Sets preferences for the user interface and for interactivity.
The General preferences panel contains the following options:
AutoPlay Preview File: Starts the Media Player automatically at the end of a Make Preview. If clear, the Media Player does not start.
Optimize for 8-Bit Display: Turns color-palette optimization on for the virtual frame buffer. When this box is selected, images are processed after rendering and redisplayed using an optimized palette, which increases the quality of 8-bit renderings.
Changes the scale of the 3D Studio MAX unit. The unit is the standard measurement throughout 3D Studio MAX. You should change this value only if you are working on a scene that is so huge or so tiny that 3D Studio MAX can no longer measure distances accurately using the default unit scale. If you change this value, you make the scale of the objects you create incompatible with objects in scenes created with the default unit scale.
Automatic Unit Conversion: When selected, merged objects from a file with a different system unit scale are scaled to maintain their correct size in the new scene. For loaded files that have a different system unit scale, you can either rescale the loaded scene to the current system unit scale, or change the current system unit scale to match the one in the loaded file.
Scaling affects geometry, 3D maps in materials, and various environment settings that are scaleable and affected by changes in the system unit scale.
The Views/Units Setup dialog specifies the display of units in the 3D Studio MAX interface (the spinners, etc.), but not the actual scale of the geometry.
The Rescale World Units utility lets you alter the scale of world units throughout the entire scene, or to selected objects only.
Spinner Precision: Sets the number of decimal places displayed in a spinner's edit field. This parameter ranges from 0-10 (where 0 is no decimal places).
Spinner Snap: Sets the single-click increment/decrement value for all of the spinners in 3D Studio MAX.
Use Spinner Snap: Turns spinner snap on or off.
The following controls affect the max.log file:
Never Delete Log: This and the following two options determine how long the log file is maintained. When Never Delete is chosen, the max.log file is never deleted.
Maintain Only...Days: Resets the file to zero bytes every set number of days (as specified in the Days spinner).
Maintain Only... Kbytes: Resets the file to zero bytes when it reaches the size specified in the KBytes spinner field.
Errors: Writes fatal errors to the max.log file, instead of generating alert dialogs. Alerts halt network rendering for one or more servers.
Info: Writes general information to the max.log file instead of generating alert dialogs.
Debug: Writes debug messages to the max.log file instead of generating alert dialogs.
The types of errors covered by all four of these categories include maps that can’t be found, missing UV coordinates, missing output directories, full disks, missing .dlls, disks to which you don’t have access, invalid meshes, and obsolete .max files.
Viewport Tooltips: Displays a tooltip when the cursor pauses over an object in the viewports, if you are not in sub-object mode. Tooltips show the names of objects.
Display NU Scale Warning: Displays a warning alert when you attempt to use Non-Uniform Scale or Squash at the object level. If you don’t want to be reminded, clear this item and the warning will no longer appear.
Short Toolbar: Displays a shorter toolbar that fits into 800x600 resolution. Some buttons are removed, but you can still use all tools from the menus.
Righthand Command Panel: By default, 3D Studio MAX displays the Command Panel on the right side of the screen. Clear this box to display the Command Panel on the left.
Flyout Time: Sets the pause between the mouse click and the flyout popping up from the button (in milliseconds). Increase this only if you need an extra-long delay. Do not decrease it much or you may not be able to execute button commands before the flyout takes over.
Undo Levels: Sets the number of operations you can undo for Undo (not viewport Undo). You can always see the next operation that will be undone by looking at Undo in the Edit menu (or Views menu).
The system unit is immediately reset. This setting remains in effect until you change it.
Either method brings up the General panel. The two controls for spinner snap are in the Interaction area of this panel.
When you exit the dialog, the Spinner Snap button is turned on.