## On this page # Browse Granta MI Last update: 16.07.2025 Use various methods to get records from Granta MI. This notebook shows three methods of browsing for records in Granta MI: - Get records by internal Granta MI identifier - Get records by an exact match on a short text attribute value - Get records by navigating the tree structure ## Connect to MI ```python from GRANTA_MIScriptingToolkit import granta as mpy mi = mpy.connect('http://my.server.name/mi_servicelayer', autologon=True) db = mi.get_db(db_key='MI_Training') ``` ## Access a record by specifying an internal ID Get a record with a specific identifier, for example history GUID. ```python record_by_guid = db.get_record_by_id(hguid='bf5e6054-6cad-4c9d-ad7a-adfa124c504b') record_by_guid ``` *Previous cell output:* ```output ``` ## Access a record by specifying a unique short text value Get a record with a unique short-text attribute value using the `Table.get_record_by_lookup_value()` method. ```python tensile_test_data = db.get_table('Tensile Test Data') record_by_value = tensile_test_data.get_record_by_lookup_value('Specimen ID', 'MTS-615722') record_by_value ``` *Previous cell output:* ```output ``` **Note:** This method can only return a single record; if multiple records have the same value an exception is raised. Uncomment the line below to see the error. ```python # tensile_test_data.get_record_by_lookup_value('Testing Standards', 'ASTM E8') ``` ## Browse for records by navigating the tree structure The following examples show two methods of browsing the Granta MI tree structure in Python. These examples use the *MaterialUniverse* table. ```python material_universe = db.get_table('MaterialUniverse') ``` ### Iterative browsing Browse iteratively by getting the immediate children of each record in turn. First, get the top-level folders of the table with the `Table.children` property: ```python material_universe_folders = material_universe.children ["Name: {}, Type: {}".format(child.name, child.type) for child in material_universe_folders] ``` *Previous cell output:* ```output ['Name: Ceramics and glasses, Type: Folder', 'Name: Hybrids: composites, foams, honeycombs, natural materials, Type: Folder', 'Name: Metals and alloys, Type: Folder', 'Name: Polymers: plastics, elastomers, Type: Folder', 'Name: NEW RECORDS, Type: Folder'] ``` Then filter for a specific folder and access the `Record.children` property to find its children: ```python ceramics_and_glasses = [child for child in material_universe_folders if child.short_name == 'Ceramics and glasses'][0] ["Name: {}, Type: {}".format(child.name, child.type) for child in ceramics_and_glasses.children] ``` *Previous cell output:* ```output ['Name: Glasses, Type: Folder', 'Name: Technical Ceramics, Type: Folder'] ``` Repeat the process to navigate the tree structure until you reach your records of interest. ```python glasses = [child for child in ceramics_and_glasses.children if child.short_name == 'Glasses'][0] alumino_silicate = [child for child in glasses.children if child.short_name == 'Alumino silicate'][0] ["Name: {}, Type: {}".format(child.name, child.type) for child in alumino_silicate.children] ``` *Previous cell output:* ```output ['Name: Alumino silicate - 1720, Type: Record', 'Name: Alumino silicate - 1723, Type: Record', 'Name: Lithium aluminosilicate, Type: Record', 'Name: Soda barium glass, Type: Record'] ``` ### Access a tree location directly The `table.get_records_from_path()` method returns all the records at the end of a specified path. It accepts wildcards at any level. Get all records that are great-grandchildren of folders with the short name *Ceramics and glasses* and also have a parent with the short name *Baryta*. ```python recs = material_universe.get_records_from_path(None, ['Ceramics and glasses', None, 'Baryta'], use_short_names=True) recs ``` *Previous cell output:* ```output [] ``` Get all records that are great-grandchildren of the folder *Ceramics and glasses*. ```python recs = material_universe.get_records_from_path(ceramics_and_glasses, [None, None]) recs ``` *Previous cell output:* ```output [, , , , , ] ``` ### Access all descendant records within a folder Use the `Record.get_descendants()` method to retrieve all records that are a descendant of the specified record in a single step. ```python all_ceramics_and_glasses = ceramics_and_glasses.get_descendants() all_ceramics_and_glasses ``` *Previous cell output:* ```output [, , , , , ] ``` Print the results and whether the object is a record or folder. ```python print('{:^30.30} | {:^30.30} | {:^30.30}'.format('Record Name', 'Short Name', 'Record / Folder?')) print('-'*96) for r in all_ceramics_and_glasses: print('{:^30.30} | {:^30.30} | {:^30.30}'.format(str(r.name), r.short_name, r.type)) ``` *Previous cell output:* ```output Record Name | Short Name | Record / Folder? ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Alumino silicate - 1720 | Alumino silicate - 1720 | Record Alumino silicate - 1723 | Alumino silicate - 1723 | Record Lithium aluminosilicate | Lithium aluminosilicate | Record Soda barium glass | Soda barium glass | Record Barium silicate | Barium silicate | Record Tungsten carbide | Tungsten carbide | Record ```