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Automating with
MAXScript

he Max designers went to great lengths to make sure that you are limited CHAPTER
only by your imagination in terms of what you can do in Max. They’ve IN THIS CHAPTER
Tpacked in so many different features and so many different ways to use
those features that you could use Max for years and still learn new ways of doing Getting acquainted with
things. MAXScript
Despite Max’s wide range of capabilities, there may come a time when you wish Learning the MAXScript tools,
for a new Max feature. With MAXScript, you can actually extend Max to meet such as the MAXScript Editor
your needs, customize it to work the way you want, and even have it do some of and Listener windows
the more monotonous tasks for you.
Recording scripts with the
Macro Recorder
What Is MAXScript? Setting MAXScript preferences

In this chapter, you’ll look at MAXScript—what it’s for and why in the world you Discovering the various
would ever want to use it. But before getting into the nitty-gritty details, I’ll start script types
with a brief overview.
Writing your own scripts
Simply put, MAXScript is a tool that you can use to expand the functionality of
Max. You can use it to add new features or to customize how Max behaves, so Understanding the Visual
that it’s tailored to your needs and style. You can also use MAXScript as a sort of MaxScript Editor interface
VCR; it can record your actions so you can play them back later, eliminating Building a custom rollout with
repetitive tasks.
the Visual MAXScript Editor
You can use MAXScript to “talk” to Max about a scene and tell it what you want
to happen, either by having Max watch what you do or by typing in a list of
instructions that you want Max to execute.

The beauty of MAXScript lies in its flexibility and simplicity: It is easy to use and
was designed from the ground up to be an integral part of Max. But don’t let its
simplicity fool you; MAXScript as a language is rich enough to let you control
just about anything.

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