options

Select the desired template. By default when Aimsun is installed 4

templates customized for OSM are provided distinguishing by
language. The UTM zone of the area to be imported will be set
automatically.

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Before creating the new network, pressing the Create button,

choose one of these options:
Do nothing: no import, just load the template as it is.
Set Area: no import, load the template and zoom to the area
(and set the UTM zone) corresponding to the map.
Import Area from the Internet: import the visible map from OSM
servers, zoom to it and set the UTM zone. Note that OSM servers
will not allow you to import large areas.
Import Area from File: import the visible map from an OSM file
in your computer. It will filter the data outside the visible map.
Will also zoom to the area and set the UTM zone.

Figure 307 Open Street Map Importation options

The last option requires that you download an OSM file from,
probably,
OSM
Planet
(http://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Planet.osm). There you will
find maps by country and, sometimes, by region. When using this
option, Aimsun will filter objects outside the visible map. You can
for example use the map of Germany to import an area in Berlin.
Note that loading and filtering large OSM files will require a lot of
CPU and RAM.
The OSM Importer dialog box will then come up as shown below:

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Figure 308 Open Street Map New Importation options

The map can be used to create a draft Aimsun network (Import

Road as a Network) or to import extra objects for decoration
purposes (Import Decoration).
It is also possible to use to map to decorate an existing network
(importing parks, buildings, lakes) without adding any traffic
network element. Use, in this case the option Import Roads: No.

Figure 309 Open Street Map imported network

OSM can hold information on several aspects of how objects are in

reality regarding its shape, size, etc. as well as regarding land use
of certain areas, besides network information.

44.2 Import from menu

To add information from an OpenStreetMap to an existing Aimsun
project, select the File -> Import -> OpenStreetMap files option. A
file browser will appear where to select the osm file.
After selecting the file to import, the dialog with the importing
options described in the previous section will appear. Please refer
to section 44.1 for more details.
If you are importing an OpenStreetMap file to a project that was
not originally created with aOSM template and you are interested in
importing sections with their OSM road type please edit first the
External ID of the road types that you want the new sections to
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belong to. The Road Types external ID that will be used should
contain the following words:
motorway
trunk
primary
secondary
tertiary
residential
pedestrian
rail
tram
subway
unclassified
For all sections with a road type defined that is not present in the
Aimsun project the default road type will be assigned.

44.3 OSM 3D importation

[Fast track: November 2013]

In the 3D section of the OSM Importer dialog, several options can be

set up so Aimsun takes advantage of this additional information, if
provided by OSM, and builds a more detailed scene for 3D
rendering. The user can set up the following options:

Create Blocks for all Buildings. Aimsun creates buildings with

the height that OSM provides it with. When no height data is
provided, a flat polygon will be created instead. With this
option enabled, the user can set up a rage of heights
buildings with no height information should be created with.
This gives a much realistic look of urban areas in the 3D View
in Aimsun.

Texturize Polygons According to Land Use. With this option

enabled, Aimsun will add textures to polygons created for
known Land Uses such as parks and forest.

Create Trees. With this option enabled, Aimsun will

randomly place 3D models of trees over areas marked as
wood or forest Land Use.

44.4 OSM Licensing

Please review the license terms before using OSM data at:
http://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/OpenStreetMap_License
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45 TransCAD Importer
Aimsun can import TransCAD geometry and TransCAD O/D matrices.

45.1 Importing TransCAD Geometry

To import a TransCAD network in Aimsun the following steps need
to be done:
Export the TransCAD geometry to shapefiles.
Using the GIS importer in Aimsun, import the shapefiles from
TransCAD into an Aimsun network. Use the option to import
the shapefiles as a network. Refer to the Network Creation
section for details about mapping the TransCAD attributes
with the Aimsun attributes.

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46 Cube Importer
Aimsun can import Cube network geometry and Cube O/D matrices.

46.1 Importing CUBE Geometry

To import a Cube network in Aimsun the following steps need to be
done:
Export the Cube geometry to shapefiles.
Using the GIS importer in Aimsun, import the shapefiles from
Cube into an Aimsun network. Use the option to import the
shapefiles as a network. Refer to the Network Creation
section for details about mapping the Cube attributes with
the Aimsun attributes.

46.2 Importing Cube Matrices

To import Cube matrices you need to export them as *.csv files and
once the Aimsun network has been created, create a new O/D
matrix and retrieve the trips for the matrix using the O/D matrix
editor.
To retrieve the trips on an empty O/D matrix, double-click on the
O/D matrix and in the Parameters folder define the file where to
read the data from, the format of the file (in this case, Aimsun),
the field separator, the type of ID specified in the csv for the
centroids and finally click on the retrieve button.

Figure 310 Cube O/D matrix importing process

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47 CONTRAM Importer
Two importation features from CONTRAM to Aimsun are available
from the menu File -> Import -> CONTRAM Network (see Figure
311): to import a CONTRAM network and its CONTRAM simulation
results.

Figure 311 Access to the Import CONTRAM Network menu

47.1 Importation from CONTRAM to Aimsun

The importation of a CONTRAM network consists in reading
CONTRAM files4, where the main information is defined, and then
translate it to an Aimsun model.

