AutoMaps Notes (ver. 0.9.2)

Author: Todd McIntosh Description: The AutoMaps Add-On for Blender allows you to load/manage/refresh groups of related image textures in a structured and organized way.    

Image Texture Setup

In order to load image groups, they must be named in a specific way: -imagename_DIF.ext -imagename_NRM.ext -imagename_BMP.ext -imagename_SPC.ext You can mix image groups in a single textures folder or keep separate in subfolders.     2. Supported filename suffixes are:

• Diffuse/Color: "DIF", "D", "DIFFUSE", "COLOR", "COLOUR", "COL", "C","CO"
• Normal: "NRM","NM","NORMAL","N","NO"
• Normal Y+: "nY+","NMY+","NORMALY+", "NOY+"
• Specular: "SPC","S","SP","SPEC","SPECULAR"
• Reflection/Glossy: "REF", "RF","REFLECTION","G","GLOSSY","GLS"
• Bump/Height: "BMP","BUMP","B","BP","H","HT","HEIGHT"
• Transparency/Alpha: ["TRN","ALPHA","A","ALP","TRANSPARENCY"
• Ambient Occlusion: "AO","O","OCCLUSION","AMBOCC"
• Translucency: "TRL","TRANS","TRANSLUCENCY"
• Emission/Glow: "EMS","E","ES","GLOW","LIGHT","L","GL"
• Displacement: "DSP","D","DISPLACEMENT","DISP"
• Subsurface Scattering: "SSS","SUBSURFACESCATTERING","SCT","SUB","SB"

* Note: although the AutoMap group will load the displacement image, it can't really be effectively used in the node editor just yet. However the image can be accessed via the Textures panel and be assigned to a Displacement Modifier.    

Usage

There are essentially three main tasks that AutoMaps can do for you: Loading

1. Enable the Add-On in Blender (currently only tested against 2.6x-2.70)
2. Switch to Node Editor view, and Material view. you should see the AutoMaps panel on the right side of the window in the Properties column.
3. To add a new AutoMaps group node:
   • a. Click the choose Texture Folder button. A file dialogue will come where you need to choose the folder with your textures.
   • b. The Groups Found dropdown menu will be loaded with the Group Names the addon has found.
   • c. Select a Group in the dropdown menu and click the Create New AutoMap button.

Reloading 1. If you've edited a texture map in an external program, save the texture to the same location with the same name. 2. Select the blue AutoMap group node in Blender. A new Active AutoMap panel will appear on the right. 3. Click Refresh Maps. Blender should now be referencing the updated texture map.   Replacing To keep your group node in place but replace the set of texture with a different group:

1. Select the blue AutoMap group node.
2. Select a Group in the dropdown menu and click the Create New AutoMap button.
3. Click the Load New Maps button.

Future Development Features

Development of the following features are being planned: •  Support for other render modes in Blender such Blender Internal and Game Engine (currently supports Cycles)