3ds Max 2012 Bible - Kelly L. Murdock [90]
FIGURE 6.17
Use the Layers toolbar to set the active layer.
Table 6.4 lists the buttons found in the Layer Manager.
With the Layer Manager open, you can create new layers by clicking the Create New Layer button. This adds a new layer to the manager, names it “Layer01,” and includes any selected objects as part of the layer. If you click the layer's name, you can rename it. Layer 0 is the default layer to which all objects are added, if other layers don't exist. Layer 0 cannot be renamed.
Note
Although you can rename layers in the Layer Manager, you cannot use the Layer Manager to rename objects. To rename an object from the Layer Manager, simply click the object's icon to open the Object Properties dialog box, where you can change the object's name. •
Creating a new layer automatically makes the new layer the current layer as denoted by the check mark in the first column of the Layer Manager. All new objects that are created are automatically added to the current layer. Only one layer can be current at a time, but several layers or objects can be highlighted. To highlight a layer, click it in the Layer Manager. Highlighted layers are highlighted in yellow.
A highlighted layer can be deleted with the Delete Highlighted Empty Layer button, but only if it is not the current layer and it doesn't contain any objects.
Newly created objects are added to the current layer (the one marked with a check mark in the first column of the Layer Manager). If you forget to select the correct layer for the new objects, you can select the objects in the viewports, highlight the correct layer, and use the Add Selected Objects to Highlighted Layer button to add the objects to the correct layer.
Note
Every object can be added only to a single layer. You cannot add the same object to multiple layers. •
The Select Highlighted Objects and Layers button selects the highlighted layers (and objects) in the viewports. This provides a way to select all the objects on a given layer. If an object in the viewports is selected, you can quickly see which layer it belongs to with the Highlight Selected Object's Layers button.
If you expand the layer name in the Layer Manager, you see a list of all the objects contained within the layer. If you click the Layer icon (to the left of the layer's name), the Layer Properties dialog box, shown in Figure 6.18, opens. Clicking the Object icon opens the Object Properties dialog box. You also can open either of these dialog boxes by right-clicking the layer name and selecting either from the pop-up menu.
FIGURE 6.18
The Layer Properties dialog box is similar to the Object Properties dialog box, but it applies to the entire layer.
Using the layer list
The main section of the Layer Manager (and repeated in the Layers toolbar) is the layer list and its columns, which allow you to turn certain properties on and off. The properties in the columns include Hide, Freeze, Render, Color, and Radiosity. If a property is enabled, a simple icon is displayed; if disabled, a dash is displayed. If an object is set to get its property from the layer (by clicking the ByLayer button in the Object Properties dialog box), then a dot icon is displayed. Individual objects within a layer can have different properties. You can sort the column properties by clicking the column head.
You can toggle these properties on and off by clicking them. You also can set these properties in the Layers toolbar. The Hide toggle determines whether the layer's objects are visible in the viewports. The Freeze toggle makes objects on a layer unselectable. The Render toggle enables the layer's objects to be rendered. The Color toggle sets the layer color. Layer 0 is set to assign random colors and cannot be changed. The Radiosity toggle includes the layer's objects in the radiosity calculations.
The Layer Manager