Containers?

[GeoffKornfeld]

Does anyone use Containers instead of X-Refs? If not, why? I've been using X-refs my entire career, but I'm finally starting to see the utility of Containers. Though I'm not crazy about the fact that you need to create a special file for each one...

[ValeriiNikulin]

For me it's not one or the other, I pick by the goal. We use both.

When it's our own remote team working from one shared cloud environment, XRefs are enough: everyone works in their own file and references the rest, and an update in the source shows up for everybody.

When we work with another studio or with outsourced artists, Containers earn the extra file. They get edit rights only for the part we hand over, and the rest of the scene comes in inherited, so they can see it and render it but can't change it. That control is exactly what XRefs don't give you.

About the file per container: you only need the .maxc once you close the container. While it stays local and open, it lives inside your scene much like a group.

So I'd say: XRefs for sharing, Containers for sharing with permissions.

[CGBenner]

@GeoffKornfeld 

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