Hi, I've never been able to have magnets working properly with Poser. Nowadays I am mostly doing the job with the morph editor but from time to time I give magnets another chance :) Recently I loaded a prop that had embedded magnets and noticed it didn't work anymore (it was the first time I was using it with P11). It reminded me of a recent project where I created magnets that simply didn't work. So I thought that for some reason magnets were gone. When in the forum somebody talked about hairs that could be improved with magnets. So, any idea what I am doing wrong, is there something to do to activate magnets on a scene on P11 ? Just to be clear: I have already been using magnets on previous versions of Poser. Also, the prop with the embedded magnets was working with all versions of Poser I had so far. Thank you.

Can you post somewhere the .pp2 file that you're loading the prop with embedded magnets, so we can check it out? If it's a commercial product, then the vendor would be the first person to ask, but if it's something you've saved to the library yourself, it may be that you can share it.

The first thing to be aware of with magnets having no effect is that if the prop or actor has Bending turned off in its Properties tab, magnets cannot affect it. If you need an actor to not bend (part of a mechanical figure, rather than a soft-bodied figure), turning off bending is the simplest way to do that, but causes problems when it's time to deform that actor with a magnet. If you need the magnet to always be capable of deforming the prop/actor (as in the hair props animated by magnets, which may have been mentioned in one of my posts) then Bending must remain turned off for that prop/actor.

Back to the mechanical part prop; if you want to spawn a morph via a magnet, and later get rid of the magnet, just turn on bending, spawn the morph, then turn bending off again before deleting the magnet.

If you have a text editor (BBEdit on MacOS or Notepad++ on Windows) which can seamlessly open and edit compressed poser files (.ppz/.p2z) that will help if the prop+magnets have been saved in that format.

You'd be looking for a line like:

prop Duvet_01
    {
    name    Duvet_1
    on
    bend 0
    animatableOrigin 0
    ...

such a prop would not allow deformation by magnets. Changing the "bend 0" to "bend 1" then resaving the file will allow that, then you'll never have a problem with loading that prop from the library again and seeing no magnet effects.

I should add, that with bending turned off, morphs can still deform the prop, which is why you still have success with the Morph Tool.

Thanks an0malus, I will check this out when I am at home and I will let you know. Since these are rather old props (P6 I presume) it is quite possible the bend attribute is not set properly.
But this doesn't explain why the magnets don't work when I create them manually. The target was V4 which obviously is bendable.
This is weird, I will give it another try this evening too.
I was hoping this was a well known problem with P11.

Another thing to ensure is that the body part of V4 which you want the magnet to affect must be selected when you create the magnet. The new deformer, base and zone will be scaled to suit the body part and already refer to that part to be deformed. If a magnet is applied as a prop from the library, it may have reference to other figure or body part names, and so not affect what you expect it to.

One more possibility with library applied magnets is that they can be made to affect other figure parts in the scene, but that connection may not be correctly reapplied when the magnet is loaded from the library.

The deformerProp should end with lines defining which actor it will affect, like:

    ...
    smoothPolys 1
    deformTarget Duvet_01
    baseProp Mag Base 1
    addZone Mag Zone 1
    transformPerVertex 1
    }

while the affected actor will have a deformerPropChan parameter which defines the strength of the magnet's effect. If this were set to 0, the magnet will do nothing.

        deformerPropChan Mag 1
            {
            name Mag 1
            initValue 1
            hidden 0
            enabled 1
            forceLimits 0
            min -100000
            max 100000
            trackingScale 0.005
            masterSynched 0
            keys
                {
                static  0
                k  0  0
                sl  1
                spl
                sm
                catid 0
                }
            interpStyleLocked 0
            addZone 1 Mag Zone 1
            deformerProp Mag 1
            }

That "k 0 0" line means this magnet's effect is off. It should be "k 0 1" to deform the actor. Additionally, unless the magnet has non-zero translations or rotations or scales, it will not apply any deformation.

As a recent upgrader from PP2014 to PP11, I was a bit disappointed that the Yhago M4 magnet set no longer appeared to work on clothing applied to M4. I've been tinkering with that some and found that I can get it to work as in earlier versions of Poser. FYI - Yhago is a control prop for a set of magnets applied to Michael 4. Clothing can be conformed to M4 and then magnetized to the Yhago magnet set. Anyway, here's what I discovered thus far:

1. Load the clothing first.
2. Load M4.
3. Load the Yhago prop (M4 will automatically morph into the default Yhago shape).
4. Conform the clothing to M4.
5. Apply the Yhago pose to Magnetize Clothing.

