3ds Max 2012 Bible - Kelly L. Murdock [93]
Note
If the Lock Cell Editing button is enabled, none of the properties can be changed. •
If you click the column name, you can sort all the listed objects either in descending or ascending order. Click the column name once to sort in ascending order and again to sort in descending order. You also can right-click and select the sorting order from the pop-up menu. For example, if you click the Faces column, all the objects are sorted so the objects with the smallest number of faces are listed at the top of the interface and the objects with the most faces are listed at the bottom.
FIGURE 6.20
The Advanced Search dialog box lets you select search criteria using drop-down lists.
You also can rearrange the columns by dragging and dropping them to a new location. Selecting the Customize⇒Configure Columns menu opens the Configure Columns dialog box, shown in Figure 6.21. This dialog box lists all the available remaining display property columns. To add one to the Scene Explorer, simply select it from the Configure Columns dialog box and drop it where you want it.
The Configure Columns dialog box includes a large number of properties that can be added as columns to the Scene Explorer including Revit Category, Revit Family, Revit Level, Revit Type, and Application Origin.
Tip
The width of each column can be altered by dragging on either side. To reset all column widths, right-click a column name and choose Best Fit (all columns) from the pop-up menu. •
FIGURE 6.21
The Configure Columns dialog box holds all the display properties not currently available in the Scene Explorer.
Using the Edit menu, you also can cut, copy, and paste selected objects, called nodes. Pasting objects opens the Clone Options dialog box. The Customize menu also includes options to hide various toolbars and a choice to lay out the window using horizontal or vertical icons.
Summary
Selecting objects enables you to work with them, and Max includes many different ways to select objects. In this chapter, you've done the following:
• Learned how to use selection filters
• Selected objects with the Edit menu by Name, Layer, Color, and Region
• Selected multiple objects and used a named selection set to find the set easily
• Selected objects using other interfaces
• Accessed the Object Properties dialog box to set Display and Rendering settings for an object
• Learned how to hide and freeze objects
• Separated objects using layers
• Used the Scene Explorer dialog box
Now that you've learned how to select objects, you're ready to move them about using the transform tools, which are covered in the next chapter.
Chapter 7: Transforming Objects, Pivoting, Aligning, and Snapping
IN THIS CHAPTER
Transforming objects
Controlling transformations with the Transform Gizmos, the Transform Type-Ins, and the Transform Managers
Working with pivot points and axis constraints
Aligning objects with the align tools
Using grids and snapping objects to common points
Although a transformation sounds like something that would happen during the climax of a superhero film, transformation is simply the process of “repositioning” or changing an object's position, rotation, or scale. So moving an object from here to there is a transformation. Superman would be so envious.
Max includes several tools to help in the transformation of objects, including the Transform Gizmos, the Transform Type-In dialog box, and the Transform Managers.
This chapter covers each of these tools and several others that make transformations more automatic, such as the alignment, grid, and snap features.
Translating, Rotating, and Scaling Objects
So you have an object created, and it's just sitting there—sitting and waiting. Waiting for what? Waiting to be transformed. To be moved a little to the left or rotated around to show its good side or scaled down a little smaller.