The Schematic View menu options enable you to manage several different views. The Graph Editors

Every time the Graph Editors

Tip

You can open any saved Schematic View window (or a new Schematic View window) within a viewport by right-clicking the viewport title, choosing Views

Figure 24.1. The Schematic View window displays all objects as nodes.

The Schematic View window includes several common interface elements including menus, toolbar buttons, and a right-click quadmenu. Just like the main interface, you can access the commands in many ways.

Learning the toolbar buttons

You can also select most of these commands from the toolbar. Many of the toolbar buttons are toggle switches that enable and disable certain viewing modes. The background of these toggle buttons is highlighted yellow when selected. You'll also find some buttons along the bottom of the window. All Schematic View icon buttons are shown in Table 24.1 and are described in the following sections.

Note

The Schematic View toolbar buttons are permanently docked to the interface and cannot be removed.

Table 24.1. Schematic View Toolbar Buttons

Toolbar Button	Name	Description
	Display Floater	Opens the Display Floater, where you can toggle which items are displayed or hidden.
	Select (S)	Toggles selection mode on, where nodes can be selected by clicking.
	Connect (C)	Enables you to create links between objects in the Schematic View window; also used to copy modifiers and materials between objects.
	Unlink Selected	Destroys the link between the selected object and its parent.
	Delete Objects	Deletes the selected object in both the Schematic View and in the viewports.
	Hierarchy Mode	Displays all child objects indented under their parents.
	References Mode	Displays all object references and instances. This mode displays all materials and modifiers associated with the objects.
	Always Arrange	Causes all nodes to be automatically arranged in a hierarchy or in references mode, and disables moving of individual nodes.
	Arrange Children	Automatically rearranges the children of the selected object nodes.
	Arrange Selected	Automatically rearranges the selected object nodes.
	Free All	Allows all objects to be freely moved without being automatically arranged.
	Free Selected	Allows selected objects to be freely moved without being automatically arranged.
	Move Children	Causes children to move along with their parent node.
	Expand Selected	Reveals all nodes below the selected node.
	Collapse Selected	Rolls up all nodes below the selected node.
	Preferences	Opens the Schematic View Preferences dialog box.
	View Name field	Allows you to name the current display. Named displays show up underneath the Graph Editors
	Bookmark Name	Marks a selection of nodes to which you can return later.
	Go to Bookmark	Zooms and pans to the selected bookmarked objects.
	Delete Bookmark	Removes the bookmark from the Bookmark selection list.

As you navigate the Schematic View window, you can save specific views as bookmarks by typing an identifying name in the Bookmark drop-down list. To recall these views later, select them from the drop-down list and click the Go to Bookmark icon in the Schematic View toolbar. Bookmarks can be deleted with the Delete Bookmark button.

Note

Most of the menu commands and toolbar buttons are available in a pop-up menu that you can access by right-clicking in the Schematic View window.

Navigating the Schematic View window

As the number of nodes increases, it can become tricky to locate and see the correct node to work with. Along the bottom edge of the Schematic View window are several navigation buttons that work similarly to the Viewport Navigation Control buttons. Using these buttons, you can pan, zoom, and zoom to the extents of all nodes. These buttons are described in Table 24.2.

The Schematic View navigation buttons can also be accessed from within the View menu. These menu commands include Pan Tool (Ctrl+P), Zoom Tool (Alt+Z), Zoom Region Tool (Ctrl+W), Zoom Extents (Alt+Ctrl+Z), Zoom Extents Selected (Z), and Pan to Selected.

Tip

You can also navigate the Schematic View window using the mouse and its scroll wheel. Scrubbing the mouse wheel zooms in and out of the window in steps. Holding down the Ctrl key and dragging with the scroll wheel button zooms smoothly in and out of the window. Dragging the scroll wheel pans within the window.

