Post on 04-Apr-2018
7/30/2019 3D Studio MAX Hotkeys and Mouse Essentials
1/31
3D Studio MAX Hotkeys and Mouse
Essentials
Posted onJanuary 12, 2007byMike Nuts
When you start out with 3D Studio MAX you will likely start with trying out different tools and
features and the basics. Something that should be included in those basics, but is often left out, isusing hotkeys. As you already know, or will certainly find out soon, creating 3D art is a time-
consuming activity. Using hotkeys and the mouse efficiently can save you tons of time. At firstyou may need to spend some time looking up the hotkey (see printer-friendly version of thistutorial here), but once you memorize them through using them, they will allow you to produce
results at least twice as fast. When you modeling for example (moving, scaling, rotating, etc.),
with one hand on the mouse, you will have your other hand free to press one of the hotkeys.
Lets start with several of the main hotkeys you just cant ignore:
F1Opens 3D Max Reference (Help)
Depending on the feature you are currently working with, it may take you directly to the main
help page regarding that feature.
F2Shade selected faces toggle
When you are in polygon sub-object level and select one or more polygons, they will be shadedentirely (red) by default, like this:
When you press the F2 key you can toggle between the default setting and having only the edges
turn red for select faces/polygons, as shown below. This can be very useful when you havecomplex models.
http://www.3dvalley.com/tutorials/3d-studio-max-hotkeys-and-mouse-essentials/http://www.3dvalley.com/tutorials/3d-studio-max-hotkeys-and-mouse-essentials/http://www.3dvalley.com/tutorials/3d-studio-max-hotkeys-and-mouse-essentials/http://www.3dvalley.com/author/mike-nuts/http://www.3dvalley.com/author/mike-nuts/http://www.3dvalley.com/author/mike-nuts/http://www.3dvalley.com/images/3DStudioMAXHotkeysandMouseEssentials_2170/clip_image002.gifhttp://www.3dvalley.com/images/3DStudioMAXHotkeysandMouseEssentials_2170/clip_image001.gifhttp://www.3dvalley.com/tutorials/3d-studio-max-hotkeys-and-mouse-essentialshttp://www.3dvalley.com/images/3DStudioMAXHotkeysandMouseEssentials_2170/clip_image002.gifhttp://www.3dvalley.com/images/3DStudioMAXHotkeysandMouseEssentials_2170/clip_image001.gifhttp://www.3dvalley.com/tutorials/3d-studio-max-hotkeys-and-mouse-essentialshttp://www.3dvalley.com/images/3DStudioMAXHotkeysandMouseEssentials_2170/clip_image002.gifhttp://www.3dvalley.com/images/3DStudioMAXHotkeysandMouseEssentials_2170/clip_image001.gifhttp://www.3dvalley.com/tutorials/3d-studio-max-hotkeys-and-mouse-essentialshttp://www.3dvalley.com/author/mike-nuts/http://www.3dvalley.com/tutorials/3d-studio-max-hotkeys-and-mouse-essentials/7/30/2019 3D Studio MAX Hotkeys and Mouse Essentials
2/31
F3Toggle between Wireframe and Smooth + Highlights
By default, a viewport in 3D Studio MAX will show objects as wireframes. Instead of right-
clicking the viewport and choosing Smooth + Highlights to show the shaded object, you can
simply press the F3 key to set a viewport to Smooth + Highlights as shown below, or back to
Wireframe.
F4View Edged Faces
As you can see in the picture above, when you switch to Smooth + Highlights, 3D Studio MAX
will not show the edges of the faces. By pressing the F4 key, you can have the object display the
edges of all faces, regardless of whether they are selected:
The following two are usually the first two keys I press when starting with a default emptyscene:
GHide/Show Grid
Unless you actually need the grid (e.g. to snap to), it can get in the way. The G key allows you tohide or show it.
JShow Selection Bracket Toggle
The reason for using this key is similar to using the G key. By default, 3D Studio MAX shows a
selection bracket around each select object (unless the viewport is in Wireframe mode). This can
become very annoying, but can easily be removed by pressing the J key.
