Documentation - General
Here you can find the documentation about the general usage of the manager of SmartRefs. If you want to know more details about SmartRefs and the adventages of using this tool, please visit the Features section or the Videos & Tutorials section.
SmartRefs Toolbar
Add New SmartRef
Launches an Open File dialog so you can select a source file for a new SmartRef in the scene, multiple files can be selected at the same time. After selecting the file the reference will be loaded and ready to be modified in the master scene.
Reload SmartRef
Reloads the contents of the selected SmartRefs. All the elements of the references will be updated from the source files keeping the modifications made in the master scene.
Note: The Reference system works by using the names of the nodes, materials and other elements. So in order to get good results try to always avoid duplicated names. A node will also be correctly updated if it's deleted in the source file, and a new one is created with the same name. In that case the overrides are applied into that new node.
Remove SmartRef
Removes the selected SmartRefs and all of their contents from the master scene.
Note: This action can't be undone.
Reset SmartRef
Resets the selected SmartRefs. That means all the modifications made to the objects of those references in the master scene are dismissed and the references are reloaded.
Note: This action can't be undone.
Duplicate SmartRef
Duplicates the selected SmartRefs. All the modifications made in the objects of the references in the master scene will be preserved.
Merge SmartRef
Merges the selected SmartRefs. That means all the objects of the references become normal objects and are not referenced anymore.
Note: This action can't be undone.
Properties
Note: Most of the properties can be changed with several references selected at the same time.
Active
This property controls whether the reference is loaded or not. Turning this off unloads the reference removing all the referenced nodes from the scene, turning it on loads the reference and its nodes back again. Changing this parameter do not remove the modifiations made to the referenced objects.
Use Name Prefix
If this property is turned on all the names of the referenced objects, materials and layers will have the name of the reference as prefix.
Name
The name of the reference. By default it's the same as the name of the file but it can be changed. This name is the one used as prefix in the objects, materials and layers names when the Use Name Prefix is turned on.
File Name
The file name and path of the reference. If this property is changed the reference will be reloaded with the new specified file.
Proxy
Use in Viewport
If this property is turned on the proxy file will be loaded instead of the main file in the viewport. This can be useful for temporarily having lighter assets in the scene.
Use in Render
If this property is turned on the proxy file will be loaded instead of the main file at render time.
Proxy File Name
The file name and path of the proxy of the reference. If this property is changed and Use in Viewport is on the reference will be reloaded with the specified file.
Advanced
Persist in Scene
If this property is turned on the reference will be persisted in the scene. That means all the data of the current loaded objects will be saved in the scene, and the references will load the next time the master scene is loaded even if the referenced file is not present. This makes the master scene bigger and slower to save.
Persist Reload Type
With this property you can select how the reference is reloaded at Scene Load. This takes effect only if Persist in Scene is on.
Reload always: The persisted reference is reloaded always when the master scene is loaded.Reload if file has changed: The persisted reference is reloaded at scene load only if the modification date-time of the file has changed.
Reload Manually: The persisted reference is not reloaded at scene load, only when the user press the reload button.
Overlay
If this property is turned on the reference wont load when nested. That means the reference is loaded only into the master scene that references it, and it's not loaded in other scenes that reference the master file.
Tools Menu
Advanced Reset
Available in 1.01.00 and higher.
Resets the references with the selected filters. The user can reset the selected references or the selected nodes, can reset only the nodes with the specified categories (Geometries, Shapes, lights, etc) or reset only some types of parameters (Base Objects, Modifiers, Transforms, etc).
Options Menu
Show Duplicated Names Warnings
By default if a scene with objects with duplicated names is referenced a warning message is prompted, that message can be disabled by the user, with this option that message can be enabled back.
Register
Launches a dialog box to activate the license of SmartRefs.
Context Menu (Right click in the reference list)
File -> Open
Opens the file of the selected reference in the same 3ds Max session.
File -> Open in New 3ds Max Session
Opens the file of the selected reference in a new 3ds Max session.
File -> Reveal in Explorer
Reveals in the explorer the selected reference file.
File -> Overwrite
Available in 1.01.00 and higher.
Overwrites the SmartRef. That means the reference with all the modifications made in the master scene is saved over the source file of the reference.
File -> Save As
Available in 1.01.00 and higher.
Saves the SmartRef As. The reference with all the modifications made in the master scene is saved in the specified file name.
Select Nodes
Select the nodes of the selected reference.
Show Duplicated Names
Displays the duplicated names dialog box if the selected reference has duplicated names.