3ds Max 2012 Bible - Kelly L. Murdock [24]
Using the Minimize button at the right end of the Ribbon, you can switch the display mode to minimize to only the tabs, only the panel titles, or only the panel buttons, or to enable the Minimize button to cycle through each of the modes. You can also double-click the Ribbon tabs to minimize the Ribbon or to cycle through the minimized modes.
Right-click the Ribbon title bar to access menu options to show or hide specific tabs or panels, customize the ribbon, save or load a custom ribbon configuration, switch between horizontal and vertical orientations, reset the ribbon to its default, or enable tooltips. Figure 1.6 shows the different Ribbon display modes.
Cross-Reference
The Ribbon customization features are covered in Chapter 4, “Customizing the Max Interface and Setting Preferences.” •
FIGURE 1.6
The Ribbon can be set to be displayed using several different modes.
The entire Ribbon, as well as each individual panel of buttons, can be made into a floating control by dragging the Ribbon title bar or the lower panel bar away from the rest of the buttons. When a panel is made into a floating panel, like the one in Figure 1.7, the icons in the upper right of the floating panel let you return the panel to the Ribbon or toggle the orientation between vertical and horizontal. You also can move the floating panel about by dragging on the gray bar on either side of the panel.
FIGURE 1.7
Ribbon panels can float independent of each other.
Using the Viewports
The four viewports make up the largest area of the entire interface and provide a way of viewing the objects within the scene. Each of the viewports is configurable and can be unique from the others.
Cross-Reference
Understanding how to work with the viewports is vital to accomplishing tasks with Max, so viewports have an entire chapter dedicated just to them—Chapter 2, “Controlling and Configuring the Viewports.” •
Using the Command Panel
If there is one place in Max, besides the viewports, where you'll spend all your time, it's the Command Panel (at least until you're comfortable enough with the quadmenus). The Command Panel is located to the right of the viewports along the right edge of the interface. This is where all the specific 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.
You can pull away the Command Panel from the right window edge as a floating dialog box, as shown in Figure 1.8, by clicking the open space to the right of the tabbed icons at the top of the Command Panel and dragging away from the interface edge. You also can dock it to the left window edge, which is really handy if you're left-handed. While it's a floating panel, you can resize the Command Panel by dragging on its edges or corners (but its width remains constant).
After you've pulled the Command Panel or any of the toolbars away from the interface, you can redock them to their last position by double-clicking their title bar. You also can right-click the title bar to access the pop-up menu of floating toolbars, but the pop-up menu also includes options to Dock (either Left or Right for the Command Panel or Left, Right, Top, or Bottom for toolbars), Float, and Minimize.
The right-click pop-up menu for the Command Panel also includes a Minimize command. If enabled, the Command Panel collapses to the edge of the interface, but moving the mouse near the interface where the Command Panel is minimized expands the Command Panel again. Moving the mouse away from the Command Panel makes it collapse to the interface edge again. You can take the Command Panel out of Minimize mode by selecting one of the Dock commands.
FIGURE 1.8
The Command Panel