The following four keys are amongst the first I suggest you start using:
QSelect
http://www.3dvalley.com/images/3DStudioMAXHotkeysandMouseEssentials_2170/clip_image006.gifhttp://www.3dvalley.com/images/3DStudioMAXHotkeysandMouseEssentials_2170/clip_image005.gifhttp://www.3dvalley.com/images/3DStudioMAXHotkeysandMouseEssentials_2170/clip_image004.gifhttp://www.3dvalley.com/images/3DStudioMAXHotkeysandMouseEssentials_2170/clip_image003.gifhttp://www.3dvalley.com/images/3DStudioMAXHotkeysandMouseEssentials_2170/clip_image006.gifhttp://www.3dvalley.com/images/3DStudioMAXHotkeysandMouseEssentials_2170/clip_image005.gifhttp://www.3dvalley.com/images/3DStudioMAXHotkeysandMouseEssentials_2170/clip_image004.gifhttp://www.3dvalley.com/images/3DStudioMAXHotkeysandMouseEssentials_2170/clip_image003.gifhttp://www.3dvalley.com/images/3DStudioMAXHotkeysandMouseEssentials_2170/clip_image006.gifhttp://www.3dvalley.com/images/3DStudioMAXHotkeysandMouseEssentials_2170/clip_image005.gifhttp://www.3dvalley.com/images/3DStudioMAXHotkeysandMouseEssentials_2170/clip_image004.gifhttp://www.3dvalley.com/images/3DStudioMAXHotkeysandMouseEssentials_2170/clip_image003.gifhttp://www.3dvalley.com/images/3DStudioMAXHotkeysandMouseEssentials_2170/clip_image006.gifhttp://www.3dvalley.com/images/3DStudioMAXHotkeysandMouseEssentials_2170/clip_image005.gifhttp://www.3dvalley.com/images/3DStudioMAXHotkeysandMouseEssentials_2170/clip_image004.gifhttp://www.3dvalley.com/images/3DStudioMAXHotkeysandMouseEssentials_2170/clip_image003.gif7/30/2019 3D Studio MAX Hotkeys and Mouse Essentials
3/31
Enables the Select tool:
WSelect and Move
Enables the Select and Move tool:
ESelect and Rotate
Enables the Select and Rotate tool:
RSelect and Scale
Enables the Select and Scale tool:
HSelect by Name
Opens the Select by name dialog. This dialog shows a list with all visible objects in the scene.When you need to attach or link objects for example, and there are many objects in the scene,selecting by name can make things a lot easier.
CTRL-ASelect all
CTRL-DDeselect all
Spacebar Selection Lock toggle
This key can be useful sometimes, but annoying more often. When you try to select a certain
object and a different object remains selected, press the Spacebar key because you probablyalready hit it by accident and locked your selection.
1 to 5Sub-object level X
This is another good example of a real timesaver. Instead of using the mouse button to select a
sub-object level of an Editable Poly for example, you can press one of the following keys.
1Vertex
2Edge
3Border
4Polygon
5Element
7/30/2019 3D Studio MAX Hotkeys and Mouse Essentials
4/31
These allows you to quickly change between the sub-object levels, e.g. move a vertex, than scale
a polygons, chamfer a line, etc.
7Polygon counter
The 7 key allows you to display a polygon counter in the upper left of the upper left viewport:
8Open Environment and Effects Dialog
Viewport Hotkeys
FSwitch to the Front viewport
T
Switch to the Top viewport
LSwitch to the Left viewport
RSwitch to the Right viewport
PSwitch to the Perspective viewport
BSwitch to the Bottom viewport
CSwitch to a Camera viewport
CTRL-CCreate camera from viewport
Creates a new Camera, work only on Perspective viewports.
VOpen view shortcut menu
Allows you to pick a view from a list (using another key again of course). For example, press the
V key and then the K key for Back view.
ZZooms in on the current selection
CTRL-XToggle Expert mode
Removes command panels, toolbars, etc. and leaves you only with viewports. Dont even think
about using this unless you know your hotkeys.
