How to use EPC, full user guide

How to install EPC

Temporarily disable Windows Firewall or other application blocking Internet access on your computer, as well as VPN services and programs (you can enable them again after installing EPC)
Run 3DS Max as Administrator
Go to the 3DS Max Scripting ► Run Script menu and select the plugin mzp-file
Paste your personal serial number
Click the Install button
Remove all other scripts and plugins that control cameras and their settings

How to create buttons for quick access to EPC panels

Go to the 3DS Max menu Customize ► Customize User Interface
Go to the Toolbars tab
Create a new toolbar and name it EPC
Drag the created panel up to an empty space in the 3DS Max toolbar
Find category HAIKO VISUAL
Drag Open EPC Camera Switcher, Open EPC LightMix Editor and Open EPC Converter one by one onto the new panel to create buttons

How to create EPC hotkeys

Go to 3DS Max menu Customize ► Hotkey Editor
Click on any line in the list and type «Open» on your keyboard
Scroll down the list and click on the line Open EPC Camera Switcher
Click Press key... in the field and press the desired key (for example / on a numeric keypad) and press Assign
Find the line below in the list Open EPC LightMix Editor
Click Press key... in the field and press the desired key (for example * on a numeric keypad) and press Assign
Click Done

How to use EPC settings

Click the EPC Switcher button on the EPC toolbar (or your designated keyboard key) to open the EPC Camera Switcher panel
Click on the button with the gear icon
In the Camera Buttons block, set the maximum number of cameras that you previously had in your projects
The lower the value, the faster the contents of the Camera Switcher panel will be updated
Do not specify high values if your projects do not plan to have such a large number of cameras
If you open a scene with a number of cameras exceeding the value in the settings, the new maximum value will be set automatically (3DS Max will need to be restarted)
Go to the 3DS Max Start-up block
Tick the checkbox if you want the Camera Switcher panel to automatically open and snap to the left edge of the screen when you launch 3DS Max (recommended)
After making changes, click OK and restart 3DS Max

Camera Switcher

How to use Camera Switcher

How to dock Camera Switcher panel to the screen

Click the EPC Switcher button on the EPC toolbar (or your designated keyboard key) to open the EPC Camera Switcher panel
Drag the panel by its title to the left edge of the screen to dock it
To create a Camera Switcher tab next to other opened 3DS Max panels (such as Layers) – drag the Camera Switcher panel by its title inside another opened 3DS Max panel

How to add EPC to all cameras

Go to the EPC Camera Switcher panel
Grey NO EPC label means that EPC does not yet control cameras in the scene
Click Add EPC to all Cameras – all NO EPC labels will be replaced with current view resolution numbers

Switching between cameras

To switch to the camera view, click on the button with the name of the desired camera
Use the ▲ and ▼ arrow buttons at the top of the panel to move between views up or down in the list
Click the Target button to select the camera target
Click the All button to select the camera and its target together

How to create a new view in 1 click

Hold Shift on the keyboard and click on the button with the name of the desired camera
A new camera will be created with the changed name of the previous camera and the same EPC settings

How to rename a camera in 1 click

Hold Ctrl on your keyboard and click on the button with the name of the desired camera
Enter a new name for the camera and click Rename

How to use colored labels

Colored labels to the left of the camera buttons make it much easier to navigate the Camera Switcher if your scene has a lot of rooms and cameras
One color is automatically assigned to one group of cameras with similar names
We strongly do not recommend using standard automatic camera names such as CoronaCamera001, CoronaCamera002 – it is better to name the cameras Kitchen_001, Kitchen_002 and Living room_001, Living room_002, etc. This will allow you to visually separate groups of cameras by color, as well as send only cameras of the same color to Batch Render in 1 click (see section Batch Render in this guide below)

Image size & camera settings

How to change image resolution and camera settings

How to set the image size for each camera

Click on the button with the desired camera in the Camera Switcher panel
Go to the Image Size & Camera section
Use the W and H fields to set the desired width and height of the image
Use the Lock button to make the W and H fields dependent on each other
Use the /2 and x2 buttons to make the image size 2 times smaller or larger
Press any of these buttons while holding Shift to apply changes to all cameras at once

