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Chapter 7: Transforming Objects, Pivoting, Aligning, and Snapping

Cross-Ref
In the Align button flyout are two other common ways to align objects: Align Camera and Place Highlight
(Ctrl+H). To learn about these features, see Chapter 19, “Configuring and Aiming Cameras,” and Chapter 20,
“Using Lights and Basic Lighting Techniques,” respectively. n

Aligning to a view
The Align to View command provides an easy and quick way to reposition objects to one of the axes. To
use this command, select an object and choose Tools ➪ Align ➪ Align to View. The Align to View dialog box
appears, as shown in Figure 7.15. Changing the settings in this dialog box displays the results in the view-
ports. You can use the Flip command for altering the direction of the object points. If no object is selected,
then the Align to View command cannot be used.

FIGURE 7.15
The Align to View dialog box is a quick way to line up objects with the axes.

The Align to View command is especially useful for fixing the orientation of objects when you create them
in the wrong view. All alignments are completed relative to the object’s Local Coordinate System. If several
objects are selected, each object is reoriented according to its Local Coordinate System.

Note
Using the Align to View command on symmetrical objects like spheres doesn’t produce any noticeable difference
in the viewports. n

Using Grids

When Max is started, the one element that is visible is the Home Grid. This grid is there to give you a refer-
ence point for creating objects in 3D space. At the center of each grid are two darker lines. These lines meet
at the origin point for the World Coordinate System where the coordinates for X, Y, and Z are all 0.0. This
point is where all objects are placed by default.

In addition to the Home Grid, you can create and place new grids in the scene. These grids are not ren-
dered, but you can use them to help you locate and align objects in 3D space.

The Home Grid
You can turn the Home Grid on and off by choosing Tools ➪ Grid and Snaps ➪ Show Home Grid. (You also
can turn the Home Grid on and off for the active viewport using the G key.) If the Home Grid is the only grid
in the scene, then by default it is also the construction grid where new objects are positioned when created.

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