File Name

Specifies the path and file name of the .fx file. You can type in the file name or use a browser to locate the file.

If a 3D view, set to DirectX9 display mode, is open, the .fx file is loaded automatically.

If the Output Debug Messages option is activated, the .fx file’s compilation results are logged in the command history.

When you compile a .fx file, a custom property set containing tweakable parameters is appended to the DXFx property editor.

Until you specify a valid .fx file, the object to which the DXFx shader is attached is displayed in wireframe mode in the DirectX9 view.

Reload

Refreshes the effect display by reading and recompiling the .fx file. This is useful if you modify the .fx code.

The corresponding tweakable parameters property set is updated, keeping any parameter values that you tuned, provided they are still valid. Invalid parameter values are replaced with the default values.

Compiling a .fx file clears the undo stack.

Edit

Opens an editor where you can modify and save the currently displayed .fx file. After you save your .fx file, click Reload to apply the changes.

Auto Generate Textures

When this option is turned on, the DXFx shader automatically creates and connects realtime shader texture nodes for the corresponding textures specified in the .fx file.

Note that this option does not replace texture nodes that are already connected to a given effect texture input. If you want to recreate a texture from scratch, you must first disconnect the old texture node.

Generate Textures

You can use this button to manually trigger textures generation if Auto Generate Textures is turned off.

Vertex attribute mapping

Allows you to customize how the per-vertex attributes are passed to the effect.

Choose one of the following options:

Microsoft: uses the Microsoft preset (TANGENT = tangents, BINORMAL = binormals, and so on),

RTZen: uses the RTZen preset (TEXCOORD1 = tangents, TEXCOORD2 = binormals, and so on)

Custom: provides options for you to customize the mapping manually (the left side represents the vertex attribute mapping target and the right side the data source).

Output debug messages

Specifies whether debugging messages are output to the command log.

The Tweakable Parameters UI (DXFxParams Custom Property)

The tweakable parameters UI is dynamically created when the effect is compiled. The UI is a custom property usually named <YourDXFxName>Params.

To edit the custom property, double-click the DXFx node in the Render Tree or in the Scene Explorer (where it is located under the DXFx shader). In the tweakable parameters UI, you can do things like tune effect parameters, select a different effect technique, and pick input lights.

When you reload the .fx file, tweakable parameters property set is updated, keeping any parameter values that you tuned, provided they are still valid. Invalid parameter values are replaced with the default values.