Chapter 4: Using Vault and the Asset Tracking System


How often do you go into your garage during the winter months? Unless you have a pair of warm overalls or a space heater, you probably just throw in any tools you use, the Christmas lights, spare quarts of oil, and the kids' bikes wherever they fit as you make a mad dash back into the warm house, and then when spring comes, you've got a real mess on your hands.

Max projects can be the same. During an aggressive project, Max files, textures, and render passes get saved all over the network. By the time the project is finished, you may have a hard time reusing things simply because you can't find anything. This dilemma is compounded when you work on a team with several individuals throwing stuff all over the place.

An asset management system can help with this problem by introducing a system that acts as a little secretary logging every object thrown to the network. This little secretary is also smart enough to keep track of the latest updates of all files, making sure that each file that is accessed includes the latest updates. It also locks any file that is being used to keep unwanted fingers out of the pie.

Setting Up Asset Tracking

Max's asset tracking features provides support for several different systems including Autodesk's Vault, Microsoft's Visual SourceSafe, CVS, and Perforce. Each of these systems can be accessed using Server image from book Launch Provider menu command in the Asset Tracking interface. This interface is opened with the File image from book Asset Tracking menu command (Shift+T).

Note 

In order for an asset tracking system to work with Max, it must con-form to the MSSCC standard.

For project teams that don't currently use an asset tracking system, you'll be happy to know that Autodesk has included a copy of its Vault system on the 3ds Max 9 install disc. Both the Vault Server and a Vault Client can be installed from the install discs. Just locate the Vault setup link on the first page of the install wizard under the Supplemental Tools section.

Note 

Installation and configuration of the Vault Server should be left to your network administrator. The administrator is also responsible for setting up user profiles, issuing usernames and passwords for accessing the system, and creating project folders.

For an asset tracking system, assets are defined as any file that is used as part of a project. This could include Max scene files, XRefs, bitmap textures, MAXScript files, and so on. One of the key benefits to the Vault asset management system is that is stores data in a hierarchical structure including files such as textures as dependents of the Max scene file.

Checking in and checking out

To request an asset from the asset tracking system, you "check out" the file. This command locks the file so you can edit it without worrying about others making changes at the same time. If another user tries to check out a file that is already checked out, he receives a polite message stating that the requested file is available for read-only access and lists you as the person who has the file checked out. The requested file can be loaded and viewed, but it cannot be edited.

When you're finished editing the file, you can "check in" the file, making it available for other users. As a file is checked in, a comment dialog box appears where you can enter a message about the latest changes. Over time, these comments are compiled into a historical list that marks the changes over the life of the file. The asset tracking system can also be used to recall the file at any point in its history.

Note 

Asset tracking systems such as Vault are very good at reminding you to check out and check in files so changes aren't lost. For example, if you make changes to a checked out Vault file and try to open another file, a dialog box appears reminding you to check the file back in before opening another file.

Logging in

The first step in using an asset tracking system is to log into the system. This lets the system know who you are, the access rights you have, and which name to place beside the assets you're editing. If you select either the File image from book Open from Vault menu command or the File image from book Asset Tracking menu command, the Vault Log In dialog box opens, as shown in Figure 4.1.

image from book
Figure 4.1: The Vault Log In dialog box opens when the File image from book Open from Vault menu command is used.

The Vault Log In dialog box requires a username and password. It also includes drop-down lists for selecting the Server and Database. A production facility may have several different asset tracking instances running at the same time, and a separate database would be established for each project.

Tip 

If you enable the Use these settings next session option, then the Vault Log In dialog box won't open again until Max is started again.

Selecting a working folder

When files are checked out from the asset tracking system, they are copied to a local directory on your current machine where the changes are saved until the file is checked back in. The first time you try to check out a file from the asset tracking system, the system asks you to select a working folder. This folder is a temporary folder where the checked out files are saved while being worked on. You can manually set the working folder by selecting the Server image from book Options menu command in the Asset Tracking interface.




3ds Max 9 Bible
3ds Max 9 Bible
ISBN: 0470100893
EAN: 2147483647
Year: 2007
Pages: 383

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