3ds Max 2012 Bible - Kelly L. Murdock [58]
The View File dialog box can open many types of files, including Microsoft videos (AVI), MPEG files, bitmap images (BMP), Kodak Cineon images (CIN), Combustion files (CWS), Graphics Image Format images (GIF), Radiance HDRI image files (HDR), Image File List files (IFL), JPEG images (JPG), OpenEXR image files (EXR), Portable Network Graphics images (PNG), Adobe Photoshop images (PSD), QuickTime movies (MOV), SGI images (RGB), RLA images, RPF images, Targa images (TGA, VST), Tagged Image File Format images (TIF), Abekas Digital Disk images (YUV), and DirectDraw Surface (DDS) images.
You use the Gamma area on the View File dialog box to specify whether an image uses its own gamma settings or the system's default setting, or whether an override value should be used.
Summary
Working with files lets you save your work, share it with others, and reload it for more work. This chapter covered the following topics:
• Creating, saving, opening, merging, and archiving files
• Changing file preferences and configuring paths
• Understanding the various import and export types
• Importing models from other programs, such as Illustrator, Maya, and MotionBuilder
• Working with the file utilities, such as the Asset Browser
• Using the Summary Info and File Properties dialog boxes to keep track of scene files
By now, you should be feeling more comfortable with the user interface and using files, but if you want to make some changes to the interface, the next chapter covers how to customize it. It also covers the available preference settings.
Chapter 4: Changing Interface Units and Setting Preferences
IN THIS CHAPTER
Setting system units
Learning the general preferences
Altering viewport preferences
Changing gamma preferences
One of the first things you'll want to set before beginning a project is the scene units. Units can be as small as millimeters or as large as kilometers, or they could be generic, which means they have meaning only relative to the other parts of the scene. Max offers a large array of available units, or you can even define your own.
Max also has a rather bulky set of preferences that you can use to set almost every aspect of the program. This chapter also covers various ways to make the Max interface more comfortable for you.
Selecting System Units
One of the first tasks you need to complete before you can begin modeling is to set the system units. The system units have a direct impact on modeling and define the units that are represented by the coordinate values. Units directly relate to parameters entered with the keyboard. For example, with the units set to meters, a sphere created with the radius parameter of 2 would be 4 meters across.
Max supports several different measurement systems, including Metric and U.S. Standard units. You also can define a Custom units system. (I suggest parsecs if you're working on a space scene.) Working with a units system enables you to work with precision and accuracy using realistic values.
Tip
Most game engines work with meters, so if you're building assets for a game, set the units to meters. •
To specify a units system, choose Customize⇒Units Setup to display the Units Setup dialog box, shown in Figure 4.1. For the Metric system, options include Millimeters, Centimeters, Meters, and Kilometers. The U.S. Standard units system can be set to the default units of Feet or Inches displayed as decimals or fractional units. You also can select to display feet with fractional inches or feet with decimal inches. Fractional values can be divided from 1⁄1 to 1⁄100 increments.
FIGURE 4.1
The Units Setup dialog