3DS Max Tutorial - The User Interface

3DS Max interface can be classified into five elements. These elements can be
grouped under various sub-elements. The following are the main five elements
of the max interface.
Menus

Menus hold most of the 3ds Max commands. These menus are found along the
top edge of the Max window.
Toolbars

There are a number of toolbars containing icon buttons that provide single-click
access to features. These toolbars can float independently or can be docked to
an interface edge. By default, the main toolbar and the reactor toolbar are
visible.
Viewports

There are four separate views into the scene show. They are- Top, Front, Left,
and Perspective.
Command Panel

The command panel is located to the right of the four viewports. It contains six
tabbed icons at its top that can be clicked to open the various panels. Each panel
includes rollouts containing parameters and settings. These rollouts change
depending on the object and tab that is selected.
Lower Interface Bar

Along the bottom edge of the interface window is a collection of miscellaneous

controls.

Figure1-1: Max Interface

In the following section, the usage and functionality of each element will be
given in detail.

Menus
The menus at the top of the Max interface contain most of the max commands. There are toolbar
buttons and keyboard shortcuts corresponding to many of the menu commands. A menu command
can be executed by selecting it with the mouse cursor. The same command can also be executed by
clicking its corresponding toolbar button if there is one, otherwise its keyboard shortcut has to be
pressed.

Figure 1-2: File Menu

The main menu includes the following options:
File, Edit, Tools, Group, Views, Create, Modifiers, Character, Reactor,
Animation, Graph Editors, Rendering, Customize, MAXScript, and Help.
You can also access the Menu by pressing the Alt key on the keyboard. This
selects the File menu. Arrow keys can be used to move between the other
menus. With a menu selected, you can press the keyboard letter that is
underlined to select and execute a menu command.
Toolbars

The main toolbar is by default placed at the top of the max interface under the
menus. The reactor toolbar is placed along the left edge of the interface.
Toolbars can be used conveniently to execute commands with just a single click
of the mouse.
A docked toolbar can be converted into a floating toolbar by clicking and
dragging from the two vertical lines on the left or top of the toolbar. After
separating it from the interface edges, the floating toolbar can be re-sized by
dragging it from the edges or the corners. A floating toolbar can be docked by
double clicking on the title or taking it to the closest edge by dragging it from
the title.

Figure 1-3: Main toolbar in Floating mode

When in the by default docked position, the main toolbar is too long to be
completely visible. Your monitors resolution should be atleast 1280 pixels
wide to accommodate the whole toolbar. You can scroll the toolbar on a lower
resolution screen by positioning the cursor on the toolbar away from the
buttons, such as, below one of the drop-down lists (the cursor changes to a
hand), and then clicking and dragging the toolbar in either direction. You can
easily scroll the main toolbar by dragging with the middle mouse button.
Viewports

The viewports cover over the largest area of the user. They are used to view the
objects within the scene and can be configured to view the scene in different
modes.
Front, Back, Top, Bottom, Left, and Right are the orthographic viewports
available in Max. By default, the three of the four viewports show Top, Front,
and Left orthographic views and the fourth viewport shows the perspective
view. The top-left corner of the viewport displays the viewport name.
Orthographic views are displayed from the perspective of looking straight down
an axis at an object. This reveals a view in only one plane. Because
orthographic viewports are restricted to one plane, they show the actual height
and width of the object.
Isometric views are not restricted to a single axis and the scene can be viewed
from any location, but all dimensions are still maintained.

The standard viewports show you several different views of your current project, but within
each viewport you can zoom in on certain objects, pan the view, or rotate about the center of the
viewport. To zoom, pan, and rotate the default views, you need to use the Viewport Navigation
Control buttons. These eight buttons are located at the bottom-right corner of the window.

Figure 1-5: Navigation Control Buttons

Command Panel

The Command Panel is located to the right of the viewports along the right edge of the
interface. This is one of the most frequently used sections of the max interface. This is where
the object parameters, settings, and controls are located.
The Command Panel is split into six panels, each accessed via a tab icon located at its top.
These six tabs are- Create, Modify, Hierarchy, Motion, Display, and Utilities.

The Create panel

It contains controls for creating objects; such as, geometry, cameras, lights, and so on.
The Modify Panel

It contains controls for applying modifiers to objects and editing editable objects such as
meshes and patches.
The Hierarchy Panel

It contains controls for managing links in a hierarchy, in joints, and in inverse kinematics.
The Motion Panel

It contains controls for animation controllers and trajectories.

