SubTool Master Pop-Up Interface
From ZBrush Info
The pop-up interface (shown at right) appears whenever the SubTool Master button is clicked or activated via hotkey. All of its functions are described here.
Note to Previous Users:
- The Hi Res All and Low Res All functions are now available in the Tool>SubTool menu as All High and All Low.
- The Merge function is now available in the Tool>SubTool menu as Merge Visible.
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MultiAppend
Append a ZTool with all its SubTools
Using this button, you can insert another model into the current one as new SubTools. If the new model is a ZTL with SubTools of its own, all SubTools will be added as new SubTools at the end of the current model's SubTool list.
In the examples below, a model with two SubTools (shown at left) is Multi-Appended with a new model that has three SubTools. The results are shown in the second illustration.
Append OBJ files from disk
OBJ files can be appended directly from your hard drive. This option allows multiple selection in the Open dialog. All selected OBJ files will be appended as new SubTools at the bottom of the SubTool list.
The image below shows a case of selecting multiple OBJ's, which will then be appended to the current model's SubTools.
Duplicate
This feature is used to duplicate the selected SubTool. It creates a new copy of the SubTool, which is then appended to the bottom of the list. The examples below show the SubTool list for the DemoSoldier.ZTL model before and after duplication. The shoulderGuard SubTool is duplicated, and has the "Dup#" prefix added on to the front to help you identify it.
- Any SubTools with layers will be duplicated with the layers intact. Each layer will retain its original intensity and visibility settings.
- HD Geometry is not duplicated.
Mirror
The Mirror feature duplicates and mirrors the selected SubTool. Clicking the button gives a new pop-up window with all options that are available for this function.
The top panel contains options regarding how the mirrored object will be added on to your model. You can choose to have the mirrored object added to the selected SubTool, or it can be added as a new SubTool (which leaves the original SubTool undisturbed). The lower panel lets you choose the axis across which mirroring will occur.
In the example below, the ShoulderGuard SubTool has been mirrored across the X axis with the option to merge it as part of the existing SubTool. The result is a single SubTool with both shoulders, but no lower subdivision levels.
- Mirroring is at the highest subdivision level; any lower subdivision levels are lost for the merged/appended subtool.
Merge
Combines the visible SubTools into a single SubTool. The panel shown below will appear, allowing you to control how the merger will occur. You can retain existing polygroups, and also have the option to delete the pre-merger SubTools once the operation is complete.
When merging, the subdivision level that the Subtools are at is the one that will be used for the merger, and all other levels are lost. Any HD Geometry is also lost.
The resulting mesh has polygroups based on the separate subtools, unless Preserve existing Polygroups is checked. The example below shows two mergers, using a version of the DemoHead where each eye and the teeth had been assigned separate polygroups. The one on the left used the default Merge setting, with the result being that the merged model's groups are based upon the SubTools that they came from. The head on the right had the 'Preserve' option turned on. The merged model retains all four polygroups, even though the original model had consisted of only two SubTools.
The example below was created using the DemoSoldier. All clothing accessories have been merged into a single SubTool. From here it would be possible to massage the fit of the clothes, affecting all parts at once. Later, one could use Tool:SubTool:GrpSplit to convert the model back into its original SubTools.
Fill
Fills the visible SubTools with color, material or both. A dialog box allows you to choose which combination you'd like to use, bypassing the need to select between various Draw palette settings.
Here we've used the DemoHead model. The head portion of the model was filled with a fleshy color and one of the Skin MatCap shaders. The eyes and teeth were filled with white and the ToyPlastic material. This is obviously a simplistic example, since the model only had the two SubTools. Similar results can be achieved with any model, however. Simply turn visibility off for any SubTools that you do not wish to be affected by the operation.
Clicking the image in the dialog box will toggle polypainting on or off for the visible subtools (the fill options will be deselected).
Export
Very simply exports the visible SubTools as OBJ or DXF files to the location of your choice. The current subdivision level for any SubTool will be what is exported.
Pressing the button first launches the options dialog. In general these can be left at the defaults - note that any changes are undone after export. The Save As dialog will follow, where you can browse to the desired location and set the file name. The name entered will be prefixed to the SubTool names. e.g. if 'LowRes' is entered the files will be: LowResDemoSoldier#1.OBJ, LowResshirt.OBJ, and so on.
Delete Invisible
Deletes the invisible SubTools. Note that deleting SubTools cannot be undone!
Scale Offset
Sets the export values for all subtools to:
Scale = 1
XYZ Offset = 0
Do Visible
Clicking the button gives a list of new options. Select the option you want and it will be applied to all visible subtools.
Shift Up
Groups the visible SubTools at the top of the list, right after the first/base SubTool. This can be useful if you have many SubTools and need to work on them in groups.
In the example below, all accessory-type SubTools are moved from their default position at left to be grouped at the top as shown at right.
Show/Hide All
Toggles visibility between the currently visible SubTools and all SubTools.
For example, using the illustration above where only the accessory SubTools are visible, pressing this button would change all SubTools to be visible. Pressing the button again would return to having just the accessories visible.
This feature is very useful to check how the model is progressing while working on a group of SubTools. You can quickly switch to full visibility for all SubTools, then return to partial visibility for the sake of performance or to eliminate screen clutter.
Invert Visibility
Toggles the visibility for all SubTools. Any visible tools will be switched to invisible, and vice versa.
Keep in mind that for the purpose of this function, the selected SubTool is always going to be visible on the screen, even though its eye icon might be toggled on or off.
Assigning Hotkeys
Hotkeys can be assigned to all SubTool Master functions. Click the version number panel at the bottom of the popup interface to switch on hotkey assignment. Temporary buttons will be created in the ZPlugin:SubTool Master submenu. Ctrl+click on a button to assign a hotkey. Note that the buttons are only for hotkey assignment and clicking them without holding Ctrl will make them disappear. Click the version number panel when done to clear the buttons.
