Working with Custom Interfaces


If you've changed your interface, you'll be happy to know that the Customize menu includes a way for you to save and then reload your custom setup. This feature is especially helpful for users who share a copy of Max.

Tip 

Any custom .ui file can be loaded as the default interface from the command line by adding a -c and the .ui filename after the 3dsmax.exe file (for example, 3dsmax.exe -c my_interface.ui).

Saving and loading a custom interface

Custom interface schemes are saved with the .ui extension using the Customize image from book Save Custom UI Scheme menu command. When you save a custom scheme, Max opens a file dialog box where you can name the .ui file, and then the Custom Scheme dialog box, shown in Figure 5.11. This dialog box lets you choose which customizations to include in the custom scheme. It also lets you select the icon type to use. The options are Classic and 2D Black and White.

image from book
Figure 5.11: The Custom Scheme dialog box appears when you're saving a custom interface and lets you select which items to include.

You can load saved user interface schemes with Customize image from book Load Custom UI. The default Max install includes several predefined interface setups located in the UI directory. These standard interfaces are available:

  • Default UI: Default interface that opens when Max is first installed.

  • Ame-dark: Displays the standard interface with black windows, backgrounds, and viewports. All the icons and menus are light gray, and many of the icons are different, as shown in Figure 5.12.

    image from book
    Figure 5.12: If you prefer a darker interface, then try loading the Ame-dark scheme.

  • Ame-light: Same as the Ame-dark layout, except the icons and menus are black and the backgrounds are all light gray. Many icons are different here, too.

  • ModularToolbars UI: An interface that breaks the main toolbar into many smaller toolbars that are easier to move and arrange.

You also can use both the Load Custom UI and Save Custom UI menu commands to save and load any of the custom user interface files types, including these:

  • Interface Scheme files (.ui)

  • UI files (.cui)

  • Menu files (.mnu)

  • Color files (.clr)

  • Keyboard Shortcut files (.kbd)

  • Quadmenu Options files (.qop)

Tutorial: Saving a custom interface

You can save personalized interfaces for later recall in the 3dsmax\UI directory where Max is installed. If you save a custom UI Scheme as the MaxStart.ui file, then your custom interface is loaded automatically when Max starts.

To have Max start with your custom interface, follow these steps:

  1. Customize your interface by making any desired changes.

  2. Choose Customize image from book Save Custom UI Scheme. The Save Custom UI Scheme dialog box opens.

  3. Open the UI subdirectory (if you are not already there), select the MaxStart.ui file, and click OK.

  4. Click OK to replace the existing file.

Note 

You can set Max to automatically save your interface changes when exiting. Select the Save UI Configuration on Exit option in the General tab of the Preference Settings dialog box.

Locking the interface

After you're comfortable with your interface changes, locking the interface to prevent accidental changes is a good idea. To lock the current interface, choose Customize image from book Lock UI Layout (or press the Alt+0 keyboard shortcut). Locking the interface prevents changes by dragging interface elements, but you can still make interface changes using the pop-up menus.

Reverting to the startup interface

When you're first playing around with Max's customization features, really messing things up can be easy. If you get in a bind, you can reload the default startup interface (MaxStart.ui) with the Customize image from book Revert to Startup UI Layout command. Using the File image from book Reset menu command does not reset changes to the layout.

Note 

If your MaxStart.ui file gets messed up, you can reinstate the original default interface setup by deleting the MaxStart.ui file before starting Max. However, do not overwrite the default UI file because this file is needed to reinstate the default UI.

Switching between default and custom interfaces

The Customize image from book Custom UI and Defaults Switcher menu command opens an interactive window that presents several options for selecting initial settings and interface schemes, as shown in Figure 5.13. At the top of the window, you can select an option, and then details about the selected option are displayed.

image from book
Figure 5.13: This window explains the benefits of the different initial settings and scheme choices.

The initial settings for the tool options list include Max, Max.mentalray, DesignVIZ, and DesignVIZ.mentalray. These different selections cause the default settings for the various controls to change. For example, the default renderer for Max is the Scanline renderer, but for the Max.mentalray option, mental ray is the default renderer.

The schemes list includes the same custom interfaces listed earlier, along with any custom interfaces that have been saved.

After selecting the initial settings and scheme to use, click the Set button to commit the selections to the interface. The button with arrows on it in the lower left displays the initial information page again.

Tutorial: Creating custom initial settings

You can add your own custom set of initial settings to the Defaults Switcher, which lets you quickly set a large number of custom settings.

To add a custom set of initial settings to the Default Switcher, follow these steps:

  1. Locate the Defaults folder where Max is installed. Copy and rename one of the folders. The folder can contain three different settings files: CurrentDefaults.ini, Medit.mat, and MaxStart.max.

  2. Open the CurrentDefaults.ini file within a text editor, and carefully edit this file to include the settings you want to use. You can find details on each of these settings in the User Reference.

  3. Save the default materials to appear in the Material Editor as Medit.mat and the Max file to initially open as MaxStart.max.

    Note 

    If any of the settings within the CurrentDefaults.ini file or if the other files are missing from the new settings folder, then the settings and files within the default Max directory are used.

  4. Select the Customize image from book Custom UI and Defaults Switcher menu command. The new folder's name appears in the list. Select the new name to load the defined settings.




3ds Max 9 Bible
3ds Max 9 Bible
ISBN: 0470100893
EAN: 2147483647
Year: 2007
Pages: 383

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