47.1.1

Importing a network from CONTRAM

To import a network, the first condition is to open a new network
from menu File -> New. It is not allowed to import any CONTRAM
network into an already existing Aimsun network.
Then, select the menu File -> Import -> CONTRAM Network to get
to the Import from CONTRAM dialog (see Figure 312). All
geometrical data is described in the *.net file, so in the first slot,
the user must select a file with this extension. If there isnt any file
selected, the other importing features are not allowed.

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Only files with extension .net, .dem, .res and .rte are needed.

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Figure 312 Import from CONTRAM dialog

The importer loads automatically all INCLUDED files, so i.e. there is

no need to specify which demand files the user wants to import.
The imported information relates to network geometry, control
plans, vehicle types, O/D matrices, Public Transport, Traffic
Management (Turn Closures) and O/D routes.

47.1.2

Importing CONTRAM simulation results

It is also possible to import the simulation results from the
CONTRAM simulation and then compare them with Aimsun results.
CONTRAM .res file contains time series data relative to sections
such as aggregated flow, aggregated speed and flow by vehicle
type; and also to turns such as aggregated turn flows. This
information generates an Aimsun Real Data Set.
All this information is stored in four different .csv files (located in
$AIMSUN_HOME folder) and grouped in a real data set object.
The time series data also contains information about centroid
connectors. Note that Aimsun does not support Time Series on this
kind of objects, so the retrieve real data set process will generate
lots of warning messages about not finding objects.
The .res file also contains information about the use percentage of
simulation routes. CONTRAM .rte file contains all routes, so when
loading both files, the importer will create all these routes and will
assign the use percentage to the related O/D matrix.

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47.2 Relation between CONTRAM and Aimsun objects

47.2.1

Translation a CONTRAM network to an Aimsun network

This interface imports two kinds of nodes: centroids and junctions.
Centroids are defined from ZONE data, which is available in the
CONTRAM network file. In the file, the position and the identifier
are specified. Also, each junction is defined in NO/DE area, in the
same CONTRAM file. Aimsun nodes are defined as a set of turns, so
as turn data is read it is added in its Aimsun node.

Figure 313 Centroid connected to a node

Figure 314 Centroid connected to sections

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CONTRAM also defines turns from sections that are used as centroid
connectors. All this turns are translated as centroid connections
that can be connected to sections or to nodes depending on node
definition. In other words, if the node only contains turns from, or
to, centroid connectors, then the Aimsun centroid is connected to
all sections that start or end at this node (see example in
Figure 314), else the centroid is connected to the node as Figure
313 shows.

47.2.2

Vehicle Types
The importer creates all vehicles defined in CONTRAM .net file. It
sets Aimsun default parameters but the pcus, the Length, which is
initialised with the Headway value, the Min Distance Veh, which is
set to 0, the Max Desired Speed, which is set to 130km/h, and the
Speed Acceptance, which is initialised with Speed value.

47.2.3

CONTRAM Maximum Speed

Maximum link speed parameter is obtained from SPEED_FLOW area,
defined in CONTRAM network file. This area contains information
about link categories; s_max parameter is the one that the
CONTRAM Interface uses to initialize the Maximum Speed attribute.

47.2.4

O/D matrices
The number of O/D matrices that this interface creates depends on
how many time slices are defined. The duration of each time slice
is defined in CONTRAM network file and then assigned to each O/D
matrix.

47.2.5

Control Plans
Control Plan definition is obtained from two areas: SIGNAL_PLAN
and SIGNAL_TIMING, where every phase has its duration and cycle
time for each node with traffic lights. Also, all turn movements
that are included in each phase are specified.

47.2.6

Turn Closures
Depending on lanes restrictions, the importer will create Turn
Closures that should be be added in the simulation scenario. Note
that, it will create traffic management objects if all origin link
groups have the same vehicle class constraint and all destination
link groups have the same constraint.
The aim is to keep the less restrictive condition.

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48 Paramics Importer
The Paramics importer has two main features. The first one is the
import of geometrical data of the network, so objects like sections,
nodes or centroids are defined. The second one is the import of
O/D matrices. This feature is available when importing geometrical
data and also afterwards, when geometrical data has already been
imported. The O/D matrix is created using the Centroid external
IDs.
Both features are available after a new network is created using
the template library. Figure 315 shows the menu path.

Figure 315 - Access to Paramics Importer Dialog

48.1 Importation from Paramics to Aimsun

Importing networks from Paramics consists of reading network files
and then creation of all defined elements maintaining a very
accurate correspondence between Paramics and Aimsun objects.

48.1.1

Importing a network from Paramics

The first step to import a network from Paramics is to set the
directory in which Paramics files are stored. Once the path is

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selected, the user must define the following parameters, shown in

Figure 316.
Number Demand Files sets the number of demand files that are
defined in the network. Each file contains one O/D matrix and is
usually related to a time slice matrix.
The Rule of the Road is used to indicate to the simulator which side
will be used by slow traffic. Also, it is used to set turns in the
correct order.
Paramics Version sets the network Paramics Version. It is important
to define this parameter because Paramics Quadstone and Paramics
Sias use different formats for some files (i.e. Priorities file).
Finally, Units parameter sets the kind of units that define the
coordinates of any point. They are always translated to metres.

