Hi Tim,

I'm trying to understand the different handling between several formats when exporting:

- FACT and STL: Detailed segment length/angle settings possible on export
- VRML and OBJ: Output resolution only depends on object resolution setting (some fixed levels), nothing to set on export.

Why is there a difference? Applications like FormZ allow the same level of control for all export formats. Which sounds logical, because facetting smooth geometry before exporting is a common task for all the formats mentioned above.

If there's nothing that really prevents this (technically) from working, I'd appreciate the full-featured export settings dialog to be available for all the polygon formats.

Regards,
Bernd

Hi Tim,

thanks for considering this enhancement.

Interesting workaround, anyway. This means that facetting parameters are stored with the object, even if (by cancelling) I do *nothing*? Well, for now it's really helpful, but would it be wrong to call it a bug? :D

Bernd

Bernd

We store an integer value on the objects that represent fine, medium, etc. Fine, medium then map into a group of associated settings which then drive the acis meshing which is stored on the object. You can change these associated settings by the resolutions.ini file.

I probably wont change the behaviour as people are using it not only for exports but for photorendering.


Tim

Yes, I think I will keep the cancel behavior and add the dialog mesh parameters to all facet exports.

Thanks

Tim

It wouldn't even be wrong to go one step beyond… make the mesh density part of the displayed and editable object properties. In FormZ ("Display Resolution") or IronCad ("Surface Smoothness") you have direct and permanent access to these parameters, without invoking a dialog that does something else (i.e. converting to a mesh). "Cancelling" usually is not understood as "apply parameters, but don't do the last step", so Tem's proposal is a good one. But then a second point is important:

The substance is already there, the mesh dialog contains everything that is needed, and the parameters are stored (invisibly) with each object. But - bummer - the current parameters aren't read out and displayed if they are set once (by cancelling) and the same dialog is opened again later. You can't read out what the current object settings are, and thus cannot edit them as usual (change one parameter, instead of starting at the beginning).

So maybe more users could appreciate the present functionality for setting rendering and export parameters, if they had a direct and reproducible access to the parameters available :)

Bernd