Datasheet

Using drag-and-drop features
Dialog boxes that work with files benefit greatly from Max’s drag-and-drop features. The Material Editor,
Background Image, View File, and Environmental Settings dialog boxes all use drag and drop. These dialog
boxes let you select a file or a material and drag it on top of where you want to apply it. For example, with
the Maps rollout in the Material Editor open, you can drag a texture image filename from Windows Explorer
or the Asset Manager and drop it on the Map button. You can even drag and drop Max files from Windows
Explorer into the Max interface to open them.
Controlling spinners
Spinners are those little controls throughout the interface with a value field and two small arrows to its right.
As you would expect, clicking the up arrow increases the value and clicking the down arrow decreases the
value. The amount of the increase or decrease depends on the setting in the General tab of the Preference
Settings dialog box. Right-clicking on the spinner resets the value to its lowest acceptable value. Another way
to control the spinner value is to click the arrows and drag with the mouse. Dragging up increases the value,
and dragging down decreases it.
The effect of the spinner drag is shown in the viewport if the Update During Spinner Drag menu option is
enabled in the Views menu. If the cursor is located within a spinner, you can press Ctrl+N to open the
Numeric Expression Evaluator, which lets you set the value using an expression. For example, you can set a
spinner value by adding numbers together as you would using a calculator. An expression of 30+40+35 sets
the value to 105.
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Understanding modeless and persistent dialog boxes
Many dialog boxes in Max are modeless, which means that the dialog box doesn’t need to be closed before
you can work with objects in the background viewports. The Material Editor is an example of a modeless
dialog box. With the Material Editor open, you can create, select, and transform objects in the background.
Other modeless dialog boxes include the Material/Map Browser, the Render Scene dialog box, the Video
Post dialog box, the Transform Type-In dialog box, the Display and Selection Floaters, and the various
graph editors. Pressing the Ctrl+~ keyboard shortcut closes all open dialog boxes. Pressing the same key-
board shortcut again reopens the dialog boxes that were previously closed.
Another feature of many, but not all, dialog boxes is persistence, which means that values added to a dialog
box remain set when the dialog box is reopened. This feature applies only within a given Max session.
Choosing the File ➪ Reset command button or exiting and restarting Max resets all the dialog boxes.
Getting Help
If you get stuck, Max won’t leave you stranded. You can turn to several places in Max to get help. The
Help menu is a valuable resource that provides access to references and tutorials. The User Reference and
MAXScript Reference are comprehensive help systems that work like a Web browser. The Tutorial command
loads the tutorials, which offer a chance to gain valuable experience.
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