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Another option to prevent overwriting your changes is the Increment on Save option. This option adds an incremented number to the end of the existing filename every time it is saved (the same as when clicking the plus button in the Save As dialog box). This retains multiple copies of the file and is an easy version-control method for your scene files. This way, you can always go back to an earlier file when the client changes his mind. With this option enabled, the MaxBack.bak file isn't used.

The Compress on Save option compresses the file automatically when it is saved. Compressed files require less file space but take longer to load. If you're running low on hard drive space, then you'll want to enable this option.

Tip

Another reason to enable the Compress on Save option is that large files (100MB or greater) load into the Network Queue Manager much more quickly when compressed for network rendering. •

The Save Viewport Thumbnail Image option saves a 64 × 64-pixel thumbnail of the active viewport along with the file. This thumbnail is displayed in the Open dialog box and can also be seen from Windows Explorer on Windows XP, as shown in Figure 3.9. Saving a thumbnail with a scene adds about 9K to the file size.

Caution

Although thumbnails appear when viewed from within Windows XP, they do not appear in Windows Vista or Windows 7. •

Tip

The Save Viewport Thumbnail Image option is another good option to keep enabled. Thumbnails help you to find scene files later, and nothing is more frustrating than seeing a scene's filename without a thumbnail. •

FIGURE 3.9

Max files with thumbnails show up in Windows Explorer on Windows XP.

In addition to a thumbnail, Max also offers an option to save the Schematic View with the file. Although Max can generate a new Schematic View from an existing file, saving the Schematic View with the file is quicker if you work with this view often. Saving File Properties with the file is also helpful, but be warned that saving this extra info with the file increases its file size slightly. Still, doing so is worth the effort because you can easily locate and understand the scene file later on.

Cross-Reference

More details on using Schematic View are covered in Chapter 25, “Building Complex Scenes with Containers, XRefs, and the Schematic View.” •

When a Max file created in a previous version of Max is opened, a warning dialog box appears that says, “Obsolete data format found—Please resave file.” To eliminate this warning, disable the Display Obsolete File Message option. The warning dialog box also includes an option to Don't Display Again that enables this option when selected.

When textures are updated, the Reload textures on change option forces the textures to be reloaded when they are altered. This slows your system while Max waits for the textures to reload but offers the latest look immediately.

The Recent Files in File Menu option determines the number of recently opened files that appear in the Application Button⇒Recent Documents menu. The maximum value is 50.

Backing up files

The Auto Backup feature in Max can save you from the nightmare of losing all your work because of a system crash. With Auto Backup enabled, you can select the number of Autobak files to keep around and how often the files are backed up. The backup files are saved to the directory specified by the Configure Paths dialog box. The default is to save these backups to the 3dsmax\autoback directory. You can also select a name for the backup files.

Note

Even if you have this feature enabled, you should still save your file often. •

This is how it works: If you've set the number of backup files to two, the interval to five minutes, and the backup name to MyBackup, then after five minutes the current file is saved as MyBackup1.max. After another five minutes, another file named MyBackup2.max is saved, and then after another five minutes, the MyBackup1.max file is overwritten with the latest changes.

If you