External Links

This document describes how to use shared ressources located in a texture file in an another texture file. The Share/Link system is essential for artists working on textures for a computer game. External links allow you to reduce the rendering time of textures and speed up the texture authoring process. This document is closely related to the Shared Ressources page that describes how to create shared ressources used by the external links.

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I. FxMaps presets

The easiest way to create external links to shared ressources is to use the left panel named "Presets". This panel lists all the shared FxMaps contained in the files located in the "/FX-MaP Presets/" folder of the library. This panel is only a shortcut that allows you to find and use basis FxMaps very quickly: just drag the requested FxMap icon and drop it into the compositing graph.


The sharing Id of the linked shared ressources is displayed in the compositing graph just above the node, with a black color font and icon. To display both the sharing Id and the file name of the shared ressources that it links to, enter the "thumbnail' mode (press F4).

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II. Add external links

In order to create external links to any shared ressources (in any texture file of the library and any type), right-click on the graph and select the "Add External Links..." option. The library dialog box will then be displayed. The right panel of the library shows preview icons of the shared ressources available for the selected file: double-click on one of these icons to use it. If you double-click on the file or select multiple files, a second dialog box will be displayed: The "Shared ressources browser" dialog box allows you to select one or more shared ressources contained in one or more files.


This operation creates one or several external links nodes to selected shared ressources in your compositing graph.


In the above example, the leftmost node is an external link to a filter type shared ressource. The other two are external links to FxMaps type shared ressources.

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III. Modify an external link

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CategoryGraphism