​​Generate Custom Previews
​​You can conveniently create custom previews for your 3ds Max assets within Connecter by using the "Generate Custom Previews" feature. To generate the previews, Connecter launches a dedicated instance of 3ds Max in the background so it doesn't interrupt your work. Once the preview is rendered, Connecter automatically adds the saved preview image as a custom preview to the asset. 
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​Feature setup: Choosing local preview studios folder

​​To start using the Generate Custom Previews feature, you must first set it up by choosing a local folder for the preview studios' content.
​​IMPORTANT: Connecter will copy the preview studios' 3d files and their previews and organize all related metadata in the local folder you specify. Ensure all Connecter instances within your team can access the folder.  
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​Feature setup: Adding preview studios

​​Preview studio is a 3ds Max 3d scene in which the assets having previews generated get merged and rendered. It can be just an empty scene or a more sophisticated one as long as it yields the visual output you're looking for. You can download ready-to-use free studios from Connecter's cloud or use your custom scenes to add a new preview studio.  
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​​To add a preview studio from Connecter's cloud: 
  1. ​​Select one or more 3ds max assets and choose the "Generate Custom Previews" command in the contextual asset menu. 
  1. ​​Click the "GET STUDIOS" button in the main blue toolbar of the GENERATE CUSTOM PREVIEWS interface. 
  1. ​​From the GET PREVIEW STUDIOS interface, browse the available studios and click the "Download studio files" icon at the end STATUS column of the studios you want to download. Once the preview studio gets downloaded, a "Preview studio successfully downloaded" notification appears. 
  1. ​​Click the BACK button in the main blue toolbar to return to the main GENERATE CUSTOM PREVIEWS interface. You are all set up to start using the Generate Custom Previews feature. 
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​​To add your custom-prepared preview studio:
  1. ​​Select one or more 3ds max assets and choose the "Generate Custom Previews" command in the contextual asset menu. 
  1. ​​Click the "ADD STUDIOS" button in the main blue toolbar of the GENERATE CUSTOM PREVIEWS interface. 
  1. ​​In the "Add new preview studio" interface:
  • ​​Type in studio name;
  • ​​Browse the 3ds Max 3d studio scene;
  • ​​Browse an image to use as a preview for the studio;
  • ​​Add Description (optional);
  • ​​Add Author (optional);
  • ​​Choose the relevant render engine from the list.
  1. ​​Click the ADD STUDIO button. A notification with an important explanation will appear:
  • ​​"The preview studio file is now copied into the dedicated folder structure, and Connecter will use it from there when generating previews. Before using it, make sure that any related external files are discoverable by all Connecter instances by setting their locations and paths in the studio scene." 
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  • ​​IMPORTANT: Ensure you follow the instructions and set up any external file paths and locations accordingly. Connecter will copy only the studio's 3d file to the preview studios folder. You must ensure to copy any external files in the same folder (or subfolder) where Connecter will place the studio 3d scene or set absolute paths that all Connecter instances can access.
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​Setting up your custom studio scenes 

