The Connection Extension for Autodesk® 3ds Max® 2010 software offers a range of new and enhanced features exclusively to Autodesk® Subscription program customers.

Streamlined Compositing with OpenEXR
Streamline your 3D-to-compositing workflow. A rewritten OpenEXR translator supports HDR workflows with advanced compositing applications with the following functionality:

Advanced options for transferring extra elements, such as camera information or scripted data, can reduce the number of iterations required to achieve a final result.
Store render elements and G-buffer channels to EXR layers, enabling the transport of layered HDR data for relighting rendered 3D scenes without going back to the 3D application.

Enhanced Interoperability with Design Data
Bring solid models from many of your favorite CAD packages into 3ds Max for visual enhancement. A new high-fidelity SAT data translator makes it easier to move solids-based data between 3ds Max and the Autodesk® Alias family of products, Autodesk® Inventor® Professional software, and certain other design products. The SAT translator enables:

Import of geometric boundary representation data for trimmed surfaces, solids, models, and assemblies as 3ds Max "bodies" (boundary representations based on NURBS).
Retention of imported data as the mathematical description of the surface. Determine and modify the conversion to polygons at any time.

Intelligent Workflows
Save time with new, more effective workflows for dealing with complex scenes.

Optimize display and rendering of imported solid and NURBS-based surfaces.
Fix imported bodies with new repair tools.
Quickly set up imported Google™ SketchUp™ software scenes in 3ds Max.
Select a layer from an OpenEXR file to use in a 3ds Max material. This functionality is similar to the way Adobe® Photoshop® software layers are used as textures in a material.

Extensive Connectivity with Google SketchUp
Start your project in Google SketchUp, and finesse it in 3ds Max. The Connection Extension for 3ds Max 2010 features a powerful new SKP file translator that enables you to bring your Google SketchUp scenes into 3ds Max. In addition, 3ds Max can now read thousands of free SketchUp models from the 3D Warehouse section of the Google website. The SKP translator includes:

Support for the double-faced materials workflow available in SketchUp, so arbitrary surface orientations don’t cause models to appear to be missing faces when displayed in 3ds Max.
Preservation of original pivot and scaling values of objects and instances.
Consolidation of material references. Multiple uses of the same SketchUp material are collected and referenced back to a single material, saving revision time.