02. Configuration & Variant Manager
The Variant Manager Toolkit provides a comprehensive management system for USD asset variants. It allows you to create, organize, and switch between multiple configurations of your 3D scenes — controlling visibility, materials, properties, cameras, and combined master variants — all without geometry duplication.
Getting Started
Open the Variant Manager from the main menu: Overtools > Variant Manager.
Individual variant utilities are available under Overtools > Variant Tools: - Visibility Variant Utility - Material Variant Utility - Property Variant Utility - Camera Variant Utility - Master Variant Utility
[! Note:] A valid Overtools license is required.
Variant Manager Window
The Variant Manager is the central hub for viewing and managing all variant sets in your scene.
Toolbar
The top toolbar provides quick access to variant creation and filtering:
Variant Type Buttons — Six buttons for creating new variant sets, each represented by a distinctive icon: - Visibility - Material - Properties - Camera - Master
Filter Button — Opens a dropdown menu to filter displayed variant sets by type: - Favorites - Visibility - Material - Property - Camera - Master
Search Bar — Full-text search across variant set names. - Case Sensitive toggle checkbox for exact matching. - Targets toggle checkbox for filtering by prim targets.
Sort Options: - A–Z — Sort by name ascending. - Z–A — Sort by name descending. - Favorites — Show favorite variant sets first. - Variant Set — Group by variant type.
Variant Set List
The left panel displays all variant sets as collapsible frames. Each entry shows:
- A type indicator icon
- The variant set name
- A Favorite button
- A Settings button for per-variant-set configuration.
- An Edit button to modify the variant set.
- A Delete button to remove the variant set.
Expanding a variant set reveals its variants as buttons, allowing single-selection switching.
Variant Set Editor
The right panel provides a detailed editor for the selected variant set, including variant creation, renaming, and property editing.
Variant Types
Visibility Variants
Control the visibility of prims (show/hide) across different configurations.
Three creation modes:
| Mode | Description |
|---|---|
| On Parent | Creates a variant set on the parent prim that controls visibility of its children. |
| Bulk | Creates a multi-prim visibility variant set on a parent prim, controlling visibility of multiple objects at once. |
| On Prim | Creates a per-prim visibility variant set directly on each selected prim. |
Visibility Variant Utility window: 1. Enter a variant set name. 2. Select a creation mode (On Parent, Bulk, or On Prim). 3. Drag and drop target prims into the variant area, or use Snapshot current visible selection to capture the current visibility state. 4. Add additional variants with the + button and configure each one. 5. Optionally enable thumbnail generation. 6. Click Create variant set.
Each variant stores the visibility state (visible or hidden) for its associated prims. Switching between variants instantly shows or hides the corresponding objects.
Material Variants
Manage material assignments across different configurations. Each variant stores a different material binding, allowing you to switch the look of objects without changing geometry.
Material Variant Utility window: 1. Add target prims to the variant set. 2. Drag and drop materials from the stage or material browser into each variant. 3. Name each variant. 4. Click Create variant set.
When a material variant is selected, the associated material is bound to the target prims via the material:binding relationship.
Property Variants
Capture and switch between different values of arbitrary USD properties on prims. This includes transforms (position, rotation, scale), numeric values, strings, and other property types.
Property Variant Utility window: 1. Select a prim with the properties you want to vary. 2. Check the properties to include in the variant. 3. Modify the property values to the desired state. 4. Click to capture the current property values as a variant. 5. Repeat for each variant configuration.
Each variant stores a snapshot of the selected property values. Switching between property variants applies the stored values to the prim.
Camera Variants
Manage camera configurations and post-processing settings. Each variant stores a camera path along with its associated post-process parameters (depth of field, bloom, etc.).
Camera Variant Utility window: 1. The tool automatically detects the active viewport camera. 2. Configure the camera properties and post-process settings. 3. Create a variant to capture the current camera state. 4. Optionally generate thumbnails for each camera view.
When a camera variant is selected, the scene updates to the stored camera position and applies the associated post-process settings.
Master Variants
Meta-variants that combine selections from multiple other variant sets into a single switchable configuration. This is useful for creating named configurations that bundle visibility, material, property, and camera choices together.
Master Variant Utility window: 1. A tree view displays all available variant sets in the scene. 2. For each variant set, select the desired variant using radio buttons. 3. Name the master variant. 4. Click Create to bundle all selections into a single master variant.
Switching to a master variant simultaneously updates all referenced variant sets to their stored selections.
Context Menu
Right-clicking on a prim in the stage tree provides the following variant operations under the Overtools submenu:
| Action | Description |
|---|---|
| Clear variant sets | Remove all variant sets from the selected prim. |
| Clear variant override | Reset variant selections to defaults. |
| Clear All Overrides | Clear all layer overrides on the prim. |
| Replicate material variant | Create material variants from existing structure. |
| Visibility Variant Set | Quickly create a visibility variant from the current selection. |
| Copy variant set | Copy a variant set to the clipboard. |
| Paste variant set | Paste a previously copied variant set. |
Thumbnail System
The Configuration Tool includes automatic thumbnail generation for visual variant preview:
- Thumbnails are captured as rendered images for each variant.
- They are stored in a variant thumbnail directory associated with the current stage.
- The capture uses RTX raytraced rendering with a clean viewport (grid hidden, HUD elements hidden).
- Both material and camera variants support snapshot generation.
Controls: - Take Snapshot — Capture a thumbnail for the current variant. - Remove Thumbnail — Delete an existing variant thumbnail.
Keyboard Shortcuts
| Shortcut | Action |
|---|---|
| Alt+E | Export Backup Variants |
| Alt+I | Import Backup Variants |