3ds Max 2009 Readme

This document contains late-breaking information about Autodesk ® 3ds Max® 2009 software. For new and
updated information about all Autodesk products, visit our website at:

http://www.autodesk.com

Installing Autodesk 3ds Max 2009

 Before an end-user with restricted Windows® operating system privileges can run Autodesk 3ds Max
2009, an administrator with full privileges must install and start the software one time in order to generate the
Windows® operating system registry information needed to complete the install.

 Before installing any third-party plug-ins for Autodesk 3ds Max 2009, an administrator with full privileges
must start 3ds Max 2009 at least one time to generate the necessary folders for third-party plug-ins.

 On the Windows Vista® operating system users must first turn off User Access Control (UAC) before
attempting to install 3ds Max 2009.

 To work properly on the Windows Vista operating system, the InfoCenter feature requires that 3ds Max
2009 must be started once with UAC turned off.

 When you install on the Windows Vista operating system, a red “x” appears when the installer
reaches “.Net 2.0 SP1.” This happens because this update applies only to the Windows XP operating system.
The ".Net 2.0" service pack is already included in the Vista operating system, so the XP version is not
installed.

 If you install 3ds Max to a drive other than your system’s main C: drive, you need to copy the InfoCenter
XML support files from the \help directory on the installation CD to your C: drive. The directory depends on
which version of 3ds Max you are using, as follows:

Windows XP operating system, 32-bit version:

C:\Documents and Settings\<username> \Local Settings\Application Data\Autodesk\3dsmax\2009 -
32bit\enu\plugcfg\Infocenter\XmlFiles

Windows XP operating system, 64-bit version:

C:\Documents and Settings\<username>\Local Settings\Application Data\Autodesk\3dsmax\2009 -
64bit\enu\plugcfg\Infocenter\XmlFiles

Vista operating system, 32-bit version:

C:\Users\<username>\AppData\Local\Autodesk\3dsmax\2009 - 32bit\enu\plugcfg\Infocenter\XmlFiles

Vista operating system, 64-bit version:

C:\Users\<username>\AppData\Local\Application Data\Autodesk\3dsmax\2009 -
64bit\enu\plugcfg\Infocenter\XmlFiles

Uninstalling Autodesk 3ds Max 2009

The process for removing Autodesk 3ds Max 2009 is described in the Autodesk 3ds Max 2009 and 3ds Max
Design 2009 Installation Guide. For information on removing files that are left on your machine after an uninstall
please see the support website: http://www.autodesk.com/3dsmax-support. Search for “removing files after
uninstall.”
Release Version with Beta
If you previously installed any beta version (including release-candidate versions) of Autodesk 3ds Max 2009, you
must uninstall and delete all system folders pertaining to these pre-release versions before you can install the
commercial version. Instructions on how to uninstall the software are posted on the beta portal in the Beta/RC
Readme files.

Known Problems and Limitations in Autodesk 3ds Max 2009

64-Bit

DWF

 The 64-bit version does not launch Autodesk Design Review when you publish to the
DWF™ file format, in the way it did with the DWF viewer.

Steering Wheel

 The SteeringWheels™ feature is not stable when it runs in OpenGL ® display mode.

VRML

 There is no VRML Import in the 64-bit version.

Constraints

Constraints

 When you create a constraint, dashed lines are not drawn correctly in viewports. To solve
this problem turn off the ViewCube™ feature.

Display

Exposure Control

 Exposure control is not fully supported in viewports. When control is enabled, under
certain conditions the viewport and the rendered image might vary a lot in terms of brightness
and contrast.

General

Running 3ds Max 2009

 3ds Max 2009 cannot start up from a mapped network drive, even if that drive is actually
on the local machine. Attempting to run 3ds Max from a mapped drive causes a security
exception.
Undo

 Undo or Redo of File Link operations on saved files with radiosity causes a crash.
File I/O

FBX Import\Export

 To ensure backward compatibility, use version 2009 of the FBX ® file format plug-in for all
application versions (for example, 3ds Max 9, 3ds Max 2008, Autodesk ® Maya® 8.5 software,
Autodesk Maya 2008 software).

