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466 Chapter 20: Managing Scenes and Projects
the original dynamic block definition in the form
of
Block: block_name where block_name is the
actual name of the dy namic block definition.
Dynamic block instances, even those that have
been grip-edited, display certain ty pes of instance
behav ior such as material propagation, if the
settingisactivatedfromthe
Material Editor
Options menu (page 2–1272)
.Belowisatable
showing instance behavior of dynamic blocks.
Proper t y
Behavior
Modifiers Modifiers applied to one comp onent are
applied to the same com ponent in other
instances, but only when those instances
havethesamegrippropertyvalues.
Materials When material propagation is turned
on, materials are applied to all block
instances. When turned off, materials are
applied only to the current selection set.
Note:
If you use the Entity, Blocks as Node
Hierarchy
Derive By setting for drawings
cont aining dynamic blocks, materials may
propagate to some block instances and not
to others.
Node
Properties
Changestonodepropertiesarenot
propagated to block instances.
Transforms (on
components)
Transforms, like move, rotate and scale,
of one component will affect that same
component i n other block instance only
when those instances have the same grip
property values.
Keep in mind that elements of a dynamic block
canbeturnedonandoffbycertaingrip-edit
operations depending on the way the dynamic
block is defined. When one instance has a
component and another doesn’t, instance
behaviors cannot occur between them because
they are treated as instances of one another.
Modifier behavior of D ynamic Blocks during a
File Link Reload
There is no change in modifier behavior for
dynamic blocks that have not been grip-edited
between one Reload a nd the next. All proper ties
(materials, modifiers, node properties) are
preserved. Dynamic blocks that have b een
grip-edited preserve their node name, node
properties, scene-applied transform, and
materials, but may lose applied modi fiers and/or
may inherit modifiers. This table shows the
behavior of modifiers during a File Link Reload
before and after dynamic block editing.
The B lock
Insert ...
... has unique
parameter
values before it
was edited.
... has unique
parameter
values after
it was edited.
... shows this modifier
behavior upon Reload.
Yes Yes
Modifiers are preserved.
Yes No
Applied modifiers may
be lost, and it m ay
inherit modifiers from
the instance(s) it now
matches.
No Yes
Applied modifiers are
lost.
No No
Applied modifiers may
be lost, and it m ay
inherit modifiers from
the instance(s) it now
matches.
Note: 3dsMax7doesnotcontaintheenhancements
necessary to fully handle dynamic blocks so
performing a File Link Reload might not
accurately reflect changes in a drawing that has
been grip-edited. The File Link Manager of 3ds
Max 7.5 handles dynamic blocks correctly.
B lock s a nd I nter acti ve S election and
Nav iga tion
Once blocks and block components are linked
to 3ds Max, you can b egin adjusting their
materialsandproperties.Inadrawingforasmall
apart ment, blocks are pretty easy to locate because
the drawing is not very congested. You can simply
select a block or one of its components in the
view por t and alter it.