3ds Max 2012 Bible - Kelly L. Murdock [83]
The Alt key deselects objects from the current selection set, which is opposite of what the Ctrl key does.
If you drag over several objects while holding down the Shift key, then the selection set is inverted. Each item that was selected is deselected, and vice versa.
Object hierarchies are established using the Link button on the main toolbar. You can select an entire hierarchy of objects by double-clicking its parent object. You also can select multiple objects within the hierarchy. When you double-click an object, any children of that object are also selected. When an object with a hierarchy is selected, the Page Up and Page Down keys select the next object up or down the hierarchy.
Another way to select multiple objects is by dragging within the viewport using the Window and Crossing Selection methods discussed previously in the “Select by Region” section.
Caution
Although the Move, Rotate, and Scale buttons may also be used to select objects, they can cause problems when selecting multiple objects. If you are selecting multiple objects with the Select and Move tool and you accidentally drag the mouse while moving to the next item, then the entire selection is moved out of place. You can use the Undo feature to return it to its original position. To prevent this from happening, use the Select Tool when selecting multiple objects. •
Using the Paint Selection Region tool
The Paint Selection Region tool is the last flyout button under the Rectangle Selection Region button. Using this tool, you can drag a circular paint brush area over the viewports, and all objects or subobjects underneath the brush are selected.
The size of the Selection Paint brush is shown as a circle when the tool is selected and may be changed using the Paint Selection Brush Size field in the General panel of the Preference Settings dialog box. Right-clicking the Paint Selection Region button on the main toolbar automatically opens the Preference Settings dialog box. Figure 6.5 shows how the Paint Selection Region may be used to select several spheres by dragging over them.
FIGURE 6.5
The Paint Selection Region tool makes it easy to select spheres by dragging.
Tutorial: Selecting objects
To practice selecting objects, you'll work with a simple model of the lion toy. When you're finished, you can throw this model to your dog for a chew toy.
To select objects, follow these steps:
1. Open the Lion toy.max scene, which you can find in the Chap 06 directory on the CD.
2. Click the Select Object button (or press the Q key), and click the lion's body in one of the viewports.
In the Command Panel, the name for this object, lion, is displayed in the Name and Color rollout.
3. Click the Select and Move button (or press the W key), click the lion's body, and drag in the Perspective viewport to the right.
As you can see, the lion's head and body form an object independent of the other parts of the lion object. Moving it separates it from the rest of the model's parts.
4. Choose Edit⇒Undo Move (or press Ctrl+Z) to piece the lion back together.
5. With the Select and Move tool still selected, drag an outline around the entire lion in the Top view to select all the lion parts, and then click and drag the entire lion again.
This time, the entire lion moves as one entity, and the name field displays Multiple Selected.
6. Open the Select Objects dialog box by clicking the Select by Name button on the main toolbar (or by pressing the H key).
All the individual parts that make up this model are listed.
7. Double-click the nose object listed in the dialog box.
The Select Objects dialog box automatically closes, and the nose object becomes selected in the viewports.
Figure 6.6 shows our lion friend with just its nose object selected. Notice that the name of