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Answered: Opening a ZBrush 4r5 file in 4r3?

ZBrush Usage Questions
#1

Hello,

I’m having some trouble opening up a ZBrush 4r5 file in 4r3. The problem is that when I try opening up either the 4r5 project or 4r5 tool, the 4r3 program tells me that “This file has been created by a newer ZBrush version (4.5). This version of ZBrush is unable to read such files”.

I have ZBrush 4r5 at home; however, the school that I go to only uses 4r3, and I do not have administrative permission to update it. So if, say, I take the 4r3 file I’ve worked on at school to my home, then it works just fine in 4r5. But if I were to save it and take the 4r5 file back with me to school then I’m met with that error message when I attempt to continue my work on their 4r3.

Is there any way to import a new file into an older version? Would I have to export the 4r5 file as a poly mesh instead of a tool/project, and just import it into 4r3?

Thank you very much for your time!

#2

ZBrush isn’t forward compatible – files created in newer versions often use features not found in older versions. So the older version has no clue what to do with the file. You can open files from an earlier version in a newer one but not vice versa.

That’s native-format files. You can get around it by exporting as OBJ or MA for example, because those formats aren’t native to ZBrush. Of course materials and subdivision levels can’t be carried across.

#3

Okay, thank you very much for the information!