Blender applink

Blender applink installation walkthrough by Ctc_nick

I tried to make a short summary to get Applink working for Blender. 

1. Right now April 2022+, there is no need for the forked version.

2. There are a lot of folders for Applink. I try to clarify the dependencies in the Image. The most important file/folders seem to be 

->\documents\3DC2Blender\exchange_folder.txt

->\documents\Applinks\3D-Coat\Exchange\

Look If you have the same or similar folders. If Applink is not working, then one of the files is maybe pointing to wrong or outdated direction.

3. Open Blender and make sure 3DC Plugin is enabled. Then look on the right for scene properties. There you can set the exchange Folder, which should be:

C:\Users\<username>\Documents\Applinks\3D-Coat\Exchange\
The other ‘Object/Texture’ Field can be left empty.

4. Open 3DCoat, we take Modelling Room.

5. Back in Blender select the fancy Cube. In the 3D View ‘Applink Window’ select ‘Retopo mesh as new layer’ and Send.

6. In 3D Coat you should now see the placement arrow. Scale it Up or Down to see if something arrived in Coat and hit Apply. There should now be a new layer named ‘__something’.

7. If you get so far then there should be ‘Export to Blender’ under File. If 3DCoat asks for a filename it is working. The Folder should already be ‘ApplinkObjects’.

8. Choose Name and use fbx format.

9. In Blender hit ‘GetBack’ from Retopo

This should be it for now. I hope it works

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 Import/Export Scale Applink

I examined the Blender Applink to work with the Modelling/Retopomesh in Blender. I can now transfer back and forth, without scaling!

The File:  ..\blenderver\3.4\scripts\addons\io_coat3D\__init__.py, only 2 Values have to be set, blenders export and import scale:

• depending on what you have set in the ‘fbx Export Settings’  in 3DCoat:

Work in Millimeters:

In Line 741 set Scale to 10: (bpy.ops.export settings; this sets blenders fbx export scale 1:1 to 3DCoat)

In Line 1166 set Scale to 1 for mm, 0.01 for cm, or 0.001 for meters: (bpy.ops.import_scene; this sets Blenders fbx import scale from 3dCoat)

Work in Meters: (if Measuring Tool also set to Meters)

Line 741: Global Scale 0.01

Line 1166: Global Scale  1

Then Restart Blender or Reload Plugin.

The scales are represented the objects ‘Item’ Sidebar. They are not 1 but the dimensions are correct.

On hitting ‘sent to retopo’ the scales are applied (1,1,1). So no need to do that before.

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By Metin Seven:

I thought to add a bit of info I posted over at the Blender Artists forum:

I found this in my personal 3DC notes. Maybe it’s of use:

─ Also see the attached screenshot compilation. ─ 

Use the 3DCoat Applink to exchange between 3DC and Blender:

There’s a version that ships with Blender and a fork by Mifth:

https://github.com/mifth/mifthtools/tree/master/blender/addons/2.8/io_simple_3dcoat

To match Blender’s meter scale, change the Preferences ➔ Viewport ➔ Fixed Scene Scale to 100, and set MeasureUnits to Meters. Beware though: this can cause very dense primitives in 3D Coat.

Press Export in Blender to send the mesh to 3D Coat.

Once you’ve worked on the model in 3D Coat, choose File ➔ Bring Voxels Back To App, then in Blender press Import.

Alternatively, you can use File ➔ Export Voxel Mesh To ➔ Blender.

There’s also a Blender Artists thread dedicated to the 3D-Coat App Link:

https://blenderartists.org/t/3d-coat-applink-for-blender-2-8/1117068

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To anyone who is missing the ‘Export to: Blender’ Button in 3DCoat 2023

For it to work you need to have a folder called ‘Blender’ in the Exchange folder. I had to setup Applink manually because of the portable Blender Versions. 

Have a nice day!

Bake: is an empty folder

extension.txt:  contains three letters ‘fbx’ without the quotes

preset.txt: contains ‘Blender Cycles’ without the quotes

run.txt and texture.txt are both empty.

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Blender AppLink updated to be able to exchange data with 3DCoat just from scratch install. So, just install 3DCoat, Blender, follow what 3DCoat tells (easy to follow) and then you may easily drop assets to Blender, including Factures. Compatibility with Blender 3.4 improved.