Runtime FBX Import for Unreal Engine - Documentation

The Full Import Flow

Open file picker

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Initialize FBX Load

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Call Import FBX File

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Handle events / UI

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Actor spawns in world

Step 1 — Open the File Picker

Call Open FBX File Dialogue (from RuntimeMeshFunctionLibrary, Blueprint callable) to open the native Windows/Mac file dialog. It returns the full file path as a String. Store it in a variable.

// Blueprint
Open FBX File Dialogue → Out File Path (String)
Store → File Path Variable

Step 2 — Initialize FBX Load

Before importing, call Initialize FBX Load on your FBX Import Manager actor reference. This sets the coordinate system, scale, collision mode, and skeletal mesh detection for the upcoming import.

Parameter	Type	Description
Collision Type	Enum	`No Collision` — no physics; `Mesh Collision` — auto complex collision; `Mesh Collision From Source` — use mesh geometry; `Custom Collision From Source` — use UCX_ meshes from FBX
Scale	Vector	Uniform scale applied to the imported mesh. Default `(1, 1, 1)`.
Transform Vertex To Absolute	Boolean	When true, vertices are placed at their original world position from the FBX file. Leave true for most imports.
Coordinate	Enum	`Right Handed` (standard for Blender/Maya/3ds Max) or `Left Handed`.
Front Vector / Up Vector	Enum	Match the axis convention of the software that exported the file. Use `Front` / `Up` for most tools.
Auto Detect Skeletal Mesh	Boolean	When true, any mesh node that has bone data is automatically treated as a skeletal mesh. Leave enabled unless you want to force everything as static.

Step 3 — Call Import FBX File

Call Import FBX File on your FBX Import Manager, passing:

File Path — the string returned by the file dialogue
Location — world position where the mesh should appear
Spawn FBX Actor — leave true (set to false only if you want to manually control spawning)

💡 Call Initialize FBX Load first, then Import FBX File immediately after. Both are on the same actor reference.

Imported FBX meshes in the scene — a large building and a character with the node list visible in the UI

Step 4 — Handle Import Events

Override these events in your FBX Import Manager Blueprint to drive your UI: