3D Asset Hierarchy, Duplicate Detection, Polygon Count — Features Every 3D Digital Asset Manager Needs
3D asset management is becoming more and more important with the proliferation of 3D content, Lidar scanning tools, and AI generated content. A 3D asset management platform, or 3D DAM, for short, must offer certain features that make the management of interactive 3D content easy, especially when working as a team or as part of a large organization.
In this article, we will spotlight just some of the features that every 3D digital asset manager must have at his or her disposable, all of which are available on the echo3D platform. Those include, asset hierarchies within a single collection of 3D assets, polygon counts for different 3D assets, version control over 3D content shared among team members, and duplicate detection for 3D content used by multiple users.
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1. Asset Hierarchy
Learn how to create a hierarchical structure of 3D assets within your 3D project.
Accessing the Entry Hierarchy Editor
Log into the the echo3D platform. From the content view, click an asset tile to open the asset inspection dialog and select the Entry Hierarchy view.
Adding Children or Parents to an Entry
To add a new child or parent to an entry, open the Entry Hierarchy tab of that asset and click the +Add Child or +Add Parent button. You will then be prompted to select the child or parent asset from your project library.
Note that a cyclical hierarchy structure is not supported, and adding relationships that would result in such a structure will be rejected.
Removing Children or Parents to an Entry
To remove a relationship, open the Entry Hierarchy tab of either asset and click the X button in the top right corner of the parent or child to be moved.
2. Duplicate Asset Detection
When using echo3D, we can detect duplicate entries within the same project during the upload process with the aim of preventing accidental duplicate uploads as well as saving our users credit expenditure on storage when a duplicate entry is desired.
When a duplicate entry is encountered, you are prompted for confirmation or cancellation of the operation.
If you confirm, the operation will resume and credit for API call usage will be deducted from your account but forgoing the usual deduction of credits for storage usage since the duplicate entries will reference the same files in our storage.
Note: We detect duplicates using MD5 checksum of the asset(s) at the time of upload. As this is the case, we currently don’t consider entries to be duplicate of one another if they are only visually similar. For example, if model A looks like model B but has a slight difference in their file content, they will not be considered duplicates of one another.
3. Polygon Count for 3D Content
When clicking on the content card in the echo3D platform, the full card will open with additional options and information.
The windows card allows you to preview the asset and its total polygon count.
4. Version Control for 3D Assets
Accessing Version History
To create and revert to older versions of your 3D asset, log into the echo3D platform. From the content view, click an asset tile to open the asset inspection dialog and select the Versions view.
When Are Versions Created?
By default, the first version of your asset is the original upload file. A new version is created whenever the asset file or target is updated.
To update to a new file version, upload your new file with the Edit Asset dialog from the asset tile:
To update your asset target, select the Target tab from the inspect asset dialog and click Edit Target:
Versions of your asset will appear within the Versions view:
To revert to another version at any time, click the icon under the Actions column in the Versions view. The icon does not appear for the currently active version of the asset.
- Previous versions of your asset do not count against your storage totals.
4. Access Permissions
Access permission settings are available on the Pro and Custom plans.
It is crucial that you manage how users and viewers shared on your 3D project can access your 3D assets.
Access to an asset allows a user or viewer to edit, update, delete or download the asset. By default, all assets obey the project level permission setting. You can further set asset permissions individually for more granular control over edits to your project.
From the content view, click an asset tile to open the asset inspection dialog and select the Asset Permissions view. This table works identically to the table found in the Access page but will show only requests pertaining to the individual asset selected.
Asset Access Permission
This determines whether users and viewers shared on your project can access (modify, edit, delete or download) this project asset.
- Project: The asset will follow the project level access setting as defined in the Access page.
- Closed: Users and viewers must request access to this asset. Project admins can approve or reject the request.
- Users Only: Project users can access this asset. Project viewers must request access. Project admins can approve or reject the request.
- Open: Any users or viewers shared on your project can access this asset
Requesting Access
If you are a user or viewer shared on a project or asset with Closed or Users Only access permissions, you must request access before you can access the asset. Asset tiles will appear in a locked state:
To send a request, click on the lock icon. The button and tooltip will update indicating a request has been sent and is awaiting approval by a project admin:
When the request is approved, the tile will unlock and normal tile buttons will appear. If the request is rejected, the tile and tooltip will update. If the admin included a note with the rejection request, it will be shown in the tooltip:
If your request was rejected, you cannot take any further action. An admin can still approve your rejected request at later time.
Take Control over your 3D Content
These features and others ensure that you can store and share 3D assets across your organization while allowing your team to collaborate, have efficient workflows, discover content, and minimize duplicates. Whatever 3D asset management platform you choose, make sure it includes asset hierarchies, polygon counts, version control over 3D content , and duplicate detection, like echo3D. Enable your organization to effectively manage, update, and share 3D content in real-time. Use echo3D to secure your interactive content and discover, process, and share 3D assets across your organization and beyond.
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echo3D (www.echo3D.com) is a 3D asset management platform for developers & companies to store, secure, and share 3D content in real-time across their organization and beyond
