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Help available inside SketchUp too! Click the SketchUp Help menu, then select iPort Help.
What is iPort?
iPort is used to export IMVU files from SketchUp.
by CapnRon on IMVU
The iPort name is an amalgam of "imvu" and "exporter" shortened to a familiar looking, easy to remember name.
This exporter exports skeleton, mesh, material and animation files as needed to XML files in a Cal3D format for upload to IMVU Create Mode. It also exports a very detailed report file.
It includes some mesh enhancement features to reduce file size.
A key feature is security measures to identify and minimize mesh theft. Protections for your meshes as well as those of others on IMVU and SketchUp model repository sites online.
Tested on SketchUp version 8 and SketchUp 2014 and IMVU Create Mode Release 5xx.x with beta release in March 2014 and final release in September 2014.
Expert SketchUp diagnostics, testing and consulting by EnglishTiger on IMVU. Thank you ET!
This software is provided AS-IS without any warranty, express or implied, including fitness for a particular purpose. It can only be used for works originally developed by the registered user and cannot be used to export any other work, mesh, texture etc. without written permission of developer or owner of same.
This software cannot be distributed without written permission from CapnRon on IMVU.
iPort is intended to:
- Make getting your model from SketchUp and ready to upload to IMVU Create Mode as easy and reliable as possible.
- Offer some protections for your work and works of others.
- Make it all run as efficient as possible.
- Stay compatible with current naming conventions and with Merlin's Toolkit.
- Add some functionality never before seen with SketchUp, especially with the future releases with Animation and Flexible Meshes such as clothing and hair.
If you like using this exporter provided for free, please Thank Me and derive from my low cost 0Kb derivables.
Watermark Quick Reference Step-by-Step guide
• Select a watermark.
• Place it in your model.
• Paint it with a material the model cannot be without.
(leave blank if you want it invisible)
• Resize, Rotate and Move as needed.
• Make the watermark component part of your mesh.
(skip this step if not making any mesh components)
How to add an Inextricable Watermark
From the SketchUp Draw Menu, roll your pointer over the username you wish to add a watermark for.
When the sub-menu appears, choose one of the watermark types you would like to add.
Use the Exclusive watermarks for non-derivable meshes.
Use the Derivable watermarks for meshes you will make derivable.
Choose the shape style which best fits your mesh design.
The watermark will be on the SketchUp Placement Tool.
Click on something at or near where you want your watermark to be.
It will be placed approximately 3/8 inch or approximately 1 cm above the surface to minimize the chance of z-fighting. Z-fighting is the problem of more than one surface occupying the same place which causes flickering and a bad looking texture.
After placing your watermark you can use the usual Move, Rotate and Resize tools in SketchUp or use those in Merlin's Toolkit to fine tune the placement of it. (I'm especially fond of Merlin's Nudge and Rotate Tools myself!)
Next step, Make sure it is inextricable. Important!
Two things you MUST do to make it INEXTRICABLE
This is important!
1. Paint it with a material that is absolutely needed for this mesh.
The only way to insure that nobody other than the mesh maker (you) can remove this watermark is to paint it with a material that is absolutely needed for this mesh. For example, if the mesh is a chair then the material for the fabric would be something required. If it is an automobile, the material for the body. If it is a house, the material for the siding, etc. You get the idea.
Make sure you paint it with a color that, if removed or made invisible with an opacity, the mesh would be useless. Use a key material.
2. Make sure that the watermark is part of the mesh you export.
Note: If you are not creating individual mesh components and exporting the entire model as one mesh, you do not need to do the following as iPort will export everything.
If you are making individual mesh components, you must include the watermark in the selection you use create the mesh component. If you do not, it will not be exported.
You should make sure it is part of the most important mesh component that someone else would not want to remove. If someone derives from your product or stole it, you don't want them to simply remove an unimportant mesh and your watermark along with it.
Make sure it is part of a key mesh in your product.
Where to place your Watermark
Place your watermark in an inconspicuous place as not to detract from your design, but do place it in a way that it is possible to be seen. Often times simply embedding inside the mesh so that it can be seen when the camera is zoomed close is sufficient.
Other ideas for good placement are:
The bottom side of a chair facing down but tilted slightly so that it can barely be seen.
Behind walls so that someone panning from the outside looking in can see it.
Inside avatar head or body (if clothing or accessory).
You may want to adjust the size and angle and location etc. to find a nice balance between making it visible while not detracting from your
design.
You want it to be visible, but subtle. Enough to deter mesh thieves, but not so visible to make your product look bad.
Check out these example pics or feel free to contact me for help.
What NOT to do
- Do not explode the watermark component.
iPort will not export without an intact watermark component.
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Do not paint the watermark with a unique material.
Thieves can easily make this invisible.
Always use a material that is essential to your product.
(If you want it invisible, do not paint it.)
- Do not add watermarks for more than one user ID.
iPort will choose one and disregard the others.
- Do not add both Exclusive and Derivable watermarks.
iPort will choose one and disregard the others.
- Do not add many watermarks.
Most of the time one well placed watermark is sufficient. Too many will quickly add to the poly count of your model and needlessly increase the file size (weight) of your product.
