...
Description
The Output node allows you to save exports textures and materials from ArtEngine. It can automatically create Unity material files from ArtEngine materials, and export them either directly to a Unity project, or as a Unity Asset Package. Alternatively, the Output node can also export textures and materials to a hard drive location on your system. .
In order to access Unity-specific export options, you must connect a material as an input of this node. The options are not available for single textures.
You can specify the location and the output file typeformat, as well as a preferred export file naming structure. This is useful for organising big projects consistently and easilywith many materials.
For materials, you can also specify the file extension and bit depth individually for each map.
...
- Create a new Output node on the Node Graph. It can be found in the Output category of the Node Library. Alternatively, select the node you want to output, right-click it in the graph, and choose Create Output Node.
- Plug in the Bitmap or Material you want to export from ArtEngine into the port on the Output node.
- Set the output Folder Output path to your preferred destination, and customize the File name to your preferred identifier for this Bitmap or Materialstructure field to change the name of the output.
- Optionally, configure additional output settings in the node’s Properties window. You can learn more about what each option does in the Node Reference Properties section below.
- Click the Export button in the Properties window to output your files. If you are using the Advanced settings window, use the Export button there insteadAlternatively, you can also execute the Output node on the Node Graph.
- Find the exported files in the output folder you specified.
...
Category and execution
| Node category | Output |
|---|---|
| Node execution style | Manual |
Ports
| Input Name | Input Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Bitmap / Material | Bitmap / Material | The Bitmap or Material that the Output node saves locally on your hard drive. |
Properties
...
Common settings
These properties control the general behavior of the node, such as how much variation is applied to features of different sizes in the input imagesettings appear regardless of the input type of this node.
| Property/Setting | Description | |
|---|---|---|
| Input Type | Choose between Bitmap and Material to determine whether the node takes a single texture or a material as input. This property will change automatically depending on the type of input plugged into the node. | |
File namestructure | Specify the file name structure for the export. Individual Bitmap names will be added on top of this file name. To modify names for each individual Bitmap typetypes, use the Bitmap Naming Preferences button at the bottom of the Properties window. Additionally, you can specify the output file extension using the dropdown to the right of this field. You can choose from You can propagate the following information into the output file structure:
You can click each of these buttons to add or remove the corresponding element from the file structure. | |
| Preview | Displays a preview of the output file name. | |
File Type | Overwrite Existing | Select the output file format and image bit depth. The formats available are JPG, PNG, EXR, TIF, and TGA. |
| Folder path | Specify the output folder path where files will be saved. You can enter the path manually, or use the Browse button on the right to navigate to the desired output folder. | |
Enable this option to automatically overwrite any existing files with matching file names in the specified output pathThe available bit depths are 8bit, 16bit, 32bit, and input; with input being equivalent to the original bit depth of the input image. Note that you cannot select a bit depth higher than that of the original input. | ||
Discard alpha | Enable this option to discard the Alpha channel from each input texture during the export process. This option is useful for texture optimization, as most materials do not typically utilize the alpha channel in any of their maps. | |
Overwrite Existing | Enable this option to automatically overwrite any existing files with matching file names in the specified output path. | |
| Output path | Specify the output folder path where files will be saved. You can enter the path manually, or use the Browse button on the right to navigate to the desired output folder. | |
| Bitmap Naming Preferences | Opens a new window to customize individual bitmap naming preferences. See the Bitmap Naming Preferences section for details. | |
| Export | Once you are happy with your Output settings, click this button to export your input with the parameters specified. If you want to use Advanced export options, use the Export button in the advanced settings window instead. |
Bitmap Naming Preferences
. This is the same as executing the Output node in the Node Graph. | |
Open Output Folder | Click this button to open the export destination folder. |
Material-specific settings
The following settings only appear when a material is connected as the input of this node.
Material Customization
Select which of the input texture maps should be packed into the material export, as well as their file format and bit depth.
The available file formats are JPG, PNG, EXR, TIF, and TGA. The available bit depths are 8bit, 16bit, and 32bit, depending on the bit depth of the input texture. You cannot select a bit depth higher than that of the original input.
To exclude a map type from the export, click the cross button to the right of the map type name. To include the map type again, click the plus button which replaces the cross when a map type is excluded.
Unity Shaders
When exporting for Unity, use this section to customize the type of export (either as an Asset Package or directly to a Unity project), as well as the target render pipeline and shader for this material.
For more information about exporting to Unity, see the article on ArtEngine to Unity workflow using Unity Direct Link.
| Property/Setting | Description |
|---|---|
| Export type | Choose between Unity Package and Unity Direct Link. With Unity Package, the Output node exports a .unitypackage file with your material and all of its textures. This file format is natively supported in Unity and can be imported into any project without any additional plugin requirements. See the article on importing local asset packages. With Unity Direct Link, the Output node creates a Unity material (.mat) file in your destination folder (usually the Unity project folder). You can re-execute the Output node to update this file, and the changes to your material will immediately reflect in the Unity editor. |
| Target shader | Choose the target render pipeline and shader. The available shaders are:
|
Bitmap Naming Preferences
Anchor bmp_naming_prefs bmp_naming_prefs
The Bitmap Naming Preferences button brings up a new window which allows you to individually adjust file names for each Bitmap type in the input.
In this window, the Bitmap types are listed on the left, and the corresponding output file names - are on the right. Click any of the fields on the right-hand side to change the name for all output textures of that type.
...
When you are done changing the Bitmap Naming Preferences, click the OK button at the bottom of the window, or the Cancel button if you want to discard the changes.
Advanced
The Advanced button brings up a new window with additional options for configuring the output process.
The window is split into two sections. The left section contains properties that apply to all of the outputs.
The Output Path property lets you specify the folder path where files will be exported, and behaves identically to the Folder path property of the node.
The File Type property lets you set the file extension and bit depth of output files. The file extensions available are JPG, PNG, EXR, TIF, and TGA. You can set the bit depth to match the input bit depth, or choose from 8bit, 16bit, and 32bit.
The Export Structure field allows you to propagate the following information into the output file names:
- project adds the title of the current ArtEngine project to the output file name.
- identifier adds the Bitmap type to the output file name, and is enabled by default.
- label adds the name you specified in the File name field to the output, and is enabled by default.
You can click each of these buttons to add or remove the corresponding data from the Export Structure.
The right section of the Advanced window contains file extension and bit depth options for different map types, allowing you to set them for each type individually. You can also exclude a specific Bitmap type from the output entirely using the X button.
When you are done adjusting the advanced properties, you can click the Export button at the bottom right of this window to proceed with the export; or use the Cancel button to discard the changes.