Supported File Formats
COMSOL®
The COMSOL Model file type, with the extension
.mph, is the default file
type containing the entire model tree and application tree from the Model Builder
and Application Builder, respectively. The file contains both binary and text data.
The mesh and solution data is stored as binary data, while all other information is
stored as plain text.
The COMSOL binary and text file types, with the extension .mphbin and
.mphtxt, respectively, contain either geometry objects or mesh objects that can be
imported directly to the Geometry or Mesh nodes in the model tree.
The Physics Builder file type, with the extension .mphphb, contains one or more user-defined physics interfaces that you can access from the Model Builder.
| File Format | Extension | Read | Write |
|---|---|---|---|
| COMSOL Model and Application | .mph | Yes | Yes |
| Binary Data | .mphbin | Yes | Yes |
| Text Data | .mphtxt | Yes | Yes |
| Physics Builder | .mphphb | Yes | Yes |
CAD
The CAD Import Module and Design Module allow for import of a range of industry-standard CAD file types. Additional file types are available through the bidirectional functionality of the LiveLink products for CAD as well as with the File Import for CATIA® V5 add-on.
The 3MF (3D), DXF (2D), PLY (3D), VRML (3D), and STL (3D) file types are available for import with COMSOL Multiphysics and do not require any add-on products. Unless noted otherwise in the table below, import of the listed file types is available on all supported versions of Linux®, Mac OS X, and Windows® operating systems.
| File Format | Extension | Import | Export |
|---|---|---|---|
| AutoCAD®1,2,3 | .dwg | Yes | Yes9 |
| Inventor®1,2,3 | .ipt,.iam | Yes | Yes9 |
| NX®1,4 | .prt | Yes | No |
| PTC® Creo® Parametric™1,3 | .prt,.asm | Yes | Yes9 |
| PTC® Pro/ENGINEER®1,3 | .prt,.asm | Yes | Yes9 |
| Revit® Architecture3,5 | .rvt | Yes9 | Yes9 |
| Solid Edge®3,6 | .par,.asm | Yes9 | Yes9 |
| SOLIDWORKS®1,2,3 | .sldprt,.sldasm | Yes | Yes9 |
| DXF (3D1,2 and 2D) | .dxf | Yes | Yes10 |
| Parasolid®1 | .x_t,.xmt_txt,.x_b,.xmt_bin | Yes | Yes |
| ACIS®1 | .sat,.sab,.asat,.asab | Yes | Yes |
| STEP1 | .step,.stp | Yes | Yes |
| IGES1 | .iges,.igs | Yes | Yes |
| CATIA® V52,7 | .CATPart,.CATProduct | Yes | No |
| VRML, v18 | .vrml,.wrl | Yes | No |
| 3MF | .3mf | Yes | No |
| PLY | .ply | Yes | No |
| STL | .stl | Yes | Yes |
1 Requires one of the LiveLink™ products for AutoCAD®, Revit®, PTC Creo Parametric™, Inventor®, PTC Pro/ENGINEER®, Solid Edge®,SOLIDWORKS®, CAD Import Module, or Design Module
2 Import supported on Windows® operating systems only.
3 Synchronization of files between COMSOL Multiphysics® and a linked CAD program supported on Windows® 7, 8.1 and 10 operating systems only
4 Import supported on Windows® and Linux operating systems only
5 Requires LiveLink™ for Revit®
6 Requires LiveLink™ for Solid Edge®
7 Requires the CAD Import Module (or one Design Module or one of the LiveLink™ products for AutoCAD®, PTC Creo Parametric™, Inventor®, PTC Pro/ENGINEER®, Solid Edge®, or SOLIDWORKS®) and the File Import for CATIA® V5
8 Limited to a single geometric domain
9 From/To file using linked CAD package, provided the original CAD geometry is created in the CAD package
10 Writing to file is supported for 2D geometry only
ECAD
The ECAD Import Module allows for import of 2D layout files with automatic conversion to 3D CAD models. The Touchstone file type is used for exporting S-parameters, impedance, and admittance values from simultaneous port and frequency sweeps. The SPICE Circuit Netlist file type is converted at import to a series of lumped circuit element nodes under an Electrical Circuit node, in the model tree.
| File Format | Extension | Read | Write |
|---|---|---|---|
| IPC-25811 | .cvg, .xml | Yes | No |
| ODB++1 | .zip,.tar,.tgz,.tar.gz | Yes | No |
| GDS1 | .gds | Yes | No |
| Touchstone2 | .s2p, .s3p, .s4p, ... | No | Yes |
| SPICE Circuit Netlist3 | .cir | Yes | Yes |
1 Requires the ECAD Import Module
2 Requires one of the AC/DC Module, RF Module, MEMS Module, or Wave Optics Module
3 Requires one of the AC/DC Module, RF Module, MEMS Module, Plasma Module, or Semiconductor Module
Material Databases
The Chemical Reaction Engineering Module and the Plasma Module can read CHEMKIN® files to simulate complex chemical reactions in the gas phase. The Plasma Module can read LXCAT files for sets of electron impact collision cross sections.
