Adobe Dimension 4.0 is now available!

[JMathews]

Hello everyone!  Adobe Dimension 4.0 is now available for download from Creative Cloud!

Adobe Dimension 4.0 is being updated to incorporate some of the same underlying code components as Adobe Substance 3D Stager, particularly in areas like rendering, lighting, and material handling. This update puts Dimension on a more modern and maintainable codebase, ensuring the application is more stable and secure for users. Consequently, users will see some changes in the software – most notably in rendering capabilities and material workflow, as well as minor functionality and quality improvements throughout the application.

Here is an FAQ with more details on the changes:

https://helpx.adobe.com/dimension/whats-new.html

The Adobe Dimension and Substance 3D Stager comparison FAQ page has also been updated:
https://www.substance3d.com/dimension-stager-faq/

[benoitd63648169]

Hello,
Semi good news for me... UV problems and slow performance on scene editor (like stager)... I will keep on using the previous version for now but I would love to get some advices / solution to make it work with the new one as Dimension has been part of our workflow...

[Sandravp]

I am excited about all the new features, however it is still a rough and buggy version. I can't even change the color of the materials; the objects I have previously modeled and UV-wrapped appear broken. 

[forresth32732180]

I had this same issue! You now drag the art in to the Base Surface color square in the transform panel instead of the Material color square. This is also now where you change colors now. Hope that helps!

[Sandravp]

Thank you for your help! Those options don't appear when I click on the material for some reason. I'm downgrading to the previous version for now

[kevin28559867r6n0]

We downgraded it to the previous version due to several problems with the program itself and issues opening old DN files.

• The align tool is missing (selecting multiple objects and aligning them is a must).
• Multiple cameras appear from unknown sources.
• When in a camera view, originally if you bookmarked that view, it stayed with that bookmark. Now, if I move it, it updates to the new view.
• Setting transparency and refraction to zero causes problems while using decals (we frequently use decals with transparent items to see inside objects). This issue is especially problematic when opening old files.
• There were problems with resizing objects from zero as well (I had to go to the object tab and change it there to maintain the dimensions 1:1:1).

I'll keep testing it, but it's filled with errors and missing features compared to the super-compressed 3.0 version. There should be an option to have the bare minimum as well. Additionally, there needs to be a "SAVE AS" option compatible with old DN files. 

FILE:  transparency decall problem.dn

[Yasir777]

I noticed as well the multiple cameras appear. You can turn their view off from the right side with all other items are.  But I haven't figured out if I assigned them in the older version or they just populated? 
more exploring to do. I hope the tech team will post an update version after all these reports. 

[kevin28559867r6n0]

we usually change the names of the bookmars, coz it keeps that name when rendering.
We know weach ones, but its not good that they are mixed with random ones.

[Ctorm]

Adobe Dimensions is causing my MacBook Pro to overheat....  M3 MAX PRO 128GB SONOMA

[ZivoDesign]

Wow! Amazing update, Thank you

I was using it a lot and was struggling was the render and and buggy GPU usage.

In first look and quick use, I am very happy with "dimension" coming back to life, I was under the impression it was dead and will soon be unusable,

ONE ISSUE:

I would really like to get back the "Align & Distribute" multi-selected objects like it was on the older version 

[ZivoDesign]

Regarding the "align and distribute" I found that they moved it to the left bar, took me some time to realize that

[Yasir777]

Adobe Dimension's list of  Materials collection is very impressive.

But it's a bit time consuming to navigating through

I have a suggestion by using
A floating palette with tabs for each material category would streamline the navigation in Adobe Dimension 500 Materials . Here’s a more detailed suggestion for how this could be implemented:

Floating Palette with Categorized Tabs,

Floating Palette Design:

• A compact, draggable window that can be positioned anywhere on the screen, independent of the main interface.

2. Categorized Tabs:

• The palette would feature 16 tabs, each labeled with a material category (e.g., Metal, Paper, Wood, Fabric, Translucency, etc.).

• Clicking on a tab would instantly display the materials within that category, eliminating the need for scrolling through a long list of 500.

4. Search and Filter:

• Include a search bar at the top of the palette to quickly find specific materials within the selected category.

5. Preview Thumbnails:

• Show larger, detailed preview thumbnails of the materials within each tab for easy identification.

Attached is a graphic I made so you can visualize it..

