2008

It can also make large files much easier to deal with through the use of proxy
objects.
You access the XRef Objects and XRef Scenes commands from the File menu.
The two types of references have distinct purposes:
■ An externally referenced scene displays the entire contents of an external
MAX file in the current scene. The objects within the external file are
visible as a reference but cannot be selected. This prevents accidental
changes to the referenced scene while allowing functionality such as Snap,
AutoGrid, and Clone and Align to position local objects in context, as well
as to pick objects as the target location for the clones. If you need to move,
rotate or scale the referenced scene, you can bind it to a local object.
Transforming the object the externally referenced scene was bound to will
transform all objects in the externally referenced scene. Scene externally
referenced objects can also be used as
reference coordinate system on page
896 . When changes to the externally referenced file are saved (such as
objects added, edited or deleted), an Update of Xref Scene will inherit those
changes locally.
■ Externally referenced objects appear in the scene and can be animated.
Depending on the object's XRef settings, you might or might not be able
to edit the object’s entities such as its transforms, materials, manipulators,
or modifiers. You can add modifiers and apply transform animation to the
referenced objects, but you cannot inadvertently change the model’s
structure. Referenced objects allow for the substitution of a proxy object,
so you can animate a low-polygon version of a complex model and then
render the polygon-intensive version.
You can also reference transform controllers externally in addition to
materials. This is part of the process of referencing objects, or you can also
use the special
XRef controller on page 3194 or XRef material on page 5603
, respectively. By default, when referencing an object, its material and
transform controller is also referenced. Alternatively, you can create an
XRef controller or an XRef material that allows for referencing a transform
controller or a material from an external MAX file. These external references
can be assigned to any object in the scene, whether or not the object is
externally referenced.
NOTE Any atmospherics applied in an XRef object's source file will be carried
into the scene. Render Effects assigned to XRef objects are not externally
referenced.
6730 | Chapter 21 Managing Scenes and Projects