File Load Settings / Consolidate Shaders ??

rk66

Hi,
what effect have this settings exactly?

Preferences > Common File Load Settings and
Consolidate Shaders on Load

Thanks.

rk.

evilproducer

Let's say you are loading a DAZ figure such as V4 (because I'm more familiar with the shading domains). The arms and legs use the same UV template and image map. If you don't consolidate the shaders, then you will have a master shader for each, which means Carrara will load the image maps for each one, thus keeping more stuff in memory. If you consolidate the shaders, then shaders that use the same image maps, with the same parameters, will be consolidated into one the shader that the arms and legs shading domains uses. Adjusting the shader will adjust both the domains.

Using the preferences option to do this is sort of like an automated version of using the Consolidate Duplicate Shaders under the Edit Menu.

Personally, I don't set it in the preferences menu because I may want, or need to adjust individual domains that would normally be consolidated on load. I do however, use the menu command as soon as I have made the changes I wanted to make to save on system overhead.

rk66

Best thanks Evil.

rk.