[Plugin] OBJexporter v3.0 20130131

TIG · 4 Jul 2012, 09:05

Faces that form part of a smoothed Surface are exported somewhat differently from un-smoothed ones - with different #vertex normal# definitions for applied textures etc to appear smoothed etc ?
As far as I know the Pro tool does nothing more that that either.
What do you mean exactly by 'connected' faces ?
Can't this be done effectively in the receiving apps ?

Jakerlund · 19 Jul 2012, 12:45

Yes, seemed like removing all doubles solved the problem in Blender.
Now i can apply subsurf and smooth objects.

Lol Limewire · 11 Aug 2012, 15:45

Hey Tig,
When I put this in the 'Plugins' folder, it doesn't appear.
I have tried everything you said in other posts that have the same problem, but it didn't work.
I have Sketchup 8 and Windows 7.
Please help!

Rich O Brien · 11 Aug 2012, 16:03

@unknownuser said:

Usage: menu File > 'OBJexporter...'

Are you saying it does not appear in the file menu?

Lol Limewire · 11 Aug 2012, 22:10

@rich o brien said:

@unknownuser said:

Usage: menu File > 'OBJexporter...'

Are you saying it does not appear in the file menu?

Mine doesn't appear in the file menu.

Rich O Brien · 11 Aug 2012, 22:28

Have you administration rights on your plugins folder?

Can you post a screenshot of your plugins folder?

Lol Limewire · 11 Aug 2012, 22:46

@rich o brien said:

Have you administration rights on your plugins folder?

Can you post a screenshot of your plugins folder?

And yes, I do have admin rights.

Dave R · 11 Aug 2012, 22:53

What Plugins folder is that? It isn't the one that belongs to SketchUp. You have to put the .rb file into the Plugins folder under SketchUp and not just the first folder you come across labeled Plugins.

Rich O Brien · 11 Aug 2012, 22:55

C;\Program Files (x86)\Google\Google SketchUp 8\Plugins

Your plugins path should be as above

Lol Limewire · 11 Aug 2012, 23:00

@rich o brien said:

C;\Program Files (x86)\Google\Google SketchUp 8\Plugins

Your plugins path should be as above

Thank you guys! My friend was at my house and he told me the folder in my pic was the right one (I had 2 plugin folders in that location and one was hidden)

Dave R · 11 Aug 2012, 23:05

You shouldn't have two Plugins folders under Google SketchUp 8.

pilou · 23 Aug 2012, 08:00

There is no option inside the plugin for "weld" the commun edges between faces ?

And if exist in another plugin, the fact to export with the present plugin will not "unweld" them ?

pilou · 24 Aug 2012, 22:09

Does the OBJ export function from the SU Pro Version weld the edges for make volumes who can be subdivided in another 3D prog ?

chewbacca · 6 Sept 2012, 15:15

After moving the .rb file into my plugins folder, I am still unable to export to OBJ. Is the newest version of Sketchup not compatible with this plugin?

TIG · 6 Sept 2012, 15:59

It is fully compatible.
YOU must be doing something wrong.
After installing the file correctly in the Plugins folder and restarting Sketchup, the Exporter appears in the File menu... is this what's throwing you ?
Alternatively... if you don't have FULL security permissions to the Plugins folder, then you might have not installed it as you assume... is there a 'Compatibility Files' [or similar named] button-link in the Explorer Windows top bars ? If so click it...

Your report is not helpful - you assume we can deduce what is up from your bald statement that you are unable to export OBJ... Please consider the above and [re]read the tool's instructions.
Come back if you are still getting error messages etc...

spattija · 22 Sept 2012, 16:15

Thank you very much for your plugin!

Unfortunately, I tested it with some models downloaded form the 3D warehouse, and the resulting OBJ has some texture missing (materials have no map_Kd), although they show fine in sketchup.
Any idea? I attached a small polygon cut from the original model if you want to test

incriminated part of the model cut out

I'd appreciate some insights on it
Thank You!

TIG · 22 Sept 2012, 16:45

The model has been made sloppily - that's all.
If you use a Style with contrasting front/back default colors - say off-white/bright-blue, then view it in Monochrome mode you'll see some bright-blue faces - these are the ones that were not reversed properly and so they now have the material applied onto their backs, not the fron with is looking the wrong way.
An OBJ [and many other file formats] export will only include the faces' front material - in the case of the sample you provided that's the default off-white 'underneath' NOT the top which has a texture applied to the face's back, because it's made 'upside-down'

Find my Fix Reverse Face Material tool in the Plugins Index - that finds faces with materials on their backs and not fronts, reverses the face and remaps the back material onto the front face [that's by now facing the right way !]
After using the tool the model will appear no different, because the materials/textures will look the same - BUT re-view the model in Monochrome and you should see all faces in the default off-white, and it should then export properly with textured faces correctly oriented...

spattija · 22 Sept 2012, 16:59

Thank you very much for your quick reply,
but I still have problems with it: the fix reversed plugin says that zero faces have been fixed. re-exporting it produces the same, non textured model.
Any idea?

TIG · 22 Sept 2012, 17:20

OK - I see the issue.
The face you supplied IS modeled upside-down [I assume you can see this in Monochrome mode] and it has the required textured-material on its back NOT its front, BUT I see that the front material has been set to an 'off-white' material called "<auto>", that simply matches the default-material

If you select this material in the model-pane of the Materials Browser and delete it then the mis-oriented face [and any others using it] get the default-material applied instead and THEN you can use the FixReversedFaceMaterials tool to flip/swap things as I described... I just tried it and it works.

I'm not sure where this "<auto>" materials is used in the model otherwise, but I suspect that it's been used as the 'default-material' when someone was importing things from another app etc... If you do delete it then all faces that were using it become the 'default' material, which is an 'off-white' plain-color, so the overall appearance isn't going to change significantly anyway

spattija · 22 Sept 2012, 17:44

Simply... great!!!

Thank you so much TIG. I am a computer graphics researcher and I am going to use models from the warehouse as testing purposes for my current research topic. As you could have argued, I am not familiar with sketchup and its scripting, I am just using it for file format conversion. The warehouse is, above all, a great testbench, but models with wrong appearance make my tests useless.

So, once again, thank you!