Selecting Files in Databases as Input Sources
Data files stored in a Model Manager database can be used as input for models in the same way you can use files stored on the file system as input. From the Select File window for an input setting, you can find and select files from one of your configured databases to use as input source for the model opened in the COMSOL Desktop. Choose the database that you want to select files from in the list of options on the left. Choose Add Database () if you want to add a new database.
The Select File window is, for example, opened when you click the expand button next to Browse () and select Browse From () for a model input setting in the Settings window in the Model Builder workspace. It is also opened when you click the expand button next to Load from File () and select Load From () for a table in the Settings window in the Model Builder workspace.
The Select File window for a database offers similar search and filter functionality as the Open and Select Model windows, although adapted for searching data files. Click Select () once you have found and selected a file in the result list to use as input. If the selected data is a fileset, you will be asked to select one of its file resources via the Select File from Fileset dialog.
You can also right-click a file in the list to select it as input. Select Preview File () to open the file with the default application for its file type — see also Previewing Files. Select Set Tags () to modify the tag assignment of the file — see also Assigning Tags.
Selecting a data file from a Model Manager database via the Select File window and clicking Select () typically only specifies a source for the input. The actual loading of the input data from the database often happens later — either automatically when the data is needed or manually by, for example, clicking an Import button. See Loading and Saving Auxiliary Data Files Stored in Databases for more details.
Finding Data Files
You find data files by writing search expressions in the search field and clicking the Search button () or pressing Enter. You can write plain search words and any number of filter expressions using The Model Manager Search Syntax. Plain search words will match on the title, description, assigned tags, and filename — or, for a fileset, filenames — of a data file. Press Ctrl+Space to get completion assistance when writing filter expressions — see Search Syntax Completion. The search can be restricted by an explicit file type filter set in the list next to the search field.
You can also apply separate Item Filters via The Filter Dialog. Select a filter from the Add Filter menu button () in the toolbar to open the dialog. Applied filters are shown below the search field — see Applied Filter Pills.
You search for the latest versions of files on a specific branch by default. To search among all versions ever saved in the database, click the expand button next to Latest Versions for Location menu button () and select All Versions in Database (). See Searching Versions for more details on these two search modes. To redo a previous search, select one of the entries in the Search History menu list () — see also Search History.
Each entry in the result list contains the title of the file in that version, the time when the version was saved, the name of the user that saved the version, and — depending on the search mode — either the tags assigned to the file or the repository and branch the file version was saved in. The search result is sorted on title, with a maximum of 100 files that match the search initially included in the result list. Click the Show More button () to append the next 100 matches to the list. You can set another value for this default page size in the Result Page Size field on the Model Manager page in the Preferences window.
You can change the sort field and sort order of the search result from the toolbar. Click the expand button next to the sort field button to select another sort field than the default Title () sort field — see also Sorting Search Results. The selected sort field and sort order for the Select File window is remembered between program sessions.
Searching and Filtering
The Select File Window Toolbar
The toolbar above the search field contains the following toolbar buttons:
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Click the Refresh button () to refresh the search result while keeping the search expression and applied filters unchanged.
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Click the Show More button () to append more matching files to the search result.
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Click the Search History menu button () to select a previous search that you want to redo.
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Click the Reset button () to clear the current search expression and applied filters.
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Click the Add Filter button () to apply a filter.
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Click the sort field button to toggle the sort order of the search result between ascending and descending order. Click the expand button to select another sort field.
Select Location in Database
You can change which file versions to search for by selecting another location — see Searching Versions and Locations. Click the link button above the search field to open The Select Location Dialog to select which location to search. The link button is hidden if there is only one location available in the database, which is the default for a new database, or when All Versions in Database () is selected.