DE Interface

From ZBrush Info

This section describes the various controls and settings available in the Displacement Exporter (DE) interface. In conjunction with the conceptual information provided earlier, this will allow you to define an DE configuration to meet your needs.

Starting Displacement Exporter

You access the DE via the DE Options button in the Alpha palette. Simply press this button to bring up the DE interface, described below.

Once you have configured the DE to your satisfaction you can use the Alpha:DExporter button to export your alpha data without bringing up the DE interface.

Displacement Exporter Interface Layout

The DE interface can be divided into various control groups and individual controls as shown below:

Configurations is a set of twenty buttons allowing you define up to twenty different alpha export configurations. Each configuration remembers its own values for the different options available to control file export.

The active configuration is the one whose button’s background is drawn in yellow. In the above image, the active configuration is the one called Float32. You can change the active configuration simply by pressing on a different configuration button.

The Options sections shows, for each option controlling some aspect of the exported file format, the value of that option as it is defined in the active configuration. If you click on a different configuration button to make it the active configuration, the values of the options in the Options section will change to show the option values stored in the newly selected active configuration. If you can use a predefined configuration, or find a quick code to meet your needs, you’ll never need to worry about this section.

The Status toggle button plays a special role. Its most obvious effect is to enable or disable the Options section; you will only be able to set options when the Status button is On. However, this button also comes into play when exporting files, and we’ll discuss that a bit later on.

The Quick Code is an easy way for you to enter options defining a new configuration. Think of it as the number appearing alongside many TV listings, that you can enter into your VCR; by entering that number, you automatically program the VCR with channel, start time, end time, and how many days of the week a show should be recorded. The quick code is the same thing for the DE.

The most convenient way to enter quick codes is using the Paste button described below, but it can also be entered manually. Click the quick code field and type the quick code in the resultant entry field.

If you have developed a custom configuration and want to name it, click the quick code field, press the right arrow button to move the cursor to the right of the resultant text field, and then replace the characters after the last hyphen with the desired name. The Copy and Paste buttons copy the Quick Code from, or paste the Quick Code to, the system clipboard. If someone else has developed a configuration perfect for use with your favorite external program, they can post the Quick Code to ZBrush Central or some other forum. You can then copy that Quick Code from their message onto the system clipboard using whatever method is standard for your operating system, and then use the Paste button to paste the Quick Code from the system clipboard into the Displacement Exporter. This recreates their configuration inside your copy of ZBrush, without the need to set any options manually. And of course, you can do the same thing in reverse to share configurations you’ve found particularly useful.

The Export and Cancel buttons at the bottom of the interface allow exporting files, or exiting the plugin.

The Preview shows a small thumbnail giving an idea of what your exported alpha map will look like. For reasons we’ll go into later, this icon can appear colored, even though alphas are always interpreted as grayscale images. The preview is useful for feedback as you set options, as often you will be able to get an idea of whether or not a particular setting is correct for your application simply by observing its effect on the preview.

Finally, the Normal Map Intensity Adjustment slider under the preview allows adjustment of the apparent depth of the normal map.

To Learn About Channels Click Here.

To Learn About Channel Resolution Click Here.

To Learn About Predefined Configurations Click Here.