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File Link Tips 429
• by excluding specific layers during the File Link
Attach/Reload process or Import pr ocess so
you do not have to f reeze layers i n the drawing.
This is the preferred workflow.
If you need this type of 2D geometry in your
visualization, try to use polylines instead of
connected lines to get cleaner geometry in 3ds Max
and to reduce the final size of your scene.
3D S olids Object s Link ed into a 3ds Ma x
Scene
3D Solids objects in a drawing fi le will be
tessellated (that is, turned into mesh objects with
faces), when you link them into a 3ds Max scene.
The fineness of the tessellation is controlled by
the
Surface Deviation For 3D Solids setting in the
File Link Settings dialog. A high value results in
coarser tessellation. 3ds Max uses less memory
in the scene, but poor approximations of curved
surfaces could result. For acceptable performance,
keepthisvalueashighasyoucan.
Tip: You can change the value of the Surface
Deviation For 3D Solids control at any time by
turning on
Show Reload Options on the Files
panel of the File Link Manager dialog, and then
adjusting when you reload the file.
Spline Objects Link ed into a 3ds Max
Scene
Splines are not rendered in 3ds Max unless they
have rendering par ameters applied to them.
Normally, you have to collapse a shape to an
editable spline object in order to apply rendering
parameters; however, this is not possible with
spline objects f rom AutoCAD.
Instead, you can apply a
Renderable Spline
modifier (page 1–771)
to the s pline. This lets you
set rendering properties without hav ing to collapse
to an editable spline.
External References and Block Names
A linked AutoCAD or Architectural D esktop
drawing can include xrefs that themselves
reference different files but use the same block
names. 3dsMaxkeepstheblocksdistinctby
prepending xref names to block names.
In Revit, a DWG, DXF or RVT file can be linked
to the project. This kind of link is called a
RVT
Link (page 3–1098)
. When the project is exported
to a DWG fi le, this type of link is represented in
the exported drawing as an xreferenced draw ing.
Inthiscase,morethanonedrawingfilemaybe
created, with one referencing the other(s).
Circular References
An xref file that contains a sequence of nested
references that refers back to the xref file itself
is considered a circular reference. 3ds Max
resolves xrefs until it detects a circular reference.
For example, if you have the ci rcular reference
A|B|C|A,3dsMaxdetectsandbreaksthe
circularity between C and A. This is consistent
with the way AutoCAD or Architectural Desktop
handles circular xref dependencies.
Overla y Exter na l R efer ences
3ds Max treats overlay xrefs in the same way as
AutoCAD when resolving xrefs.
For more information regarding overlay xrefs,
refertoyourAutoCADUserReference.
Cloning Actively Link ed Objects
If you want to clone actively linked objects,
youshouldonlyusetheCopyoption.Creating
references or instances of actively linked objects is
not recommended, as reliabilit y issues can arise
when the instanced or referenced object is deleted
in the linked file.
Whenyoucopyactivelylinkedobjects,linked
through the
File Link Manager (page 3–431) ,the