[Format]

The following formats are available for export:

• .XSI 5.0 (Text)

• .XSI 5.0 (Binary)

• COLLADA 1.4.1

• .XSI 6.0 (Text)

• .XSI 6.0 (Binary)

Export

Exports scene data using the options you have set on the Export and Settings tabs.

File name

Specify the path (the default location is the dotXSI folder of the current project) and the file name to be exported. Choose the Browse (...) button to select a specific location and filename from a browser.

Verbose

Activates verbose mode and logs the export progress details to the script editor history pane.

Export Selection Only

When this option is on, only selected objects in the scene are exported. When this option is off, the entire scene is exported regardless of the selection. When you export in “selection only” mode, all node-selected objects are removed from their hierarchies and are exported with their local transformations. Only branch-selected objects preserve their hierarchies.

Preserve IK Chains

This option is not implemented for the COLLADA exporter.

• When this option is on, IK animation is preserved and exported.

• When this option is off, IK animation is plotted to FK.

Convert Geometry to Triangles

Triangulates polygon mesh objects by subdividing quads and polygons with five or more sides to form triangles. Existing triangles are not affected.

Apply Subdivision to Geometry

This option only affects subdivision surfaces created through the method of geometric approximation. When this option is on, polygon meshes are exported with their subdivision level baked directly into the geometry and the local geometric approximation property is removed. When this option is off, polygon meshes are exported as their original low-resolution geometry. No subdivision information is exported.

Local subdivisions and subdees generated as separate objects from a low-resolution one, are always exported with their subdivision level applied directly onto the geometry (and the mesh subdivision operator is removed) regardless of whether this option is on or not.

Export Tangents as Vertex Colors

Converts tangent properties to vertex color properties. Select this option if your pipeline expects tangent information mapped to the [0, 1] range instead of the [-1, 1] range per channel.

Export XSI Normals

XSI normals (XSINormal) are the implicit normals that are automatically generated by XSI, as opposed to user-defined normals (UserNormals) that are treated as user data and are not recomputed by XSI.

• When this option is on, XSI normals are exported.

• When this option is off, XSI normals are not exported.

• If defined, user normals are always exported with the scene object(s).

Shapes

Choose how to export shape animation. Note that these options are not implemented for the COLLADA exporter.

• Export Shapes (ShapeKey Only): Exports only the shape sources (shape keys) that are stored in the model’s Mixer > Sources > Shape folder. Any shape clips that are stored in the model’s Mixer > Tracks > Shape folder are not exported. This option is useful when you only need the shape key such as for lip synching in a game where the game engine does the work of calculating the interpolation between shapes.

If you store and apply shape keys in mixed weight mode (the default), a custom parameter set containing each shape clip’s weight parameter is saved for the object. These shape clips (and the shape weight parameter defined for each clip) are not exported when this option is active. If you imported the file back into XSI, you would have to re-animate the shape weight using the shape editor, animation mixer, or the ShapeWeight custom parameter set. If you want to preserve the shape animation use the Plot all deformations option.

• Plot all deformations: Plots deformations (including shape animation) that are in all regions of the construction mode history. This means that all deformations on the selected object or cluster are plotted, whether or not the deformation is a product of the tools that were used for authoring the shape animation.

For shape animation and animated deforms the exporter compares each vertex on a surface and only the resulting differences are plotted and exported.

Plot All Animation

Plots all animation within the time span (start and end frames) and frame step.

Start

Sets the start frame for the range of frames to be plotted.

End

Sets the end frame for the range of frames to be plotted.

Step

Sets the step value to specify the frame step increment. If this value is 1, every frame is evaluated and a key is set at every frame; if this value is 2, every other frame is evaluated and a key is set at every other frame.

Interpolation

Choose the interpolation type you want for the function curves.

• Use Existing FCurve Interpolation: Determines how movement will be calculated in an fcurve between keyframes by using the currently defined interpolation type.

• Constant: Uses a constant interpolation that repeats the value of a key until the next one. The movement is characterized by sudden changes at keys and static positions between keys.

• Linear: Uses a linear interpolation that connects keys by straight line segments. The movement is characterized by constant speed with sudden changes at each key, creating a mechanical feel to the animation.

• Cubic: Uses a curved spline interpolation that accelerates and decelerates into (ease in) and out of (ease out) each keyframe, resulting in a smooth transition.

Make rotations continuous

Processes rotations to ensure continuity by treating orientation as a single entity instead of individual X, Y, and Z rotation function curves. This allows the plot processing to avoid “spikes” in the continuity of the rotation curves, when they may jump between equivalent (but discontinuous) representations.

Filter keys

Reduces the number of keys on the function curves resulting from the plot.

% Tolerance

Sets the tolerance level for how close the function curve with the filtered keys fits the function curve you would have gotten without filtering. The lower the tolerance value, the higher the number of keys on the filtered curve, resulting in a closer fit.

Export XSI Extra

Exports XSI-specific information as <extra> elements in the COLLADA file. For example, this information includes neutral poses and transformation limits. This information may not be understood by other tools and applications. This option does not apply to dotXSI 5 files.

Note that custom properties are always exported as <extra> elements. If your scene contains items imported from a third-party application, any “foreign” <extra> elements are also always exported.