Greetings All,

I've been back at it plugging away.

To 3doutlaw: I went ahead and tried Casual's process and got the same results as with JG's process, that being the "Report: Error" where the python script failed.  I think JG's and Casual's process are essentially the same thing only approached slightly differently.  So the fact that I got the same result is not a big surprise.

I considered what you mentioned about the .bat file.  I did a little googling to see if there's a way to convert or translate a .bat file to run on Mac OS X and the info is a bit sparce, not to mention a bit "techy" as some suggest rewriting the script using AppleScript or shell scripting (?), both of which I am clueless about and would have to spend some time learning the ins and outs of.

I went ahead and opened up the .bat file in my Parallels VM and it looks extremely simple.  Just one line.  I'm curious if it's not a relatively simple thing.  I'm considering reaching out to other Mac scripting users on other forums to see if they might have a clue.  As far as my just diving in and tackling it, ... well I feel a bit out of my depth right now, not to mention like I'm chasing rabbits.  All I was hoping to do was to have a decent model of a human character rendered on my Mac in a nice scene.  I've found myself spending an inordinate amount of time just trying to get two programs to play nice with one another on my Mac, and it's proving to be discouraging.

To RobynsVeil: After realizing that Casual's process was also a failure I began trying out your process.  However, I've run into some snags, no doubt because I'm a newbie.

You indicated to "pose my figure in Poser only".  I did that, and will leave the materials, lights and other stuff to do in Blender. You then said to "export using the Scripts->Utility->CollectSceneInventory script to an "Export" folder", and here's where I began to have a problem.  [Just to remind you, I'm running Poser 9 on my MacBook (OS X 10.7.5).]  

When I open up the CollectSceneInventory script I get a pop-up window.  It requires me to choose an option.  then it provides me with three choices to select from: 1) None, 2) List Files, and 3) Copy all to folder.  To be honest I didn't know which to choose.  I figured "Copy all to folder" made the most sense so I selected it and pressed OK.

Two pop-up windows appeared at that point.  The first was a message window that read: "

adding to fails:  Runtime/Libraries/Character/People/James/JamesCasual.obz

Done.

The second pop-up was the "Save" window giving me the option of where to save the file and what to name it.  I chose the folder I wanted then named the file "James Casual Robyns Veil Export" and clicked "Save".  Two other pop-up windows appeared:

The first was an error message that read, "Some files could not be located", and had an OK button to click out of it.  The second window was a message window with a lot of script:

adding to fails:  Runtime/Libraries/Character/People/James/JamesCasual.obz

copy  /Users/Shared/Poser 9 Content/Runtime/textures/P6ClothingTextures/Male/MJeans1TEX_Lores.jpg to /Users/xxxxx/Projects/Poser/James Casual/James Casual RobynsVeil Export 

copy  /Users/Shared/Poser 9 Content/Runtime/textures/P6ClothingTextures/Male/MTshirt3TEX_Lores.jpg to /Users/xxxxx/Projects/Poser/James Casual/James Casual RobynsVeil Export

copy  /Users/Shared/Poser 9 Content/Runtime/Textures/Poser 6 Textures/James/James_Face_Color_Hair_Lores.jpg to /Users/xxxxx/Projects/Poser/James Casual/James Casual RobynsVeil Export

copy  /Users/Shared/Poser 9 Content/Runtime/Textures/Poser 6 Textures/James/James_Body_Lores.jpg to /Users/xxxxx/Projects/Poser/James Casual/James Casual RobynsVeil Export

copy  /Users/Shared/Poser 9 Content/Runtime/Textures/Poser 6 Textures/James/James_Mouth_Gum_Lores.jpg to /Users/xxxxx/Projects/Poser/James Casual/James Casual RobynsVeil Export

copy  /Users/Shared/Poser 9 Content/Runtime/Textures/Poser 6 Textures/James/James_Tongue_Lores.jpg to /Users/xxxxx/Projects/Poser/James Casual/James Casual RobynsVeil Export

copy  /Users/Shared/Poser 9 Content/Runtime/Textures/Poser 6 Textures/James/James_EyeLashTopTran.jpg to /Users/xxxxx/Projects/Poser/James Casual/James Casual RobynsVeil Export

copy  /Users/Shared/Poser 9 Content/Runtime/Textures/Poser 6 Textures/James/James_EyeLashBotTran.jpg to /Users/xxxxx/Projects/Poser/James Casual/James Casual RobynsVeil Export

copy  /Users/Shared/Poser 9 Content/Runtime/textures/Poser 6 Textures/James/James_Eye_Inner_Green.jpg to /Users/xxxxx/Projects/Poser/James Casual/James Casual RobynsVeil Export

copy  /Users/Shared/Poser 9 Content/Runtime/Textures/Poser 6 Textures/James/James_Eye_Green.jpg to /Users/xxxxx/Projects/Poser/James Casual/James Casual RobynsVeil Export

copy  /Users/Shared/Poser 9 Content/Runtime/Textures/Poser 6 Textures/James/Nail_Hand_01_Lores.jpg to /Users/xxxxx/Projects/Poser/James Casual/James Casual RobynsVeil Export

copy  /Users/Shared/Poser 9 Content/Runtime/textures/P6ClothingTextures/Male/MCasShoe1TEX_Lores.jpg to /Users/xxxxx/Projects/Poser/James Casual/James Casual RobynsVeil Export

copy  /Users/Shared/Poser 9 Content/Runtime/Textures/Poser 6 Textures/James/James_Toenails_Lores.jpg to /Users/xxxxx/Projects/Poser/James Casual/James Casual RobynsVeil Export

