Connie - I've used Max since it was a DOS app - I know you have to bake separately, and I am aware of the imperfect pipeline functions across the board. Again - I was assuming (a great euphemism for "should have paid more attention"), but thanks for the help :-) having said that, and despite working in the software industry, there's always a small part of me that wants to believe the New! Shiny! Improved! until I get my fingers messy under the hood. I think that if you're buying PP7 as an upgrade from 5 or 6, there are some benefits, but as far as the interaction between applications go,I am somewhat underimpressed; I've seen plugins with better functionality, at least for Max, I cant speak for c4d or maya. I think my favourite thus far is the gamma correction and the memory optimisation - the app does run smoother. I am still trying to figure why PP goes belly up in a complex scene P7 manages to sloooooowly crunch itself through, but that could actually be a memory/garbage collection issue in the app. The HDR thing is also underimpressive - why export Poser lighting when you can run maxwell or Final Render or Mental Ray? ~s //lighting, not lights, although you can export those too in PF