- [Narrator] One of the most common and essential commands
in scene layout,
is to import, or merge, some asset into the current scene.
I've got a layout here with some basic architecture,
and I want to import, or merge, some other models
that I've created in separate scenes.
That'll be done from the file menu file.
File.
Import.
And you'll see that there are a bunch of commands here.
The main distinction is between import and merge.
Import is for foreign file formats.
So non-native file formats such as
an AutoCAD DXF file could be imported using this command.
If you want to bring in another 3ds Max file,
you'll use merge.
And that's what I've got in this case.
I've got some 3ds Max .max files that I wish to merge in.
So I'll choose file, import, merge.
I'm taken to my current projects scenes folder.
The scene that's currently open is 03_05_merge.
And I've got three more here that I want to bring in.
Let's start with 03_05_merge_column.max, and click open.
And we get a dialogue, in which we need to choose
which elements of the scene file we wish to import.
So we can just click on this pergola_column_001.
Pergola is a shade structure for vines.
And I've got a bunch of modular pieces.
First we've got the columns, so I'll select that,
and click OK.
And that'll take just a second,
but it will merge at the origin
because that's where it was saved in the other scene file.
Now this model and its material
are encapsulated in the current scene.
They've been merged in, they've been brought in.
There's no external reference.
And because of that, when I save this scene,
the size of the disc file is going to increase.
I've added more elements to the scene.
So that's a thing to be aware of.
If you merge, you're going to increase the disc footprint
of your scene file.
I want to place this over in the corner because,
I'm going to actually create an array,
or a whole series of these objects.
And I happen to know exactly where I want that to be.
So I'm going to plug those values in.
You use the select and move tool.
And in the transform type in area
at the bottom of the screen,
I'll plug in some values.
I'll select the X field and type in -875 centimeters.
Press tab to go to the Y field,
and type in 900, and press enter.
I'm going to leave that one at a Z position of zero.
So there's our first merged object.
Let's bring in a couple more.
Go back to file, import, merge.
We'll choose pergola beam this time.
03_05_merge_beam.
Click open.
And we could select this
but actually we could just click the all button
and that will select everything that's in that list there.
So I can click all.
Click okay.
That object's been merged in.
I'll grab the move tool.
I can use the keyboard shortcut
which is W.
And for the X position,
It'll once again be -875.
Press tab for the Y position.
It'll be 450 centimeters.
Press tab, and we want to move this up to
275 centimeters above the origin.
And press enter.
And finally, we have one more object to import.
We'll go to file, import, merge.
And this will be 03_05_merge_crossbeam.max.
Select that.
Click open.
In the merge dialogue, click All,
and click OK.
And now we get a dialogue saying
there's a duplicate material name.
This dialogue appears when we try to merge in an asset
that has a material
that already exists in the scene.
Or more precisely, that has the same name
as a material that already exists in the scene.
When I merged in that beam object,
it had a material called wood painted black.
Now I'm merging in the cross beam object
which also has a material called wood painted black.
And I have some options here
as to how I want to deal with this.
If we click Use Merged Material,
then we will end up with two materials with the same name.
The material that we've imported will not be affected,
and the material that already exists will not be affected.
And that's kind of confusing, so I don't generally use that.
If we click Use Scene Material,
then the incoming object will receive the material
that already exists in the scene.
And the material that's on that incoming object
will actually be deleted.
It'll just go nowhere into a memory hole and just be gone.
But that's actually what I want in this case.
I want the ability to make changes to that material
and have it affect all the objects.
So that's what I want in this case.
If we clicked Auto-Rename Merged Material
then the two materials would be preserved.
The assignments wouldn't change.
But the new material would have
a number appended onto its name
so that we would know the difference.
Click Use Scene Material.
And that cross beam object is imported.
I'll just move it where it wants to be.
Once again, use the W hotkey to access the move tool.
And we'll give it an X position of -575.
Press tab.
A Y position of 900 centimeters.
Press tab.
A Z position of 295 centimeters,
and press enter.
Alright. That's how to merge 3ds Max scenes.