I am using Skethchup and uploading with datasmith but we have updated and added to the model. I know how to find the meshes in the content browser and re-import ones that are already there but I am not sure how to add new ones. If I re-import the whole model I will lose all the material and UV map changes I have made. How can I import just the new parts?
What version of engine you’re using?
Studio 4.20.2
You are not giving details about how you make changes so I will guess.
When importing a Datasmith file, Materials are created at a given path in the asset browser. Upon reimport, if Datasmith needs to create a Material at the same location (which happens 95% of the times), the old material will be overwritten. Therefore any changes made to material parameters will be lost on re-import.
If you are planning to make material changes in Unreal that you want to preserve when re-importing the model, duplicate (Ctrl+W) the source material and apply the newly created material to your objects.Those duplicates will not be affected when you re-import your data.
If you elect to duplicate and rename a material, consider giving it a name that acts as a reminder that it is ‘disconnected’ from the Datasmith Scene, or move it to a different path in the Content Browser.
Good idea that is not something I thought about but what I was more interested in was adding meshes that were not a part of the original upload by updating instead of having to re-import the whole model. For example, I added gutters to the roof or a coffee cup to the counter. How would I get the gutters or cup to load in without re-importing the whole model?
As I understand it there is also no snapping so trying to bring in the gutters in a second copy of the model would be supper tedious and annoying to try to place them. Sorry I was not clear before I am new to URE and thought I had given enough information.
If you reimport the Datasmith Scene Asset, you should see the newly added items like the gutters get added to your project and show up in the level in their right places.
Any meshes that you haven’t modified in the SketchUp scene will be skipped in the reimport.
about the reimport process:
https://docs.unrealengine.com/en-us/Studio/Unreal-Datasmith/Datasmith/Datasmith-About-Reimport-Workflow
Oh. Awesome. I was under the impression that when you re-import things that it reloads the mesh as if you were importing it for the first time. That is much better. I have been worried that it would mess up changes I had made along the way. Thanks for your time.
Edit: Yay! It worked. So often doing things in URE are so convoluted it makes me think all the solutions are overly complicated. This was far too straight forward.