Chapter 3 ✦ Working with Files and XRefs 121

Figure 3-27: The tree object is an XRef from another scene. Its proxy is a simple cylinder.

Figure 3-28: The XRef Object rollout in the

Modify panel lets you choose which objects
from which files to include as external
references.
122 Part I ✦ Learning the Max Interface

Figure 3-29: The XRefs panel in the Configure Paths

dialog box lets you specify paths to be searched when
an XRef cannot be located.

Max keeps track of the path of any XRefs used in a scene, but if it cannot find them, it looks at
the paths designated in the XRefs panel of the Configure Paths dialog box. For projects that
use lots of XRefs, populating this list with potential paths is a good idea. Paths are scanned in
the order they are listed, so place the most likely paths at the top of the list.
To add a new path to the panel, click the Add button. You can also modify or delete paths in
this panel with the Modify and Delete buttons.

Using the File Utilities

With all these various files floating around, Max has included several utilities that make it eas-
ier to work with them. The Utilities panel of the Command Panel includes several useful utili-
ties for working with files. You can access these utilities by opening the Utilities panel and
clicking the More button to see a list of available utilities.

Using the Asset Browser utility

The Asset Browser utility is the first default button in the Utility panel. Clicking this button
opens the Asset Browser window. The Asset Browser resembles Windows Explorer, except
that it displays thumbnail images of all the supported formats contained within the current
directory. Using this window, shown in Figure 3-30, you can browse through directory files
and see thumbnails of images and scenes.
The supported file types include AVI, BMP, CIN, CEL, GIF, IFL, IPP, JPEG, PNG, PSD, MOV, RGB,
RLA, RPF, VST, TIF, and YUV. These types are the same ones that the File ➪ View File command
can open. All files with these extensions are viewable within the Asset Browser. You can select
to view only a certain type of file using the Filter menu.
 Chapter 3 ✦ Working with Files and XRefs 123

Figure 3-30: The Asset Browser window displays thumbnails of the

files in the current directory.

Tip Open and display the Asset Manager within a viewport by right-clicking the viewport title and
choosing Views ➪ Extended ➪ Asset Manager from the pop-up menu.

You can also drag and drop files from the Asset Browser window to Max. Drag a scene file and
drop it on Max’s title bar to open the scene file within Max. You can drop image files onto the
map buttons in the Material Editor window or drop an image file onto a viewport to make a
dialog box appear, which lets you apply the image as an Environment Map or as a Viewport
Background, respectively.
The Asset Browser window is modeless, so you can work with the Max interface while the
Asset Browser window is open. Double-clicking an image opens it full size in the Rendered
Frame Window.
The Asset Browser can also act as a Web browser to look at content online. When the Asset
Browser first opens, a dialog box reminds you that online content may be copyrighted and
cannot be used without consent from the owner.
The Display menu includes three panes that you can select. The Thumbnail pane shows the
files as thumbnails. You can change the size of these thumbnails using the Thumbnails menu.
The Explorer pane displays the files as icons the same as you would see in Windows Explorer.
The Web pane displays the Web page for the site listed in the Address field.
To view Web sites, you need to be connected to the Internet. The Asset Browser can remem-
ber your favorite Web sites using the Favorites menu. The Asset Browser window also
includes the standard Web browser navigation buttons, such as Back, Forward, Home,
Refresh, and Stop. You can also find these commands in the Browse menu.
124 Part I ✦ Learning the Max Interface

Max keeps thumbnails of all the images you access in its cache. The cache is a directory that
holds thumbnails of all the recently accessed images. Each thumbnail image points to the
actual directory where the image is located. Choose File ➪ Preferences to open the Preference
dialog box, in which you can specify where you want the cache directory to be located. Its
default location is the abcache directory located where Max is installed. To view the cached
files, choose Filter ➪ All in Cache.
Choose File ➪ Print to print the selected image.

Finding files with the Max File Finder utility

Another useful utility for locating files is the Max File Finder utility, which you get to by using
the More button in the Utilities panel. When you select this utility, a rollout with a Start but-
ton appears in the Utility panel. Clicking this button opens the MAXFinder dialog box. Using
MAXFinder, you can search for scene files by any of the information listed in the File
Properties dialog box.
You can use the Browse button to specify the root directory to search. You can select to have
the search also examine any subfolders. Figure 3-31 shows the MAXFinder dialog box locating
all the scene files that include the word blue.

Figure 3-31: You can use the MAXFinder utility to

search for scene files by property.

Collecting files with the Resource Collector utility

When a scene is created, image and object files can be pulled from several different locations.
The Resource Collector utility helps you consolidate all these files into one location. The set-
tings for this utility appear in the Parameters rollout in the Utility panel, as shown in Figure
3-32. The Output Path is the location where the files are collected. You can change this loca-
tion using the Browse button.
The utility includes options to Collect Bitmaps, to include the Max scene file, and to
Compress the files into a compressed WinZip file. The Copy option makes copies of the files,
and the Move option moves the actual file into the directory specified in the Output Path
field. The Update Materials option updates all material paths in the Material Editor. When
you’re comfortable with the settings, click the Begin button to start the collecting.
 Chapter 3 ✦ Working with Files and XRefs 125

Figure 3-32: The Resource Collector utility can compile

all referenced files into a single location.

