Hi everyone. This topic is partially based on and inspired from Component Axes Change When Imported topic. These last 2 days I’ve been experimenting with the way the import option works in a new file.
Fact 1: File > Import automatically puts the imported model into a group which is also a component.
When imported or drag-dropped, he’s turned into a component group but he also automatically receives a Face Me quality.
My question is how do simple ungrouped geometries like Sang’s automatically receive Face Me qualities on import? I’m playing with my 2D trees, saving them as ungrouped geometries, so that they don’t get put into an additional group when drag-dropped from the Components tab. So far, I have luck with the correct axes location and auto-component making but I have to manually add the Face Me quality. Thanks for reading.
If you select a component instance [or a definition in the components-browser, model-tab] then use the context-menu item to do a ‘save_as’, then an external SKP is created.
This SKP contains the contents of the component.
This is usually raw geometry, but it could also include groups and sub-components etc.
So in the case of the Sang SKP although it’s ‘raw geometry’, the SKP file itself has those attributes and behaviors that the Sang component had - so as it’s a DC it has some DC properties when that external SKP is inserted into a new SKP, it also retains its ‘face-me’ behavior. Gluing and Cutting components like doors and windows also retain those behaviors with the now external SKP.
Components are in effect SKPs of models inserted into your larger model.
When you do a ‘save_as’ on a component the resultant SKP keeps that component definition’s attributes and behaviors.
If you think of components as embedded models it probably makes more sense. The model isn’t grouped into a component when imported; the component resembles the imported model. When editing the component (double clicking it) you can select the same geometry as you can select when opening the imported model externally. Just as there isn’t a face-me component inside the external model there isn’t any face-me components inside the imported component.
