Importing Datasmith Content into Unreal Engine 4

This page describes how to use Datasmith to import content from a supported 3D design application or file format into Unreal.

For most file formats supported by Datasmith, you don't need any additional software to be installed on your computer. All you need is the file that you want to import. However, the following file formats have specific requirements:

• .wire - In order to use Datasmith to import a .wire file, you must have a version of Autodesk Alias AutoStudio installed that is compatible with your .wire file.

Steps

1. In the Unreal Editor, open the project that you want to import your Datasmith content into.

2. If you want to bring your content into an existing Level in your project, open it now. Otherwise, create a new Level or just use the default one.

3. In the Level Editor Toolbar, click the Datasmith button.

If you don't see this button in the Level Editor Toolbar, you'll need to enable the Datasmith import plugins for the source file types you want to use. See the Datasmith Supported Software and File Types for a list of supported file types and the plugin you must enable for each of these.

1. In the Import window, browse to and select the file you want to import. Click Open.
   

2. Choose a folder in your project content for Datasmith to put the newly imported Assets.

   If you want to create a new folder for your Datasmith content, right-click anywhere in this window. To create a subfolder of an existing folder, right-click that folder.

   

3. Use the Datasmith Import Options window to select the types of content that you want to import from your source file, and set optional additional parameters that control the import process.
   
   The options that you can set here depend on the type of file you're importing. For details, see Datasmith Import Options.

4. Click Import. Datasmith reads your source file, creates new Assets in your project, and places the Datasmith Scene into your current Level. For details on this process, see the Datasmith Overview.

You can further customize the import process in one of two ways:

• Use Python to automate the process of importing files through Datasmith. For details, see Customizing the Datasmith Import Process.
• Use Dataprep to perform additional operations on the data at import time. You can save and reuse Dataprep import recipes to create your own standardized set of Asset import pipelines.

Project Setup

Datasmith provides importers that handle many different types of source files and design applications. These importers are wrapped in several different optional plugins. Depending on the type of files you want to import with Datasmith, you may need to enable one or more of these additional plugins for your Unreal Engine project.

For a complete list of all applications and file formats Datasmith supports, and to learn which plugin you need to enable for each of these, see Datasmith Supported Software and File Types.

If you start your project from one of the templates in the Architecture, Engineering, and Construction or Automotive, Product Design, and Manufacturing categories, some or all of these plugins may already be enabled.