Huge .max files?

[Iain McFadzen]

Having UVW mods in the stack can seriously increase file sizes. Just collapse the stack on a model every time you finish mapping it, the UVW coordinates wont be affected at all.

[LFShade]

Custom attributes also tend to pile up more and more as a file gets older, even if you're not adding them yourself. From what I understand, this mostly happens with materials. Check out ScriptSpot (http://www.scriptspot.com), I think someone wrote a script to get rid of unused CA's. Depending on the scene, this can remove a noticeable amount of the file-bloat.

[xynaria]

There appears to be a bug in Max when using editable poly that really kicks in when you use mirror weld then delete /mirror/weld etc which is the way most work at some point ...the file sizes then start to double exponentially and you can easily go from say a 1mb file to a 20mb file after a few series of ammendments. To get round this if you convert to editable mesh and back to poly again at regular intervals it seems tio keep it in check. This might be the cause. :)

[Ls3D]

I have experienced problems where attaches appear to create huge amounts of null data. Collasping the stack did not fix this problem so I cloned the faces off, deleted the original (offensive) geomety and saved the file. This 'fixed' the problem bringing file size back to expected levels. Try that if other suggestions don't pan out.

-Shea
www.Ls3D.com

:cool:

[FY]

sometimes the remove isolated vertices command also helps. it happend a couple of times that there were thousands of unused vertices in an object which made the maxfile 10times so big as before. Other reasons for exploding file sizes are if you convert parametrical objects or lofts into meshes or if you make instances unique.

[toast]

same thing happens when using surface tools/edit spline. Unless you collapse down periodically, the file retains every move of information you've made and sizes get ridiculous. For me, a good practice is to collapse down all the time and keep things clean, seperating models from the main scene for adjustments, etc.

just my 2 yen

[Joebount]

just a littl comment guys : zip your max files, sizes can fall to 20 times their original weights :)

[egz]

I think patch 3 in the 4.2.9 update adresses this very problem. Give it a try.

From the readme:
Custom Attributes
All Custom Attribute Definitions (CADs) are stored to a .max file whether or not they’re actually used.
CADs are now stored in .max or .mat files only if the CAD is actually used by a custom attribute stored in the file.

http://www.discreet.com/support/max/download/download.php3#3ds%20max%204.x

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