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Is it possible to import/open directly .MAX format files in MicroStation?
3ds Max saves scenes to a proprietary binary format with the extension .MAX, which means that MAX is its native file extension. It contains all the data related to the Scene and extra ones such as, for example, radiosity values and stacked modifiers. The .MAX format is proprietary and not published. It is therefore not possible to use this format outside of 3ds Max itself.
Some data of the .MAX format cannot be extracted because they depend on the plug-in data used to build the scene itself. However, it is possible to extract basic data such as mesh vertices positions, mapping coordinates and others through the 3DS format file which is used to import/export files created in 3ds Max to/from other programs. Some extra data such as stack and editability, and all radiosity will be lost.
In Microstation it is possible to import 3DS format files (File>Import>CAD Files). In many cases to use FBX format or OBJ format would be a better import/export option. The FBX format is one of the main 3D exchange formats as it is the common format to get data between Autodesk applications. Both the FBX format and the OBJ format are text file formats which means that the geometry is saved to a ASCII file which can be edited with any text editor.