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496 Chapter 20: Managing Scenes and Projects
Also shown are icons for each assets showing the
type of asset (3ds Max scene file, map branch,
etc.) and status, as appropriate. Most status icons
are do cumented in the Vault Explorer Help >
Autodesk Vault Explorer Icon Reference topic. For
a reference to the most common icons, see Asset
Tracking Dialog Icons (page 3–498).
Note: No status icons appear if you don’t have any
version-control provider installed.
In general, status errors can be resolved by b eing
careful to coordinate the local folder/file structure
w ith that of the Vault, as described in the above
procedure.
You can access most dialog commands by
rig ht-clicking an asset in the window; the
commands applicable to the asset are available in
the context menu. These commands are the same
as those do c umented ab ove.
Filtering Files
You can configure indiv idual asset-tracking-
system providers via the provider configuration
file, AT S Provid e rs . xml ,whichresidesin\plugcfg in
theprograminstallfolder.3dsMaxreadsthisfile,
but doesn’t write to it.
The primary configuration function is filtering.
Filters define criteria the software uses to
determinewhetherafileshouldbeexcluded
from a provider’s control. If a file is determined
tobeexcludedfromaprovider,thefileisnever
sent to the provider for status check or any other
action. This feature is useful when using multiple
providers within the same pipeline or if your
studio sti l l uses file servers for cer t ain file t ypes.
Whenafileisexcluded,itsiconisgrayedoutand
its status message indicates that it is excluded. You
can also toggle the display of excluded files in the
dialog window with the Display Excluded Files
option.
A example filter file, \plugcfg\ATSProviders_
Example.xml is included with the software, in the
program install folder. The file includes comments,
so you can load it into a text editor to see how it
works and edit it. If you’re using Autodesk Vault as
your provider, you can rename the provider field
(in the <Provider> section, near the beginning of
the file) to Autodesk Vault, as follows:
Change:
<Name>Sample Provider Name Example</Name>
to:
<Name>Autodesk Vault</Name>
Oneoftheeffectsoftheexamplefileistoexclude
FX files, as shown in the following illustration:
Global Settings and Defaults for
Bitmap Proxies Dialog
Render Scene dialog > Common panel > Common
Parameters rollout > Bitmap Proxies group > Setup
Asset Tracking dialog > Proxies m enu > Global Settings
Asset Tracking dialog > Highlight bitmap asset(s). >
Proxies menu > Set Proxy Resolution
Asset Tracking dialog > Right-click a bitmap asset. > Set
Proxy Resolution
This dialog lets you determine how 3ds Max
should create and use proxy versions of bitmaps
incorporated in materials. Proxies are intended for
useprimarilyintheviewportswhenbuildingand
editing scenes to reduce the amount of memory
requ ired by the bitmapped textures, but you can
also use them at render time.
Note: When you open this dialog using either of
the Set Proxy Resolution commands cited at the