Convert Boolean Icon

The Convert Boolean icon converts Boolean groups to mesh which can then be exported from Bryce and imported into other programs.

This control only shows up when primitives are grouped. When you click this control, the Boolean group is converted to a mesh.

To convert a new Boolean object group to a mesh:

For a new object, create a Boolean group using positive, negative, and intersect primitives and sub-groups. Do not include infinite planes/slabs, trees, metaballs, lights, or the camera.

In the image below, the two spheres are grouped together to create a hollow sphere and the group set to positive. A negative cylinder is then added and grouped with the positive cupola group. This new group is set to positive and grouped with the remaining positive objects.
Apply a texture if you wish.
After grouping all the objects and/or sub-groups, a new button will appear under the button. Click on the button to start the mesh conversion or choose Objects > Convert Boolean to Mesh from the menu or press Opt/Alt+Shift+C.
Wait until the conversion is complete and the object looks like a "real" mesh. Depending on the size of your object, the conversion could take a while to complete. If the object is complex, it can take a very long time to convert. To help with this, change the Selected Resolution of the object to a lower number. So, if the Selected Resolution is set to 8, then the converted mesh will be "chunky" but if the Selected Resolution is set to 32, then the converted mesh will be much smoother and take longer to convert.

While converting the boolean to a mesh, as long as the timer cursor is showing, Bryce is working on the conversion. Bryce may even show as not responding in the task bar or File Manager, however, unless the program crashes, wait until the process is complete instead of closing the process manually.

Notice that there is no button next to the converted mesh shown below. This is because the group still contains the original Boolean information. However, the new mesh can be set to positive, negative, or intersect, and then grouped with another converted mesh or with newly created primitives.

If you press Ctrl+click on the mesh, you'll see a list of the meshes but you will not be able to select them. The mesh still needs to be finalized.
To complete the mesh conversion, choose File > Export Object from the menu. The Save As dialog will come up. Select the file type from the Save as type pull-down list.
Change the name of the file so it makes more sense and can be located later, then click on the Save button.

A Progress dialog will come up showing the conversion process.
Once the export has completed, the mesh can be re-imported into Bryce or into another program.

To import the mesh back into Bryce, choose File > Import Object from the menu. The Open dialog will come up.
Locate and select the mesh to import, then click on Open. The mesh will be imported, along with any textures that were exported.

Please note that Bryce applies a very basic UV mapping to the object and as a result, the textures may not map correctly on the imported mesh. This can be fixed by applying the original texture back onto the object or by modifying the texture scale in the Materials Lab.

Boolean objects from older versions of Bryce can be converted to a mesh as long as all the included primitives and sub-groups are set to a boolean state.

To convert an older Boolean object group to a mesh:

Select each primitive in the object group.
To set the primitive to positive, press the P key on the keyboard.
To set the primitive to negative, press the N key on the keyboard.
To set the primitive to intersect, press the I key on the keyboard.
Repeat steps 1 through 4 for each sub-group in the object group.
Convert the mesh as shown above, export, then re-import to finalize the mesh.

When building Boolean groups for conversion, the following must be kept in mind:

Each object in a group, including any sub-groups, must be set to positive, negative, or intersect. You cannot have a neutral object or sub-group in the final group as the conversion process will discard it.
The Group can contain any object that can be Booleaned except an infinite plane/slab.
A converted mesh can be set to positive, negative, or intersect, then Booleaned with another converted mesh or new primitive objects or even with imported objects.
The final group cannot contain metaballs, Bryce trees, lights, infinite planes/slabs, or the camera.
The final group can contain multiple sub-groups, but each sub-group must be set to positive, negative, or intersect.

The image below shows a Boolean object that had some neutral primitives and groups in the final group. The top image shows the original object in Bryce while the bottom image shows the same object after being converted to a mesh, exported, then re-imported. Notice that parts of the model are missing. These are where the neutral objects/groups were that the conversion process threw out.

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