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New Feature

The options to create a new scene, open a file, and open a recent file are all new to the Welcome Screen in 3ds Max 2012. •

FIGURE 3.3

The Welcome Screen includes buttons for opening files and creating new scene files.

If the Show This Welcome Screen at Startup option is disabled, the Welcome Screen won't appear when Max starts, but you can access it at any time using the Help⇒Essential Skills Movies menu command.

Starting new

When Max starts, a new scene opens. You can start a new scene at any time with the button on the Quick Access toolbar or with the Application Button⇒New (Ctrl+N) command. Although each instance of Max can have only one scene open at a time, you can open multiple copies of Max, each with its own scene instance, if you have enough memory.

Starting a new scene deletes the current scene, but Max gives you options to keep the objects and hierarchy, keep the objects, or make everything new. These options are available as submenu options if you use the Application Button or as a dialog box, shown in Figure 3.4, if the Quick Access toolbar icon or the keyboard shortcut is used.

FIGURE 3.4

When creating a new scene, you can keep the current objects or select New All.

Starting a new scene maintains all the current interface settings, including the viewport configurations, any interface changes, viewport backgrounds, and any changes to the Command Panel. To reset the interface, choose Application Button⇒Reset. When reset, all interface settings return to their default states, but interface changes aren't affected.

Saving files

After you start up Max, the first thing you should learn is how to save your work. After a scene has changed, you can save it as a file. Before a file is saved, the word “Untitled” appears in the title bar; after you save the file, its filename appears in the title bar. Choose the Save icon on the Quick Access toolbar or Application Button⇒Save (Ctrl+S) to save the scene. If the scene hasn't been saved yet, then a Save File As dialog box appears, as shown in Figure 3.5. You also can make this dialog box appear using the Application Button⇒Save As command. After a file has been saved, using the Save command saves the file without opening the File dialog box. Pretty simple—just don't forget to do it often.

Within the Save File As dialog box is an option in the Save as Type field to save the file as a 3ds Max file, a 3ds Max 2010 file, or a 3ds Max 2011 file. Files saved using a format for a previous version of Max can be opened only within the designated version or any version newer than that version. Be aware that any new features included in Max 2012 are not included in the saved file using an older format. For example, if the current file uses a newer feature, and you save the file to an older format, then support for the new feature is lost.

Caution

Be aware that Max files beyond 3ds Max 2010 are not backward-compatible. A .max file saved using 3ds Max 2012 cannot be opened in an earlier version of 3ds Max. The solution to compatibility issues is to export the file using the FBX format and then import it in the older version of Max. •

FIGURE 3.5

Use the Save File As dialog box to save a scene as a file.

The Application Button⇒Save As submenu includes options to Save As, Save Copy As, Save Selected, and Archive. The Save File As dialog box keeps a history list of the last several directories that you've opened. You can select these directories from the History drop-down list at the top of the dialog box. The buttons in this dialog box are the standard Windows file dialog box buttons used to go to the last folder visited, go up one directory, create a new folder, and to view a pop-up menu of file view options.

Note

If you try to save a scene over the top of an existing scene, Max presents a dialog box confirming this action. •

Clicking the button with a plus sign to the right of the Save button automatically appends a number onto the end of the current filename and saves the