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3ds Max 2010 & 3ds Max Design 2010 FBX Plug-ins
Version 2009.4
November 2008
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Welcome to the 3ds Max FBX Plug-in readme. This document contains requirements, bug
fixes and known limitations for the 2009.4 version of the 3ds Max FBX plug-ins.

For more information, consult the 3ds Max Plug-in's Online Help. Click the Question

Mark (?) button in the top-right corner of the FBX Exporter/Importer windows.

Since FBX technology lets you exchange data between Autodesk 3ds Max, Maya, and
MotionBuilder, we have created product-specific compatibility charts where you
can view the level of FBX support in different areas for these applications.
You can find these charts at: www.autodesk.com/fbx (click on the Documentation
tab on the left).

FBX 2009.4 plug-ins are 3ds Max FBX 2009.3 plug-ins built to run in 3ds Max 2010
and 3ds Max Design 2010 (32 and 64 bit releases). However, the 2009.4 version
differs in that the 3ds Max Design FBX Exporter and Importer UI presets are now
saved in C:\My Documents\3dsMaxDesign. The 3ds Max 2010 FBX Exporter and Importer
UI presets are still saved in C:\My Documents\3dsMax. Click 'Check for Updates'
in the FBX Exporter and Importer windows regularly so you can be sure that you are
running the latest FBX plug-in version.

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"MY FEEDBACK" FBX BETA PROGRAM:

Help us improve FBX by joining the Autodesk My Feedback program. Our Feedback
Program provides Autodesk users worldwide with the opportunity to be involved in
developing our line of products.

Members of our feedback program can access the latest beta releases and FBX
information. If you have issues or suggestions, you can let us know by posting your
thoughts on the My Feedback discussion forum.

To request access to the Autodesk My Feedback beta program,

contact us at fbxbeta@autodesk.com.

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Note to FBX 2009.0/2009.1 users:

The 3ds Max FBX plug-ins stores all user-defined FBX presets in folders named for
the version numbers. For example, the presets for FBX version 2009.1 are saved in
C:\My Documents\3dsmax\fbxpresets\2009.1. For the 2009.4 release, presets will
be saved in C:\My Documents\3dsmax\fbxpresets\2009.4 for 3ds Max 2010 (or
C:\My Documents\3dsMaxDesign\fbxpresets\2009.4 for 3ds Max Design 2010).

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1.0 Requirements

1.1 Recent 3ds Max version

You must have 3ds Max version 9, 2008, 2009, or Design 2009 installed for the
plug-in to work.

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2.0 Bug fixes

[New warning messages have been added to the warning manager]

259357 Bump Channel Amount not saved
262672 Rotation Order not retained
263775 Warning Manager window needs scrollbars
266921 Support 3ds Max User Defined Properties
267230 Vertex Alpha does not export
270751 Custom Attributes - Add proper support
297360 NURBS shape animation lost
297357 FBX-Unsupported materials exporting from 3ds Max
298175 Exporting Editable Mesh loses edge visibility
298997 Custom Attributes - Not exporting on Helper/Bone objects
300605 Defect importing Poser Pro scenes with morph targets
301445 Bone length should be frozen on import
301878 BlendShape not importing into 3ds Max from Maya
302082 Object Smoothing not affected by Smoothing Groups after import
302135 Crash when exporting DirectX 10 Hardware Shaders
302342 MAXScript commands not functioning
302344 Crash when exporting with ForceNormalsByControlPoint command activated
302577 Clicking in the UI should enable scroll
303555 Biped Merge-Back scaling issue
303560 Up-axis isn't retained in saved presets
304472 Crash on import
306352 Custom Attributes: Crash on export
306621 Custom Attributes - Boolean interpolation type is wrong
307844 Crash on import
308011 Step interpolation type Scale animaiton not properly supported
309854 Texture path not importing with legacy FBX files
310062 Crash on export with special light attributes
310065 Crash on exporting certain photometric light types
310664 Missing script commands for Bake operations: Start/Stop/Step

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3.0 Known limitations and Last Minute Updates

3.1 MotionBuilder:

In certain cases, MotionBuilder crashes while playing back an imported FBX file
that contains point cache data. This crash is due to a limit on how many processors
MotionBuilder can use to compute point cache deformation.

Contact support for a patch that resolves this issue:

http://usa.autodesk.com/adsk/servlet/index?siteID=123112&id=9261835

3.2 3ds Max 2009 / 3ds Max Design 2009:

Under certain circumstances, the 3ds Max 2009 ViewCube feature causes instability
after the FBX file import process. This issue has been addressed by Hotfix -
Autodesk 3ds Max 2009 - 2008.05.01. Installing this Hotfix (included in 3ds Max
2009 Service Pack 1) ensures better interoperability between Revit and 3ds Max
2009 & 3ds Max Design 2009.

The Service Pack can be found here: www.Autodesk.com/3dsmax-support

3.3 Integer/Percent issues with custom attributes

3ds Max Custom Attributes support has been entirely revamped and there remains only
one known issue. Integer Custom Attribute types are only supported when exported
from 3ds Max. Importing these exported FBX files results in incorrect Integer
values. This is not a regression.

3.4 Bake Animation time range and step script commands missing

The FBX Exporter has options to set Start/End/Step values for the Bake Animation
feature found in INCLUDE > ANIMATION > BAKE ANIMATIONS. This has just been made
available for users to script using MAXScript. This change was made too late to
include in the scripting section of the Online Help documentation.

FBXExporterSetParam "BakeFrameStart" [Integer value]

FBXExporterSetParam "BakeFrameEnd" [Integer value]
FBXExporterSetParam "BakeFrameStep" [Integer value]

FBXExporterGetParam "BakeFrameStart"
FBXExporterGetParam "BakeFrameEnd"
FBXExporterGetParam "BakeFrameStep"

3.5 Potential instability importing very large scenes

When you import a large scene and instability occurs, if there is no animation in
your scene, de-activate the Animation import option in the FBX Importer window
(INCLUDE > ANIMATION). This issue will be addressed in future releases.

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