Saving Files

Purpose

Stores wireframe scene information to a selected disk file either in Alias Wire format, or in another supported format.

How to Use

1

To store a file, select File > Save as, File > Save, or File > Export > Active as. The Alias File Requestor is displayed.

If the file format displayed is not the one you want to save in, select Cancel and then File > Save as- to display the corresponding Save All Options window. (See Save All Options Window on page 106.)

2

Click the Show List button to display the File Lister.

3

To overwrite an existing file, click the file's icon in the File Lister. If you prefer, you can type the filename and/or the path in full, without selecting anything in the File Lister.

The filename and its path appear in the File Requestor.

4

Click the Save Wire button. The following message is displayed:

Saving...

The entire scene is stored. If you are storing in Wire format, this includes all information in your model, including surface shaders, lights, windows, cameras, and animation. The message clears when storing is complete.

Notes

• Not all file formats are capable of storing all the information in an Alias model. Files stored in formats other than WIRE only store a subset of the Alias model. To store your model for later retrieval into the Alias system, choose the Wire format.

• The filename should not contain spaces or other invalid characters such as `$<>'.

• If you select a file from the list, or enter the name of a file that already exists, a confirmation box is displayed asking if it is OK to overwrite the file:

• To erase the old file and replace it with the new file, click OK .

• To cancel File > Save as and restore the prompt, click CANCEL.

How Save Works

The Save function saves only in native Alias wire format. If you are saving files to formats such as IGES or DXF, you must use the Save as function each time you save. If you change the file format with Save as and then use Save, the file is still saved as a wire file with the same name, but without the .suffix that is applied to the data exchange file.

A stage is an Alias wirefile that you have opened and can work on. You are always working on a stage whenever you are in Alias. For more information on stages and how to use the Stage Editor, see Using Stages on page 404.

When you use Save to save a wire file, the File Requestor displays the stage name as the default name for the file. If it is a new file and you have not yet named it, the name is displayed as Stage .

How Save as Works

Save as is different from Save, the only similarity being the file's name. All the save functions will save the files with the same root name and an appropriate suffix if the file is a transfer data format.

However, if you choose Save as to save a previously saved transfer data file and do not change the name of the file, the file is saved as a wirefile of the same root name and the suffix is deleted.

For instance, an IGES file named text.iges is saved as a wirefile when saved using Save as and the name changes to text.

This behavior applies to the Stage Editor as well. If you select File > Save as with the option set to IGES, the following is displayed in the Reference Path :

Save All Options Window

The selections available from the File Formats menu depend on the Alias options you have purchased.

To store wireframe scene information in a different format from the default Alias Wire file format, click in the File Formats box. A menu appears where you can select a format from this menu (see the summary below).

When you enter suitable values, click the Save button at the bottom of the window. A message is displayed indicating that the file was saved successfully (sometimes, statistical information is also provided depending on the file format you chose).

File Format	For more information...
CATIA	See the Data Transfer for CAD and Solid Imaging manual.
C4	See the Data Transfer for CAD and Solid Imaging manual.
DES	See the Data Transfer for CAD and Solid Imaging manual.
DXF	DXF Options on page 108
Filter	External Filter Options on page 120
GEO	GEO Options on page 115
IGES	See the Data Transfer for CAD and Solid Imaging manual.
Inventor	See the Data Transfer for CAD and Solid Imaging manual.
JAMA-IS	See the Data Transfer for CAD and Solid Imaging manual.
OBJ/MOD	OBJ/MOD Options on page 110
STEP	See the Data Transfer for CAD and Solid Imaging manual.
Unigraphics	See the Data Transfer for CAD and Solid Imaging manual.
VDAFS	See the Data Transfer for CAD and Solid Imaging manual.
VDAIS	See the Data Transfer for CAD and Solid Imaging manual.
Wire	Wire Options on page 108

Notes

• For CAD-related options, see the table in the section "Exporting Alias Files to CAD Formats" in the Data Transfer for CAD and Solid Imaging manual.

• Purchasable options include:

• The DES, VDAIS, VDAFS file formats are available in AutoStudio and are purchasable Designer and Studio options.

• The IGES and JAMA-IS file formats are available in AutoStudio and are purchasable PowerAnimator, Designer, and Studio options.

• The C4 file format and CATIA file formats are purchasable Designer, Studio, and AutoStudio options.

Wire Options

ALL

Stores all shaders, whether they are assigned to specific objects or not.

This option is useful if you are building a rendered scene and are not sure which shaders you want to keep.

REFERENCED

(The default.) Only shaders that are assigned to objects are saved.

DXF Options

Output Style

When storing a DXF file, you can store three-dimensional output (3D DATA) or a flat orthographic view (2D VIEWS).

Rebuild Tolerance

Lets you adjust tolerances so that the rebuilt curves and surfaces are guaranteed to be within the specified tolerance distance from the original curve or surface.

Scale Factor

Lets you save the wire model at a scale other than it was constructed. 1.0 is the default value.

