You use Modlr to create and maintain MDriven models in MDriven Designer and the MDriven Visual Studio extension; a .modlr file is the packaged model format for individual model files and MDrivenServer model transfer.
Modlr and the .modlr file
Modlr is the graphical model editor used to create a model, including its classes, attributes, associations, diagrams, ViewModels, and other model definitions. Modlr itself is built with MDriven.
A .modlr file is a model saved as one packaged file. The name is short for modeller.
For example, if you save a model as Sales.modlr, the complete model is stored in that single file. You can use that file when uploading a model to MDrivenServer or downloading a model from MDrivenServer.
What a .modlr file contains
A .modlr file is a ZIP-based package. It contains the same model files used by the Ecomdl format, but packages them together rather than leaving them as separate files.
The Ecomdl model file cluster includes a manifest file and can include files such as:
.span.ecopkg.actions.snippets.diag
Use .modlr when you need one portable model file. Use Ecomdl when the model must be stored as separate files.
Choose the right format
| Situation | Recommended format | Why |
|---|---|---|
| You upload or download a model through MDrivenServer. | .modlr
|
MDrivenServer uses the packaged .modlr format for model transfer.
|
| You keep a local, self-contained copy of a model. | .modlr
|
The model is held in one ZIP-based file. |
| Several developers change the same model and use Git or SVN. | Ecomdl | The model is split into separate files that source-control tools can compare, review, and merge more effectively. |
Source control for team models
Do not use .modlr as the primary working format for a multi-developer model. Because it is a ZIP-based package, Git and SVN cannot provide useful line-by-line differences for its model content. This also makes merge conflicts difficult to inspect and resolve.
Use Ecomdl for a shared model repository instead.
For example, when two developers change different parts of an Ecomdl model, source control can compare the separate model files. With a single .modlr package, the source-control system sees one changed binary-like archive rather than the individual model definitions within it.
Related Modlr capabilities
Modlr is also the environment in which you work with model-specific features. These topics are documented separately:
- Define model enumerations in Enumerations in Modlr.
- Extend the editor with plugins in Modlr and the Modlr plugin interface.
- Create ViewModel-based exports that inspect the model's ExtendedModelLayer in MDriven Designer and Modlr extensionsâexporting data.
- For loading behavior, see ModlrLeanLoad.