Graphical User Interface (GUI) Usage Guide¶

The graphical interface of FMU Manipulation Toolbox offers an intuitive and visual way to manipulate your FMUs without using the command line.

Launching the Interface¶

fmutool-gui

Interface Overview¶

The graphical interface is organized into several sections:

1. Loading Area (Top)¶

• Load FMU: Button to load an FMU from your disk
• Display of loaded FMU name

2. Visualization Area (Center)¶

• List of all FMU ports with their attributes:
• Name
• Type (Input, Output, Parameter, Local)
• Data Type (Real, Integer, Boolean, String)
• Causality
• Variability

3. Action Area (Right and Bottom)¶

• Color-coded buttons for different operations
• Filters to limit scope of operations

4. Save Area (Bottom)¶

• Save: Button to save modified FMU
• Operation status display

Button Color Code¶

The interface uses an intuitive color code:

Typical Workflow¶

Step 1: Load an FMU¶

1. Click Load FMU
2. Navigate to your .fmu file
3. Select the file and validate

Result: The port list displays in the central area.

Step 2: Explore Ports¶

The list displays all important information:

Name                    | Causality | Variability | Type
------------------------|-----------|-------------|------
Motor.Temperature       | output    | continuous  | Real
Motor.Speed             | input     | continuous  | Real
Controller.Gain         | parameter | fixed       | Real

List Features: - Sort: Click column headers to sort - Search: Use Ctrl+F to search in list - Selection: Click a row to select it

Step 3: Apply Transformations¶

🟣 Export Port List to CSV¶

Use Case: Prepare a file for renaming ports

1. Click Export to CSV
2. Choose location and filename
3. Click Save

Result: A CSV file with all ports is created.

🟠 Remove Top-Level Hierarchy¶

Use Case: Simplify name hierarchy

Before:

System.Motor.Temperature
System.Motor.Speed
System.Controller.Gain

Action: 1. Click Strip Toplevel 2. Confirm action

After:

Motor.Temperature
Motor.Speed
Controller.Gain

🟠 Rename Ports from CSV¶

Prerequisite: Have a CSV file with name;newName columns

1. Click Rename from CSV
2. Select your CSV file
3. Validate

The FMU is updated with new names!

🔴 Remove Ports¶

Option 1: Remove by Regular Expression

1. Click Remove by RegExp
2. Enter regular expression (e.g., ^Internal\..*)
3. Validate

Option 2: Remove All Ports of a Type

1. Use filters (blue buttons) to select type
2. Only Parameters
3. Only Inputs
4. Only Outputs
5. Click Remove All
6. Confirm

🟢 Add Binary Interface (Windows Only)¶

Use Case: Add 64-bit interface to 32-bit FMU

1. Click Add Remoting Win64
2. Wait for processing to complete
3. The FMU can now be used in both 32 and 64 bits

Also Available: - Add Remoting Win32: Add 32-bit interface - Add Frontend Win32/Win64: Run FMU in separate process

🟢 Check FMU¶

Use Case: Validate FMU compliance with FMI standard

1. Click Check FMU
2. View results in status area

Possible Results: - ✅ Valid: FMU is compliant - ⚠️ Warnings: FMU has minor issues - ❌ Errors: FMU has major issues

Step 4: Filter Operations¶

Blue buttons allow limiting action scope:

🔵 Filter by Port Type¶

Only Parameters: Operations apply only to parameters

Usage Example: 1. Click Only Parameters 2. Click Export to CSV 3. Only parameters are exported

Other Filters: - Only Inputs - Only Outputs

🔵 Reset Filters¶

Click Clear Filters to return to full view.

Step 5: Save Modified FMU¶

⚠️ IMPORTANT: The original FMU is never modified.

1. Click Save
2. Choose name and location for new FMU
3. Validate

The new FMU contains all your modifications!

Usage Examples¶

Example 1: Simplify FMU Structure¶

Objective: Remove VehicleModel. prefix from all ports

Steps: 1. Load FMU → VehicleModel.fmu 2. Strip Toplevel 3. Save → VehicleModel_simplified.fmu

Result: - Before: VehicleModel.Engine.Temperature - After: Engine.Temperature

Example 2: Export Only Parameters¶

Objective: Create CSV file with only parameters

Steps: 1. Load FMU → module.fmu 2. Only Parameters (filter) 3. Export to CSV → parameters.csv

Example 3: Clean Internal Variables¶

Objective: Remove all variables starting with _internal

Steps: 1. Load FMU → module.fmu 2. Remove by RegExp 3. Enter: ^_internal.* 4. Validate 5. Save → module_clean.fmu

Keyboard Shortcuts¶

Best Practices¶

✅ Do¶

• Always save with a new name to keep original intact
• Check FMU after important modifications (Check FMU button)
• Test modified FMU in your simulation environment before production use
• Document your modifications by noting applied transformations

❌ Avoid¶

• Don't chain too many operations without intermediate saves
• Don't modify without backup of original
• Don't delete essential ports without checking dependencies
• Don't forget to save before closing the application

GUI Limitations¶

Performance¶

For FMUs with >5000 variables, the interface may be slow.

Solution: Use command line or Python API for better performance.

Complex Operations¶

Some advanced operations are only available via command line: - FMU Containers (fmucontainer) - Automation scripts - Batch processing

Troubleshooting¶

Interface Won't Launch¶

Problem: ModuleNotFoundError: No module named 'tkinter'

Solution:

# Linux
sudo apt-get install python3-tk

# macOS
brew install python-tk

Interface is Frozen¶

Solution: 1. Close application 2. Relaunch with smaller FMU 3. Or use command line

Going Further¶

For more advanced operations:

• 📖 CLI Guide - Command line usage
• 🐍 Python API - Automation with scripts
• 💡 Examples - Advanced use cases

Support¶

For any questions or issues: - 📚 Troubleshooting - 🐛 GitHub Issues