Isotropix Forums

It would be helpful at times to not have the units auto-converted. For example, I may want to see a distance as 1012 meters instead of 1.012 KM.

Usually this is because I am thinking in terms of 3D unit space and not so much of actual distances. Also, when converting from Maya to Clarisse, it is annoying to have to try to read not only the number, but also the unit and then do a mental conversion to compare values.

Doing the conversion isn't hard, but it IS an extra mental step. If I am comparing two values, and one reads:

9.9 cm

and the other reads:

1.0 dm

It always takes an extra beat and tiny bit of effort to compare the two.

Whereas if I read:

9.9 cm

and

10 cm

I can compare them with less effort.

So I would request a preference that allowed me to set all of my distance and area unit displays to always display in the default unit, with no conversion to higher or lower sized units that are "human readable".

+1

Have you tried using a modified units.cfg ? Simply remove the units you dislike and they will not show up anymore!

I usually remove the dm as well as that format is pretty uncommon and more confusing

Hi,

Yes, a workaround is possible by editing the units.cfg file in the installation folder. If you want to display just meters, just comment the other lines like this :

Code: Select all

//         micrometer 0.000001 "um"
//         millimeter 0.001 "mm"
//         centimeter 0.01 "cm"
//         decimeter 0.1 "dm"
           meter 1 "m"
//         kilometer 1000 "km"

I added a request anyway to have this possible through the preference menus. (ID #8325)

Cheers

I totally missed the replies on this. That is super useful! Thanks.

Actually, there seems to be a bug. If I comment out all distance units other than meters (m), it works. But if I comment out all distance units other than centimeters (cm), it just shows a ? instead of "cm", and assumes that a single centimeter is a "unit" on the grid.

here is my config file:

Code: Select all

#Isotropix_Serial_Version 1.1

// =======================================================================================
// This file defines units systems for the following attribute types:
// distance, angle, area, frequency, power, color, pixel, subpixel, sample, scale, percentage, frame and memory.
//
// For each type, several systems of units can be defined. For example, the distance type defines 3 systems:
// metric, si and imperial. Each system defines its own scale of units. For example, the imperial system
// defines the inch, the foot, the yard.
//
// Syntax for defining units:
//
// distance {               // Declares systems of units for a type of attributes.
//
//     displayed yes/no     // Set wether the this type is displayed in Clarisse's
//                          // Preferences panel (default is no).
//
//   metric {            // Defines a system of units.
//
//       editable yes/no // Allow users to change the base unit via the Preferences
//                          // panel (default is no).
//
//       base "meter"    // Set the unit that is used as base. By default
//                          // or without this entry, the unit used as base is the
//                          // unit with a display factor of 1 (ex: meter 1 "m").
//
//       factor 100      // Factor applied to storage value when displaying the value.
//                          // For example, for percentage, the factor is 100 as a
//                          // value of 0.5 will be displayed 50. The default is 1.
//
//       meter 1 "m"     // Defines the "meter" unit by a display factor (1)
//                          // and a display symbol (m).
//                          // Please make sure there is no number in the display string.
//   }
// }
// =======================================================================================

units {
   distance {
      displayed yes
      metric {
         editable yes
//         micrometer 0.000001 "um"
//         millimeter 0.001 "mm"
         centimeter 0.01 "cm"
//         decimeter 0.1 "dm"
//         meter 1 "m"
//         kilometer 1000 "km"
      }
      si {
         editable yes
         meter 1 "m"
      }
      imperial {
         editable yes
         inch 1 "in"
         foot 12 "ft"
         yard 36 "yd"
         mile 63360 "mi"
      }
   }
   angle {
      displayed yes
      degree {
         degree 1 "�"
      }
      radian {
         factor 0.01745329251994329576923690768489
         radian 1 "rad"
      }
   }
   area {
      displayed yes
      metric {
         editable yes
//         square_micrometer 1e-12 "squm"
//         square_millimeter 1e-6 "sqmm"
         square_centimeter 1e-4 "sqcm"
//         square_meter 1 "m^2"
//         square_kilometer 1e6 "sqkm"
      }
      si {
         editable yes
         square_meter 1 "sqm"
      }
      imperial {
         editable yes
         square_inch 1 "sqin"
         square_foot 144 "sqft"
         square_yard 1296 "sqyd"
         square_mile 4014489600.0 "sqmi"
      }
   }
   frequency {
      displayed yes
      frames_per_second {
         fps 1 "fps"
      }
      hertz {
         millihertz 1e-3 "mHz"
         hertz 1 "Hz"
         kilohertz 1e3 "kHz"
         megahertz 1e6 "MHz"
         gigahertz 1e9 "GHz"
      }
   }
   power {
      watt {
         editable yes
         microwatt 1e-6 "uW"
         milliwatt 1e-3 "mW"
         watt 1 "W"
         kilowatt 1e3 "kW"
         megawatt 1e6 "MW"
         gigawatt 1e9 "GW"
      }
   }
   color {
      displayed yes
      float {
         display_format "float"
         float 1 ""
      }
      integer {
         display_format "integer"
         factor 255
         integer 1 ""
      }
   }   
   pixel {
      format "integer"
      pixel 1 "px"
   }
   subpixel {
      subpixel 1 "px"
   }
   sample {
      format "integer"
      sample 1 ""
   }
   subsample {
      subsample 1 ""
   }
   sample_per_pixel {
      format "integer"
      sample 1 "spp"
   }
   scale {
      displayed yes
      multiplier {
         value  1 "x"
      }
      percentage {
         factor 100
         value 1 "%"
      }
   }
   percentage {
      factor 100
      percentage 1 "%"
   }
   frame {
      format "integer"
      frame 1 "f"
   }
   subframe 1 "f"
   memory {
      byte 9.536743164e-7 "B"
      kilobyte 0.0009765625 "KiB"
      megabyte 1 "MiB"
      gigabyte 1024 "GiB"
      terabyte 1048576 "TiB"
   }   
}


Yes, if you comment meters in the unit file, Clarisse goes weird... You have to let it as a base.

Cheers

Got it. Thanks!