Adding Input File Parameters

You can create input file parameters that Isight reads during execution.

  1. From the Design Gateway, select a model.

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

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

    The File Parameter Wizard appears.

    Tip: You can also add a parameter from the Mappings subtab by right-clicking a component in either list on the Mappings subtab, and clicking Add Parameter.

  4. Click Input, and click Next.

    The File Parameter Structure screen appears.

  5. Select whether the parameter is a Scalar, File Set, or an Array.

    For more information, see About File Parameters. If you selected File Set, see Configuring an Input File Set and an Input File Set Source.

  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 Select this option to use a specific file. For more information, see Configuring a File as the Source or Destination.
    Map from a file parameter in another component Select an existing file parameter in a different component to map to the input file parameter. The data from the mapped file parameter is used at run time. You can select I will map it later to map the parameter after it has been added to the input parameter list on the Files tab.
    In Model Select this option to use a file that is stored within the model. For more information, see Configuring a Data File Stored within the Isight Model as the Input Source.
    FTP Select this option to enter an FTP site and a file name. For more information, see Configuring an FTP Site as the Input Source or Output Destination.
    URL Select this option to specify a URL. For more information, see Configuring a URL as the Input Source or Output Destination.

    Note: There may be additional options in the Input Source list if additional file handler plug-ins are published to the library. File handlers are available to retrieve files from various product data management (PDM) systems. For more information, contact your SIMULIA representative.

  8. Click Next.

  9. If you are creating a non-mapped file parameter, select the content of the file:

    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.

  10. Click Next.

    Note: If the Show File type encoding on the Files tab preference option is selected, an additional screen is displayed for text files that allows you to set the file encoding. The file encoding is relevant only if you use text files containing non-Latin characters. For more information, see About Encoding.

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

    Option Description
    Fixed File Name Select this option to copy the source file to a specified directory. The directory can be in the Isight runtime environment, a shared file system, or an absolute path.
    Automatic Select this option if this parameter is mapped from a file. Isight will not copy the file and the file will be used in-place. Otherwise, Isight will place the file data into the runtime directory with an Isight-generated name.

  12. Click Next.

    The Parameter Name screen appears.

  13. In the Parameter Name text box, enter a name or accept the default name.

  14. Click Next.

    The Save to Database screen appears.

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

    File parameters are often used for temporary work, so it is often desirable to not store the information for these files in the database. File parameters 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 parameters 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.

  16. Click Finish.

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