The below post is part of my book: Create Stunning Renders Using Corona in 3ds Max: Guiding the Next Generation of 3D Renderers.
If you want to skip reading, you can watch my YouTube video.
When you open Autodesk 3ds Max 2024, a Welcome Screen appears. It is a set of slides designed to provide new users with basic information to help get started.
When you close the Welcome Screen, you see the 3ds Max interface (1.1.1), which consists of the following items:
1.1.1 Autodesk 3ds Max 2024 interface
1. Title bar: Shows the name of the project and the version of the 3ds Max. Every new project is named by default Untitled and you need to Save the project to rename it.
2. Menu bar (File, Edit, Tools, …): Contains drop-down menus with commands. The name of each menu indicates the purpose of the commands.
3. Main Toolbar: Provides quick access to some of the most used commands in 3ds Max, like the commands Undo, Redo, Move, Rotate or Scale.
4. V-Ray Toolbar: Contains shortcuts for some of the most used V-Ray commands. For more information on V-Ray, please check the book Create Stunning Renders Using V-Ray in 3ds Max: Guiding the Next Generation of 3D Renderers.
5. Chaos Corona Toolbar: Contains shortcuts for some of the most used Corona commands. For more information on Corona, please check the book Create Stunning Renders Using Corona in 3ds Max: Guiding the Next Generation of 3D Renderers.
6. Command Panel: Consists of six sub-panels: Create, Modify, Hierarchy, Motion, Display, and Utilities. They include controls for creating objects, editing them, animation and display options, and miscellaneous utilities. You use this panel mainly to create and edit the cameras and the lights in a scene.
7. Viewport Navigation Controls: Includes buttons that control the display and navigation of the viewports. Some of the buttons change depending on which viewport is active.
8. Animation and Time Controls: Contains the main controls for animation.
9. Time Slider: Allows you to move through any frame of the animation.
10. Status Bar: On the left side there is a two-line interface, where you can create scripts and execute commands. On its right, there is the Status line, which displays the number and type of object(s) selected, and below the Status line there is the Prompt line, giving instructions on what your next step should be. On the right of the Status line there is the Coordinate Display area with the X, Y, Z fields indicating the coordinates of the selected object and allowing you to control its position.
11. Viewports: Everything in 3ds Max is located in a three-dimensional world that is viewed through one or more (up to 4) viewports. By using multiple viewports, you can have the best possible visualization of objects in a scene.
If you look at the various toolbars, you will notice a double dotted line at the beginning of each toolbar. If you move the cursor there, it changes appearance to a double-cross, and you can click and drag to reposition the toolbar in the 3ds Max interface (1.1.2). Select the Chaos Corona Toolbar and drag it to dock it at the left side of the 3ds Max interface. Do the same for the V-Ray Toolbar (1.1.3).
1.1.2 Cursor conversion to a double-cross
1.1.3 The Chaos Corona and the V-Ray Toolbars repositioned on the left side of the interface
To hide or unhide a toolbar, right-click on the double dotted line at the beginning of a toolbar or on an empty area at any toolbar’s ribbon and select/deselect from the pop-up menu any toolbar. Click on the Viewport Layout Tabs and the Scene Explorer – Default to hide them (1.1.4 & 1.1.5).
1.1.4 Ways to hide / unhide a toolbar
1.1.5 Autodesk 3ds Max 2024 interface after the adjustments
Thanks for reading, see you in my next post!
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