FBX SDK features

Scene elements supported

The FBX SDK lets you access, create, or modify the following elements of a scene:

Mesh, NURBS, patch, trimmed NURBS, NURBS curves (all referred to as a geometry).
Texture mapping over a geometry.
Material mapping over a geometry.
Normals, color of vertex, edge visibility, smoothing groups, and user-defined attributes over a mesh.
Cluster constraints on the control points of a geometry.
Shape constraints on the control points of a geometry.
Vertex cache animation on the control points of a geometry.
Scene settings that provide Up-Axis (X/Y/Z) and scene scaling (units).
Position, Rotation, Scale, Parent, Single Chain IK, and Aim constraints.
Multiple cameras and a camera switcher.
Multiple lights and gobos.
Markers.
Nulls.
Skeleton segments (root, limb, and limb node).
Multiple takes of animation.
Global camera, light, and time settings.
Bind pose for a list of nodes (bones and geometry).
Rest pose for a list of nodes (bones and geometry).

In addition, the FBX SDK provides tools to:

Process animation data.
Triangulate meshes, NURBS, and patches.

File formats imported and exported

FBX SDK 2010.2:

Imports FBX files compatible with FBX file format versions 5.5. 6.0, and 6.1.
Exports FBX files compatible with FBX file format version 6.1.

FBX SDK 2010.2 imports and exports FBX files compatible with the following applications:

Software	Version
MotionBuilder	Version 5.5 and later.
FBX Plug-in for 3ds Max	All versions.
FBX Plug-in for Maya	All versions.
Flame	Version 8.0 and later.
Flint	Version 8.0 and later.
Inferno	Version 5.0 and later.
Smoke	Version 6.0 and later.
Revit	Version 2009.1 and later.

As well, FBX SDK 2010.2 imports and exports files in the following file formats:

File format	Version
Autodesk AutoCAD DXF (.dxf)	Version 13 and earlier.
Collada DAE (.dae).	Version 1.5 and earlier.
3D Studio 3DS (.3ds)	All versions.
Alias OBJ ( .obj)	All versions.

Texture file formats embedded or referenced

FBX SDK allows you to embed texture files in any 2D file format into an FBX file. This means you can deliver a scene as a single file.

Alternately, you can embed relative references to texture files, and then deliver the texture files along with the FBX file.

Sample programs and tutorials

The \examples directory of the FBX SDK distribution contains a library of sample programs. You can use these samples as starting points for your own applications.

Three of these sample programs were specifically designed as tutorials aimed at newcomers to FBX SDK:

Sample program	Tutorial
ImportExport	Shows how to import a file and how to export a file. Builds and runs on Windows only.
SceneTreeView	Shows how to traverse all the nodes in an FBX scene, and how to determine the content of each node, i.e., whether a node contains a camera, a light, a mesh, etc. Builds and runs on Windows only.
CubeCreator	Shows how to add textures, materials, and animation to meshes representing a model. Builds and runs on Windows only.

For more information, including a brief description of each sample program, see Sample programs.