Template Reference

Template Reference

This chapter provides details about the data stored in each of the dotXSI file templates. At a skeletal level, dotXSI files contain these sections:

Template	Description
File Header	This template must come first in the file. It contains information about the dotXSI file format version number and the format of the dotXSI file itself.
SI_FileInfo	Stores general information (file name, time stamp, and the identification of the application that created it).
SI_Scene	Stores global scene information (such as the start and end frames, and the frame rate).
SI_CoordinateSystem	Specifies the coordinate system in which transformations are expressed.
SI_Angle	Indicates how angle values are expressed in the file (degrees or radians).
SI_Ambience	Stores the ambient scene color.
SI_MaterialLibrary	Stores global materials. Note: This section contains either XSI_Material or SI_Material.
SI_Model	Stores models and model hierarchies. Note: This section appears for each scene object, such as a model, a camera root, a mesh sphere, etc.
SI_Light	Stores light data.
XSI_ImageLibrary	Stores a list of all the images used in the scene. Note: This template is only available in version 3.6.
XSI_FXTree	Sores data from the FX tree (XSI’s integrated compositor). Note: This template is only available in version 3.6.

Inside many of these sections, there are other templates. For more information about a section, click on the link in the table above.

The table below provides a list of the templates supported in the current dotXSI file format version.

If you need information about a template but it does not appear in this list, it is probably obsolete. You can look it up in the legacy information provided in the Template Archives.

