[Plugin] Universal Importer - v1.2.6 - 30 July 2024

samuel_t

1.1.5 version adds TGA and TIFF support for textures.

Download latest Universal Importer plugin from SketchUcation PluginStore.

Pixero

Thanks you.
I agree with the previous poster that PDF import would be awesome.

olaydigitaldesign

**This is a huge game changer for game developers like me. It is almost up to par with the Skimp plugin's importer which comes with a pretty heavy price tag. The reason why this plugin is so valuable is that I can import models into Sketchup while preserving the UV map, and then export them back into the game engine (Unity in my case).

The only thing it's missing is the ability to preserve the scale and position of imported models, which is the only thing Skimp has on you at this point.

Thanks a ton!**

Einstein

@samuel_t said:

@einstein said:

[...]
3. When I import a model with multiple textures, I can only select one texture file and that texture is applied.
Sometimes I can but another time I cannot have all textures included. Some models may be badly textured but I'm almost sure that I tried importing the same chair as TutorialsUp did with success, while I didn't get both textures (only one).
[...]

Einstein, your issue has been fixed with 1.1.3 version of plugin.

[attachment=1:2pw66q0f]Rudolf Chair.jpg[/attachment:2pw66q0f]

Hi!
Can you tell me how you imported this chair with both textures? I downloaded the latest version of your plugin and tried to import OBJ model. It asked me a few times for textures, I indicated one map (green leather), then the other (wood) but still it'll only be mapped with one of them.

What's more, I cannot remesh any model. Every time it splashes this error:

polyreduction failed.png

samuel_t

@einstein said:

@samuel_t said:

@einstein said:

[...]
3. When I import a model with multiple textures, I can only select one texture file and that texture is applied.
Sometimes I can but another time I cannot have all textures included. Some models may be badly textured but I'm almost sure that I tried importing the same chair as TutorialsUp did with success, while I didn't get both textures (only one).
[...]

Einstein, your issue has been fixed with 1.1.3 version of plugin.

[attachment=1:1a6tfze3]Rudolf Chair.jpg[/attachment:1a6tfze3]

Hi!
Can you tell me how you imported this chair with both textures? I downloaded the latest version of your plugin and tried to import OBJ model. It asked me a few times for textures, I indicated one map (green leather), then the other (wood) but still it'll only be mapped with one of them.

Hi!

I specify a leather texture, nothing for plastic (because it's a color) and a wood texture then it's OK.

@einstein said:

What's more, I cannot remesh any model. Every time it splashes this error:

Try to follow these steps:

Download opengl32.dll (Win64) from this direct link.
Move downloaded opengl32.dll to this folder: C:\Users\DELL\AppData\Roaming\SketchUp\SketchUp 2018\SketchUp\Plugins\universal_importer\MeshLab\Win
Reduce polygons with Universal Importer plugin.

Einstein

@samuel_t said:

@einstein said:

@samuel_t said:

@einstein said:

[...]
3. When I import a model with multiple textures, I can only select one texture file and that texture is applied.
Sometimes I can but another time I cannot have all textures included. Some models may be badly textured but I'm almost sure that I tried importing the same chair as TutorialsUp did with success, while I didn't get both textures (only one).
[...]

Einstein, your issue has been fixed with 1.1.3 version of plugin.

[attachment=1:213cpcm1]Rudolf Chair.jpg[/attachment:213cpcm1]

Hi!
Can you tell me how you imported this chair with both textures? I downloaded the latest version of your plugin and tried to import OBJ model. It asked me a few times for textures, I indicated one map (green leather), then the other (wood) but still it'll only be mapped with one of them.

Hi!

I specify a leather texture, nothing for plastic (because it's a color) and a wood texture then it's OK.

@einstein said:

What's more, I cannot remesh any model. Every time it splashes this error:

Try to follow these steps:

Download opengl32.dll (Win64) from this direct link.

Move downloaded opengl32.dll to this folder: C:\Users\DELL\AppData\Roaming\SketchUp\SketchUp 2018\SketchUp\Plugins\universal_importer\MeshLab\Win

Reduce polygons with Universal Importer plugin.

I pasted the library as you advised, relaunched SketchUp (maybe I should restart my PC) but still the same error pops up as I press the violet swan

How do you specify textures? If I pick them one by one during import, only one texture is put onto whole chair. Surely, I can manually repaint a part of it but it looks like no UV map is assigned. If I pick the other texture from "In Model" material palette, say leather, and paint the chair top, the texture has wrong scale and orientation.

samuel_t

@einstein said:

I pasted the library as you advised, relaunched SketchUp (maybe I should restart my PC) but still the same error pops up as I press the violet swan

Do you use SketchUp through a remote desktop?

@einstein said:

How do you specify textures? If I pick them one by one during import, only one texture is put onto whole chair. Surely, I can manually repaint a part of it but it looks like no UV map is assigned. If I pick the other texture from "In Model" material palette, say leather, and paint the chair top, the texture has wrong scale and orientation.

I specify textures during import process (dialog box).

Oxer

macos 10.13.6 & SU2017

The v1.1.5 gives an error when I try to import an obj format model, with previous version v1.1.4 the model was imported right.

Error 1.1.5.jpg

samuel_t

@oxer said:

macos 10.13.6 & SU2017

The v1.1.5 gives an error when I try to import an obj format model, with previous version v1.1.4 the model was imported right.

Could you please upload your model here or to a file hoster?

samuel_t

@samuel_t said:

@einstein said:

I pasted the library as you advised, relaunched SketchUp (maybe I should restart my PC) but still the same error pops up as I press the violet swan

Do you use SketchUp through a remote desktop?