Figure 316 Paramics Importer Dialog

Files are read in the following order: zones, categories, centres,

nodes, links, nextlanes, junctions, priorities, matrix, demands,
profile, busstops, busroutes, detectors, beacons and annotation.
Matrix File field is enabled only when any network has been
previously imported (see Figure 317 ). As explained above, centroid
identifiers must correspond with Aimsun centroid external IDs. If
not, there would be incorrectly generated O/D matrices.
Also, matrices that are imported after geometrical data wont have
some parameters initialized, such as initial time or duration,
because those fields are defined in geometrical files. So, we
strongly recommend that all files are imported at the same time.

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Figure 317 Matrix Importer Dialog

48.2 Relation between Paramics and Aimsun objects

48.2.1

Nodes and centroids translation

This importer simplifies all kinds of Paramics nodes and classifies
them into two categories: junction and ramp. Roundabouts are
imported as junction nodes avoiding U-turns and a warning message
is printed indicating the node reference, just to let the user to
locate and modify it by clicking on the reference.
An example of node translation is shown in Figure 318 . Only nodes
with any control plan associated are marked as yellow box.

Figure 318 Node translation

Aimsun centroids and Paramics zones are strongly related. A zone is

defined as an area where vehicles enter or leave the network. In
Aimsun, this concept doesnt exist, so centroids are created in the
following way:
1. - The importer locates the node with the least connections
that is contained in zone area.

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2. - The position of this node will be the position of the new

centroid.
3. - Centroid external ID will be set with the zone identifier.
4. - The new centroid will be connected to all sections that end
or begin inside the zone area and that are floating sections; this
means that one of its extreme points is not connected to any node.
An example of centroid translation is shown in Figure 319 and in
Figure 320.

Figure 319 Importing centroids

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Figure 320 Importing centroids

48.2.2

Links translation
To import sections, this interface obtains all data from Paramics
links so generated sections will have the same basic characteristics
as their related Paramics links. This includes road type, maximum
speed, etc.

48.2.2.1
Link Shape
Each section is limited by two nodes, origin and destination, which
give us the position where the section physically begins and ends.
To avoid section accumulations on each node, the interface
calculates a safety distance that reduces the length of every
section. This distance is calculated using the section width and the
number of sections that are connected to the node.
Also, sections are moved (depending on Rule of the Road
parameter) laterally depending on if they have any parallel section,
as Figure 321 shows. It must take into account that only sections
that join the same nodes are determined as parallel.

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Figure 321 Parallel sections

48.2.2.2
Ramps
Two situations are derived from the definition of node ramps:
The first one is showed in Figure 322 .

Figure 322 Ramp of Type 1

Section N4_N8 has to be connected by a ramp to the section N2_N3.

This kind of ramps is easy to import since section N4_N8 ends near
origin node of section N2_N3. So, this interface only has to add a
new lateral lane on section N2_N3 and connect section N4_N8 to
this new lane. The result of the import is showed in Figure 323.

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Figure 323 - Connecting Ramp for Type 1

The second kind of ramp is showed in Figure 324.

Figure 324 Ramp of Type 2

In this kind of ramp, section N3479_N1823w ends in an intermediate

point of section N58_N3436. The procedure to import is the
following:
1. - Divide section N58_N3436 in two sections. The point where
the section is cut is the projection of the N3479_N1823w end
point to section N58_N3436.
2. - Connect both sections
3. - Add a lateral lane and connect N3479_N1823w to it.
Figure 325 shows the result of importing a ramp of this type.
If any section has more than one ramp, this procedure is repeated
for every one of them.

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Figure 325 - Connecting Ramp for Type 2

48.2.3

Turns definition
This interface reads nextlanes and junctions files to import turns
from Paramics. For each node that doesnt appear in these files, all
possible turns are created, avoiding U-turns.

Nextlanes
Nextlanes file defines specific turns from some lanes from origin
section to some lanes of the i-th exit section.
Figure 326 shows an example of the nextlanes import.
Next
link
lane
lane
lane
lane
link
lane

Lanes
10:445
1 next 1
2 next 2
3 next 3
4 next 4
437:445
1 next 0

0
0
0
0
5

Figure 326 Nextlanes translation

Link 10:445 has 4 lanes at the end of the section. The white Aimsun
turn is the resultant turn of the import, where all origin lanes of
section N10_N445 join with the first 4 lanes of destination section
(N445_N108).
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The second defined turn is the red turn, which joins section
N437_N445 with the 5th lane of destination section. Paramics
defines two possible exits in node 445, but Aimsun only has 1, this
is because Paramics also defines barred links (that are not
imported).
Exits are arranged in clockwise or counterclockwise direction,
depending on the Rule of the Road. In this example, the vehicles
drive on the right.
48.2.3.1
Junctions
The Junctions file defines, for every available exit, which are the
origin lanes to which vehicles can turn (see Figure 327).
junction 401:81
out 1 lanes 1
out 2 lanes 2 3

Figure 327 Junction translation

48.2.4

Priorities and Control Plans

Paramics priorities are mapped with Aimsun priorities; the next
table shows the corresponding relation:

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Paramics Priority
Minor5
Medium
Major

Aimsun Priority
Stop
Give Way
None

Control Plan translation is achieved as follows:

For each possible turn, this interface assigns to it a signal group, so
when a phase contains a turn, automatically it adds the related
signal group, avoiding barred turns.
Paramics importer only imports fixed control plans6, so Paramics
max parameter, which initializes Minimum Green and Max-Out
Aimsun parameters of an actuated control plan, is not taken into
account in fixed control plans but, in actuated ones, it is used to
draw the control plan in its editor.

