Introducing 3ds Max® 2008

Appendix A. About the Companion CD

Topicsin this appendix include

• What You'll Find on the CD

• System Requirements

• Using the CD

• Troubleshooting

What You'll Find on the CD

If you need help with installing the software provided on the CD, refer to the installation instructions in the "Using the CD" section of this appendix. Note that trial, demo, or evaluation versions of software are usually limited either by time or functionality (for example, not letting you save a project after you create it).

Tutorial Files

For Windows

The CD is organized into folders for the major tutorials in the book, such as Alien Model, Hand, etc. Each folder contains all the files and support materials for that project. The CD also contains several .zip files, which contain scene files for the following: Biped Scene Files, Dynamics Scene Files, Lighting Scene Files, Rendering Scene Files, and Texture Scene Files. You will need to copy the .zip files onto your hard drive and unZip them to reveal the respective scene files, which are referenced throughout the book. If you do not have software to unzip the .zip files you can go to http://www.winzip.com/.

Before you load a scene file, make sure you set the project folder through the File menu to that exercise's project, as directed in the book. As you work through the exercises in the book and load the required scene files, if 3ds Max gives you the Missing External Files dialog (telling you it cannot find a path to the texture images) you can browse for the texture files' ...