[Zuzanna30632542tzov]

Are there any tutorials available for the new update? I can only find old tutorials. Thanks

[Yasir777]

Most of the tutorials will be similar, but I hope they will update few of the olds ones; one of the tutorials has an old Photoshop version which at that time supported 3D- but you could still do it in photoshop any version. 
in the meantime I have bookmarked the link to their new Adobe Dimension users guide, it was updated July 26, 2024.

https://helpx.adobe.com/dimension/user-guide.html
one thing I would like to point out from my experience with bringing graphics from illustrator as a decal, make sure to segment the graphics, otherwise it will be mirrored or spilled either on the next panel or opposite side. So I always make 3 small graphics an png and import to Dn in small chunks. 

[Yasir777]

Here is a new video posted on a YouTube using the new 4.0, with a quick overview.

https://youtu.be/ebXKYCbNEEo?si=Bu0miqSCniD7qfGk

this should be helpful.

[bryanua]

Humorously, I finally JUST broke down and subscribed to the Substance 3D package because I couldn't access my files I created with the Stager trial SMH. 

A geniune question I have with both applications though is how it's handling the cameras. Before this latest update in Dimension, if I clicked on my camera view from the dropdown, it would return my viewpoint directly to my specific framed scene. In Stager and now Dimension with this update, I can select my camera, either from the dropdown in the top menu dropdown or from clicking on the "View Camera" circle in the Scene menu on the right, but I don't return to my set framed scene...what am I missing here?

[forresth32732180]

I found that you have to uncheck the "View Camera" cirlce before adjusting the angle of your view, or your camera will update to the new angle.

[bryanua]

@JMathews can you please share some more information on this? I'm almost 2 months into using this and I still don't understand how this is supposed to be working and it's very annoying, because it worked just fine in the older versions of Dimension and now that my files have been saved in this newer version I can't open them if I revert back to an older version.

[Bridgie_L]

As cool as this update is, it's extremely upsetting that I cannot get it to open! It took me a while yesterday to open a file from the previous version, but once I did, everything went smoothly. I increment my saves, so my most recent files are from 4.0. Imagine my frustration when I tried to open my most recent save today just to find a blank black screen. When I tried to close the program, I wasn't able to. Even Task Manager couldn't close it. I had to force restart my PC. I tried uninstalling the program, and there's still the same issues. From the looks of the forums, I am not the only one facing some major bugs with this update. Hopefully a new one can be pushed soon so we can actually use these cool new features!

[ritav1898390]

I cannot change the size of the frame, that feature disappeared, help.

[Kosta349998245g33]

If you mean changing the size of the saved "View", every view is now a separate object called Camera and when you select (enter) it you can change everything that you could change in the View, including setting different resolution or aspect ratio for every camera separately which is nice. But beware, there is a pretty non intuitive way how it works now, first from the View Port you create a new camera, select the camera, you move around the space untill you have it set the way you want, then you have to deselect (exit) the camera view before you start moving around again because it will automatically update the current camera that is selected. It's so badly designed that they even added separate button for camera history which speaks enough on itself. But it is what it is.

[marina14215263]

Adobe Dimension has a protocol problem.
file import error.

the update is not finished.

[Mike Mtrshk]

Hello Community, Adobe Team Members,

It seems like a great update, however all my work projects done with previous versions simply stopped working. I have tried to find tutorials to understand this new version and the workspace, but at the moment there is no support material that can solve my doubts... The only option is to work on previous versions with the fear that at some point they will stop working.

[Kosta349998245g33]

I am also experiencing significant issues with the new interface logic and difficulties opening older files. For now, the only viable option is to revert to the latest version 3 and wait for Adobe to release a more stable version 4. You can even revert to version 2, so I don't believe its end-of-life is imminent.

[Joanna Brandclinin]

After the July upgrade, I am unable to work on Dimension. Every action takes ages. The program is sluggish as if I were working on a calculator. I see that no one else has this problem. Up until now, the program has worked smoothly, it has never stuttered like this. What could be the cause? Can I go back to the previous version?

[Kosta349998245g33]

Some users may encounter performance issues with the recent update to version 4, as it has introduced significant changes and contains several bugs. If you are experiencing difficulties, you can revert to an earlier version of Adobe Dimension. To do this, open the Creative Cloud application, navigate to the "All apps" section, and locate Adobe Dimension. Click on the three dots next to the "Open" button, select "Other versions," and choose the latest version 3 or any prior version you prefer.