How to change view proportions

Use the FF (Free Frame) button to change the image width W without changing the location of objects in the view
Click Swap to swap the values of the W and H fields
Click Square to make the W and H fields the same (square frame)
Press any of the 16:9, 2:1, 4:3, 3:2 and 5:4 buttons to apply standard aspect ratio
Press any of the buttons while holding Shift to apply this to all cameras

How to set the largest side for all cameras

Click Set largest side for all EPC in any camera
The largest value from the W and H fields will be applied to the largest side for each camera, while maintaining the image's aspect ratio

How to set the current image resolution for all cameras

Click Apply to all EPC in any camera
Values from the W and H fields will apply to all cameras

How to use image size Presets

Go to the Resolution Presets block
Click Add to add the current image resolution as a preset
After adding presets, you can select the desired preset from the list <Select Preset>
All saved presets will be available in any scene with EPC
Click Delete to remove the selected preset from the list

How to change FOV, Focal I., ISO, F-Stop, Shutter speed, DOF, Vertical tilt and Clipping

Adjust the Field Of View value to change the FOV
Adjust the value in the Focal l. field to change the Focal length
Adjust the value in the ISO field to change the ISO
Adjust the value in the F-Stop field to change the F-Stop
Adjust the value in the Shutter speed field to change the Shutter speed
Turn on the checkbox to the left of DOF to enable Depth Of Field
Turn on the checkbox to the left of Automatic vertical tilt to enable Automatic vertical tilt
Adjust the value in the Shift field to change the Automatic vertical tilt
Turn on the checkbox to the left of Near Clip to change camera clipping values

How to align the camera and its target along the axes

Click Align X to align the current camera and its target along the X axis
Click Align Y to align the current camera and its target along the Y axis
Click Align Z to align the current camera and its target along the Z axis

How to rotate and reverse camera view

Press ◄ to rotate the camera view 45° counterclockwise in the Z axis
Press ► to rotate the camera view 45° clockwise in the Z axis
Press Reverse to reverse the camera view in 1 click

Batch Render

How to create a Batch Render queue in 1 click

How to set folder and file type for all cameras

Click any camera button in the Camera Switcher panel
Go to the Batch Render section
Click Select in the Batch Render output path block
Select a folder to save Batch Render files (never use cyrillic names!)
Select a file type (do not specify a file name at all!) and click OK
Now the name of the final folder for saving files is displayed on the button
Hover over the button to see the full path for saving the files
Click Clear if you need to remove the previously specified path for saving files

How to add a camera to the Batch Render queue Method 1

Go to the Camera Switcher panel
Click on [B] to the left of a camera to send only that camera to the Batch Render queue

Method 2

Go to the Send to Batch Render block of the EPC
Click This EPC to add the current camera to the Batch Render queue

How to add a group of cameras of the same color to the Batch Render queue

Go to the Сamera Switcher panel
Hold Shift and click on [B] to the left of the camera of the desired color
The entire group of cameras of this color will be sent to the Batch Render queue

How to add all cameras to the Batch Render queue Method 1

Go to the Camera Switcher panel
Click All EPC to Batch Render at the bottom of the panel

Method 2

Go to the Send to Batch Render block of the plugin
Click All EPC to add all cameras to the Batch Render queue
Click Clear Batch list to clear the Batch Render queue if necessary

Corona Sun

How to use Corona Sun for each camera

How to set Corona Sun for each camera

Click the desired camera button in the Camera Switcher panel
Go to the Corona Sun section
Select the desired Corona Sun from the Corona Sun for this Camera list
To select several Corona Suns at once, hold down Ctrl on your keyboard and select several Corona Suns from the list
Adjust the intensity and size of Corona Sun in the Sun Parameters section

How to select Corona Sun and its target in a scene

Select the desired Corona Sun from the list
Click Select Sun to select the sun in the scene
Click Select Target to select the sun's target in the scene
Click Select both to select the sun and its target in the scene

How to set common LightMix channel for all Corona Sun

Go to the Sun LightMix Channel block
Select the LightMix channel to be used for all Corona Suns in the scene from the channel drop-down list
All existing Corona Suns in the scene, as well as all Corona Suns that will be created in the scene, will be automatically added to this LightMix channel

