Octane Sketchup Exporter - 1024-02 Tweet

[Area D]

Hi TIG,

I have a problem with the export of soft faces ... something wrong in the dialog box?
...here are two pictures where you see the difference between SK and OC..





thanks

[TIG]

Area D

Without the SKP itself I can't be sure - can you zip it and attach it to a post [or to a PM if it's confidential].
The Exporter dialog looks OK.
I think it's perhaps a 'modeling' rather than an export/rendering issue.
I suspect that your mesh has some faces that aren't consistently oriented or perhaps overlaid with second faces ?***
Are materials applied to faces or instances ? Faces are recommended.
Can you change the SKP's view mode to Monochrome using a Style where front and back face colors are distinctly different - say buff fronts and bright-blue or magenta backs.
Then you'll see if any faces are the wrong way round.
To fix these View > Hidden Geometry 'on' and edit the container [if any] and select reversed faces and right-click context-menu 'Reverse' to flip them to match adjacent ones. If it's a one mesh sheet [or manifold solid etc] you can select a correctly oriented face and use the context-menu 'Orient' command instead - then all connected faces will flip match it - don't do this if there are complexly abutting faces as the result will be a mess!
Please report back, and if the issue persists let's see the problem SKP too...

***PS: After some messing on I have also managed to reproduce something like this - and get black-patch artifacts on a 'smoothed' pillow in an imported 3rd party bed SKP. It's NOT reversed faces as these would show 'buff'...
There was also a similar small artifact on the bottom end of the bed-cover...
However, I found that a simple re-smoothing of that pillow component etc removed these artifacts when it was re-rendered, so all was OK.
I have made a compilation of the two - an original 'faulty' and a 're-smoothed' version: there are SKP and OCS screen-shots of them below...

So, my recommendations are try re-smoothing any problem group/component with coplanar-smoothing and smoothed at ~70deg...
The Monochrome tip given above is still useful... BUT I suspect that 'over-smoothing' is perhaps at the heart of the issue...
Works for me...

[Area D]

I try re-smoothing but the problem persists...i post you the file:

1.zip

[TIG]

This is most strange
I do get problems... BUT not the same ones as you [so it's perhaps partially a graphics card issue?]
The screen-shot show your model SKP with the exported OBJ file re-imported next to it [un-smoothed for clarity].
You can see that apart from the triangulation [required by Octane] the form and all of the facets are matching.
However, when I view/render the OBJ in the OCS I find that the smoothed surfaces appear messed up - so this perhaps seems to be an Octane issue?? There's also that weird black 'halo' affect ???
Because IF I use the OBJ file in various other packages it appears correctly formed too
I've shown the same 'corner' in each 'type'...

MESHMAN.PNG (12.95 KiB) Viewed 4050 times

MESHLAB.PNG (12.99 KiB) Viewed 4050 times

[Area D]

Hi TIG,
actually the problem is the model that I use so I replaced and the soft effect is working properly.
Another problem I found is when I export the file is not found in c: but in a network location.
In this case, OC does not start automatically but I have deco click on the CMD which is created at the end of export.
Any ideas?

Thanks again for your help!

[TIG]

Area D

Do you have the proper path set to the project folder - it is preferable if the SKP, OCS, OBJ/MTL and CMD files etc all all in the same folder...
When you say a 'network folder' what do you mean ? Is the project folder set properly, AND with existing with access rights for you to write stuff to etc ? Are the files all made in the same location ? Is the the one specified as the project folder in the dialog etc etc ....

[Area D]

the folder is simply in a different computer that I use as a server.
All parameters dell'exporter (folder address etc) are correctly set, and I have all the privileges of writing and editing.
All files (SK OC ..) are in the folder on the server....

[TIG]

Area D

Sounds like a 'rights problem'.
It's like Sketchup can't 'open/run' a file that's not on the base drive ?
What are the access rights to the drive/folder in question -'a-free-for-all' would be good...
I take it it's making the files OK so it's an 'execute' permission issue ??

[Area D]

the drive is free 4 all...the making file it's ok, but when create the start file OC don't start...

[TIG]

Area D

Is it showing any errors in the Sketchup > Menu > Window > Ruby Console - open it before running the exporter so you can see them.
BUT you say it works if you double-click the cmd file ?
The command file contains the full file paths to the Octane.exe and the OBJ file so that shouldn't be an issue.
AND it works OK when manually executed.
Can you try this test...
When it has made the files make a copy of the octane.cmd file.
Now shut the exporter dialog and the tidy up should remove the octane.cmd file.
Does it?
Now rename the copy as octane.cmd.
Open Sketchup > Menu > Window > Ruby Console and type this
UI.openURL("file:/path_to_cmd")
You must keep the capital letters and " exactly as shown.
The 'path_to_cmd' needs to be replaced with the actual path to the octane.cmd file in the form
X:/My_Folder/My_Project/octane.cmd
where 'X' is the drive letter and the rest of the path - Note the '/' separators rather than '\' - if you want to use '\' you must 'double them' as '\\' each time
Report what happens... even if it does open the OCS please paste the text from the Console...
The 'openURL' code is exactly as used in the tool so it should return an error if it's not working ? I'm puzzled...