Datasheet

27
Chapter 1 ✦ Finding Your Way — Exploring the Max Interface
The File menu
The File menu includes commands for working with Max files. These commands enable you
to create a new scene, open and save scene files and objects, and work with externally refer-
enced (XRefs) objects and scenes. You can also reset the scene, merge scenes and animation
sequences, and replace objects in the current scene. The File menu also includes commands
to import and export objects.
At the bottom of the File menu, the Archive command copies all files used in a scene to an
easily portable archive file format. The Summary Info and File Properties commands open
dialog boxes where you can get information about the current scene file. The View Image File
command opens a dialog box where you can view an image before loading it, and the Exit
command ends the madness if you’ve had too much.
Because most of the commands found in the File menu affect files, you can find information
about these commands in Chapter 3, “Working with Files and XRefs.”
The Edit menu
The Edit menu wins an award for having the most listed keyboard shortcuts per menu item
of all the menus. It includes commands for recovering from mistakes (Undo and Redo),
preparing for catastrophe (Hold and Fetch), and the ubiquitous Delete. The Hold command
(Alt+Ctrl+H) saves the current scene in a buffer. This scene can be recalled at any time using
the Fetch (Alt+Ctrl+F) command. These simple commands can really save your bacon if you
remember to use them. The Edit menu also includes a Clone command (Ctrl+V) for making
copies of an object, which is covered in (no surprise) Chapter 7, “Cloning Objects and
Creating Object Arrays.”
The Edit menu also includes several commands for selecting objects — Select All (Ctrl+A),
Select None (Ctrl+D), Select Invert, and Select By Color and/or Name (H). You can also specify
the type of selection region and whether objects are selected by dragging the cursor across
the object (Crossing) or by enclosing the entire object in the dragged region (Window). The
Edit Named Selection Sets command opens a dialog box where you can name a selected set of
objects for easy recalling. Finally, the Object Properties command opens a dialog box where
you can find all the properties for the selected object.
Most of the Edit menu commands are covered in Chapter 6, “Selecting Objects and Setting
Object Properties.”
The Tools menu
The Tools menu can be considered dialog box heaven because almost every menu command
opens a dialog box. The Transform Type-In (F12) command opens a dialog box that lets you
enter precise values for moving, rotating, and scaling objects (see Chapter 10, “Transforming
Objects — Translate, Rotate, and Scale”). The Display Floater opens a dialog box where you
can hide, freeze, and set the object display options. The Selection Floater (H) opens a dialog
box that lets you select objects by several different criteria. The Layer Manager lets you spec-
ify and work with layers. The Display and Selection Floater dialog boxes, along with the Layer
Manager, are covered in Chapter 6 on selecting objects.
Cross-
Reference
Cross-
Reference
04 557637 ch01.qxd 3/4/04 2:31 PM Page 27