Settings Panel version 1.2

The Settings panel contains various global settings that affect the importer. The settings are stored in the file "~/import-daz-settings.txt", where "~" is your home directory. You should have both read and write access to this file under all operating systems.

 
  • Save Default Settings. Save the settings in this section, so they are reloaded automatically the next time the importer is started.
  • Load Factory Settings.
  • Load Default Settings. Reload the settings the the settings file.

  Paths to DAZ library 

  • Paths to DAZ library: Search paths that the DAZ Importer uses to find DAZ assets.
  • Path to output errors: If there are any import errors, the DAZ Importer creates a log file at this location, provided that Verbosity is high enough.
A .duf file saved in DAZ Studio does not contain the actual data in the way that Wavefront object or Collada files do. Instead it contains links to various asset files in the DAZ libraries, and these assets can link to other asset files as well. In order to find the assets, the DAZ importer needs to know where the DAZ libraries are located. Up to three different library locations are supported, but a default installation of DAZ Studio only uses two.

The DAZ importer makes a guess which works on my computers, but they all run on Windows 7 and the paths may need to be changed on other operating systems. However, the changes only need to be made once. When you have changed the DAZ paths, press the Save DAZ Paths button to make the importer remember your settings. The next time Blender starts, the new library paths are used.

For a discussion on some problems that may occur with the DAZ paths, see this blog post.

General

  • Hidden Features. The DAZ importer has a number of experimental and undocumented features. They are mainly for my own private use and may change without notice. They are hidden in the stable release, but can be unlocked by enabling this option.
  • Verbosity. A number between 1 - 5 which controls the amount of trace information printed in the terminal window. If Verbosity is lower than 3 missing assets are ignored, otherwise an error is raised.
  • Strict Error Handling. Also controls if some problems result in errors or are ignored.
  • Property Minima. Shapekey values and the associate rig properties are restricted to lie between a lower and an upper limit. This is the lower limit, default -1. 
  • Property Maxima. And this is the upper limit, default +1.
  • Z Up. Convert from the DAZ convention (Y axis points up) to Blender's convention (Z axis points up). This is enabled by default.
  • Rename. Rename objects based on the file name. This is a legacy setting, it is better to name characters in DAZ Studio instead.
  • Create Groups. Create a group named after the file name, and add all imported objects to it. This is primarily useful for file linking.

Rigging

  • Rotation Locks. Turn on locks for bone rotations. Currently only very simple locking is available.
  • Location Locks. Turn on locks for bone locations. Most bones are locked, except for the hip and the face rig in Genesis 3.
  • Make Drivers. Add drivers for poses encountered in the .duf file.
    • None. Never add any drivers.
    • Props. Add drivers to props, not to characters.
    • People. Add drivers to characters, not to props.
    • All. Always add drivers.

Materials And Textures

  • Studio Materials. Enable the use of DAZ Studio material. The following options give more control over which types of channels to include. 
  • Specular. Enable specular maps. 
  • Bump. Enable bump maps. 
  • Displacement. Enable displacement maps. Sometimes gives undesired results. 
  • Normal. Enable normal maps. 
  • Translucency. Enable translucency maps 
  • Emission. Enable emission.
  • SSS. Enable subsurface scattering. 
  • Reflection. Enable reflection maps. 
The following options control some of the imported material properties. it is a good idea to choose the best options already at load time, because DAZ character typically has many materials which are cumbersome to tweak after the character has been imported.
  • Diffuse Shader. The diffuse shader for Blender internal materials. See the Blender documentation for details.
    • Lambert.
    • Oren-Nayar. Good for skin materials. The default.
    • Toon.
    • Minnaert.
    • Fresnel.
  • Specular Shader. The specular shader for Blender internal materials. See the Blender documentation for details.
    • Cook-Torr.
    • Phong.
    • Blinn. Good for skin materials. The default.
    • Toon.
    • WardIso.
  • Diffuse Roughness. The amount of diffuse roughness used if not defined by the material. (Cycles)
  • Specular Roughness. The amount of specular roughness used if not defined by the material. (Cycles)

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