Original subtitles

- [Instructor] Like most 3D programs,

3ds Max uses something called a project folder

for asset management.

And an example of a project folder

is the exercise files I have provided with the course.

So I'll open that up so we can see

what a project folder looks like.

Inside that project folder

are some very specifically named sub-folders

for different types of data.

For example, inside "scenes,"

we have .max scene files

and they store geometry and animation.

However, the .max scene file

does not store images or sounds.

If you've got a 2D image applied as a texture map,

for example, that needs to go in a separate folder.

It'll be here inside of "scene assets," "images."

These are the documents I've provided with the course.

And in order to maintain the links

between these different file types,

3ds Max utilizes the project folder structure.

The project folder is also very convenient

in situations where you want to, for example,

move your project to a different location

or a different computer, or archive it.

All the assets you need to load up a particular scene

are stored inside the project folder

in one of its various sub-folders.

And so this "Exercise Files" folder

is a project that encapsulates all the data

necessary for the course.

Let's look in 3ds Max how to create a project folder,

and also how to set a project folder.

That is, to point 3ds Max at an existing one.

If you don't have the exercise files

that came with the course,

you can create a project folder.

I'll do that here in the Windows interface.

I recommend that you create the project folder

outside of 3ds Max.

So create one here, right-click,

and choose "New," "Folder,"

and I'll call it, "Aaron's project."

And I'll go to 3ds Max

and go to the File menu

and choose "Set Project Folder."

And this will allow you to point

at an existing project or to create one.

Click on that,

and we now see a dialog labeled "Browse for Folder,"

and by default,

it will be pointing at the 3ds Max default project.

It's located in the current user's "Documents" folder.

Well we want to create a new project folder structure

inside the folder we just created.

And that's on my desktop,

and I'll just choose "Aaron's project."

3ds Max looks inside that folder,

and if no project exists,

then one will be created.

Click "OK."

And let's verify that.

I'll minimize 3ds Max

and double-click on the "Aaron's project" folder,

and as expected, now it's been populated

with all the 3ds Max project sub-folders.

There's also a file here with an extension ".mxp"

and that's a list of paths.

Back in 3ds Max to reference an existing project

we simply use the same command.

Go to the File menu and choose "Set Project Folder."

And in this case I will choose "Exercise Files."

It's very important that I select

the top level of the project.

Inside that top level is that .mxp file

that we just saw.

And if no .mxp file is seen by 3ds Max,

then a new project folder structure will be created.

But if that .mxp file does exist,

3ds Max will know to set to that project folder.

What does that mean for us?

Well it means that when we get to this state,

we need to select the root level

of the existing project,

because that's where that .mxp file is.

If we selected one of the sub-folders,

for example, "archives,"

there's no .mxp file inside there.

And what will 3ds Max do?

It will create a new project folder inside of "archives."

And that will make us crazy,

because now we'll have an inception-like situation

in which we have a project folder nested inside another one.

Just be sure you're selecting the root level

of an existing project.

And click "OK."

Once that's done,

we can now go into the File menu

and choose "Open" and we're taken directly

to our current project, "scenes."

And then we can load up one of our scenes for the course.

I'm not going to do that now,

I'll just cancel out of that.

That's an overview of how project folders work.

How to create a new project folder,

and also how to reference or set to an existing one.