Saving Scenes

 
 
 

All scenes are saved as a single file with an .scn extension. The scene contains any models, 3D objects, lights, cameras, animation, rendering options, effects (including shaders, textures, and shader assignments), and render passes that you have applied.

To save a scene

  1. Choose File Save from the main menu.

    If the scene has already been named, any changes are saved to the same file name. If the scene does not have a name (untitled), the Save Scene browser opens.

  2. Enter a unique name for your scene in the File Name text box.

  3. Use the path navigation buttons to locate the folder where you want to save your scene. It is recommended, however, that you save scenes to the Scenes folder of the project.

  4. Click OK.

Saving Scenes with a Different Name

In some cases, you may want to create a copy of a scene and save it with a different name. This can be helpful when you want to test a more complex rendering effect before committing it to the actual scene.

To save a scene under a different name

  1. Choose File Save As from the main menu to open the Save As dialog box.

  2. Type another name for the scene in the File Name browser and click OK.

    The new scene name is displayed on the title bar. The original scene remains unchanged in its most recently saved form.

Saving Scenes to a Different Project

You can save a scene from one project to another:

  1. Open a Softimage scene that you want to save to a different project.

  2. Choose File Project Manager from the main menu.

  3. Select a project from the Select a Project list box and click the Set Active Project button. This project is now the active project and its name is displayed in the titlebar.

  4. Choose File Save or Save As to open the Save Scene dialog box.

  5. Select the Copy External Files Under Project option (see the next section for details). Click OK to save the scene into the Scenes folder of the active project.

Copying Referenced Files Under Project

You can copy all external referenced files to the current project. This is particularly useful when you send project files to other users who otherwise cannot access the referenced files themselves. Or, you may have saved a scene to a different project and want all the referenced files used in that scene to be copied to the new project.

Note that this option does not include external files that are referenced by other external files, such as texture files that are used by referenced models. To copy these files, use the external files manager as described in Copying External Files to Projects.

To copy referenced files into the current project

  1. Choose File Save As from the main menu.

  2. In the Save Scene dialog box, select Copy External Files under Project and click OK.

This scans your project and copies any referenced files such as textures, action sources, or audio files used in your scene to the new project.