File > Open prompts the user whether to save the currently loaded model (if it has changed), loads a model from a disk file and inserts its objects into the Model Manager. The many file formats that can be opened are listed in the Files of Type dropdown on the Open Files dialog.
Note about Loading of Datums from Non-Geomagic File Types
If you open a CAD file in the .iges, .stp, .prt, or .neu format and the file contains a Plane Datum or Point Datum, the Geomagic software will add that Plane or Point Datum to the object's Datums folder in the Model Manager. If that datum is a Plane Datum and it properly maps to a plane on the CAD object, the Plane Datum will become transferable by means of Tools > Datums > Auto-Create Datums/Features.
Opening Large Polygon Objects
If the file is an .obj or .stl, contains a polygon object, and it is large (large being defined by a value configured at Tools > Options > General > File I/O > Large Data), then you are prompted whether permanently thin (decimate) the number of triangles in the object according to those Large Data settings.
A CAD
layer is a grouping of entities in a CAD file, often used by a designer
to hide unnecessary elements in a file without deleting them.
If the file contains a CAD model that has multiple “CAD layers”, a popup
dialog presents a list of the CAD layers and the user may de-select one
or more layer numbers from the load process, resulting in several efficiencies:
a) elimination of the need to
delete construction elements from the model manually (by use of CAD >
Delete Layer or CAD > Delete Body), and b) reduced load time because unnecessary
elements are not processed.
This popup does not appear for single-layer CAD files or if the software
is executing a macro.
If a CAD face is a member of more than one layer, it will be deselected
if the user deselects any layer of which it is a member.
See Tools > Options > General > File I/O > CAD Load Options > Ignore Blanked Layers
for special handling of "blanked layers" that might be found
in the CAD file.
File Options Popup, for Partial Loading of Data that will be Merged
If two or more disk files containing point data will be loaded, aligned, merged and wrapped, those files are not in the Geomagic .wrp file format, and those files are so large that alignment might be inconveniently slow (a typically CPU-intensive operation), the File Options popup allows a subset of the data to be loaded. During a subsequent Points > Merge, most functions (including alignment) that were performed on the subset can be automatically re-performed on the full data.
The following functions, however, cannot be re-performed:
Points > Reduce Noise. (But the noise reduction option of Points > Merge is operational on the huge data.)
Edit > Select > Outliers and other functions that rely on the position of neighboring points.
Points > Curvature Sample, Points > Grid Sample, Points > Uniform Sample, Points > Random Sample, and Points > Ordered Sample. (If any of the sampling functions were needed, you wouldn’t be using this huge file feature anyway.)
Load all to-be-merged files simultaneously such as by Shift-Clicking or Ctrl-Clicking multiple names in the dialog, or by using File > Open Directory. This allows the application to apply the same Ratio (see below) to all files that will be merged.
The controls on the File Options popup are:
Ratio dropdown (default is based on file sizes, available memory, and the settings at Tools > Options > Advanced > Large Data > Memory Usage Limit) - specifies the percentage of points that will be loaded from each of several files. Accept the default or enter a lower percentage. The excess points will be transferred to a special holding file and can be retrieved during a subsequent Points > Merge.
Keep Full Data on Sampling checkbox (default Yes) - specifies whether the full set of data is maintained in a holding file even after the Ratio is applied. This allows the full set to be considered during subsequent use of Points > Merge. The only reason to UNcheck this box is so that a huge file can be loaded that wouldn’t otherwise fit into memory
OK button - continues with the File > Open, File > Open Directory, or File > Import function.