- Do not paint anything with the material named "iPort_Watermark".
This material is created and used by iPort and is not exported. It is placed on the backface of the watermark to prevent users from accidentally painting the backface with a material that may export, which would look bad and needlessly add twice the number of polygons to its file size.
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Do not rename any of the iPort files.
iPort plugins may not load or work properly if the file name is changed. If you need something changed, please contact me.
Exporting Quick Reference Step-by-Step guide
• Save your model if you have not already done so.
• From the File menu select iPort imvu export
If there are no errors, that's it! All of your files will export.
iPort may alert you to errors that need your attention.
User Interaction during or after Export
If iPort encounters any errors that it does not automatically fix and will require your attention, it will alert you. See Error Messages below.
SketchUp prompt to save after using iPort.
iPort automatically does some cleanup to optimize your mesh before export. It purges unused definitions and removes stray edges and repairs broken edges before exporting (if they exist in your model).
Unused definitions are most likely partially deleted watermarks or nodes which cause conflicts during iPort operations.
Stray lines and broken edges which often times are not needed and in all likelihood you did not even know they existed, would cause iPort or any other exporter to generate more polygons than are needed to create your mesh for IMVU. SketchUp recognizes these as a change to your model, and like any others it will ask you if you want to save the changes.
You have three choices:
- I made these Undoable Operations. If you have a reason to keep stray or broken edges in your model (construction lines for example), you can use the SketchUp Undo feature to undo the changes iPort made to your model and you will not be prompted to save them.
- Save the model with the changes to stray and broken edges iPort made to it.
- Save As... and save your model with a different name to preserve the original and optimized versions.
Note: If you are using Merlin's Toolkit and have allowed Merlin to work his Magic to do this cleanup for you, you will not be prompted for this now.
File Types Exported
As needed, the following file types are exported by iPort:
.xaf - Animation
File(s).
.xmf - Mesh File(s).
.xrf - Material File(s)
.xsf - Skeleton File
In addition to files needed for IMVU, iPort also exports a detailed report file in a .txt format.
Error Messages
iPort may alert you to these or other errors it encounters during export.
- Please save your model before exporting.
- You must save your model. This is done mainly so that iPort knows where to export the IMVU files. iPort will export to the same folder/directory in which your other SketchUp model files are saved in.
- Invalid or missing registration!
- You must have at least one valid iPort User ID installed in the SketchUp Plugins folder.
If you do not have an iPort User ID, please contact CapnRon on IMVU.
If you do have one, perhaps it is not properly installed. See the instructions that came with it for proper installation.
- No User ID or Watermarks found.
- You must have an iPort Watermark in the model before exporting. iPort uses this to both protect your mesh with the watermark and also to automatically determine how to encode your files while exporting. If you do not want a visible watermark in the IMVU scene, do not paint it.
- Your files were not exported.
- If the condition was such that iPort did not export, it will alert you that no files were exported.
Problems that may not pop up an error message
- Using SketchUp colors or materials with no texture file.
- iPort will ignore any material that is not using a texture imported from a texture file. That material must also have the checkbox checked for "Use texture image" under the materials dialog Edit tab (Paint Bucket tool).
- Improperly named nodes or incompatible nodes.
- iPort and IMVU Create Mode rely on a specific naming convention for all nodes. If your nodes are not named properly they will most likely be ignored or possibly exported with errors.
If you are using incompatible nodes they will certainly be ignored. Your best solution for reliably and accurately getting nodes in to your model is with the help of Merlin.
- Renaming any iPort file names.
- iPort relies on specific file names for its files. Changing or renaming them may cause plugins to not load or work properly. If you need something changed, please contact me.
Unpredictable results from improper names
- iPort and IMVU need certain things named a special way.
- If you use certain characters or words in a way that iPort or IMVU does not work well with, you will get unpredictable results. These could be anything like meshes or nodes not exporting or working, failed exports, problems within Create Mode, broken products and more.
See Characters, words & methods for more information.
Requirements
SketchUp version 8 through 2014 (at the time of this release).
A minimum of one iPort User ID and Watermark plugin installed.
At least one intact watermark component in a model.
If you do not want the security and theft deterrent a visible watermark offers, you can choose not to paint it and it will not be visible in the IMVU scene, but it must be in the model. iPort will not export anything without one.
iPort needs the following files to work properly:
• iPort.rbs
• iPort_YourUserName.rbs
• iPort---First_MenuSeparator.rbs
• iPort~~~Last_MenuSeparator.rbs
• Folder in your Plugins directory named "iPort"
• iPort_help.html in the iPort sub-folder.
iPort.rbs is the main exporter plugin.
iPort_YourUserName.rbs is the plugin that creates the watermarks. Note: YourUserName in iPort_YourUserName.rbs will be replaced with your IMVU user name. You must have at least one and you can have more than one if you have more than one account (alts).
The two small ...MenuSeparator.rbs plugins are for Menu Separators (thin lines) on the SketchUp Draw menu. Normally this function would be part of a single plugin, but since you may have multiple user IDs (alts) and therefore multiple plugins, there is no other good clean looking way to add them. It is OK to overwrite them when installing multiple user (alt) plugins as they are all identical.