Significant Digits

Determines the number of significant digits for coordinate data in the exported file. The minimum number is 1 and the maximum number is 15.

Output Units

Lets you choose from the following data unit types: miles, feet, inches, mils, microinches, kilometers, meters, centimeters, millimeters, and microns.

The exported coordinate data is converted from the current linear units set in Alias to the unit you select.

Since DXF does not store the name of the units used for the coordinate data, a comment is written at the top of the DXF file stating the units of the coordinate data in the file.

Filename Extension

Some receiving systems require that CAD files have a specific filename extension before they can be recognized. The filename extension you specify here is automatically appended to the filename of the exported file. The default is _dxf.

OBJ/MOD Options

Output Format

By default the translator outputs ASCII (.OBJ) files. If this option is set to BINARY (.MOD), the model is output in binary format as a MOD file.

Double Sided

When set ON, surfaces and polygonal objects are saved so that they can be visible from the front and back.

When set to OFF (the default), surfaces and polygonal objects are saved in single-sided mode - they are visible from the front only.

Groups

When set ON (the default), all material groups are written to the file.

When set OFF, no material group information is written, and all objects will have the same information.

Object Groups

When set ON (the default), a group named "Obj_<objectname>" is automatically created for each object. This naming convention allows multiple objects to be stored in one OBJ/MOD file, and is necessary for 3Design and Alias to be able to re-create separate objects on import.

When set OFF, no object groups are written to the file.

CLUSTER Output

When set ON (the default), cluster membership information is translated to vertex groups in the OBJ/MOD file. Only membership is translated. For example, percentage effect will be lost.

When set OFF, clusters are not translated.

SET Output

When set ON (the default), set membership information is translated to vertex groups in the OBJ/MOD file.

When set OFF, sets are not translated.

FACE Output

When set to CURVES, the curves that define Alias FACE objects are represented as curves in the OBJ/MOD file. This means it is no longer a renderable object.

When set to TRIMMED SURFACES (the default), Alias FACE objects are represented as trimmed surfaces in the OBJ/MOD file. For this translation to work properly, the curves of the FACE must be co-planar. If the curves are not co-planar, the face curves are translated as curves.

Surface Tesselation

Tesselate

When set OFF ( the default), no tesselation of surface information occurs.

When set ON , surfaces are converted to polygons in the OBJ/MOD file. The tesselation can be controlled using the other options in this section, which become available when this option is ON .

Subdivision Type

This menu lets you select from the following tesselation subdivision methods:

• Adaptive, the default. See the following section.

• Uniform. See Uniform Subdivision on page 113.

• Approximate Total. See Approximate Total on page 113.

When a Subdivision Type is chosen, associated options become available, as described in the following sections. In each case, the Polygon Triangulation section is also available (see Polygon Triangulation on page 115).

Adaptive Subdivision

Subdivides the surface into polygons as determined by the amount of curvature the surface has. Each surface is converted into the minimum allowable number of polygons that satisfy the curvature parameter. If the curvature parameter cannot be satisfied by subdividing within the maximum subdivision parameter, the maximum subdivision value is used.

Min/Max

Min specifies the minimum number of times each patch on the surface must be subdivided in either the U or the V parameter direction. The default is 2.

Max specifies the maximum number of times each patch on the surface must be subdivided in either the U or the V parameter direction. The default is 4.

Curve Threshold

Specifies how close an approximation the resulting polygons must be to the original surface. Higher values give a better approximation of the surface than lower values, given the constraints set by the minimum subdivision parameters. The default is 0.600.

Uniform Subdivision

Subdivides the surface into polygons uniformly (each patch is converted into a fixed number of polygons).

Along U

Specifies how many times to subdivide each patch on the surface in the U parameter direction. The default is 2.

Along V

Specifies how many times to subdivide each patch on the surface in the V parameter direction. The default is 2.

Approximate Total

Repeatedly tessellates each surface with different adaptive subdivision parameters until the settings that produce a total polygon count close to the requested number of polygons are found.

If the requested polygon count cannot be satisfied within the given search tolerance, either the closest tesselation that is found below the requested total, or the minimum number of polygons that possibly can be created, is generated.

Total

This value is used to specified the total number of polygons that should result after tesselation. To prevent the search from becoming infinite, use the Count Tolerance and Curve Tolerance parameters to specify the number of tolerance matches that can end the search when they have been satisfied. The search continues until one of the tolerances is satisfied.

The default is 512.

Count Tolerance

Specifies how close the number of polygons created is to the total (see Total for details). When a test tesselation finds parameter settings that give a polygon count between (Total - Count Tolerance) and (Total + Count Tolerance), the search is stopped.

The default is 32.

Curve Tolerance

Since it may not be possible to find a tesselation that satisfies the requested total within the given count tolerance, this parameter stops the search when the changes to the adaptive subdivision curvature threshold parameter fall below its specified value.

The number of created polygons can get close to the requested total, depending on the type of surface being tessellated and its variations in curvature. In general, you get closer to the requested total for surfaces whose curvature varies widely and continually.

The default is 0.001.

