Wavefront Obj and Wearable Presets

stevejackhammer

Using Blender, I've constructed a model for use in a Daz scene.  Typical workflow -- get the scaling right in Blender, assign materials to different zones, export as a Wavefront object.  I import it into Daz wear I attach materials for rendering in Iray.  I save the material preset so as I refine the model in Blender and re-import it, I can apply the material preset and instantly recover the material settings.  It all works brilliantly.

Then I decide to add a decal to the object.  Thinking about it, I figure I need to add it in Daz using the Iray decal node, just like I'm doing the materials.  The decal node is parented to the object, but when I try to save the wearable preset, I get a message that says the object has to be a figure.  OK, so I convert the object to a figure using Edit-->Object-->Rigging-->Convert Prop to Figure.  A hip bone is added, but now I can save the wearable preset.

I start a new scene in Daz and re-import the Wavefront object, but I don't convert it to a figure.  I apply the material preset like before, and I apply the wearable preset...and it works!  

I create duplicates of the object, and I can mass select them to apply the material preset, but not the wearable preset.  That has to be applied one at a time.  But it works fine otherwise.

So my question to the smart people in the room is this: Am I doing something wrong here?  The asymmetry has me vaguely worried.  I can't save a wearable preset until I convert the object into a figure, but I can apply the wearable preset to the unconverted object.  Am I corrupting something in my scene by using wearables this way?  It seems like it's ok -- just a quirk in the UI that prevents saving it in the first place.

Not that it adds any clarity to the question, but here's a test render of the objects.  The "Gravity Plating" text is the Iray decal being applied using the Wearable preset to the unconverted Wavefront objects.