Page 364 - Kitab3DsMax

Part III: Modeling Basics

Note
The list of available fonts includes only the Windows TrueType fonts and Type 1 PostScript fonts installed on your
system and any extra fonts located in the font path listed in the Configure Paths dialog box. You need to restart
Max before the fonts in the font path are recognized. n
The size of the text is determined by the Size value. The Kerning (which is the space between adjacent char-
acters) and Leading (which is the space between adjacent lines of text) values can actually be negative.
Setting the Kerning value to a large negative number actually displays the text backwards. Figure 12.9
shows an example of some text and an example of kerning values in the Max interface.
You can type the text to be created in the text area. You can cut, copy, and paste text into this text area from
an external application if you right-click on the text area. After setting the parameters and typing the text,
the text appears as soon as you click in one of the viewports. The text is updated automatically when any of
the parameters (including the text) are changed. To turn off automatic updating, select the Manual Update
toggle. You can then update with the Update button.
To enter special characters into the text area, hold down the Alt key while typing the character code using the
numeric keypad. For example, type 0188 in the numeric keypad with the Alt key held down and the ⁄4 sym-
1
bol appears. If you open the Character Map application, you can see a complete list of special characters and
the number combinations that make them appear. The Character Map application, shown in Figure 12.10,
can be opened in Windows by selecting Start ➪ All Programs ➪ Accessories ➪ System Tools ➪ Character Map.

FIGURE 12.9
The Text shape lets you control the space between letters, known as kerning.

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