A container is a helper object that lets you organize scene contents into logical groups that can then be handled as a single object. Because a container and its contents can be saved as a MAXC file, it can be shared among multiple users.

Contents of each city block is grouped in its own container

Containers are designed to:

• Reduce scene complexity by representing a collection of objects as a single entity.
• Improve scene performance by temporarily removing (unload ing) unused containers.
• Share scene content by allowing others to reference saved containers, and inherit that content into their scene.
• Make some container content available to others for edit, while locking other content.

A container that is created locally and used to organize scenes is referred to as a Unique Container. Its content is not inherited from an external source.

A source container inherits content from an external source. The source content can be updated each time the container;s siyrce definition is saved. A source container can be edited if access is granted by its author.