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Working with Containers

Containers provide a great way to group several objects together, but containers have several additional features that extend beyond simply grouping objects together. For example, a container can be saved as an external file, which makes them easy to reuse in other scenes. Containers also can be unloaded from a scene to make the rest of the scene load quicker and to improve performance. Containers also can be locked, and the creator can set edit permissions for others.

Creating and filling containers

Containers are created using the Create⇒Helpers⇒Container menu and dragging in the scene to create the Container icon, which looks like an open box, as shown in Figure 25.1. When a container is created, it is initially empty, but you can easily add objects to the container by clicking the Add button in the Local Content rollout of the Modify panel. This opens an Object Selection list where you can choose the objects to add to the container.

FIGURE 25.1

Containers are displayed as simple open boxes.

You can also create a container and automatically add the selected objects using the Tools⇒Container⇒Create Container from Selection menu command. Container objects can be removed using the Remove button, which also opens an Object Selection list.

Another way to add and remove contents from a container is with the Containers toolbar, shown in Figure 25.2. You can access this toolbar by selecting it from the pop-up menu that appears by right-clicking the main toolbar away from the buttons. The Containers toolbar buttons are described in Table 25.1.

Note

These same commands for working with containers are available in the Tools⇒Containers menu. •

FIGURE 25.2

The Containers toolbar

Note

The various container commands can be accessed from within the Scene Explorer by enabling the Containers toolbar. •

When a container is created, you can move, rotate, scale, and change the display properties of all the objects contained within the container by simply selecting the container icon first.

Closing and saving containers

When a container is first created, it is open by default. The icon for an open container displays an open box. When you select the command to close a container, then the icon changes to display a closed box. The first time this happens, a file dialog box opens, where you can save and name the container. Max container files are saved using the .maxc file extension.

Note

Within the file dialog box, you can use the Save as Type drop-down list to save the container as a Max 2012 Container or as a Max 2010 Container. •

Closed containers cannot be edited by anyone except their creator. Closing a container also causes its objects to be removed from the scene, but their display is still visible because the objects are referenced from the saved file.

Updating and reloading containers

When a container is loaded into a scene from a saved container file using the Inherit Content button, it is inherited into the current scene. The inherited file maintains a link to the original container, and if the original container is edited, you can use the Update button to get the most recently saved changes.

If the container is open and allows edits, the Edit in Place button may be clicked to allow the current user to make edits to the container contents. This locks the container from all other users while the Edit in Place button is enabled. Once released, the edits are saved and made available for other users.

If you make edits that you'd like to ignore, you can use the Reload command to throw away any changes that have occurred since the last save. You also can break the link to the container with the Make All Content Unique button.

Setting container rules

Before a container is closed, you can set rules for defining exactly what content can be edited by other users. These rules are found in the Rules rollout, shown in Figure 25.3. The options include No