Creating Libraries
Overview
Library Editor tutorial
In Forest we include some nice tree libraries, but often you will need to create your own trees or modify the included ones. Creating a new tree library is a easy and fast method to reuse and share plants in your proyects. In this section you will learn the possible options to create your own libraries in Forest.
Edition is only allowed on the User's libraries, that are stored on user's "My Documets" folder. Is also possible to add alternative locations or network shares in the catalog browser configuration.
Note: The Library editor is available in Forest Pro only
Folder and Library edition
If the selected folder is editable, you can add catalogs and subfolders to it. To do it, use the right mouse button to access to the context menu. Use the different options context in the menu to create new libraries or empty folders. Also is possible to use the mouse to drag and drop folders and libraries to move or copy elements between branches.
Commands available in the tree context menu :
| Name | Description |
|---|---|
| Create Library | Creates a folder with and a new "index.xml" file. |
| Create Library | Creates a folder with and a new "index.xml" file. |
| Create Folder | Creates a empty folder on the disk. |
| Rename | Renames an Folder or Library. |
| Delete | Deletes an Folder or Library with all its contents. Use with caution ! |
Item edition
To open the item context menu, click right button over the grid at left. On this menu you will find commands to use the item into forest, create new ones, delete them, open the properties and some import tools. Please note that item changes are stored only in system memory until the library is saved to disk.
Commands available in the item context menu :
| Name | Description |
|---|---|
| Use Item(s) | Loads the selected item into Frest Plugin. |
| Properties | Shows the Item Settings dialog box. |
| Delete | Delete the selected item. |
| Create Item | Creates a new empty item, as billboard or 3D Object. |
| Import Materials | Imports a 3DSMax material library into a new tree library, see Material Importer. |
| Import Objects | Imports a 3DSMax Mesh objects or proxies into a new tree library, see Object Importer. |
To commit your changes to disk, click Save Changes button in the toolbar.
Item Settings, Billboards
This window is used to set the properties for a tree item. The Forest plugin uses this settings to construct the plant object, most of them match properties in the plugin Geometry panel.
Settings available for items :
| Name | Description |
|---|---|
| Scientific name | Latin plant name. |
| Common name | Common plant name. |
| Family | Botanical family of plant. |
| Description | Textual description about the plant. |
| Geometry | 3D Geometry applied to the plant when is generated. Choose one of the general Forest geometry templates. |
| Material library | 3DS Material library for material. |
| Material name | Name of the material to apply. Choose one of the materials in the selected material library. |
| Get Map button | Press this button to generate the thumbnail from the selected material. |
| Width | Width of the tree object in world units. |
| Height | Height of the tree object in world units. |
| Keep aspect ratio | Keep the width/height of the object sincronized with map aspect ratio. |
| Center Offset | Center of rotation for the object in % of width. |
| ZOffset | Elevation offset from the floor level. |
| Thumbnail | Preview image of object, represented with the same aspect ratio as real object. |
| Thumbnail Selector button | Press this button to change the thumbnail image. |
Note: All trees included in the libraries are sized in meters. If you use other units for your scene, you must set in 3DS the "System Unit Scale" parameter to "1 Unit = 1 Meter", as shown on the screenshot (Customize->Units Setup->System Units Setup menu). This way, you can use your own units (as centimeters on the screenshot sample) and all sizes will be converted automatically:
Item Settings, 3D Objects
This window is used to set the properties for a tree item. The Forest plugin uses this settings to construct the plant object, most of them match properties in the plugin Geometry panel.
The settings are similar as for billboards, however instead loading a material we supply a 3dsmax scene with a object name. Optionally is possible to set a material override. The loading process can be done merging or XREF the object into our scene.
Material Importer
If you have a 3DS material library with tree materials and textures, you can import them directly to a Forest Library billboards using this window.
Forest 3 Material and Planes Material are recognized in the process and their properties (as plane size or offsets) are copied to the new items.
Object Importer
As for materials, you can import a whole directory of 3dsmax objects into a library automatically. Forest 3 Material and Planes Material are recognized in the process and their properties (as plane size or offsets) are copied to the new items.
File Structure
A library is a special folder on the disk which contains an index.xml file, where the items are listed. This file points to the files necesary to define a library item. The browser stops to scan directories when an index.xml file is found, so a library folder can't contain other libraries and all subfolders are hidden in the interface, this permits to you to organize the data in several subfolders.
Each library item points to a single template object in a .max file or to a material in a .mat file. Each time you select a library item, all settings in the template object are loaded and applied to the current Forest object. You can group several objects in a single file, or have separate files for each one. You can also use macro substituion (see section below) to use conditions or complex structures.
Each library item also has an associated image file, typically stored in the thumbnails folder. This image is used to show the image preview in the library and you shuld have one image for each library item. If you name the files using the same name of the object, the image is automatically selected in the editor.
Additionally, you can have materials libraries to override the object's default material. This way you can have several library items with the same geometric base, but with different materials and textures.
Macros
In some fields, such as filenames and object or material names, you can use macro sustituions to add more flexibility to your library structures. These macros represent the library root location, current folder, or 3dsmax state values. The macros are instanced using the $(NAME) format.
To open the Insert Macro window, press the Macros... button in the properties window, select a macro and click OK, the selected macro will be inserted in the current field of the propierties.
