The References Window
You use the References window to view and browse file versions that are referenced from a particular model version or, conversely, model versions that are referencing a particular file version. You may find this useful as it enables you to discover model-file relationships without first having to open a model in the COMSOL Desktop.
The file versions listed in the References window for a model version are the subset of entries in the Auxiliary Data window whose Source column point to the database.
The references shown in the window follows the current model or file selection in The Databases Window or The Model Manager Window (depending on which window is focused). Click Link with Selection () to disable this automatic linking. You can still update the References window with a new model or file by right-clicking and selecting References ().
You can view either referenced versions or referencing versions by clicking Show Referenced Versions () or Show Referencing Versions (), respectively. If you open the window for a selected model version, referenced versions are shown by default. For a selected file version, referencing versions are shown. The title of the selected version is shown at the top of the window.
The referenced or referencing versions are shown in a table sorted in chronological order. At most 100 versions are initially shown. Click the Show More button () to include older versions in the table. If a model version is opened in the COMSOL Desktop, the corresponding model version row is highlighted in bold in the table. The table columns are:
The type column — the type of the item represented by an icon.
The Title column — the title set for the item in that version.
The Reference Type column — describes the relation between a model version and a file version as an Input file.
The Saved column — the time in which the version was saved.
The Saved By column — the name of the user that saved the version.
The Repository column — the repository that the version belongs to.
The Branch column — the target branch in which the version was saved.
The Comments column — the optional comment provided when the version was saved.
You can iteratively explore how different item versions depend on each other by repeatedly selecting a row in the table and clicking References ().
The database protects the referential integrity between item versions: a file version referenced by a model version cannot be permanently deleted, as long as both versions are saved in the same database.
The References Window Toolbar
The toolbar in the References window contains the following toolbar buttons:
Click the Refresh button () to refresh the table in case any new version references have been created. The table will automatically refresh if you save a new version to the database from the COMSOL Desktop.
Click the Show More button () to include references to older versions in the table.
Click the Link with Selection button () to enable or disable whether to automatically update the References window based on the current selection in the Databases window or the Model Manager window (which ever had focus last).
Click the Version Details button () to open The Version Details Dialog Box containing more information on the version.
Click the Open button () to open a selected model version in the COMSOL Desktop.
Click the Run button () to launch and run a selected version in the COMSOL Desktop. Only enabled if the selected version is an application.
Click the Preview File button () to open a selected file version using the default application for its file type.
Click the Compare button () to compare a selected model version with the model opened in the COMSOL Desktop. Select two model versions to compare them with each other.
Click the References button () to show version references for the selected version.
Click the Show Drafts button () to enable or disable whether to include version references that are drafts.
Click the Show Referenced Versions button () to show versions that are referenced by the viewed version (as indicated by the title next to the toolbar). This is the default choice when viewing a model version.
Click the Show Referencing Versions button () to show versions that are referencing the viewed version (as indicated by the title next to the toolbar). This is the default choice when viewing a file version.
If you right-click a version in the table, you can also
Select Export () to export the version to the file system — see Exporting Items.
Select Export to New Local Database () to export the version to a new local database — see Export to New Local Database.
Select Branch () to create a new branch from the commit that the version was saved in.
Select Snapshot () to record a snapshot of the commit that the version was saved in.
Select Copy Location () to copy a text string with a URI that uniquely identifies a model or file version in the database to the clipboard.
Select Permanently Delete Version () to permanently delete a version in the database. This cannot be undone. See also Permanently Deleting a Version.
You will only be able to perform this deletion for versions that are not referenced by other versions.
Select Settings () to update the Settings window with the version.