I wanted to configure the runtime environment to get rid of the extraneous tool buttons near the top, since I’m not launching those tools from within Repast (and they aren’t much use anyway).

With thanks again to Nick Collier for the suggestion, the right way to hide most of the tool buttons along the top of screen near the reset button is to rename the file plugin_jpf.xml to something else in the each of the directories that you want the tool button to disappear for:

  • JUNG: repast.simphony\repast.simphony.jung_1.2.0
  • MATLAB: repast.simphony\repast.simphony.matlab_1.2.0
  • VisAD: repast.simphony\repast.simphony.visad_1.2.0
  • Weka: repast.simphony\repast.simphony.weka_1.2.0
  • R: repast.simphony\repast.simphony.R_1.2.0
  • Spreadsheet: repast.simphony\repast.simphony.spreadsheet_1.2.0
  • iReport: repast.simphony\repast.simphony.iReport_1.2.0

The leaves you with the “Export geography layers to a shapefile” button.  That one’s a bit harder — you have to actually edit one of the plugin_jpf.xml files.  To remove that last button, open up repast.simphony\repast.simphony.gui\_1.2.0\plugin\_jpf.xml in an editor.

Near the bottom, replace the following lines:

<parameter id="actionSpec">

<parameter id="actionID" value="repast.simphony.ui.gis.ShowExportDialog"/>
<parameter id="label" value="&amp;Export Geography Layers"/>
<parameter id="class" value="repast.simphony.ui.gis.ShowExportDialog"/>
<parameter id="icon" value="nfs_mount.png"/>
<parameter id="menuID" value="repast.simphony.ui.tools_menu"/>
<parameter id="groupID" value="runTools"/>
<parameter id="tooltip" value="Export geography layers to a shapefile"/>

</parameter>

with:

<parameter id="actionSpec">

<!-- ORIGINAL
<parameter id="actionID" value="repast.simphony.ui.gis.ShowExportDialog"/>
<parameter id="label" value="&amp;Export Geography Layers"/>
<parameter id="class" value="repast.simphony.ui.gis.ShowExportDialog"/>
<parameter id="icon" value="nfs_mount.png"/>
<parameter id="menuID" value="repast.simphony.ui.tools_menu"/>
<parameter id="groupID" value="runTools"/>
<parameter id="tooltip" value="Export geography layers to a shapefile"/>
-->
<!-- to avoid displaying the Export to Shapefile button -->
<parameter id="actionID" value=""/>
<parameter id="class" value="repast.simphony.ui.gis.ShowExportDialog"/>
<parameter id="menuID" value="repast.simphony.ui.tools_menu"/>
<parameter id="groupID" value="runTools"/>

</parameter>

If you remove the entire parent entry actionSpec, your model won’t run at all. Removing too many parameters from the inside that the actionSpec parameter makes Repast complain. If you get rid of the user-assistance items like button images and tooltips, the text set as the actionID will still form a working (ugly) button. The above approach removes the least amount you can remove to get rid of the visual cues.