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16 Chapter 1: Getting Star ted with 3ds Max
material and map definition, light projections, and
environment effects.
Setting XRe fs File Paths
The XRefs panel (page 3–812) contains multiple
path entries that the program u ses to search for
externally referenced files. These are used for
sharing fi les in a workgroup s ituation.
Impor ting, Merging, Replacing,
and E x ter na lly R efer enci ng S cenes
Gear model imported to become part of another scene
You can realize great productivity gains when
you reuse work by combining geometry from
scenes or other programs. 3ds Max supports th is
technique with the Import, Merge, and Replace
commands. You can also share scenes and objects
w ith others working on the same project using
XRef funct ionalit y.
Importing G eometr y f ro m O ther
Programs
UseFilemenu>Import (page 3–485) to bring
objects from other programs into a scene. The
types of files that you can import are listed in
the Files Of Ty pe list in the S elect File To Import
dialog.
Depending on the file type you choose, you mig ht
have options available for that import plug-in.
Mer ging S cenes Together
Pipe and ashtray models merged into one scene
Use Merge (page 3–463) to combine multiple
scenes into a single large scene. When you merge
a file, you c an select which objects to merge. If
objectsbeingmergedhavethesamenameas
objects in your scene, you have the option to
rename or skip over the merged objects.
Mer ging A nimat ion into S cenes
Use Merge Animation (page 3–466) to merge the
animation from one scene into another with the
same (or similar) geometry.