Table 24.2. Schematic View Navigation Buttons

Toolbar Button	Name	Description
	Zoom Selected Viewport Object	Zooms in on the nodes that correspond to the selected viewport objects.
	Search Name field	Locates an object node when you type its name.
	Pan	Moves the node view when you drag in the window.
	Zoom	Zooms when you drag the mouse in the window.
	Region Zoom	Zooms to an area selected when you drag an outline.
	Zoom Extents	Increases the window view until all nodes are visible.
	Zoom Extents Selected	Increases the window view until all selected nodes are visible.
	Pan to Selected	Moves the node view at the current zoom level to the selected objects.

Every object displayed in the scene has a node—a simple rectangular box that represents the object or attribute. Each node contains a label, and the color of the node depends on the node type.

Node colors

Nodes have a color scheme to help identify them. The colors of various nodes are listed in Table 24.3.

Table 24.3. Schematic View Node Colors

Color	Name
White	Selected node
Blue	Geometry Object node
Cyan	Shape Object node
Yellow	Light Object node
Dark Blue	Camera Object node
Green	Helper Object node
Purple	Space Warp Object node
Goldenrod	Modifier node
Dark Yellow	Base Object node
Brown	Material node
Dark Green	Map node
Salmon	Controller node
Magenta	Parameter Wires

Note

If you don't like any of these colors, you can set the colors used in the Schematic View using the Colors panel of the Customize

Selecting nodes

When you click the Select (S) button, you enter select mode, which lets you select nodes within the Schematic View window by clicking the object node. You can select multiple objects by dragging an outline over them. Holding down the Ctrl key while clicking an object node selects or deselects it. Selected nodes are shown in white.

The Select menu includes several selection commands that enable you to quickly select (or deselect) many nodes, including Select All (Ctrl+A), Select None (Ctrl+D), Select Invert (Ctlr+I), Select Children (Ctrl+C), and Deselect Children.

If the Select

Tip

All animated objects have their node border drawn in red.

Rearranging nodes

The Schematic View includes several options for arranging nodes. In the Options menu, you can toggle between Hierarchy and Reference modes. Hierarchy mode displays the nodes vertically with child objects indented under their parent. Reference mode displays the nodes horizontally allowing for plenty of room to display all the various reference nodes under each parent node. Figure 24.2 shows these modes side by side.

Figure 24.2. The Schematic View window can automatically arrange nodes in two different modes: Hierarchy and Reference.

You can move nodes and rearrange them in any order. To move a node, simply click and drag it to a new location. When a node is dragged, all selected nodes move together, and any links follow the node movement. If a child node is moved, all remaining child nodes collapse together to maintain the specified arrangement mode. The moved node then becomes free, which is designated by an open rectangle on the left edge of the node. Figure 24.3 shows two nodes that were moved and thereby became free. The other children automatically moved closer together to close the gaps made by the moving nodes.

Figure 24.3. Free nodes are moved independent of the arranging mode.

Using the Layout

If the Options

Hiding, shrinking, and deleting nodes

If your Schematic View window starts to get cluttered, you can always hide nodes to simplify the view. To hide a node, select the nodes to hide and use the Display

Note

If you hide a parent object, its children nodes are also hidden.

Another useful way to reduce clutter in the Schematic View window is with the Layout

Note

The Shrink commands work only when Layout

Figure 24.4. Shrunken nodes appear as simple dots in the Schematic View.

To delete a node, select the node and click the Delete Objects button on the Schematic View toolbar or press the Delete key. If several nodes are selected, they are all deleted. This deletes the object in the viewports also.

Tutorial: Rearranging the solar system

To practice moving nodes around, you'll order the solar system model. When Max places nodes in the Schematic View, it really doesn't follow any specific order, but you can move them as needed by hand.

To rearrange the solar system nodes, follow these steps.

1. Open the Ordered solar system.max file from the Chap 24 directory on the DVD.

   This file includes several named spheres representing the solar system.

