{REQ} Replace texture with solid color and retain UV mapping

[EarthMover]

This is a bit of a bizarre request, but would it be possible to, via ruby or otherwise, UV map a texture to a surface and then replace the texture with a solid or default color....except without overwriting the UV coordinates? Basically I'm looking to embed the UV coordinates into surfaces for export to .dae. I'm trying to avoid texture decimation on skewed textures. I've tried multiple solutions including triangulation with both TIG's plugin and SketchUV. My last DAE export resulted in 6800 texture files and took 35 minutes. I found that if I export the same DAE out of 3ds Max using the Open Collada plugin, it will export with no texture for those surfaces where texture decimation will occur. Yet it will retain the UV mapping to the faces. Exporting out of Open Collada takes under a second. Once it's imported into another software, the missing texture can be applied and will map perfectly using a single texture. I would rather reapply the texture in another software rather than to have the long export / import times.

Here is a model of a bullnosed pool coping which demonstrates the issues. Mapped with Thru Paint Quad mapping. - https://www.dropbox.com/s/zrmh34wvbyl4aac/Coping.skp

Any solutions welcomed.

This could also be useful to map a bump texture to a solid color surface.

[cotty]

@earthmover said:

UV map a texture to a surface and then replace the texture with a solid or default color....except without overwriting the UV coordinates

Did you use the save UVs and load UVs options of SketchUV for this? At which point does this go wrong?
(texture -> save UVs -> color -> triangulate -> load UVs)

[thomthom]

There is no way to completely remove a texture from a face in SketchUp and preserve the UV coordinates. They are lost.

Nearest thing you get is replacing the texture with another texture which uses a plain texture.

[EarthMover]

@cotty said:

@earthmover said:

UV map a texture to a surface and then replace the texture with a solid or default color....except without overwriting the UV coordinates

Did you use the save UVs and load UVs options of SketchUV for this? At which point does this go wrong?
(texture -> save UVs -> color -> triangulate -> load UVs)

Yep, tried it many different ways. To no avail. The coping test model I posted will export with over 3K in textures even after triangulation. I guess I could unwrap it in another program and bring it back and see if that helps. I think it is the quad mapping that has the issue. Triangulation seems to work on other types of surface mapping which is not dependent on vertex count.

I've also noticed that if I delete all the decimated textures from the exported folder and then import the dae, that it will come in to another software with no textures applied, but the UV mapping embedded. Saves on importing time, but still the long wait on the front end.

So there is no way to embed UV mapping with a texture file? That is what I really wanted to know.

TIG has a bulk DAE exporter plugin which has a tick box for exporting textures or not. I'll see if he thinks it's possible to tweak his code to export the UV's but override the saving of the textures themselves. This is where the time factor is. Reapplying them in a secondary software would be much faster.

[rv1974]

My 2 cents about exporting:
Export as texturized single3ds object. Then in Max run 'detach by material' (found at scriptspot). Believe me it's a completely different world- blazing speed!
BTW there's also 'attach by material' script (caution: memory hungry).
Hope it helps.