Invoking the DAZ Importer from a script

The DAZ Importer is normally used from the UI panel, but it also possible to invoke it from a python script. To illustrate this, and to figure out how it could be done, I wrote a simple add-on which loads a duf file into Blender with specific settings, without the need for any user interaction. Add-ons for the DAZ Importer were described in an earlier blog post, but this is the first time that I actually used the add-on mechanism for something useful.

Press Refresh in the Add-Ons panel to read in a list of all available add-ons, and then enable the Sample addon for DAZ importer.

When the sample add-on is enabled, a new tab named Sample appears in the UI panel. It contains a single button named Import DAZ File, which invokes the DAZ Importer with specific arguments.

The add-on is located in the file sample-addon.py. Let us have a look at that file. The button is defined by the following code:

class SAMPLE_OT_ImportDazFile(bpy.types.Operator):
    bl_idname = "sample.import_daz_file"
    bl_label = "Import DAZ File"
    bl_description = "Import a specific duf file."
    bl_options = {'UNDO'}

    def execute(self, context):
        from ..error import getErrorMessage, setSilentMode
        # Turn off error popups
        setSilentMode(True)                
       
        bpy.ops.daz.import_daz(
            filepath = "/home/thomas/Dokument/DAZ 3D/Scenes/base8.duf",
            unitScale = 1/2.54,             # inches
            skinColor = (1, 1, 0, 1),       # yellow skin
            clothesColor = (0, 0, 1, 1),    # blue clothes
            brightenEyes = 1.5,             # brighter eyes
            fitMeshes = 'UNIQUE',           # Don't fit meshes.
            useAutoMaterials = False,       # Don't use auto shaders             handleOpaque = 'PRINCIPLED',    # Use principled node
            handleRefractive = 'PRINCIPLED',# Use principled node
            handleVolumetric = 'SSS',       # Subsurface scattering
            useEnvironment = False,         # Don't Load environment
            )

        print("Script finished")
        # The error message is the empty string if everything ok
        msg = getErrorMessage()
        print("Error message: \"%s\"" % msg)
        # Turn error popups on again 
        setSilentMode(False)                
        return {'FINISHED'}

The work is done by the operator bpy.ops.daz.import_daz, which invokes the DAZ Importer. The arguments are the same that appear to the right of the file selector when you press the Import DAZ File button.

This script loads a yellow Genesis 8 Female with blue basic wear and Tolouse hair, who is 70 inches = 5'10" tall.

If the operator encounters an error when executed the DAZ Importer displays a pop-up dialog. This is usually not desirable when it is invoked from a script, because the pop-up requires user interaction. Pop-up dialogs can be disabled by entering silent mode. In silent mode errors are only reported in the terminal window, but execution in not interrupted. The calls setSilentMode(True) and setSilentMode(False) enter and exit silent mode.

Silent mode can also be toggled on and off in the Settings panel, although it should always be off during interactive use.

You can check if the import operator encounters an error by retrieving the error message with getErrorMessage(). This function returns the empty string ("") if the operator succeeded completely, and a string starting with "ERROR" or "WARNING" otherwise.

Both setSilentMode and getErrorMessage are located in the file error.py, so you need to import them with the line

    from ..error import getErrorMessage, setSilentMode