3ds Max without an interface (no UI)

[ParkerJohnsonA]

Greetings to all. I have a couple of questions.:

1) Is there a way to launch a .max scene without any interface? (no viewport, no toolbars, etc.)

I'm writing some script and I want to get information about a scene (for example, a list of cameras) without opening it completely, since loading the viewport takes longer time and more RAM, considering how long it sometimes takes for the interface to unfreeze after launching a heavy scene.

2) Is there a way to force opening any .max scene in the Bounding Box mode of viewport in 3ds Max by default?

[MartinBeh]

1) There is 3dsmaxcmd.exe which starts 3ds Max without a GUI but will run some MAXScript - is that what you want?

2) You can run MAXScript code after opening a .max scene; for example, you could write a macroscript that, when enabled, uses callbacks.addScript to install a #filePostOpen callback which changes viewport display as needed after loading a .max file. This might be good for reference: https://www.scriptspot.com/3ds-max/scripts/display-as-box

[ParkerJohnsonA]

1) Thanks for the tip, I also thought about this option, but either I didn't fully understand the purpose of 3dsmaxcmd, or it really doesn't suit me. It is designed for rendering without an interface, which it does well. But I don't need to render, I need to pull a certain kind of information from the scene file without opening it, as with normal use through the interface. Is there any way to pull this type of info from .max file?

2) Thanks for the suggested script, I will definitely examine it. But as I understand it, there is no more user-friendly way to disable the interface or set a specific preset for all opening scenes, right? Just scripting? 😅

[MartinBeh · Accepted solution]

1) There is also 3dsmaxbatch.exe, depending on what you need. One of the two should do exactly what you want: open scene, run MAXScript to extract some information, shut down.

2) I don't think you will get around MAXScript but it could be as little as

vvs = NitrousGraphicsManager.GetActiveViewportSetting() 
vvs.VisualStyleMode = #BoundingBox 

or maybe even just actionMan.executeAction 0 "556" - either of these to be run after opening a file.

[ParkerJohnsonA]

Thanks a lot for the suggestions.
3dsmaxbatch looks like what I need.