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To view websites, you need to be connected to the Internet. The Asset Browser can remember your favorite websites using the Favorites menu. The Asset Browser window also includes the standard web browser navigation buttons, such as Back, Forward, Home, Refresh, and Stop. You also can find these commands in the Browse menu.

Max keeps thumbnails of all the images you access in its cache. The cache is a directory that holds thumbnails of all the recently accessed images. Each thumbnail image points to the actual directory where the image is located. Choose Application Button⇒Preferences to open the Preferences dialog box, in which you can specify where you want the cache directory to be located. To view the cached files, choose Filter⇒All in Cache. The Preferences dialog box also includes options to define how to handle dropped files. The options include Always Merge or Import, Always XRef, or Ask Each Time.

Choose File⇒Print to print the file view or web window.

Finding files with the Max File Finder utility

Another useful utility for locating files is the Max File Finder utility, which you get to by using the More button in the Utilities panel of the Command Panel. When you select this utility, a rollout with a Start button appears in the Utilities panel. Clicking this button opens the MAXFinder dialog box. Using MAXFinder, you can search for scene files by any of the information listed in the File Properties dialog box.

Tip

You also can access the MAXFinder dialog box using the MaxFind icon located in the same folder where 3ds Max is installed. •

You can use the Browse button to specify the root directory to search. You can select to have the search also examine any subfolders. Figure 3.23 shows the MAXFinder dialog box locating all the scene files that include the word blue.

FIGURE 3.23

You can use the MAXFinder utility to search for scene files by property.

Collecting files with the Resource Collector utility

When a scene is created, image and object files can be pulled from several different locations. The Resource Collector utility helps you consolidate all these files into one location. The settings for this utility appear in the Parameters rollout in the Utility panel of the Command Panel, as shown in Figure 3.24. The Output Path is the location where the files are collected. You can change this location using the Browse button.

FIGURE 3.24

The Resource Collector utility can compile all referenced files into a single location.

The utility includes options to Collect Bitmaps, to include the Max scene file, and to compress the files into a compressed WinZip file. The Copy option makes copies of the files, and the Move option moves the actual file into the directory specified in the Output Path field. The Update Materials option updates all material paths in the Material Editor. When you're comfortable with the settings, click the Begin button to start the collecting.

Using the File Link Manager utility

The File Link Manager utility (which also can be accessed using the Application Button⇒References⇒File Link Manager menu) lets you use external AutoCAD and Revit files in the same way that you use Max's XRef features. By creating links between the current Max scene and an external AutoCAD or Revit file, you can reload the linked file when the external AutoCAD or Revit file has been updated and see the updates within Max.

Cross-Reference

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

This utility is divided into three panels: Attach, Files, and Presets. The Attach panel includes a File button to select and open a DWG or DXF file. The Attach panel also includes options to rescale the file units, a button to select which layers to include, and a button to attach the file. The Files panel displays each linked AutoCAD file along with icons to show if the linked file has changed. A Reload button allows you to click to reload the linked