When 3ds Max Insists on Saving What You Didn't Ask For
In the universe of 3D modeling, few things are more frustrating than those backup files that pop up like mushrooms after the rain when you merge scenes. 3ds Max seems to have an unconditional love for creating backup copies, even though nobody asked it to. Fortunately, there is a way to tame this archival enthusiasm of the software, although it requires a bit of patience and technical knowledge.
"Automatic backup files are like those relatives who visit unannounced: well-meaning, but terribly annoying"
The Magic Switch Few Know About
The solution to this problem hides in the Scene Converter menu, a corner of the software that many users don't even know exists. By deactivating the Backup Original Files option, you can prevent this automatic file generation. But there's a small detail that turns this solution into a game of patience:
- The setting is not saved between sessions in some versions
- It requires repeating the process every time you start a new project
- It's easy to forget until the first unwanted files appear
The Power of Automating the Tedious
For those who prefer definitive solutions over temporary patches, there is a brilliant alternative: a startup script that does the dirty work for you. The magic of automation boils down to:
- Creating a simple text file with one line of code
- Saving it with a specific name in the correct folder
- Forgetting about the problem forever
The code in question is so simple that even the most novice user could write it without errors: SceneConverter.BackupOriginalFiles = off. Once implemented, it acts like a digital butler that anticipates your needs before they arise.
A Relief for Modern and Older Versions
The best part of this solution is its compatibility with versions ranging from 3ds Max 2012 to the most recent ones. This means that:
- There's no excuse to keep suffering from unnecessary files
- The workflow can be cleaner and more efficient
- You reclaim disk space that was previously occupied by useless copies
In the end, this little trick demonstrates that sometimes the most effective solutions are the simplest ones. Who would have thought that a single line of code could save so many clicks of frustration 💻