Render Scene dialog > Common panel > Common Parameters rollout > Render Output group > Click Files. > Enter file name and
set type to OpenEXR Image File > Click Save. > OpenEXR Configuration dialog
Rendered Frame Window > Click Save Bitmap. > Enter file name and set type to OpenEXR Image File > Click Save. > OpenEXR Configuration
dialog
Use the OpenEXR Configuration dialog dialog to set output parameters for OpenEXR files. You can specify the format for saving the RGBA data as well as which of the four standard channels should be saved. An option is available to use RealPixel unclamped color information for Render Output saving. Also available are color transforms to be applied, file compression type, and additional attributes.
Compression Type—Lets you choose the method of file compression. The OpenEXR API provides for three general types of lossless compression, including two different methods of Zip compression. For most images without a lot of grain, the two Zip compression methods seem to work best, while the PIZ compression algorithm is better suited to grainy images. The following options are available:
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Run Length Encoding (RLE)—A basic form of compression comparable to that used by standard Targa files.
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Zip (per scanline)—Zip-style compression applied to individual scanlines.
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Zip (16 scanline blocks)—Zip-style compression applied to blocks of 16 scanlines at time. This tends to be the most effective style of compression to use with rendered images that do not have film grain applied.
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PIZ ( wavelet compression )—Uses a combined wavelet/Huffman compression. This form of compression is best for grainy images.
The standard channels in an image are: red, green, blue, and alpha (transparency). This group lets you choose the general type of OpenEXR file to save, as well as which of the four channels to save with the file. The most widely supported format is Half Float - 64 bpp format. This stores each channel of the image in a separate slice in the file using half-type 16-bit floating-point data. The OpenEXR distribution has features that allow easy implementation of reading and writing this type of file, and it is considered a standard OpenEXR file.
Format—Choose one of the following from the drop-down list:
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Integer - 32 bpp—This non-standard OpenEXR format contains only a single 32–bit integer channel. It uses a packedIntRGBA image type in order to support old-style bit depths, such as 32–bit Targa files. Only this plug-in can read this format.
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Half Float - 64 bpp—This 16-bit-per-channel “half-float” format is standard OpenEXR. Any software that supports OpenEXR can use this format.
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Float - 128 bpp—The 32-bit-per-channel “full-float” format is encoded using standard OpenEXR channel tags. Most OpenEXR implementations will have no problems reading this format.
R/G/B/Alpha—Let you specify the channels to save: red, green, blue, and alpha.
Use RealPixel RGB Data—When on, compresses the essential data of floating-point color into 32 bits. For technical information, see Structure RealPixel.
Note: Image motion blur is not applied to the RealPixel RGBA data by the renderer. If you are using Image motion blur, you will not be able to save RealPixel unclamped color data.
Exponent—Enables and sets the power function exponent to use. This is effectively a gamma curve, but the exponent is presented in an inverse manner from typical gamma. The default value is what exrdisplay expects for input.
Pre-Multiply Alpha—When on, the software uses premultiplied alpha when saving the file. Pre-multiplying saves computation time if you later use this image in compositing.
Plugin About—Opens a dialog that shows information about the OpenEXR plug-in.
Extra Channels and Attributes—Opens a sub-dialog that lets you specify additional information to save with the OpenEXR image file.
To specify an extra attribute or channel to be included in the saved OpenEXR file, click the corresponding + button and then choose the attribute or channel from the list. To delete an attribute or channel, highlight it in the list and then click the corresponding X button.
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You can view the extended information via the File Info button on the input dialog.
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A default File Tag string is provided when you add an attribute/channel. You can change the file tag by highlighting the entry in the list and then editing the File Tag field immediately below the list. You can also enable and disable the attribute/channel with the check box to the left of the File Tag field.
Note: Each saved attribute or channel must have a unique file tag. If you specify multiple instances of a file tag, only the first attribute or channel with that file tag is used.
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All the current attributes are String type attributes that are stored in the header for the file, and can be read in plain text via the exrheader.exe utility (available from the official Website > Downloads page).
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Attributes and channels are stored in the file in alphabetical order according to the ASCII file tag.
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While this plug-in can write most of the 3ds Max G-Buffer channels, there is no software that can utilize them yet.
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Attributes and channels are identified by plain-text (ASCII) strings. There can be only one instance of a string tag in any file. Attributes are data that is stored per frame, not per pixel, and they are embedded in the file's header. Channels are data that is stored per pixel. In order to maximize flexibility with other software, this plug-in lets you edit the file tags. You should only do this if you know the tag required by some other software; otherwise it is best to leave the file tags at their default values.
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Channels that create multiple “slices” in the EXR file require multiple file tags. In this case, the file tag in the user interface comprises several sub-tags denoted by square brackets. For example, the Normal channel generates three slices in the EXR file: one for the Normal vector x data, 1 for y, and 1 for z. In this instance, the tag string in the user interface would read [NX][NY][NZ], and generate slices with the file tags "NX", "NY", and "NZ". The file tag is used by software that is reading the EXR file to identify the intended use of the channel data. Even standard image channels are encoded this way, with the tags "R", "G", "B", and "A" used to denote red, green, blue, and alpha channels respectively.
Comment—A general-purpose comment string defined by the user. To define the comment, highlight the Comment entry in the list and then edit the Comments field immediately below the list.
Computer Name—The name of the computer the image was saved from. In the case of standard render output during a net render, this is the machine that rendered the frame.
System Time—The UTC (GMT) system time and date when the file was written.
Local Time—The local time and date (corrected for the time zone) when the file was written.
Version OpenExr —The plug-in version, OpenEXR API version, and ZLib version in plain text form.
Version 3dsMax—The release version of 3ds Max itself, the API number, and the SDK revision used when the build of 3ds Max was compiled. This also reports whether the file was generated using 3ds Max or Autodesk VIZ.
Z-Buffer—The standard buffer depth channel. (16-bit or 32-bit floating point)
Object ID—The object ID from the Object Properties dialog. (32-bit unsigned integer)
Material ID—The material effects channel number. (32-bit unsigned integer)
Node Render ID—A unique object ID set by the renderer. All objects in the scene have a unique Render ID, though the value stored varies from renderer to renderer. (32-bit unsigned integer)
UV Coords—The UV coordinates for the object. Only one UV channel is stored. (two slices, 16-bit or 32-bit floating point)
Velocity—The 2D velocity vector for the pixel in screen space. (two slices, 16-bit or 32-bit floating point)
Normal—The surface normal. (three slices, 16-bit or 32-bit floating point)
Coverage—The pixel coverage of the foremost object in the pixel. (32-bit unsigned integer, 16-bit floating point, or 32-bit floating point)