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
1Requires one of the LiveLink™ products for AutoCAD®, Revit®, PTC® Creo® Parametric™, Inventor®, PTC® Pro/ENGINEER®, Solid Edge®,SOLIDWORKS®, CAD Import Module, or Design Module
2Import supported on Windows® operating systems only.
3Synchronization of files between COMSOL Multiphysics® and a linked CAD program supported on Windows® 7, 8.1 and 10 operating systems only
4Import supported on Windows® and Linux operating systems only
5Requires LiveLink™ for Revit®
6Requires LiveLink™ for Solid Edge®
7Requires 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
8Limited to a single geometric domain
9From/To file using linked CAD package, provided the original CAD geometry is created in the CAD package
10Writing 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
1Requires the ECAD Import Module
2Requires one of the AC/DC Module, RF Module, MEMS Module, or Wave Optics Module
3Requires 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, these are the most common extensions
2Requires the Plasma Module
3Any 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
MATLAB®: Model file for MATLAB®
.m
No
Yes
MATLAB®: Function1
.m
Yes
No
Java®: Archive File
.jar6
Yes
No
Java®: Compiled model file for Java®
.class
Yes
No
Java®: Model file for Java®
.java
No
Yes
C: Function
.dll3, .so4, .dylib5
Yes
No
Excel®2
.xlsx,.vba
Yes
Yes
1Requires LiveLink™ for MATLAB®
2Requires LiveLink™ for Excel®, available for Windows® only
3Available for Windows® only
4Available for Linux® only
5Available for Mac OS X only
6Can 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
1Requires LiveLink™ for Excel®, available for Windows® only