 With the FBX plug-in, you should only read or write to network locations that are mapped
as a drive letter (as opposed to a UNC path).

Loading 3ds Max files

 3ds Max 9 UVW animation is lost when you open a scene file in 3ds Max 2009

Revit Interoperability

 Only the current 3D Autodesk® Revit® software view is imported into 3ds Max 2009

 Revit always exports units in feet to FBX, even when the Revit scene is metric units

 All lights imported from Revit have the same name

 The photometric file (.ies) of a light imported from Revit into 3ds Max 2009 has a different
name than the one displayed in Revit. The file used by the light in 3ds Max 2009 is otherwise
identical to the one used by the light in Revit

Help

Procedural and Essential Skills Movies

 The Procedural and Essential Skills Movies shipped with 3ds Max 2009 are optimized for
Windows 32-bit machines. If you have any issues viewing the Essential Skills Movies we
recommend that you try viewing the Flash® movies available on autodesk.com. You can visit
http://www.autodesk.com/3dsmax-essentials to view these movies.

Lighting

Photometric Lights

 The preview of photometric web distributions is flipped by 180 degrees. The photometric
web does display correctly in viewports and does render correctly.

Materials

Color Correction

 There is a crash in the Lightness rollout of the new Composite Map. If you switch from
Standard to Advanced and then repeat the same switch, 3ds Max 2009 will crash.
  Using MonoChrome, Invert, or Custom radio buttons causes a program error. Also, if you
apply a Color Correct map to the diffuse component, close the Material Editor, and reset 3ds
Max 2009, you will get a program error.

Composite Map

 When used in a bump channel, only the Normal Blend Mode is supported.

Modifiers

Fit

 This feature works well if the spline is inside the mesh. If the spline is outside the mesh
or on the surface, Fit will be unpredictable or will not react at all.

Performance
 When working with complex scenes that cause your machine to run out of resources, the
AutoCam feature can cause noticeable performance degradation. If you encounter this
issue it is suggested that you fully disable the AutoCam plug-in.

To disable the AutoCam plug-in:

1. Close Autodesk 3ds Max 2009.
2. In the Autodesk 3ds Max 2009 root folder (Default path C:\Program
Files\Autodesk\3ds Max 2009) open the \stdplugs folder in Windows® Explorer.
3. Locate the file called AutoCamMax.gup.
4. Right-click the file and select Rename.
5. Rename the file to AutoCamMax.gup.bak.
6. Restart Autodesk 3ds Max 2009.

Note: To re-enable this feature rename the file to AutoCamMax.gup.

Rendering

Final Gather Rollout

 On the Render dialog > Indirect Illumination tab, when the read\write file checkbox in the
Final Gather rollout is enabled, an automatic path and file name will be assigned. This default
FGmap file is only available for the current session, and will not be usable in future sessions.
To fix this problem rename the file so that you can reuse it in future sessions.

Hair

 If you change the initial settings for tool options and UI layout to 3ds Max mental ray ®
software and then restart 3ds Max 2009, you might run into render problems with the Hair
shader if you set the active renderer back to scanline.

mental ray Proxies

 You can apply modifiers to mental ray proxies. The modifiers do not affect the render, and
usually do nothing to proxy geometry. As of now, the only known modifier that alters the proxy
is Skew.
 Rendered Frame Window

 When you use the 32-bit floating-point frame, the following render effects are
incompatible:
 All lens effects
 Blur
 Brightness and Contrast
 Film Grain
 Motion Blur
 Depth of Field

XRef

Scene XRef

 If you render a master scene file that contains scene XRefs, disable the “Automatic
Update” option on all XRefs before you render.

Autodesk, DWF, Exposure, FBX, Maya, Revit, SteeringWheels, ViewCube, and 3ds Max are trademarks or registered
trademarks of Autodesk, Inc. in the USA and other countries. mental ray is a registered trademark of mental images GmbH
licensed for use by Autodesk, Inc. All other brand names, product names, or trademarks belong to their respective holders.
Autodesk reserves the right to alter product offerings and specifications at any time without notice, and is not responsible for
typographical or graphical errors that might appear in this document.

© 2008 Autodesk, Inc. All rights reserved.