Configuring an Input File Set and an Input File Set Source

You can configure a file set to use as an input file parameter. The files that you want to use must be in the same directory. You can also configure a file set as the input source.

  1. From the Design Gateway, select a model.

  2. Select the component that will contain the new file set.

  3. Click the Files tab, and click the button.

    The File Parameter Wizard appears.

  4. Click Input, and click Next.

    The File Parameter Structure screen appears.

  5. Select File Set.

  6. Click Next.

    The Input Source screen appears.

  7. Select the input source that will provide the content of the parameter prior to the component executing:

    Option Description
    File Set Select this option to use a specific file set.
    Map from a file set in another component Select an existing file set in a different component to map to the input file set. The data from the mapped file set is used at run time. You can select I will map it later to map the file set after it has been added to the input parameter list on the Files tab.

  8. Click Next.

    The Input Source Data Handler screen appears.

  9. In the Path text box, enter the complete path, including the directory name, where the file set resides. You can click Browse to navigate to the file set. You can also use the Options list to automatically generate the expression.

    Option Description
    Absolute path Select this option if you want to use the actual name of the directory containing the named file set, in absolute path form. Isight tries to access the file set under this directory at run time. Typically, this option works only when running locally or when the directory is on a shared file system. This is the default for input file sets. File sets that use this type of path are not safe for distributed or parallel execution.
    Runtime directory Select this option if you want to use the variable substitution{rundir}, an expression designating the component’s runtime working directory. You can add subdirectories to this expression. At run time, the expression is replaced with the actual current working directory, and Isight tries to access the file set in the working directory. This is the default for output file sets.
    Model directory Select this option if you want to use the variable substitution{modeldir}, an expression designating the directory containing the model file that declares this component. You can add subdirectories to this expression. At run time, Isight replaces the expression with the actual directory that contains the model file (if there is a model file), and Isight tries to access the file set in the actual directory. Output file sets that use this type of path are not safe for distributed or parallel execution.
    Shared file system Select this option if you want to use the variable substitution {root root-name }, where root-name is a symbolic root defined in the user preferences or in a SIMULIA Execution Engine station properties file. You can use this option when the file set is on a shared file system that is mounted in different places on different computers. You can add subdirectories to this expression. At run time, Isight obtains the definition (if any) of this expression (e.g., from the SIMULIA Execution Engine station environment to which the component was dispatched); the expression is replaced with the defined directory, and Isight tries to access the file set there. For more information, see Creating a SIMULIA Execution Engine Connection Profile.

    For more information about variable substitutions, see About Variable Substitutions.

  10. If desired, click in the Path text box to specify the insertion point for a parameter substitution, then select a parameter from the Parameters list.

    You can use parameter values to construct the path for a file set, allowing results from parallel execution to be filed automatically, instead of overwriting the same location. Isight inserts a properly formatted parameter variable substitution {var parameter-name} into the text box.

    At run time, the system substitutes the value of the parameter into the path and directory name of the file set and tries to access the directory using the resulting name. For more information about variable substitutions, see About Variable Substitutions.

  11. In the Pattern text box, enter the file set filter pattern ("?" or "*") that identifies the files that you want to use. If you do not specify a filter, "*" is the default.

    The default selects all the files in the specified directory.

  12. If desired, use the Sort By list to order the files in the file set by Name or the Date Modified.

    By default, no sorting is selected.

  13. Click Next.

    The File Content Type screen appears.

  14. If you are creating a non-mapped file set, select the content of the file set. The files must have the same type of content.

    Option Description
    Text Text files are displayed faster than binary files in the Runtime Gateway and can be converted from a nonstandard character encoding.
    Binary Binary files are always copied unchanged and are displayed in an external Web browser. Whether a binary file can be viewed or not depends on what file formats are recognized by your Web browser.

  15. Click Next.

    The Input File Set Destination screen appears.

  16. Select where you want to copy the file set so that it is available at run time.

    Option Description
    Fixed Directory Name Select this option to copy the source file set to a specified directory. The directory can be in the Isight runtime environment, a shared file system, or an absolute path.

    You can rename the elements of the file set when the files are copied to the specified directory. You can use {arridx} (represents the index of the array element) and {incr} to rename the files. For example, if you enter the following:

    test_{arridx}_file.txt

    Isight creates the files with the following names:

    • test_0_file.txt
    • test_1_file.txt

    If you enter the following:

    test_{incr(0,2)}_file.txt

    Isight creates the files with the following names:

    • test_0_file.txt
    • test_2_file.txt
    Automatic Select this option if this file set is mapped from a file set. Isight will not copy the file set and the file set will be used in-place. Otherwise, Isight will place the file set data into the runtime directory with an Isight-generated name.

  17. Click Next.

    The File Set Name screen appears.

  18. In the File Set Name text box, enter a name or accept the default name.

  19. Click Next.

    The Save to Database screen appears.

  20. Click Save File parameter values to the database at runtime to specify if you want Isight to save file sets attached to components to the database.

    File sets are often used for temporary work, so it is often desirable to not store the information for these files in the database. File sets that are not saved are not displayed in the Parameters or History tabs on the Runtime Gateway during or after execution. By default, this option is not selected. For more information, see Setting Gateway Preferences.

    Note: You can save file set values to the database at a later time using the Save to DB option on the Files tab. For more information, see Editing File Parameters.

  21. Click Finish.

    Isight adds the new file set to the list on the Input Files subtab of the Files tab.