Datasheet

Part I ✦ Learning the Max Interface

Appendix C, “Max Keyboard Shortcuts,” lists all the default keyboard shortcuts.

Using strokes

Strokes are similar to the keyboard shortcuts, except they allow you to draw a pre-defined

shape using the middle mouse button as a shortcut to a command. For example, you can set

up a stroke to undo the last action using a shape that looks like the letter U. Then you can

undo the last action by clicking the middle button and dragging in the shape of the letter U.

Strokes are convenient because they use the mouse, and you don’t need to reach for the

keyboard.

Setting up and using strokes is covered in more detail in Chapter 4, “Customizing the Max

Interface and Setting Preferences.”

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.

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 restart-

ing 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.

Browser-based reference guides

The New Features Guide, User Reference, MAXScript Reference, and Tutorials are Web

browser-based help interfaces. An organized list of topics is available in the left navigation

pane, as shown in Figure 1-17, and the right includes a pane where the details on the selected

topic are displayed. Across the top are five toolbar buttons used to control the interface. The

Hide button hides the left navigation pane, the Back and Forward buttons move between vis-

ited pages, the Print button prints the information in the right pane, and the Options button

displays a pop-up menu of options.

The New Features Guide is new to 3ds max 6.

New

Feature

Cross-

Reference

Cross-

Reference

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