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Chapter 1 ✦ Finding Your Way — Exploring the Max Interface
The Group menu
The Group menu commands let you control how objects are grouped together. Grouping
objects together becomes key as you begin to move objects because grouped objects all
move together. Selecting several objects and using the Group command opens a simple dialog
box where you can type a name for the group. The Ungroup command disassembles the
group and is active only if a group is selected. You can nest groups one inside another. You
can also open and close groups, which lets you attach or detach objects from the group or
move individual group objects within the group. The Explode command ungroups all nested
group objects.
For a more complete examination of groups and grouping, check out Chapter 8, “Grouping
and Linking Objects.”
The Assembly submenu includes all the same commands as the Group menu including Open,
Close, Attach, Detach, and Explode, but assemblies are unique in that they can have a light
source as a head object. Assemblies are covered along with groups in Chapter 8.
The Assembly feature is new to 3ds max 6.
The Views menu
The Views menu includes commands for controlling the viewports. The Undo View Change
(Shift+Z) and Redo View Change (Shift+Y) commands give you control over viewport
changes, enabling you to undo and redo any changes made with the Viewport Navigation
Controls. You can also save and restore each viewport’s active view with the Save Active View
and Restore Active View commands.
Keep in mind that Undo View Change (Shift+Z) is distinct from undoing changes made to
the current object accomplished with the Edit ➪ Undo (Ctrl+Z) command.
Grids are helpful in establishing your bearings in 3D space. The Grids command opens a sub-
menu with the following options: Show Home Grid, Activate Home Grid, Activate Grid Object,
and Align Grid to View. Grids are covered in Chapter 10 as part of transforming objects.
The Viewport Background command (Alt+B) opens a dialog box in which you can select an
image or animation to appear as a background behind a viewport. If the background image
changes, you can update the viewport using the Update Background Image command
(Alt+Shift+Ctrl+B). The Reset Background Transform command automatically rescales and
recenters the background image to fit the viewport.
Next on the Views menu are several commands that control what is displayed in the view-
port. If a command is enabled, a check mark appears to the left of the command. The Show
Transform Gizmo command displays axes and special handles to move, rotate, and scale the
object in different directions. The Show Ghosting command displays the position of the
selected object in the previous several frames, the next several frames, or both. The Show
Key Times command displays frame numbers along the trajectory path where every anima-
tion key is located. The Shade Selected command turns on shading for the selected object in
all viewports, and the Show Dependencies command shows any objects that are linked or
instanced from a parent object.
Note
New
Feature
Cross-
Reference
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