Change icon for 3ds file/3ds save (not on file type)

[Chri688m]

So i want to change the icon for a specific file so i can have a preview of model as icon on my 3ds max save, so ofcause this shouldent be on the file type 3ds.

Dont know if this is possible in any way..

 

Best Regards 🙂

[eric.paris · Accepted solution]

Hi, open a command prompt as administrator and type this: 

regsvr32 "C:\Program Files\Autodesk\3ds Max 2017\MaxThumbnailShellExt.dll"

Adjust the path and make sure it point to the root of the installation folder.

If the command worked, you should have a message "succeeded"

You may also need to clear the thumbnails cache and reboot your computer for this change to take effect.

[Alfred.DeFlaminis]

Hello @Chri688m,

I wanted to follow up to see if this great post by @eric.paris solved this issue for you.  Thanks for the confirmation.

Best Regards,

[Chri688m]

Hi guys, Thanks for the respond @eric.paris.

I did this and it kinda works but not as i had inteded...

I wanted to be able to choice wich thumbnail they should have individually and not change all my 3ds files to the latest camera angle save, or whatever you might call it.

If any of you @Alfred.DeFlaminis @eric.paris know how to do this it would be verry nice but if not, how do i change back to the standard 3ds icon?

In advance thank you 🙂

Best Regards

Christoffer Bjerregaard

[Alfred.DeFlaminis]

Hello @Chri688m, thanks for the update and clarification!  

3ds Max includes the ability to make a snapshot of your viewport a thumbnail, as you've noted.  You can turn that off as shown below which should bring back the standard icons.  (However, you may have to resave your files, I think this only affects new files.)

Now changing a thumbnail to a specified image is actually a Windows thing, not so much a Max thing.  I tried to find an answer there but it's apparently no so easy.   For programmers, this link is from MS about thumbnail handling but it's pretty technical and beyond me.  My best suggestion here is to post a question on the MS forums to see if they have any suggestions.  Please let me know if you have any questions.  

Best Regards,

[Chri688m]

Thank for the answer once again, i guess i will let this rest for now and maby later on try and find a solution.

Best Regards

[vusta]

am I missing something here ?

say I take a test Max file, Send to Desktop, I'll send 2 for comparison...

In the top half, you see they're the same. I select one, Rclick>Properties>Change Icon (in the Shortcut tab). Pick something...a Star, OK, Apply...and

you see the change in the bottom half

To use custom icons, I think it's best you create your own ICO files...shouldn't be too hard to search the net..

[Alfred.DeFlaminis]

Hello @vusta,

Maybe I misunderstood @Chri688m, but I think he wanted to specify his own thumbnail for .max files, rather than for the shortcut.  

Best Regards,

[vusta]

ah ok, I suppose you could just drag out a plane in the scene (think of it as a billboard) slap on an image (your custom icon), make sure the plane fills much of the screen real estate......save (with Save Viewport Thumbnail Image On that is)..

[Alfred.DeFlaminis]

Actually that's a very good idea.  I spent most of my time trying to find a solution in Windows, but it's not simple at all.  Your idea here is in my opinion the easiest and best solution.

Best Regards,

[Chri688m]

Thanks for the response again.

Unfortunetly this will not work eaither as i will be drag and dropping them into the scene to open them (Wich is not able with shortcuts / atleas of my knowledge).

Reason why this would be super usefull is because i will be doing 3d plans and for each plan i will have to merge maby 30 files...

Thanks for the suggestion though : /

Best Regards

Chri688m

[Chri688m]

Regarding changing the thumbnails back as you said @Alfred.DeFlaminis by using the preference settings does not work it keeps changing all of my files to having no thumbnail but being fully blank is there a command like the other wich would do the same as the setting?

I think this would solve my problem...

Best Regards

[Alfred.DeFlaminis]

Hello @Chri688m,

If it's making your files blank in Windows then the "regsvr32 MaxThumbnailShellExt.dll" should fix that.  If for some reason it isn't, you might have multiple copies of Max installed. Change the directory to that other installation and try to register the .dll from there instead.

If this is the thumbails being blank/gray then you might have an inactive viewport selected when you save.  It saves a copy of your current viewport on save if it's all working properly.  If you had the blueprints mapped onto a plane in 3ds Max and isolated and framed (Maximize viewport, Alt Q, then Z) the icon would match the viewport of the blueprint that was mapped onto the plane.  If you are viewing extra large thumbnails it should be big enough to see some of the plans on the thumbnail.  I have noticed that sometimes when I copy a file to a new folder I need to refresh the folder for the icon to display.  

You should be able to drag and drop files with a thumbnail.  Usually there is a group security policy or permissions restriction on the machine if you cannot.  What happens when you try?  Thanks for the info!

Best Regards, 

[Chri688m]

Solved it by reinstalling 3ds max.

Thanks for the great support