Settings

You can use the importer settings dialog to configure your import. To open it, select Import > Importer Name > Settings from the Application Menu or the Show settings checkbox from the Import file browser.

note

This page lists common settings that importers can have. Your importer may not contain all of these settings and may contain additional settings (see Format Specific Setup).

Buttons

Button	Description
Save	Save these settings for use with future imports of this file type. A message box will appear to confirm this operation.
Reset	Reset the settings to their previously saved values. A message box will appear to confirm this operation.
Factory Reset	Reset the settings to their default value when the application was installed. A message box will appear to confirm this operation.
OK	Close the dialog and start the import with the current settings if the dialog was shown from the file browser.
Cancel	Close the dialog, revert any unsaved changes made to settings and cancel the import if the dialog was shown from the file browser.

Sections

All importers contain some standard sections such as Basic and Output, alongside any custom categories.

Category	Description
Importer Version	The version number and revision of the importer. [read-only]
Information	This section displays information such as the reader version and description of the importer. [read-only]
Basic	This section contains properties for the core handling of the import process such as log message level and imported scene units.
Output	This section contains properties that affect the tree view of the scene.
Entity Filters	This section contains properties that define what type of data to import from the file.
Preparation	This section contains post-processing steps, such as whether to generate UV coordinates or merge vertices in meshes.
Reader Setup	This section contains properties that affect the read process of the importer. Some importers show this instead of General Setup.
General Setup	This section contains properties that affect the read process of the importer. Some importers show this instead of Reader Setup.
Assembly Read Setup	This section contains further properties that affect the read process of the importer such as the treatment of part files and assembly generation.
Tessellation Setup	This section contains properties that affect scene mesh importing and triangulation.
Format Specific Setup	This section contains any additional properties specific to particular importers.
Materials	This section contains material properties, such as the material colour to use when no material is found.

Information

Setting	Description
Filename	The recipe filename used by the importer. [read-only]
Version	The importer reader version. [read-only]
Description	The importer description string. [read-only]
Supported Extensions	The file extensions supported by the importer. [read-only]

Basic

Setting	Description
Log Level	The log messaging level for the importer. There are 4 log levels, with 0 being the lowest and 3 the highest in terms of the quantity of output. If you encounter a problem during an import, try increasing this value, but keep in mind that printing more log messages will slow down the import process. [default: 0]
Cad File Unit	The unit to apply to the import, such as millimetres, feet, miles, etc. If this is set to auto then the file will decide which unit to apply. [default: auto]

Output

Setting	Description
Remove Extension	Remove file extension from the scene root name. [default: false]
Remove Leading Parents	Remove all empty leading parents from the import. [default: false]
Remove Fileinfo Metadata	Remove all the metadata from root and library models, such as file information like path and time, etc. [default: false]
Replace Name Characters	Replace characters on library model nodes. Model nodes can be saved as model files on your hard drive, so this property can be used to make sure that imported models don't contain invalid filename characters. The syntax is char=new_char, with comma as a separator. [default: /=_,:=_,#=_,<=_,>=_,\=_,*=_,.=_,[=(,]=)]

Entity Filters

Setting	Description
Ignore Analytical	Ignore analytical (BREP) data in the import. [default: true]
Ignore Lines	Ignore lines in the import. [default: true]
Ignore LOD	Ignore LODs in the import and use the GeoGroups under the nearest LOD instead. [default: false]
Ignore Metadata	Ignore metadata in the import. [default: false]
Ignore Materials	Ignore materials in the import. [default: false]
Ignore Views	Ignore views in the import. [default: true]
Ignore Annotations	Ignore annotations in the import. [default: true]
Ignore Points	Ignore points in the import. [default: false]
Ignore Text	Ignore text in the import. [default: false]
Ignore Lights	Ignore lights in the import. [default: false]
Ignore Cameras	Ignore cameras in the import. [default: false]
Ignore Animations	Ignore animations in the import. [default: false]
Override Culling	Override the cull face settings in the import. There are 4 options: Default – don’t override the cull face settings in the import. [default] Back – cull front faces only. Front – cull back faces only. None – don’t apply any culling. Note: this enables two-sided lighting on materials, which prevents flickering on thin surfaces like planes.