ALT-QIsolate Object
http://www.3dvalley.com/images/3DStudioMAXHotkeysandMouseEssentials_2170/clip_image007.gifhttp://www.3dvalley.com/images/3DStudioMAXHotkeysandMouseEssentials_2170/clip_image007.gif7/30/2019 3D Studio MAX Hotkeys and Mouse Essentials
5/31
Isolates the object you selected and hides all others. This is a great feature for when you work
with a scene or object consisting of many individual objects. Unfortunately, it does not work forsub-object selections such as a group of polygons. If you got used to hiding and unhiding objects,
this option will definitely save you a lot of time.
O
Adaptive Degradation Toggle
Shows objects as boxes while moving, rotating, zooming on viewport to increase viewportperformance. I hardly ever use this one, but its one of those darn keys you may hit by accidentand wonder what the heck is going on with your objects.
XTransform Gizmo Toggle
Another good example of a key you may hit by accident and wonder why you cannot move,
scale, rotate, etc. anymore. Pressing X will change the gizmo from
to:
DDisables the viewport
Although this one can be useful, it is also one I occasionally press by accident. Press the D keyagain to disable/enable the viewport.
Shift-Z / Shift-YUndo /Redo viewport operation
Undo operations such as switching to a different view, rotating, zooming or moving through
viewport.
+ andIncrease/decrease Gizmo size
The following are three rendering related hotkeys I used the most:
F9Render last rendered viewport, or, in case of the first render, render selected viewport.
Shift-QQuick render, renders selected viewport.
F10Opens the Render Scene window allowing you to set rendering options.
MOpens the Material Editor
http://www.3dvalley.com/images/3DStudioMAXHotkeysandMouseEssentials_2170/clip_image010.gifhttp://www.3dvalley.com/images/3DStudioMAXHotkeysandMouseEssentials_2170/clip_image009.gifhttp://www.3dvalley.com/images/3DStudioMAXHotkeysandMouseEssentials_2170/clip_image008.gifhttp://www.3dvalley.com/images/3DStudioMAXHotkeysandMouseEssentials_2170/clip_image010.gifhttp://www.3dvalley.com/images/3DStudioMAXHotkeysandMouseEssentials_2170/clip_image009.gifhttp://www.3dvalley.com/images/3DStudioMAXHotkeysandMouseEssentials_2170/clip_image008.gifhttp://www.3dvalley.com/images/3DStudioMAXHotkeysandMouseEssentials_2170/clip_image010.gifhttp://www.3dvalley.com/images/3DStudioMAXHotkeysandMouseEssentials_2170/clip_image009.gifhttp://www.3dvalley.com/images/3DStudioMAXHotkeysandMouseEssentials_2170/clip_image008.gif7/30/2019 3D Studio MAX Hotkeys and Mouse Essentials
6/31
CTRL-VClone object
Although holding down the Shift key and moving, rotating, or scaling an object also allows you
to create a clone, by using CTRL-V you can create a clone on the exact same location and of the
same size as the original.
Alt-XDisplay As See-Through Toggle
By pressing the ALT-X keys you can display an object as see-through, partly transparent. This is
useful for when you need to see the model sheet/reference/blueprint or other models/geometrythrough it.
The following three are useful for while working with an Editable Poly:
Alt-LSelect Edge Loop
This is the same as pressing the Loop button in the Editable Poly section when you are in Edge
sub-object level.
ALT-CCut
Enables the Cut tool, which you can use to draw edges on polygons.
SHIFT -E / ALT-E Extrude poly
Enable the Extrude tool.
The hotkeys mentioned in this tutorial are just a small subset of the available hotkeys in 3D
Studio MAX. And additional or different hotkeys can be available depending on what featuresyou are using. If you search for Default Keyboard Shortcuts in the 3D Studio MAX user
reference, you should be able to find a complete overview.