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​Cameras
​​Typically you'd like to add a camera in the studio scene. Multiple cameras are supported, and a preview will be generated from each camera in the scene. Connecter will use the active viewport to make the preview if there's no camera in the scene. In this case, Connecter will apply a predefined zoom and margins to frame the preview.
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​Positioning the asset
​​When the asset is merged into the studio scene to generate its preview, it's placed in the same position it has in its source file. So, if the asset is not placed at the centre of the coordinate system, the preview studio scene will probably render the wrong preview with the asset being off the view. As a general rule of thumb, ensure you save your assets at the centre of the coordinate system.
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​​Add an object in the studio scene using the following naming patterns for further asset positioning options:
  • ​​Object name: RenderHere_AlignPivot
  • ​​The asset is positioned to align its pivot with the RenderHere object's pivot point.
  • ​​Object name: RenderHere_AlignCenter
  • ​​The asset is positioned to align its geometrical centre (centre of the bounding box) with the RenderHere object's pivot point.
  • ​​Object name: RenderHere_AlignPivot_Scale
  • ​​The asset is positioned to align its pivot with the RenderHere object's pivot point. The asset is scaled to the RenderHere object's bounding box size.
  • ​​Object name: RenderHere_AlignCenter_Scale
  • ​​The asset is positioned to align its geometrical centre (centre of the bounding box) with the RenderHere object's pivot point. The asset is scaled to the RenderHere object's bounding box size.
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​TIPS:
  • ​​Use a RenderHere_AlignPivot object well-composed in the camera view to automatically place all assets regardless of their position in the source files. 
  • ​​Use a RenderHere_AlignPivot_Scale object to automatically place all assets, regardless of their position in the source files, and scale to fit the previews optimally. 
  • ​​Use RenderHere_AlignCenter or RenderHere_AlignCenter_Scale objects with their pivots aligned to their geometrical centres when you want to position the assets in the centre of the view (vs placed on the ground), as this will align the asset's geometrical centre with the centre of the volume defined by the helper object.
  • ​​Any rotation transformation applied on the RenderHere object will be inherited by the asset.
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​Other preview studio settings
​​By following these rules of thumb, you make sure your preview generation tasks render correctly and don't fail:
  • ​​Ensure all external file references are discoverable by all Connecter instances in the team.
  • ​​Ensure the studio scene doesn't use plugins (most notably, rendering engines) that are not installed on all Connecter instances in the team. 
  • ​​Consider using the same file units used for your assets. Units mismatches fail the preview generation tasks.
  • ​​Test and optimize your preview studios' rendering times. A preview generation task will fail if not finalized within 20 minutes. You can change this in settings but consider this carefully to avoid excessive rendering time, especially when processing many assets in batches.
​​Follow the link for a detailed description of the "Generate previews" error handling.  
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​Generating previews for material (.mat) assets 
​​In addition to the 3d models, the Generate Custom Previews feature will easily create previews for your material libraries. It works the same way, with the only difference being that you must place a shader ball object in your studio scene that the tool will use to apply the materials. To set up a preview studio scene for materials, place a shader ball object named ShaderBall. Ensure it has unwrapped texture coordinates with the correct scale. 
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​Feature setup: Starting 3ds Max dedicated instance

​​To start generating custom previews, you must have a running 3ds Max "Custom previews" dedicated instance. To start a 3ds Max "Custom previews" dedicated instance:
  1. ​​Go to the Integrations menu and choose the "Dedicated 3ds Max" option.
  1. ​​In the dialogue, select the "Custom Preview Generator" option.
  1. ​​In the dialogue, select your preferred version of 3ds Max.
  1. ​​To monitor the status of the dedicated instance, go to Tools and choose Process Manager. Find the "Custom Preview Generator" Dedicated 3ds Max and refer to the STATUS, MESSAGE, ACTIVITY and ERRORS columns for more details. To use the dedicated instance, its status must be Running. 
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​Working with the 3ds Max dedicated instance

​​To see the status of the 3ds Max "Custom previews" dedicated instance, go to the Tools menu and choose Process Manager. In the "Process Manager interface", look for the "Dedicated 3ds Max" with the "Custom Preview Generator" description and check its status in the STATUS column.
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​​To stop a 3ds Max "Custom previews" dedicated instance that is running:
  1. ​​Go to Tools and choose Process Manager.
  1. ​​Find the "Custom Preview Generator" Dedicated 3ds Max and click on its name. 
  1. ​​In the Process Details dialogue, click the Stop button.
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​​To start a 3ds Max "Custom previews" dedicated instance that has been stopped:
  1. ​​Go to Tools and choose Process Manager.
  1. ​​Find the "Custom Preview Generator" Dedicated 3ds Max and click on its name. 
  1. ​​In the Process Details dialogue, click the Start button.
  1. ​​In the dialogue, select your preferred option.
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​3ds Max dedicated instance troubleshooting

