Page 216 - Kitab3DsMax

Part II: Working with Objects

Caution
The Viewport Configuration dialog box also includes an option to Shade Selected Faces (F2), but this option
shades only selected subobject faces. n

FIGURE 6.1
Selected objects can be highlighted with selection brackets (left), edged faces (middle), or both (right).

With many objects in a scene, clicking directly on a single object, free from the others, can be difficult, but
persistence can pay off. If you continue to click an object that is already selected, then the object directly
behind the object you clicked on is selected. For example, if you have a row of spheres lined up, you can
select the third sphere by clicking three times on the first object.

Tip
In complicated scenes, finding an object is often much easier if it has a relevant name. Be sure to name your
new objects using the Name and Color rollout. If a single object is selected, its name appears in the Name and
Color rollout. n

Selection filters

Before examining the selection commands in the Edit menu, I need to tell you about Selection Filters. With
a complex scene that includes geometry, lights, cameras, shapes, and so on, selecting the exact object that
you want can be difficult. Selection filters can simplify this task.
A selection filter specifies which types of objects can be selected. The Selection Filter drop-down list is
located on the main toolbar to the left of the Select Object button. Selecting Shapes, for example, makes
only shape objects available for selection. Clicking a geometry object with the Shape Selection Filter enabled
does nothing.
The available filters include All, Geometry, Shapes, Lights, Cameras, Helpers, and Space Warps. If you’re
using Inverse Kinematics, you also can filter by Bone, IK Chain Object, and Point.
The Combos option opens the Filter Combinations dialog box, shown in Figure 6.2. From this dialog box,
you can select combinations of objects to filter. These new filter combinations are added to the drop-down
list. For example, to create a filter combination for lights and cameras, open the Filter Combinations dialog
box, select Lights and Cameras, and click Add. The combination is listed as LC in the Current Combinations
section, and the LC option is added to the drop-down list.
The Filter Combinations dialog box also includes a list of additional objects. Using this list, you can filter
very specific object types, such as a Boolean object or a Box primitive. In fact, the Bone, IK Chain Object,
and Point filters that appear in the default main toolbar drop-down list all come from this additional list.
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