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394 Chapter 12: Animation
to control one or more objects with a dummy
object containing the desired parameters. Using
wire parameters lets you set up object constraints
directlywithouthavingtogotoTrackViewand
assign controllers.
Parameter wiring is accessed from the Animation
menu or the
quad menus (page 3–741) .TheWire
Parameterscommandisonlyavailableifthereisa
singly selected node in the v iewport. Selecting the
Wire Pa rameters command displays a hierarchical
pop-up menu with levels and items corresponding
totheanimatabletracksthatwouldbevisiblefor
that object in Track View.
Whenaparameterselectionismade,adashed
line, similar to that displayed in the
Select and
Link mo de (page 2–404)
,isdrawnfromthe
selected object. The cursor changes from an arrow
to a cross whenever it is over a valid destination
object. You can right-click at any t ime to cancel
the par ameter wiring.
You can either click empty space in the v iewpor t
(while the rubber-band connector is still b eing
displayed) or on a dest ination node to display the
Parameter Wiring dialog (page 2–395) ,which
allows you to customize the relationship between
two wired parameters. If you click empty space,
the Parameter Wiring dialog wi ll open showing
the selected par ameter in the left Tree View and a
full scene in the right tree. Selecting a destination
node (which can be the same as the originating
node)displaysahierarchicalpop-upmenuforthe
destination object, allowing the user to choose
the destination par ameter. When a p arameter is
selected, the Parameter Wiring dialog is display ed.
WireParameterscanbemadeeitherone-way
or two-way between parameters. For one-way
w ires, one p arameter is effectively slaved to the
other and its value will change as the controlling
parameter changes, according to a user-defined
transfer expression. The controlling parameter
can be animated and adjusted as needed using
all the animating tools in 3ds Max. Note that
this includes making it a cont rolled parameter in
another parameter-wir ing setup, so that you could
potentially set up a chain of controlled parameters.
For two-way wiring, Wire controllers of the
appropriate kind are assigned to each of the
parameters and they are cross-linked s o that
changes to either parameter cause linked changes
in the other.
Note: You should establish all object hierarchies
before wiring parameters in a scene. If you
change the hierarchy of an object that has a wired
parameter, it wil l take on new parameters, which
may introduce undesired results in your wired
parameters.
Tip: Use Schematic View (page 3–690) to see all the
w ired parameter relationships in a scene. You can
also use Schematic view to wire parameters as well.
Procedure
To attach wire parameters:
1.
Select the first object you want to use.
2. Choose Animation menu > Wire Parameters >
Wire Parameters.
A pop-up menu displays the parameters you
can link.
Note: Wire P arameters only works for
parameters that can be animated. The menu
options displayed depend upon the selected
object and are the same options you would see
for the selected object in Track View.
3. Choose the parameter you want to link to
another object from the displayed menu.
A dashed line is displayed.
4. Dragthedashedlinetothesecondobjectyou
want to use. When the cursor changes from
an arrow to a selection cross, you are over a
valid destination object. Click to select the
destination object.