Template Reference

This chapter provides details about the data stored in each of the dotXSI file templates. At a skeletal level, dotXSI files contain these sections:

Template | Description
File Header | This template must come first in the file. It contains information about the dotXSI file format version number and the format of the dotXSI file itself.
SI_FileInfo | Stores general information (file name, time stamp, and the identification of the application that created it).
SI_Scene | Stores global scene information (such as the start and end frames, and the frame rate).
SI_CoordinateSystem | Specifies the coordinate system in which transformations are expressed.
SI_Angle | Indicates how angle values are expressed in the file (degrees or radians).
SI_Ambience | Stores the ambient scene color.
SI_MaterialLibrary | Stores global materials. Note: This section contains either XSI_Material or SI_Material.
SI_Model | Stores models and model hierarchies. Note: This section appears for each scene object, such as a model, a camera root, a mesh sphere, etc.
SI_Light | Stores light data.
XSI_ImageLibrary | Stores a list of all the images used in the scene. Note: This template is only available in version 3.6.
XSI_FXTree | Sores data from the FX tree (Softimage’s integrated compositor). Note: This template is only available in version 3.6.

Inside many of these sections, there are other templates. For more information about a section, click on the link in the table above.

The table below provides a list of the templates supported in the current dotXSI file format version.

| If you need information about a template but it does not appear in this list, it is probably obsolete. You can look it up in the legacy information provided in the Template Archives.