In addition to the default keyboard shortcuts, you can use the following procedure to create a
custom keyboard shortcut:
1. Choose Customize menu > Customize User Interface > Keyboard panel.
2. Use the Group and Category lists to find the action for which you want to create a shortcut.
3. Click action in the Action list to highlight it.
http://www.3dvalley.com/images/3DStudioMAXHotkeysandMouseEssentials_2170/clip_image011.gif7/30/2019 3D Studio MAX Hotkeys and Mouse Essentials
7/31
4. In the Hotkey field, enter the keyboard shortcut you want to assign to the action.
5. Click Assign.
Using the Mouse Efficiently
Just as important as using hotkeys is for working efficiently, using the mouse properly can be a
huge timesaver as well. Using the primary mouse button frequently (thats the left button for themost of us) is mandatory when you use 3D Studio MAX but the others (middle, and right for
example) are just as useful.
Lets start with the secondary mouse button (usually the right-mouse button). The most common
purpose of this button is opening the shortcut menu. For example, if you right click on the nameof the viewport (e.g. Front, Left, and Perspective) a popup menu appears allowing you to
perform several tasks related to the viewport. For many of these options, you should use hotkeys
such as mentioned above, but for other options, such as the Properties of the viewports, its still
an useful menu. More useful though, is the main shortcut menu that opens when you right-clickon the viewport:
Some of the options on this menu I use frequently are:
- Unhide/Hide selected/unselected, by name, all
- Convert to Face/Vertex/Edge
This converts, for example, a selection of vertexes to a selection of edges. It does not actually
change the geometry of your model; it merely changes the sub-object level and remembers the
selection.
- Save and manage Scene States (very useful!)
Another common task for the right mouse button is to open the shortcut menu of a selected
object, e.g. to manage its Properties.
Some less common use of the right-mouse button:
- Right-click the Undo or Redo to see and select a list of undo/redo actions.
- Right-click a spinner to reset it to zero.
- Right-click a color or map slot to cut/clear/copy/paste it.
The middle mouse button I use more often than the right mouse button, especially during the
modeling process, and saves me a huge amount of time. The following are the most commontasks I perform with the middle mouse button:
7/30/2019 3D Studio MAX Hotkeys and Mouse Essentials
8/31
- Hold it to drag/move through viewport. This saves time because you dont have to switch your
current tool to the Pan View tool (little hand) at the right bottom of the interface and switch itback to the tool you were using.
- Hold it while also holding the ALT key to rotate the viewport, this saves time because you
dont have to switch your current tool to the Arc Rotate tool at the right bot tom of the interface(which you could do with CTRL-R if you dont have a middle mouse button).
- Since my middle button is also a scroll wheel, I use it to zoom in and out on the viewport. If
you hold the ALT key, you can zoom in more gradually.
If you merely read this article/tutorial, I suggest reading it again and trying the different hotkeys
and mouse operation. It will change the way you work with 3D Studio Max and you will be able
to produce a lot more results in the same amount of time. Below is a link to a printer-friendlyPDF version of this tutorial. Have fun!
3D Studio MAX Hotkeys and Mouse EssentialsPDF version
http://www.3dvalley.com/downloadables/3DStudioMAX-hotkeys.pdfhttp://www.3dvalley.com/downloadables/3DStudioMAX-hotkeys.pdfhttp://www.3dvalley.com/downloadables/3DStudioMAX-hotkeys.pdfhttp://www.3dvalley.com/downloadables/3DStudioMAX-hotkeys.pdfhttp://www.3dvalley.com/downloadables/3DStudioMAX-hotkeys.pdf7/30/2019 3D Studio MAX Hotkeys and Mouse Essentials
9/31
Keyboard shortcuts (3ds Max 7)
mobilefish.comInformation
This guide is based on 3D Studio Max 7.
