General Improvements

General improvements in the Alias 2026.1 Update include support for multi-byte characters in file and folder names, making it easier to work with international file systems.

Multi-byte Character Support

We have added support for multi-byte characters for file, folder names and more. This enhancement allows you to use file and folder names that include most characters and glyphs used in languages like Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Arabic, and Polish. This update ensures that Alias can handle a wider range of character sets, improving compatibility with international file systems.

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Alias multi-byte character support includes:

Starting Alias when the application is installed in a directory that has multi-byte characters in its name.
Opening/importing and saving/exporting files that have names or file paths, including directory names, with multi-byte characters.
Alias specific files, such as user preferences and material libraries, even if they are stored in a directory which has multi-byte characters in its name.

Note: Alias multi-byte character support does not includes using multi-byte characters in some Alias text input fields. For example, you cannot use multi-byte characters to rename objects in the Object Lister or Information Window or create annotation text. For example, if a file includes annotations with multi-byte characters, they can be read by Alias, but they are not editable and you cannot add multi-byte characters when creating annotations.

Interrupting Alias Operations

You can now interrupt certain long-running operations in Alias by pressing the Esc key. This feature is useful when you want to stop an operation that is taking longer than expected, allowing you to regain control of the application without having to force quit. Operations that can be interrupted include Tesselation, Check Model, Replace Shader by Name, and Dynamo Player scripts, as well as other processes that may take a significant amount of time to complete.

Information Window Additions

The Information Window now includes a Manipulate button for transformable objects, such as curves, surfaces, lights, and more. When you select it, the transform manipulator displays in the scene, which allows you to transform the selected object directly from the Information Window.

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