Merge Options window

The Merge Options window lets you select assets, settings, and takes to merge with or append to the current scene, and to prepend a namespace to all objects included in the incoming file.

Scene

Lists the MotionBuilder assets in the selected file that can be merged, replace, or append to your current scene.

Important: Although each asset is listed under Scene, it does not mean that the .fbx file being merged contains assets of the same type. For example, if the .fbx file you have selected does not contain Character Extensions, the Character Extensions option is still listed.

Element

Displays icons to indicate which merge operation is performed on the individual assets when the file is merged. Clicking an icon in theElement column changes the merge operation for the specific asset. The icons and associated merge operations are as follows:

Icon	Merge operation
	Appends the asset from the .fbx file. Assets with the same name are not replaced.
	Merges the asset from the .fbx file, replacing any assets with the same name.
	Does not merge the asset.

By default, all assets set to be appended when the file is merged into the current scene. To apply a merge operation to all the assets, right-click anywhere in the Element column and select the desired operation from the menu that appears.

Important: If you select Merge All, the Degrees of Freedom properties in the incoming file overwrite the Degrees of Freedom properties in the current scene. To prevent this, append the element rather than merging it. Double-click the Merge icon until the Append icon appears, which indicates that the element will be appended rather than merged.

Animation

Indicates whether animation data for an asset is loaded or discarded when the file is merged into the current scene. By default, animation for assets in the in-coming file are set to be loaded, which is indicated by this icon:

. Discarded animation is indicated by this icon:

Takes

Lists the takes stored in the .fbx file you are merging with the current scene.

Take Start/End

Use the Take Start/End field to select how the start and end of takes are set when they are merged. Take Start/End gives you the following options:

Use the Take list to select which takes to load from the .fbx file.

Leave As Is

Leaves the take start and end times unchanged. If you are creating a take, the take start and end times are merged from the file.

Import From File

Uses the start and end time codes specified by the .fbx file being merged.

Frame Animation

Frames the start and end of the animation for each take.

Takes

Shows the name of the take as it was saved in the .fbx file. You cannot change this column.

Import

Marks the take for merging. When active, the corresponding take replaces takes with the same name. When disabled, the take is not merged.

As Take

Changes the name of the take when merged. This is useful if your scene has a take with the same name and you don’t want to replace it with the take being merged.

Settings area

Lets you choose MotionBuilder settings to merge with your current scene.

Base cameras: Activate to merge the Producer cameras from the .fbx file into the current scene. See .
Camera switcher: Activate to merge the Camera Switcher from the .fbx file into the current scene. To merge camera switches, you must also merge the take where the camera switches were set. See Camera switcher.
Current camera: Activate to switch the current camera to the current camera specified in the .fbx file. For example, if the .fbx file was saved with the Producer Front camera as the current camera, the scene switches to the Producer Front camera when the .fbx file is merged. See Making a camera current.
Global lighting: Activate to merge the default Global lighting from the .fbx file. The Global lighting consists of the default ambient color and the scene’s fog settings. To view the scene’s Global lighting, select Global Light from the Lights folder in the Scene browser. See Global lights.
Transport: Activate to merge the timing options that include the frame rate and playback speed. Timing options are shown in the Transport Controls window. See Timing Controls.

Layers

Mute and Solo affect merge: Lets you mute or solo any animated layers in the incoming file when merged with the current file.
Include empty layers: Lets you include empty animation layers from the incoming merged file.

Namespace area

The Merge Options Namespace area enables you to prepend a namespace for all objects included in the incoming file. Activate the Apply Namespace option to enable the Namespace options.

Apply Namespace: Turns on the ability to use namespaces in the merged file.
Use File Name: Uses the name of the file as the namespace for all objects contained within the file.
Use New Namespace: Lets you specify a namespace for all objects contained in the file. You need to enter the namespace in the Use New Namespace field. This lets you keep multiple objects with the same name in one scene. See Namespace.
Apply available Reference edits: When on, reference edits are applied to the objects contained in the opened file.

To change the default namespace setting:

See Fields and Values preferences.