FAQ

How do I re-import an asset after I've imported it with the Plugin

Assets remember which file path was used to import. You can see the file path by opening up the mesh, material, or other asset and looking for filepath.

To re-import the asset simply right click the asset and select Reimport. This will reimport it with the same file that was used to import the asset. You can also select the "Reimport with New File" if the source mesh moved file location. An example is if you imported multiple assets from a single file, then later split the blend file into separate files for each asset you can re-import with the new file.

How do I change Import settings when Reimporting? It just imports with no dialog

By default interchange will not show an interchange dialog when re-importing an asset. This is usually convenient, because usually using the same settings is sufficient. However, it is easy to show the dialog and change settings if desired.

In the unreal editor you can enable "Show Import Dialog at Reimport" under the following menu. File > Editor Settings > General > Interchange

Note that Interchange also has other settings under Project Settings (also under Interchange)

Also note that the static mesh editor has a button in the top left : "Reimport Mesh with Dialog". It's possible to use that as well.

Can I just drag an asset into the content browser again?

Yes you can. It will import the asset over the old one, which can be fine in some cases. Note that if you changed the material or some other set up it's likely that importing an asset over the old one will recreate the original material or other undesired behavior.

Should I create the material in Blender or Unreal? How do I change materials?

In general it is recommended that you assign materials in blender but author the final material in unreal. This is for a few reasons.

Unreal has a completely separate material graph. If you want materials to fit your game, it is best to author a master material in unreal and use material instances for any game assets you import. Blender material nodes and unreal material nodes are generally not a 1-1 mapping and work done making shaders in Blender will not be transferable to Unreal. Feel free to try and create preview materials in blender.

In the future this plugin may be extended to more easily transfer material setups from unreal to blender. There are also plans to use USD's MaterialX to better import blender materials as they were authored. For now the best solution is to assign each mesh a material made in Unreal Engine. Simply create the material in unreal then assign it in the static mesh editor. Future re-imports of this mesh will not override the material change. After the material is assigned you can safely delete the original material.