Save As Previous

You can save a MAX scene to a previous version. To do so, use the Save As Type drop-down list.

This option applies to the following commands:

• Save As
• Save Copy As
• Save Selected
• Container Save As

You can save to formats as early as 3 versions prior to the current version.

Important: Save As Previous behaves like Save Copy As in that it does not change the scene you are actively working on, with one exception: any existing retimers are baked and then removed. Otherwise, the current scene remains in Autodesk 3ds Max format for the current version. Save and Save As using the 3ds Max current version do not overwrite the previous version of the file, unless you specify the same file name for both scenes. When you open a scene from an earlier version in 3ds Max, the scene is automatically converted to the most recent format. In this case, using Save will overwrite the original scene.

You can see the version under which a scene was saved by choosing File menu Properties File Properties File Properties dialog Contents tab. 3ds Max 2015 scenes appear as “Saved As Version: 17.00” and each subsequent release increments the version number. For example:

Version information for a 3ds Max 2016 scene

Features new to 3ds Max are not supported in earlier versions. If you use an earlier version to view a scene saved from a more recent version, you might see warning messages related to the unsupported features.

Notes and Tips:

• Containers A scene from an earlier version can inherit a container only if you save the container (the MAXC file) in the same version format.
• File Link to FBX In a scene from an earlier version, the FBX geometry is visible only if you first bind the geometry (Manage Links dialog Files panel Bind button) in 3ds Max before you save the file to the earlier format. Binding the FBX geometry breaks the live File Link connection.
• XRef Scene and XRef Objects Cross references scenes and objects must be saved as the corresponding version. If you cross reference a scene or object from a newer version of 3ds Max to an older version, you will receive a missing files report. To avoid this, save the cross referenced files to the earlier format.
• Bevel Profile Modifier Objects with a bevel profile created using the improved method will save as if the classic method was used.