Share your 3dsmax Secrets

Duncs · 2007-06-29 09:22:32 UTC

Can’t guarantee these aren’t repeats - sorry if they are!

shift x - constrains subobject movement to edges in edit poly

with a closed edge selection press shift and polygon sub-object button to select all polygons within the selected edges

Lost your transform gizmo? hit x

In the curve editor you can copy and paste controllers using the right click menu - great for duplicating complex list controllers

when removing edges in edit poly pressing ctrl at the same time will remove extra verts along with the edges

keep em coming peoples

frruger · 2007-07-05 06:45:37 UTC

You can override the limits of some spinners (like the 0.1 units limit on the width and length of chamfer box and the 65000 duplicates limit on the scatter compound object)
by putting animation key on the spinner and put there the value u like.

 Note that the spinner will still be displaying the wrong limited value  

 I found that to be very useful on making grass with scatter coz 65000 duplicates are not enough, ok I can use more than one scatter but the anim key way give you more control.

phungdinhdung · 2007-07-06 04:16:14 UTC

does anyone know the hot key to disable and enable Transorm Fizmos in Max ? sometime i have it disable as my hand press some keys by accident ( it was so many times but i havent know the which key yet ) , and i have to come to the preference setting to turn it on again…
thanks ^^

Duncs · 2007-07-06 04:26:44 UTC

x - it’s easy to catch when you’re undoing!

phungdinhdung · 2007-07-06 04:28:08 UTC

ack , so simple , thank you very much ^^

cyfer · 2007-07-06 04:44:18 UTC

anyone mentioned this before ?

there is a built in scripts for max , but no one cares to install it
the first is to select non-Quad polys
the second is a 3 point “spot” light
there are more for sure , but i think these 2 would be the most popular

Extracted from the MXS ref


  [left][color=blue]macroscript[/color] SelectNonQuadPolys  category:[color=maroon]"HowTo"[/color]
  [/left]
   [left](
  [/left]
   [left][color=blue]on[/color] isEnabled return 
  [/left]
   [left](
  [/left]
   [left]selection.count == 1 [color=blue]and[/color] classOf selection[1].baseobject == Editable_Poly
  [/left]
   [left])
  [/left]
   [left][color=blue]on[/color] execute [color=blue]do[/color]
  [/left]
   [left](
  [/left]
   [left][color=blue]local[/color] face_selection = #{}
  [/left]
   [left][color=blue]local[/color] base_obj = $.baseobject
  [/left]
   [left][color=blue]local[/color] num_faces = polyop.getNumFaces base_obj
  [/left]
   [left][color=blue]for[/color] f = 1 [color=blue]to num_faces [/color][color=blue]do[/color]
  [/left]
   [left](
  [/left]
   [left][color=blue]local[/color] num_face_verts = polyop.getFaceDeg base_obj f
  [/left]
   [left][color=blue]if[/color] num_face_verts != 4 [color=blue]do[/color] face_selection[f] = true
  [/left]
   [left])[color=green]--end f loop[/color]
  [/left]
   [left]polyop.setFaceSelection base_obj face_selection
  [/left]
   [left][color=blue]max[/color] modify mode
  [/left]
   [left]modPanel.setCurrentObject base_obj
  [/left]
   [left]subobjectlevel = 4
  [/left]
   [left])[color=green]--end on execute[/color]
  [/left]
   [left])[color=green]--end script 
  [/color]
  [/left]

3point Light " with very minor changes "


 macroScript Three_Target_Lights
 category:" Cgtalk "
 tooltip:"3lights"
 (
 tool three_lights
 
 (
 
 local key, fill, back, targ
 
 on mousePoint click do coordsys grid
 
 (
 
 if click == 1 then -- create key, back & fill lights at mousedown
 
 (
 
 targ=targetobject pos:gridPoint
 
 key = targetspot pos:gridPoint name:"key" target:targ
 
 back = targetspot pos:gridPoint name:"back" target:targ
 
 fill = targetspot pos:gridPoint name:"fill" target:targ
 
 )
 
 if click == 3 then #stop
 
 )
 
 on mouseMove click do
 
 (
 
 if click == 2 then -- drag out & round on x-y plane
 
 (
 
 coordsys grid key.pos = gridPoint
 
 coordsys targ back.pos = - key.pos
 
 local p = if shiftKey then 90 else -90
 
 coordsys targ fill.pos = key.pos * ((eulerangles 0 0 p) as quat)
 
 )
 
 else if click == 3 then -- drag up to elevate lights
 
 (
 
 in coordsys targ
 
 (
 
 local Z = gridDist.z
 
 key.pos.z = Z
 
 back.pos.z = Z * 1.5
 
 fill.pos.z = Z * 0.5
 
 )
 
 )
 
 )
 
 )
 
 startTool three_lights
 
 )

Seraphoen · 2007-07-10 09:11:51 UTC

In Customize user interface

Shade Selected Toggle: Turns on a mode where anything selected while in wireframe will be shaded and the rest will remain wireframe. While in this mode you can continue to change your selections and only currently selected objects will be shaded. It is great for increasing performance in large scenes that slow your machine down because everything is being shaded. And lets you focus on one object.

