Procedures

To select a background image for a viewport:

1. Activate the viewport where you want the image.
2. Choose Views menu Viewport Background Viewport Background.
3. Under Background Source in the dialog that displays, click Files.
4. In the Look In field, navigate to the directory containing the file you want to use for the background.
   NoteThe Select Background Image File dialog uses the last location where a bitmap was chosen, rather than the default bitmap path defined on the Configure User Paths dialog.
5. Highlight the file name in the file list window.
6. Click Open to select the image and close the dialog.
7. Click OK to close the Viewport Background dialog and display the background image.

To select a set of still images as a viewport background:

1. Activate the viewport where you want the image.
2. Choose Views menu Viewport Background Viewport Background.
3. Under Background Source, click Files.
4. In the Look In field, navigate to the directory containing the sequence of files.

   The files must be sequentially numbered (for example, image01.bmp, image02.bmp, image03.bmp).

   TipIf necessary, change Files Of Type to match the file extension of the sequence, or choose All Formats.
5. Turn on Sequence, and choose the name of the first sequential file (for example, image01.bmp).
   TipClick the Setup button to display the Image File List Control dialog.
6. In the Image File List Control dialog, use the Browse button to set the Target Path to a directory on your hard disk. Do not set this path to a CD-ROM drive, because you cannot save the file there.
7. Choose the options you want, and then click OK.

   The Image File List (IFL) file is saved to the target directory.

Interface

History

Displays a list of the directories most recently searched.

Look In

Opens a navigation window to move to other directories or drives.

Go to Last Folder Visited

Click to return to the folder you previously browsed to.

Up One Level

Move up a level in the directory structure.

Create New Folder

Lets you create a new folder while in this dialog.

View Menu

Lets you choose the level of detail to display in the file list.

List Window

When Details is on, the contents of the directory are displayed with Name, Size, Type, Date Modified, and Attributes. You can sort the files by clicking the label of each parameter.

File Name

Displays the name of the file selected in the list.

Files of Type

Displays all the file types that can be displayed. This serves as a filter for the list.

Open

Selects the highlighted file and closes the dialog.

Cancel

Cancels the selection and closes the dialog.

Devices

Lets you select a background image from a digital device. (No device is supported by the default 3ds Max installation.)

Setup

Displays the Image File List Control dialog to create an IFL file. Available only when Sequence is on and there are sequentially numbered files in the displayed directory.

Info

Displays expanded information about the file, such as frame rate, compression quality, file size, and resolution. The information here is dependent on the type of information that is saved with the file type.

View

Displays the file at its actual resolution. If the file is a movie, the Media Player is opened to play the file.