Overview
In Connecter, The Manage External Files (MEF) tool supports the 3ds Max file formats – MAX and MAT – and Rhino’s 3DM and allows for faster and easier management of their external files without the need to open the host software.
It’s a way to manage your XRef files, External Links, and Bitmaps and works with all versions following 3ds Max 9 or later and Rhino 6, 7, and 8.
How to use Manage External Files
To load the tool, right-click on an asset in a supported format in the Asset View and select the "Manage External files" option from the context menu.
Alternatively, when you have an asset selected, you may also click on “Manage External Files” in the Details Panel. There, you can also see the number of external files and their status.
External Files Statuses in the Details Panel
External files have different statuses that can be seen in the Details panel when the asset is selected. They can be as follows:
- No status: If there's no status, only the number of external files, then all external files have set paths, and Connecter can find them at these locations.
- “Found”: There are two cases in which this status appears:
- The external files are stripped, and Connecter has found them.
- The external files are missing from the set path location, but Connecter can find them elsewhere.
- “Missing”: Here we also have two possibilities:
- The external files have stripped paths, and Connecter can't find them.
- The external files are “missing” from the set path location, and Connecter can’t find them anywhere else.
External Files Statuses in the MEF tool
In the MEF tool, you’ll see a column named “Status” and another called “Path Status.”
The first shows the status of the external file itself, and the second displays the status of the External File Path.
The “Status” can be:
- “OK”: It signifies that the external file is present and accessible in the file system.
- “Found”: Two situations can result in this status:
- The external file is not at its assigned location in the file system but was found from the automated search functionality.
- The path of the external file is stripped, but the external file was found from the automated search functionality.
- “Missing”: Indicates that the external file is missing from the assigned folder and can't be found anywhere by the automated search functionality.
- “Unknown”: Here we have two possible cases:
- The External File Path is "Stripped" (no folder is assigned), and the external file can't be found anywhere by the automated search functionality.
- The External File Path is a network path that is not available on the file system with a "Not Accessible" status, and the external file can't be found anywhere by the automated search functionality.
On the other hand, the “Path status” of the folder with the external files can be:
- “Stripped”: That means the folder path is not set on the external file.
- “Present”: Indicating that the set folder is available on the file system and can be accessed.
- “Missing”: This status appears when a local path (not a network path) is missing from the File System.
- “Not Accessible”: Indication that the network path can’t be accessed.
NOTE: All external files with “Unknown” status in the MEF tool are marked as “Missing” in the Details Panel.
When you open the tool, it'll check the status and automatically search for files that match the names of the external files in the directory and subdirectories of the target file. The "Found In" column in the UI will show the folder paths of the files that were found. From there, users can perform different actions.
MEF functionalities
Here is what you can do with the MEF tool:
- Undo – Undo of the previous operation.
- Refresh – Reloads all the external files.
- Remove – Removes the selected external files. The only exception is 3DM's external files, which can't be removed from the tool.
- Rename – An option to rename the external file.
- Replace – Shows a dialog to browse a file from Explorer and replaces the Full Path of an external file. It works for a single selection only.
- Copy - Copies the selected external files to another folder. It has a few options:
- Update paths – Updates the paths of the external files to the new location after the copy finishes.
- Strip paths – strips the paths of the external files once they are copied.
- Search – Performs a search by specified criteria, such as only missing files, for the external rifles in one or more folders and their subfolders. The search results can be auto-relinked.
- New Path - Allows the user to change the Folder Path only by browsing for a new folder in Explorer.
- Edit Path – A tool that allows the users to change the paths of multiple external files by typing a specific text.
- Strip Path – Strips all path information from the assets, leaving only the file names.
- Set Path – Sets the Folder Path of external files from the “FOUND IN” column.
- Settings:
- Show previews.
- Show only missing files.
- Apply changes to all file’s instances.
Multiselection of assets
When you have a multiselection, the same actions are available in the tool. Instead of the filename, when you have only one selected, with a multiselection, you can see the number of selected files.
However, the Details Panel won’t display any information about the external files.
External References View
In this view, you can preview all bitmaps, xRef files, and proxies related to the asset. It’s accessible from the Details Panel > External Files, and allows you to manage and organize these assets with ease.