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Converting a Scene

Use the Scene Converter to change quickly lights, materials, and renderer features.

  • Default menu: > Menu bar > Rendering > Scene Converter
  • Alt menu: > Menu bar > Rendering > Tools (Rendering Set) > Scene Converter
  • Alt menu: > Menu bar > Scene > Tools (Scene Set) > Scene Converter

The first time you use the Scene Converter, it will open with a conversion preset file called ART. It contains most of the conversion rules needed to use the Autodesk ART renderer and converts features required for a physically-based workflow.

In future, the Scene Converter remembers the last conversion preset used and automatically loads it as a default.

Procedures

Converting your scene

To convert one or more scenes:

  1. Do one of the following:
    • To create a new conversion preset, Click Create New Preset File.
    • To use an existing conversion preset:
      1. Click Open Preset File.
        Note: Presets for the Arnold renderer may be found in C:ProgramData\Autodesk\ApplicationPlugins\MAXtoA\Scene Converter.
      2. Navigate to and select the previously defined preset file.
      3. Click Open.
      4. Modify the preset as required.
  2. Define the conversion rules as required.
  3. In the Options panel, define the settings.
  4. Click Convert Scene.
    If you are converting a scene using a render preset, a dialog appears prompting you to select the categories you want to merge. A progress bar appears in the lower right. A backup is created of your current file, and the conversion rules in the preset are applied to your scene.
    Note: The processing time depends on the complexity and size of your scene.

Defining conversion rules

To modify a conversion preset:

  1. Open the preset file in the Scene Converter.
  2. In the Conversion Rules group, do one of the following:
    • Select Expand All.
    • Expand the tree view manually.
  3. Ctrl+click on the conversion rule(s) you want to change.
  4. Do one of the following:
    • To use only the selected rules and ignore all other rules in the preset, click Apply Only Selected.
    • To remove the rules from the preset, click Remove Selected.

To define the renderer:

  1. Select the Editor panel.
  2. Select a renderer from the Change Renderer To list.
    Note: You can only select installed renderers and can only run conversions on installed features.
  3. Select a render preset from the Use Render Preset list.
    Note: You can create Render Presets in the Render Setup dialog. The preset file must be in the RenderPresets folder for the current project to be used.

To add rules:

  1. Select the Editor panel.
  2. In the Source group, do one of the following:
    • Select Expand All.
    • Expand the tree view manually.
  3. Select a specific Source (what you want to convert) and in the Destination group, select to what you want to convert the source.
  4. Click Add Rule.

Removing missing legacy assets from your scene

To remove missing legacy assets from one or more scenes:

  1. In the Scene Converter, click the Options tab.

    Under Current Scene Status, there will be a list of missing legacy assets.

  2. Select what you want to remove from the scene.
    Note: Dependencies between missing assets are shown in the tooltips. Removing a missing asset removes all embedded dependencies.
  3. Click Remove selected elements from scene.
  4. If you want to automatically remove any missing legacy assets when you open files in future, select Automatically remove missing legacy assets on File Open.
    Caution: Selecting this option removes missing legacy assets without you being notified, and the Scene Converter does not open.
  5. Click Convert Scene.
    Note: The processing time depends on the complexity and size of your scene.
Parent topic: Scene Converter

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