Exporting in 3ds Format (3D only)

Different portions of the drawing can be selected for export to the .3ds file format used by Autodesk 3ds Max software, version 3.0 and higher.

To export a 3ds file:

1. If 3D objects from only one layer should be exported, make that layer active. If only selected objects should be exported, select the objects.

2. Select File > Export > Export 3DS (3D only).

3. The Export 3DS Options dialog box opens; the options available on the lower part of the dialog box depend on which group of items were selected for export.

►    Click to show/hide the parameters.

Parameter	Description
Export
Selected Objects in Current Layer	Exports only selected 3D objects from the current layer; if no objects are selected, all 3D objects from the active layer are exported
All Visible Objects in Current Layer	Exports all visible 3D objects from the current layer (including objects in design layer viewports). Exclude or include specific types of objects using the check boxes; for example, export walls but not lights.
All Visible Objects in All Layers	Exports all visible 3D objects from all layers in the Vectorworks file (including objects in design layer viewports). Exclude or include specific types of objects using the check boxes; for example, export walls but not lights.
Quality	Set the conversion quality of 3D objects that have curved surfaces. Quality is determined by the number of polygons in the export; using fewer, larger polygons results in lower quality. Exporting more polygons slows down the export and increases the size of the output file.
Export Objects	Exports all kinds of Vectorworks 3D objects except walls, 3D loci, symbols, lights, and plug-in objects
Export 3D Loci	Exports each 3D locus as a one-vertex 3ds mesh
Export Walls	Exports walls
Export 3D Symbols	Exports each 3D symbol as a group of 3D meshes
Export Plug-in Objects	Exports each plug-in object as a group of 3D meshes
Export Lights	Exports Vectorworks light objects as 3ds light objects. Vectorworks point lights are exported as 3ds omni lights, and Vectorworks directional and spot lights are exported as 3ds spot lights.
Export Current View as Camera	If the current view is set with one of the perspective options (Narrow Perspective, Normal Perspective, Wide Perspective, or a custom perspective), this option exports the view as a 3ds camera object
Scale	Opens the Export 3DS Scale dialog box, for specifying a scale to apply to all exported objects; see Scaling 3ds Objects for Export
Export Materials	Exports colors that are attached to the exported objects as 3ds materials; this includes colors both from the Attributes palette and from render textures
Export Textures as	If Export Materials is selected, this option exports each render texture to a texture image file. Select the export file format from the list. Exported image files are automatically named with sequential numbers starting at zero. For example, a Vectorworks file with two textures would export two image files named Textr0.jpg and Textr1.jpg. When exporting multiple drawings with textures, be sure to save them to different folders—otherwise, new textures will overwrite existing exported textures.

4. Select the types of objects to export, and then click Export.

5. Specify the export file name and destination, and then click Save.

Scaling 3ds Objects for Export

The scaling of 3ds objects is applied to all exported objects.

To scale 3ds objects during export:

1. From the export dialog box, click Scale.

2. The Export 3DS Scale dialog box opens. Choose whether to scale the object(s) by custom dimensions or by scale factor.

►    Click to show/hide the parameters.

Parameter	Description
(3DS) Model Width/Height/Depth	Displays the original dimensions of the object(s) selected for import or export; if there are multiple objects, the scaling center is the center of the selection bounding box
Custom	Allows entry of custom dimensions for imported or exported objects in the Desired Width, Desired Height, and Desired Depth fields. Select Maintain Proportions to automatically adjust the proportions when a custom width, height, or depth is entered.
Scale	Allows entry of a scaling factor to be applied to imported or exported objects. Either select a Scale from the list, or select Custom from the top of the list and enter a Custom Scale value. When the scale factor changes, the dimension values also change to show the exact size of the selection bounding box for the given scale.

3. Click OK to save the scaling information.

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