Preparation

Setting	Description
Visren Orientation	Convert the scene to the Visionary Render coordinate system. [default: true]
Generate UVs	The UV mapping algorithm to use. This setting can be used to override the texture coordinates stored at the vertices of Models. There are 5 options: None – no UV mapping is calculated and the UV mapping in the file will be applied (if there is any). [default] Positional – use vertex positions for UV mapping. Spherical – use spheres for UV mapping. Cylindrical – use cylinders for UV mapping. Cubical – use cubes for UV mapping.
Generate Tangents	Generate new tangents. [default: false]
Compressed Textures	Compress generated textures. [default: false]
Cache Sort Meshes	Sort meshes into a vertex cache friendly order. [default: false]
Merge Geogroups	Sort GeoGroups into the minimum number possible for a LOD. [default: true]
Merge Vertices	Weld identical vertices. [default: false]
Weld Tolerance	The weld distance tolerance if Merge Vertices is enabled. [default: 0.0]
Re-Normalise	Generate new normals. [default: false]
Smooth Angle	The smooth tolerance angle if Re-Normalise is enabled. [default: 45.0]
Merge Meshes	The mesh merging algorithm to use. There are 3 options: Disabled – use the default file mesh structure. Limit 65k – pack meshes into 65k groups. [default] Single – create one mesh per GeoGroup.
Models Instancing	This optimisation checks whether a Model already exists in the library before loading it. There are 3 options: None – no instancing. [default] Lazy – search by name. Deep – search by name and attribute.
Materials Instancing	This optimisation checks whether a Material already exists in the library before loading it. There are 3 options: None – no instancing. [default] Lazy – search by name. Deep – search by name and attribute.
Textures Instancing	This optimisation checks whether a Texture already exists in the library before loading it. There are 3 options: None – no instancing. [default] Lazy – search by name. Deep – search by name and attribute.

Reader Setup

Setting	Description
Models Instancing	This optimisation checks whether a Model already exists in the library before loading it. There are 3 options: None – no instancing. [default] Lazy – search by name. Deep – search by name and attribute.
Materials Instancing	This optimisation checks whether a Material already exists in the library before loading it. There are 3 options: None – no instancing. [default] Lazy – search by name. Deep – search by name and attribute.
Textures Instancing	This optimisation checks whether a Texture already exists in the library before loading it. There are 3 options: None – no instancing. [default] Lazy – search by name. Deep – search by name and attribute.
Fix Infacing Normals	Attempt to identify meshes with normal vectors that face inwards and invert them. [default: false]
Flip Winding Order	Flip the winding order of triangles in meshes. There are 3 options: Auto – flip winding order if the mesh has negative scale. [default] Never – don’t flip winding order. Always – flip winding order.
Remove Redundant Materials	Search for redundant/unreferenced materials and remove them. [default: false]
Pre-Transform Vertices	Apply any transformations directly to the vertices. [default: false]

General Setup

Setting	Description
Read Solids	Read solid parts. [default: true]
Read Surfaces	Read the surfaces of parts as entities. [default: true]
Read Wireframes	Read all wireframe entities in the CAD file. [default: false]
Read Pmis	Read PMI markups and notes. [default: false] Note: PMIs are not currently supported by HOOPS for this importer but will be in a future release (possibly the next one).
Read Attributes	Read non-geometric information linked to entities and files. Note: Attributes linked to solids and entities, such as Material and Density, are always read, even if this option is false. [default: true]
Read Hidden Objects	Read any objects that are present but currently hidden in the CAD file. [default: false]
Read Construction And References	Read construction entities, such as planes and axes. [default: false]
Read Active Filter	Read only data stored in the active filter or on layers corresponding to the active filter. [default: false]
Read Drawings	Whether to read data to create a 3D model or a 2D drawing. Valid only with IGES files. [default: false]
Search Texture Directories	Additional directories – separated by semicolons (;) – that the load function will search through in addition to the texture file. [default: none]

Assembly Read Setup

Setting	Description
Create Sub-Components	Create Visuals as children of parent Assemblies rather than surfaces in the parent Model. There are 3 options: None [default] Full Metadata Only
Set as Assemblies	Treat set grouping entity as a different assembly in the tree. [default: false]
Root Directory	Search for sub-parts in the same directory as the head of the Assembly. If not found, search for them in the additional search directories. [default: true]
Root Directory Recursive	Search for all the sub-parts of an Assembly in the root directory of the Assembly file. Then search the sub-directories for any files that were not found in the root directory. [default: true]
Search Directories	Additional directories – separated by semicolons (;) – that the load function will search through in addition to the root. [default: none]
Recursive Search Directories	Additional directories – separated by semicolons (;) – that the load function will search through recursively in addition to the root. [default: none]
Path Definitions	Additional directories – separated by semicolons (;) – that contain text files that define additional paths. A text file contains paths with recursive options and follows the format: <tt> "path name", [recursive = ] 1/0</tt>. For example: c:\data\project",recursive=1, "f:\parts",recursive=0, "d:\special",1, "x:\standard-data\production",0. [default: none]

