Ventana software support forum

Dear all,

I'm using Vensim PLE. My model works fine but every time I run a simulation a get the following error message: Unable to open the file ReferenceMode.vdf.
Is there any file missing? If so, where can I get it?

Cheers, Johann

I forgot to mention that I have Version 5.11

Hi Johann,

take a look at the user's guide that comes with Vensim and look up how Vensim uses external data files in the vdf-format for data variables and how reference modes are used (like a run that is saved and then loaded for comparison). If somewhere in the settings for the model you have told Vensim to look for a reference mode it will do so and in your case seems to not find the file. You might have also set up Vensim to look for exogenous data that is loaded as a vdf?

If this does not help, post the model.

Kind regards,
Guido

Also click Model->Settings and select the "Ref modes" tab, see if anything is listed under there.

Tony.

Hi guys,

thank you very much for your quick answer!

I don't load any external data in the current model version and I don't compare any runs.
@Tony: No entries in the "Ref modes" tab.

Here is my model: Johann

In the simulation control dialog under the "Advanced" tab you have listed an external data source as ReferenceMode. If ReferenceMode.vdf does not exist in the same directory as the model, then you will receive this error. If you do not need this vdf then delete it from the dialog entry and everything will be fine.

Lee Jones wrote:In the simulation control dialog under the "Advanced" tab you have listed an external data source as ReferenceMode. If ReferenceMode.vdf does not exist in the same directory as the model, then you will receive this error. If you do not need this vdf then delete it from the dialog entry and everything will be fine.

Hi Lee Jones,

thak you for your answer!

Since the simulation control dialog is not available in Vensim PLE I cannot remove the vdf.
How do I solve this with my PLE version?

Best regards
Johann

I don't have PLE on my machine, but in the meantime, I have deleted the entry for you in the attached file.

How did you get the entry in there in the first place?

Your model does not need referencemode.vdf as a data source, but if you wanted to create the vdf file, read up on "dat" files and "import dataset" to be able to create the required vdf file.

Lee Jones wrote:I don't have PLE on my machine, but in the meantime, I have deleted the entry for you in the attached file.

How did you get the entry in there in the first place?

Your model does not need referencemode.vdf as a data source, but if you wanted to create the vdf file, read up on "dat" files and "import dataset" to be able to create the required vdf file.

I greatly appreciate your help! Thank you very much!
I don't have a clue how the entry got there. I was comparing runs varying some model constants. Everything worked fine but suddenly the above error message occured. I don't remember which button exactly I was pressing prior to that

I have deleted the file ReferenceMode.vdf but now its saying 'Unable to open it'. Im using Vensim PLE.

How do i resolve it?

Thanks
Liizz

This is a bug that's triggered by using the Reference Mode tool, but not entering any data.

You can remove the reference by saving the model as text (.mdl) and editing it with a text editor to remove the ReferenceMode.vdf lines near the end, like:

///---\\\
:GRAPH Avg
:TITLE Avg
:SCALE
:VAR random x
:VAR moving average
:VAR standard smooth
:L<%^E!@
1:Current.vdf
9:Current
22:$,Dollar,Dollars,$s
22:Day,Days
22:Hour,Hours
22:Month,Months
22:Person,People,Persons
22:Unit,Units
22:Week,Weeks
22:Year,Years,Yr,Yrs
31:1,ReferenceMode
13:ReferenceMode
15:0,0,0,0,0,0
19:100,0
27:2,
34:0,
4:Time
5:standard SMOOTH
35:Date
36:YYYY-MM-DD
37:2000
38:1
39:1
40:2
41:0
42:1
24:0
25:100
26:100

Always do this kind of text editing on a copy, not your original!

Hi Guys,

I'm having the same problem. Can someone help me? I've already saved as text and reopened but nothing worked. I'm using Vensim PLE and I don't have much access.

I think I have entered an empty variable but I deleted it before running.
Thank you a lot.

I'm not sure what happened to your model file, but this may work:

Click the SIM Setup button and remove the ReferenceMode that appears in the Input Datasets field to its left.