[choo-chee]

I've noticed that "export all" creates larger files, than the TMP files created when I click the "render" button to test my scenes. Is it possible to have a script for a shelf button that will do what the "render button" does but without actually starting the render and write a file that has "MXS" extension and not "TMP" ? thanks.

[Forum Moderator]

Hello,

I'm sorry for the late reply. Hopefully, this is still useful.

If you go to the Render Settings panel > Maxwell Render tab > General Settings section > and activate the "Persistent MXS" option, the same file that is used for rendering will be stored in the path set in the MXS Path box.
When rendering with Persistent MXS off (the default), the plug-in writes the scene to a temporary file which is removed after the render is finished. Enabling this option will leave the exported file on disk. This is useful if you ever need to resume or redo a render. If the MXS Path control is empty, the output scene path is used to store the MXS file too.

The MXS obtained this way is smaller because it only includes what is strictly required for rendering: flattened geometry positions, materials, etc., while the exported MXS file obtained using Export All, includes objects' hierarchy, groups, and other stuff that is not strictly needed for the render.

Also, if you wish, you can launch a render, copy the TMP file and rename it to MXS. It should work as well.

I hope this helps.
Fernando