9

These topics are concerned with managing scenes,
projects, a nd t he files that make them up.
Work ing with AutoCAD, Revi t, and
AutoCAD Ar chi tecture
3ds Max contains many features designed to
streamline the design visualization workflow. See
Working with Drawing Files (page 3–417).TheFile
Link Manager (page 3–422) allows you to create
a live link to a DWG file. You can then apply
materialsandanimationsin3dsMax,butstill
update your geometry if any changes are made to
the original file.
File-Ha ndling Commands
The principal commands for handling files (page
3–386) are found on the default File menu (page
3–673), as in most Windows applications.
File-Handling U tilities
Several utilities help you manage files:
•TheAsset Browser (page 3–504) provides
another way to find and preview fi les and use
them in 3ds Max scenes
•TheBitmap / Photometric Path Editor utility
(page 3–510) lets you view bitmap paths or
remove them from the scene fi le.
•TheFile Finder (page 3–510) is another resource
for finding 3ds Max scenes.
•TheResource Collector (page 3–512) copies or
moves a scene’s bitmaps into a single director y.
•TheFix Ambient utility (page 3–512) resolves
lighting issues with older versions of scene files.
•TheBitmap Pager Statistics dialog (page 3–514)
provides information that helps you resolve
issues with scenes that require large amounts of
memory for texture maps.
G e om e t ry Fil e Form a ts
You can import a var iety of geometry file formats
(page 3–523) into a scene.
ImageFileFormats
Yo u c a n u s e image file formats (page 3–608)
in a variety of ways: as textures for materials,
as backgrounds to viewports, as backg round
environments, as Image Inpu t events in Video
Post, and as images projected from a light.
RAM Player
Yo u c a n p r e v i e w i m a g e s b y u s i n g t h e View File
comm and (page 3–502),orbyusingthemore
interactive RAM Player (page 3–635).
M anagi ng Scenes a nd Projects