Page 238 - Kitab3DsMax

Part II: Working with Objects

Creating a new layer automatically makes the new layer the current layer as denoted by the check mark in
the first column of the Layer Manager. All new objects that are created are automatically added to the cur-
rent layer. Only one layer can be current at a time, but several layers or objects can be highlighted. To high-
light a layer, click it in the Layer Manager. Highlighted layers are highlighted in yellow.
A highlighted layer can be deleted with the Delete Highlighted Empty Layer button, but only if it is not the
current layer and it doesn’t contain any objects.
Newly created objects are added to the current layer (the one marked with a check mark in the first column
of the Layer Manager). If you forget to select the correct layer for the new objects, you can select the objects
in the viewports, highlight the correct layer, and use the Add Selected Objects to Highlighted Layer button
to add the objects to the correct layer.

Note
Every object can be added only to a single layer. You cannot add the same object to multiple layers. n
The Select Highlighted Objects and Layers button selects the highlighted layers (and objects) in the view-
ports. This provides a way to select all the objects on a given layer. If an object in the viewports is selected,
you can quickly see which layer it belongs to with the Highlight Selected Object’s Layers button.
If you expand the layer name in the Layer Manager, you see a list of all the objects contained within the
layer. If you click the Layer icon (to the left of the layer’s name), the Layer Properties dialog box, shown in
Figure 6.18, opens. Clicking the Object icon opens the Object Properties dialog box. You also can open
either of these dialog boxes by right-clicking the layer name and selecting either from the pop-up menu.

FIGURE 6.18
The Layer Properties dialog box is similar to the Object Properties dialog box, but it applies to the entire layer.

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