48.2.5

Vehicles
Paramics importer creates paramics vehicles setting the Aimsun
vehicle car default values to all attributes but Length, Width,
Maximum
Speed,
Maximum
Acceleration
and
Maximum
Deceleration, which values are adopted from Paramics Vehicles.

48.2.6

O/D matrices
All matrices are created from data obtained by processing profiles,
matrix and demand files.
The Profile file contains information about time slices of every
related O/D matrix.
Figure 328 shows an import example: In left square there is data
from a profile file that specifies the time interval of the periods
and the start time of every period. The percentage to apply to the
matrix for the time interval is also defined. This means that,
starting at 6:30 and ending at 6:45, the matrix related to period 1
represents the 100% of trips in this time.

Networks in Paramics SIAS dont have Stop priority, so they will be imported as Give
Way
6
In priorities file only the max duration parameter is defined, AIMSUN actuated control
plans need more parameters (such as recall type, time to reduce, etc.) and detectors
associated to these kinds of control plans, so it is better that the user configure actuated
control plans manually.

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Demand Profile
Profile Count 1
Profile 1
Period Count 12
Divisor 1
Interval 15

demand period 1
matrix count 1
divisor 1.0000

period 1 start 6:30:00

100
...

Figure 328 O/D matrix import

In the case shown in Figure 329, this interface will generate 2 O/D
matrices. The first one starting at 6:45 and trips will be equal to
the 50% of the related Paramics matrix; the second one will start at
7:00 and will have the same trips of the first O/D matrix. Both will
have 15 minutes of duration.
Demand Profile
Profile Count 1
Profile 1
Period Count 12
Divisor 1
Interval 15
period 2 start 6:45:00
50 50
Figure 329 O/D matrix import

Also, the Paramics interface imports matrices defined in the

matrix file. Those matrices are not related with any time period,
so they are imported as they are defined in Paramics matrix file.
This interface initializes Initial Time parameter to 08:00 and 1 hour
of duration.
Additionaly, the vehicle type is also set to the matrix considering
the vehicles proportion (defined in vehicles file).

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48.2.7

Public Transport Lines

The first step to import public transport lines is to create all bus
stops in the network. Then this interface creates all defined
Paramics public lines and sets the time schedules for each one.
The route of each public line is built taking the sections between
nodes.
Remember that Aimsun only allows one bus stop to be added in a
section. If there is more than one bus stop on a section that is
related with the same public line, it wont be added to the public
line.
Figure 330 shows an example of public transport line translation.

Figure 330 Imported Public Transport Line

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48.2.8

Detectors, Beacons (VMS) and Annotations

Detectors are placed at the distance from the beginning of the
section specified in Paramics Detectors file.
Next figure shows an import of a Paramics detector. Default
parameters are checked on each new detector.

Figure 331 Importing a Paramics detector

Paramics beacons, as with detectors, are placed at the distance

from the beginning of the related section. The user can add any
text to every VMS.
In order to import annotations without any problems, be sure that
the text coordinates format is the following:
(xcoord_[m,ft],ycoord_[m,ft],zcoord_[m,ft])
where [m,ft] means that it is read m (metres) or ft (feet) and blank
spaces are marked as _

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49 Vissim Importer
This importer has two main features. The first one is to import
geometrical data of the network, so objects like sections, nodes or
centroids are defined. The second one is to import O/D matrices.
This feature is available when importing geometrical data. The O/D
matrix is created using the Centroid external IDs. The Vissim
importer can import also control plan and public transport
information.
Both features are available after a new network is created using
the template library. Figure 332 shows the menu path.

Figure 332 - Access to Vissim Importer Dialog

49.1 Importation from Vissim to Aimsun

Importing networks from Vissim consists of reading network files
and then creation of all defined elements maintaining a very
accurate correspondence between Vissim and Aimsun objects. This
interface supports Vissim version 4.30

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49.1.1

Importing a network from Vissim

The first step to import a network from Vissim is to set the
directory in which Vissim files are stored. Once the path is
selected, the geometry file *.inp and all matrices *.fma in the
folder are automatically added to the editor settings, shown in
Figure 333.
However, it is possible to add matrices from any other folder (by
clicking on Add button). Only checked matrices will be imported.

Figure 333 Vissim Importer Dialog

49.2 Relation between Vissim and Aimsun objects

49.2.1

Vissim Links and Aimsun Sections

49.2.1.1
Similarities
Vissim Links have a unique identifier, which is kept in Aimsun
Sections External ID.
Vissim Links can have many control points, which define the shape
of the link. Aimsun Sections try to keep the original shape but
simplifying the number of points
Aimsun Sections will keep information like number of lanes, lane
width and the length. Properties related to Road type are not
imported in this version.

