Bitmap reload 3DS MAX

Strkl

Maybe this has already been asked but here I go :

When I'm texturing, I just put my textures (PSD / TGA or whatever) in max for preview...But when I make some change in photoshop and save them, most of the time 3Ds Max doesn't update them.

And this is true for both PSD and TGA, the only thing I can do to force max to display my bitmaps, is to either create a new material, and reassign all the textures, or reboot max.

Does anyone have the same issue ? It's not really that bad, but it's becoming reallly annoying.

Thank you in advance

unstoppablex

yes I have the same issue as well. Normally disabling the material and enabling it fixes it.

Butthair

I've noticed when a single shader has too many textures (like 3 or more usually) it will stop updating. I usually do what unstoppablex recommends or I'll click the little lock symbol (should be to the right of Ambient and Diffuse). I might also toggle hardware shading (the little checker-box to show it up in viewport).

All methods do the same thing for me. I've notice the reload button with the bitmap doesn't work a lot - go figure.

unstoppablex

yeah reload button is pretty crap. I'd even click view image and see my updated texture pop up in the window, but not on the model. Hopefully autodesk fixes it at some point.

Strkl

Thanks guys, that should do it

Mark Dygert

This seems to happen more often when the system is running low on memory and I'm resaving big texture files quickly.

When memory starts to get low I notice Max takes a while to update textures, if it gets resaved while max is spooling in the new texture, it stops trying to update and pretty much says "ok this file is going to be constantly updating and I can't keep up so... screw it!".

It can kind of be solved (at least for me) with changes to my workflow. If you're the type who makes tiny changes and bounces back and forth between PS and Max you might want to either slow down and let max catch up, or fight the urge to paint a pixel and run to max to check it, instead make a bunch of little changes that add up, before checking it in max.

Technically, I would love it if max would alert you or tell you what's going on when it stops updating and give you a path to fix it, but it doesn't...

Ruz

easiest way is to manually reload ie reselect the texture in the folder where it is stored.
always works for me but still annoying

monster

Try typing FreeSceneBitmaps() into the listener and hit enter. This might help. If it works just drag and drop the text from the listener onto the toolbar.

Eric Chadwick

Also sometimes it helps to leave the Material Editor open, and have the bitmap node selected.

kurt_hectic

I have found solution for this:

1)MaxScript >turn ON MacroRecorder
2)Click on material (In my case Multi material) and then 'Go Forward to Sibling' one by one to the end. You should get sth like this:
"meditMaterials[14].material1.DirectX_Manager.enabled = off
meditMaterials[14].materialList[2].DirectX_Manager.enabled = off
meditMaterials[14].materialList[3].DirectX_Manager.enabled = off
meditMaterials[14].materialList[4].DirectX_Manager.enabled = off
meditMaterials[14].materialList[5].DirectX_Manager.enabled = off
meditMaterials[14].materialList[6].DirectX_Manager.enabled = off
meditMaterials[14].materialList[7].DirectX_Manager.enabled = off
meditMaterials[14].materialList[8].DirectX_Manager.enabled = off
meditMaterials[14].materialList[9].DirectX_Manager.enabled = off
meditMaterials[14].materialList[10].DirectX_Manager.enabled = off
"

3)Select recorded 'clicks' in listener and drag and drop them on some toolbar
4)That's it! Work's super duper fast and you can also can create a key shortcut for this macro

poopipe

If this works on DX shaders that reference bitmaps the network Im coming round your house to give you a kiss

Jason Young

Eric Chadwick wrote: »

Also sometimes it helps to leave the Material Editor open, and have the bitmap node selected.

This is what I do, and it seems to work pretty consistently.

cptSwing

This has happened to me intermittently in all versions of max, ever since I started using it. Annoying.

thomasp

regular occurence here, especially with DX-shaders in use. happens almost always in a session after a number of reloads when using (several) large-ish images. sometimes max get's unstable, too.
one workaround for me is to temporarily scale down all textures in the scene that i need to be visible in the viewport but am not working on right now to something like 256x256 or 512x512.

at home i exclusively use marmoset for texturing/previewing. it doesn't choke or crash at all and so far i haven't managed to overload it even when stuffing plenty of 4k's into the scene. renders much nicer, too.
downside obviously that changing anything on the geo means re-exporting and the preview in there can be misleading by being 'too good'/fancy.

S_ource

I have the texture i work on selected in the material editor then just press (m) to pop up the material editor and that texture you have selected will update.