XRef Objects vs XRef Scene: differences, pros & cons?

[allen.yau]

I've tried to do some research, but I only got limited information regarding the differences between the two.

A handful of people stating that XRef Scene is more stable than XRef Objects, is that true? Is it a bad practice to XRef Objects a lot of objects?

Aslo, I see that one can manipulate individual object's transformations with XRef Objects, but you can't do that with XRef Scene, you can only bind the XRef'd scene with another object and transform through it. Then how do you animate or transform a part of the XRef Scene objects? Is XRre Scene not designed to do that?

I'll appreciate if someone can also help me with an overview and comparison of the two, and the ideal use scenario for each one. Thanks a lot!

[allen.yau]

I've tried to do some research, but I only got limited information regarding the differences between the two.

A handful of people stating that XRef Scene is more stable than XRef Objects, is that true? Is it a bad practice to XRef Objects a lot of objects?

Aslo, I see that one can manipulate individual object's transformations with XRef Objects, but you can't do that with XRef Scene, you can only bind the XRef'd scene with another object and transform through it. Then how do you animate or transform a part of the XRef Scene objects? Is XRre Scene not designed to do that?

I'll appreciate if someone can also help me with an overview and comparison of the two, and the ideal use scenario for each one. Thanks a lot!

[10DSpace]

@allen.yau 

I can give you my personal experience which is that XREF Objects works fine for me (Max 2017, 2019 & 2020) and I have typically XReferenced on the order of up to a few hundred objects.   So if you intend to  Xref thousands of objects, I cannot comment.  Might be fine, I just don't have any experience.   The only issues I can remember having is when I wound up creating a Xref to a XRef (perhaps creating a dependency loop, if I remember correctly) and I am pretty sure that was User error on my part (not to mention really confusing). 

If you have seen comments on XRef Objects not being stable, I imagine that can be due to many different hardware and software installation factors like most stability issues.   I think you will just have to try it on your particular system and use case to see if it works.  

In terms of Use case for XRef Scene, for the reasons you stated, I don't personally see one.  XRef Objects is more flexible and as I say, has worked for me.    

[10DSpace]

@allen.yau 

I can give you my personal experience which is that XREF Objects works fine for me (Max 2017, 2019 & 2020) and I have typically XReferenced on the order of up to a few hundred objects.   So if you intend to  Xref thousands of objects, I cannot comment.  Might be fine, I just don't have any experience.   The only issues I can remember having is when I wound up creating a Xref to a XRef (perhaps creating a dependency loop, if I remember correctly) and I am pretty sure that was User error on my part (not to mention really confusing). 

If you have seen comments on XRef Objects not being stable, I imagine that can be due to many different hardware and software installation factors like most stability issues.   I think you will just have to try it on your particular system and use case to see if it works.  

In terms of Use case for XRef Scene, for the reasons you stated, I don't personally see one.  XRef Objects is more flexible and as I say, has worked for me.    

[allen.yau]

@10DSpace  Thanks for sharing your experience, that helps! I'm referencing up to a couple hundred items, so I can heavily borrow your experience. I do feel XRef Objects has much more control and flexibilities over XRef Scene.

According to you (and my guess), some people feel XRef Scene is more stable may because of it's more restricted. But the inconveniences of using it pushes me away.

[allen.yau]

@10DSpace  Thanks for sharing your experience, that helps! I'm referencing up to a couple hundred items, so I can heavily borrow your experience. I do feel XRef Objects has much more control and flexibilities over XRef Scene.

According to you (and my guess), some people feel XRef Scene is more stable may because of it's more restricted. But the inconveniences of using it pushes me away.