Search Programmatically

To take action programmatically in Simulink^®, you must specify the target object you want to take the action on. The target object can be a model, a component— such as a subsystem or library— or a model element, such as a block or signal line. To specify the target object, use a handle or path. You can specify target objects whose names and locations you know, or you can programmatically search for target objects that fit certain criteria. This topic explains how to programmatically search for target objects. For information about handles, paths, and how to get them for target objects whose names and locations you know, see Get Handles and Paths.

Find Model Elements

To search for model elements that fit certain criteria, use these functions. See the function documentation to select the syntax that outputs the search results in the data type you want. For example, to get the handles of all Integrator blocks in a model with the handle hModel, use one of the commands in the Example column of the table.

Action	Function	Example
Find models, blocks, lines, ports, and annotations	find_system	h = find_system(hModel,BlockType="Integrator")
Find blocks	Simulink.findBlocks	h = Simulink.findBlocks(hModel,BlockType="Integrator")
Find blocks of a specific type	Simulink.findBlocksOfType	h = Simulink.findBlocksOfType(hModel,"Integrator")

The searches you can perform with the Simulink.findBlocks and Simulink.findBlocksOfType functions can also be performed with the find_system function, but the Simulink.findBlocks and Simulink.findBlocksOfType functions are more straightforward to use and troubleshoot.

To find model elements that connect to a model element you specify, such as to find the ports of a block, the signal lines that connect to a block, or the blocks that connect to a signal line, see Get Handle of Attached Block, Attached Ports, and Connected Signal Lines.

Find Models

To search for all loaded Simulink models, all loaded Simulink libraries, or all loaded Simulink block diagrams including models and libraries, use the Simulink.allBlockDiagrams function.

To search for models that fit specific criteria, use the modelfinder function to create a database of models and then search that database for the models. For more information, see Index and Search Models with Model Finder.

To search for SLX files, MDL files, Model blocks, or Subsystem blocks, use the find_mdlrefs or the pathsToReferencedModel function. The find_mdlrefs function searches the SLX file, MDL file, Model block, or Subsystem block you specify for all referenced models and Model blocks. The pathsToReferencedModel function searches the model you specify for all referenced models and Model blocks, but the search stops at the referenced model you specify. The function does not search the contents of the specified reference model.

To search for models according to the content of their metadata and descriptions, use the Simulink.MDLInfo object or the get_param function.

To set the model metadata, create a structure that holds the metadata. For example, to create a metadata structure that specifies the expected completion date of the model as tomorrow and the test status as untested, use these commands.

t=datetime('tomorrow','format','MM/dd/yy');
m.ExpectedCompletionDate = t;
m.TestStatus = "untested";

Load the model and get the model handle.

h = load_system("myModel")

Use the handle and the set_param function to set the value of the Metadata parameter.

set_param(h,"Metadata",m)

To get the metadata of a loaded model, use the get_param function.

data = get_param(h,"Metadata")

To get metadata without loading a model, use the Simulink.MDLInfo.getMetadata function.

To set the model description, use the set_param function to set the value of the Description parameter.

set_param(myModel,"Description",...
"Enter the description text here.")

To get the description of a loaded model, use the get_param function.

desc = get_param(h,"Description")

To get a description without loading a model, use the Simulink.MDLInfo.getDescription function.

To set or get the metadata or descriptions of multiple models at once using the set_param or get_param functions, specify the models as a vector of handles or as filenames in a string array or cell array of character vectors. For example, these commands get all models whose descriptions contain the word clutch.

name = ["myModel1";"myModel2";"myModel3"];
desc = get_param(name,"Description");
clutchModels = name(contains(desc,"clutch",ignoreCase=true))