Batch Processing¶

The Batch menu provides tools for scheduling multiple tasks of the same type to be performed by SEQUOIA either locally or on DEADLINE.

CONVERT MULTIPLE Point Files¶

Selecting this operation will first pop up a multi-file selection dialog.
Select one or more point files to convert, then press the [Open] button, or [Cancel] to abort.
A Convert Multiple Point Files dialog will appear, listing the selected input files in a spreadsheet view with multiple columns.

Dragging one or more non-SPRT point files and dropping them into the SEQUOIA Viewport will open the same Convert Multiple Point Files dialog and will populate it automatically.
SPRT files and any unsupported files will be filtered out automatically - see below for dragging & dropping SPRT files.

You can select (highlight) with the mouse any number of these entries at once to change their settings using the available controls.
- Hold down CTRL to add/remove entries from the selection.
- Hold down SHIFT to select a whole region between two clicked lines.
- Press the [Select All] button at the bottom of the dialog to select all entries.
- Press the [Invert Selection] button at the bottom of the dialog to dselected the selected and vice-versa.

Pressing this [Add Input Files...] button will allow you to add more input files for conversion.
Pressing this [Remove Selected Files...] button will remove the highlighted entries from the list (if any).
Note that you can select input files from various folders and local and network locations, as long as they are all valid Point source files.

When converting binary files that contain Unit information metadata in the file (e.g. E57, PTX etc.), the “Input Units” column of the spreadsheet will contain the letter [F] (for “From File”), plus the actual file units setting (e.g. “Meters”, “Inches” etc.)
When the units are defined in the input file, these settings cannot be overridden by the Import Dialog - the “Input Units” drop-down list will remain grayed out.
When converting text files that do not contain explicit Units information, the “Input Units” column will list “Unknown” - you can set the Units to any valid entry from the “Input Units” drop-down list.
If an entry is left with “Unknown” units, the conversion process will show an error message.

When converting binary files with clearly defined channel definitions, the channel mapping will be performed automatically - the “Preset” column will show “<automatic>”
When converting text files without channel name definitions, a Channel Mapping Preset will be required to define how to remap the incoming data to channels supported by SEQUOIA.
You can select an existing preset from the drop-down list, or create a new Preset using the “Create Preset...”

By default, the Output Path of the converted files will be the same as the input path.
However, you can select one, more or all files and change the “Output Path” field to a sub-folder of the same path, or to a completely different Path anywhere on the local network.
You can either type in the new path, or use the [...] button to pick an existing location using a Select Folder dialog.
The path will be listed in its own dedicated “Output Path” column, and will be also used in the “Full Output” column.

By default, the Output File column will be populated with the token $source which will be replaced with the input file’s name on conversion.
You can modify the output pattern using custom strings, for example if the input file is called “theHouse_v01”, and the output pattern is “$source_test”, the output file will be called “theHouse_v01_test”.
You can also use the token $units in the Output File definition to be replaced with the Units settings, for example $source_$units will export the above test as “theHouse_v01_Meters” if Units were set to Meters.

By default, all conversions will target the Thinkbox SPRT file format as it is optimized to work best with SEQUOIA.
However, you can use the “Output Formats” drop-down list to set the output to one of the other supported formats including PRT, CSV and RealFlow BIN.

Selecting this menu option will pop up a multi-fole selection dialog.
Select one or more SPRT files to load, then press the [Open] button, or [Cancel] to abort.
An Import Multiple Point Files dialog will appear.

Dragging one or more SPRT files and dropping them into the SEQUOIA Viewport will open the same Import Multiple Point Files dialog and will populate it automatically.
If the selection contains non-SPRT point files, the Convert Multiple Point Files dialog will open instead - see above for details.
If the selection contains SPRT and some unsupported files, the latter will be filtered out automatically.