Workspaces and maxstart.max

[dennis]

According to the 3ds max docs in reference to creating multiple workspaces: "Each subdirectory contains an INI file ( currentdefaults.ini), which contains the global parameter defaults, a default material library (medit.mat), which populates the Material Editor at startup, and a startup file ( maxstart.max),which is the file that opens when 3ds Max is started or when you reset. You can edit any of these files, and you can also create your own sets; however, each set must be in a separate subdirectory of \defaults. In addition, each file in the directory should have the same names ( currentdefaults.ini, medit.mat, and maxstart.max). If one of these files is not present in a custom defaults directory that you have created, 3ds Max uses the corresponding file from the \defaults\max directory in its place."

The reference to maxstart.max does not seem to be correct. When I put different maxstart files in different subdirectories, and set the path to \defaults, it makes no difference at all. (This isn't even going into the difference between the files in the "Users" path and those in the "Autodesk" path which I don't think I'll ever understand).

So why do I care about this? I want to set up one maxstart where the units (including system units) are in mm and another in inches, and be able to have 2 different workspaces to reflect that. And it seems to me that the only way to set those is via the maxstart file.

Anyone have any insight into this?

thanx. --ds

[electrotoast_old · Accepted solution]

Hi Dennis,

Sorry you're having an issue with Maxstart. Looks like we need to update our documentation to reflect that. I would definitely encourage you to have a look at the template system we added for 2016. That system was built with that situation in mind. You can assign a workspace, project, scene (aka maxstart), etc. and change your UI and system settings when you start a scene from that template.

http://help.autodesk.com/view/3DSMAX/2016/ENU/?guid=GUID-B5FF2780-6D57-4FBB-A37A-60FFFC80CA7D

[dennis · Accepted solution]

Ok, after writing a testy response (and now deleting it), I've now figured out my confusion. I can't imagine I'm the only one confused about this. I assumed that "workspaces" were the same as "startup templates". In part this is because of the faulty workspace docs which, as noted, imply that there would be different maxstart files for different workspaces.

As a long time user I always turn off the welcome screen immediately after installing the software, as I don't need help videos etc, and who needs an extra thing to close each time they start max. I know that the code for max is written "additively" but it seems to me that there's really no reason to have a "Custom UI and Defaults Switcher"; a "Workspace" switcher and now a "Template" switcher. To me it adds needless confusion, I can't even imagine what someone new to the software would think.

But thank-you for pointing me in the right direction. --ds

[electrotoast_old]

They each are a bit distinct. There's been some discussion on that as well. "Custom UI and Defaults Switcher" is mainly there for legacy. Especially since we're back to One Max now. Think of workspaces as your current working session. They are saved as you change the layout depending on what you have checked. Templates come into play as there are some things that can't or aren't saved in a workspace. Think of templates as the mechanism of a start up your overall working environment. And they give you a more 'viewable' way of seeing your changes.

You can also access any of the Template settings through the global search function. Hit 'X' and type "template" and you'll see what's available.

And thanks for not posting your testy response. 🙂 

[Anonymous]

Okay, let me get this straight…

When saving a custom workspace, mainly saving custom changes you've made to menus, toolbars and placement of panels?

But, if I want to save changes that I've made to the viewport… I'd have to save those as templates?

Because I've made changes to my viewport, and I thought those changes were being saved in my custom workspace.

I was really disappointed when I close down the program and started up again, that none of those changes to my viewport were saved at all…

[dennis]

I can take this one. The key thing is the maxstart.max file. That file holds all sorts of info, just as if you opened a previous file you had been working on, that would open with the same viewport settings etc that you had left it in when you saved your file. So maxstart is just like that, only it's the file that you "open" when you start your software. In most ways that's all you really need to have set. I really don't know why they've overly complicated things with all those other less useful options like workspaces, etc. However, it used to be that you could only have one maxstart file, which works fine as long as you always want to start projects from the same interface. If you want to start from more than one, then you need different templates, because each template will reference its own possibly different maxstart file, which each need their own different names. So you could have one maxstart file called "Viewports A" and another called "Viewports B" each reflecting a different setup.

(However, you confusion resembles mine which started this thread. According to the docs, different workspaces were supposed to have different maxstart files, but apparently that didn't happen)

So yes, set up templates and ignore the other older methods 😉

--ds

[Anonymous]

Great,  now I have to turn that splash screen back on…

Thanks, a bunches…