Description Keyboard shortcut
Snaps Action Table
Snap To Edge/Segment Toggle Alt+F10
Snap To Endpoint Toggle Alt+F8
Snap To Face Toggle Alt+F11
Snap To Grid Points Toggle Alt+F5
Snap To Midpoint Toggle Alt+F9
Snap To Pivot Toggle Alt+F6
Snap To Vertex Toggle Alt+F7
Main UI
Adaptive Degradation Toggle O
Align Alt+A
Angle Snap Toggle A
Arc Rotate View Mode Ctrl+R
Auto Key Mode Toggle N
Background Lock Toggle Alt+Ctrl+B
7/30/2019 3D Studio MAX Hotkeys and Mouse Essentials
10/31
Backup Time One Unit ,
Bottom View B
Camera View C
Clone Ctrl+V
Cycle Active Snap Type Alt+S
Cycle Selection Method Ctrl+F
Cycle Snap Hit Alt+Shift+S
Default Lighting Toggle Ctrl+L
Delete Objects .
Disable Viewport D
Display as See-Through Toggle Alt+X
Environment Dialog Toggle 8
Expert Mode Toggle Ctrl+X
Fetch Alt+Ctrl+F
Forward Time One Unit .
Front View F
Go to End Frame End
Go to Start Frame Home
Hide Cameras Toggle Shift+C
Hide Geometry Toggle Shift+G
7/30/2019 3D Studio MAX Hotkeys and Mouse Essentials
11/31
Hide Grids Toggle G
Hide Helpers Toggle Shift+H
Hide Lights Toggle Shift+L
Hide Particle Systems Toggle Shift+P
Hide Shapes Toggle Shift+S
Hide Space Warps Toggle Shift+W
Hold Alt+Ctrl+H
Isometric User View U
Left View L
Lock User Interface Toggle Alt+0
Material Editor Toggle M
Maximize Viewport Toggle Alt+W
MAXScript Listener F11
New Scene Ctrl+N
Normal Align Alt+N
Open File Ctrl+O
Pan View Ctrl+P
Pan Viewport I
Percent Snap Toggle Shift+Ctrl+P
Perspective User View P
7/30/2019 3D Studio MAX Hotkeys and Mouse Essentials
12/31
Place Highlight Ctrl+H
Play Animation /
Quick Align Shift+A
Quick Render Shift+Q
Redo Scene Operation Ctrl+Y
Redo Viewport Operation Shift+Y
Redraw All Views `
Render Last F9
Render Scene Dialog Toggle F10
Restrict Plane Cycle F8
Restrict to X F5
Restrict to Y F6
Restrict to Z F7
Save File Ctrl+S
Scale Cycle Ctrl+E
Select All Ctrl+A
Select Ancestor PageUp
Select and Move W
Select and Rotate E
Select By Name H
7/30/2019 3D Studio MAX Hotkeys and Mouse Essentials
13/31
Select Child PageDown
Select Children Ctrl+PageDown
Select Invert Ctrl+I
Select None Ctrl+D
Selection Lock Toggle Space
Set Key Mode '
Set Keys K
Shade Selected Faces Toggle F2
Show Floating Dialogs Ctrl+`
Show Main Toolbar Toggle Alt+6
Show Safeframes Toggle Shift+F
Show Selection Bracket Toggle J
Snap To Frozen Objects Toggle Alt+F2
Snaps Toggle S
Snaps Use Axis Constraints Toggle Alt+D, Alt+F3
Sound Toggle \
Spacing Tool Shift+I
Spot/Directional Light View Shift+4
Sub-object Level Cycle Insert
Sub-object Selection Toggle Ctrl+B
7/30/2019 3D Studio MAX Hotkeys and Mouse Essentials
14/31
Top View T
Transform Gizmo Size Down -
Transform Gizmo Size Up =
Transform Gizmo Toggle X
Transform Type-In Dialog Toggle F12
Undo Scene Operation Ctrl+Z
Undo Viewport Operation Shift+Z
Update Background Image Alt+Shift+Ctrl+B
