Creating Resources

3DVIA Studio allows you to create resources like behaviors, fonts, shaders.

When a resource is created, 3DVIA Studio simultaneously and automatically creates an asset to contain the resource. This asset is resource-specific (since it contains one single resource) and is organized in the project folder according to the type of resource it contains (font, behavior, shader, etc. – see Project Organization for more information).

The following table shows the relationship between the type of resources you can create in 3DVIA Studio and the resulting asset extension:

How to

You can create a resources from the following locations:

• Menu bar > File menu > “New” command:
  The resource is added to the project but not loaded (you will have to import the resource’s asset manually to be able to use the resource).
• Project Editor > stage: you can right-click on a stage in the Project Editor and select “New” from the contextual menu.
  The resource is added to the project and to the stage (i.e. the resource’s asset is loaded in the stage and ready to be used).
  When the created resource is a behavior, the behavior will also be instantiated in the selected stage (i.e. actor creation).
• Project Editor > stage > actor: right-click and select “Add New Behavior”. The new behavior is added to the project and instantiated on the actor. See Compound Objects.
• Libraries > Project: you can add a new behavior to a Project library folder. The resource is added to the project, ready-to be used but not loaded. See the Libraries documentation for more information.

All these actions open the “New…” dialog.

“New…” dialog

The “New…” dialog allows you to specify resource creation options like the resource’s name and resource’s asset location:

You will be able to edit your resources using the different 3DVIA Studio Editors.

New dialog options

Resource type and name

To choose a resource type, select one from the “Type” column in the left-hand pane. The selected type will appear highlighted in blue. Note that the “Options” section might vary depending on the selected type.

To name the resource, click on the “Name” field contents and type in a new name. The resource’s ssset will be named after the resource’s name, with the appropriate file extension.

Create location

You will be suggested a default location. However, you can expand the dialog with the button and choose another save location:

The default location corresponds to the folder containing resources of the type you are about to create (image, material, font), as organized in your current project’s folder (see Project Organization).

When expanded, you will be able to choose the saving location:

• shows the current saving folder
• Clicking on the current saving folder button will allow you to access the folder’s parent hierarchy: 
  
• The contents of the current saving folder are listed in the space below the combo-box:
  
• If the current saving folder contains a sub-folder, double-click on the sub-folder to access its contents.
  The double-clicked folder will become the current saving folder.
• The three remaining buttons will allow you to navigate other saving locationsavailable from your computer:
  • Go to your computer’s desktop
  • Go up one folder, to the parent folder
  • Create a new folder inside the current saving folder.

To confirm the creation, press the “Ok” button or choose “Cancel” to abort the creation.

Changing the default save location ca be useful if you are creating new project-independent resources e.g. for sharing purposes.