Using i-drop
To make accessing needed files from the Web even easier, Autodesk has created a technology
known as i-drop that lets you drag files from i-drop-supported Web pages and drop them
directly in Max. With i-drop, you can drag and drop light fixture models from a light manufac-
turer’s Web site into your scene without importing and positioning a file. This format makes it
possible to add geometry, photometric data, and materials.

Accessing File Information

As you work with files, several dialog boxes in Max supply you with extra information about
your scene. Using this information to your advantage can help you keep track of files and
record valuable statistics about a scene.

Displaying scene Information

If you like to keep statistics on your files (to see whether you’ve broken the company record
for the model with the greatest number of faces), you’ll find the Summary Info dialog box use-
ful. Use the File ➪ Summary Info menu command to open a dialog box that displays all the rel-
evant details about the current scene, such as the number of objects, lights, and cameras; the
total number of vertices and faces; and various model settings, as well as a Description field
where you can describe the scene. Figure 3-33 shows the Summary Info dialog box.
The Plug-In Info button on the Summary Info dialog box displays a list of all the plug-ins cur-
rently installed on your system. Even without any external plug-ins installed, the list is fairly
long because many of the core features in Max are implemented as plug-ins. The Summary
Info dialog box also includes a Save to File button for saving the scene summary information
as a text file.
126 Part I ✦ Learning the Max Interface

Figure 3-33: The Summary Info dialog box shows all the basic
information about the current scene.

Viewing file properties

As the number of files that you have on your system increases, you’ll be wishing you had a
card catalog to keep track of them all. Max has an interface that you can use to attach key-
words and other descriptive information about the scene to the file. The File ➪ File Properties
menu command opens the File Properties dialog box. This dialog box, shown in Figure 3-34,
includes three panels: Summary, Contents, and Custom. The Summary panel holds informa-
tion such as the Title, Subject, and Author of the Max file and can be useful for managing a
collaborative project. The Contents panel holds information about the scene such as the total
number of objects and much more. Much of this information is also found in the Summary
Info dialog box. The Custom panel, also shown in Figure 3-34, includes a way to enter a cus-
tom list of properties such as client information, language, and so on.

Note You can also view the Properties dialog box information while working in Windows Explorer
by right-clicking the file and selecting Properties. Three unique tabs are visible: General,
Custom, and Summary. The Summary tab holds the file identification information, including
the Title, Subject, Author, Category, Keywords, and Comments.

Viewing files
Sometimes looking at the thumbnail of an image isn’t enough to help you decide whether you
have the right image. For these cases, you can quickly load the image in question into a
viewer to look at it closely. The File ➪ View Image File menu command opens the View File
dialog box shown in Figure 3-35. This dialog box lets you load and view graphic and animation
files using the Rendered Frame Window or the default Media Player for your system.
 Chapter 3 ✦ Working with Files and XRefs 127

Figure 3-34: The File Properties dialog box contains workflow

information such as the scene author, comments, and revision dates.

Figure 3-35: The View File dialog box can open

an assortment of image and animation formats.

Cross- The Rendered Frame Window is discussed in more detail in Chapter 41, “Rendering Basics.”
Reference
128 Part I ✦ Learning the Max Interface

The View File dialog box includes several controls for viewing files. The Devices and Setup
buttons let you set up and view a file using external devices such as Video Recorders. The
Info button lets you view detailed information about the selected file. The View button opens
the file for viewing while leaving the View File dialog box open. The Open button closes the
dialog box. At the bottom of the View File dialog box, the statistics and path of the current file
are displayed.

Note The View File dialog box can open many types of files, including Microsoft videos (AVI),
Bitmap images (BMP), Kodak Cineon (CIN), Combustion (CWS), Autodesk Flic images (FLC,
FLI, CEL), Graphics Image Format (GIF), Radiance HDRI Image Files (HDR), Image File List
(IFL), JPEG images (JPG), Portable Network Graphics (PNG), Adobe Photoshop images
(PSD), QuickTime movies (MOV), SGI images (RGB), RLA images, RPF images, Targa images
(TGA, VST), Tagged image file format images (TIF), Abekas Digital Disk (YUV), and DirectDraw
Surface (DDS) images.

You use the Gamma area on the View File dialog box to specify whether an image uses its own
gamma settings or the system’s default setting, or whether an override value should be used.