@einstein said:

How do you specify textures? If I pick them one by one during import, only one texture is put onto whole chair. Surely, I can manually repaint a part of it but it looks like no UV map is assigned. If I pick the other texture from "In Model" material palette, say leather, and paint the chair top, the texture has wrong scale and orientation.

I specify textures during import process (dialog box).

About remesher, you can try to reinstall your graphics card driver. Let me know if problem persists.
Also, be sure to import FBX version of "Rudolf Chair" model since OBJ version is badly textured.

Oxer

@samuel_t said:

Could you please upload your model here or to a file hoster?

Excuse me, the problem was that the obj.mtl file was missing, I deleted it accidentally, the Plugin works fine.

Einstein

@samuel_t said:

About remesher, you can try to reinstall your graphics card driver. Let me know if problem persists.
Also, be sure to import FBX version of "Rudolf Chair" model since OBJ version is badly textured.

OK, I managed to import FBX model properly textured Thank you for your help!

You mean I should totally reinstall NVIDIA drivers? (I'm actually afraid to do it because NVIDIA does problems with driver installation. Plus I'm an amateur and don't want to mess up with my computer.) Or should I just reinstall one of MS Visual C++ Redistributables or some other package?

samuel_t

@einstein said:

OK, I managed to import FBX model properly textured Thank you for your help!

@einstein said:

You mean I should totally reinstall NVIDIA drivers? (I'm actually afraid to do it because NVIDIA does problems with driver installation. Plus I'm an amateur and don't want to mess up with my computer.) Or should I just reinstall one of MS Visual C++ Redistributables or some other package?

Yes, you should totally reinstall NVIDIA drivers.

panixia

Hi there, thank you for this wonderful plugins.
I tryed it a bit and looks pretty robust and useful.
Do you think could be possible to have a feature to preserve quads in obj and fbx import as per thomthom convention of pseudo-quads in sketchup (mark the diagonal with "soft" "smooth" "don't cast shadows")?
That would be perfect!

samuel_t

@panixia said:

Hi there, thank you for this wonderful plugins.
I tryed it a bit and looks pretty robust and useful.
Do you think could be possible to have a feature to preserve quads in obj and fbx import as per thomthom convention of pseudo-quads in sketchup (mark the diagonal with "soft" "smooth" "don't cast shadows")?
That would be perfect!

I don't think it's possible.

panixia

Thomthom has an obj importer in quadface tools which does that in the proper way, but is noway near as fast as your plugin and it also doesn't manage the textures this good.. but it got quads, which makes further poligon editing better and easier.
Having those two importers merged togheter with the best of each one would be an absolute dream and I would buy that at any price because I could then edit, unwrap and export quad/sub-d models back and forth beetween sketchup and 3dsmax.
Thank you anyway.. this is a great tool.

samuel_t

@panixia said:

Thomthom has an obj importer in quadface tools which does that in the proper way, but is noway near as fast as your plugin and it also doesn't manage the textures this good.. but it got quads, which makes further poligon editing better and easier.
Having those two importers merged togheter with the best of each one would be an absolute dream and I would buy that at any price because I could then edit, unwrap and export quad/sub-d models back and forth beetween sketchup and 3dsmax.
Thank you anyway.. this is a great tool.

There's a plugin named Quadrilateralizer. It converts faces to quad faces. Maybe it could help you.

panixia

No sir, that's not what I'm talking about.. that plugin just splits existing geometry in quads.
I rather need the existing non-planar quads in obj coming from 3dsmax, blender, maya etc to be preserved.

most of those softwares have an option to preserve quads in obj and fbx exporters, here is 3dsmax

here are some good reasons to care about this in objects and characther modeling workflow

https://www.turbosquid.com/3d-modeling/training/modeling/quad-based-topology/
https://topologyguides.com/

Thomthom wrote an implementation of non-planar quads in sketchup wich is really handy for modeling complex stuff and makes for a better integration of sketchup with most 3d-modeling packages used to produce fbx and obj files

https://github.com/thomthom/quadface-tools/wiki

maybe there is a way to read the "quad property" set from those eporters and translate it to thomthom's diagonals while converting obj and fbx files?

Einstein

I support your request, panixia. I would also buy this plugin with ability to read quad-based topology. Then we wouldn't probably need Transmutr, which is an expensive tool.

There's a toolbar called AMS Soften Edges. I don't know if you know about it. It has a smart button "Reveal quadrants" that can sometimes be helpful. It finds quads automatically, though often not the way you wish.
Here you can watch how it works:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JHc4ySzEhxs

panixia

@einstein said:

Then we wouldn't probably need Transmutr, which is an expensive tool.

I don't know how expensive this tool is, but as far as I saw, this doesn't supports quads from other modeling pakages.
If it does, I would pay for it no problem at all. Now. The "shut up and take my moneys!" style.

@einstein said:

There's a toolbar called AMS Soften Edges. I don't know if you know about it. It has a smart button "Reveal quadrants" that can sometimes be helpful.

If you look at the example of the car, in the video you linked, looks like it has an auto-detect for quads, like other algorithms do. Let'say the "original" quadface tool's "convert triangulated mesh to quads" wich is really similar to 3dsmax quadrify or similar tool i saw in c4d.
All of this tools work fine on pretty regular meshes, but when they find lot of poles, as in the car example, they are not able to predict properly where the next quad should be.
Moreover, they tend to ruin uv's of meshes.

What I'm talking about is to just preserve the quads already present in the obj created in other apps, marking quad diagonals in obj with soft + smooth + don't cast shadows when rebuilding the model in sketchup.
Not to create or find new quads, just "preserve".
As The importer in quadface tools already does, but with the speed and the textures mangement that this importer has.