topic Re: Frame number padding in 3Ds Max in 3ds Max Forum

Frame number padding in 3Ds Max

christian_sodergren — Fri, 05 Sep 2025 15:29:55 GMT

Hello!

A simple question with a hopefully simple answer.

How do you set the frame number padding in 3ds max when rendering a sequence of frames?

Some software let you add some ###### representing the padding, but this doesn't work in 3ds max.

/Christian

@christian_sodergen para una mayor claridad @joaquim.moral ha editado el título original: Frame number padding. Consulta cómo escoger el mejor título para tu post. ¡Gracias por participar!

Re: Frame number padding

MartinBeh — Wed, 03 Sep 2025 12:28:17 GMT

Just enter "image_.png" into the render output field, for example, and 3ds Max will append the frame number to your filename (e.g. image_0000.png, image_0001.png etc.) when rendering a range of frames. That number is padded with zeros to always have four digits. For frame 10000 and above the number will have five (or more) digits with no additional leading zeros.

You can also enter "image..png" to get "image.0000.png", for example.

What output format do you need?

Re: Frame number padding

christian_sodergren — Wed, 03 Sep 2025 16:30:48 GMT

Thanks, but that is exactly what I would like to control. I can't have four digits and five digits in the same sequence. It has to be the same number of frame padding everywhere. When I later use the sequence in other software, the sequence will get cut off where the digits go from four to five. Of course I can rename the first 10.000 files with an extra '0' but it would be a lot easier to tell 3ds max to use five or six digits when rendering in the first place just like many other rendering software.

Output is 8 bit png with alpha. I make sequences that are several minutes long in 60 fps.

Re: Frame number padding

MartinBeh — Thu, 04 Sep 2025 16:44:06 GMT

As long as you stay below 2:47 minutes at 60 fps... 😉

But seriously I don't think there is an easy solution in 3ds Max that is better than renaming files (one could use MAXScript with a render callback to instantly rename the last file but is that much better?).

Re: Frame number padding in 3Ds Max

christian_sodergren — Mon, 08 Sep 2025 09:03:49 GMT

Okay, thanks. Well, renaming it is then. 😅

Re: Frame number padding in 3Ds Max

A娘 — Tue, 09 Sep 2025 08:36:13 GMT

max has a rule that after rendering start , the output path can't be edited , so rename was must

by a post render callback , renaming can be automatic

some renderer has its # to frames rule , so use other sign is safe than #

the script below can put to startup path , when render done , result would be auto renamed , by default , it use "@" as sign , not rename in sub path , support max 's main output path and vray's raw and split path , the full path should not use sign besides auto frame area

also apply to rename files already exist , no need edit script , just render an empty image to the path
usage ，set output filename as c:\outputdir\outfilename@@@@@@.png，after rendering , the main output will be c:\outputdir\outfilename@@@@@@1234.png , the script will rename it to c:\outputdir\outfilename001234.png，the default element will be c:\outputdir\outfilename@@@@@@_Object ID1234.png , then c:\outputdir\outfilename_Object ID001234.png , when use vray split , c:\outputdir\outfilename@@@@@@.VRayObjectID.1234.png will be c:\outputdir\outfilename.VRayObjectID.001234.png

fn AEI_ResetFrame = ( sign = "@" outputpath=#() if rendOutputFilename.count > 6 then append outputpath rendOutputFilename if isproperty renderers.current #output_splitfilename and renderers.current.output_splitfilename.count > 6 do append outputpath renderers.current.output_splitfilename if isproperty renderers.current #output_rawFileName and renderers.current.output_rawFileName.count > 6 do append outputpath renderers.current.output_rawFileName for p in outputpath do for f in getfiles (getFilenamePath p +"\\*" + getFilenameType p) recurse:false do -- if save in split sub path , set recurse to true , 2014 and higher ( -- main output fileinfo = (dotNetClass "System.Text.RegularExpressions.Regex").match f ("^(.*?)("+sign+"+)(\d+)(\.[^.]+)$") if fileinfo.Success then ( if fileinfo.Groups.item[2].length >= fileinfo.Groups.item[3].length then ( padding = "000000" + fileinfo.Groups.item[3].value padding = substring padding (padding.count - fileinfo.Groups.item[2].length + 1) -1 newfile = fileinfo.Groups.item[1].value + padding + fileinfo.Groups.item[4].value format "Reset result : % - - % --> %\r\n" (renamefile f newfile) f newfile )else format "Cancel reset frame from %%%% because of length of % less than existing padding length : %\r\n" sign sign sign sign sign f )else ( -- split output fileinfo = (dotNetClass "System.Text.RegularExpressions.Regex").match f ("^(.*?)("+sign+"+)(.*?)(\.{0,1})(\d+)(\.[^.]+)$") if fileinfo.Success then ( if fileinfo.Groups.item[2].length >= fileinfo.Groups.item[5].length then ( padding = "000000" + fileinfo.Groups.item[5].value padding = substring padding (padding.count - fileinfo.Groups.item[2].length + 1) -1 newfile = fileinfo.Groups.item[1].value + fileinfo.Groups.item[3].value + fileinfo.Groups.item[4].value + padding + fileinfo.Groups.item[6].value format "Reset result : % - - % --> %\r\n" (renamefile f newfile) f newfile )else format "Cancel reset frame from %%%% because of length of % less than existing padding length : %\r\n" sign sign sign sign sign f )else format "Can not reset frame from %%%% : %\r\n" sign sign sign sign f ) ) print "Reset done" ) callbacks.removeScripts #postRender id:#AEI_ResetFrame callbacks.addScript #postRender "AEI_ResetFrame()" id:#AEI_ResetFrame

Re: Frame number padding in 3Ds Max

CAMedeck — Thu, 11 Sep 2025 13:38:16 GMT

Would it be possible to string together two separate sequences? I'm just envisioning using Adobe After Effects and creating one sequence of the 4 digit frames and another of the 5 digit frames, then butting the ends together to force them into a single long sequence.

Re: Frame number padding in 3Ds Max

christian_sodergren — Thu, 11 Sep 2025 14:02:57 GMT

Hello!

Actually after effects can handle sequences with different frame number padding, but some software that I use do not. Typically that software has no GUI and just want a path to the sequence and is not that "intelligent" to understand to continue the sequence when it go from 4 to 5 digits. So there is no option to do anything else.

Easiest would still be for Autodesk to add this small very useful feature in the render settings. Or at least go from 4 digits to 6 as default to make sure that the rendered sequences can be used by other software.. 😉

Re: Frame number padding in 3Ds Max

christian_sodergren — Thu, 11 Sep 2025 14:03:15 GMT

Wow! Thanks!

Re: Frame number padding in 3Ds Max

CAMedeck — Thu, 11 Sep 2025 14:22:22 GMT

For me, and many other users, 6 digits would be major overkill so I'd rather not have the default that long. 🙂

When rendering with V-Ray, there is an option to expand # to frame number when saving through the V-Ray Frame Buffer.

So what you want is POSSIBLE, it would just need to be implemented by Autodesk.

Re: Frame number padding in 3Ds Max

A娘 — Fri, 12 Sep 2025 01:27:06 GMT

When rendering with V-Ray, there is an option to expand # to frame number when saving through the V-Ray Frame Buffer.

vray's expand # was set # as the padding number what max will set ， every # will be set a 4/5 number ， when set ##### ，there will be a very long number padding