2. Select Graph Editors

   

   All planets are displayed as blue nodes under the Sun object.

3. Select Options

   

4. Make sure that the Options

   

5. Select the Options

   

   With the Move Children option enabled, the Saturn rings node moves with its parent.

6. Drag and drop the Pluto node beyond the Neptune node.

7. Select all the planet nodes, and choose Layout

   

Note

Although astronomers no longer classify Pluto as a planet, I doubt that this book is required reading for astronomers. I think we can get away with calling Pluto a planet.

Figure 24.5 shows the rearranged hierarchy with all the planets lined up in order.

Figure 24.5. After rearranging nodes to the correct order, the planets are easy to locate.

With all relationships enabled, the Schematic View becomes a mess. Luckily, you can control which Relationships and which Entities are displayed using the Display floater, shown in Figure 24.6.

Figure 24.6. The Display floater can turn nodes and lines on and off in the Schematic View.

The top section of the Display floater shows or hides relationships between nodes, which are displayed as lines. The relationships that you can control include Constraints, Controllers, Param Wires, Light Inclusion, and Modifiers. If you hold the mouse over these relationship lines, the details of the relationship are shown in the tooltip that appears.

The lower section of the Display Floater lets you show or hide entities that are displayed as nodes, including Base Objects, Modifier Stack, Materials, and Controllers. The P, R, and S buttons let you turn on Positional, Rotational, and Scale controllers. When a node has a relationship with another node, the right end of the node displays an arrow. Clicking this arrow toggles the relationship lines on and off.

The Expand button shows the actual nodes when enabled, but only an arrow that can be clicked on to access the nodes if disabled. The Focus button shows all related objects as colored nodes, and all other nodes are unshaded.

Figure 24.7 shows a Schematic View with the Base Objects and Controllers Entities selected in the Display floater. The Expand button is also disabled. This makes up and down arrows appear above each node. Clicking the up arrow collapses the node, rolling it up into its parent. Clicking the down arrow expands the node and displays the Base Object and Controller nodes for the node that you clicked on, such as the Earth node in Figure 24.7. You can also expand and collapse nodes with the Display

Figure 24.7. Schematic View nodes can be collapsed or expanded by clicking the up and down arrows.

Hierarchical relationships are shown as lines that connect the nodes. Even if the nodes are moved, the lines follow as needed to show the relationship between the nodes.

To create a hierarchy, use the Edit

For linking nodes, the Connect button works the same way here as it does on the main toolbar—selecting the child node and dragging a line from the child node to its parent. You can even select multiple nodes and link them all at once.

The Edit

Before you can copy materials or modifiers between nodes, you need to make sure that they are visible. Material nodes and modifier nodes show up only if they are enabled in the Display floater. You can access this floater by clicking the Display floater button (or by pressing the D key).

To copy a material or modifier, select the material node for one object, click the Connect (C) button, and drag the material to another object node.

When modifiers are copied between nodes, a dialog box appears, giving you the chance to Copy, Move, or Instance the modifier. You can also use the Schematic View window to reorder the Modifier Stack. Using the Connect tool, just drag the modifier node to the modifier node that you want to be beneath and the stack is reordered.

If controller nodes are visible, you can copy them to another node using the same technique used for materials and modifiers using the Connect (C) button. You can also assign a controller to an object node that doesn't have a controller using the Edit

Figure 24.8. Controllers can be assigned using the Schematic View window.

Nodes can be wired using the Schematic View window. To wire parameters, just select the node that you want to wire and select Edit

Perhaps one of the greatest benefits of the Schematic View is its ability to link objects. This can be tricky in the viewports because some objects are small and hidden behind other items. The Schematic View with its nodes that are all the same size makes it easy, but only if the objects are named correctly.

To link a character model using the Schematic View, follow these steps:

Figure 24.9 shows the final geometry object nodes of the linked character. If you move the pelvis part in the viewports, all the parts move together.

