Customize menu > Configure User Paths
Autodesk VIZ uses stored paths to locate different kinds of user files, including scenes, images, DX9 effects (FX), photometric, and MAXScript files. You use the Configure User Paths command to display the Configure User Paths dialog and customize these paths. This command is useful when you add new folders to help you organize your scenes, images, plug-ins, backups, and so on.
You can save, load, and merge the paths that the Configure User Paths dialog manages in MXP (max path) files. This makes it easy for all members of content-creation teams to keep projects organized and work efficiently by using the same paths.
In general, these procedures are common to all panels on the Configure User Paths dialog. When you change a setting, it's written to the 3dsviz.ini file, and is effective immediately.
To modify a path:
To share User paths with team members:
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Use the Configure User Paths dialog to set up all necessary user paths.
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Click the Save As button and then use the Save Paths To File dialog to save the path configuration as an MXP file.
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Make the path configuration file available to other team members.
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Each team member then opens the Configure User Paths dialog and uses Load or Merge to open the path configuration file.
The new path configuration is now the same on each team member's machine.
Note: Using Load eliminates the existing path configuration; using Merge overwrites only paths that exist in both the current configuration and the new one.
To share files with team members using relative paths:
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Ensure the Convert local file paths to Relative preference is enabled.
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As you work, all files are saved relative to your project folder.
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The second user opens the scene on a machine with a different project folder and now Autodesk VIZ searches for all files related to the scene file in the second user's project folder.
Note: The Convert local file path to Relative preference is set when you create the file. For example, if I load a material into my scene with this preference on, this material will always be treated as relative to the project folder.
The Configure User Paths dialog comprises three panels:
In addition, the dialog provides command buttons on the right side and across the bottom:
Project Folder—Lets you set the project folder.
Modify—Lets you change the highlighted path.
Make Relative—Lets you change an absolute or complete file path into a path relative to the project folder.
Note: For relative paths within the project folder, a leading “.\” represents the project folder path. On the other hand, one or more instances of “..\” preceding the path indicates that the path is in a sibling folder to the project folder, as opposed to a sub-folder. For example, if your project folder is c:\MyProject\Project1 and the asset location is c:\Resources\myresource.jpg, then the relative path from the project folder to the resource is ..\..\Resources\myresource.jpg. If the asset was in c:\MyProject\Resources\myresource.jpg, then the relative path would be ..\Resources\myresource.jpg.
Make Absolute—Lets you make the path absolute, where a relative path is currently being used. For example, if “.\” represents your project
folder in the path name, then when you make the path absolute the full name will be used instead.
Move Up/Down—Lets you change the highlighted path's position in the list to alter its search priority. Available only on the External Files and XRefs panels.
Save as—Lets you save the path configuration as an MXP file for sharing with team members.
Load—Loads a path configuration from an MXP file. The loaded configuration completely replaces the existing one.
Merge—Merges a path configuration from an MXP file. The merged configuration adds paths that exist only in the new file and replaces any existing paths.
For example, if your File I/O panel > Scenes path is set to .\scenes (relative path) and you merge a path configuration file in which the Scenes path is set to the UNC path \\scene_server\max\scenes, the former path is replaced by the latter one.