Copy Paste Mate

About

Copy Paste Mate is a 3dsmax script for copying and pasting geometry between scenes or sharing them over the network with your team members, while porting any assets in the process.

Version Requirement

3dsmax 2020+

Features

• 3 local slots visible to the current user only
• 3 network slots visible to your team members over the network
• option to choose the snapshot visual style (shaded, clay, acrylic, graphite etc)
• choose a different max version for the saved geometry ( 3 versions bellow from the current one)
• center the objects into the viewport based on the current view, before creating the snapshot
• automatically zoom to pasted objects (in non-camera views only)
• collect and relink assets when copying
• option to collect assets into a custom folder instead of user repository folder
• rename duplicate assets name
• rename duplicate sequence file names (ifl frames, point cache frames)
• automatically rename duplicate geometry and materials or ask for confirmation
• lock slot data while is being modified to prevent data corruption
• support for multi-session settings (last closed instance settings will be remembered)
• shows slot info data (source file, size, number of assets) as tool-tip
• option to clear the local or network repository current user data
• option to refresh network repository data without restarting the script

Known Limitations

The script can not identify external assets for:

• VrayVolumeGrid
• Phoenix FD FireSmokeSim
• Phoenix FD LiquidSim
• GrowFX Cache

These type of objects will be copied but their external assets will remain in their original locations.

Performance Notes

The speed of the UI and general actions depends on:

• the size of the scene being copied/pasted
• the size of assets referenced by the copied/pasted geometry
• the current available network bandwidth
• some NAS drives or secondary Hard Disks are going to sleep after being idle for too long and that can make the script to freeze while the drive becomes available
• the number of user profiles in the network repository
• the available GPU memory

Install

• Drag and drop the .mzp in the 3dsmax window
• Check Accept EULA
• Press Install button
• The installer will open the Customise User Interface in the correct category. You can manually locate the script at any time in the Toolbars tab, "CiprianPal" category. Drag Copy Paste Mate script to a toolbar for future easy access.

Activation

Activation dialog will show during the first run or can be accessed via UI during trial period from the About tab.

Fill in the required fields with the email used during the purchase and the License Key received from Gumroad and press Submit button.

Uninstall

• Option A:
  • Start the script
  • Click About tab
  • Click Uninstall button
• Option B:
  • Drag and drop the .mzp in the 3dsmax window
  • Press Uninstall button

How To Use

• Open script
• Click on Settings tab
• Choose Network Repository location
• Configure Copy/ Paste/ Preview settings
• Navigate to Local tab to start creating slots visible only by you
• Navigate to Network tab to see other team members slots or to create slots visible over the network

License

Single-seat License can be installed on one PC and activated once.

Site licenses can be installed on any PCs from an organisation and has no limit for the number of activations.

Roadmap

• 50 purchases : add option for network slots to be modified by other users

Trial Version

You can download a 7 days trial version from here:

https://cippall.gumroad.com/l/wzyxx

F.A.Q.:

Can I add more slots?

While this is something that was considered during the design stage, in practice too many slots multiplied by the number of users can make the app extremely slow. The six slots available (3 local and 3 network) will be enough for most users.

The purpose of this script is to allow fast transfer of data from one scene to another. The slots are to be used only as a temporary location not as a library tool or a backup solution.

Why are pasted geometry assets showing as UNC even though the network repository is pointing to a mapped drive ?

Check Asset Tracker > Paths > Preferences options and untick Convert File Paths To UNC. This will prevent 3dsmax to automatically convert merged objects assets path to UNC.

Why can’t I edit other users slot?

You can only paste other user slots, copying and deleting is reserved to their owner.

How can I check where the slot data is being saved?

Double Click on a slot to open its location in Windows Explorer.

What happens when a slot gets deleted?

All the slot data gets cleared(3dsmax files and textures). Any user that pasted the objects into their scene will not be affected by this action.

During paste, slot assets are copied in the user repository assets or their custom assets folder.

What happens when I clear the local repository?

All current user slots data and assets from the local repository gets deleted. Use this with caution, as geometry that was pasted without using a custom assets folder will loose their assets.

What happens when I clear the network repository?

Only the current user network repository data and assets gets deleted. Any other user that used your slots are not affected by this action.

Can I set the repository location in a Dropbox or Google Drive folder?

No. The network repository needs to be set on a network path or a mapped drive. Cloud storage apps can lock sometimes files and that could affect the script performance.

Support

For support, bugs reports or suggestions reply directly to your Gumroad receipt email.