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49.2.1.2
Differences
Vissim Links can have turns at any part of the link, as Vissim
doesnt define turns as Aimsun does; so, the implemented solution
implies the following steps:
Split the Vissim Link in segments of length Segment Length
(parameter defined in Vissim Geometry file)
Read the connectors and associate them into the segments
which is at the beginning of the connector (exit turn) and the
one which is at the end of the connector (input turn)
The Aimsun section will be splitted depending on the number
of turns and the type of the turns at each link segment, as it
is shown in the following picture

Figure 334 Section Splitting

49.2.2

Vissim Parking Lots and Aimsun Centroids

Each Vissim Parking Lot belongs to a single Zone, which are indexed
by unique identifiers. In fact, the Zone plays the role of a Centroid,
so when translating the network, Aimsun Centroids External ID is
initialized with the Zone identifier.
The Vissim Parking Lot defines the connection to or from a Vissim
Link. Taking into account the FRACTION parameter, the connection
can be either to a section (Fraction = 1.0) or from a section
(Fraction = 0.0)
The position of each Aimsun Centroid is calculated from its
connections.

49.2.3

Aimsun Nodes
This is, maybe, the most difficult part of the importation. Vissim
doesnt define any kind of node, so theres a process to join nodes
once all turns have been created in Aimsun; considering the
following:

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Origin Section: All turns from a section must be at the same

node
Destination Section: All turns to a section must be at the
same node
Turn Intersection: A pair of intersecting turns must be at the
same node

All these constraints may generate nodes either having too many
turns, see Figure 335, or disjoining turns that should be in the same
node, see Figure 336:

Figure 335 Node too big

Figure 336 Nodes disjoined

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Vissim can set different stop points for vehicles while defining a
control plan independently if the stop points correspond to any turn
defined, so as, it may imply the creation of new turns to keep the
stop points of vehicles in Vissim.

Figure 337 Node with control plan

The selected turn in Figure 337 has been created to define the
control plan. Figure 338 shows that this turn belongs to the
imported signal group 9.

49.2.4

Control Plans
Vissim Control Plans can be defined at any position in a section,
thus, the importer will try to locate an existing node to define the
control plan, if it fails, it will split the section at the specified
position giving a small gap to create the a new node.
Once the node has been selected, only fixed control plans will be
imported.

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Figure 338 Imported Control Plan

49.2.5

Vissim Matrices and Aimsun O/D matrices

Vissim Matrices have the trips between each pair of zones. Vissim
also defines the time when the matrix is applied to the network and
a scaling factor, which multiplies every single value of the matrix.
Aimsun also has the same kind of definition, so the importer just
sets the same values when creating new O/D matrices. The only
thing it cannot initialize is the vehicle type because Vissim does not
define (in the matrix file) which is the vehicle associated to the
matrix.

49.2.6

Vissim Vehicle Types

From all Vissim vehicle type attributes, Aimsun can only use the
length and width. So, when creating new vehicle types, car default
parameters are set but length and width that are imported from
Vissim.

49.2.7

Vissim Public Transport

The importer creates all public transport infrastructure (stops and
lines) and then sets the timetable schedules according to Vissim
definition. It also assigns the imported Vissim vehicle type if it is
already defined in Vissim network file; otherwise, Aimsun "bus"
vehicle type is set.

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50 Visum Importer
50.1 Importing a network from Visum
Visum importer allows the user to import Visum networks (.net
files) whose language is English, German or French. Currently
supported versions range from 2.8 up to 6.0. In order to import a
Visum network, go to File, Import menu and select Visum Network
Files:

Figure 339 - Access to Visum Importer Dialog

50.2 Relation between Visum and Aimsun objects

Every Visum file contains a set of elements that refer to an object
in the network. These objects have their counterpart in an Aimsun
network:
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Nodes and Turns: used to create Aimsun nodes and turns.

Zones: Aimsun centroids.
Connectors: Aimsun connections between objects.
Links, Link Polygons, Transport Systems and Stop Points (for
public transport): A combination of these four objects result
in Aimsun sections and Aimsun road types.
Lines, Line Routes and Line Route Items: they define Aimsun
public transport lines and their schedules.
Detectors and Count Locations: Aimsun detectors.

Also the importer looks for all the *.mtx files located in the same
folder than the *.net file and creates an Aimsun matrix for each
*.mtx file read. These matrices will not store the trips inside the
Aimsun file but will be created as External Matrices and therefore
read the trips from the corresponding *.mtx file.

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51 Road XML Importer

Road XML is an open file format for the logical description of road
networks (http://www.road-xml.org/)
Road XML importer allows the user to import Road XML networks
(.rnd files). In order to import a Road XML network, go to File,
Import menu and select RoadXML Network:

Figure 340 Access Road XML Importer Dialog

51.1 Relation between RoadXML and Aimsun objects

Every RoadXML file contains a set of elements that refer to network
objects:
Intersection: A Road XML Intersection is imported as an
Aimsun node. The link between both objects is made by
setting the Node name as the Intersection name.
All possible turns are created, except those that are banned
on each intersection.
Track: A RoadXML track is imported as an Aimsun section,
taking into account the track shape. Note that tracks can
also be reversed, so in order to link both objects, section

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names contains the track name and also specify whether it is

reversed or not.
Tracks can have different profiles that define the width,
number of lanes, etc. Section geometry is adapted according
to the profile definition.
The information about tracks altitude is also imported.