Figure 24.9. All character parts are now linked to the man's pelvis part.

When the Schematic View window is opened, Max traverses the entire hierarchy looking for objects and features that can be presented as nodes. If you have a complex scene and don't intend on using the Schematic View to see materials or modifiers, you can disable them in the Include in Calculation section of the Schematic View Preferences dialog box. This provides a way to simplify the data presented. With less data, locating and manipulating what you are looking for becomes easier.

The Include in Calculation section includes options for limiting the following:

You can also limit the number of nodes by using the Include Only options. The Selected Objects option shows only the objects selected in the viewports. The nodes change as new objects are selected in the viewports. The Visible Objects option displays only the nodes for those objects that are not hidden in the viewports, and the Animated Objects option displays only the nodes of the objects that are animated.

Object categories that can be hidden include Geometry, Shapes, Lights, Cameras, Helpers, Space Warps, and Bone Objects. Figure 24.11 shows a single sphere object in the Schematic View window with all the Include in Calculation options selected.

Figure 24.11. Without limiting nodes, the Schematic View window can get very busy.

The Schematic View Preferences dialog box includes settings to Show Grid, Snap to Grid, and set Grid Spacing. The keyboard shortcut for toggling the grid on and off is G. Enabling the Snap to Grid option makes the nodes snap to the closest grid intersection. This helps keep the nodes aligned and looking neat.

The Background Image section of the Schematic View Preferences dialog box includes a File button that opens a file dialog box when clicked. Selecting an image file opens and displays the image as a background image. This is helpful as you arrange nodes. You need to select the Show Image option to see the background image, and the Lock Zoom/Pan option locks the nodes to the background image so zooming in on a set of nodes also zooms in on the background image.

In the Schematic View Preferences dialog box, you can select the style to use for relationship lines. The options include Bezier, Straight, Circuit, and None. When the Always Arrange, Arrange Children, or Arrange Selected options are used, you can select to have the nodes arranged Stacked, Horizontal, or Vertical. The Sync Selection options enable you to synch the selection between the Schematic View and the Viewports or between Everything. If the Everything option is selected, then not only are geometry objects in the viewports selected, but if a material is selected in the Schematic View, then the material is selected in the Material Editor also. Sync Selection Everything also affects the Modifier Stack, the Controller pane in the Display panel, and the Wiring Parameters dialog box.

The Schematic View Preferences dialog box also includes a Preferences section. These preference settings include Double Buffer, which enables a double-buffer display and helps improve the viewport update performance. The Zoom About Mouse Pointer preference enables zooming by using the scroll wheel on your mouse or by pressing the middle mouse button while holding down the Ctrl key. The Move Children option causes children nodes to move along with their parent. The Pan to Added Nodes preference automatically resizes and moves the nodes to enable you to view any additional nodes that have been added.

The Use Wireframe Color option changes the node colors to be the same as the viewport object color. The Display Layout Warning lets you disable the warning that appears every time you use the Always Arrange feature. The Only Update on Focus option causes the Schematic View to update only when the window is selected. Until then, any changes are not propagated to the window. This can be a timesaver when complex scenes require redraws.

The Show Tooltips option allows you to disable tooltips if you desire. Tooltips show in the Schematic View window when you hover the cursor over the top of a node. Tooltips can be handy if you've zoomed out so far that you can't read the node labels; just move the cursor over a node, and its label appears. The Snap Floater option enables the Display and List floaters to be snapped to the edge of the window for easy access, and the Relative Floaters option moves and resizes the floaters along with the Schematic View window.

You can position nodes anywhere within the Schematic View window. For example, you can position the nodes to look something like the shape of the model that you're linking. When positioning the different objects, having a background image is really handy.

To add a background image for the Schematic View, follow these steps:

Figure 24.12 shows all the nodes aligned over their respective parts. From this arrangement, you can clearly see how the links are organized.

Figure 24.12. Using a background image, you can see how the links relate to the model.