8

COM/DCOM Server Control Utility 835
shadows. On the other hand, a typical design
visualization scene can contain hundreds of lig hts,
in which case shadow maps will cause memory
issues. For this type of scene,
ray-traced shadows
(page 3–1094)
aremuchmoreappropriate.
In order to provide an efficient working
environment for both project types, 3 ds Max
offers four sets of market-specific defaults, tailored
specifically for general animation scenes and
for design visualization projects (both with
and without the use of the
ment al ray renderer
(page 3–77)
). The sets are each located in their
own sub-directories of the
\defaults
directory.
These sub-directories each contain an INI file
(
currentdefaults.ini
), which contains the global
parameter defaults, a default material library
(
medit.mat
), which populates the Material Editor
at startup, and a startup file (
maxstart.max
), which
is the file that opens when 3ds Max is started or
when you reset. You can edit any of these fi le s,
and you can also create your own sets, however
eachsetmustbeinaseparatesub-directoryof
\defaults
. in addition, each file in the directory
shouldhavethesamenames(
currentdefaults.ini
,
medit.mat
,and
maxstart.max
). If one of these files
is not present in a custom defaults directory that
you hav e created, 3ds Max uses the corresponding
file from the
\defaults\max
directory in its place.
Note: Foryourprotection,bothofthepreset
default directories have a sub-directory named
\factorydefaults
,whichcontainstheoriginalfiles
for each set. These can be used in the e vent that
you have changed your defaults and are unhappy
w ith the results. They are also a useful sta rting
point for creating your own set; copy them to a new
directory and edit them. It is highly recommended
that you
do not edit
the files in the
\factorydefaults
directories.
Default sets are assigned through the
Custom UI
and Defaults Switcher (page 3–833)
.
Procedure
To change the current set of defaults:
1.
Choose Customize menu > Customize U I And
Defaults Sw itcher.
2. Select one of the default sets from the
Initial
settings for tool options
list and click S et.
3. Restart 3ds Max to load the new default
parameters.
Interfa ce
The following files should be included in your
default directory. If one or more of these files is not
present in the current Default directory, 3ds Max
will use the corresponding file from
\defaults\max
in its place.
currentdefaults.ini
Thefollowingtabledescribesallofthesections
that can be set in a default INI file. Any par ameter
w ith a blank or invalid value will use the hard
coded default.
Note: See the online
User Reference
to view this
table.
medit.mat
medit.mat
is the default material library in your
scene.
maxstart.max
The
maxstart.max
file is loaded when you start or
reset 3ds Max.
COM/DCOM Server Control Utility
Utilities p anel > Utilities rollout > More button >
COM/DCOM Server Control
The COM/DCOM Server Control utility supports
plug-ins and third-party programs that use the
COM (Component Object Mo del). The idea