Error message: Unable to run simulation because of invalid data in additional inputs

Post questions and comments about installing the program, getting it to run on your computer, and unexpected error messages.
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eric
Posts: 35
Joined: Wed Apr 20, 2016 6:06 pm

Error message: Unable to run simulation because of invalid data in additional inputs

Post by eric »

I've sometimes gotten this message. But I have a number of rows in my additional inputs, and the program does not point me to a specific row. Is there any way to narrow it down?

That would be a useful enhancement.

Thanks.
jimr
Posts: 821
Joined: Thu Feb 28, 2008 6:48 pm

Re: Error message: Unable to run simulation because of invalid data in additional inputs

Post by jimr »

That message is usually from an additional inputs entry with a start age that at run-time turns out to be less than the end age.

Normally, the program won't let you create such an invalid entry.

However, if you use a named age like 'Retirement Year' and then set things up so that at run-time, the named age (eg Retirement Year) is greater than the end year you used, you'll see this error.

The most common way people see this situation is when they're using sensitivity analysis with one of the sensitivity parameters set to retirement age.

It definitely would be better if I could make the message more specific. Maybe I could throw out the text of the entry that caused the problem. For a couple of dumb reasons, it turns out that even doing something as simple as that is tougher than it ought to be.
eric
Posts: 35
Joined: Wed Apr 20, 2016 6:06 pm

Re: Error message: Unable to run simulation because of invalid data in additional inputs

Post by eric »

I've seen this error on multiple occasions. But the most recent time was when I changed the life expectancy on the main page. I eventually did figure out the problem, but it was not obvious because the error message indicated that the problem was with the additional inputs, and it did not occur to me that it might be due to a conflict with the inputs on the main page.
trfrp
Posts: 14
Joined: Sat Apr 16, 2016 9:32 pm

Re: Error message: Unable to run simulation because of invalid data in additional inputs

Post by trfrp »

In my experience, this error arises when one or more of your additional inputs has a fixed start age or end age that falls outside the range of the simulation; i.e., less than your current age or greater than your life expectancy. This often happens when you do a sensitivity analysis that varies your life expectancy. In another thread, I suggested allowing "floating start and end years" so that events in your additional inputs could be configured to stay within the range of years covered by the simulation.
eric
Posts: 35
Joined: Wed Apr 20, 2016 6:06 pm

Re: Error message: Unable to run simulation because of invalid data in additional inputs

Post by eric »

Jim:

Maybe I could throw out the text of the entry that caused the problem.

Other possibilities:

- explicitly number the rows in the additional inputs, so that the error message could refer to a specific row.

- be a little more specific about what the error is, such as "A row in Additional Inputs has an End Year which is greater than Life Expectancy."
jimr
Posts: 821
Joined: Thu Feb 28, 2008 6:48 pm

Re: Error message: Unable to run simulation because of invalid data in additional inputs

Post by jimr »

Eric,

These are all good suggestions.

Adding a row number would be a lot more work than just echoing the row text, so I'm leaning in that direction in the error popup. That should make the invalid row easy enough to identify. I'll also show the calculated (numeric) start and end years, just to make it really clear what happened.

After looking at the code and thinking about it a bit, this really isn't that big of a change.

I put it on the list for the next time I spin the code.

Thanks for the suggestions.

Jim
eric
Posts: 35
Joined: Wed Apr 20, 2016 6:06 pm

Re: Error message: Unable to run simulation because of invalid data in additional inputs

Post by eric »

Thanks.

One other minor suggestion.... Your Start Age and End Age fields use a drop-down list for input. But in many cases, all I want is to enter one age, like 70, 75, etc. It would be a lot easier to enter the ages into a simple numeric input field rather than a drop-down list requiring scrolling and selecting from 100 choices on the drop-down list. Obviously, no big deal. But every time I want to play with dates to try a different scenario (what happens if I work for an additional two years, etc.), it's a little more work than I'd like.
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