HDRI

How to set HDRI for each camera

How to add HDRI maps to EPC

Go to the Corona Sky & HDRI Map section
Click Add HDRI tab in MEditor to create a new «HDRI» tab in the Material Editor
Open the Slate Material Editor (do not use the compact material editor!)
Go to the «HDRI» tab in the material editor
Upload HDRI files via CoronaBitmap (regular Bitmaps are not supported – use Corona Converter to convert Bitmaps to CoronaBitmap)
Add a Color Correction or CoronaColorCorrect map to each CoronaBitmap if necessary
All new maps will appear in the Environment for this Camera list automatically
Click the Refresh List button to manually refresh the list of maps in the list

How to set HDRI map for each camera

Click any camera button in the Camera Switcher panel
Go to the Corona Sky & HDRI section
Select the desired HDRI map from the list in the Environment for this Camera block
Set the desired HDRI map rotation in the Rotate (degrees) block
Repeat selecting an HDRI map from the list for other cameras
The specified HDRI maps (and their rotation) will change automatically when switching cameras

Corona Sky

How to set Corona Sky and clouds for each camera

How to add Corona Sky maps to EPC

Go to the Corona Sky & HDRI Map section
Click Add HDRI tab in MEditor (if you have not done it already) to create a new «HDRI» tab in the Material Editor
Open the Slate Material Editor (do not use the compact material editor!)
Go to the «HDRI» tab in the material editor
Add Corona Sky maps and configure clouds if necessary
Add a Color Correction or CoronaColorCorrect map to each Corona Sky map if necessary
All added maps will appear in the Environment for this Camera list automatically
Click the Refresh List button to manually refresh the list of maps in the list

How to set a Corona Sky map for each camera

Click any camera button in the Camera Switcher panel
Go to the Corona Sky & HDRI section
Select the desired CoronaSky map from the list in the Environment for this Camera block
Repeat Corona Sky map selection for other cameras
The specified Corona Sky maps will change automatically when you switch cameras

Linking Corona Sun + HDRI

How to link Corona Sun to an HDRI map in 1 click

Select Corona Sun from the list
Select HDRI map from the list
Go to the Link to Corona Sky & HDRI block
Click Link
The direction of the Corona Sun in the scene will change automatically to match the location of the sunspot in the HDRI map
Linked Corona Sun will automatically rotate as you rotate the HDRI map
A linked Corona Sun will automatically change its position when you select another HDRI card
Go to the Position Correction block to change the angles of the Corona Sun, as well as the distance between the Corona Sun and its target for more precise adjustments

Linking Corona Sun + Corona Sky

How to link Corona Sun with Corona Sky map in 1 click

Select Corona Sun from the list
Select Corona Sky map from the list
Go to the Link to Corona Sky & HDRI block
Click Link
Corona Sun's position in the scene will now affect the color of the sky and clouds

Environment Overrides

How to set Environment Overrides for each camera

How to add Environment Overrides maps to EPC

Go to the desired Override section in the plugin - Override (Direct Visibility), Override (Reflection) or Override (Refraction)
Click Add DIRECT tab in MEditor, Add RFLCT tab in MEditor or Add RFRCT tab in MEditor to create new tab for the desired Override in the material editor
Open the Slate Material Editor (do not use the compact material editor!)
Go to the DIRECT, REFLECT or REFRACT tab in the material editor
Upload HDRI files via CoronaBitmap (regular Bitmaps are not supported – use Corona Converter to convert Bitmaps to CoronaBitmap)
Add a Color Correction or CoronaColorCorrect map to each CoronaBitmap if necessary
All added maps will appear in the Override list automatically
Click the Refresh List button to manually refresh the list of maps

How to set the Environment Overrides map for each camera

Click any camera button in the Camera Switcher panel
Go to the desired Override section
Select the desired HDRI map from the list in the block of the desired Override
Set the desired HDRI map rotation in the Rotate (degrees) block
Repeat selecting a map from the list for other cameras
The specified maps of the desired Overrides (and their rotation) will change automatically when switching cameras

Lights

How to set Lights for each camera

How to choose Lights for each camera

Click any camera button in the Camera Switcher panel
Open the Lights section
Click + in the Lights for this Camera block to manually add Lights from the scene
Click Select from list to add Lights by the list

