SubTool Master Introduction
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Basic Info
SubTool Master is a plugin designed to simplify many operations involving SubTools. It also includes checking mechanisms to help avoid common mistakes that can arise when working with SubTools. Note that some features were only introduced with the 1.2G version, released March 28 2008.
The plugin installs two buttons to your Zplugin:SubTool Master folder:
SubTool Master Button
This button launches SubTool Master's pop-up interface. All features for the manipulation of SubTools are available through the pop-up interface, and are defined on the following pages.
One very helpful feature is that you can assign a hotkey to this button for instant access while you work. To assign a hotkey, hold down the Ctrl button and click on the SubTool Master button. Your next keypress will assign that key as a hotkey. Be sure to save your hotkey modification by using the Preferences:Hotkeys:Store button.
Save ZTool Button
This button saves the currently-selected model as a ZTL. In order to avoid potential problems with the save, it always saves from the top SubTool and also gives a warning message if the model contains any hidden points. After saving the model, it then returns to the whatever SubTool was selected at time of save.
As with the SubTool Master button, you can assign a hotkey to this feature. It's recommended to always use SubTool Master's save button when working with models that contain SubTools. Do this instead of using the original Tool:Save As button.
Also, any models that you save using this button will be added to the startup list when you launch ZBrush. It is important not to delete such files after saving them this way, as doing so would cause your list to become blank. If you forget and subsequently encounter a welcome screen with no models displayed, you can get back ZBrush's default tool list by deleting the ZStartup\ConfigFiles\StartupScript_RecentFiles.mem file.
Special Hotkey B
The B key has been created as a new shortcut to toggle the visibility of the top SubTool while you work. This makes it easy to quickly check your work progress against the top SubTool. Of course, this key will only function if your model has multiple SubTools and a SubTool other than the top one is selected.
Special Hotkey N
The N key picks the subtool under the cursor and shows its name, with the option to select it or return to the previously selected subtool. Note that this is essentially the same as Shift+Ctrl+clicking the subtool so that if the cursor is over the selected subtool partial mesh visibility may result.
Installation
Please follow these instructions for installing SubTool Master:
The SubTool Master download will deliver a zip file, saved to your computer.
Unzip the zip file to your ZBrush3\ZStartup\ZPlugs folder.
Make sure that your unzipping program preserves the folder structure of the plugin otherwise it will not work. (In Winzip this is the 'use folder names' option. In WinRar check 'use relative paths' in the Advanced options.)
The zip contains:
SubToolMaster.zsc - the plugin file
SubToolMaster_readme.txt - a text file version of these instructions
SubToolMasterData - the plugin data folder which contains:
ZFileUtils.dll - the dll file UILeft.txt - rename this file if you want the UI on the righthand side of the canvas SubTM-button.psd - the plugin button icon ButnPic.psd - the popup button icon + 14 psd image files + 21 jpg image files
Launch (or restart) ZBrush. You should now have a SubTool Master subpalette in the ZPlugin palette, containing the SubTool Master button and the Save ZTool button.