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52 SYNCHRO Importer and Exporter

The Synchro Importer and Exporter is aimed at using Synchro in
combination with Aimsun to perform the following tasks:
optimize in Synchro the signal timings of a network modelled
in Aimsun, and then quantify with a micro or meso
simulation in Aimsun the results achieved
execute a Level of Service analysis in Synchro of a network
modelled in Aimsun
create a draft Aimsun model from a Synchro network
Starting from a calibrated Aimsun model, the workflow for the first
two tasks is:
if only a portion of the whole model need to be exported,
define a SubNetwork
if the turn volumes have to be read from Traffic States,
create the Traffic States (either manually or with the results
of a macro assignment) and group them in a Traffic Demand
if the model contains several Control Plans, create a Master
Control Plan containing the Control Plan to export
launch the Synchro Exporter and select the output UTDF file
to create, either the whole network or a Subnetwork, a
Master Control Plan, and either a Traffic Demand based on
Traffic States or a meso or micro Replication to fill the turn
volumes
perform the signal optimisation and/or the Level of Service
analysis in Synchro
launch the Synchro Importer to import the optimized signal
timings in Aimsun
For the third task, the workflow is to create a new model in Aimsun
and import the draft geometry, a Control Plan and a Traffic
Demand composed by Traffic State from an existing UTDF file.
The information that is interchanged includes:
geometry of the network
signal phasing and timings
turn volumes

52.1 Synchro Importer

The Synchro Importer reads a .csv file in UTDF Combined format
and imports into an existing Aimsun model the signal phasing and
timings, or creates a new draft Aimsun network using the geometry
contained in the file, a Control Plan using signal phasing and
timings and a Traffic State using the turn volumes.
The Synchro Exporter is launched from the File menu, Export,
Synchro Network (UTDF) option (Figure 341).

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Figure 341 Access to the Import SYNCHRO menu

The dialog that appears allows the user to select the file to import
from and whether to import everything or just the signal
information.

Figure 342 Importing a Synchro Control Plan

52.2 Importing the signal information

To import only the signal information, the Import Whole Network
option must not be checked.

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The Importer will map Aimsun Nodes to Synchro Nodes using the
Synchro Node ID attribute and Aimsun Turns to Synchro Lane Groups
using the cardinal directions in Aimsun (Table 1).
A new Control Plan containing the phasing and timings defined in
the UTDF file will be created.
Note that the Signal Groups are not modified, so the assignment of
the Phases to the Lane Groups must be feasible with the Signal
Groups defined in Aimsun7.

52.3 Importing the whole model

Create a new Aimsun Project from a template and launch the
Synchro Importer. To create an Aimsun model from an UTDF file,
the Import Whole Network option must be checked and the rule
must be provided.
The Synchro Importer builds the geometry creating a Section for each Link
and a Turn and a Signal Group for each Lane Group, creates a Control Plan
with the Timing Plan and Phasing information, and creates a Traffic State
for light and one for heavy vehicles with the Turn Volumes. Moreover, a
Master Control Plan containing the Control Plan, a Traffic Demand
containing the Traffic States, a Scenario, a micro one-shot Experiment
and a Replication are automatically configured.

Figure 343 Importing a Synchro network

52.4 Synchro Exporter

The Synchro Exporter creates a .csv file compliant with the UTDF
(Universal Traffic Data Format) Combined format defined by
Trafficware8, containing the geometry of the network, the turn
volumes and the signal timings.

This is not an important constraint, because the correspondence between signal

groups and turns in reality can be changed only changing the physical traffic
lights, which is normally out of the scope of a signal optimisation study.
8
See Synchro Studio 7 User Guide, chapter 16.
7

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The Synchro Exporter is launched from the File menu, Export,

Synchro Network (UTDF) option (Figure 344).

Figure 344 - Access to Synchro Exporter

The dialog that appears allows the user to select the file to be
created and the source of information about the geometry, the
signal plans and the turn volumes (Figure 345).
The path and filename of the output file is set in UTDF Combined
File, under Output File.
The geometry can be either taken from the whole network or from
any existing Subnetwork9 that is listed in the drop-down list under
Network. Aimsun allows to model different types of road
infrastructures (freeways, signalized roads, etc.) in the same
model, and different sizes of networks (from an isolated
intersection to a whole city), while Synchro is mainly intended for
isolated signalized intersections or corridors of signalized
intersections. The possibility to export a Subnetwork allows reusing
any existing Aimsun model, without the need to create a specific
one for the study with Synchro.