copy  /Users/Shared/Poser 9 Content/Runtime/Textures/Ground Default Texture.tif to /Users/xxxxx/Projects/Poser/James Casual/James Casual RobynsVeil Export

copy  /Users/Shared/Poser 9 Content/Runtime/Geometries/props/ground.obz to /Users/xxxxx/Projects/Poser/James Casual/James Casual RobynsVeil Export

copy  /Users/Shared/Poser 9 Content/Runtime/Geometries/props/stairs.obz to /Users/xxxxx/Projects/Poser/James Casual/James Casual RobynsVeil Export

copy  /Users/Shared/Poser 9 Content/Runtime/geometries/lights/spotLite.obz to /Users/xxxxx/Projects/Poser/James Casual/James Casual RobynsVeil Export

copy  /Users/Shared/Poser 9 Content/Runtime/Geometries/Camera/Camera.obz to /Users/xxxxx/Projects/Poser/James Casual/James Casual RobynsVeil Export

copy  /Users/Shared/Poser 9 Content/Runtime/libraries/character/People/James/JamesCasual.pmd to /Users/xxxxx/Projects/Poser/James Casual/James Casual RobynsVeil Export

!!!---------------!!!

Could not locate the following files:

Runtime/Libraries/Character/People/James/JamesCasual.obz

Done.

It's those first and last lines that concern me, but perhaps this is normal (?).  Please let me know what you think.

When I went the saved location I discovered that my chosen folder was filled with 20 new files. Most of them were .jpg, a few .obz, and one each of .tif, .pmd, .pz3.  So I figured perhaps this part of the process was working fine despite the apparent error messages.

After this I continued your instructions, thinking that perhaps everything was going fine, but again I ran into some snags. You indicated to "export the figure (posed), cloth (dynamic, posed) and specific items I might wish to adjust as separate objs."  I'm not sure I fully understand what you mean by this and could use some clarification.

In Poser I went to FileExportWavefront OBJ ... and the Export Range window popped up and I selected "single frame" and clicked OK.  Then the "Select Objects" window popped up presenting me with the various things in my Poser scene to export.  In my scene I only saw the  ground, some stairs, and my James figure.  I saw nothing indicating his clothing (cloth) or shoes whatsoever.  So I selected only my figure, deselected the ground and stairs and clicked OK.

Then the Export Options window popped up, and I was kind of stumped as to which options to select.  In this window there are seven options, one of which is ghosted out (presumably it is for multiple frame export).  The six options are:

1. Weld body part seams 

2. As Morph Target (no world transformations)

3. Include body part names in polygon groups

4. Use exact internal names except spaces [this is a sub-option to 3.]

5. Include figure names in polygon groups

6. Include existing groups in polygon groups

The boxes that are checked are for #s 1 and 3 and the others are unchecked.  I haven't a clue as to which ones need to be checked in the process you provided.  Just to test things out I used these two default checked items and clicked OK.  

A save window popped up and I saved the new file as James Casual Robyns Veil Export to my Poser project folder for this James character.

Proceeding with the instructions I went ahead and made the four new folders in this export folder: OBJs, Textures, Poser, and Renders.  I placed the .obj and .mtl files in the OBJs folder, the .pz3, .pmd, and .obz files in the Poser folder, and the .tif and .jpg files in the Textures folder.  I then copied this export folder and placed this copy into my Blender projects folder.

I then opened up Blender 2.7 and renamed the untitled.blend scene JamesRV01.blend.  Then I got stuck.  I am unsure where I do the unticking or selecting of the NGons/Lines/ PolyGroups, etc.  I'm doing some Google searching and will probably see if there's a tutorial on these settings.  Neither do I know how to create and save "Operator Presets" yet.  That's another thing I need to learn.  So my next step is to scour the web to see if I can learn what these things are and how to accomplish them before I can move on in the process.  If you have any hints or can point me to where I can learn about these things that would be greatly appreciated.  Until then, I'll be researching and studying.

This is where I am presently in RobynsVeil's process.  I must confess it's a very steep learning curve for this noob, but I'm plugging away at it.  I can hardly wait until I can get to the artistic side of working with Poser and Blender.  I kind of liken it to having to learn mining and metallurgy in order to forge a hammer and chisel so that I can finally chisel a sculpture out of stone.  Kind of takes the joy out of the artistic side of things.

To heddheld: I took your advice and checked out MakeHuman again, but I was/am a bit confused.  I have on my system MakeHuman 1.0 Alpha 6.0 (dated April 2, 2011), and when I checked the update I was informed that I had the most recent version.  (This is the buggy version I mentioned previously.  It just doesn't play well with my MacBook at all.)  So I went to the MakeHuman website and loaded the most recent version they have for Mac, MakeHuman 1.0.0. (dated March 12, 12014) and it seems to play much nicer on my Mac, … at least I can resize the UI and work with the program without it going all white screen on me.

Anyway, I'll have to play around with it to see if I can get the results I want.  I'm not looking forward to having to make all the clothing for my character, however.  That seems like another time consuming project I hadn't planned on.  It's what made Poser so appealing, it was kind of an out-of-the-box posable character that had clothes and shoes and hair.

I appreciate your insights to the potential problem of Poser plugins not working with future iterations of Blender.  That might present a problem if I ever upgrade Blender in the future.  I'd hate to go through all this work and then discover that it was for naught because a plugin no longer worked.  

It looks like no matter how I slice it, to get what I am hoping for in Blender it's going to take a lot more time and effort than I had initially anticipated, or practically have.

Thanks to each of you for your assistance thus far.  I appreciate it.

Respectfully (and a bit bummed),

Cpt. Buff