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Catalogs in 3DBrowser

Where are the catalogs stored?

The contents.obv file

Preview thumbnails and file information (keywords, description, metadata) are stored in a catalog. This catalog is an obv file.

3DBrowser creates a catalog for each folder you visit, if that folder contains a file type recognized by the application (3D file or image).

By default, this catalog is:

  • a hidden file
    this limit the risk of the catalog being deleted and hide it from most applications.
  • is located in the folder containing files recognized by 3DBrowser
    this preserve thumbnails and information when you move or rename this folder outside of 3DBrowser (from Windows Explorer, for example).

Change catalog backup settings

Catalog preferences

You can change the catalog saving behavior from the preferences dialog accessible via Edit > Preferences > Catalogs.

The Catalog Saving section allows you to:

  • define the storage location for catalogs
    For example, you can choose not to save catalogs (thumbnails will then be recalculated automatically). You can also save them in a single directory named Catalogs.
    This directory is located at %PROGRAMDATA%\Mootools\3DBrowser\Catalogs (in Windows 11, this corresponds to C:\ProgramData\Mootools\3DBrowser\Catalogs)
  • Define whether catalogs are hidden files
  • Save catalogs in archives
    If this option is checked, 3DBrowser scans ZIP files. If a file is recognized, a thumbnail is created and a catalog is added to the archive. This allows you to quickly preview your archive.

The Catalog Contents section allows you to keep thumbnails and information for all files, recognized files, or only 2D or 3D files. Please note:

  • Preview thumbnails are automatically recalculated if saving is disabled for a file type. This can significantly slow down the software, especially for 3D files.
  • the descriptions and metadata you have entered will be deleted if saving is disabled.

Finally, the Thumbnail Size and Quality section allows you to set the maximum size of saved thumbnails and their JPEG compression. If you change these settings, the thumbnails will be recalculated when browsing directories.

Excluded files

Some files may not be recognised correctly by 3DBrowser and cause the application to crash. This happens when :

  • The file does not comply with the format specifications, is invalid or corrupt.
  • 3DBrowser misinterprets the contents of the file. A badly recognised file can cause the application to crash.

In other cases 3DBrowser can be closed while it is analysing files to create thumbnails.

These 2 cases lead to exclude files from the catalogs containing them, to avoid any inconvenience (crash, reading time...).
Excluded files are simply not visible in the Explorer window. Don't look for them, you won't find them!

Excluded files
The status bar clearly shows the number of excluded files.

Reintegrate excluded files (current catalogue)

However, you may wish to re-include these excluded files, for example after an update of 3DBrowser brings the necessary patches to read these files.

To do this:

  1. Use Right Click > Update Catalogs in the Explorer window or Tools > Update Catalogs.
  2. In the dialog box, tick Reintegrate files excluded from the catalog.
    If this option is not available, there are no excluded files in the catalogue.
  3. Check the other options and uncheck those that do not suit you (e.g. Recompute thumbnails).
  4. Confirm by clicking on Update.

Reintegrate excluded files (multiple catalogues)

  • Use Right Click > Update Catalogs in the Explorer window or Tools > Update Catalogs.
  • Select Current Catalog.
  • In the dialog box, tick Include sub directories.
  • Follow steps 2 to 4 in the previous paragraph.

Edited 02/2025