Could you make V-ray mesh export remember the folder?

[Ihno]

I don't know if this is possible but its really annoying.
Can you write the path into the max scene so it would remember if we close max and reopen the scene?

[andy51]

Surely all vray meshes remember the folder they are created in, they even have a section at the top of the VRayProxy menu called MeshProxy params

[Ihno]

Yes, but I mean the source max file. The exporter itself should remember the path of the folder in which he exported the last time.
Sorry if I wasn't clear enough.

[andy51]

Let's get this straight. Say you create an object in a Max scene, you then export it is a vray mesh, and save it in a folder somewhere. The path to that folder, appears in the MeshProxy params, as per my image... Ok so now you save the file as test.max.. Later you start up Max, reopen the scene, select the vray mesh and look in the MeshProxy params section and there is the path to the vray mesh.

[Ihno]

I mean that field:


Max 2017 win 7 btw, might be a bug....

[andy51]

oh right, that's no bug, that's how max works, that's the default export folder, it will always go there, unless you explicitly create a project folder. Or explicitly change the defaults in preferences

I'd prefer to create a Project folder myself, mush neater

So you create a project folder example "My Project 01"... Create the scene and export one or more of them as vray meshes, making sure the folder you select is the export folder in "My Projects 01". Now save the max file in the scenes folder of "My project 01" and close Max.... Reopne Max, open the scene, select another object, to create another vray mesh file, and look at the file path in the dialog box, it's pointing where it was the last time you saved. Amazing isn't it

[Ihno]

Hm yes, you are right I didn't recognized that, thanks.

So the request should be:
Can you make it remember the folder, once somebody set something else than the max project folder?
I don't use that structure. Too many useless folders and some are unnecessary nested imo.
I think I'm probably not the only one.

[andy51]

Probably not. but once you have completed a project, there is nothing to stop you from , deleting any unused folders. Far as I know, if you set up a project this way and someone comes along and saves a vray mesh file to a different folder, from within the project, then you come along and want to save a vray mesh file, as you did before, to the export folder of the project folder, you wil see the default path, as you did before in the VRay Mesh Export dialog

Basically, you can do it two ways.

1) You can set a default path, under Customise > Configure User Paths and change the EXPORT folder to whatever you want to use. Only really useful, if you always save vray meshes to a particular folder. and it will not change, even if someone saves a vray mesh to a different folder, using the browse button, even if they save the scene

2) You can set up a project folder as I explained and once you save the vray mesh to that export folder in the project folder, the path will always appear, whenever you open that project

However, what Max will not do, is remember the folder you last saved to, if you do not follow either 1 or 2 above. It will remember it, for that particular Max session, but once you save your scene and close Max, it will, if you reopen the scene and try to save a vray mesh, revert back to the default export folder.. I don't know if the developers of Vray, could change that behaviour or not or even if they would want to try. It's the way Max has worked for years and in fact how Windows programs have worked for years too. Yes it is annoying to keep browsing to find the folder you last saved stuff too, unless you set up a project folder or set the default to something else.. but that sadly, is they way it is.. It's really a Windows thing, not a Max/Vray problem to be honest

[Ihno]

I want it to behave exactly like render to texture, its set to save in the image assets folder unless you choose a different folder.
I like also the idea of remembering it per object instead of per scene.
But I'd be happy if it would remember the folder per scene if this is easier to do.
I think per object would be more friendly for users who use the max project folder though.
Since it would show the path to the export folder again if you'd create a new object and export that.
That way everyone could be happy.

Edit: On the other hand you can export groups of objects in single V-ray meshes. Might be better to make it remember this per scene because of this.
Maby you can look where the most of the selected objects where saved last time... However, CG will know what to do, or not to do.