Expose Import Defaults control for meshes, lightmap uv, or add way to select more than one mesh at import

[catprisbrey]

Describe the project you are working on

Working on a project with lots of meshes that do not yet have a UV2 unwrapped. They will need one for lightmapping. So I'll need to unwrap them all first before running the lightmap baking.

Describe the problem or limitation you are having in your project

It seems there aren't easy/quick ways to handle the unwrap setting for larger bulk number of meshes. All options currently seem to be one-at-a-time.

The simplest solution for me would be to be able to change the default action for lightmap unwrapping for meshes, but the there isn't an option for it (that i can find in) in the Import Defaults menu. For scenes, and obj, and other things sure, but i can't change the default mesh import settings anywhere that i can find.

The next option would be to simply select all the meshes in the import menu and change that drop down, unfortunately you cannot select more than one mesh at once to change a setting for all of them. You must click on at a time. If you have a lot of meshes, this is a lot of tedium, to click each mesh, one at time, then shift the dropdown for the lightmap from default to 'enabled'.

Describe the feature / enhancement and how it helps to overcome the problem or limitation

Either expose access to change the default mesh import settings in the Default Import menu, or add the ability to select more than one mesh at a time in the Import menu itself, to allow changing settings en masse.

Describe how your proposal will work, with code, pseudo-code, mock-ups, and/or diagrams

For the default Imports Menu, simply dropdown section called "Mesh" like the other object/filetypes have, and the exposed default mesh import options to be able to set them there.

Or on the import menu itself, being able to hold ctrl to select multiple individual meshes, hold shift to select many in a row, or use Select All keyboard shortcuts to select all. Like a filesystem would use.

If this enhancement will not be used often, can it be worked around with a few lines of script?

I imagine it would be used by all folks who need non-default mesh import settings. Or folks who need to bake lighting, but their meshes aren't setup in pre-production with a 2nd UV.

Is there a reason why this should be core and not an add-on in the asset library?

It seems more like an oversight to not allow the default to be changed in the default import menu. I'm actually expecting somebody to reply saying "it's over here actually" since most import setting defaults options appear exposed already.

[Calinou]

Individual objects in the Advanced Import Settings dialog are not imported resource types, which is why they don't appear in the Import Defaults dialog. It might be possible to hack around the dialog but it sounds difficult.

Note that mesh objects in this dialog should not be confused with the Mesh import type, which is reserved for .obj files. This currently doesn't support UV2 unwrapping or LOD generation (see #5600).

[catprisbrey]

Maybe i just need to be more clear. This setting arrowed below is exactly what i want to control the default import setting for. Currently you can pick Default, Enabled, Disabled. Currently the Default is disabled, i'd like to change it to Enabled, but find nowhere to define that default.

[catprisbrey]

When I set that to enabled, that mesh imports exactly how I need it to. It's just tedious to set enabled manually for every single mesh, since you can't select all meshes and change that, or change the default (that I can find) to be enabled

[Calinou]

I know this is what you're referring to, I was just saying that implementing this will likely be difficult, especially if we want to keep the UI clean. It may require adding a second dropdown that appears next to the current dropdown when you select the Scene import type in the Import Defaults dialog.

Also, I think the particular use case you're asking for is already supported. Why not set the light bake mode to Static Lightmaps in the Import dock (or in Import Defaults) for the Scene import type? This automatically enables UV2 unwrapping on import. This means that meshes that use the Default or Enabled Lightmap UV setting will have UV2 unwrapped. You can still set it to Disabled on specific meshes in individual 3D scenes if desired.

PS: In the future, please use the Edit button (located behind the … icon in the top-right corner of your comments) instead of multi-posting.

[catprisbrey]

Sure thing.

But I don't want an option changed or morenui added to the import menu. I'd rather see in the Project Settings /Default Imports settings a menu/exported option to choose that default setting for incoming imports.

It seems odd to have three options currently "Default, Enabled, Disabled" when really there are wonky two options "Disabled, Enables" since disabled is the default with nowhere to chnge that import preference.

"Also, I think the particular use case you're asking for is already supported. Why not set the light bake mode to Static Lightmaps in the Import dock (or in Import Defaults) for the Scene import type? This automatically enables UV2 unwrapping on import. This means that meshes that use the Default or Enabled Lightmap UV setting will have UV2 unwrapped. You can still set it to Disabled on specific meshes in individual 3D scenes if desired."

So maybe something else is going on here? i Do have that setting set to static in my default import settings, but it's not the reality for imports it seems. My imported meshes are not UV2 unwrapped at import unless i specifically go in an hit enabled.

UPDATE:
Looking again, i see there is both a "Static", and there is "Static Lightmaps" to choose for light baking. I didn't click the drop down because "static" looked like what i wanted, and i assumed my options would be Static, Dynamic.

I'll test that.

UPDATE x2:

Didn't seem to fix the issue?

Steps taken:
Set my default to "Static LightMap"
DEFAULT IMPORT SETTINGS MENU

Reimported my glb file with LightMap UV set to "Default" for all meshes. Finished the reimport.

Added a LightMap GI and hit bake and got the error that No meshes have UV2 unwrapped and so it cant' run.

I open the import menu again, change one mesh's LightMap UV to Enabled. Reimport.

Run the LightMap GI bake again, and it runs fine since there is 1 mesh enabled and unwrapped.

BUT if i set it in the import menu:
NORMAL PER GLTF IMPORT MENU

Setting that to Static Lightmap, and not just Static that works correctly. So perhaps i've only found that the Setting set in the Default Import doesn't seem to be doing anything?

For now, i'm good. Now that i know where that option is found on the normal import menu, I can move forward no problem. But the Default Settings may need a looking at since they don't seem to be doing anything? Anyway, you can close this or check it out further. Whatever you like. (I honestly hoped there'd be an easy answer like this!)

[Calinou]

But the Default Settings may need a looking at since they don't seem to be doing anything?

Remember that Import Defaults only affect newly created files. Existing files will keep their existing defaults, as default values are stored in the respective .import files. In other words, import defaults are not retroactive.

This means that if you change the default to Static Lightmaps in Import Defaults, existing 3D scenes will keep whatever light bake mode they were previously using, even if you reimport them.