View Image File

File menu > View Image File

Select and view still images, numbered image sequences, images in an .ifl file, or animation files using options in the View File dialog. Selected still images and numbered image sequences appear in the rendered frame window.

If you select an .ifl file in the file dialog, the Info button displays the ASCII .ifl file in Windows Notepad.

You can zoom in and out and pan the image, even while a scene is rendering. If you have a Microsoft IntelliMouse, you can use its third-button/wheel to zoom and pan. See the following procedures.

If you select an animation file (AVI or QuickTime), the software starts the Windows Media Player so that you can play it. The Media Player has its own Help system.

Procedures

To view a file:

Choose File > View Image File.
Choose a file type from the Files of Type list.
Select a file to view.

Note: The View File dialog uses the last location where a file was chosen, rather than the default Images path defined on the Configure User Paths dialog.

To zoom in the rendered frame window:

Press Ctrl and click.

To zoom out in the rendered frame window:

Press Ctrl and right-click.

To pan the rendered frame window:

Press Shift and drag.

To use a Microsoft Intellimouse to zoom and pan:

Roll the wheel to zoom in or out.
To pan, while zoomed in, press the wheel button and drag. (You can use any third-button device to pan the image.)

Note: You must select the Pan/Zoom option in the Preferences dialog > Viewports page > Mouse Control group in order to use the third button for panning and zooming.

Interface

History—Whenever an image is selected, the path used is added to the top of the history list as the most recently used path.

File selections from other areas of the interface, such as Views > Viewport Background, are stored here also. The history information is saved in the 3dsmax.ini file.

Look In—Browses drives and directories.

File Name—Displays the name of the selected file.

Files of type—Selects the type of files to list in the directory window.

Devices—Lets you choose the hardware output device, for example, a digital video recorder. To use the output device, the device, along with its driver, and its plug-in must all be installed on your system.

Setup—This is unavailable in View Image File.

This option is available only in file dialogs like the Render Output File dialog or the Viewport Background dialog. Displays a dialog to specify image attributes for saved files or, in the Select Background Image dialog, the arguments for creating an IFL file.

Info—Displays image information.

View—View the selected image or animation.

Sequence—This is unavailable in View Image File. This option is available in the Views > Viewport Background > Files > Select Background Image dialog. It is used in conjunction with Setup to create IFL files.

Preview—Toggle the image preview display.

Preview Window—Displays the selected image.

Gamma group

Use image's own gamma—Use image gamma.

Use system default gamma—Use system gamma.

Override—Specify gamma for the image.

Status group

Displays file statistics and the file's full directory path.