Run: Depressing the Run button puts the simulator into Run mode. In Run mode, the simulator first computes the numbers needed for a simulation run. A blue dashed bar below the simulator tells you how much of the calculation has been completed.

After the simulator finishes calculating, it runs the simulation. Media rooms (Ripple Tanks, Smart Sound Rooms and Connecting Sound Rooms) display animated or static wave patterns. The Tape Recorder (SoundLab only) plays the audio input it receives from sound sources and from microphones placed in media rooms. Objects in media rooms with attached velocity vectors move (SoundLab only). Clocks only run during simulations.

Wave & sound simulations run between a begin time and an end time specified by media room and tape recorder properties, or by SoundLab's background properties. Animated simulations play at a frame rate per second specified by media room properties or SoundLab's background properties.

In RippleLab, wave simulations loop (play over and over) by default (you can turn off the looping in the Ripple Tank's properties). In both simulators, you can manually loop simulations by clicking on Pause after the simulation finishes, and then clicking on Run again.

In Run mode, you cannot access the Standard Menu. In addition, most elements and tools are not accessible. The only objects that you can treat the same in Run mode as in Stop mode are graphics objects, protractors, tape measures, and, in RippleLab, amplitude meters and clocks.

Exception: If you select a normally inaccessible object before entering Run mode, you can access it through the keyboard. Specifically, you can open the object's Properties Box by typing control-O and you can move the object using the arrow keys.

Modifying the properties of a measurement tool (oscilliscopes, Fourier analyzers, and graph tools) immediately changes the tool's display of simulation data. Modifying the properties of other objects, or moving objects located inside media rooms, has no effect on the simulation.