About defining a Subnetwork in Aimsun, please refer to chapter 15 of the

Aimsun Users Manual.
9

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Figure 345 Synchro exporter dialog

If the Use Geometry from an Existing UTDF File option is checked

the user has the possibility to reuse an UTDF file previously
exported rather than to generate it from the Aimsun model. In this
case, the geometry will be taken from that file, while the signals
and the turn volumes from the Aimsun model. For this option to
work, the UTDF file needs to have the same node identifiers as the
Aimsun network, so the best is to use a previously exported file.
Provided that the network topology is not changed, in order to
preserve the correspondence between the nodes and turns in
Aimsun and the nodes and movements in Synchro, and that the
assignment of the phases to the lane groups is feasible with the
Signal Groups defined in Aimsun, this option allows conserving any
subsequent editing done in Synchro, when repeating the export in
order to consider a different signal plan.
The signal phasing and timings are taken from the Control Plan
contained into the Master Control Plan chosen among those listed
under Signal Plan. Please note that only Master Control Plans
containing a single Control Plan are listed: Synchro can handle only
one set of phasing and timings for each intersection, therefore it is
possible to export only a single control plan at a time.
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The turn volumes can be either taken from a set of Traffic States,
or from the outputs of a dynamic simulation (meso or micro). Note
that it is possible to use the turn volumes of a macro assignment by
creating the Traffic States from its results (Figure 346).

Figure 346 Creating Traffic States from the results of a macro assignment

If Use Traffic States is selected, a Traffic Demand containing the

Traffic States to use must be chosen among those listed. To be
listed, a Traffic Demand must be based on Traffic States and have
one or two Vehicle Types: the Traffic State of the Vehicle Type
having a PCU of 1 defines light traffic, while that of the Vehicle
Type having a PCU greater than 1 defines heavy traffic. Light and
heavy flows are added to calculate the total volume, and then the
percentage of heavy vehicles is calculated.
If Use Simulated Flows is selected, a Dynamic Scenario, a meso or
micro Experiment and a Replication must be chosen from the dropdown lists. The selected replication has to be simulated with the
calculation of outputs for Turns and Nodes active (Figure 347), or it
has to be retrieved from the database10. The turn flow for any
Vehicle Type having a PCU of 1 defines light traffic, while that for
any Vehicle Type having a PCU greater than 1 defines heavy
traffic11. Light and heavy flows are added to calculate the total
volume, and then the percentage of heavy vehicles is calculated.
Note that the start time and duration of the Master Control Plan
selected under Signal Plan determines the interval of the outputs
that will be exported12.
Note that the turn volumes produced by a macro assignment
represent the total demand, while those produced by a meso or
micro simulation represent the demand served by the actual signal
timings.

If the selected replication has not been simulated with the calculation of
outputs for Turns and Nodes active, or it has not been retrieved from the
database, the exported volumes will be 0.
11
Note that, unlike when using Traffic State, using simulated flows there is no
limit to the number of Vehicle Types.
12
The exported flow is the average of the flows during the intervals that fall at
least partially inside the schedule of the Master Control Plan, weighted with the
proportion between the portion that falls inside the schedule and the total
duration of the interval.
10

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Figure 347 - Output calculation for Turns and Nodes

The Exporter assigns a new unique ID to all the nodes exported to

Synchro (intersection, bend and external nodes)13; it adds a column
to the Nodes in Aimsun, called Synchro Node ID, where the
automatically generated Synchro ID for the exported nodes is
stored, and adds two columns to the Sections in Aimsun, called
Synchro Node Origin and Synchro Node Destination, where the
Synchro IDs of the extreme nodes are.
These attributes are used by the Exporter, in case Use Geometry
from an Existing UTDF File is checked, and by the Importer, in case
Import Whole Network is not checked, to establish a
correspondence between Nodes and Sections in Aimsun and Nodes
and Links in a UTDF file.
Note that the Exporter assigns the cardinal directions to approaches
and lane groups according to the actual angle in Aimsun (Table 1),
and doesnt apply any automatic rotation to simplify diagonal
intersections with four or less legs.
Angle14
-/8 < /8
/8 < 3/8
3/8 < 5/8
5/8 < 7/8
7/8 < or -7/8
-7/8 < -5/8
-5/8 < -3/8
-7/8 < -/8

Direction
EB
NEB
NB
NWB
WB
SWB
SB
SEB

Table 1 Approach and lane group designations

Synchro node numbers can range from 1 to 9999.

Angles in Aimsun are measured from the east direction and are positive (from 0
to ) going to north and negative (from 0 to -) going to south.
13
14

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Ideally, it is possible to change the values stored to match those of

an existing Synchro network even if not exported from Aimsun, but
it is users responsibility to assure that the orientation of the
network and the topology are the same.

52.5 Naming conventions for signal control parameters

The following table shows the relation between the names used in Aimsun and those
used in the UTDF file for signal control parameters.

Aimsun
Barrier, Ring, Position
Minimum Green, Maximum
Initial Green
Max-Out
Passage Time
Time Before Reduce
Time To Reduce
Passage Time
Yellow Time
Interphase Time
Recall

UTDF
BRP
MinGreen
MaxGreen
VehExt
TimeBeforeReduce
TimeToReduce
MinGap
Yellow
AllRed
Recall

Table 2. Naming conventions for NEMA parameters

Permissive Period From, Permissive Period To and Force Off are

initialized automatically.

