Import and export objects
Bring objects into the open scene from an Orbit object file (.orbitobj) or a Wavefront OBJ file (.obj), the common format of other 3D programs. With the full version, save selected objects in either format to reuse them in another scene or another program.
Importing works in the free version. Exporting needs the full version, one of the differences listed in The free and full versions.
Choose a format
| Format | What it keeps | Use it for |
|---|---|---|
Orbit object, .orbitobj | The objects with all their Orbit settings, deformers, materials and smoothing. Images used by the materials go inside the file. | Moving objects from one Orbit scene to another, still editable |
Wavefront OBJ, .obj | The shape alone, as fixed points and faces | Sending a model to another 3D program, or bringing one in |
OBJ files carry no texture coordinates and no materials in either direction. Orbit places images on an object by projecting them from its position, so it has no texture coordinates to write, and it ignores those in a file it reads. An exported OBJ file includes normals, the surface directions other programs use for shading. On import Orbit ignores them and works out the shading itself.
Import an Orbit object file
Click IMPORT in the toolbar and choose OBJECT (.ORBITOBJ)…, or choose File ▸ Import Object….
The Open panel appears.
Select an
.orbitobjfile and click Open.The objects join the scene at the positions they had when they were exported, and they arrive selected. If one of them takes a name already used in the scene, Orbit adds a number, as in Sphere 1 2.
The objects keep their settings, so the sliders of a sphere or a terrain still work on them. They are not in a group any more, even if they were exported from one; select them together and press ⌘G to group them again. One ⌘Z removes the whole import.
If the objects land out of sight, press F while they are still selected to bring them into view. Double-clicking an .orbitobj file in Finder imports it the same way.
Import an OBJ model
Click IMPORT in the toolbar and choose WAVEFRONT OBJ (.OBJ)…, or choose File ▸ Import Wavefront OBJ….
The Open panel appears.
Select an
.objfile and click Open.The model appears as one selected object, named after the file, with its lowest point resting on the ground.
For a model of 100,000 triangles or more, Orbit first asks in a message titled Large Model whether to import it, and from 500,000 triangles the wording is stronger. Click Import to go on or Cancel to stop.
The whole file becomes a single object, whatever parts or groups it had. Orbit reads each number in the file as meters, so a model built at another scale can arrive very large or very small; scale it as in Move, rotate and scale objects.
Below its name in the INSPECTOR, the model shows IMPORTED MESH with its number of faces. The type sliders under it are dimmed and do nothing, and there is no RESET TO PARAMETRIC. Change its shape in poly edit mode (press Tab, and see Edit a mesh point by point), with deformers, or give it an Orbit material (Apply and edit materials).
If the edges of the model look soft where they should be sharp, lower SMOOTH ANGLE in the SHADING section of the INSPECTOR. Orbit draws a face with more than three corners by splitting it into triangles from one corner, which assumes the face has no inward notch. A notched face can come out wrong, so have the other program split its faces into triangles before it exports the model.
A large model keeps working, but editing, undo and saving slow down as the triangle count grows. An imported OBJ model looks wrong covers the other messages an import can show.
Export selected objects
- Select the objects to export. Selecting a group row in OBJECTS includes every member of the group.
Click EXPORT in the toolbar and choose SELECTED AS OBJECT… for an
.orbitobjfile or SELECTED AS OBJ (.OBJ)… for an.objfile. The File menu has the same two commands as Export Selected as Object… and Export Selected as OBJ….The Save panel opens. A single object is named after the object; several get a general name, such as
Objects.obj.Choose a folder and click Save.
The file is written. For an OBJ file, a message names any object that was left out.
EXPORT is dimmed in the free version, and also while no object or group is selected. Lights cannot be exported. In the File menu, the export commands are grayed out in the free version, and with nothing exportable selected they make the Mac beep.
An .obj file holds the objects at their places in the scene. Deformers, arrays, position, rotation and scale are applied to the shape before it is written, so the shape in the file matches the shape in the viewport. Water and emitters have no surface made of faces, so the file skips them, and it skips hidden objects too. When the selection holds only water and emitters, SELECTED AS OBJ (.OBJ)… is dimmed.
Move objects between scenes
- In the first scene, select the objects, then choose EXPORT ▸ SELECTED AS OBJECT… and save the file.
Choose File ▸ Open Scene… and open the other scene.
It replaces the first scene in the window.
Choose IMPORT ▸ OBJECT (.ORBITOBJ)… and select the file you saved.
The objects appear in the second scene at the same positions, selected and with their settings intact.
Only saving the file needs the full version. A file exported on one Mac can be imported on any Mac with Orbit.
Related: File types and File and purchase problems.