Using Autodesk Vault

Max's asset tracking system, Vault, is a long-standing Autodesk product used extensively by AutoCAD teams around the world. It is a robust, stable product that fits well into any production pipeline that uses Max.

After a Vault server has been installed and configured on your network and you know your username, password, server, and project name, you can log in and access Vault files.

NEW FEATURE 

Version 5 of Vault ships with 3ds Max 9. Its new features include the ability to work with proxy objects.

Opening Vault files

Any Vault project files can be opened using the File Open from Vault menu command. This opens a special file dialog box, shown in Figure 4.2, listing all the files in the folder where you logged in.

Figure 4.2: The Open File from Vault dialog box lists the available Vault files.

Note 

The Open from Vault menu command appears in the File menu only after the Vault client has been installed on your local computer.

Opening a Vault file is different from checking the file out, but whenever a file is selected from the Open File from Vault dialog box, a warning dialog box, shown in Figure 4.3, opens and asks if you want to check out the file. This dialog box includes an option to Always perform this action. If this option is enabled, then the action of checking out when a Vault file is opened happens automatically.

Figure 4.3: Warning dialog boxes such as this one remind you to check out files.

You can set which warning dialog boxes appear and which are handled automatically using the Options Prompts menu command in the Asset Tracking interface. This command presents a list of all the available prompt dialog boxes and lets you right-click on each to have it appear or not appear.

Using the Asset Tracking interface

Although the Vault client, called Vault Explorer, can be installed using the install DVD and used to check out Vault files, the Asset Tracking interface, shown in Figure 4.4, is part of the Max interface and takes the place of the Vault client for Max users. The Asset Tracking interface is opened using the File Asset Tracking menu command. It may also be opened using the Shift+T keyboard shortcut. This interface also allows you to access commands in the main Max interface while it is open.

Figure 4.4: The Asset Tracking interface shows all the checked out files and the status of each.

Vault files that are opened appear in this interface including all dependent files such as texture bitmaps, XRefs, photometric files, render files, and so on. Using the buttons at the top of the interface, you can Refresh the current list to see the latest updates, view the Status Log (which is a running list of all Vault commands), and change the view between a Tree view and a Table view.

To the left of each filename is a small icon that marks the status of the file. These icons are handy when the Tree view is enabled, or you can read the status as text in the Table view. The Table view includes separate columns for displaying the Name, Full Path, Status, Proxy Resolution, and Proxy Status of the various files.

On the left side of the interface are two buttons for filtering the assets. The first button highlights the material and map assets. The second button highlights the assets for the selected object.

The Asset Tracking dialog box has commands for checking files in and out under the File menu. Each time a file is checked in a confirmation dialog box appears, as shown in Figure 4.5. In this dialog box, you can enter a comment about the latest changes. The file is then saved to the Vault server with an incremented version number. The ability to save and keep track of different versions of a file is known as "version control" and is one of the key features of an asset management system.

Figure 4.5: The dialog box where comments on the latest changes are entered appears every time a Vault file is checked in.

An Undo Checkout command is available in the File menu that throws away the current changes and restores the current Vault file.

Getting and adding Vault files

After a database is created for a project and you've logged in, you can add open files to the Vault server using File Add Files menu command. This command adds the current file to the Vault project folder, but the file must be saved to the local working folder before it can be added to the Vault folder. Multiple files such as bitmap textures can be selected by holding down the Ctrl key while clicking on them; you also can add multiple files at the same time using this command.

The File Get from Provider menu command does the opposite. It downloads any selected files from the Vault folder to your local working folder.

If you're missing files, such as a texture that has been moved to a different local folder, you can use the File Browse menu command to locate the missing file.

Loading older file versions

Each time a file is checked in it is given a new version number. This makes it possible to load older versions of a file. For example, if you want to reuse a character made for a previous game, but you want to access the character before any textures were applied, you can locate and load the version saved just before textures were applied.

Older file versions can be found in the History dialog box, which is also found in the File menu. This dialog box, shown in Figure 4.6, lists all the different versions of a file along with their creation dates, their creator, and any comments entered when the file was checked in. To load an older version, simply select the file from the list and click the Get Version button.

Figure 4.6: The History dialog box lets you access older versions of a file.

Changing asset paths

The Path menu includes options for setting and changing the paths for the various assets. The Highlight Editable Assets command selects all assets in the Asset Tracking interface that have paths that can change. Typically, only the base Max file loaded from the Vault cannot be edited. The Set Path command opens a simple dialog box where you can browse to a new path for an asset. This is helpful if the asset has moved and is marked as missing. The Path menu also includes commands for retargeting the root path, which is the path that all assets have in common, stripping the path from an asset so that only the filenames are visible, making the path absolute or relative to the project folder, and converting paths to the Universal Naming Convention (UNC).

Working with proxies

The Proxy System lets you use proxy texture maps in place of high-resolution maps across all objects in the scene. Using the Proxies menu, you can enable the use of proxies, set the global settings for the proxy system, and set the proxy resolution to use. The table view also displays the current proxy resolution for each asset and its status.

CROSS-REF 

Bitmap Proxies can be used outside of Vault. For information on using them, see Chapter 43, "Learning Rendering Basics."

Tutorial: Editing a Vault asset

The real advantage of an asset tracking system comes when working with a team. It allows only one person to work on an asset at a time, but still lets others view the file as needed.

To edit a Vault asset, follow these steps:

1. Select the File Open from Vault menu command. In the Vault Log In dialog box that appears, enter the correct Username, Password, Server, and Database, and then press the OK button.

2. In the Open File from Vault dialog box that appears, select the asset file that you want to edit and click the Open button. A dialog box appears asking if you want to check out the requested file. Click the Yes button, and the asset is loaded into the Max interface.

3. Select the File Asset Tracking menu command (or press the Shift+T shortcut) to open the Asset Tracking interface. The opened file appears in the interface with all its dependents and a small check mark icon to the left of its name to indicate that it is checked out, as shown in Figure 4.7.

   
   Figure 4.7: The Asset Tracking interface shows the checked out file along with its dependents.

4. Make the desired edits to the Max file, and save the file with the File Save menu command. This saves the file in the working folder.

5. In the Asset Tracking interface, select the File Checkin menu command. A dialog box appears where you can enter comments concerning the changes you've just made. Enter the comments, and press OK. The file is updated on the server and made available for others to edit it.