Studio Menu bar


This bar gives you access to all the functionalities of Studio. All the tools in Studio are organized in nine different tabs.

The Menu bar with the File menu expanded

File

Open a scene, save, create a new scene, import and export files, import objects and scenes from the built-in library, access the Preferences window, or export a scene using the “Pack and Go” option. The Pack and Go function allows you to copy all the dependencies (textures, HDR, IOR files) used in the scene, as well as the scene file itself, to a folder of your choice. This makes it very easy to share scenes with other users. Or use the Pack and Go function to quickly organize your scene, making sure you have gathered everything that is needed.
This is the best way to share a project between users or computers.

Edit

Undo, redo, move, rotate, scale objects, edit pivot point, use a world or local coordinates system, preview the environment in the viewport, scale or rotate the whole scene or purge the application history. Some of these functions are also available as buttons in the toolbar.

Object

Clone geometry, create instances, create triangle groups, create UV sets, group/ungroup objects, load RealFlow particles (in .bin or .pd formats) or procedural objects (RFMeshes or RFParticles). See the Object Parameters panel page for a deeper description.

Camera

Create a new camera, clone the selected one or delete it. Set a camera as Active, and hide/unhide, block/unblock a camera to prevent accidental editing.See the Camera Parameters panel page for a deeper description.

Material

Create, Import, Edit or assign a material. See the Materials List panel page for a deeper description.

Selection

Choose between different selection modes such as by object, triangle, materials, UV sets or instances. You can also select/ unselect items, hide/unhide objects, choose a shading mode in the viewport, or perform some selection operations like expand or contract. The Isolate Selection checkbox allows you to display only the currently selected object in the OpenGL viewport, useful for getting a faster feedback in dense geometry scenes. Some of these options are also available as buttons in the toolbar or by right-clicking in a viewport.

Render

There are various ways to launch your renders:

  • Render: Your scene will be exported to MXS format, and Maxwell will be automatically launched and the render will start there. 
  • Render via Network: Your scene is exported to MXS format, and a Network Wizard is opened to allow you to submit your render job to your farm. It is needed to set up a Network Rendering first. Check the Network Rendering page for more info about this subject. 
  • Render Viewport: Your scene will be rendered in the Studio viewport, at your viewport size. This is helpful for quick test during the scene setup.
  • Start/Stop Fire: This option starts or stops the render in the Interactive viewport (Maxwell Fire). 

Window

Load and save your layout, use a layout from a list of pre-set layouts, launch a new viewport, or open any of the panels available in Maxwell Studio. If you want to create your own default layout, save your desired layout with the name defaultlayout.stlay and store it in the Maxwell Render layouts folder. Maxwell Studio will open your layout the next time it is launched.

Help

This menu allows you to access information about the version of the software, and access the documentation and tutorials website.

Please note that the Export As option may give you a warning saying the object(s) selected are protected and cannot be exported. This happens if the plug-in that was used to create the MXS file had the Protect Files option on by the model creator. In this case it is not possible to export files from the MXS, as it is protected by its author.