Tessellation Setup

Setting	Description
Read Mode	The type of data to read. There are 3 options: kA3DReadGeomOnly – the HOOPS Exchange will only read the geometric information in the file (all tessellated data in the file will be ignored). The tessellation of BREPs will then be calculated based on the tessellation settings in the recipe file. kA3DReadGeomAndTess – read the geometric information prior to the tessellation stage. If the BREPs are read correctly then the tessellation is generated and file tessellation info for the Assembly is ignored. Otherwise, the file tessellation info will be applied. [default] kA3DReadTessOnly – tessellation info will be read if it is present in the file. Otherwise, HOOPS Exchange will compute a tessellation based on the import settings.
Tessellation Level	A redefined set of LODs for tessellated surfaces. There are 6 options: Extra High – set the chord height ratio to 10000 and the angle tolerance degree to 20. High – set the chord height ratio to 5000 and the angle tolerance degree to 30. Medium – set the chord height ratio to 2000 and the angle tolerance degree to 40. Low – set the chord height ratio to 600 and the angle tolerance degree to 40. Extra Low – set the chord height ratio to 50 and the angle tolerance degree to 20. Custom – set a custom chord height ratio and angle tolerance degree. [default]
Tessellation Mode	The tessellation method to use. There are 2 options: Visualisation – generate a tessellation optimised for visualisation. This is the right choice for a smaller memory footprint. [default] Analysis – generate a tessellation that is more suitable for analysis.
Re-Compute Normals In Analysis	Re-compute surface normals in the Analysis tessellation mode. [default: false]
Use Height Instead Of Ratio	Use height values instead of ratio values for the tessellation. [default: false]
Chord Height Ratio	The percentage of the bounding box to use when computing chord height. This must be a value between 50 and 10,000. This setting is applied when Use Height Instead of Ratio is disabled. [default: 600]
Max Chord Height	The maximum distance between the surface and tessellation in mm. Caution: small values can result in a huge tessellation being created. This setting is applied when Use Height Instead of Ratio is enabled. [default: 3.0]
Angle Tolerance Deg	The maximum angle between two contiguous segments of wire edges on each face. This must be a value between 10 and 40. [default: 40.0]
Minimal Triangle Angle	The angle between two contiguous segments of wire edges on each face. This must be a value between 10 and 30. This setting is applied when Use Height Instead of Ratio is enabled. [default: 10.0]
Maximal Triangle Edge	Maximal length of the edges of triangles in mm. Caution: small values can result in a huge tessellation being created. A value of zero will result in no maximum being set. This setting is applied when Use Height Instead of Ratio is enabled. [default: 0.0]
Read UV Points	Keep parametric points as texture points. [default: false]

Example Output

Value	Visualisation Mode	Analysis Mode
Low
High
Ratio 2000
Ratio 10000
Height 0.1
Height 0.001

Format Specific Setup

Setting	Importer	Description
Cache Activation	CatiaV6	Activate representation mode, which may be used with large CATIA V6 assemblies. [default: false]
Cache Path	CatiaV6	The folder for the load function to use as the cache folder. This is applied if cache activation is enabled. [default: none]
Use File Tessellation	Inventor	Use the tessellation in the imported file instead of generating one. [default: false]
Read Tessellation LOD	Jt	The LOD to retrieve from the imported file. There are 3 options: Low – the lowest level of tessellation available in the imported file. Medium – the middle level of tessellation available in the imported file. High – the highest level of tessellation available in the imported file. [default]
Keep Parsed Entities	Parasolid	Keep parsed data to avoid parsing again when rewriting to Parasolid.
Rendered Mode Colors	Rhino	Force rendered mode colours instead of shading mode colours. Default value is true. [default: false]
Load All Configs Data	SolidWorks	Ask to load data, tree, attributes, representation and PMI for all configs. [default: false]
Display Visible Datum	SolidWorks	Manage the visibility of datum entities. If Read Construction And References from General Setup section is off, this is ignored.
Fit All	Unigraphics	Compute camera views after a fit all process. [default: false]

note

See Format Specifics for additional settings and information about some of the importers.

Materials

Setting	Description
Default Colour	The colour to apply to Materials when no colour or material is set on an entity. [default: grey]