This document describes how to share ressources from a given texture file in another texture file. The Share/Link system is essential for artists working on textures for a computer game using the ProFX engine to render textures. Sharing ressources allows you to reduce the rendering time of textures and speed up the texture authoring process. This document is closely related to the External Links page that describes how to use these shared ressources.

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I. Share a ressource

Every node in the compositing graph (FxMaps, filter nodes) of every texture file can be shared. To share a ressource, you have to open the file that contains this ressource, then right-click on the node that you want to share and select the "Share this node..." menu. In the input dialog box, enter an explicit name that will be used as a sharing identifier:


This Id will be displayed in the compositing graph just above the node, with a red color font and icon:


This Id is unique for the file. Two different texture files can define the same sharing Id, but both will be unrelated.

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II. Modify the way ressources are shared

A shared node can be "unshared" [2] and its sharing Id can be changed [1]. These options are available by right-clicking on the node:


However, unsharing or renaming a shared ressources will break the existing external links that use this shared ressource (sharing Id [1] changes are not propagated back to the corresponding external links). Therefore, manipulate shared ressources with care! Before modifying a shared ressource (unsharing, renaming the shared Id, deleting the node, deleting the texture, etc.) it is strongly recommended to check if an external link uses it: the external link search dialog box is accessible by right-clicking on the node and choosing the option "Find references to this..." [3]. This dialog box is available in the library too (right-click on the texture preset).


This dialog box allows you to search in the whole library all the external links that use the shared ressources selected in the left panel.

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CategoryGraphism