The Merge dialog lets you load and save influences with or without their dependents. In many cases, objects should be referenced with their influences, but the display only makes you aware of the relationships, it does not force you to externally reference them.
When you select an item in the list window and click Influences, the object’s influences are selected in the list window. When you select an item in the list window and Display Influences is on, the object’s influences are shown in blue in the list window. When you select an item in the list window and Select Influences is on, the object’s influences are also selected in the list window.
Use the Merge File dialog to open the scene file to merge. This opens the Merge dialog, whose controls are similar to those on the Selection Floater.
When this checkbox is on and a layer name matches but its parents do not, 3ds Max creates a new, parentless layer that has the same name followed by a sequence number.
For example, suppose the source file has this arrangement:
Layer: Men Layer: Soldiers Soldier character objects
... and the local file has this arrangement:
Layer: Women Layer: Soldiers Soldier character objects
With Match Layers By Name And Parent off, the Merged characters are placed on the Women Soldiers layer. With Match Layers By Name And Parent on, the Merged characters are placed on a new layer, with no parent, named Soldiers.001.