Files
You can import any type of file into a Model Manager database. Any file that is not recognized as a COMSOL Multiphysics file (that is, with the file extension mph) or a Physics Builder file (that is, with the file extension mphphb) is referred to as a data file, or file, in a Model Manager database.
Importing Files
Files are version controlled similarly as Models in the database. For example, when you import from the file system, a new file is created in the database with an associated first version. You can update an existing file in the database by selecting a file on the file system, and saving it as a new version from the File Settings window. You can also, for example, update a file in the database by using it as an output target of a model — see Loading and Saving Auxiliary Data Files Stored in Databases.
You may wonder why COMSOL Multiphysics simulation models and data files are two different concepts in a Model Manager database, when they are all “just files” when stored on a file system. The main reason for the distinction is their respective storage characteristics and supported functionality. The known internal structure of a model enables efficient data reuse between versions, as well as searching deep within a model’s content using The Model Manager Search Syntax. A data file is stored in the database as a chunk of binary or text data whose content is opaque to Model Manager.
Item Types
File versions come in two different item types:
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File (), which is the standard type obtained when the version consist of just a single file when stored on the file system. Examples include a text file containing interpolation function data or a movie file for a results animation.
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Fileset (), which is a version consisting of multiple files when stored on the file system. Examples include CAD data consisting of a main CAD assembly file and one or more external component files that the assembly reference, or an HTML report consisting of a main HTML document and one or more image files referenced by the document.
You may notice that a file can, for example, start out as the first type for its first couple of versions, but then transition into the second type if you save a version that contains multiple files.
Whether or not multiple data files are best stored as separate items or together as a fileset in a Model Manager database is best answered depending on if the files naturally are version-controlled as a “collective whole”. Prefer assigning Tags if all you want to accomplish is some organizational grouping in your database.
File Settings
The Settings window for a file shows settings for a specific version of the file. Update any of the settings and click the Save button () to save a new version of the file. You can write an optional save comment. Click OK to save.
The Version Section
This section displays the following fields:
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Location. The commit location in the database in which the file version is saved. See Locations.
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Saved. The time when the file version was saved.
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Saved by. The display name of the user that saved the file version.
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Title. The title of the file in the saved version.
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File size. The size of the file version when stored on the file system. For a fileset, this is the sum of the individual file sizes.
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Description. The description of the file in the saved version.
The title is automatically set to the filename when importing a file from the file system into a Model Manager database. You are free to change the title to something else, however — the unique identity of the file itself in the database will not be affected.
The Contents Section
This section shows a table with all files included with the version. The table has columns for the files’ filenames — possibly including a hierarchy of subfolders — and file sizes. A file version with zero or multiple table rows is a fileset; a file version with a single table row is a plain file.
Click the Add button () to add a file from the file system to the table. Click the Remove button () to remove selected files from the table. Click the Replace button () to replace a selected file in the table with a file from the file system.
A confirmation dialog box is shown if a file in the table is about to be replaced when adding or replacing with a file that has the same filename.
If you have a license for the CAD Import Module available when adding or replacing with a CAD assembly file, an attempt will be made to automatically resolve and include external component files that the assembly references.
The Tags Section
This section displays the Tags assigned to the file as a collection of tag pills.
See also The Tags Section for Items.