Edit Mesh Modifier

The Edit Mesh Modifier exists primarily for backward compatibility with 3DS Max 1.x.Edit Mesh is a modifier you add to the stack of an object. The functionality of Edit Mesh has been replaced by the new Editable Mesh modifier.

NOTE: It’s important to note that there are several new features that have been developed for the Editable Mesh Modifier that are not included in the Edit mesh modifier. So, whenever possible, we recommend using the Editable Mesh Modifier rather than the Edit Mesh modifier.

Edit Mesh allows you to:

• Converting objects to a mesh, sometimes referred to as a rats-nest mesh. Once converted, the mesh can be edited at a whole-object or sub-object level.
• Making a sub-object selection of geometry available to other modifiers in the stack.
• Returning the selection set in the stack to the whole-object level.

Edit Mesh converts objects into a triangular mesh made of three components: vertices, faces, and edges. For spline objects, only vertices are available, since splines have no faces or edges when converted to meshes.

The Edit Mesh modifier can also be used to edit existing mesh objects. These might be imported from another program or previously converted from a parametric object with Edit Mesh.

Since Editable Mesh is a superset of Edit Mesh Refer to the Editable Mesh Topics Listed below for a complete parameter reference.

Editable Mesh Modifier (Object)

Editable Mesh Modifier (Face)

Editable Mesh Modifier (Vertex)

Editable Mesh Modifier (Edge)

How To

Applying Edit Mesh

As a general review, this is how you apply the Edit Mesh modifier:

1. Select an object.
2.  Go to the Modify command panel.
3. Click the Edit Mesh button to apply the modifier to the object. If the object cannot be edited with Edit Mesh, the button is grayed out.

The Sub-Object button is turned on, with Vertex level as the default.

4. To access Object level, turn off the Sub-Object button.

Using Edit Mesh

Once you make a selection with Edit Mesh, you have these options:

1. Use the options supplied on the Edit rollout to modify the selection. Later topics discuss these options for each of the mesh components.
2. Transform or Shift-Clone the selection. These are the same techniques you would use for any object.
3. Pass the selection to a later modifier in the stack. You can apply one or more standard modifiers to the selection.
4. 4 At the Face selection level, you can use the options on the Edit Surfaces rollout to alter the surface characteristics of selected faces.