GATOR Property Editor

The Generalized Attribute Transfer Operator transfers clusters and attributes from any set of input objects to a target object. This is useful for transferring texture UVs, envelope weighting, and other data between objects that don't share a modeling relation, such as high and low-resolution versions of the same character. Components are mapped based on their proximity in 3D space, so the transfer works best if the objects are similar in size and shape.

To apply: Select one or more input polygon mesh or NURBS surface objects, then choose Get Property Transfer Attributes from any toolbar and pick a target object.

To redisplay: Select the target object, click the Selection button on the Select panel, then click the Gator icon.

Inputs

Hide/Unhide	Hides all the inputs for the generated object to simplify the display of your scene in the 3D views, or unhides the inputs when you need to modify them.
Delete	Freezes the generator and deletes the inputs. This simplifies the scene once you are satisfied that you won't need to modify the inputs again.

Inputs' construction mode

Sets the connection point from which the operator reads to the top of the specified construction region of the input objects. For example, if this is set to Modeling, the operator reads the geometry and other attributes from the top of the inputs' Modeling region and ignores he effect of operators above it. If it is set to Secondary Shape (Result), it reads from the top of the inputs' entire stack, taking all operators into account.

Merge/Transfer Properties

Materials, UVs, VertexColors, WeightMaps	Transfers clusters and cluster properties from the input objects to the target object. All cluster properties of the following types are transferred: materials, texture UVs, color at vertices properties, user normals, and property weight maps (but not envelope weights). Similar cluster properties on different objects are automatically merged if Softimage determines that it is safe to do so.
Shape Animation, Envelope Weights	Transfers envelope weights and shapes. Envelope clusters on separate objects are always merged, but shape sources are not. Shape clips and weights are duplicated.
Envelope	Turn this off to disable the transfer of envelopes when the corresponding Transfer button is pressed.
Edit Transfer	Allows you to manually transfer, merge, and remove clusters and cluster properties. See Transferring Attributes Manually [Data Exchange].

Additional Options

Preserve Property Discontinuities

Preserves breaks in the texture UVs or vertex color properties.

Transfer Method

The method used to calculate attribute values on the target object:

Closest Surface (smoothed) is a variation of Closest Surface that helps avoid stretching of values at sharp corners and other situations. For example, in the image below, the closest location on the smaller cube is the same for all points on the cross-section of the larger cube's bevel, which would result in stretching and banding. This method detects such situations and compensates for it.
Closest Surface finds the nearest point on the input object's surface and interpolates a value based on the surrounding vertices or knots.
Closest Vertex (or Knot) uses the value from the nearest vertex or knot on the input object(s). No interpolation is performed. This method works best when the topologies are extremely similar.
Raycast Along Normals casts a rays along a point's normal in both directions and interpolates a value based on where the ray hits the source object. If the ray hits the source at multiple locations, the shortest distance is used. If there is no hit, a value is calculated using the Closest Surface method. This method generally gives poorer results than Closest Surface, but may give better results in specific cases such as those involving deep concavities.

Mirror

Mirror Properties

Mirrors properties across the specified plane. This is useful, for example, to copy shapes from the left side of one object to the right side of another object even if there are topological differences.

Plane Reference

The coordinate system for the plane of symmetry:

Global: The mirror plane passes through the scene center.
Local: The mirror plane passes through the target object's center.

Plane Normal

The plane of symmetry: X Axis mirrors across the YZ plane; Y Axis mirrors across the XZ plane; Z Axis mirrors across the XY plane.

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