3ds Max 2012 Bible - Kelly L. Murdock [91]
Caution
If multiple objects are selected within the Layer Manager, then right-clicking an object's name deselects all the selected objects. To maintain the current selection, right-click within the Layer Manager, away from the Layers column. •
Tutorial: Dividing a scene into layers
As a scene begins to come together, you'll start to find that it is difficult to keep track of all the different pieces. This is where the layers interface can really help. In this example, you take a simple scene and divide it into several layers.
To divide a scene into layers, follow these steps:
1. Open the Elk on hill layers.max scene file.
You can find it in the Chap 06 directory on the CD. This file includes an Elk model created by Viewpoint Datalabs.
2. Select Tools⇒ Manage Layers to open the Layer Manager.
3. With no objects selected, click the Create New Layer button and name the layer Hill and trees. Click the Create New Layer button again, and name this layer Elk. Click the Create New Layer button again, and create a layer named Background and light. The Layer Manager now includes four layers, including layer 0.
4. In the Layer Manager, click the first column for the Elk layer to make it the current layer. With the Edit⇒Select All (Ctrl+A) menu command, select all objects in the scene and click the Add Selected Objects to Highlighted Layer button in the Layer Manager.
5. Expand the Elk layer by clicking the + icon to the left of its name.
This displays all the objects within this layer.
6. Select all the trees and the hill objects by holding down the Ctrl key and clicking each object's name in the Layer Manager. Then right-click away from the names, and select Cut from the pop-up menu. Then select the Hill and trees layer, and select Paste from the right-click pop-up menu.
7. Select the background and light objects from within the Elk layer, and click the Select Highlighted Objects and Layers button. Then select the Background and light layer, and click the Add Selected Objects to Highlighted Layer button to move the background and light objects to the correct layer.
You can now switch between the layers, depending on which one you want to add objects to or work on, and you can change properties as needed. For example, to focus on the deer object, you can quickly hide the other layers using the Layer Manager.
Using the Scene Explorer
The Scene Explorer is a one-stop shop for all scene objects and display properties. It displays all the objects in the scene in a hierarchical list along with various display properties. It allows you to filter the display so you can see just what you want and customize the display so only those properties you want to see are visible. The Scene Explorer also lets you select, rename, hide, sort, freeze, link, and delete objects and change the object color.
A Scene Explorer dialog box, shown in Figure 6.19, is opened using the Tools ⇒New Scene Explorer menu command (Alt+Ctrl+O). Each subsequent Scene Explorer view is numbered, but these individual views also can be named using the View field at the top of each Scene Explorer window. Each new or named view can be recalled with the Tools⇒Saved Scene Explorers menu, and the Tools⇒Manage Scene Explorers opens a simple dialog box where you can Load, Save, Delete, and Rename the saved views.
Note
Scene Explorer views are automatically saved and reloaded with the Max file. •
FIGURE 6.19
The Scene Explorer dialog box displays all scene objects and their display properties.
All scene objects in the Scene Explorer are listed in hierarchical order with children objects indented under their parent objects. You can expand or contract children objects by clicking the plus (+) or minus (−) icon to the left of the parent object.
Selecting