# POD Exporter strips special chars frm object name?

**URL:** <https://forums.imgtec.com/t/pod-exporter-strips-special-chars-frm-object-name/503>\
**Category:** PowerVR Insider\
**Created:** [October 20, 2009, 12:11am UTC](https://forums.imgtec.com/t/pod-exporter-strips-special-chars-frm-object-name/503 "2009-10-20T00:11:43Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![two2heads](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/97f17d/32.png) [@two2heads](https://forums.imgtec.com/u/two2heads)\
**Post date:** [October 20, 2009, 12:11am UTC](https://forums.imgtec.com/t/pod-exporter-strips-special-chars-frm-object-name/503/1 "2009-10-20T00:11:43Z")

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Hi,  
  
I’m using the PowerVR POD exporter with 3DS Max 8 on WindowsXP SP3,  
  
exporting as header files (".h").&nbsp; I’m finding that when I read an  
  
exported scene, object names (as obtained from the SPODNode::pszName  
  
field) differ from the originals in Max in that any special characters  
  
(underscore, space, plus sign, etc.) have been stripped out (e.g.  
  
“Test\_Name” would become “TestName”).  
  
  
  
  
  
Is there any way to alter this behaviour (Ideally I would want to leave  
  
the object names untouched)?&nbsp; Is it a Max thing, or a POD Exporter thing?&nbsp; Otherwise, is there any other way to  
  
encode metadata for objects?  
  
  
  
  
  
As context, I want to be able to tag an object with metadata which  
  
implies that it is a helper object rather than renderable geometry and  
  
I was planning to use name prefixes to do this (e.g. an object with the  
  
name “start\_PlayerStart1” would represent a player start location).  
  
Any help would be very much appreciated!  
  
Cheers,  
  
Peter

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Scott](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex015/user_avatar/forums.imgtec.com/scott/32/256_2.png) [@Scott](https://forums.imgtec.com/u/Scott)\
**Post date:** [October 20, 2009, 3:29pm UTC](https://forums.imgtec.com/t/pod-exporter-strips-special-chars-frm-object-name/503/2 "2009-10-20T15:29:35Z")

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Hi,
  

&nbsp;
  

Two2Heads wrote:

  
Is there any way to alter this behaviour (Ideally I would want to leave the object names untouched)?&nbsp; Is it a Max thing, or a POD Exporter thing?&nbsp; Otherwise, is there any other way to encode metadata for objects?  

  

&nbsp;
  

Thanks for pointing this out. It&nbsp;appears to be a legacy feature in&nbsp;the POD Exporter. We'll have a look at removing this for our next release.
  

&nbsp;
  

For the moment&nbsp;the stripping doesn't appear to be performed on the material names so you could store your metadata in them.
  

&nbsp;
  

Two2Heads wrote:

  
As context, I want to be able to tag an object with metadata which implies that it is a helper object rather than renderable geometry

  

&nbsp;
  

If it is of any help the pNode array is in the order: meshes, lights, cameras, everything else (bones, helpers etc).&nbsp;Therefore, all the renderable geometry will be in the first nNumMeshNodes of the&nbsp;array.
  

&nbsp;
  

Thanks,
  

&nbsp;
  

Scott
  

&nbsp;

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![two2heads](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/97f17d/32.png) [@two2heads](https://forums.imgtec.com/u/two2heads)\
**Post date:** [October 27, 2009, 1:35am UTC](https://forums.imgtec.com/t/pod-exporter-strips-special-chars-frm-object-name/503/3 "2009-10-27T01:35:26Z")

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Thanks Scott, I’ve checked it out and the material name does indeed come through unscathed.&nbsp; It’s slightly ungainly but it’ll work!&nbsp; Do you know when the next exporter release is scheduled for?  
  
Thanks,  
  
Peter

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Scott](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex015/user_avatar/forums.imgtec.com/scott/32/256_2.png) [@Scott](https://forums.imgtec.com/u/Scott)\
**Post date:** [November 6, 2009, 4:04pm UTC](https://forums.imgtec.com/t/pod-exporter-strips-special-chars-frm-object-name/503/4 "2009-11-06T16:04:59Z")

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Two2Heads wrote:

Thanks Scott, I've checked it out and the material name does indeed come through unscathed.&nbsp; It's slightly ungainly but it'll work!&nbsp; Do you know when the next exporter release is scheduled for?  
  
Thanks,  
  
Peter  

  

  

  

&nbsp;
  

Hi,
  

&nbsp;
  

A new version of the exporter with the stripping removed should be available to download from [https://www.imgtec.com/powervr/insider/powervr-pvrgeopod.asp](https://www.imgtec.com/powervr/insider/powervr-pvrgeopod.asp)&nbsp;at some point next week.
  

&nbsp;
  

Thanks,
  

&nbsp;
  

Scott