How to turn on/off Lights for each camera

Go to the Only these Lights will be turned block
Select On to turn ON only the Lights from the list for the current camera
Select Off to turn OFF the Lights from the list for the current camera

Exclude Objects

How to exclude objects by the list for each camera

How to select objects to exclude from the camera

Click the desired camera button in the Camera Switcher panel
Open the Exclude Objects section
Click + in the Objects for this Camera block to manually choose objects from the scene
Click Select from list to add objects by the list

How to exclude objects for each camera

Go to the Only these Objects will be turned block
Select On so that only objects from the list are visible to the current camera
Select Off to exclude objects from the list for the current camera

Timeline

How to set an animation frame for each camera

Click any camera button in the Camera Switcher panel
Open the Time Slider section
Specify the desired animation frame for the current camera in the Frame for this Camera section
Uncheck Enable if you want this camera not to change the animation frame
Attention! Do not use animation keys to switch Corona Sun, Corona Sky and HDRI maps. Use the timeline only for moving objects and other changes that support animation

Viewport previews

How to generate viewport previews from all cameras in 1 click

Click any camera button in the Camera Switcher panel
Open the Viewport Previews section
Click Full Viewport to set the image saving folder and create a full viewport preview (as png) from all cameras
Click Geometry only to set the image saving folder and create a viewport preview (like png) without lights, cameras and splines from all cameras

LightMix Editor

How to quckly manage LightMix channels

How to add Lights to the LightMix channel

Open the EPC LightMix Editor panel
Select the desired Lights in the scene
Click on the button with the name of the desired LightMix channel to add selected Lights to this channel
The number of Lights added to the LightMix channel will be indicated in the LightMix Status block

How to remove Lights from LightMix channels

Open the EPC LightMix Editor panel
Select the desired Lights in the scene
Click Remove
The number of removed Lights from the LightMix channels will be indicated in the LightMix Status block

How to clear LightMix channels from <deleted> lines

Open the EPC LightMix Editor panel
Click Clear
The number of removed <deleted> lines from the LightMix channels will be indicated in the LightMix Status block

How to create a new LightMix channel

Open the EPC LightMix Editor panel
Hold Shift on your keyboard and press any LightMix channel button
Enter the name of the new channel and click Create

How to rename a LightMix channel

Open the EPC LightMix Editor panel
Hold Ctrl on your keyboard and click the button for the desired LightMix channel
Enter a new channel name and click Rename

How to delete a LightMix channel

Open the EPC LightMix Editor panel
Hold Alt on your keyboard and click the button for the desired LightMix channel
Click Delete

EPC Converter

How to prepare a scene with EPC for a render farm or transfer to colleagues in 1 click

Open the EPC Converter panel
Carefully read the conversion process indicated in the EPC Converter panel
Check the I've understood checkbox if you understand how EPC Converter works (the result of EPC Converter cannot be undone)
Click Convert
As a result of running EPC Converter all EPC settings will be converted into Scene States and Render Presets, the Batch Render queue from all cameras will be automatically filled (with Scene States and Render Presets registered in it), EPC will be deleted from all cameras, after which a window will open to save the converted scene under a new name
After saving the converted scene, you can send it along with the EPC_Render_Presets folder (located in the project folder) to the render-farm or colleagues, even if they do not have EPC installed
Attention! To use Render Presets files, the recipient's version of 3DS Max must match your version of 3DS Max in which the converted scene was created
If you've read this far, tell your colleague that it's time to stop wasting his life on unnecessary manual switching of Scene States and Render Presets for each camera and thanks to you, he will be able to get his own EPC version at the same price as you (regardless of whether he is a student of any school)

Problem solving

HDRI and Corona Sky Map do not change when switching cameras

This situation occurs if you manually duplicated the camera in the scene or because of an incorrect Pivot position of the camera
The first step of the solution is not to allow 2 cameras to have the same coordinates (camera and target) – or create new angles only using the EPC Camera Switcher (hold Shift on the keyboard and press the button of the desired camera)
The second step of the solution is to click the camera button in the EPC Camera Switcher and click Center Camera Pivot in the Camera Align block of each camera. Then align the camera orientation using the axis alignment buttons if necessary

