Placing Assets with Align and Rotate in 3ds Max

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When you add one or more objects from a 3D scene (.max) or a 3D asset (.obj, .fbx, .ply, etc.) to your scene from Connecter, the integration provides additional workflows for rotating the merged objects, aligning them to objects in the scene or the X and Y coordinate axes.

Adding Objects and Starting the “Align and Rotate” Workflow

There are two ways to add objects from assets and start the “Align and Rotate” workflow:

1. Drag and drop one or more assets from the Assets View in Connecter to the 3ds Max viewport and select one of the “Merge and Place” commands.
2. Use one of the “Merge and Place” commands from the 3ds Max group from the right-click context menu in the Assets View.

When the objects from the assets are merged to the scene in 3ds Max the “Placement Options Dialog” will be shown. From this dialog you can:

• Control how the new objects are aligned to objects and surfaces in the scene.
• Choose between instantiating and copying the new objects when placing multiple objects.
• Switch between free and 15° step rotation.

Placement Options Dialog.

Merge and Place.

Merge and Place from Connecter’s context menu.

Aligning Objects

There are three modes that the integration provides to place and align the new objects in the scene:

1. Place and align the new objects on the hovered object or the home grid (selected by default).
2. Place the new objects on the home grid only.
3. Place and align the new objects on the hovered object if it’s selected or the home grid.

You can switch the current mode from the options on the left side of the “Placement Options Dialog”.

Align to object options.

Place and align the new object on the hovered object or home grid.

Place and align the new object on the home grid only.

Place and align the new objects on the hovered object if it’s selected or the home grid.

Aligning With the Target Object’s Normals

By default, the merged object keeps its orientation along the XYZ world axes when aligning with scene objects. Alternatively, you can orient it to align with the local normal of your target surface. To do so:

1. Press and hold the “Alt” keyboard button while moving the mouse over surfaces.
2. Use the “Align to surface normal” option in the “Placement Options Dialog”.

Align to surface normal options.

Switching between modes.

Aligning to X and Y Coordinate Axes

You can align the merged object to X or Y coordinate axis during the merge process. This can be useful when, for example, you want to place multiple instances of the merged object in a straight line in the scene.

Placing objects in lines aligned to the X or Y axis.

To align the merged object to X or Y coordinate axis:

1. Drag from Connecter and merge the object by choosing one of the “Merge and Place” options.
2. Move your mouse cursor somewhere close to the X or Y axis on the coordinate system relative to the previous object that you placed. The merged object will follow.
3. Press and hold the “Shift” keyboard button and move your mouse around the scene. The merged object will follow the mouse and restrict its movement along the X or Y main axis, depending on which one is closer.
4. Click the left mouse button to place the object on the desired point in the scene. Press and hold the Shift button to place more instances of the object in a row along the X or Y axis.

Rotating Objects

At any time during the merge process, you can rotate the object around its Z vertical axis. To rotate the merged object press the “Ctrl” keyboard button and move the mouse left or right. You can switch between free rotation and 15° step rotation in two ways:

1. Press and hold “Ctrl” + “Alt” keyboard buttons.
2. Enable the 15° step rotation from the “Placement Options Dialog”.

Enable the 15° step rotation option.

Object rotation with keyboard shortcuts.

Creating Instances or Copies of Objects

When you click with the left mouse button the integration creates a new instance or a new copy of the objects you’re merging. You can choose between instantiating and copying objects of the “Placement Options Dialog”.

Create instance or copy options.