View Edged Faces Toggle F4
Viewport Background Alt+B
Virtual Viewport Pan Down NumPad 2
Virtual Viewport Pan Left NumPad 4
Virtual Viewport Pan Right NumPad 6
Virtual Viewport Pan Up NumPad 8
Virtual Viewport Toggle NumPad /
Virtual Viewport Zoom In NumPad +
Virtual Viewport Zoom Out NumPad -
Wireframe / Smooth+Highlights Toggle F3
Zoom Extents All Selected Z
Zoom Extents All Shift+Ctrl+Z
7/30/2019 3D Studio MAX Hotkeys and Mouse Essentials
15/31
Zoom Extents Alt+Ctrl+Z
Zoom In 2X Alt+Shift+Ctrl+Z
Zoom Mode Alt+Z
Zoom Out 2X Alt+Shift+Z
Zoom Region Mode Ctrl+W
Zoom Viewport In [, Ctrl+=
Zoom Viewport Out ], Ctrl+-
Track View
Add Keys A
Apply Ease Curve Ctrl+E
Apply Multiplier Curve Ctrl+M
Assign Controller C
Copy Controller Ctrl+C
Expand Object Toggle O
Expand Track Toggle Enter, T
Filters Q
Lock Selection Space
Lock Tangents Toggle L
Make Controller Unique U
Move Highlight Down Down Arrow
7/30/2019 3D Studio MAX Hotkeys and Mouse Essentials
16/31
Move Highlight Up Up Arrow
Move Keys M
Nudge Keys Left Left Arrow
Nudge Keys Right Right Arrow
Pan P
Paste Controller Ctrl+V
Scroll Down Ctrl+Down Arrow
Scroll Up Ctrl+Up Arrow
Snap Frames S
Zoom Horizontal Extents Keys Alt+X
Zoom Z
Material Editor
Background B
Backlight L
Cycle 3X2, 5X3, 6X4 Sample Slots X
Get Material G
Go Backward to Sibling Left Arrow
Go Forward to Sibling Right Arrow
Go to Parent Up Arrow
Make Preview P
7/30/2019 3D Studio MAX Hotkeys and Mouse Essentials
17/31
Options O
Schematic View
Add Bookmark B
Display Floater D
Filters P
Free All Alt+F
Free Selected Alt+S
Invert Selected Nodes Ctrl+I
Move Children Alt+C
Next Bookmark Right Arrow
Previous Bookmark Left Arrow
Rename Object R
Select All Nodes Ctrl+A
Select Children Ctrl+C
Select None Ctrl+D
Show Grid G
Toggle Shrink Ctrl+S
Use Connect Tool C
Use Select Tool S
Zoom Selected Extents Z
7/30/2019 3D Studio MAX Hotkeys and Mouse Essentials
18/31
ActiveShade
Close Q
Draw Region D
Render R
Select Object S
Toggle Toolbar (Docked) Space
Video Post
Add Image Filter Event Ctrl+F
Add Image Input Event Ctrl+I
Add Image Layer Event Ctrl+L
Add Image Output Event Ctrl+O
Add New Event Ctrl+A
Add Scene Event Ctrl+S
Edit Current Event Ctrl+E
Execute Sequence Ctrl+R
New Sequence Ctrl+N
NURBS
CV Constrained Normal Move Alt+N
CV Constrained U Move Alt+U
CV Constrained V Move Alt+V
7/30/2019 3D Studio MAX Hotkeys and Mouse Essentials
19/31
Display Curves Shift+Ctrl+C
Display Dependents Ctrl+D
Display Lattices Ctrl+L
Display Shaded Lattice Alt+L
Display Surfaces Shift+Ctrl+S
Display Toolbox Ctrl+T
Display Trims Shift+Ctrl+T
Local Select Sub-Object By Name Ctrl+H
Lock 2D Selection Space
Select Next in U Ctrl+Right Arrow
Select Next in V Ctrl+Up Arrow
Select Previous in U Ctrl+Left Arrow
Select Previous in V Ctrl+Down Arrow
Select Sub-Object By Name H
