Smart Folder Question

TimD

TimD

0
Smart Folder Question

Using a Smart Folder to hold an FBX exported from SketchUp.

I'm changing the geometry in SU, and the Smart Folder contents are updating, as they should (albeit slowly -- it's a big model).

Next step, was to add some Render tags to the glass in my model in Cheetah (to take it out of radiosity). Also set a lot of items to not be Visible in Editor (to try and speed things up).

Now I go back and change my model in SketchUp, leave all the grouping intact, don't change any names, and Re-export the FBX -- All my Render tags have gone, and all my invisibles are back visible again.

What am I not getting about Smart Folders? Aren't these the sort of attributes that are supposed to stick when you're using SF's?
 
Hi Tim,
sorry that some of your work was lost. But I especially mentioned that behaviour in the documentation.

Attention: Don't make changes to the objects within a smart folder. These changes won't be saved and get lost once the Smart Folder updates.

Maintaining tag changes etc. will be alot of work. So it is probably more something for SmartFolders 2.0 or so. Nothing I can hack in in a short time. Especially because I'm working hard on the renderer at the moment.

Once again sorry.

By,
Martin
 
Martin --

No harm done -- you live and learn.

Another question: In the original model in SketchUp, I've added a new material. Now, when I save the file as an FBX, the new material doesn't appear in Cheetah when the .jas updates. I've tried clearing the Smart Folder and re-loading, always with the same result: no new material.

Also, when I try and get around this by adding a new material in Cheetah, I can't drop it onto the object in the smart folder -- it just 'bounces back' to the Material browser. Although I could add Render tags to objects previously.

Are these expected behaviours?
 
Another question about Smart Folders. Cheetah seems to crash when I use DXF files. It loads good in the folder, but when I make changes in Vectorworks and export as dxf, Cheetah crashes. I know that DXF support is not so well in Cheetah. It doesn't seem to remember the seperate objects (although I give them different colors). DXF only works when each texture is in a seperate class.

Regards,

Peter
 
peer said:
Another question about Smart Folders. Cheetah seems to crash when I use DXF files. It loads good in the folder, but when I make changes in Vectorworks and export as dxf, Cheetah crashes. I know that DXF support is not so well in Cheetah. It doesn't seem to remember the seperate objects (although I give them different colors). DXF only works when each texture is in a seperate class.

Regards,

Peter
Click to expand...

Yeah that happened to me as well. The best fix is to shut down the cheetah file or quit cheetah, update the the dfx file in your program re export and fire up the cheetah file with the smart folder link. That should update it nicely

Hope this helps

regards

Luke
 
Thanks Luke! That's how I do it now. This is not real easy because you have to assign all the materials and UV maps again. Most of the time I just make a new dxf with the addition to the final model in it. When I export it, it will be placed on the correct place in the earlier model. But it would be nice if there was a vectorworks script that would move object with a particular color to a specified class. ie. blue lined objects would be moved to the Glass class. I know it can be done, but I'm no programmer, so I'll do it the old fashioned way.

Regards,

Peter
 
Smart folder crash

luke Bocchinelli said:
Yeah that happened to me as well. The best fix is to shut down the cheetah file or quit cheetah, update the the dfx file in your program re export and fire up the cheetah file with the smart folder link. That should update it nicely

Hope this helps

regards

Luke
Click to expand...
This happens with Daz Studio as well. I just make sure to quit Cheetah before using Daz.
 
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