The Application Libraries Window
The Application Libraries window (Figure 2-14) contains models and applications that you can use for a variety of purposes: for learning how to build COMSOL models, as starting points for your own models and applications, and as demonstrations of specific functionality. Each add-on module includes its own application library with information about how to use the module within its application areas. Each file includes full documentation and a brief description, including the solution times and information about the computer used for solving the model.
Figure 2-14: The Application Libraries window with Helical Static Mixer app highlighted in the tree. Specific information about the model or application is displayed to the right, including its name and the computation time.
To open the Application Libraries window ():
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In the Home toolbar, click Windows and select Application Libraries. When the toolbar is compressed, you sometimes find it under Layout>Windows.
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You can also customize the Quick Access Toolbar and then click the Application Libraries () button in the toolbar. See Windows Toolbars and Menus.
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From the File menu select Application Libraries.
To open the Application Libraries window ():
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From the File or Windows menu select Application Libraries.
Browse through the Application Libraries tree to see what is available or search for a specific application. Click to highlight the file in the tree and read information about it to the right. The information for each application includes:
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The COMSOL products used.
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The physics interfaces used.
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The version that the application was created in.
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The memory usage (for models only) and computation time. If you hover over the computation time, a tooltip displays information about the maximum amount of physical memory (RAM) used while solving (see Information About Memory Use for details); the computer used for the computation (CPU, clock rate, number of cores, number of CPU sockets, and amount of installed RAM); and, if applicable, the solution times for each study step.
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The dates and times for when the application was created and last modified.
When you browse the tree, you may notice that three different icons are used for the model and application nodes. Their respective look and significance are as follows:
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(solved) — The file is complete with built meshes and solutions.
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(compact) — The file contains no stored meshes or solutions. A solved version is available for download via Application Library Update (except in a few cases where the file is a template related to another, regular, model).
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(preview) — The file is a preview of an application or a model file, containing only what is needed to represent the model in this particular context, including the model description and information about used products and physics interfaces and the computation time. Solved and compact versions are available for download. Model documentation will be available if you have specified the use of online help (see The Help Window and Topic-Based Help for details on how to do this).
The following sections describe what is available and what you can do from the Application Libraries window:
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The Applications Folders
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Running or Opening a Model or Application and Its Documentation
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Downloading MPH-Files With or Without Solutions
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Searching the Application Libraries
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The Application Library Update Window
You can also set the root directory and create and remove a user-defined library as described next.
Application Library Preferences
The following settings can be modified using the buttons at the bottom of the Application Libraries tree on the Application Libraries page under Libraries in The Preferences Dialog Box and — if the Allow managing libraries in the Application Libraries window check box on that page is selected (the default) — also in the Application Libraries window itself.
Add User Application Library
Click the Add User Application Library button () to add customized folders. In the Add User Application Library dialog box, navigate to a location on your computer and select an existing directory or click Make New Folder to create a custom folder. Click OK to save the changes and exit, or Cancel to exit without saving.
It is not possible to add an application library identical to, containing, or being contained in, an already used application library.
Optionally, you can replace the standard folder icon () with custom icons of your choice that reflect the content of your library folders. To use a custom icon for a folder, create a PNG-file with an image size of 16-by-16 pixels and save it in the folder under the name folder.png.
Set the COMSOL Application Libraries Root
Click the Set COMSOL Application Libraries Root Directory button () to edit or set the root folder. This redirects the COMSOL software to a different folder where customized applications can be stored.
In the Set COMSOL Application Libraries Root Directory dialog box, navigate to the new root folder location or click Make New Folder. Click OK to save the changes and exit, or Cancel to exit without saving.
Remove Selected Library
This button is enabled after a user application library folder has been created. Select a user application library root folder in the Application libraries tree and then the click the Remove Selected () button to remove the library from the tree.