The iPort sub-folder contains other misc. files used by iPort.
iPort_help.html resides in the iPort sub-folder. This is the help file you are reading now.
Selection Tool at Startup
iPort does do one thing that has nothing to do with exporting.
It automatically selects the Select Tool (pointer) when it loads in place of the default Line Tool (pencil). I think this is a more user friendly way to start using SketchUp.
Adding Nodes to your Mesh
iPort does not add nodes, such as furniture, standing, sitting and poses etc. to your mesh. For best results you should be using Merlin's Toolkit. Merlin is your pal to help you add nodes and do much more. You can get more information about Merlin and help from the folks at Camelot by visiting http://englishtiger.co.uk/index.html.
Helpful suggestion: I recommend that you DO NOT use nodes you may find online. Most of them are not good, as in not made properly, not numbered properly or simply not compatible and are likely to cause you problems.
Characters, words and methods
Only the following characters should be used in any names:
English letters a-z and A-Z, numbers 0-9,
Square Brackets [ ] and the Underscore _
Using any other characters without a specific purpose such as in mesh and node names may cause problems.
iPort also uses certain words to identify certain components.
The following words should be used for their intended purposes only:
animation, bone, camera, Catcher, furniture, Handle, Mesh, node, Omni, Pitcher, Root, seat, SeeThrough, Spot, weight
Unless you are creating your own mesh and/or node names, do not name any object or component beginning with these words. Remember that they are also case sensitive.
iPort and IMVU use these key words in mesh and node names. Using them incorrectly or for any other purpose may cause problems.
The " . " (period/dot) is used to delineate certain aspects of mesh and node names as well as file names.
You should avoid using it for any other purpose.
The " : " (colon) in object or component names is used for the purpose of parenting or influencing. This is part of the naming convention used to weight meshes to nodes or nodes to other nodes.
You should avoid using it for any other purpose.
My suggestion regarding layers.
I presume everyone is doing all of their work on Layer0. Future versions of iPort and Zaz (my plugin for animation and flexible meshes) may make use of multiple layers. The current plan is to have all static (non-animated) meshes to be on Layer0 and nodes and meshes in motion to be on other layers (Layer1, Layer2 etc).
Keep this in mind if you use layers. Contact me if you have any questions.
Future Features & Enhancements
Now that the mesh exporter is done, it's time to get back to working on something more fun!
My plans for future features and enhancements include Animation (my specialty) and Flexible Meshes such as those used for clothing and hair or stretchy things.
These are things I have done a lot of with SketchUp in the past. SketchUp can make these things and I can export them. My next step is to make it an easy to understand method for every day SketchUp users to create them.
My original project, the animation exporter is named Zaz which is the Hebrew word (זז) which means moving. It may still end up being a stand-alone plugin in addition to iPort.
If you have any suggestions or a wish list, let me know.
Thank You!
Thank you for using iPort. I hope that iPort works well for you, makes exporting easy & reliable and that you have some peace in knowing that your product is better protected with this theft deterrent watermark. You may also enjoy a little advertising for your derivable in products derived by other developers. If there is anything I can help with, please let me know.
And if you like using this exporter provided for free, please Thank Me and derive from my low cost 0Kb derivables.
Thank again for using iPort!
Download iPort
Before using iPort you will first need an iPort user ID and Watermark. If you do not have one, please contact me.
Send me your avatar name, a link to your catalog and an email address to send it to.
If everything looks legit and not stolen and your name is not on the list of known thieves.
Note: I do not work with mesh and texture thieves.
If you already have an iPort ID and Watermark and wish to have another one for another account (alt), do the same.
I do not need to know if it is an alt account or not, nor do I need to know who has alts or who has what. You can keep this private.
The latest version of iPort is 4.x.
Installing iPort
- Start SketchUp.
- Click Window, then select Preferences, then Extensions and Click Install Extension... (or use Merlin's plugin installer)
- Find the iPort.rbz file and open. You may need admin privileges.
- If MeshOut.rbs is installed on your system iPort will delete it.
- Close and then re-start SketchUp or proceed to installing ID and Watermark.
Installing iPort user ID and Watermark (You must have at least one)
- Start SketchUp.
- Click Window, then select Preferences, then Extensions and Click Install Extension... (or use Merlin's plugin installer)
- Find the iPort_username.rbz file and open. You may need admin privileges.
If you have more than one, repeat for each one.
- Close SketchUp.
When you start it again iPort will be ready to export.
For iPort Help and info while using SketchUp, click SketchUp's Help menu, then select iPort Help.
I hope you enjoy using iPort! Let me know how it works for you.
Contact CapnRon
Visit my Avatar page at http://avatars.imvu.com/CapnRon
- or -
Send me a message at CapnRon@imvuMail.com
Check out my homepage which has some recent pics of some of my real-life adventures, send me a message and let me know what you think of iPort or just say "hi". If you want to see an eclectic collection of unique stuff, check out my catalog.
I look forward to hearing from you!
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