Resource Manager
The Resource Manager fixes broken links to files needed for your rendering, usually automatically.
The Resource Manager interface is located within Maxwell Project Settings. (Select Extensions > Maxwell Render > Project Settings...)
The Problem:
There are a number or several situations where a links file paths to Maxwell resources (file dependencies) form•Z may become unlinkedinvalid, resulting in 'file not found'-type errors when attempting to render:
- When moving a form•Z formZ project between workstations
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- Attempting to use an MXM downloaded from the internet, which contains filepaths file paths referring to the original creator's hard disk
The Solution:
The Resource Manager remedies all these situations, by providing policies for re-linking missing files though the use of resource Libraries.
A Library is simply a folder that contains any number of organized subfolders, each of which is searched recursively for missing files of a given type.
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. Simply set one or more paths to folders containing the missing resources, and when they are needed, the Resource Manager will search until the missing file is found. If the search folders contain subfolders, those will be seacrhed as well.
Add Search Folder: Adds a folder to be seached.
Remove LibrarySearch Folder: The reference to the search library folder is deleted. (The library itself The folder itself, and its content, remains untouched.)- Library Entries List
- Use: Enables or disables searching a particular librarysearch folder.
- Lock: the library search folder is locked by the plugin. It cannot not be deleted, but it may be disabled.
- Library PathSearch Folder Path: The file path to the library folder.
- mxm: Enable/disable searching for MXM files in librarysearch folder.
- img: Enable/disable searching for bitmap images (jpg, tiff, etc.) in librarysearch folder.
- ior: Enable/disable searching for complex IOR files in librarysearch folder.
- hdr: Enable/disable searching for HDR and MXI files in librarysearch folder.
- ies: Enable/disable searching for IES and LDT files in search folder.
- mxs: Enable/disable searching for MXS files in librarysearch folder.
Libraries Search folders may be dragged up or down to change the search order.
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Do not add libraries within librariesadd search folders within search folders; they are all searched recursively, so this will just slow down the search. |
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Do not add a 'deep' folder, such as your Documents folder, as a library. Yes, it will find everything, but it will be slow. For efficiency, libraries search folders should contain mostly relevant files and little more. |
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Do not use duplicate file names in the search locations; this may result in the wrong asset being located. |
The Library references set up here are project-level settings. They apply to all windows, and are saved with the project.
The Search Order
Missing files are identified and searched when a render is started.
Search
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Order: Missing MXM, HDRI, IES, and
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MXS files
The locations where the Resource Manager will search for missing MXM, HDRI, IES, and IES MXS files, in order:
- In a folder called 'Resources' in the same directory with your project. This project-relative path is refreshed when each render is started. Search is recursive (all sub-folders in 'Resources' will be searched for the missing file).
- In each library (folder) as it appears in the Resource Manager list. Search is recursive (all sub-folders within the library will be searched for the missing file).
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If the missing file is found, it's path will be corrected to reflect the current location. This alleviates the need to search for it upon subsequent renderings, or when the project is reopened.
Search
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Order: Missing MXM dependencies
The locations where the Resource Manager will search for missing MXM dependencies (Bitmap textures, IORs, etc.), in order:
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The 'Resources' project-relative folder reference may not be deleted, but it may be disabled. |
When files are still not located
If the file is not found at the existing path or an any libraries, an alert is issued, indicating that the Log should be checked for missing resources. To correct:
- Check the Log and identify the file. It will be located just after the blue-highlighted ERROR lines.
- If you know what library the file resides it, simply add a new search path to that library.
- If you do not know, click on the Log entry with the filename. It will appear in copy-able form in the text box below the Log list. Select the filename here, then paste it into your preferred file-find utility and proceed to search. When found, move it to an existing library, or add a new library reference, as appropriate.
Using the Resource Manager Effectively
A Common (and Easy) Approach
- Keep one general resource library on each computer, containing all your IES, MXMs, HDRs, etc. organized in folders as you see fit. This is where resources common to many projects can be kept and shared. Unless you have thousands of resources, it is not necessary to link one library search folder to MXMs only, one to HDRs only, etc. In the screenshot above, adding a single library path to a general assets folder called 'Modeling Resources' will suffice to fix everything.
- Keep any project-specific resources in the project's 'Resources' folder. If you decide later that a something is best kept in the general librarysearch folder, just move it there; the path will be corrected on the next render (as long as there is a reference to that general librarysearch folder).
- (Alternately, you could set paths to libraries to search folder designated for each project.)
Transferring projects between workstations
When moving to another workstation for the first time:
- Copy your project, including it's 'Resources' folder.
- Copy the entire resource librarycontents of any other general resources folders that are in use. (If you don't want to do thiscopy only relevant resources, use the Workstation Transfer command.)
- Add a searchpath to the library search path to the general resources folder when you first open the project on the new workstation.
After that, you can freely move just the project (and its project-relative 'Resources' folder, if needed) back and forth between the two workstations, and all of your resources will be re-linked automatically. Do not delete paths to other machines, so these can be used to fix paths if the file is moved back in the future.
Server
Alternately, the main resource library may be set up on a server. (Just add a path to the server in the Resource Manager.)