Can you save your Indigo materials as SKM?

Whaat · Post by **Whaat** » Fri Mar 30, 2007 9:01 am

i.e. When you save a material with Indigo attributes as an SKM file, are you able to load that material later and the attributes are still attached?

I am trying to research this issue. I can't get it to work but I know that saving user defined attributes in SKM files is possible. I can't get an answer from Google on this so I need your help. Maybe it only works with SU 6 Pro or on Macs. I have a PC with SU6 (free) and it won't work for me. If this works for you, post your OS and SU version.

Thanks

peer · Post by **peer** » Wed Apr 04, 2007 6:24 am

Works fine here! SU 6 Pro on Mac OS X. I can send you an example file?

Regards,
Peter

Can't wait for skindigo 0.7!!

Whaat · Post by **Whaat** » Wed Apr 04, 2007 6:38 am

Thanks, send me an example file or attach the SKM file to your next post. (Be sure to vote...)

Whaat

peer · Post by **peer** » Wed Apr 04, 2007 7:00 am

Damn, I thought you meant that the material was saved in the .skp . So I'm sorry but it doesn't work here either...

Regards,

Peter

crc · Post by **crc** » Thu Apr 05, 2007 5:14 am

I'll give it a try, but so far i have only used the materials in sketchup, or imported .jpg's that I use as a texture. Both work. Not sure what you mean by "indigo materials" is there an indigo material library available for download somewhere?

crc · Post by **crc** » Thu Aug 16, 2007 9:42 am

Hi Whaat,
I found a igm file in these forums and imported it into sketchup, but couldn't get it to render. have you had any luck with this?

Whaat · Post by **Whaat** » Thu Aug 16, 2007 9:56 am

Loading IGM files has worked pretty good for me. However, a problem can arise if you are importing an IGM that was created with another exporter that has more features than SkIndigo.

Until all the kinks are worked out for IGM files and compatibility between the exporters, I suggest just importing IGM files that were created with the same version of SkIndigo that you are using.

It would be nice if more people used this feature and started sharing materials. I have had zero feedback on this feature so I can only assume that no one is using it.

xrok1 · Post by **xrok1** » Thu Aug 16, 2007 11:21 am

i have used it once but i'm kinda sketchy on what gets saved (texture maps or just Indigo settings and does it have to be a default SK material or will a custom mat be saved to share) and what dosn't as part of the igm. if a guideline was added to one of the tutorials i'm sure it would clear things up and this feature would get utilized more.

crc · Post by **crc** » Fri Aug 17, 2007 2:43 am

Whaat wrote:Loading IGM files has worked pretty good for me. However, a problem can arise if you are importing an IGM that was created with another exporter that has more features than SkIndigo.

Until all the kinks are worked out for IGM files and compatibility between the exporters, I suggest just importing IGM files that were created with the same version of SkIndigo that you are using.

It would be nice if more people used this feature and started sharing materials. I have had zero feedback on this feature so I can only assume that no one is using it.

It was just a IGM I find on the thread in the Indigo General forum. So, probably saved from another exporter. I'd love to have a place where people shared Skindigo materials. I would start one but I don't think I have any good materials yet.

Richard · Post by **Richard** » Fri Aug 17, 2007 12:55 pm

Whaat I think this feature would be more likely utilised if there was a preview of the material (thumbnail) saved with the file and not even sure if that is an option.

I know through my use of Maxwell if I don't have a visual (or create one) reference to the material I never go back to use them. The idea of having to remember the material performance or describe it through a file name is near impossible.

JGA · Post by **JGA** » Fri Aug 24, 2007 9:36 am

Can the problem of SKM files not be worked around by inserting an empty SKP file with the saved material?

Can someone explain the use of a IGM with SKUP please?

Whaat · Post by **Whaat** » Sat Sep 01, 2007 4:58 am

JGA wrote:Can the problem of SKM files not be worked around by inserting an empty SKP file with the saved material?

I think that is a viable workaround although it is not the ideal solution. It should work great for bringing in a bunch of materials at once into another scene. For example, if you save an empty SKP file that includes all of your favorite custom Indigo materials, you should be able to just drop it into any SU scene as a component and then you immediately have all of your preset materials loaded into the scene.

Can someone explain the use of a IGM with SKUP please?

IGM files have the advantage of being compatible with other modeling software (only 3DSMax (Maxigo)) at the moment. You can save your favorite materials as IGM and load them into another scene in the future.

If you have used Maxwell, it would be the Indigo equivalent of a MXM file.

JGA · Post by **JGA** » Mon Sep 03, 2007 8:29 pm

Whaat,
Thanks for the info,
JGA

suvakas · Post by **suvakas** » Tue Sep 04, 2007 5:53 am

Whaat wrote: It would be nice if more people used this feature and started sharing materials. I have had zero feedback on this feature so I can only assume that no one is using it.

A small feedback from me. I tested most of the igm files you posted to materials thread (not all of them) and they worked fine in Maxigo. So there seems to be at least some compatibility already between the 2 exporters.

Kram1032 · Post by **Kram1032** » Tue Sep 04, 2007 5:58 am

I guess, it would get used more frequently, if the MatDB was usable....