Metadata Server locking file access

[jmbouffa]

Hello,

This may be a stupid question, but when I open files with Visit (on Windows 10, version 3.2.2) to visualize them, I would like to be able to keep VisIt open while I re-run a simulation, and then simply reload the database. However it seems that VisIt is locking access to the files. If I try to overwrite them (through WSL) I get a permission denied error. If I try to modify the files through Windows, I get the message that they are open in the Visit Metadata Server.

It seems I recall being able to do this in the past, has something changed, or is there something I can do differently?

Thanks

[markcmiller86]

Are these HDF5 files by any chance?

[jmbouffa]

Well, that's a good question. I didn't think so; they are output files from ALE3D, and I'm not quite sure what format they are. But if I try to look at them with a simple 'more', the first line is 'HDF', and the rest is binary.

[markcmiller86]

Ok, here is some info to create two buttons...one to delete all plots and close a database. The other to restore it...from a session file. You first need to create that session file by creating all the plots you want and then going to File->Save Session...whatever name and path that file is stored at is what you use in the RestoreSession(...) function. And, whatever name and path of the database that is being used is what you put in the CloseDatabase(...) function.

You put this python code into the Macros tab of the Controls->Command window. The press the Update Macros button.

Then, hit Reset button so that ALE3D can write a new file and then hit Restore button to return VisIt to the same state on the new file's data.

Lemme know if this doesn't make sense. Sorry for pasting as pictures but thought it was best to show you...

[jmbouffa]

Ah, yes, that is a nice solution; thanks for thinking it through for me.

Unfortunately, I seem to have an issue launching the CLI when I hit "Update Macros". I'll sort that out and then this will help a lot.

Thank you!

[markcmiller86]

Hmmm...instead of starting Visit by double clicking an icon, I specified full path /Applications/VisIt.app/Contents/Resources/bin/visit and I also launched the cli explicity before anything else using Controls->Launch CLI.

If you have a "run commands" file (visitrc) lying around, that can effect things too.

[cyrush]

Windows has different file locking behavior than other systems. I am not sure how that translates when you are using Windows + WSL, but it could just be an underlying OS issue. VisIt doesn't always close file handles fully after reading b/c there is a cost to reopening the fields if you want to get a different field, etc.

[jmbouffa]

Hm, I figured this would be a common problem but it seems not so. I get the same problem when restarting visit and using Controls -> Launch CLI.

If I navigate to my Visit installation and directly start the cli.exe, I get a window that pops up for a moment and says,

"ModuleNotFoundError: No module named 'encodings'"

However, it's not clear if this is the correct usage of cli.exe ...