Set Tessellation Preset 1 Alt+1
Set Tessellation Preset 2 Alt+2
Set Tessellation Preset 3 Alt+3
Soft Selection Ctrl+S
Switch To Curve CV Level Alt+Shift+Z
Switch To Curve Level Alt+Shift+C
7/30/2019 3D Studio MAX Hotkeys and Mouse Essentials
20/31
Switch To Imports Level Alt+Shift+I
Switch To Point Level Alt+Shift+P
Switch To Surface CV Level Alt+Shift+V
Switch To Surface Level Alt+Shift+S
Switch To Top Level Alt+Shift+T
Transform Degrade Ctrl+X
Editable Poly
Bevel Mode Shift+Ctrl+B
Border Level 3
Chamfer Mode Shift+Ctrl+C
Connect Shift+Ctrl+E
Constrain to Edges Shift+X
Cut Alt+C
Edge Level 2
Element Level 5
Extrude Mode Shift+E
Face Level 4
Grow Selection Ctrl+PageUp
Hide Unselected Alt+I
Hide Alt+H
7/30/2019 3D Studio MAX Hotkeys and Mouse Essentials
21/31
Object Level 6
Quickslice Mode Shift+Ctrl+Q
Repeat Last Operation ;
Select Edge Loop Alt+L
Select Edge Ring Alt+R
Shrink Selection Ctrl+PageDown
Unhide All Alt+U
Vertex Level 1
Weld Mode Shift+Ctrl+W
Edit/Editable Mesh
Bevel Mode Ctrl+V, Ctrl+B
Chamfer Mode Ctrl+C
Cut Mode Alt+C
Detach Ctrl+D
Edge Invisible Ctrl+I
Edge Level 2
Edge Turn Ctrl+T
Element Level 5
Extrude Mode Ctrl+E
Face Level 3
7/30/2019 3D Studio MAX Hotkeys and Mouse Essentials
22/31
Polygon Level 4
Vertex Level 1
Weld Selected Ctrl+W
Weld Target Mode Alt+W
Edit Normals
Break Normals B
Copy Normal Ctrl+C
Edge Level Ctrl+3
Face Level Ctrl+4
Make Explicit E
Normal Level Ctrl+1
Object Level Ctrl+0
Paste Normal Ctrl+V
Reset Normals R
Specify Normals S
Unify Normals U
Vertex Level Ctrl+2
FFD
Switch To Control Point Level Alt+Shift+C
Switch To Lattice Level Alt+Shift+L
7/30/2019 3D Studio MAX Hotkeys and Mouse Essentials
23/31
Switch To Set Volume Level Alt+Shift+S
Switch To Top Level Alt+Shift+T
Edit Poly
Bevel Mode Shift+Ctrl+B
Border Level 3
Chamfer Mode Shift+Ctrl+C
Connect Shift+Ctrl+E
Constrain to Edges Shift+X
Cut Alt+C
Edge Level 2
Element Level 5
Extrude Mode Shift+E
Grow Selection Ctrl+PageUp
Hide Unselected Alt+I
Hide Alt+H
Object Level 6
Polygon Level 4
Quickslice Mode Shift+Ctrl+Q
Repeat Last Operation ;
Select Edge Loop Alt+L
7/30/2019 3D Studio MAX Hotkeys and Mouse Essentials
24/31
Select Edge Ring Alt+R
Shrink Selection Ctrl+PageDown
Unhide All Alt+U
Vertex Level 1
Weld Mode Shift+Ctrl+W
Physique
Copy Envelope Ctrl+C
Delete Ctrl+D
Next PageDown
Paste Envelope Ctrl+V
Previous Selection Level Shift+
Previous PageUp
Reset Envelopes Ctrl+E
Unwrap UVW
Break Selected Vertices Ctrl+B
Detach Edge Verts D, Ctrl+D
Edit UVW's Ctrl+E
Filter Selected Faces Alt+F
Freeze Selected Ctrl+F
Get Face Selection From Stack Alt+Shift+Ctrl+F
7/30/2019 3D Studio MAX Hotkeys and Mouse Essentials
25/31
7/30/2019 3D Studio MAX Hotkeys and Mouse Essentials
26/31
Zoom Extents Selected Alt+Ctrl+Z
Zoom Extents X
Zoom Region Ctrl+X
Zoom To Gizmo Shift+Space
Zoom Z
