Save and export

Use Save Changes to Source for extension-only changes to the loaded file. Use Export Model + States when the Blender hierarchy or materials changed and you need a new GLB.

Save the Blender project

Use Blender’s normal Save command to retain the hierarchy and authoring data in a .blend. States live on the asset root and participate in undo/redo. Saving the blend clears temporary previews. Keep the original source GLB+ available if its texture payloads are needed for re-export.

Save extension edits

A newly authored Blender asset has no source file: use Export Model + States first. For a loaded file, click Save Changes to Source to write the current Model Vista States extension to the source path.

• For .gltf, the add-on writes updated JSON atomically.
• For .glb, it rebuilds the JSON chunk while preserving other GLB chunks.
• It writes INNOWORKS_configurables as the canonical extension name.
• It updates a legacy alias when one is already present.
• It adds the canonical extension to extensionsUsed.
• It removes Model Vista aliases from extensionsRequired so generic importers do not reject the asset as requiring an unsupported extension.

Caution: Save Changes to Source modifies the loaded file. Keep a backup or use version control for production assets.

Export Model + States

Use export for a new Blender-authored asset or when you edited geometry, visibility, or materials. Source saving updates metadata only; it does not export Blender geometry.

Under Overview > Export > Mesh Compression, choose Match Source (default), Draco, or None. Match Source re-encodes with Draco if the loaded source uses it; it does not preserve the original compressed bitstream or exact encoder settings. Check the displayed source/output compression and set the Draco level when applicable.

1. Confirm that Asset Root points to the hierarchy you want to export.
2. Resolve validation problems shown by the add-on.
3. Click Export Model + States.
4. Choose a new .glb path.
5. Confirm that the success status names the expected output.

Export behavior:

• exports only objects below Asset Root, not the whole scene;
• includes cameras and lights in the exported hierarchy and preserves/retargets Model Vista light metadata;
• temporarily includes hidden descendants, then rebuilds GameObjectVisibilities from them;
• rebuilds material bindings from the Blender material slots actually used by each exported mesh;
• retargets supported state, group, material, binding, metadata, reflection-probe, and light paths;
• strips synthetic __INNOWORKS_MATERIAL_STASH__ and __INNOWORKS_MATERIAL__* helper objects;
• skips invalid empty UV layers by using temporary mesh copies;
• stages the export through a temporary GLB and replaces the target only after extension patching succeeds;
• preserves compatible source texture and thumbnail image payloads when Blender did not reproduce them;
• validates TextureImageIndex and thumbnail image references before writing.

Pending transitions finish before export. When every Animation State contains embedded clips, export uses those snapshots instead of exporting live Actions twice. Add every intended animation to a State and rebake after source edits.

The add-on restores the previous Blender visibility and selection state after the export attempt.

If export is cancelled

Export stops rather than writing a partially valid Model Vista file when validation finds missing paths, missing material records, or invalid image references. Read the status summary, fix or retarget the reported data, and export again.