FAQ:

Is the 3dsmax7 or 3dsmax8 version a paid upgrade if I am using the 3dsmax5/6/7 version?
No. While a new license will need to be issued, it is a free upgrade.

The Object Properties restore materials is good, but I really want to be assigning just a few materials to my objects and want to have these materials always in/editable in the Material Editor. Is this possible?
Yes. The in-built material capture/restore is just one way to have RPManager restore the materials you want to an object or objects. Another way that works well is to use the Before Script feature to do the assigning of materials in the material editor by position in the material editor (so moving a material is bad, but it means that the material that is restored is always available and editable) - when combined with the Object Properties Capture Sets it is not hard to setup (and I plan to do an interface for it sometime soon) and requires minimal scripting. If you want to try this alternative material setup up email me and I will send you the instructions.

How do I have objects assigned to different passes affect each other? ie the objects visible in pass 1 cast shadows on the objects in pass 2?
Objects assigned to visibility sets from different passes will not affect each other, but you can make it do what you want it to easily. For what you want and using the light version you can do this:
1. Instance all the objects that need to cast shadows
2. add these to the visibility set of the pass that needs them to cast shadows (adding via the visibilty columns Right Click menu is the easiest way to do this - don't worry if you have them selected and then restore a pass that hides them as they are still selected and can be added)
3. Then either set the node properties of these instanced objects to not visible to camera (and not visible to reflection as well if you are raytracing any reflections), or assign a completely transparent material (if you are using raytraced shadows with transparency turned on then this would not work).
What you will end up with is objects that cast shadows but are not visible.
Instance rather than copy as then the memory overhead is virtually nothing, they stay updated, and modifiers like Skin will not get themselves tied in knots.
The alternative is to use the full version - with that you could have just the one object be both an invisible shadow caster in one pass, as well as being a renderable object in another pass - by using the captured properties feature which can capture either the material assigned or the object properties you need. Instanced duplicates are in some ways a less complicated way to do this.

I like it, but it doesn't do exactly what I need to fit into our pipeline and I would like it to. Any chance of adding xxx?
If you have any wishes, please email. If you would like it customised to fit your workflow we are available for custom tool development. The custom rollout has been designed so that you can add your own tools to the interface with some maxscript experience.

How do I remove RPManager?
If you installed an RPManager program group when installing you will find an uninstall option in there. Failing that, in the maxroot\scripts\RPManager(lite)\Uninstall directory you will find the uninstall application - just run this.

RPManager/Lite keeps on crapping out on me with errors. What's up?
If you have a repeatable error with RPManager save the contents of the maxscript listener to a text file and email that to us at bugs@ along with a brief description and ideally a screen snapshot of the situation at the time of the problem. In 3.1 or later there is a 'Save Bug Report' item in the Help menu that can collect some information for emailing.

What if my max license dies and is replaced, will RPManage lose its license and hold me up?
The RPManager license is tied to your max license, and if that is replaced you will need a new RPManager license so contact licensing@rpmanager.com. A broken license will still allow use of 2 passes, and can be used to submit from scenes that have more than 2 passes - it just cannot edit them or export/import RPM data - so workflow should not be completely halted while licenses are reissued.

Who developed RPManager and RPManagerLite?
RPManager's lead developer: Grant Adam.

Why is RPManagerLite at version 2.x/3.x already?
RPManager has been used in production for well over 2 and a half years. Version 1 was for R4 (never released publicly), version 2 is for 3dsmax5.1, and the version for 3dsmax6 is version 3. Depending on future changes in 3dsmax the version numbers may or may not continue to increment in this way.

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