Summary
Working with files lets you save your work, share it with others, and collaborate across
teams. This chapter covered these basics, including these topics:
✦ Creating, saving, opening, merging, and archiving files
✦ Understanding the various import and export types
✦ Importing models from other programs, such as Illustrator and Poser
✦ Using externally referenced scenes and objects to work on the same project at the
same time as your fellow team members without interfering with their work (or they
with yours)
✦ Configuring XRef paths to help Max track your XRef Scenes and Objects
✦ Working with the file utilities, such as the Asset Browser
✦ Using the Summary Info and File Properties dialog box to keep track of scene files
By now, you should be becoming more comfortable with the user interface, but if you’re not,
the next chapter covers how to customize the user interface.
✦ ✦ ✦
Customizing the
Max Interface and
4
C H A P T E R

Setting Preferences
✦ ✦ ✦ ✦

In This Chapter

Using the Customize

User Interface

W
dialog box
hen you get into a new car, one of the first things you do is to
rearrange the seat and mirrors. You do this to make yourself Creating custom
comfortable. The same principle can apply to software packages — keyboard shortcuts,
arranging or customizing an interface makes it more comfortable to toolbars, quadmenus,
work with. menus, and colors
Early versions of Max allowed only minimal changes to the interface, Customizing the
but later versions enable significant customization. The Max interface Command Panel buttons
can be customized to show only the icons and tools that you want to
see. Max also has a rather bulky set of preferences that you can use Loading and saving
to set almost every aspect of the program. This chapter covers vari- custom interfaces
ous ways to make the Max interface more comfortable for you (now if
we could only get cars that could save a custom setup). Configuring paths

Setting system units

Using the Customize User Setting preferences
Interface Window ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦
The key to customizing the interface is the Customize ➪ Customize
User Interface menu command. This command opens the Customize
User Interface dialog box. This dialog box includes five panels includ-
ing Keyboard, Toolbars, Quads, Menus, and Colors. You can also
access this dialog box by right-clicking any toolbar away from the
buttons and selecting Customize from the pop-up menu.

Customizing keyboard shortcuts

If used properly, keyboard shortcuts can increase your efficiency dra-
matically. Figure 4-1 shows the Keyboard panel of the Customize User
Interface dialog box. In this panel, you can assign shortcuts to any
command and define sets of shortcuts. You can assign keyboard
shortcuts for any of the interfaces listed in the Group drop-down list.
When an interface is selected from the Group drop-down list, all its
commands are listed below along with their current keyboard short-
cut. You can disable the keyboard shortcuts for any of these inter-
faces using the Active option located next to the drop-down list.
130 Part I ✦ Learning the Max Interface

Figure 4-1: The Keyboard panel enables you to create

keyboard shortcuts for any command.

Groups that have a large number of commands are split into categories. You can use the
Category drop-down list to filter only select types of commands. This helps you to quickly
locate a specific type of command such as controllers, modifiers, or Space Warps. Entering
a keyboard shortcut into the Hotkey field shows in the Assigned to field whether that key is
currently assigned to a command. You can Assign the hotkey to the selected command or
Remove the hotkey from its current assignment.
You can use the Write Keyboard Chart button to output all the keyboard commands to a text
file. Using this feature, you can print and post a chart of keyboard shortcuts next to your
computer monitor. You can also Load, Save, and Reset selected keyboard shortcut sets.
Keyboard shortcut sets are saved as .kbd files in the UI directory where Max is installed.

Cross- You can find a reference of the available default keyboard shortcuts in Appendix C, “Max
Reference Keyboard Shortcuts.”

Tutorial: Assigning keyboard shortcuts

Do you use both hands to control the mouse? If not, then you have one hand that is idle most
of the time. If you can train this hand to control features using the keyboard, then you can be
much more efficient.
To assign a new keyboard shortcut to create a Sphere object, follow these steps:
1. Open the Customize User Interface dialog box by choosing Customize ➪ Customize
User Interface.
2. Open the Keyboard panel and select Main UI in the Group drop-down list. Scroll
through the list, and select the Sphere Object command.
 Chapter 4 ✦ Customizing the Max Interface and Setting Preferences 131

Tip With a list of objects available, you can quickly jump close to a desired item by typing the first
letter of the item. For example, pressing the S key jumps to the first item that begins with an S.

3. Place the cursor in the Hotkey field, and press Alt+Shift+Ctrl+S keys together. This
enters the hotkey into the field. In the default interface, this key isn’t assigned to any
command. Click the Assign button to assign the hotkey to the command.
4. Click the Save button to save the keyboard shortcut set as myShortcuts.kbd. You can
load the resulting set from the Chap 04 directory on the CD-ROM.
5. The final step is to try out the shortcut. Close the Customize User Interface dialog box,
press the new keyboard shortcut, Alt+Shift+Ctrl+S, and drag in a viewport to create a
sphere.

Customizing toolbars
You can use the Customize User Interface dialog box’s Toolbar panel to create custom tool-
bars. Figure 4-2 shows this panel.

Figure 4-2: The Customize User Interface dialog box enables

you to create new toolbars.

The Toolbars panel of the Customize User Interface dialog box includes the same Group and
Category drop-down lists and command list as the Keyboard panel. Clicking the New button
opens a simple dialog box where you can name the new toolbar. The Delete button lets you
delete toolbars. You can delete only toolbars that you’ve created. The Rename button lets
you rename the current toolbar. The Hide option makes the selected toolbar hidden.