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274 Chapter 5: Creating Geometry
Examples of text
You can edit the text in the Create p anel, or later in
the Modif y panel.
Using Tex t S hapes
Text shapes maintain the text as an editable
parameter. You c an change the text at any t ime.
If the font used by your text is deleted from the
system, 3ds Max still properly displays the text
shape. However, to edit the text string in the edit
box you must choose an available font.
Thetextinyoursceneisjustashapewhereeach
letter and, in some cases, pieces of each letter are
indiv idua l splines. You can apply modifiers like
Edit Spline (page 1–671) , Bend (page 1–541) ,and
Extrude (page 1–671) to edit Text shapes just like
any other shape.
Pr ocedur es
To create text:
1.
Go to the Crea
te panel and choose
Shapes.
2. Click Text.
3. Enter text in the Text b ox.
4. Do either of the following to define an insertion
point:
• Click in a viewport to place the text in the
scene.
• Drag the text into position and release the
mouse button.
To enter a special Win dows chara cter:
1.
Hold down the ALT key.
2. Enter the character’s numeric value on the
numeric keypad.
Yo u
must use the numeric key pad, not the row
of numbers above the alphabetic keys.
For some characters, you must enter a leading
zero. For example, 0233 to enter an e with an
acute accent.
3. Release the ALT key.
Interf ace
Settings available for text include kerning , leading,
justification, multiple lines, and a manual update
option.
Rendering and Interpolation rollouts
All spline-based shapes share these parameters.
See
Splines (page 1–261) for an explanation of
these parameters.