Template	Introduced	Description
File Header	1.3	This template must come first in the file.
Custom Effects in SOFTIMAGE\|3D	1.3	Stores the arguments, results, and parameters of a persistent effeczt.
SI_Ambience	1.3	Stores the ambient scene color.
SI_Angle	1.3	Indicates how angle values are expressed in the file (degrees or radians).
SI_Camera	1.3	Stores camera data.
SI_Constraint	1.3	Stores constraint information.
SI_CoordinateSystem	1.3	Specifies the coordinate system in which transformations are expressed.
SI_ElementUserData _<userDataTag>	1.3	Stores user data attached to a camera, light, material, model, or texture.
SI_Envelope	1.3	Defines an envelope (also known as a skin).
SI_EnvelopeList	1.3	Defines a list of envelopes.
SI_Fog	1.3	Describes the fog (depth fading) in the scene.
SI_ImageClip	1.3	Identifies an animated texture sequence.
SI_Light	1.3	Stores light data.
SI_PatchSurface	1.3	Defines a patch (a surface defined by splines).
SI_SubelementUserDataPolygon_<userDataTag>	1.3	Stores polygon user data.
SI_SubelementUserDataVertex_<userDataTag>	1.3	Stores vertex user data.
SI_Texture2D	1.3	Stores 2D texture information.
SI_FCurve	2.0	Stores an fcurve.
SI_FileInfo	2.0	Stores general information (file name, time stamp).
SI_Material	2.0	Defines a material. Adds support for specifying the shading model (Constant, Lambert, Phong, Blinn, Shadow Object, or Vertex Color) and storing the ambient color.
SI_MaterialLibrary	2.0	Stores global materials.
SI_Mesh	2.0	Stores a mesh.
SI_Model	2.0	Stores models and model hierarchies.
SI_NurbsSurface	2.0	Defines a NURBS surface.
SI_Cluster	3.0	Stores cluster information.
SI_GlobalMaterial	3.0	Stores an object’s global material.
SI_IK_Effector	3.0	Stores the rotation flag for the effector of an IK chain.
SI_IK_Joint	3.0	Stores IK joint information.
SI_IK_Root	3.0	Stores the names of the joints and effector of an IK chain.
SI_Instance	3.0	Stores SOFTIMAGE\|3D model instance information.
SI_LightInfo	3.6	Stores additional light information, such as falloff.
SI_Null	3.0	Defines a null object.
SI_NurbsCurve	3.0	Defines a NURBS curve.
SI_PolygonList	2.0	Stores a list of polygons in a mesh.
SI_Scene	2.0	Stores global scene information (such as the start and end frames, and the frame rate).
SI_Shape	2.0	Stores the mesh geometry.
SI_ShapeAnimation	2.0	Stores the animation of vertex positions, normals, colors, and UV coordinates.
SI_Transform	2.0	Stores SRT transforms as vectors.
SI_TriangleList	2.0	Stores a list of triangles.
SI_TriStripList SI_TriStrip	2.0	Stores triangle strips.
SI_UserDataFormat	2.0	Stores formatting information for user data.
SI_Visibility	3.0	Stores node and visibility fcurves. (SOFTIMAGE\|XSI only supports node visibility)
XSI_Action	3.0	Stores source action data.
XSI_ActionClip	3.0	Stores action clip data.
XSI_CurveList	3.0	Stores a list of NURBS curves.
XSI_CustomPSet	3.0	Stores SOFTIMAGE\|XSI custom parameters.
XSI_Extrapolation	3.0	Stores an action clip’s extrapolation type.
XSI_Material	3.0	Stores an action’s static values.
XSI_Mixer	3.0	Stores action data.
XSI_StaticValues	3.0	Stores an action’s static values
XSI_TimeControl	3.0	Stores an action clips’s clipping and offset values.
XSI_Track	3.0	Stores an action track’s status.
XSI_Material	3.5	Defines a SOFTIMAGE\|XSI material.
XSI_Shader	3.5	Defines a SOFTIMAGE\|XSI shader.
XSI_ShaderInstanceData	3.5	Stores the instance data for a shader on a shared material.
XSI_ClusterInfo	3.6	Stores the type of cluster.
XSI_CustomParamInfo	3.6	Stores additional information about the custom parameter, such as minimum and maximum values.
XSI_FXOperator	3.6	Stores data about the operators in the FX tree.
XSI_FXTree	3.6	Stores data from the FX tree (XSI’s integrated compositor).
XSI_Image	3.6	Stores data about the list of images in the XSI_ImageLibrary template.
XSI_ImageData	3.6	Stores image data, such as RGB values. This template is not exported by XSI, but is accessible through the Crosswalk SDK.
XSI_ImageFX	3.6	Stores the list of special effect parameters applied to the image in XSI FX.
XSI_ImageLibrary	3.6	Stores a list of all the images used in the scene.
XSI_MaterialInfo	3.6	Stores additional material information, specifically U and V wrapping information.
XSI_NurbsProjection	3.6	Stores the list of curves that make up a projection.
XSI_NurbsTrim	3.6	Stores the list of curves that make up the trim.
XSI_UserData	3.6	Stores user data attached to scene entities.
XSI_UserDataList	3.6	Identifies the entities to which user data is attached.
XSI_BasePose	5.0	Stores the base pose scaling, translation, and rotation.
XSI_Limit	5.0	Stores the minimum and maximum limits of a parameter value.
XSI_Mesh	5.0	Stores the definition of a polygon mesh.
XSI_PolygonList	5.0	Stores the polygons in a mesh.
XSI_Shape	5.0	Stores the mesh vertex positions, normals, texture coordinates and color information. Also used to store shape animation.
XSI_ShapeAnimation	5.0	Stores shape animation as a series of shape keys and an (optional) fcurve.
XSI_SubComponentAttributeList	5.0	Stores cluster properties such as vertex positions, colors, normals, texture coordinates, and weight maps. Also used to store shape keys.
XSI_Transform	5.0	Stores the local transformation information for an object.
XSI_TriangleList	5.0	Specifies the vertex indices of triangles for normals (“ImplicitNormal”), user normal properties (“User_Normal_Property” and “XSI_UserNormals”), vertex colors, and texture projections.
XSI_TriangleStripList	5.0	Stores a list of triangle strips. Each strip is made up of N vertices. The polynodes in this list can have N number of attibutes like vertex, normals, UV and color information.
XSI_UserDataBlob	5.0	Contains the binary user data stored in a UserDataBlob property.
XSI_VertexList	5.0	Lists the vertices in the original shape and in any weightmaps.
XSI_Camera	6.0	Describes a camera.
XSI_IK_ResolutionPlane	6.0	Describes the resolution plane on an IK chain.
XSI_Lookat	6.0	Holds lookat data in the XSI_Polymatricks container.
XSI_Matrix	6.0	Holds matrix data in the XSI_Polymatricks container.
XSI_Polymatricks	6.0	Container for holding an arbitrary stack of transformations.
XSI_Rotate	6.0	Holds rotation data in the XSI_Polymatricks container.
XSI_Scale	6.0	Holds scaling data in the XSI_Polymatricks container.
XSI_Shear	6.0	Holds shearing data in the XSI_Polymatricks container.
XSI_Translate	6.0	Holds translation data in the XSI_Polymatricks container.
XSI_IndexList	6.0	Contains polygon ordering information for importing clusters.
XSI_ActionClipContainer	6.0	Stores action clip data and tracks.
XSI_ShapeReference	6.0	Contains a reference to the shape key.
XSI_CameraFocalLength	6.0	Overrides the field of view value in the XSI_Camera template.
XSI_ImageFX2	6.0	Holds the extra image clip properties in addition to the properties available in the XSI_ImageFX template.
XSI_ShaderMultiPortConnection	6.0	Specifies which one of multiple output ports are connected to the input inside the containing XSI_Shader or XSI_Material template.
XSI_TextureLayer	6.0	Represents a texture layer.
XSI_TextureLayerPort	6.0	Represents a shader port in the texture layer.
XSI_UserKeyword	6.0	Stores the list of user keywords for material and image clips.
XSI_ClipToParent	6.0	Stores the options that allow you to link a clip to its parent’s time information.

Softimage|Crosswalk v3.11