Description

The Batch Input node can be used in conjunction with Batch Output to quickly process multiple Bitmaps or Materials through the same set of node operations. Executing a Batch Input node requires a Batch Output node to be present at the end of the execution chain.

You can check out our video on Batching here.

Usage

To batch process a set of Bitmaps or Materials, follow these steps:

1. Create a Batch Input node on the Node Graph. It can be found in the Import category of the Node Library.
2. In the node’s Properties window, select the correct Input Type - either Bitmap or Material, depending on the type you wish to import.
3. Click the Browse button next to the Input Path property, and point to the folder containing all the Bitmaps or Materials you want to import. The rules for importing each type are detailed in the Batch importing Bitmaps and Batch importing Materials sections below.
4. Connect the Batch Input node to another node in the Node Graph, depending on the type of batch processing you want to do. This node can plug into other nodes, which perform further operations on the input.
5. The node processing chain must conclude with a Batch Output node. After the node chain has processed all the inputs, a Batch Output node exports all resulting Bitmaps or Materials from ArtEngine to your hard drive.
6. Execute the Batch Input node.
7. You will see a progress window during the operation. Wait for the batch operation to complete. You can also Cancel the batch operation during this step.
8. Once the process is complete, there are three options available to you in the batch operation window:
   
   • OK: close the batching window and return to the Node Graph.
   • Open Folder: open the output destination folder with your files.
   • Log: display a log of the batching operations, which is useful for troubleshooting. 

Batch importing Bitmaps

The Batch Input node can only process valid image files found in the top level folder at which the Input Path property is pointing.

A valid image file has one of the following file extensions: PNG, JPG, TGA, TIF, or EXR.

During the import process, the node will ignore any sub-folders or non-image files present in the top level input folder.

Here is an example of how an input folder might be structured:

input_path/
input_path/albedo_01.tga
input_path/albedo_02.png
input_path/albedo_03.tif

In this case, if the Input Path property points at the input_path folder, then all of the files in it are valid images and can batch import successfully.

However, there may be other files in the Input Path, such as:

input_path/folder_01
input_path/file_01.exe

In the above case, the node excludes folder_01 and file_01.exe from the import, because one is a subfolder and the other is not a valid image file.

Batch importing Materials

To batch import Materials, each Material (consisting of its individual texture files) should be in an individual sub-folder. Sub-folders must be located in the top level folder at which the Input Path property is pointing.

Here is an example of how an input folder might be structured:

input_path/
input_path/mat_01
input_path/mat_01/albedo.tga
input_path/mat_01/normal.tga
input_path/mat_01/height.tga
input_path/mat_02
input_path/mat_02/albedo.tga
input_path/mat_02/normal.tga
input_path/mat_02/height.tga

In this example, if the Input Path property points at the input_path folder, then the node will import mat_01 and mat_02 as Materials, each consisting of the textures (albedo.tga, normal.tga, height.tga) found inside those folders.

Please note that batch processing for Materials contained in .AMTL files is not currently supported.

Node Reference

Ports

Properties