Datasheet
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Part I ✦ Learning the Max Interface
A floater is a unique type of dialog box. It can stay open and active while you work in
the viewports. Normal dialog boxes do not allow this and must be closed before you can
continue.
The Light Lister command opens a dialog box with details on all the lights in the scene. You
can learn to use this helpful dialog box in Chapter 27, “Basic Lighting Techniques.”
The Mirror command uses the Mirror dialog box to create a symmetrical copy of an object
across a designated axis. The Array command opens an Array dialog box where you can cre-
ate multiple instances of an object with each instance offset from the others. The Snapshot
command clones objects over time using the Snapshot dialog box. The Spacing Tool com-
mand (Shift+I) opens the Spacing Tool dialog box, which creates and spaces objects along a
path. All of these commands are different ways to clone objects and create object arrays,
which are covered in Chapter 7.
The Tools menu also includes several ways to align objects. The Align command (Alt+A)
opens an Align dialog box where you can line up objects by axis, edges, or centers. The
Normal Align command (Alt+N) enables you to align the face normals of two objects. The
Align Camera command moves the selected camera to be directly in front of the point you
select, and the Align to View command aligns the object to one of the standard views. Place
Highlight (Ctrl+H) moves the selected light in order to reproduce a highlight in the location
you specify. The alignment commands are covered in Chapter 10 on transforms; the Place
Highlight command is covered with basic lighting in Chapter 27.
The Isolate Selection (Alt+Q) command hides all objects except for the selected object. It also
opens a simple dialog box with an Exit Isolation button in it. Clicking this button or selecting
the Isolate command again exits isolation mode and displays all the objects again. This com-
mand is another way to select an object and is covered in Chapter 6. The Rename Objects
command opens the Rename Objects dialog box where you can rename several objects at
once. This command is covered along with naming objects in Chapter 5, “Creating and Editing
Primitive Objects.”
Several standard utilities (Assign Vertex Colors, Color Clipboard, and Camera Match) that
were previously accessed from the Utilities panel have graduated to become real menu com-
mands. You can find these new additions at the bottom of the Tools menu. In addition to
these new menu commands, several new features have been added to the Tools menu,
including Grab Viewport, Measure Distance, and Channel Info.
The Assign Vertex Colors, Color Clipboard, and Camera Match menu commands open and
select their respective utilities in the Utilities panel. The Grab Viewport command is a nice
new feature that captures a picture of the active viewport. The Measure Distance command
provides an easy way to measure the distance between two points. The Channel Info command
opens the Map Channel Info dialog box where you can add objects to a specific channel, which
game developers will appreciate.
The details on the Tools menu commands are spread across the rest of the book, but the
Assign Vertex Colors and Channel Info features deal with games and are covered in Chapter 50,
“Max and Games.”
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