Output Type

Lets you select the type of polygons created by the tesselation process. If TRIANGLES (the default) is selected, 3-sided polygons are created. If QUADRILATERALS is selected, 4-sided polygons are created.

When a trimmed surface is being tessellated, some 3-sided polygons may be created along the trimmed edge, even if the option is set to QUADRILATERALS .

Tip: When using QUADRILATERALS and the ADAPTIVE Subdivision Type , it may be necessary to set the Min and Max values to the same value to avoid cracks from appearing in the polygonal surface.

Polygon Triangulation

Triangulate

When set ON , the default, each polygon of the selected type will be converted to triangles. When set OFF , polygons are not triangulated.

Select

These options allow you to choose to triangulate only CONCAVE polygons or ALL polygons. CONCAVE is the default.

GEO Options

CLUSTER Output

When set ON , the default, cluster membership information is translated to vertex groups in the GEO file. Only membership is translated. For example, percentage effect will be lost.

When set OFF , clusters are not translated.

SET Output

When set ON , the default, set membership information is translated to vertex groups in the GEO file. When set OFF , sets are not translated.

FACE Output

When set to CURVES , the curves that define Alias FACE objects are represented as curves in the GEO file. The object can no longer be rendered.

When set to TRIMMED SURFACES (the default), Alias FACE objects are represented as trimmed surfaces in the GEO file. For this translation to work properly, the curves of the FACE must be co-planar. If the curves are not co-planar, the face curves the translated as curves.

Surface Tesselation

Tesselate

When set OFF (the default), no tesselation of surface information occurs.

When set ON, surfaces are converted to polygons in the GEO file. The tesselation can be controlled using the options that become available when this option is ON. They are described in the following.

Subdivision Type

This menu lets you select from the following tesselation subdivision methods:

• Adaptive, the default. See the following section.

• Uniform. See Uniform Subdivision on page 113

• Approximate Total. See Approximate Total on page 113

When a Subdivision Type is chosen, associated options become available, as described in the following sections.

Adaptive Subdivision

Subdivides the surface into polygons determined by the amount of curvature the surface has. Each surface is converted into the minimum allowable number of polygons that satisfy the curvature parameter. If the curvature parameter cannot be satisfied by subdividing within the maximum subdivision parameter, the maximum subdivision value is used.

Min/Max

Min specifies the minimum number of times each patch on the surface must be subdivided in either the U or the V parameter direction. The default is 2.

Max specifies the maximum number of times each patch on the surface must be subdivided in either the U or the V parameter direction. The default is 4.

Curve Threshold

Specifies how close an approximation the resulting polygons must be to the original surface. Higher values give a better approximation of the surface than lower values, given the constraints set by the minimum subdivision parameters. The default is 0.600.

Uniform Subdivision

Subdivides the surface into polygons uniformly (each patch is converted into a fixed number of polygons).

Along U

Specifies how many times to subdivide each patch on the surface in the U parameter direction. The default is 2.

Along V

Specifies how many times to subdivide each patch on the surface in the V parameter direction. The default is 2.

Approximate Total

Repeatedly tessellates each surface with different adaptive subdivision parameters until the settings that produce a total polygon count close to the requested number of polygons are found.

If the requested polygon count cannot be satisfied within the given search tolerance, either the closest tesselation that is found below the requested total, or the minimum number of polygons that possibly can be created, is generated.

Total

Specifies the total number of polygons that should result after tesselation. To prevent the search from becoming infinite, the Count Tolerance and Curve Tolerance parameters let you specify the number of tolerances that end the search when they have been satisfied. The search continues until one of the tolerances is satisfied.

The default is 512.

Count Tolerance

Specifies how close the number of polygons created is to the total (see the description of Total for details). When a test tesselation finds parameter settings that give a polygon count between (Total - Count Tolerance) and (Total + Count Tolerance), the search is stopped.

The default is 32.

Curve Tolerance

Since it may not be possible to find a tesselation that satisfies the requested total within the given count tolerance, this parameter stops the search when the changes to the adaptive subdivision curvature threshold parameter fall below this value.

The number of created polygons can get close to the requested total, depending on the type of surface being tessellated and its variations in curvature. In general, you get closer to the requested total for surfaces whose curvature varies widely and continually.

The default is 0.001.

Output Type

Lets you select the type of polygons created by the tesselation process. If TRIANGLES (the default) is selected from the menu, 3-sided polygons are created. If QUADRILATERALS is selected, 4-sided polygons are created.

When a trimmed surface is being tessellated, some 3-sided polygons may be created along the trimmed edge, even if the option is set to QUADRILATERALS .

External Filter Options

Shaders

Enables you to specify whether all shader information or only shaders that are referenced by the current model are saved via the filter program.

Adding filters to your system

1

Click the Add button to add a row to the filters list.

2

Double-click in the Suffix entry of the new row, and type the file name extension associated with the filter program.

3

Double-click in the Export Filter Program field and type the path of the program (if any) to be used to convert the wire data to foreign file format.

Saving data using filters