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====== ArmA 3 Terrain Builder ======

[[https://www.pmctactical.org/forum/viewforum.php?f=68|ArmA 3 Forum]], [[:arma3|ArmA 3]], [[arma3:config|ArmA 3 Config]], [[arma3:missions|ArmA 3 Missions]], [[arma3:modeling|ArmA 3 3D Modeling]], [[arma3:scripting|ArmA 3 Scripting]], [[arma3:terrain|ArmA 3 Terrain]], [[arma3:texturing|ArmA 3 Texturing]], [[arma3:tools|ArmA 3 Tools]]

[[arma3:terrain:terrain-builder|ArmA 3 Terrain Builder]], [[https://www.pmctactical.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=70&t=23005|ArmA 3 Terrain Builder Support Forum]]


====== Directories and Files ======

Your **Terrain Builder Project** should be located in ''<myAddon>\Source\TerrainBuilder\'' directory. Save your project to ''<myAddon>\source\TerrainBuilder\'' directory to maintain neat and orderly directory structure. Terrain Builder creates a lot of project files in the save-root dir.

Dialogs_new.vdat - unknown ???\\
<projectName>.tv4p - main project file\\
<projectName>_001.v4d - Layers manager -> rasters, each in individual _001, _002 etc filename numbering

''source\terrainbuilder\<projectName>_000.v4d'' numbered files are layer manager -> raster layers. If you remove raster layers and add new ones, then they get incremented number in file name like _002, _003 etc.

There are sub dirs called:\\
<projectName>.**Cache** - unknown ???\\
<projectName>.**Layers** - Objects layers\\
<projectName>.**Shapes** - Shapes layers

**Cache** is unknown. Layers is your layers manager -> Objects each in individual file. Shapes is all your layers manager -> shapes each in individual file.

**Objects** layers are saved as .tv4l files.

**Shape** layers are saves as .tv4s files.

When you save your project, it appears to save all files, even those that has not been edited/changed, for example shape layers are saved as filename.ext.TMP temporary file name during saving.

If you delete objects/shapes layer and restart terrain builder but the same layer still comes back to haunt you, then go to into the correct directory (either .layers or .shapes) and delete the filename which has your layer name in it but **be careful not to delete the wrong file!**

It is not good idea to delete terrain builder project like rasters .v4d files, you'll run into all sorts of buggy behavior when you continue to use that project. You can however delete layers / shapes files if they start to haunt you by re-appearing. Cleanly exit / shut down terrain builder before deleting files in these directories.

When you import heightmap, satellite texture or satellite mask terrain builder will add them into its project files (rasters in the GUI), you can delete the SOURCE (read further) satellite / heightmap files as they are no longer required. Obviously you need to keep your editable satellite image sources, but for example if you "save as" from photoshop PSB, GIMP XCF file or export from Global Mapper, those BMP's are temporary files and can be deleted. Please don't get confused here, photoshop PSB and GIMP XCF are your extremely important SOURCE files, never ever delete those unless you actually want to. Its the converted, possibly darkened BMP satellite tile images which are temporary and you can delete those. (hope I didn't make this paragraph overly complicated, let me know in PMC Tactical Forum, heh).

You can copy projectName.Layers and projectName.Shapes directories from other projects when terrain builder is not running, on the next startup the files are loaded and ready to use.

Mapframe properties -> Output root folder, this **directory cannot have ''-'' character (hyphen) in the name**.