It's a bit of a reversal on what I've been doing prior to PP11. Normally I load M4, then load and conform the clothing, then apply the magnetize pose on the clothing. Now it's load the clothing THEN M4. Seems to be working for me, but I only discovered this late last night. More testing to be done, but works as expected so far. I hope that helps! I'll be trying it with the other 2 Kaposer magnet prop/sets for V4 later today. Lee

Quick update on testing the Yhago prop/magnet set.

I can load and conform additional clothing after doing the steps I outlined above for the first piece of clothing. The additional clothing magnetize just fine. Seems like the first piece of clothing might set Poser's figure ID number (whatever that's called, I can't remember) and everything loaded after that works as in prior versions of Poser.

Not sure if any of this is beneficial or not, but it does let me workaround a Poser Pro 11 magnet issue that I've been having.

Lee

Pity the vendor removed the product. I could use that right now if it works on F4 as well as M4.

Well, I gave it a try this evening and everything was waroking fine this time.
I added a preset prop with Magnet: it worked.
Then I created a magnet (taking care to select the body part first): it worked.
So,... I am sorry for the post. Everything is working fine. Thank you all for your assistance.

I'm glad the magnets are working now for you, yarp.

It's always best to ask when something isn't going as expected, even if it turns out to be a one-off/time event. No apologies needed!

quietrob posted at 4:52PM Fri, 23 August 2019 - #4360249

Pity the vendor removed the product. I could use that right now if it works on F4 as well as M4.

The Yhago prop/magnets do work with F4. I've seen some minor issues with scaling in the legs (lower thighs just above the knees) when using the native F4 morphs. I use Yhago pretty much all the time on my M4/F4 characters. Sometimes they amplify the native morphs or augment the native morphs to get a look I desire. My rationale for getting Yhago back then was to use the base M4/F4 and clothing for those figures, even if the clothing had more morphs than the base. That way I didn't need to check to see if the clothing included the native M4/F4 morphs. I just let Yhago be my "universal" morph set and use the prop/magnets/magnetize feature take care of the clothing. It works really well a vast majority of the time. That said, I do slip in other morphs to the base figures to polish off the look I'm after, but for those unclothed figures, I dump in any and every morph set I need, plus Yhago. LOL!

I'm just happy I've got a reasonable workaround/fix to the Yhago magnet issue.

I also wish kaposer was still around and supporting this awesome tool. It's been a dream to use.

Lee

Ya!! The thing about Kaposer is that he left almost everything else in his store but NOT the magnets. I don't know but I'm thinking Vendors must get so much space for free and something has to go. That way he/she can keep their store, make a sale and not do anything else. Some older products are still quite useful and this is one of them.

I'll just note here that I haven't experienced any problems with magnets I've created myself (as long as I remember to select the right thing first). However magnets that are applied from the library sometimes don't work, and other times they do, and I can't work out what makes the difference. So there could be some lingering bug in P11, but reproducing it would be a problem.

quietrob posted at 6:05PM Fri, 23 August 2019 - #4360287

Ya!! The thing about Kaposer is that he left almost everything else in his store but NOT the magnets. I don't know but I'm thinking Vendors must get so much space for free and something has to go. That way he/she can keep their store, make a sale and not do anything else. Some older products are still quite useful and this is one of them.

Yep, I recently picked up Kaposer's Xanna & Naika bundle of Yhago-like magnets for V4. I don't use V4 often, but have experimented with those magnet sets on various combinations of V4 and clothing. They work just as well as Yhago does, I'm happy to report. Those would be an awesome addition for anyone wanting to use base V4 figures and pretty much any V4 clothing along with the Xanna/Naika magnet sets. Kaposer's magnets/prop work like magic. It's truly liberating to use them. Wish he'd make a return to the Poser world, but mostly hope he is doing well and enjoying himself. I have no idea what became of him.

Lee

For anyone using Yhago, I created a "real" fix for the issue of clothing not getting magnetized to M4 properly.

I edited the Magnetize Clothing.pz2 file to remove the ":1" from the end of every deformTarget line. Yhago now works in Poser Pro 11 just as it did in earlier Poser versions.

Lee

@EnglishBob, thanks for this feedback. Next time it happens I will try to close Poser and re-open it.

Sometimes you can get frustrated when a product you intended to purchase got removed from the store. It happened to me more than a couple of times. :)
In that case, there's still the possibility to PM the vendor. I got some old products like this.

" I don't use V4 often"
@LeeMoon, I am still using it, I have invested so many time and money in it It is easier for me to use it. But I feel I have reached the limits. I am considering moving to a new figure now.

yarp posted at 10:10AM Sat, 24 August 2019 - #4360317

" I don't use V4 often"
@LeeMoon, I am still using it, I have invested so many time and money in it It is easier for me to use it. But I feel I have reached the limits. I am considering moving to a new figure now.

