Is there a program anywhere that will convert a Poser *.pp2 file directly to an *.obj file? (One that has the geometry internal and not requiring a call to the "Geometries" zone). I download lots of goodies, but never, never render in Poser - and never will, as I build all my scenes in Bryce. For me, and others who do it this way, it's a major paininnabutt to have to load a prop into poser runtime, open poser, call up the prop, export it, then import it to Bryce, and ONLY then be able to actually use it. (Things like architecture, not stuff like weapons or clothes which would be attached to exported figures in any case.) Hoping ...

You can drag a PP2 file into the UV Mapper Pro window, and it will extract the geometry from it. You can then save the model as an OBJ. I don't remember if the free version (UV Mapper Classic) does this. UV Mapper Pro is also a good way to divide the geometry into more groups, so you can put your Bryce procedural textures on them. It displays the mesh, and you can map it different ways to get a good view of the part you want, select it with the marquee or lasso tool, and assign those facets to a new group. Lynn Grant Castle Development Group

Another way: just rename the the extension .pp2 to .obj, most programs can read such a obj (they throw away the surplus Poser stuff in the file).

'I don't remember if the free version (UV Mapper Classic) does this. ' Yes it does.

Great - thanks, I had no idea UVmapper could do that too. Definitely time to upgrade from classic to pro in any case. Thengkew, Thengkew, Thengkew!

Or you can cut everything but the v thru f blocks ( or extract it and paste into a new doc) in a text editor and rename the file to *.obj

Yes, any program that can read obj files, will read data from a pp2 file. Just rename it to obj. There is nothing special about this. obj files are plain text, and there is nothing in the file to say that is or is not a obj file.

Also you can export files from poser too. You could just export the prop as an obj. Sometimes people ask how to merge props. This way works too. Didnt know you could just rename the extension though.

Or you could dump Bryce, buy Vue 4 and open the pz3 file directly without the need to export anything. evil chuckle Kate

"Yes, any program that can read obj files, will read data from a pp2 file." "*any" might be a bit too strong a term :-) I used to edit the PP2 files, and throw away anything but the v, vt, and f statements. I went through several conversion utilities (which I used for rotating, rescaling, that sort of thing) before I settled on the ones I use now. At least a few of them would not read the OBJ files I created because they all the lines were indented two tabs. I had to remove the tabs before they would accept them. This was long ago, and many utilities away, so I can't name specifics. But if you just rename the suffix to ".obj" and your particular utility says "huh?", that might be the problem. Lynn Grant Castle Development Group

does this work in the reverse tho??? i have a prop that has "single sides".... usually i fix this by using mazs 2facer, which adds the missing side. this all happens b4 its brought into poser tho. im wondering if i use this rename the extension method, can i fix it, and bring it back into poser w/o losing the prop info??? (its a smartprop that has a matpose........)

atom, That is what an external call is ideal for dealing with. The pp2 would look for X.obj and the actual X.obj can be any mesh, all it must have is the name. Although it is looking bad to have single sided props and look thru the empty side in the preview window, the normals are rendered the same from either side. Unless you are going to but a different texture on the two sides, why double the prop size by making it two faced?

its a nurbs thing w/ us max users. nurbs are created w/ only 1 side in max, so only 1 side shows in poser. even when rendered. the maz 2facer fixes this, but like i said, its a prop i need to use it on. so i dont really have an obj to use, just the pp2. im not too worried bout the prop size doubling....... that whole 1st paragraph was greek to me, lol....... so what can i do????

DOOH! The UVM .pp2 drag&drop thing is a real forehead-slapper! Thanks Lynn! (...&SteveC)

If you import an object and save it as a prop, the geometry is a part of the pp2. The props from DAZ and many other providers have an external geometry that you park in a designated folder and the pp2 calls that file instead of it being in the library file. The is external call. A pp2 with an imbedded geometry looks like this: version { number 4.01 } prop ribbon { geomCustom { numbVerts 1037 numbTVerts 1 numbTSets 0 numbElems 896 numbSets 3584 v -0.002831 0.608453 -0.000037 v -0.002596 0.608271 -0.000107 v -0.002174 0.608352 -0.000260 (with 1037 v lines, probably the same # vt, f and often vn) The pp2 can be a large file. This is one with an exernal call: version { number 4.01 } prop BBallCap_1 { storageOffset 0 0.3487 0 objFileGeom 0 0 :Runtime:Geometries:props:blbballcap.obj } The file will bring in whatever object is in RuntimeGeometriesprops and is named blbballcap.obj You can substitute a different prop as long as the name is blbballcap.obj ( and you remember to delete the blbballcap.rsr that is beside it. So you can alter the geometry and then give it the name of the old file and that will show up in Poser. Changing an imbedded geometry pp2 to an external call is a bit tricky. If you make any mistakes, it is likely not to work. Trav had/has directions for doing this at Morph World.

im really terrible w/ cr2, pz2, and pp2 editing.... (any type of code freaks me), so im wondering this........ is it possible just to rewrite the embedded obj file section of the pp2??? how can i isolate the obj file info in the pp2???

Open an OBJ file in your TE and then open a pp2 with embedded geometry Just look at what is there. There probably is no reason that you could not replace one geometry with another in a pp2. Try it and see.