9

Market-Specific Defaults 791
For example, a typical animation scene has a small
number of lights; shadow maps (page 3–1010)
provideafast,accuratesolutiontogenerating
shadows. On the other hand, a typical desig n
visualization scene can contain hundreds of lights,
in which case shadow maps will cause memory
issues. For this type of scene, ray-traced shadows
(page 3–1000) aremuchmoreappropriate.
In order to provide an efficient working
environment for both project types, 3ds Max
offers four sets of market-specific defaults, tailored
specifically for general animation scenes and
for design visualization projects (both with
and without the u se of the mental ray renderer
(page 3–78)). The sets are each located in their
own sub-directories of the \defaults directory.
These sub-directories each contain an INI file
(currentdefaults.ini), which contains the global
parameter defaults, a default material library
(medit.mat), which populates the Material Editor
at startup, and a startup fi le (maxstart.max), wh ich
is the file that opens when 3ds Max is started or
when you reset. You can e dit any of these fi les,
and you can also create your own sets, however
eachsetmustbeinaseparatesub-directoryof
\defaults. in addition, each file in the directory
should have the same names (currentdefaults.ini,
medit.mat,andmaxstart.max). If one of these files
is not present in a custom defaults directory that
you have created, 3ds Max uses the corresponding
file from the \defaults\max director y in its place.
Note: Foryourprotection,bothofthepreset
default directories have a sub-directory named
\factorydefaults, which contains the original files
for each set. These ca n be used in the event that
you have changed your defaults and are unhappy
w ith the results. They are also a useful starting
point for creating your own set; copy them to a new
directory and edit them. It is hig hly recommended
that you do not edit the files in the \factorydefaults
directories.
Default sets are assigned through the Custom UI
and Defaults Switcher (page 3–789).
Procedure
To change the current set of defaults:
1.
Choose Customize menu > Customize UI And
Defaults Sw itcher.
2. Select one of the default sets f rom the Initial
settings for tool options list and click Set.
3. Restart 3ds Max to load the new default
parameters.
Interfa ce
The following files should be included in your
default directory. If one or more of these files is not
present in the current Default directory, 3ds Max
willusethecorrespondingfilefrom\defaults\max
in its place.
currentdefaults.ini
Thefollowingtabledescribesallofthesections
that can be set in a default INI file. Any parameter
w ith a blank or invalid va lue will use the hard
coded default.
Note: See the online User Reference to view this
table.
medit.mat
medit.mat is the default material library in your
scene.
maxstart.max
The maxstar t.max file is loaded w hen you s tart or
reset 3ds Max.