8

894 Chapter 22: Customizing the User Interface
Inter face
Unit and M easur ement f ields—Change the scale
of the 3ds Max u nit. The system unit is the
standard measurement throughout 3ds Max. You
should only change the system unit value
before
import ing or creating geometry.
Respect System Units in Files—When on, if you
open, merge, XRef, or drag and drop geometry
from file that has different system unit settings, a
File Load: Units Mismatch dialog (page 3–895)
is displayed. This dialog gives you the choice
of rescaling the geometry to match the c urrent
system units, or adopting the units used in the file.
When off, the dialog is not displa yed, and the file
is assumed to have t he same units as t he current
3ds Max session. Default=on.
Origin Slider, Distance from Origin, Accuracy
These controls provide a system unit calculator to
help you determine the unit scale for your project.
The resolution of measurement diminishes as
thedistancetotheoriginofspaceincreases,so
you need to consider space granularity when you
choose a scale for your project. If you’re modeling
an island, for example, this calculator can help you
determine the sm allest object you should model
on the island. In other words, don’t use a unit scale
of millimeters if you plan on modeling an island
that’s m any miles across.
Whenyouusethesliderorthetextfieldtoentera
distancefromtheorigin,theResultingAccuracy
changes to show what the round-off error will be
at that distance.
These controls don’t change the unit settings in
3ds Max. They don’t reflect the extents of the
current scene, either.
Origin Slider—Move the slider for interactive
feedback of distance and accuracy. Right-click the
scale to reset the slider to 0. Dragging the slider
displays the last slider position as a small square
on the scale markings.
The slider covers distances f rom 0 to the maximum
distance that’s accurate to one system unit.
Distance fr omOr igin—Enter the maximum distance
you want to use in your project to determine the
maximum accuracy, which is displayed in the
Accuracy field. Values consider current settings
for system scale and unit.
Note: When you type a distance, you must press
ENTER to update the Resulting Accuracy field.
Pressing TAB simply moves focus to Resulting
Accurac y, without doing the calculation.
Resulting Accuracy—Enter the minimum resolut ion
you will use to determine the maximum size or
distance that is most pract ical. Va lues consider
current settings for system scale and unit.
For example, if units are in feet and decimal
inches in Customize menu > Units Setup, and you
type (1’, 1foot)intheAccuracyfield,avalueof
22369620’0.0" is displayed in the Distance From
Origin field. If you move an object that’s one foot
across, at this distance away from the origin of
space, a round-off error will occur, and the shape
of the object will be compromised.