About Crosswalk for Softimage

Getting Crosswalk Updates

• To get the latest updates to the Crosswalk for Softimage integration, you can download the Autodesk Crosswalk toolset for free from autodesk.com/softimage-crosswalk. The Crosswalk for Softimage plug-ins are components of this toolset and they can be installed on any system running a supported Softimage installation.

• You can also click the Check For Updates button in the Import and Export Crosswalk Options property editors.

For descriptions of the files and install paths for the Crosswalk for Softimage integration, see Crosswalk Setup [Advanced Setup and Configuration].

dotXSI and COLLADA Are Unified

Support for COLLADA in Autodesk Softimage and by extension the Crosswalk for Softimage integration has been rewritten from the ground up since the first COLLADA 1.3.1.3 plug-in release. The COLLADA code base sits inside of the FTK (now known as the Crosswalk SDK), a file exchange toolkit used for most converters in Softimage. As a result, existing FTK and Crosswalk SDK-based applications can import and export COLLADA files. The low level parser (known as the IO layer) is based on XercesC and works in SAX mode to reduce the memory footprint when importing COLLADA files. The high level classes (known as the Semantic Layer) have been updated with classes that reflect the COLLADA elements.

Elements that are common to dotXSI and COLLADA have been subclassed to ease the transition between the two file formats. As a result, the current dotXSIConverter in Softimage also supports COLLADA.

In the Softimage user interface:

• The importer determines the correct format by the extension of the file and by reading the header.

• The exporter allows you to specify the format to be exported in the Format text box.

Crosswalk SDK

To take full advantage of the dotXSI file format, use the Crosswalk SDK available with a standard Softimage installation and as a component of Autodesk Crosswalk available for free download from Softimage.com. The Crosswalk SDK enables rapid implementation of read and write support for the dotXSI file format in a wide variety of circumstances. Designed to facilitate the integration of dotXSI into nearly any interactive media pipeline, the toolkit includes a set of core resources, including dotXSI file I/O library and header files and compilable source code for sample applications.

For more information, see Crosswalk for Developers [SDK Guide].