3ds Max 2012 Bible - Kelly L. Murdock [122]
After links have been established, you can see linked objects listed as a hierarchy in several places. The Select Objects dialog box, opened with the Select by Name button (or with the H key), can display objects in this manner, as well as the Schematic and Track Views.
Displaying links in the viewport
You can choose to see the links between the selected objects in the viewports by selecting the Display Links option in the Link Display rollout of the Display panel. The Display Links option shows links as lines that run between the pivot points of the objects with a diamond-shaped marker at the end of each line; these lines and markers are the same color as the object.
Note
The Display Links option can be enabled or disabled for each object in the scene. To display the links for all objects, use the Edit⇒Select All (Ctrl+A) command and then enable the Display Links option. •
The Link Display rollout also offers the Link Replaces Object option, which removes the objects and displays only the link structure. This feature removes the complexity of the objects from the viewports and lets you work with the links directly. Although the objects disappear, you can still transform the objects using the link markers.
Viewing hierarchies
The Select From Scene dialog box (also called the Scene Explorer) and the Schematic and Track Views can display the hierarchy of objects in a scene as an ordered list, with child objects indented under parent objects.
Clicking the Select by Name button (H) on the main toolbar opens the Scene Explorer dialog box; select the Display⇒Display Children menu to see all the children under the selected object. Figure 9.3 shows the Select From Scene dialog box with the Display Children menu enabled.
Cross-Reference
You can learn more about the Scene Explorer in Chapter 6, “Selecting Objects and Setting Object Properties.” •
FIGURE 9.3
The Select From Scene dialog box indents all child objects under their parent.
The Schematic View (opened with the Graph Editors⇒New Schematic View menu command) presents a graph in which objects are represented by rectangle nodes with their hierarchical links drawn as lines running between them.
Cross-Reference
For more information on using the Schematic View, see Chapter 25, “Building Complex Scenes with Containers, XRefs, and the Schematic View.” •
The Track View (opened with the Graph Editors⇒New Track View menu command) displays lots of scene details in addition to the object hierarchy. In the Track View, you can easily expand and contract the hierarchy to focus on just the section you want to see or select.
Cross-Reference
For more information on using the Track View, see Chapter 37, “Working with the F-Curve Editor in the Track View.” •
Working with Linked Objects
If you link some objects together and set some animation keys, and the magical Play button starts sending objects hurtling off into space, chances are good that you have a linked object that you didn't know about. Understanding object hierarchies and being able to transform those hierarchies are the keys to efficient animation sequences.
All transformations are done about an object's pivot point. You can move and reorient these pivot points as needed by clicking the Pivot button under the Hierarchy panel.
Several additional settings for controlling links are available under the Hierarchy panel of the Command Panel (the Hierarchy panel tab looks like a mini-organizational chart). Just click the Link Info button. This button opens two rollouts if a linked object is selected. You can use the Locks and Inherit rollouts to limit an object's transformations and specify the transformations that it inherits.
Cross-Reference
I present more information on object transformations in Chapter 7, “Transforming Objects, Pivoting, Aligning, and Snapping.” •
Locking inheriting transformations
The Inherit rollout, like the Locks rollout, includes check boxes for each axis and each transformation, except that here,