Wed, 05/10/2016 - 19:14 — daler6
1) I am trying to understand how model files and configuration files are linked to each other. Sometimes when I open an existing model, an associated configuration file is automatically opened; other times it seems to open a blank configuration file. If I have created several configuration files for the same model, how does the software know which of the configuration files to open?
2) When I am looking at a model diagram, I see options under the Model Menu to Save Interface or Load Interface. What is an interface and how does it differ from a configuration?
Reporter:
daler6
Created:
Wed, 05/10/2016 - 19:14
Updated:
Thu, 06/10/2016 - 21:13
Comments
#1
When you save a model, the saved file includes references to the parameter metafiles (.spf) most recently saved or loaded for the top level and for each submodel. These are reloaded when it is opened again. However if you save the model when it is not running (e.g., if you have edited the model since you last ran it) then no .spfs are referenced and it will not start running when you reload it. If the model is running when it is saved, but no .spfs are referenced, then it will run again when reopened and show the file parameters dialogue, in which you can enter values or open .spfs.
#2
An 'interface' specifies the connections between a submodel and the model surrounding it. If you save a submodel, these are all broken, so you can save its interface first and reload this after loading a new submodel into a surrounding model. This is called plug-and-play modularity, and there is a worked example in our online help.
#3
Thanks. I was actually asking about .shf files, not .spf files, but I am guessing that the answer is the same.