This page contains information on the V-Ray Toolbar.


Overview

V-Ray includes a toolbar with easy shortcuts to some of the most commonly used V-Ray components.




By default, the toolbar is docked vertically to the left of the 3ds Max window. The V-Ray Toolbar can be easily pulled from its left-side docked position to a horizontal toolbar by pulling at the top end of the toolbar.

 If the V-Ray Toolbar is not visible, make sure the floating toolbars are set to display in 3ds Max by checking Customize menu > Show UI > Show Floating Toolbars.


Toolbar Functions

The V-Ray toolbar provides the functions listed below. Note that all buttons check if V-Ray is the current renderer, and if not, prompt you to set the renderer to V-Ray.


ButtonDescription

Starts а Production Render of the current frame with the assigned V-Ray renderer (V-Ray or V-Ray GPU).

Starts an Interactive Production Rendering (IPR) session with the current V-Ray renderer (V-Ray or V-Ray GPU). Found by clicking and holding the Render Current Frame / Production Mode button.

Opens the V-Ray virtual frame buffer (VFB).

Opens the Submit to Chaos Cloud rendering dialog.

Opens the V-Ray Lister, where you can modify the settings of all cameras and lights in a scene.

Creates a VRayPhysicalCamera. Click and drag in a viewport to actually create the camera.

Creates a rectangle VRayLight. Click and drag in a viewport to create the light.

Creates a dome VRayLight. Click in a viewport to create the light.

Create a sphere VRayLight. Click and drag in a viewport to create the light.

Creates a mesh VRayLight(s) out of the currently selected object(s).

Creates a disc VRayLight. Click and drag in a viewport to create the light.

Creates a VRayIES light. Click and drag in a viewport to create the light.

Creates a VRaySun light. Click and drag in a viewport to create the light.

Creates a VRayAmbientLight. Click in a viewport to create the light.

Creates a VRayProxy object. Click in a viewport to create the object.

Creates a VRayDecal object. Click and drag in a viewport to create the object.

Creates a VRayPlane object. Click in a viewport to create the object.

Applies VRayDisplacementMod modifier to the selected object.

Creates a VRayFur object over the currently selected object.

Creates a VRayVolumeGrid.

Creates a new VRayMtl material, assigns it to the selected objects and opens the new material in the Material Editor. For the classic Material Editor, the new material is shown in the currently selected slot. For the Slate Material Editor, the new material is shown in the middle of the Slate workspace. Clicking and holding this button opens a flyout with additional material types.

Creates a new VRaySSS2 material, assigns it to the selected objects and opens the new material in the Material Editor. Found under the V-Ray Material button.

Creates a new VRayHairNextMtl material, assigns it to the selected objects and opens the new material in the Material Editor. Found under the V-Ray Material button.

Creates a new VRayALSurfaceMtl material, assigns it to the selected objects and opens the new material in the Material Editor. Found under the V-Ray Material button.

Creates a new VRay2SidedMtl material, assigns it to the selected objects and opens the new material in the Material Editor. Found under the V-Ray Material button.

Creates a new VRayBlendMtl material, assigns it to the selected objects and opens the new material in the Material Editor. Found under the V-Ray Material button.

Opens the V-Ray Material Library Browser for 3ds Max 2018 and above. For earlier 3ds Max versions, this button downloads the library but V-Ray Material Library Browser's UI is not supported. The V-Ray material library can be loaded in the Material Editor from the Material/Map Browser. Since V-Ray 6, however, the V-Ray Material Library Browser is replaced by the Chaos Cosmos Browser. The legacy browser is still usable. If the V-Ray Material Library folder is empty, clicking on the V-Ray Material Library Browser button opens Chaos Cosmos Browser.

Opens Chaos Cosmos Browser. Note that Cosmos browser is using a built-in browser window in 3ds Max 2019 and newer, and opens an external window with previous 3ds Max versions.

Applies matte shadow settings through the V-Ray Object Properties on the selected object(s).

Registers the V-Ray menus - equivalent to the registerVRayMenus() MaxScript command. See Notes below.

Opens the V-Ray for 3ds Max online documentation.


Notes

  • When a plug-in adds new menu options to 3ds Max, the plug-in must "register" the menu options with the 3ds Max User Interface. By default, the V-Ray menus are automatically registered when V-Ray is installed, and the V-Ray installer even includes an option regarding this process. However, sometimes the V-Ray menu items can disappear from the UI if the 3ds Max menu system is reset. An example of this is a switch between different 3ds Max workspaces, which can reset the menu system. If the V-Ray menus disappear after the menu system is reset, they can be re-registered manually in one of the following methods: clicking the V-Ray menu registration button on the V-Ray Toolbar, or in the MaxScript listener, running the command registerVRayMenus().
  • The V-Ray Light Lister has been deprecated in V-Ray 6, update 2 and later. Its button () has been removed from the toolbar.
  • The V-Ray Camera lister has been deprecated in v-Ray 6, update 2 and later. Its button () has been removed from the toolbar.