​​The most common reason for preview generation tasks to fail is if the 3ds Max "Custom previews" dedicated instance is not running:

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​Editing and removing studios

​​Preview studios downloaded from Connecter's cloud cannot be edited, but you can edit your custom-prepared studios. To edit a studio:
  1. ​​Make a selection and click the EDIT button in the main blue toolbar of the GENERATE CUSTOM PREVIEWS interface.
  1. ​​In the "Edit preview studio" interface, update the details you want and click the SAVE button.
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​​To remove studios:
  1. ​​Make a selection and click the REMOVE button in the main blue toolbar of the GENERATE CUSTOM PREVIEWS interface.
  1. ​​Confirm that you want to remove the selected studios. 
  • ​​IMPORTANT: When a studio gets removed, all of its content in the preview folder will be deleted. Make sure to keep a backup of your files to avoid data loss. 
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​Settings

​​To open the Generate Custom Previews settings, click the SETTINGS button in the main blue toolbar of the GENERATE CUSTOM PREVIEWS interface.
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  • ​​Use the Workspace studio folder to specify where Connecter will copy preview studios' 3d files and previews and organize all related metadata. 
  • ​​IMPORTANT: Ensure all Connecter instances within your team access the folder.   
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  • ​​Select the Ignore missing external files warnings option to generate previews even if there are missing external files for the preview studio or the asset being rendered. The default value is OFF, and it causes all preview generation tasks with missing external files errors to fail.
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  • ​​Select the Ignore missing plugins warnings option to generate previews even if there are missing plugins (render engines, etc.) for the preview studio or the asset being rendered. The default value is OFF, and it causes all preview generation tasks with missing plugins errors to fail.
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  • ​​The Task fails, and dedicated instance restarts if there’s no response for more than (min.) option sets the maximum allowed rendering time per task. The default value is 20, and all preview generation tasks that don't get rendered within this time frame fail. In such a case, Connecter closes the 3ds Max dedicated instance to stop the rendering process and automatically starts it again to handle further tasks. 
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​Previews Generation Queue

​​For each asset and each preview studio selected to generate a preview, Connecter adds a new task to the “Previews Generation Queue" (the Queue). Use this tool to monitor the status of all tasks. To open the Queue, use either of the two options:
  1. ​​Press the QUEUE button in the main blue toolbar of the GENERATE CUSTOM PREVIEWS interface.
  1. ​​Go to the Tools menu and choose Previews Generation Queue.
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​​The Queue lists all tasks with the newest on the top. Tasks are executed one after another, with the currently active task having a loader icon on the right end:
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​​A completed task has an OK icon on the task's right end:
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​Cancelling tasks.
​​You can cancel tasks in the list that are not yet started. To cancel a task, click the "x" button on the task's far right end:
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​​You can also cancel multiple tasks altogether by making a selection and clicking the CANCEL button in main blue toolbar of the Queue interface.
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​​If there are tasks in the Queue that are still waiting to be processed, Connecter will attempt to finalize them in the following situations:
  • ​​You close Connecter. Connecter will automatically process all remaining tasks in the Queue on the next start.
  • ​​The dedicated instance stops or crashes. 
  • ​​You log out from your Connecter Server account in Connecter.
  • ​​You connect to another workspace.
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​Tasks error handling.
​​Tasks can fail for various reasons. A warning icon appears on the task's right end when this happens. Hover over the icon to see a description of why the task has failed. Follow the link to see all details about task error handling. 
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​​When a task fails, you may want to check that asset to resolve the problem. To quickly go from a task in the Queue to the asset related to that task, click the LOCATE button in the main blue toolbar of the Queue interface:
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​Previews Generation Queue demonstration:
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​Network rendering

​​Currently, the dedicated instance cannot generate previews by using network rendering. 

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​Distributed rendering handling

​​Currently, the dedicated instance cannot generate previews by using distributed rendering.

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​Output handling

​​Any output specified in the preview studio will be ignored. Rendered previews are always saved in the respective asset locations.
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