Category Archives: Tips

Softimage TEMP folder

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While Softimage is running, %TEMP% is adjusted to point to a folder that looks like %TEMP%\XSI_Temp_11676:

LogMessage( XSIUtils.Environment("TEMP") );
// INFO : C:\Users\Stephen\AppData\Local\Temp\XSI_Temp_11676

11676 is the process identifier of the XSI.exe process. To show the process identifier (PID) in the Task Manager, click View > Select Columns and click the PID (Process Identifier) check box.

BTW, Process Explorer is handy for checking out the environment (and other properties) of running processes:

Resetting standalone license activations

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Sometimes you may be forced to zap your standalone licenses so you can start over with a clean slate. For example, you might not be able to activate your new license because somehow the licenses were corrupted. Or maybe you had a blue-screen crash during installation and then you used a reg cleaner to further muddy the waters. Or maybe the software asks you for activation every time you start the product.

In those types of scenarios, as a last resort, you can reset your standalone licenses by zapping the adskflex_00691b00_tsf.data and adskflex_00691b00_tsf.data.backup files.

I suggest you rename the file or move it, rather than simply deleting it.
However, you will have to re-activate all standalone Autodesk products installed on the computer.

On Vista or Windows 7:

C:\ProgramData\FLEXnet\adskflex_00691b00_tsf.data
C:\ProgramData\FLEXnet\adskflex_00691b00_tsf.data.backup

On Windows XP:

C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\FLEXnet\adskflex_00691b00_tsf.data
C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\FLEXnet\adskflex_00691b00_tsf.data.backup

I include the _tsf.data.backup file because your Autodesk software will reuse that file if it cannot find the _tsf.data file. And if that backup file is corrupted too, well then…

Windows Search makes me happy

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I’ve been very happy with Windows Search since I upgraded to Windows 7. Just one click and I can search all my e-mail archives, as well the files and documents on my computer.

I have extensive Outlook e-mail archives, so the ability to search them all from one place has come in very handy. For example, an xsibase user recently posted about a problem creating submenus in Python. This jogged something in my memory, so I clicked the Windows Start button, typed in “menu AddItem”, and in a few minutes I had tracked down the answer (again).

And just this morning, I used Windows Search to track down some code snippet I had written five years ago and emailed to somebody.

Getting started with Windows Search
Windows search tips and tricks

Creating a desktop shortcut for batch rendering

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You can use scriptXSI.bat in %XSI_HOME%\Application\bin to create a desktop shortcut for batch rendering. When you drag and drop a scene file on that batch file, that starts a batch render.

To create a desktop shortcut, right-click scriptXSI.bat and click Send To > Desktop (create shortcut).

If you want to drag and drop multiple scenes:

  1. Copy scriptXSI.bat to your desktop.
  2. Edit the batch file and change it to this: 
    @echo off
call "C:\Program Files\Autodesk\Softimage 2011 Subscription Advantage Pack\Application\bin\setenv.bat"
:next
if "%1"=="" goto end
set SCN=%1
"C:\Program Files\Autodesk\Softimage 2011 Subscription Advantage Pack\Application\bin\XSIBatch.exe" -render %SCN%
shift
goto next
:end

Importing SOFTIMAGE|3D HRC and DSC files

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We still get the occasional support request about importing SOFTIMAGE|3D scenes (.dsc) and models (.hrc) into Softimage 2011.

The SOFTIMAGE|3D importer was removed in the Softimage 2011 release. From the What’s New section of the documentation:

SI3D Loader Is Gone

The SOFTIMAGE|3D importer, also known as the SI3D Loader, has been removed from Softimage. The workaround is to import your SOFTIMAGE|3D scene or model into Softimage as dotXSI (*.xsi).

As suggested in the documentation, you could use export dotXSI 3.0 from SOFTIMAGE|3D and then import that into Softimage 2011.

Or you could use 32-bit Softimage 2010, which includes the Import > SI|3D Scene/Model command. If you’re on Subscription, your Softimage 2011 license will run Softimage 2010, and you can download Softimage 2010 from the Subscription Center.

If you have a lot of hrc/dsc files to import, you can write a script to automate the process.
Here’s a relatively crude example (JScript):

var fso = new ActiveXObject( "Scripting.FileSystemObject" );

var sSourceDir = "C:\\Softimage\\SOFT3D_4.0\\3D\\rsrc\\";
var sTargetDir = "C:\\Documents and Settings\\blairs\\Local Settings\\Temp\\HRC\\Scenes\\";

var srcFolder = fso.GetFolder( sSourceDir );

var files = new Enumerator( srcFolder.files );
// Loop through files  

var re = /\.hrc$/;
for(; !files.atEnd(); files.moveNext() )
{
	var sName = files.item().Name;
		
	if ( sName.match(re) )
	{
		NewScene(null, null);
		
		//LogMessage( "Importing " + sSourceDir + sName );
		ImportFromSI3D( sSourceDir + sName, null, null);
		
		// Strip off the ".hrc"
		var sTmp = sName.substr(0,sName.lastIndexOf( "." ));
		
		//LogMessage( "Saving " + sTargetDir + sTmp + ".scn" );
		SaveSceneAs( sTargetDir + sTmp + ".scn" );
		
	}
}