How to fix 3DS Max interface and menu slowdown

Remove all other scripts and plugins that control cameras and their settings
Disable all antivirus services in 3DS Max that are constantly running in real time (see Prune Scene and 3DS Max Scene Security Tools settings)
Always run 3DS Max as Administrator (enable this checkbox in the 3DS Max desktop shortcut settings)
Reduce the maximum number of cameras in the EPC settings if you do not use that many cameras in your projects

After starting Batch Render, the status of the position in the queue becomes «Failed» and the render stops

This problem may appear due to the way 3DS Max works with cyrillic paths names for files and render elements
Clear all file paths for each render element in the render settings
Disable the «Save File» checkbox in the render settings
Do not use cyrillic naming when choosing a folder to save Batch Render files and when creating names for cameras
Remember that the letters «С» and «C» (as well as many other letters) look the same in both Russian and English
Set new folder names for saving Batch Render files and names for cameras exclusively in the English
Set new names for LightMix channels exclusively in English

How to install EPC after reinstalling Windows or 3DS Max

After reinstalling Windows or 3DS Max, your EPC serial number becomes inactive
Contact me immediately for a new serial number

Useful tips

How to ensure flawless EPC performance

Set the screen scale in the system to 100% to avoid possible distortion in the EPC interface (right click on the desktop ► Screen settings ► Scale and layout)
Always run 3DS Max as Administrator to ensure full EPC functionality works (enable this checkbox in the 3DS Max desktop shortcut settings)
Start working with EPC only in a new scene, as well as in the latest version of 3DS Max and Corona Render, because old scenes created in previous versions of 3DS Max and Corona Render may not support all of the new EPC features
Remove all other scripts and plugins that control cameras and their settings
Disable all antivirus services in 3DS Max that are constantly running in real time (see Prune Scene and 3DS Max Scene Security Tools settings)
Check the maximum number of cameras setting periodically to avoid wasting system resources
Do not use cyrillic naming when choosing a folder to save Batch Render files and camera names

Hidden capabilities of EPC

New view in 1 click - hold down Shift on the keyboard and click on the button with the name of the desired camera
Rename a camera - hold down Ctrl on your keyboard and click on the button with the name of the desired camera
Delete camera - hold Alt on the keyboard and click on the button with the name of the desired camera
Apply changes to all cameras in 1 click - hold down Shift on the keyboard and click on any of the Lock, /2 and buttons >x2, Swap, 16:9, 2:1, 4:3, 3:2and 5:4
Use multiple suns for one camera - hold down Ctrl on your keyboard and click on the desired suns in the plugin list
Visually organize camera buttons by room - give the cameras in each room the correct names (for example Kitchen-001, Kitchen-002 and Living room-001, Living Room-002, etc.) to visually separate these groups of buttons with automatic color labels in the Camera Switcher
Send a group of cameras of the same color to the Batch Render queue - hold Shift on the keyboard and click on [B] to the left of the button for any camera of the desired color
Create a new LightMix channel in 1 click - hold down Shift on the keyboard and click on the button of any channel in the quick LightMix editor
Rename a LightMix channel in 1 click - hold down Ctrl on your keyboard and click on the button for the desired channel in the quick LightMix editor
Delete a LightMix channel in 1 click - hold Alt on your keyboard and click on the button for the desired channel in the quick LightMix editor

Environment Per Camera
Version 4.1
Full user guide

Installing and configuring the plugin

Camera Switcher

Image size & camera settings

Batch Render

Corona Sun

HDRI

Corona Sky

Linking Corona Sun + HDRI

Linking Corona Sun + Corona Sky

Environment Overrides

Lights

Exclude Objects

Timeline

Viewport previews

LightMix Editor

EPC Converter

Problem solving

Useful tips

Environment Per CameraVersion 4.1Full user guide

Installing and configuring the plugin

Camera Switcher

Image size & camera settings

Batch Render

Corona Sun

HDRI

Corona Sky

Linking Corona Sun + HDRI

Linking Corona Sun + Corona Sky

Environment Overrides

Lights

Exclude Objects

Timeline

Viewport previews

LightMix Editor

EPC Converter

Problem solving

Useful tips

Environment Per Camera
Version 4.1
Full user guide