[chimerax-users] Exporting 3D models from ChimeraX?

[Tom Goddard]

Hi Oli,

  The core glTF format does not support lighting.  It also does not specify a background color as far as I can tell, here is the specification

https://github.com/KhronosGroup/glTF/blob/master/specification/2.0/README.md <https://github.com/KhronosGroup/glTF/blob/master/specification/2.0/README.md>

For the washed out colors, one problem we have seen before is that macOS uses a special Apple color profile which is not sRGB and if that is not preserved the colors are faded it.  glTF does not appear to have support for color profiles.  Another possibility is that the default material in glTF fades the colors.  ChimeraX does not export material information into the glTF file.  Also glTF can handle camera positions but ChimeraX does not include that.

  ChimeraX exports the shapes and vertex colors.  It is primarily used to get models into general 3D packages like Blender, Cinema4D, Maya, where the materials, camera angles, lighting model can all be set as needed for the end application.

  Despite the many limitations of the glTF format and what ChimeraX puts into it, other formats like OBJ and STL are much more severely limited, neither supports vertex colors that ChimeraX uses.  STL does not support any colors, just a list of triangles.

	Tom


> On Oct 6, 2020, at 8:02 AM, Oliver Clarke <olibclarke at gmail.com> wrote:
> 
> Hi Elaine - I just tried this and it saves as glb, but importing into powerpoint gives washed out colors - it doesn't seem to preserve any lighting options - and the background color is not preserved. I guess this is an issue on Microsoft's end though?
> 
> Oli
> 
>> On Oct 6, 2020, at 10:52 AM, Elaine Meng <meng at cgl.ucsf.edu> wrote:
>> 
>> Hi Mikael,
>> ChimeraX can save glb, stl, obj, etc. The save formats are listed in the User Guide help page for "save":
>> 
>> <http://rbvi.ucsf.edu/chimerax/docs/user/commands/save.html#formats>
>> 
>> ... or you can list them in the Log with command "save formats."  
>> I hope this helps,
>> Elaine
>> -----
>> Elaine C. Meng, Ph.D.                       
>> UCSF Chimera(X) team
>> Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry
>> University of California, San Francisco
>> 
>>> On Oct 6, 2020, at 2:14 AM, Karjalainen, Mikael <mikael.p.karjalainen at jyu.fi> wrote:
>>> 
>>> Hi! 
>>> Is it possible to export 3D models from ChimeraX? Preferably in formats GLB (best for powerpoint), FBX, OBJ or 3MF? You can in old Chimera, but for powerpoint presentations it can only give STL files which do not have textures.
>>> 
>>> Here are supported file formats for Office products: https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/3d-content-guidelines-for-microsoft-03a7b493-d549-4f1a-9735-f2457adf6261
>>> 
>>> Regards,
>>> Mikael
>> 
>> 
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