This contextual menu appears in the XRef Objects dialog when you right-click the XRef Entities list. It provides additional options for managing the list.
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Application Menu > References > XRef Objects > XRef Objects dialog > Right-click the list of XRef entities (objects and materials).
Some of the options on this menu are unavailable unless you have highlighted an XRef entity.
Interface
- Add Objects
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Displays the XRef Merge dialog so you can add entities to the XRef Entities list.
If all entities in the source scene are already externally referenced, this choice has no effect.
- Delete XRef Entity
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Deletes the highlighted XRef entities from the scene.
An alert prompts you to confirm the action.
Note: Deleting XRef controllers is equivalent to merging them into the master scene. The reason for this is that nodes must have a transform controller at all times, in order to be positioned in the scene. Deleting XRef materials is equivalent to merging them into the master scene. This action could impact all objects in the master scene that use an XRef material, and could have implications difficult to be foreseen. - Select
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Selects in the scene the XRef entities currently highlighted in the XRef Entities list.
- Select by Name
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Opens the Select Objects dialog, which lists all objects and highlights the XRef objects selected in the XRef Entities list. If an XRef controller or XRef material is selected in the XRef Entities list, the Select Objects dialog highlights the object to which the XRef controller or material belongs to.
- Highlight Selected Objects' XRefs
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When XRef objects are selected in the scene, the XRef record to which they belong is highlighted in the XRef Record list and the XRef objects and their XRef entities are highlighted in the XRef Entities list.
- Highlight All
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Highlights all XRef entities in the XRef Entities list.
- Highlight Inverse
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Highlights all XRef entities in the XRef Entities list except the currently highlighted XRef entities.
- Highlight None
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Turns off highlighting for any XRef entities currently highlighted in the XRef Entities list.
- List Objects
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Toggles the display of XRef objects for the current XRef record in the XRef Entities list.
- List Materials
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Toggles the display of XRef materials for the current XRef record in the XRef Entities list.
- List Controllers
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Toggles the display of XRef controllers for the current XRef record in the XRef Entities list.
The state of List Objects, List Materials, and List Controllers is the same as the state of the toolbar buttons in the XRef Objects dialog. Changing the state in the menu changes the button state, and vice versa.
- Merge In Scene
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Merges the current selection in the XRef Entities list into the master scene (the current scene). Use this option to change XRef objects or materials into objects that are native to the current scene. The connection between the external entity from the source scene and your master scene is broken, and the object, controller, or material that you merged is no longer updated when the source scene changes.
3ds Max prompts you to confirm the merge.
Since a merged XRef object becomes part of the scene and is no longer an XRef object, its name is removed from the list.
Merging an XRef object loads the full modifier stack of the original object, while maintaining any additional stack items that were added while the object was an XRef object. Thus, you can use Merge to update an original object that has been altered as an external reference. If you do this, use Convert Selected Object(s) to XRefs to save out the “improved” original into a file, which then can be merged back into the original source.
Note: It is also possible to merge into the master scene nested XRef entities. Once they are merged, all externally referenced nesting levels are removed and the scene entity from the lowest level source scene is merged into the master scene. In case of XRef objects, modifiers applied in a nested source file are all merged and present in the master scene. - Apply XRef Material(s) to Object(s)
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Applies the original, externally referenced material(s) to the highlighted objects. This can be useful if you have assigned a local material to the object (for example, to use in renderings of the master scene) and now want to restore the object's original material. It can also restore the externally referenced source material if the material was originally merged into the master scene.
- Apply XRef Controller(s) to Object(s)
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Applies the original, externally referenced controller(s) to the highlighted objects. This can be useful if you have assigned a local controller to the object (for example, to use in renderings of the master scene) and now want to restore the object's original controller. It can also restore the externally referenced source controller if the controller was originally merged into the master scene.
- Reset PRS Offset
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Sets the PRS transformationof the XRef object to its transformation defined in the source file.
Note: You can undo this action.