Template | Introduced | Description
File Header | 1.3 | This template must come first in the file.
Custom Effects in SI|3D | 1.3 | Stores the arguments, results, and parameters of a persistent effeczt.
SI_Ambience | 1.3 | Stores the ambient scene color.
SI_Angle | 1.3 | Indicates how angle values are expressed in the file (degrees or radians).
SI_Camera | 1.3 | Stores camera data.
SI_Constraint | 1.3 | Stores constraint information.
SI_CoordinateSystem | 1.3 | Specifies the coordinate system in which transformations are expressed.
SI_ElementUserData _<userDataTag> | 1.3 | Stores user data attached to a camera, light, material, model, or texture.
SI_Envelope | 1.3 | Defines an envelope (also known as a skin).
SI_EnvelopeList | 1.3 | Defines a list of envelopes.
SI_Fog | 1.3 | Describes the fog (depth fading) in the scene.
SI_ImageClip | 1.3 | Identifies an animated texture sequence.
SI_Light | 1.3 | Stores light data.
SI_PatchSurface | 1.3 | Defines a patch (a surface defined by splines).
SI_SubelementUserDataPolygon_<userDataTag> | 1.3 | Stores polygon user data.
SI_SubelementUserDataVertex_<userDataTag> | 1.3 | Stores vertex user data.
SI_Texture2D | 1.3 | Stores 2D texture information.
SI_FCurve | 2.0 | Stores an fcurve.
SI_FileInfo | 2.0 | Stores general information (file name, time stamp).
SI_Material | 2.0 | Defines a material. Adds support for specifying the shading model (Constant, Lambert, Phong, Blinn, Shadow Object, or Vertex Color) and storing the ambient color.
SI_MaterialLibrary | 2.0 | Stores global materials.
SI_Mesh | 2.0 | Stores a mesh.
SI_Model | 2.0 | Stores models and model hierarchies.
SI_NurbsSurface | 2.0 | Defines a NURBS surface.
SI_Cluster | 3.0 | Stores cluster information.
SI_GlobalMaterial | 3.0 | Stores an object’s global material.
SI_IK_Effector | 3.0 | Stores the rotation flag for the effector of an IK chain.
SI_IK_Joint | 3.0 | Stores IK joint information.
SI_IK_Root | 3.0 | Stores the names of the joints and effector of an IK chain.
SI_Instance | 3.0 | Stores SI|3D model instance information.
SI_LightInfo | 3.6 | Stores additional light information, such as falloff.
SI_Null | 3.0 | Defines a null object.
SI_NurbsCurve | 3.0 | Defines a NURBS curve.
SI_PolygonList | 2.0 | Stores a list of polygons in a mesh.
SI_Scene | 2.0 | Stores global scene information (such as the start and end frames, and the frame rate).
SI_Shape | 2.0 | Stores the mesh geometry.
SI_ShapeAnimation | 2.0 | Stores the animation of vertex positions, normals, colors, and UV coordinates.
SI_Transform | 2.0 | Stores SRT transforms as vectors.
SI_TriangleList | 2.0 | Stores a list of triangles.
SI_TriStripList SI_TriStrip | 2.0 | Stores triangle strips.
SI_UserDataFormat | 2.0 | Stores formatting information for user data.
SI_Visibility | 3.0 | Stores node and visibility fcurves. (Softimage only supports node visibility)
XSI_Action | 3.0 | Stores source action data.
XSI_ActionClip | 3.0 | Stores action clip data.
XSI_CurveList | 3.0 | Stores a list of NURBS curves.
XSI_CustomPSet | 3.0 | Stores Softimage custom parameters.
XSI_Extrapolation | 3.0 | Stores an action clip’s extrapolation type.
XSI_Material | 3.0 | Stores an action’s static values.
XSI_Mixer | 3.0 | Stores action data.
XSI_StaticValues | 3.0 | Stores an action’s static values
XSI_TimeControl | 3.0 | Stores an action clips’s clipping and offset values.
XSI_Track | 3.0 | Stores an action track’s status.
XSI_Material | 3.5 | Defines a Autodesk Softimage material.
XSI_Shader | 3.5 | Defines a Softimage shader.
XSI_ShaderInstanceData | 3.5 | Stores the instance data for a shader on a shared material.
XSI_ClusterInfo | 3.6 | Stores the type of cluster.
XSI_CustomParamInfo | 3.6 | Stores additional information about the custom parameter, such as minimum and maximum values.
XSI_FXOperator | 3.6 | Stores data about the operators in the FX tree.
XSI_FXTree | 3.6 | Stores data from the FX tree (Softimage’s integrated compositor).
XSI_Image | 3.6 | Stores data about the list of images in the XSI_ImageLibrary template.
XSI_ImageData | 3.6 | Stores image data, such as RGB values. This template is not exported by Softimage, but is accessible through the Crosswalk SDK.
XSI_ImageFX | 3.6 | Stores the list of special effect parameters applied to the image in Softimage Illusion.
XSI_ImageLibrary | 3.6 | Stores a list of all the images used in the scene.
XSI_MaterialInfo | 3.6 | Stores additional material information, specifically U and V wrapping information.
XSI_NurbsProjection | 3.6 | Stores the list of curves that make up a projection.
XSI_NurbsTrim | 3.6 | Stores the list of curves that make up the trim.
XSI_UserData | 3.6 | Stores user data attached to scene entities.
XSI_UserDataList | 3.6 | Identifies the entities to which user data is attached.
XSI_BasePose | 5.0 | Stores the base pose scaling, translation, and rotation.
XSI_Limit | 5.0 | Stores the minimum and maximum limits of a parameter value.
XSI_Mesh | 5.0 | Stores the definition of a polygon mesh.
XSI_PolygonList | 5.0 | Stores the polygons in a mesh.
XSI_Shape | 5.0 | Stores the mesh vertex positions, normals, texture coordinates and color information. Also used to store shape animation.
XSI_ShapeAnimation | 5.0 | Stores shape animation as a series of shape keys and an (optional) fcurve.
XSI_SubComponentAttributeList | 5.0 | Stores cluster properties such as vertex positions, colors, normals, texture coordinates, and weight maps. Also used to store shape keys.
XSI_Transform | 5.0 | Stores the local transformation information for an object.
XSI_TriangleList | 5.0 | Specifies the vertex indices of triangles for normals (“ImplicitNormal”), user normal properties (“User_Normal_Property” and “XSI_UserNormals”), vertex colors, and texture projections.
XSI_TriangleStripList | 5.0 | Stores a list of triangle strips. Each strip is made up of N vertices. The polynodes in this list can have N number of attibutes like vertex, normals, UV and color information.
XSI_UserDataBlob | 5.0 | Contains the binary user data stored in a UserDataBlob property.
XSI_VertexList | 5.0 | Lists the vertices in the original shape and in any weightmaps.
XSI_Camera | 6.0 | Describes a camera.
XSI_IK_ResolutionPlane | 6.0 | Describes the resolution plane on an IK chain.
XSI_Lookat | 6.0 | Holds lookat data in the XSI_Polymatricks container.
XSI_Matrix | 6.0 | Holds matrix data in the XSI_Polymatricks container.
XSI_Polymatricks | 6.0 | Container for holding an arbitrary stack of transformations.
XSI_Rotate | 6.0 | Holds rotation data in the XSI_Polymatricks container.
XSI_Scale | 6.0 | Holds scaling data in the XSI_Polymatricks container.
XSI_Shear | 6.0 | Holds shearing data in the XSI_Polymatricks container.
XSI_Translate | 6.0 | Holds translation data in the XSI_Polymatricks container.
XSI_IndexList | 6.0 | Contains polygon ordering information for importing clusters.
XSI_ActionClipContainer | 6.0 | Stores action clip data and tracks.
XSI_ShapeReference | 6.0 | Contains a reference to the shape key.
XSI_CameraFocalLength | 6.0 | Overrides the field of view value in the XSI_Camera template.
XSI_ImageFX2 | 6.0 | Holds the extra image clip properties in addition to the properties available in the XSI_ImageFX template.
XSI_ShaderMultiPortConnection | 6.0 | Specifies which one of multiple output ports are connected to the input inside the containing XSI_Shader or XSI_Material template.
XSI_TextureLayer | 6.0 | Represents a texture layer.
XSI_TextureLayerPort | 6.0 | Represents a shader port in the texture layer.
XSI_UserKeyword | 6.0 | Stores the list of user keywords for material and image clips.
XSI_ClipToParent | 6.0 | Stores the options that allow you to link a clip to its parent’s time information.
XSI_ShaderCompound | 6.0 | Corresponds to an unexported shader compound.
XSI_ShaderCompoundPort | 6.0 | Encapsulates the information from a shader compound port defined inside of a shader compound (see XSI_ShaderCompound).

Autodesk Softimage v7.5