Saving the Surface

Once the building process is complete, the data may be saved in a variety of formats, listed in the table below. Analyze will autodetect the file format based upon the extension entered. Or, if the extension does not conform to one that Analyze recognizes, the format can be selected from the pull down list on the Save As... pane.

Numerous bugs plague the Analyze_AVW2.5 surface saving process:

• The surface will be saved in a file in the same directory as the original dataset. Make certain enough disc space exists in that directory before attempting the save.
• The directory cannot be changed by specifying a full path name on the save line.
• Analyze will overwrite existing files of the same name without warning!
• To write a DXF file, the .dxf extension must be used and autodetected. Manually selecting the AutoCAD format does not work.
• The Alias|Wavefront .obj format are incompatible with current versions of Alias products and cannot be read, though the format can be read by Alias's competitor Softimage.
• The Stereolithograpy .stl format is corrupt and cannot be read by the current generation of stereolithography software or ProEngineer.
• The AutoCAD .dxf format also contains errors, and cannot be read by Softimage, Alias|Wavefront, or ProEngineer. It can be read by Rhinoceros, which can then convert the file into a correct .stl version.

The other file types have not been tested, and may be prone to errors as well.

The resulting file may be quite large: on the order of tens megabytes, depending upon the algorithm chosen, the resolution and size of the original dataset, and the file type used to save the surface. In general, the Marching Cubes algorithm produces files upwards of ten times the size of surfaces created using other algorithms when saving as .obj format.

Do it yourself...
1.	Select File:Save Surface... from the Tiler applet.
2.	Enter a file name followed by the .obj extension.
3.	Make sure the file type selection menu is set to Detect.
4.	Press the Save button.
5.	Press OK on the Save as Alias dialog box.
6.	(Optional) If saving surfaces generated by both Adapt/Deform and Marching Cubes, compare the sizes of the files. The adaptive deformation surface file should be 10% of the marching cubes version.

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