Encoders and Targets

Working with the smart motor built-in encoders, we are having trouble working with all the encoder methods and …Target methods. With standard configuration of Claw robot set, will these functions work only when physical robot is plugged in or should they work in emulator mode with values displayed in the debugger window?

Tried setting values several ways but still output does not change. All displayed values are 0.
resetMotorEncoder(leftMotor);
nMotorEncoder[leftMotor]=10; << doesn’t work
moveMotorTarget(leftMotor, 5000, 75); << doesn’t work … motor speed=0, encoder value=0

Thanks.