Crowd
Solve S
Biped
Change Leg State Alt+Ctrl+S
Collapse Move All Mode changes Alt+M
Copy Posture Alt+C
Fix Graphs Alt+Ctrl+F
Lock Selected Keys (toggle) Alt+Ctrl+L
Paste Posture Opposite Alt+B
Paste Posture Alt+V
Play Biped V
Reset all limb keys Alt+K
Scale In Transform (toggle) Alt+Ctrl+E
Set Key 0
Set Range Alt+R
7/30/2019 3D Studio MAX Hotkeys and Mouse Essentials
27/31
Toggle Biped Keys in TrackBar Alt+T
TV Select end of footsteps Alt+D
TV Select entire foostep Alt+S
TV Select start of foosteps Alt+A
Biped Curve Editing
Pos Curve Relative To Bip Root Ctrl+A
Pos Curve Relative To World Ctrl+A
Show Pos Accel Curve Ctrl+A
Show Pos Curve Ctrl+A
Show Pos Jerk Curve Ctrl+A
Show Pos Speed Curve Ctrl+A
Show Quat Curve Ctrl+A
Show Rot Accel Curve Ctrl+A
Show Rot Speed Curve Ctrl+A
Toggle Draw Every Frame Ctrl+A
Toggle Layered Edit Ctrl+A
Toggle Limit Quat Curve to 180 Ctrl+A
Toggle Manipulate Subanims Ctrl+A
Toggle Show Z Ctrl+A
Toggle Show X Ctrl+A
7/30/2019 3D Studio MAX Hotkeys and Mouse Essentials
28/31
Toggle Show Y Ctrl+A
Toggle Subanims Ctrl+A
Reaction Manager
Set Max Influence Ctrl+I
Set Min Influence Alt+I
Particle Flow
Particle Emission Toggle ;
Particle View Toggle 6
Particle Flow
Selected Particle Emission Toggle Shift+;
Particle Flow
Copy Selected In Particle View Ctrl+C
Paste In Particle View Ctrl+V
Select All In Particle View Ctrl+A
ActiveShade (Scanline)
Initialize P
Update U
ToneOperatorAndRadiosityActionTable
Advanced Lighting Panel 9
Object Display Culling
7/30/2019 3D Studio MAX Hotkeys and Mouse Essentials
29/31
Object Display Culling Alt+O
WalkThrough
Accelerate Toggle Q
Back S, Down Arrow
Decelerate Toggle Z
Decrease Step Size [
Down C, Shift+Down Arrow
Forward W, Up Arrow
Increase Step Size ]
Left A, Left Arrow
Level Shift+Space
Lock Vertical Rotation Space
Reset Step Size Alt+[
Right D, Right Arrow
Up E, Shift+Up Arrow
Macro Scripts
Add/Edit Parameters... (TV) Ctrl+1
Cap (Poly) Alt+P
Collapse (Poly) Alt+Ctrl+C
Collect Parameters SV Alt+3
7/30/2019 3D Studio MAX Hotkeys and Mouse Essentials
30/31
Collect Parameters TV Alt+4
Create Camera From View Ctrl+C
Cut (Poly) Alt+C
Extrude Face (Poly) Alt+E
Geometry Selection Visibility Toggle Alt+G
Isolate Selection Alt+Q
Meshsmooth (Poly) Ctrl+M
Parameter Collector Alt+2
Parameter Editor Alt+1
Parameter Wiring Dialog... Alt+5
Render to Texture Dialog Toggle 0
Smart Scale R
Smart Select Q
Start Parameter Wiring... Ctrl+5
Sub-Object Level 1 1
Sub-Object Level 2 2
Sub-Object Level 3 3
Sub-Object Level 4 4
Sub-object Level 5 5
WalkThrough View Mode Up Arrow
7/30/2019 3D Studio MAX Hotkeys and Mouse Essentials
31/31
Quad Menu Sets
Animation [Alt+RMB]
Custom [Shift+Ctrl+Alt+RMB]
Custom [Shift+Ctrl+RMB]
Lighting | Render [Ctrl+Alt+RMB]
Modeling [Ctrl+RMB]
reactor [Shift+Alt+RMB]
Snap [Shift+RMB]
Viewports V