Export and import groomable splines

You can use the Export Grooming and Import Grooming options to save a groomable splines Description and its associate Ptex maps. You can then load the groom onto a mesh in other scenes or the same scene.

To save or load default and archive primitive Descriptions, see Export and import Collections and Descriptions.

Export groomable splines

1. In the XGen Editor, turn off the Description preview by clicking this icon .
2. Under the Grooming tab, take note of the values your groom is using under Settings, such as Density, Length , and Width.

   Although the Description's primitive spline data is included in the exported files, the values used by the groomable splines do not get preserved when you export the groom. You need to reset them after importing the groom.

3. In the XGen Editor, select File > Export Grooming.
4. Set the Export Grooming options, and click Export.
5. (optional) Select and then export the bound mesh object to an Alembic cache.

Import groomable splines

1. Select the target mesh for imported groom. This mesh must have the same topology as the groom's source mesh.

   If you created an Alembic cache of the source mesh, import the cache and select the mesh.

2. Create a groomable splines Description. See Create hair and fur using grooming brushes.
3. In the XGen Editor, click the Grooming tab, and under Settings, set Sampling to Nearest or Interpolate.

   Otherwise, as all of the imported settings will reset to default values when you input the Density value for the groomable splines. This means, you will need to re-import the groom.

4. Turn off the Description preview by clicking this icon .
5. In the XGen Editor, select File > Import Grooming.
6. In the Import Grooming options, browse the location of the groom directory which contains the exported groom settings.

   The path to this directory should be similar to the following:

   C:\Users\<username>\Documents\maya\projects\default\xgen\collections\collection2\description2\groom.

   For more information about XGen files and directories, see Ptex map file locations in XGen.

7. In the XGen Editor, click the Grooming tab, and under Settings, re-enter the groomable spline's values. For example Density, Length, and Width.