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53 3D File Importer and Exporter

53.1 Importer
The 3D File Importer allows the user to include 3D models into an
Aimsun network. Found under File-> Import -> 3D File it can import
3D models in the following formats:
Autodesk 3ds Max (.3ds filename extension)
Wavefront OBJ (.obj filename extension)
Open Scene Graph native formats
o Binary format (.ive filename extension)
o Text format (.osg filename extension)
Once the 3D model is selected through the Open File dialog, it
will be imported into the current document in Aimsun. Its editing
will be therefore available at the 2D and 3D Views.

53.2 Exporter
The 3D File Exporter allows the user to export the networks
geometry into 3rd party 3D modelling software tools, enabling the
user to create rich 3D scenes around networks created with Aimsun.
The geometry exported currently includes Nodes and Sections.
The option is found under File-> Export -> Network as 3D File.
Notice that before exporting a network in 3D format, a 3D View
should be opened in Aimsun. The following formats are supported:
Autodesk 3ds Max (.3ds filename extension)
Open Scene Graph native formats
o Binary format (.ive filename extension)
o Text format (.osg filename extension)

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54 Aimsun Licensing
This chapter covers how to deal with Aimsun licenses successfully.

54.1 Licensing technology

Aimsun can be licensed using the HASP SRM technology.
In this type of license the information is written inside the dongle.
When the user receives the dongle for the first time the license is
already written in the dongle. It contains the expiry date, the
features and the SUS date.
To consult any license details and perform other actions the user
has to go to the following address:
http://localhost:1947
Selecting the option HASP Keys all the dongles used will be shown.
All the dongles belonging to TSS will have the vendor number
78046.
Selecting the option Products a list of the available products is
shown as below:

Similarly the option Features can show relevant details as shown

below:

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These details include the features contracted, the number of users

and the expiration date of the license.
If no products or features are listed this might indicate the Aimsun
license for that dongle is based on Flexlm instead of HASP SRM.
Please contact support@aimsun.com in case of doubt.

54.1.1

Updating a HASP SRM license

In order to update dongles based on this type of license the user
has to receive a v2c file from TSS and apply it to the dongle just
once. To update a HASP SRM type dongle there are two options:
1. Run [Aimsun Folder]\licenses\utils\rus_Aimsun.exe and
select the Apply License Update tab. Then load the v2c
file received from TSS.

2. From the page http://localhost:1947 select the option

Update/Attach and load the v2c file received from TSS.

54.1.2

Checking the state of a HASP SRM license

To verify the state of a HASP SRM license, TSS might ask the user to
generate and send to TSS a c2v file with the dongle details.
In order to create the c2v file, the user must go to [Aimsun
Folder]\licenses\utils\rus_Aimsun.exe and run it. Under the tab
Collect Key Status Information the c2v file can be generated by
pressing the Collect Information button.

54.1.3

HASP SRM Network licenses

To configure HASP SRM network licenses refer to the Aimsun HASP
SRM Network License Installation Guide.
For this type of network licences the user has to set the following
options in the server and the client computer as shown below:

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Server configuration

Client configuration

54.2 Licensing options

54.2.1

Multiple dongle options

In case the user has more than one Aimsun dongle, in Aimsun 7
there is a new option for the user to force Aimsun to work with a
certain dongle. Using either the command prompt or editing the
Aimsun shortcut the user can write:
[Aimsun Directory]\aimsun.exe dongleid XXX (where XXX is
the dongle ID that you want Aimsun to work with)

54.3 Legion for Aimsun licensing

A Legion for Aimsun license is required to use the embedded Legion
pedestrian simulator in Aimsun. It is available for the 32bits and 64
versions for Windows. In order to get it:

Open the Help/Licenses... menu from Aimsun

Click on Request License button and the following dialog

brings up:

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Click on Email Request button to send an automatically

generated form file to support@aimsun.com or click on Save
To File button to generate the form. Remember to send the
form to TSS (support@aimsun.com).
Once TSS sends you back the Legion for Aimsun license, open
the Help/Licenses... menu from Aimsun.
Click on Install License button and the following dialog brings
up:

You can have a look at the licence as well as at the schedule

that will give you the details about your Legion for Aimsun
licence.
Select I Agree to install your licence and then click on the
Close button.

54.4 License troubleshooting

If after following the steps to correctly install a license, Aimsun
does not execute please try the following:
Verify that the dongle is connected and the light (when
applicable) is on)
Go to http://localhost:1947 and verify that all the data is
correct (expiry date and features) according to what was
contracted with TSS.
The SUS is not visible to the user, therefore it can be
consulted by asking TSS. In the case that Aimsun is executing
the information is in Help -> Licenses.

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If after installing the license, Aimsun does execute but the user
cannot simulate the replications it is definitely not a license
problem:
Go to Help -> About Plugins
If there are modules marked with a red icon, please reinstall Aimsun after making sure that the previous install
directory is totally deleted.
If after installing the license, Aimsuns Legion for Aimsun cannot
simulate pedestrians:
In the Aimsun directory check if there are following Legion
library files (.dll). If not re-install Legion for Aimsun.

In Help -> Licenses, make sure the Legion license is loaded

correctly such as below. If not load the .lic file.

If after those checks the license is still not activating Aimsun

please contact support@aimsun.com .

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