The plugin adds a new Maxwell menu to SketchUp's Plugins menu, and also a new Maxwell toolbar, with commands which duplicate most of those found in the menu. The toolbar looks like this:
...
Rendering & Export
...
Command | Function |
|---|---|
Render | Exports the scene to an MXS file and renders it using Maxwell Render. |
Export to Studio | Exports the scene to an MXS file and opens it for editing in Maxwell Studio. |
Network Render | Exports the scene to an MXS file and renders it using the Maxwell Network Rendering system. |
Cloud Render | Exports the scene to an MXS file and packs it with all the textures and files needed to render it; then opens the Maxwell Monitor in Cloud mode and loads the MXS file so it can be sent to render on the cloud machines. Please, notice the Cloud Render is a paid service and the cloud time may be bought in our webshop. Here is more information about rendering in the Cloud: Maxwell Cloud. |
Maxwell Fire | Opens or closes the Maxwell Fire window. |
Export MXS | Exports the model to an MXS file. |
As a matter of course, rendering always involves exporting data from the SketchUp model into the Maxwell format. Depending on which of the above commands is used, an MXS file may be written to the location specified in the Output page, and subsequently, opened in Maxwell Render, Maxwell Studio, or the Maxwell Network Rendering system, as requested.
...
| Note |
|---|
Use these functions to export MXS files, rather than File > Export > 3D Model. These functions first synchronize data in the model, before then calling the exporter. If you use File > Export > 3D Model, this synchronization will not take place, potentially causing various issues with your exported MXS files (camera mismatches, outdated materials, etc). |
MXM Functions
...
Command | Function |
|---|---|
Open MXM file | Allows you to browse for an MXM file from the local disk. |
Open MXM Gallery | Allows you to browse for an MXM file from the Maxwell Render MXM Gallery. |
MXM Status Report | Shows a list of all materials and the status of their MXM paths. |
The MXM browsing functions are basically shortcuts for the following steps:
Creating a new SketchUp material
Editing that material in the Scene Manager
Switching the material to use MXM Mode
Linking the material to the chosen MXM file
These steps are what occurs when an MXM file is chosen, either from the local disk, or the Maxwell MXM Gallery.
...
Similar to the Browse for an MXM file command, but uses MXED in its MXM Gallery Browser mode, allowing you to search for and download an MXM file from Maxwell's online MXM repository, the MXM Gallery. When you have located the MXM you would like to download, simply click the ‘Import’ button in the search window to import the selected MXM file into the Scene. The file will be downloaded and unzipped to one of three places:
If there’s an alternative path set in Maxwell MXED Preferences > Materials > MXM Gallery > Alternative Folder, the MXM file and textures will always be saved there.
If no alternative folder has been specified in Maxwell MXED, the MXM and its textures will be saved in a folder called “textures” next to the MXS output, which is:
If the SketchUp file has not been saved: <Documents>\Maxwell\output\
If the SketchUp file has been saved and no output folder has been set in the Scene Manager > Output tab: next to the SketchUp file.
If an output folder has been set in the Scene Manager > Output tab: next to the output files.
During this process, all files referenced by the newly-downloaded MXM will be copied to the destination directory, with the paths inside of the MXM file being altered to point to the new file locations, since many MXMs from the MXM Gallery contain paths which will not exist on your machine.
...
The plugin offers this small collection of ready-made lights, however, you can create your own lights by assigning light-emitting characters to custom geometry. These are the lights you can create from the toolbar.
Command | Function |
|---|---|
Area Light | Creates a ready-made square area light of 1m side with an Emitter material type assigned called “Area Light”. |
HDRI Light | Creates a ready-made square image-based area light of 1m side with an HDRI Emitter material type assigned called “HDRI Light”. It requires an image to be loaded in the HDRI Emitter slot (otherwise, it will work as an area light). HDR, EXR or MXI formats are recommended as they will look better than LDR images as PNG or JPG. |
Omni Area Light | Creates a ready-made spherical area light with a diameter of 0.1m with an Emitter material type assigned called “Omni Light”. |
Spot Light | Creates a ready-made spotlight with a Spotlight material type assigned called “Spot Light”. |
Projector Light | Creates a ready-made projector (similar to a film projector) with an Image Projector material type assigned called “Projector Light”. It requires an image to be loaded in the Image File slot of the material (otherwise, the projector gizmo will be visible in the render). |
IES Light | Creates a ready-made IES-file-based light with an IES Emitter material type assigned called “IES Light”. It requires an IES or LDT file (photometric file) to be loaded in the IES Emitter slot of the material (otherwise, the projector gizmo will be visible in the render). |
Here is the default look of the different lights once inserted in the scene.
 |  |  |  |  |  |
 Area Light |  HDRI Light |  Omni Light |  Spot Light |  Projector Light |  IES Light |
When you click on the button on the toolbar, a new component and material are created with the name of the corresponding light (Area Light, HDRI Light, etc.) and subsequent lights of the same type that are created will generate a new component and material and will append a number at the end of the name.
...
| Note |
|---|
If you create a light object (so its component and material are created) and then you delete all its copies from the scene, the new copies of the light created from the remaining component in the Components tray won’t emit light. It will be needed to create a new light object or reassign the light-emitting material. |
Scene & Camera Tools
...
Command | Function |
|---|---|
Shows the plugin's Scene Manager window. | |
Shows the plugin's Object Properties window. | |
Select Tool | Provides an eye-dropper for selecting the materials of entities in the model. |
Set DOF, Z-Clip, or Z-Buffer | Prompts for two points in the scene and once chosen, adjusts either the camera's DOF (Depth of Field), Z-Clip Planes, or Z-Buffer distances. |
Set Focal Distance | Prompts for a single point which, once chosen, is used to set the focal distance of the camera. |
Maxwell Grass | Shows the plugin's Maxwell Grass window. |
Maxwell Sea | Shows the plugin's Maxwell Sea window. |
Maxwell Volumetric | Shows the plugin's Maxwell Volumetric window. |
Maxwell Scatter | Shows the plugin's Maxwell Scatter window. |
Insert MXS Reference | Prompts for the selection of a Maxwell MXS file, then inserts the chosen file into the model as an MXS Reference. |
Scene Manager and Object Properties
...
These are called "Maxwell Extensions" and this buttons give you the option to add them to your scene. In this dedicated section is explained how to work with them in SketchUp: SketchUp - Extensions
Help & Info
...
Command | Function |
|---|---|
Plugin Manual | Opens the plugin's online documentation page (this site). |
About | Opens the plugin's About box, which contains information about the currently installed plugin. |
Licensing
This command only appears in the menu when the plugin is not licensed.
Command | Function |
|---|---|
License Activator | Opens the Maxwell Render License Activator window. This command only appears in the Standalone plugin, when running without a license. |
If you already have licensed the plugin, but you want to add more licenses, you can do it from Maxwell Render application, from Help menu > Activate License...
...