Quote - Can you open one of those OBJ in Bryce5/6 & export it back out? Bryce 4 might be able to see it then, does anyone know if the obj format has changed since Bryce4 was released?

OH yes before I forget, are you running Bryce 4 in XP compatability mode? can you try it with Vista mode instead & see if that fixes it? are you running it as administrator?

I opened one of the .OBJ files in Bryce 6 and exported it out.  Bryce 4 and Windows 7 still couldn't see it.  I tied running Bryce 4 in XP mode (SP2 and SP3), Vista, and again in Windows 7 as administrator.  Nothing changed.  And yet Bryce 4 and Windows 7 can see the old OBJ files my old computer made just fine.

It seems that they don't like the OBJ files that Poser makes on this computer.  So I tried exporting something from Poser as a LWO file and a 3DS file.  They couldn't be seen either by Bryce 4 or Windows 7.  So it seems that Bryce 4 and Windows 7 don't like any files that Poser 7 and 8 make...on this computer.

Quote - Check your view of Explorer in Folder options and make sure you can see all the files you want.

Did that already.  No hidden folders and no hidden file extensions.

Rayray,
You know, just for kicks, I took the XP compatibility off Bryce 4 and started it up.  It worked, but it still can't see th .OBJ files I've saved through Windows 7.  Windows 7 doesn'nt still doesn't see them either.  I've already made Bryce 4 the default program for opening new .OBJ files, and they have the little Bryce 4 icon on them now, but when I click on them, nothing happens.  I just noticed something though.  The old .OBJ file icons from done by my old computer are showing the Bryce 4 icon, but the new (invisible) ones show the Bryce 4 icon with a little padlock at the bottom.  All hidden files and file extensions are being shown, and I'm running everything as the administrator.

bobbystahr,

Thank you for your recommendation, but I don't want to break the objects/figures up into their material zones.  I want to break them up into individual parts.  As an example, say I import a Poser figure into Bryce and the figure is washing dishes.  With individual  parts, I can assign all the finger parts and both hands a different bump map and greater specularity to simulate wet hands while leaving the  rest of the body "dry".  But if the body is fused as one material group, the figure's going to have to be all wet, or all dry.  Unless I make a specularity map, but that's more work.  I think I'll try saving the figure as "unwelded" from Poser and see if Bryce 5 does anything different.

Yes. I don't use compressed files in Poser.  What's weird is that Bryce 5 and 6 can see the files, but not Windows 7 or Bryce 4.

Yes, I did that.  Made hidden files and file extensions visible too.  I can see the old .OBJ files transferred over from my old computer with Windows 7, but Windows 7 and Bryce 4 cannot see the .OBJ files Poser 7 makes on the new computer running Windows 7.

It sure is weird, isn't it?  I forgot to mention, and maybe this will help with some of your programs, but Bryce 4 wouldn't work in Windows 7 until I changed the compatibility setting.  It runs in Windows 7's "Windows XP mode".

Bryce can handle OBJ files from waaaaay back, and I've been using it (and Bryce 5 and 6) for years.  It's such a weird problem, and frankly, I wasn't sure where to post this.  I think I'll take your advice and ask the folks in the Bryce forum.

Obviously, if it can see them though Poser and Bryce 5 and 6.
Why can't my Windows 7 see them through Explorer, and does this have something to do with why Bryce 4 can't see them?

Oops.  Never mind.  I found it.  It's the Add Library button.  I could have sworn it was "Add Runtime".  Poser 7's runtiime can now be accessed by Poser 8.

Thanks everybody.

Installing SR1 did the trick.  I thought I'd have to fix the problem before being allowed to install SR!.  Thanks!
Now, I remember adding my Poser 7 Runtime very easily on my old computer.  Wasn't there an "Add Runtime" button somewhere?  I don't find it on the Poser 8 Library palette.

Poser 7 and its runtime are completely installed on my new computer already.

Oh I'm not afraid to ask.  I just did!  What I meant was that I would be hesitant to ask the vendor without first trying to find out myself.  Now I can say I did try first.

I just sent a private message to the vendor.  Of course, I only wanted to do that as a last resort, not because I'm afraid to, but because by asking here and elsewhere, I might get to learn something in the process.  I feel pretty comfortable now that I've exhausted that avenue, so thank you to all of you who responded.  I really appreciate the time you took.

Quote - Try using one of the other preview display modes for the hair prop/figure, e.g. cartoon/cartoon with lines or hidden surface.

Well, if it's hidden, I can't see it to morph it.  In some modes it's totally transparent.  In most modes, only some of it shows, which is the problem in the fully textured mode.  The one  mode where all normals seem to show is the cartoon w/lines mode, but that's a mess to see and use.

It's a commercial item.  Are you going to suggest contacting the vendor?

The textures are fine.  That's never been a problem.  There's just no change to the reversed normals when I load the prop.  Even when I import the .obj as a static, morphless prop (with normals consistent), half the normals are reversed.  In every instance, "normals forward" is checked in the advanced tab of the material room.