Preparing to Import

When importing a scene or model into Softimage, take note of the following to help you validate your scene after the import process:

Timeline Information

An imported scene contains timeline information that defines its length according to a start and end frame. By default, a scene's entire frame range is inserted at frame 1 of the timeline.

You can often modify timeline information such as Start and End frame by editing the import options available for the file type being imported.

Model Node

In general, scenes and models are imported into the current scene under an model node. This creates a separate namespace and ensures that names are not changed if there are already elements with the same names in the scene. If desired, you can remove objects from the model after importing. For more information about models in general, see Models.

Viewing the Import Command History

You can view the import command history in the script editor. To display the script editor, simply click the "script" icon at the bottom of the Softimage window.

To make sure all the information is displayed in the script editor

Choose File Preferences from the main menu.
In the Preferences view, click Scripting in the explorer on the left.
In the Command Log area, set a Maximum or Unlimited number of lines to be displayed in the script editor.

Logging Commands to File

During the loading process, messages appear in the command box in the lower-left side of the interface. The messages tell you about conversions that were made to certain objects or errors that may have occurred. You can store these messages in a command log.

This is particularly useful when you're importing large and complex scenes, or for troubleshooting problems if you have difficulty importing a particular scene.

To log commands to file

Choose File Preferences from the main menu bar.
In the Preferences view, click Scripting in the explorer on the left.
In the Command Log area, select Log to File and enter a name and location for that file.