Ep.5 — Merge & Convert (Combining References and Restoring Links)

Summary: Use Merge to permanently bake a character into the current scene by severing the link, or use Convert to restore orphaned objects back under Fast-Ref's managed link system.

1. Merge — Permanently Severing the Link and Baking to Scene

Fast-Ref references are always dynamic links that track changes in the master rig file in real time.
However, at the final delivery stage of production or when handing files to an external studio, there are times when you want to permanently bake the character's rig and animation data into this single max file, completely cutting the external path dependency.

• When Merge is executed: With a single click, the entire virtually-referenced character rig is permanently merged as real, physical nodes inside the current .max file.
• Result: From this point on, no matter how much the rigger revises the original master file, the data inside this scene is independent and unaffected, and the single .max file can be opened perfectly on any other PC.

2. Convert — Restoring Orphaned Nodes Back into Reference Links

Conversely, imagine you have a raw bundle of character nodes that were manually merged into the scene, or copied in from another file. When you want to place these back under Fast-Ref's safe link management and track their revisions, Convert steps up.

1. Select the merged character bone group floating in the scene and execute Convert.
2. The data is registered back as a temporary control slot in the Fast-Ref table.
3. Manually re-point (Point) the master rig file path on disk that this slot should reference, and a complete file reference relationship is reactivated.

3. Clearly Distinguishing Remove vs Merge

Many artists confuse the two menus when trying to remove a reference from a scene.

• Remove: A cleanup action that deletes the character itself from the scene without a trace. (Delete character)
• Merge: Cuts only the external connection string to the master file, but preserves the character skeleton and animation inside the scene as regular objects. (Sever link and bake to scene)

🔄 Workflow Pipeline Summary

[master_mable.max on disk] 
            │ (Add link)
            ▼
┌─────────────────────────────────┐
│ Fast-Ref reference control state │
└─────────────────────────────────┘
            │
            ├─► (Remove) ──► Deleted from scene without trace (full cleanup)
            │
            └─► (Merge)  ──► Permanently baked as scene objects (link severed)
                                        │
                                        ▼ (when you want to manage it again)
                                  ┌─────────────────────────────────┐
                                  │ Convert ──► Re-link path ──► Restore link │
                                  └─────────────────────────────────┘