Manage External Files

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Managing assets’ external files is a common problem for everyone, and the Integration offers comprehensive workflows for solving it. The “Manage External Files” is a functional module the Integration uses in various cases to automatically resolve external file issues or execute related tasks (e.g., copying external files, stripping paths, etc.). This module’s functionality is available on-demand as the “Manage External Files” tool. 

Manage External Files workflows

The Integration offers external files management in the context of these three main workflows:

  • Managing external files on merging assets from Connecter: Helping you resolve missing external files issues when adding assets to your scene. 
  • Managing external files on adding assets to Connecter: Helping you organize external files when adding assets from 3ds Max to your library in Connecter.
  • Manage external files in the current 3D scene: Offering various functionality for managing the external files of the entire scene or selection of objects.

Refer to the following sections for more details. 

Managing external files on merging assets from Connecter

When you add assets from Connecter to your Max scene, the Integration checks if any external files are linking to this asset and validate if they are present or missing. Depending on your preferences, the Integration may warn you about any missing external files or automatically search for missing files and set their new paths if found elsewhere. Refer to the “Auto-Find External Files Settings” section below for more details. 

NOTE: The automatic search and relink functionality is not available for the standard “Open” and “Merge with Max Dialogue” operations, as they are handled by 3ds Max directly and not aided by the Integration.

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Managing external files on adding assets to Connecter

When you add assets from your Max scene to Connecter, the Integration checks if any external files link to all objects and materials you’re adding to validate whether they are present or missing. Depending on your preferences, the Integration may warn you about any missing external files or automatically search for missing files and set their new paths if found elsewhere. Refer to the “Auto-Find External Files Settings” section below for more details. 

IMPORTANT: Ensure you carefully review and master this part of Integration's functionality, as it’s crucial for successfully building an asset library that works for you and doesn’t require you to resolve issues related to external files and other inter-dependencies manually.  

Manage external files in the current 3D scene

In addition to the asset merging and adding workflows, the Manage External Files functionality is also available for managing the external files of the 3D scene (similar to Max's own Asset Tracker). It’s accessible via the viewport context menu > Manage External Files.

Although the functionality is almost the same compared to the merging and adding workflows, the interface is slightly different. There’s no “Auto-find Settings” button (since they are only relevant to the merging/adding workflows), and the information text is related to the whole scene or the current selection.

Auto-Find External Files Settings

You control how the Integration handles the external files of the merged assets from the “Auto-Find External Files Settings”. To open the “Automatic search and relink” settings, select the “Connecter Preferences” in the viewport’s right-click contextual menu and then click the “Auto-find External Files Settings” button.

IMPORTANT: Remember that there are two separate settings tabs - one (Merging Assets) dedicated to the asset merging workflows and the other (Saving Assets) to adding assets to Connecter workflows. 

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Under the “Merging Assets” tab are all settings related to the merging of assets workflows. 

IMPORTANT: All settings and available functionality only relate to any missing external files of the assets you merge into 3ds Max. This means that the Integration doesn’t search for external files that are present (not missing). For example, you can use the “Collect” functionality to copy only the discovered external files in a folder and not all of the asset’s external files. Refer to the “Working with the “Connecter | Manage External Files tool” section for general external file management details.     

Preferences

  • Auto find missing files on asset merge: Use this option (selected by default) to turn on the automatic discovery of any missing external files. When the option is selected, the Integration will look in the folders specified in the “Search Locations” section and manage any discovered missing files by applying the settings in the “Manage discovered files” section. 
    If you deselect the option, you turn off the functionality, and the Integration will add all assets with missing external files directly to your scene without resolving the issues.  
  • Show result in “Manage External Files”: Use this option (selected by default) to see the “Manage External Files” tool’s interface every time you add an asset to the scene to see the status of its external files. Besides the informative aspect, the “Manage External Files” tool will allow you to manage the asset’s external files on the fly before adding them to the scene.

NOTE: The “Manage External Files” tool’s interface won’t appear if the merged asset has no external files. 

  • Show only if there are undiscovered files: Use this option (selected by default) to see the “Manage External Files” tool’s interface only when the merged asset has any missing external files. Assets having external files with no issues won’t trigger the “Manage External Files” tool to appear. 

Search Locations

By default, the Integration will look for missing files in the merged asset’s folder and subfolders (“Search and asset folded” and “Search in subfolders” options). You can also add a specific folder by selecting the “Search in location” option and browsing a folder.

For even more advanced workflows, you can use the “Search in favorite locations” option to add and manage multiple folders. The Integration will look for missing files every time you add an asset to your scene using the merge or place workflows. 

IMPORTANT: Keep in mind that searching for missing files takes time, and while it will be almost unnoticeable when the Integration searches only in the asset’s folder, adding more search locations, and especially large folder structures, will substantially increase the search time and worsen your experience when you add assets to your scene.

IMPORTANT: The “Search in subfolders” option combines with the other three options, which specify the search locations. Use caution, as it can dramatically increase the search time. 