@yarp, I'm in the same boat with M4. I use him almost exclusively due to the content and time that I've invested in that figure. Plus, I still like the way he works in Poser. That said, I'm always on the lookout for a new figure to push the boundaries of what I can create even further. Looking forward to seeing what La Homme will be like when he's released. One of my requirements is for there to be male and female variants of the same base character. It keeps a continuity to the characters and makes them seem like they truly belong in the same world. I'll keep using M4 while I wait.

Lee

@LeeMoon does your default scene on opening Poser include Andy2? or any figure other than M4? Once a scene has had a figure added to it, Poser remembers that figure number allocation and doesn't deallocate it when the figure is deleted, so deleting Andy2 then adding M4 will give M4 as Figure 2 and all M4's actors will have internal names ending with :2 which will break magnetisation poses referring to Figure 1.

As you've related, removing that ":1" will allow a pose to apply to the current figure regardless of its internal number. I have a Library folder full of magnetisation poses for V4 figure clothing with various base numbers, to match a specifically numbered V4 in a scene.

When I switched to using V4WM, I had to make a bunch of new clothing magnetisation poses to correctly refer to the additional V4 muscle magnets I added, and remove the ones made redundant by V4WM.

It's a great pity that M4 didn't get the full weight mapping treatment that V4 did (unless I've missed that occurrence - I thought I'd read someone started then dropped it).

LeeMoon posted at 4:54PM Sat, 24 August 2019 - #4360308

I edited the Magnetize Clothing.pz2 file to remove the ":1" from the end of every deformTarget line. Yhago now works in Poser Pro 11 just as it did in earlier Poser versions.

Thanks Lee! I had a look at some of the magnet files that have given trouble (PP2s in this case) and they have the :1 figure number in them. These are a commercial set, but pre-P11 (the version number is 5). I almost always apply them to the first figure in the scene, but what's the betting that the times they don't work are when I'm trying to apply them to a higher numbered figure? Next time this happens I'll know what to try.

an0malaus posted at 1:26PM Sat, 24 August 2019 - #4360338

@LeeMoon does your default scene on opening Poser include Andy2? or any figure other than M4? Once a scene has had a figure added to it, Poser remembers that figure number allocation and doesn't deallocate it when the figure is deleted, so deleting Andy2 then adding M4 will give M4 as Figure 2 and all M4's actors will have internal names ending with :2 which will break magnetisation poses referring to Figure 1.

As you've related, removing that ":1" will allow a pose to apply to the current figure regardless of its internal number. I have a Library folder full of magnetisation poses for V4 figure clothing with various base numbers, to match a specifically numbered V4 in a scene.

When I switched to using V4WM, I had to make a bunch of new clothing magnetisation poses to correctly refer to the additional V4 muscle magnets I added, and remove the ones made redundant by V4WM.

It's a great pity that M4 didn't get the full weight mapping treatment that V4 did (unless I've missed that occurrence - I thought I'd read someone started then dropped it).

@an0malaus my default scene is empty with the ground (set to shadow catch only), 3 lights (set for general portrait work), and background image (set to a gradiant graytone), and no initial figures. PP11 seems to have a slightly different behavior from early versions. It's all sorted out now with that simple pose file edit or the loading sequence workaround.

Yes, I wish M4 had gone to the weight mapping spa and come out a new and improved figure.

As always, thank you for the under the hood insights into how Poser works! I am delighted to be able to get all kinds of useful information here on the forums. Thank you again!!

Lee

EnglishBob posted at 1:36PM Sat, 24 August 2019 - #4360341

LeeMoon posted at 4:54PM Sat, 24 August 2019 - #4360308

I edited the Magnetize Clothing.pz2 file to remove the ":1" from the end of every deformTarget line. Yhago now works in Poser Pro 11 just as it did in earlier Poser versions.

Thanks Lee! I had a look at some of the magnet files that have given trouble (PP2s in this case) and they have the :1 figure number in them. These are a commercial set, but pre-P11 (the version number is 5). I almost always apply them to the first figure in the scene, but what's the betting that the times they don't work are when I'm trying to apply them to a higher numbered figure? Next time this happens I'll know what to try.

@EnglishBob, you are quite welcome. I'm glad yarp started the topic and allowed me to chime in with my issue and fixes. I hope others might find this useful as well!

Lee

Actually, this gets complicated again. I looked at my preferredState.pz3, and that includes a floor prop made as a figure (for off-topic reasons ) which takes the :1 slot. That means any figure I add to the scene would take :2 or later, yet the :1 magnet props still apply correctly most of the time.

I'm going back to my original diagnosis of it being a bug - nonetheless, I'll try the de-numbering procedure next time I have trouble and see what happens.

@EnglishBob those figure 1 locked poses working when applied to other figures is due to the eventual addition of extra smarts to Poser to account for just such situations, but it still happens that people run into unforeseen circumstances and something doesn't work as expected.