Note: If you use the Flat viewport render mode you will need to toggle Shade selected off when not in wireframe or the objects appear black when both are on.

Conversely,
Display Selected with Edged Faces: Turns on a mode where anything selected while in shaded mode will show edges and the rest will not. While in this mode you can continue to change your selections and only currently selected objects will display edges. This is also handy for increasing performance in this view mode and allows you to focus on the object.

Note: You will need to toggle off edge display (F3) for the scene to see this work.

Also if you like hotkeys, these are well known but I’ve actually encountered a lot of people that don’t know these next 3. By default:
F2 = Toggles Shade selected faces, changes face selection from solid color to an outline for the scene.
F3 = Toggles Wireframe/Smooth+Highlights shaded mode for the scene.
F4 = Toggles edge display when you are in any shaded mode for the scene.

bingooman · 2007-07-12 20:47:42 UTC

Thanks…

spoota · 2007-07-19 03:11:12 UTC

Hi every body

Unchek cap start and cap end in the lathe parameters for a model created by lathe(attention:for open spilines).by doing that you can reduce segments of the models and increase the moving speed in viewports.
Thnkx ]
Spoota (Majid Abbasi)

DEVILSAN · 2007-08-03 10:38:18 UTC

Constraint to Edge helped me a lot in displacing vertex while giving details & finishing touch

saiko · 2007-08-04 04:58:58 UTC

i remember using it a lot.
as i am not using max for quite some time,
i don’t remember the shortcut what’s it?

jonadb · 2007-08-09 07:33:43 UTC

Inaudable:

Net rendering on a single pc to render in the background, while u continue to work in max.

Here is a tip that i have found really handy lately. it sounds like it doesnt work but it really does, it does not slow down the max u are using at all (that I can notice anyway, and i have been doing it now for a month or so on and off as needed.)

first set up net rendering, see manual on how to do this.

then when u want to do a render do it as a net render.

when it starts up, hit ctrl+alt+del to bring up task manager, go to processes tab.

find the version of max that is using the most cpu power.

right click it and go to set priority, and set it to below normal, or low (i usually use below normal) click yes to the warning.

This way the net render will use spare cpu power when its available, allowing you to continue to work in max or another program.
Hope this helps :D

To make it easier you van run a little piece of script that starts max in a low priority mode when it’s a render client… goes like this:

open notepad and c&p the following line:

if (isnetserver()) do sysinfo.maxpriority = #low

save as eg. “serverpriority.ms” and put in the directory “max_root\Scripts\Startup”
check if if works by inpecting the prority settings in the taskmanager… should be ‘low’
enjoy!

nice thread btw!

Zodiac125 · 2007-08-20 03:22:19 UTC

thanks needed something like that

Guibou · 2007-09-04 13:04:55 UTC

The layer manager is a pretty cool tool in Max. Let’s you keep your scene organized

DavidSaguil · 2007-09-27 09:12:42 UTC

Customize -> Preferences… -> Gizmos tab -> Center Box Handle section -> Move in Screen Space checkbox

Essentially giving you screen relative translation control (a little box) on your Move transform gizmo. Similar to the Screen Coordinate system.

I use it when I model. It feels more streamlined than switching between coordinate systems.

On a side note, moving objects in this manner accurately may require you to Zoom Extents Selected every once in a while in Perspective view. It seems to have a similar problem as panning (the view moves too fast or too slow when you try to pan) where the object moves too fast/slow.

Dave

DavidSaguil · 2007-09-27 09:13:40 UTC

Customize -> Preferences… -> Gizmos tab -> Center Box Handle section -> Move in Screen Space checkbox

Essentially giving you screen relative translation control (a little box) on your Move transform gizmo. Similar to the Screen Coordinate system.

I use it when I model. It feels more streamlined than switching between coordinate systems.

On a side note, moving objects in this manner accurately may require you to Zoom Extents Selected every once in a while in Perspective view. It seems to have a similar problem as panning (the view moves too fast or too slow when you try to pan) where the object moves too fast/slow.

Dave

DavidSaguil · 2007-09-27 09:14:37 UTC

Customize -> Preferences… -> Gizmos tab -> Center Box Handle section -> Move in Screen Space checkbox

Essentially giving you screen relative translation control (a little box) on your Move transform gizmo. Similar to the Screen Coordinate system.

I use it when I model. It feels more streamlined than switching between coordinate systems.

On a side note, moving objects in this manner accurately may require you to Zoom Extents Selected every once in a while in Perspective view. It seems to have a similar problem as panning (the view moves too fast or too slow when you try to pan) where the object moves too fast/slow.

Dave

heavyness · 2007-10-14 12:21:44 UTC

this helps anyone who has two monitors and or changed their resolution and have panels [material editor, environment, rendering] going off the top of the screen…

-move your mouse pointer over the very edge of any panel [so the mouse pointers changes to a double edge arrow]
-left mouse click and hold
-now use the up or down arrow key [while still holding down the left mouse button] to select either the top or bottom of the panel
-now use the arrow keys again to resize the panel

dancgfx · 2007-11-06 03:53:18 UTC

Constrain to edge - “Edit Geomentry” rollout.

Duncs · 2007-11-06 04:09:08 UTC

‘shift + x’ toggles constrain to edge on and off in edit poly!