Manage Discovered Files

When discovered elsewhere, these options tell the Integration what to do with the missing external files of the assets you add to the scene:  

  • Do nothing (selected by default): The Integration won’t update the missing external files’ paths. Use the “Show result in the “Manage External Files” option selected to have the “Manage External Files” tool open when there are missing external files for the assets you merge. 
  • Set new paths: The Integration will relink the missing external files’ paths to the folder where they were discovered (found-in paths). 
  • Add new paths to User paths > External Files: Adds the found-in paths (where missing external files were discovered) to the 3ds Max’s User paths > External Files

NOTE: This workflow doesn’t update the merged asset’s external file paths but only adds the found-in paths as an alternative place where 3ds Max can find the files. 

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  • Strip original paths: When selecting this option, the Integration will strip (remove) the missing external file paths. 
  • Collect: When selecting this option, the Integration will copy all discovered missing external files to the specified destination folder.
    NOTE: This option works in combination with the other three options above: 
    • Choose the “Do nothing” or “Add new paths to User paths > External Files” options if you want to only collect the missing external files to a folder but don’t want to update the asset’s paths;   
    • Choose “Set new paths” if you want to relink the missing external files’ paths to the folder where the discovered files are collected. This will update the external files’ paths to point to that folder.

Working with the “Connecter | Manage External Files” tool

The “Connecter | Manage External Files” tool gathers in one place all functionality and workflows the Integration offers related to the management of external files. 

You can use the tool in the following workflows:

  • Merging assets from Connecter: The “Connecter | Manage External Files” tool will open when you drop an asset from Connecter into your scene if the Show result in “Manage External Files” option in the “Auto-Find External Files Settings” is selected.

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  • Adding / updating assets to Connecter: If the assets you’re adding to Connecter have any external file references, you can open the “Connecter | Manage External Files” tool by clicking the Manage External Files button in the “Connecter | Add asset(s)” interface.

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NOTE: The Manage External Files button is disabled if there are no external files referring to the asset.

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  • Managing current scene’s external files: You can use the “Connecter | Manage External Files” tool to manage current scene’s external files. To open the tool choose the Manage External Files option in the viewport contextual menu.

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Statuses 

External files and the paths on the file system related to them have different statuses as follows:

  • OK: The external file is present.
  • Unknown: The external file path is stripped.
  • Found: The external file is missing, but the Integration has found it in another (found-in) location.
  • Missing: The external file is missing in the folder, or the folder is missing or not accessible. 

External path statuses:

  • Present: The path to the external file is present and accessible. 
  • Missing: The path to the external file is missing or not accessible.
  • Stripped: The external file path is stripped (e.g., there’s no file path related to the external file. 

Contextual menu

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IMPORTANT: There’s no undo available for all commands in this contextual menu.

  • Set path: If the Integration discovers a missing external file, the file status changes to “found-in”, and the respective folder path is shown in the “FOUND IN” column on the right. Use the “Set path” command to update the missing file with the found-in path.

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  • Set new path: Update the selected external file’s path with a new path by selecting a folder in the Files Explorer.  
  • Strip path: Strips (removes) the selected external file’s path. Works on single.

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  • Replace: Use this option to replace the selected external file with another one selected in the File Browser. 
  • Copy: Executes the standard Windows Copy command. Subsequently, you can use the Paste command to copy the files to a desired folder in Files Explorer. 
  • Copy to …: Copies the selected external files into a destination folder selected in the File Browser. 
  • View Image: Opens the external file in 3ds Max’s image viewer. Alternatively, double-click the file to open it. 
  • Open in Explorer: Opens the selected external file in Windows File Explorer. When multiple fields are selected, the files that open in File Explorer is the one you hover over when opening the contextual menu. 
  • Select all: Selects all external files in the list.

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  • Select none: Deselects any selected external files in the list. Alternatively, just click on the empty area below the list.

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  • Select missing: Selects all external files in the list with the status “missing” or “unknown”.

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Search

When external files are missing, the Integration provides workflows for searching and managing of discovered files. To access this functionality, click the Search button on the top right. It opens the “Search & Relink” tool interface.

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In the “Search & Relink” tool, you specify folders where the Integration will search for the missing external files and choose how any discovered files get handled. To search for missing external files:

  1. Specify a search location by selecting at least one of the options under the “Search directories” section.
  2. Select an option under the “Manage discovered files” section.
  3. Click the Search button. 
  4. If any missing files get discovered, the file statuses in the main “Manage External Files” interface get updated from missing to OK. 

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You can run as many search operations as needed until you get the desired result. 

“Search & Relink” tool functionality 

The “Search directories” and “Manage discovered files” sections of the “Search & Relink” tool have the same functionality as the respective sections in the “Auto-Find External Files Settings”.

The difference between the two modules is that you use the “Search & Relink” tool to dynamically search and resolve missing external files issues when merging assets, adding assets to Connecter, or managing the current scene in 3ds Max, while the “Auto-Find External Files Settings” sets the rules that apply automatically on merging and adding assets. 

  • Search button: Clicking the button initiates a search for the missing external files in the folders specified in the “Search directories” section. The button is disabled if none of the options is selected.
  • Save these settings for the next asset merge: Saves the currently selected options and shows them the next time you open the tool.

Auto-Find Settings

The Auto-Find Settings button is available in the “Connecter | Manage External Files” tool when you merge assets into the scene or add/update assets to Connecter. It opens the “Auto-Find External Files Settings” dialog in “Connecter | Preferences”. This allows you to review and update the settings. 

NOTE: Any update on the settings will apply on the next merge or add to Connecter interaction. Changing the settings won’t have any effect on the current asset.

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