| File Format | Extension | Read | Write |
|---|---|---|---|
| CHEMKIN®1 | .dat, .txt, .inp3 | Yes | No |
| CAPE-OPEN (direct connection)1 | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| LXCAT file2 | .lxcat,.txt | Yes | No |
1 Any file format is allowed; this is one of the most common file formats.
2 Requires the Plasma Module.
3 Any extension is allowed; these are the most common extensions.
Mesh
The NASTRAN® Bulk Data file types are used to import a volumetric mesh. The VRML, STL, PLY, and 3MF file types are used to import a triangular surface mesh that can serve as a starting point for creating a volumetric mesh.
| File Format | Extension | Read | Write |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3MF | .3mf | Yes | Yes |
| NASTRAN® Bulk Data | .nas, .bdf, .nastran, .dat | Yes | Yes |
| PLY | .ply | Yes | Yes |
| Sectionwise | .txt, .csv, .dat | Yes | Yes |
| STL | .stl | Yes | Yes |
| VRML, v1 | .vrml, .wrl | Yes | No |
| VTK | .vtu | No | Yes |
Images and Movies
Results visualization can be exported to a number of common image file types; See the table below. Images can also be read and used as interpolation functions for physics modeling. Animations can be exported to one of the Animated GIF, Adobe Flash®, and AVI file types. The 3D representation from a 3D plot can be exported to the glTF™ format for 3D scene exchange.
| File Format | Extension | Read | Write |
|---|---|---|---|
| Adobe Flash® | .swf | No | Yes |
| Animated GIF | .gif | No | Yes |
| AVI1 | .avi | No | Yes |
| BMP | .bmp | Yes | Yes |
| EPS (1D graphs) | .eps | No | Yes |
| glTFTM | .glb | No | Yes |
| JPEG | .jpg, .jpeg | Yes | Yes |
| MP42 | .mp4 | Yes | No |
| OGV2 | .ogv | Yes | No |
| PNG | .png | Yes | Yes |
| TIFF | .tif, .tiff | No | Yes |
| WEBM2 | .webm | Yes | No |
1Available for Windows only
2Available in the Application Builder, for Windows® only, in the video form object
Programming Languages and Spreadsheet
Model files for Java® are editable files with the extension .java that contain sequences of COMSOL commands as Java® code. Edit the files in a text editor to add additional commands. You can compile these Java® files into Java® Class files with the extension .class and run them as separate applications. Program code used in model files for Java® is essentially identical to that of the Method editor in the Application Builder. However, the Method editor comes with an integrated Java® compiler.
Model files for MATLAB® are editable script files (M files), similar to the model files for Java®, for use with MATLAB®. These model files, which have the extension .m, contain a sequence of COMSOL commands as a MATLAB® M file. You can run the model files in MATLAB® like any other M file scripts. It is also possible to edit the files in a text editor to include additional COMSOL commands or general MATLAB® commands. Running model files in the M file format requires LiveLink™ for MATLAB®.
With a license for LiveLink™ for Excel®, you can save models on the Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) format for use with Excel®.
Complied C-code can be linked with a model or application in several ways including the External Material and External Function interfaces in the Model Builder and as the External Library interface in the Application Builder.
| File Format | Extension | Read | Write |
|---|---|---|---|
| .m | No | Yes | |
| 1 | .m | Yes | No |
| .jar6 | Yes | No | |
| .class | Yes | No | |
| .java | No | Yes | |
| .dll3, .so4, .dylib5 | Yes | No | |
| Excel®2 | .xlsx,.vba | Yes | Yes |
1 Requires LiveLink™ for MATLAB®
2 Requires LiveLink™ for Excel®, available for Windows® only
3 Available for Windows® only
4 Available for Linux® only
5 Available for Mac OS X only
6 Can be linked to a method in an application using the Application Builder
Numerical and Interpolation Data Formats
The grid, sectionwise, and spreadsheet file types can be read for defining interpolation functions. The sectionwise and spreadsheet file types can furthermore be read and used for defining interpolation curves and written for exporting results. In addition, tables can be copy-pasted on spreadsheet format.
Parameters and Variables can be imported and exported to the Plain text, Comma-separated values, or Data file types.
The Continuous and Discrete color table text file types are used for user-defined color tables for Results visualization.
Digital Elevation Model (DEM) files can be read and used as a Parametric Surface for defining a Geometry.
| File Format | Extension | Read | Write |
|---|---|---|---|
| Copy and paste spreadsheet format | n/a | Yes | Yes |
| Excel® spreadsheet1 | .xlsx | Yes | Yes |
| Table | .txt, .csv, .dat | Yes | Yes |
| Grid | .txt | Yes | Yes |
| Sectionwise | .txt, .csv, .dat | Yes | Yes |
| Spreadsheet | .txt, .csv, .dat | Yes | Yes |
| Parameters | .txt, .csv, .dat | Yes | Yes |
| Variables | .txt, .csv, .dat | Yes | Yes |
| Continuous and Discrete color table | .txt | Yes | No |
| Point data for Cut Point data sets | .txt | Yes | No |
| DEM | .dem | Yes | No |
| VTK | .vtu | No | Yes |
1 Requires LiveLink™ for Excel®, available for Windows® only