Simulated solar-like magnetic cycle, with a period set to three years. Left: variation as a function of time of the total number of spots and of the projected filling factor of spot groups (SGs) and plage groups (PGs). The red line represents a monthly smoothing of the data. Right: flux, RV, and log () variations as a function of time. Blue corresponds to the effect of spot groups, green to the effect of plage groups, and red to the combined effect. For the RV and the log (), the red line overlaps the green one, implying that the variation of these observables is fully dominated by plage groups.