The Asset Tracking feature provides direct access within 3ds Max to asset tracking systems (ATS), also known as providers. You use asset tracking systems to share files such as scene files and bitmaps used in materials with other members of your development team.
Asset tracking provides full support for the Autodesk Vault data-management solution, and basic version-control support for other providers, such as Perforce and Microsoft SourceSafe. In general, asset tracking supports version-control providers that are capable of integrating into Microsoft Visual Studio, sometimes referred to as MSSCC support. This topic assumes usage of Autodesk Vault. Autodesk Data Management Server and Autodesk Vault Explorer are available to subscription customers and are also shipped with certain other Autodesk softwares. See Manage Files with Autodesk Vault. The Vault Plug-ins are included with 3ds Max.
Asset Tracking with Autodesk Vault
The 3ds Max Vault Plug-in works with 3ds Max by adding data-management tools to the interface. Through the Vault Plug-in, you can add files to a vault, and check files out and in. The add-in works with many different types of files including MAX and image files. The recommended method for performing Vault operations depends upon your working environment.
When you work on a file that is checked out of the vault, you work on a local copy of the file and not the original. At no point do you ever work on the actual vaulted file. When you check a modified file back into the vault, the modifications are available as the latest version in the vault. All past versions of a file are maintained in the vault.
With the Asset Tracking dialog, you can check files in and out, add files to the Asset Tracking System (ATS), get different versions of files, and so on, all from 3ds Max without the need to use separate client software.
This dialog lets you determine how 3ds Max should create and use proxy versions of bitmaps incorporated in materials. It also lets you disable or enable bitmap paging.
The Prompts dialog lets you specify what happens when you perform a number of different functions via the Asset Tracking dialog.
The Asset Tracking dialog uses a number of icons to indicate the status of assets listed in the dialog window.
