Configuring a File as the Source or Destination

When you are configuring an input file parameter, you can select a file as the source from which the input file is read before the component executes. Similarly, when you are configuring an output file parameter, you have to define the source which is the location where the file will exist after the component executes.

  1. From the File Parameter Wizard or Files tab, select File as the Source for input file parameters. This option is selected by default for output file parameters.

    You can also select a file to use as an output file parameter’s destination. An output file parameter that is saved in a fixed location is not safe for parallel execution because multiple instances of the component overwrite each other’s data.

  2. In the Name text box, enter the file name, excluding all directory path information.

    You can click Browse to navigate to the file.

  3. In the Path text box, enter the expression that defines the directory path of the file. You can 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, in absolute path form. Isight tries to access the file 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 parameters. File parameters 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 substitution key {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 in the working directory. This is the default for output file parameters.
    Model directory Select this option if you want to use the substitution key {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 in the actual directory. Output file parameters 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 substitution key {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 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 there. For more information, see Creating a SIMULIA Execution Engine Connection Profile.

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

  4. Click in the Name or Path text box to specify the insertion point for a parameter substitution.

  5. Select a parameter from the Parameters list.

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

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