Lesson III - 3D Studio Interface
3D Studio R4
The Menu Bar & The Functions Menu
The 3D Studio menu interface is quite simple as it is similiar to the
Windows menu system. However the access methods are different. To access
the program menus just move your mouse pointer to the top of the screen
and the menu bar will appear as when you press Alt in any windows program.
However, press Alt will not bring the menu bar out in 3D Studio. The menu
bar will appear at the top of the screen. On the right is the Functions
Menu. It will be visible all the time. The Functions menu contains various
commands to manipulate 3D objects and elements. The menu contents vary from
module to module. All of the main functions listed contain submenus. Clicking
on them will bring up the submenu below the main menu list. The submenu
is separated from the main menu by an slight indent to the left. Some of
the submenus have sub-submenus. They are marked with three full stops after
the command name. For example in 3D Editor there is a command in "Renderer"
submenu which has a sub-submenu called "Setup...". Other commands
without submenus will look like "Render View" (no full stops).
If you click on a submenu with a sub-submenu then that sub-submenu will
appear below the submenu with a slight indent to the left.
The Navigation Tools
Below the Function Menu are the Navigation Tools. These tool will help you
to move around in 3D space. The tools available are the Viewport Axis Rotation
tool, the Panning tool, the Maximize Viewport tool, the Local Axis tool,
the Zoom In tool, the Zoom To Specific Area tool, the Zoom Extents tool
and the Zoom Out tool. Below these tools are some other tools. These will
be discussed later.
Viewport Axis Rotation 
This tool is used to adjust the User viewport. However it can also be used
to adjust other viewports but the adjusted viewport will then be changed
into a User viewport. To adjust a viewport, click the viewport you want
to adjust to make it the active viewport (this will be indicated by a thick
white outline). Click the Viewport Axis Rotation tool. You will see three
lines defining the x axis , y axis and z axis. You can then control the
orientation of these axi using the mouse. When you are satisfied with the
new settings click again to implement the changes.
Panning 
This tool is used to move around the viewport along a single plane. To use
it first make the viewport you want to adjust active. Then, click on the
Panning tool. Move the mouse cursor over the active viewport. Click and
drag the mouse. An arrow will appear. This will define the direction of
the pan. The space at the source of the arrow will be moved to the location
of the arrow's head along the plane perpendicular to the viewport. You can
pan across a span of several times the size of the viewport.
Maximize Viewport 
This tools is used to maximize a viewport so that it fits the entire screen.
First make a viewport active. Then, click Maximize Viewport to maximize
the viewport. This is similiar to the maximize function in Windows. To minimize
a maximized viewport, click the same button again. Use this tool to help
you get a clearer and closer look at meshes and other objects. Precision
is also higher as the resolution of the viewport is increased.
Local Axis 
This tool is used to activate the local axis of an object. When this is
done, all transformations applied to the manipulated items will be based
on the local axis instead of the global axis. If you find your objects taking
large circles when you rotate them then you should use the local axis option.
More on the local axis will be discussed later. Click the Local Axis tool
to activate it and click on it again to deactivate it.
Zoom In 
This tool is used to zoom in any viewport. The zoom is set in stages that
can be modified in the 3D Studio settings file. To zoom in, first make the
viewport active. Then, click the Zoom In tool to zoom in. If you want a
more specific zoom level then use the Zoom To Specific Area tool. If you
wish to zoom in all veiwports at once you can do so by right clicking the
Zoom In tool.
Zoom To Specific Area 
This tool is used to zoom in to a specified area in any viewport. First
select the viewport you wish to zoom in to or out of (make the viewport
active). Then, click the Zoom To Specific Area tool. Move your mouse cursor
to the active viewport. Click and drag your mouse. A rectangular box will
be formed. The area specified within this box will be fit to the viewport.
If you specify an area smaller then the viewport then a zoom in will occur.
Otherwise, if the area you selected is bigger then the viewport then a zoom
out will occur.
Zoom Extents 
This tool is used to zoom to the extents of all visible items (meshes, lights,
cameras and other objects). By selecting an active viewport and clicking
this tool the zoom factor of the viewport will be resized automatically
so that all visible items fit within the viewport. If not all the items
are visible, then a zoom out will occur so that you can see everything.
Otherwise, if you see a lot of empty space around your items a zoom in will
occur causing all items to fit in the viewport without any redundant space.
To zoom to the extents of all the viewports at once, right click the Zoom
Extents tool.
Zoom Out 
This tool is used to zoom out any viewport. The zoom is set in stages that
can be modified in the 3D Studio settings file. To zoom out, first make
the viewport active. Then, click the Zoom Out tool to zoom in. If you want
a more specific zoom level then use the Zoom To Specific Area tool. If you
wish to zoom out all veiwports at once you can do so by right clicking the
Zoom Out tool.
This ends the first series of lesson which serves as an introduction
the the 3D Studio environment. In the next lesson we will discuss modeling
in the 2D Shaper.
Back to Learning 3D Studio menu.
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(Varian Qua)
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