OpenSite/Guides/Exchange materials

OpenSite 0.0.1 · DevelopmentSource scope and availability

Export a material set and import it into another document.

Stable identifier: opensite.help.exchange-materials

Prerequisites

Two practice documents and the material API. This lesson uses an in-memory exchange string rather than overwriting a file.

Steps

Build the source material set

Create a user-defined material with explicit SI inputs.

Export and identify the format

material_export returns text containing opensite-material-exchange. This is a material exchange payload, not the full opensite-document file.

Import into a fresh document

Pass the exported text to material_import with the destination handle.

Verify the imported properties

List the destination materials and read the imported object’s elastic modulus. Check values, not equality of source/destination object IDs.

Expected result

The destination has one material and its elastic modulus is 210 GPa.

Limitations

Exchange does not copy geometry, undo history or the entire model. Do not assume identity values or numbering are portable between documents.

Complete example

import opensite

source = opensite.execute("document.new", {})["document"]
values = {
    "name": "Practice steel", "family": "steel", "role": "structural_steel",
    "has_elastic": True, "elastic_pa": 210.0e9,
    "has_poisson": True, "poisson": 0.28,
    "has_mass_density": True, "mass_density": 7850.0,
    "has_thermal": True, "thermal_per_k": 1.2e-5,
}
opensite.material_create_user(source, values)
payload = opensite.material_export(source)["text"]
assert "opensite-material-exchange" in payload
destination = opensite.execute("document.new", {})["document"]
opensite.material_import(destination, payload)
rows = opensite.material_list(destination)
assert len(rows) == 1
item = destination.get_object(rows[0]["id"])
assert abs(item.elastic_modulus.si_value - 210e9) < 1.0
print("Imported materials:", len(rows))
# This is a material exchange, not a copy of the whole source document.