The Display Panel

It contains controls that let you hide and unhide objects, along with other display options.
The Utilities Panel

It contains miscellaneous utility programs, most of which are plug-ins to 3ds max.

Rollouts

Rollouts contain most of the controls, buttons, and parameters in the Command Panel. Each
rollout title bar includes a plus or minus sign (a minus sign indicates that the rollout is open; a
plus sign shows closed rollouts). Clicking the rollout title opens or closes the rollout. You can
also reposition the order of the rollouts by dragging the rollout title and dropping it above or
below the other rollouts. But you cannot reposition some of the rollouts, such as the Object
Type and the Name and Color rollouts found in the Create panel.

Figure 1-7: Rollouts

Right-clicking away from the buttons in a rollout presents a pop-up menu which you can select
to close the rollout youve clicked in- whether it is a Close All, Open All, or Reset Rollout
Order. The pop-up menu also lists all available rollouts within the current panel, with a check
mark next to the ones that are open. Expanding all the rollouts often exceeds the screen space
allotted to the Command Panel. If the rollouts exceed the given space, then a small vertical
scroll bar appears at the right edge of the Command Panel. This scroll bar can be dragged to
access the rollouts at the bottom of the Command Panel, or can be clicked away from the
controls when a hand cursor appears. With the hand cursor, you can click and drag in either
direction to scroll the Command Panel. The Command Panel can be also be scrolled with the
wheel on the mouse.

Using the Lower Interface Bar Controls

Lower Interface bar is a collection of several sets of controls located along the bottom edge of
the interface window. These controls cannot be pulled away from the interface like the main
toolbar, but they can be hidden using the Expert Mode (Ctrl+X). These controls, include the
following from left to right:
Time Slider

The Time Slider, located under the viewports, enables you to quickly locate a specific frame. It
spans the number of frames included in the current animation. Dragging the Time Slider can
move you quickly between frames.
Track BAr

The Track Bar displays animation keys as color-coded rectangles with red for positional keys,
green for rotational keys, and blue for scale keys. Parameter change keys are denoted by gray
rectangles. Using the Track Bar, you can select, move, and delete keys.
Status Bar

The Status Bar is below the Track Bar. It provides valuable information, such as the number
and type of objects selected, transformation values, and grid size. It also includes the Transform
Type-In fields.
Prompt Line

The Prompt Line is text located at the bottom of the window. If youre stuck as to what to do
next, look at the Prompt Line for information on what Max expects.
Key Controls

These controls are for creating animation keys and include two different modes- Auto Key
(keyboard shortcut, N) or Set Key (keyboard shortcut, ' ).
Auto Key mode sets keys for any change made to the scene objects. Set Key mode gives you
more precise control and sets keys for the selected filters only when you click the Set Keys
button (keyboard shortcut, K).
Time Controls

Resembling the controls on an audio or video device, the Time Controls offer an easy way to
move through the various animation frames and keys. Based on the selected mode (keys or
frames), the Time Controls can move between the first, previous, next, and last frames or keys.

Viewport Navigation Controls

In the lower-right corner of the interface are the controls for manipulating the viewports. They
enable you to zoom, pan, and rotate the active viewports view.

Figure 1-8: Lower Interface Bar

Quadmenus

Quadmenus are pop-up menus with up to four separate sections that surround the cursor. Right-clicking in the active
viewport opens these quadmenus. The contents of the menus depend on the object selected.

Figure 1-9: Quadmenus

The quad menu allows you to find and activate most commands without having to travel back and forth between the
viewport and rollouts on the command panel.
The two right quadrants of the default quad menu display generic commands, which are shared between all objects. The
two left quadrants contain context-specific commands, such as mesh tools and light commands. Each of these menus
provides convenient access to functions found in the command panel. You can also repeat your last quad menu command
by clicking on the title of the quadrant.

Drag andDrop
Dialog boxes that work with files benefit greatly from 3Ds Maxs drag-and-drop features. The Material Editor, Background
Image, View File, and Environmental Settings dialog boxes 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.

Spinners
A spinner is a control for numeric fields. It has two small arrows on the right. 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.

Figure 1-10: Spinners