Hi. I've been using Maya for a while and am *just* starting to get into Max. I really just have one specific question for now, but it would also be cool if anyone knows of any resources that could help me as a Maya user get familiar with Max. I'm sure I'm not the first to learn one and then the other!

My only specific question is if it is possible to set the SteeringWheel to appear with a single key press -- and go away when I stop pressing the key? Or is there any other way of making navigation more Maya-like. It's the one thing that's been really jarring for me so far.

Thanks.

Though I never used the default navigation shortcuts when I used max, this site can help you with a few of the basic shortcuts for stuff.

http://www.architectural-rendering-g...shortcuts.html

Remember to try out connect and edge constraints! (Editable Poly)

LMB - Left Mouse Button
MMB - Middle Mouse Button
LMB click - Select
shift + LMB click - Add Selection
alt + LMB click - Remove Selection
shift + LMB click & drag - While in transform mode, Clone and Transform
MMB click & drag - Pan
alt + MMB click & drag - Rotate
MMB scroll - Zoom in/out
ctrl + alt + MMB click & drag - Zoom in/out
ctrl + pan - Faster Panning
ctrl + spinner - Faster Spinner Change

Oh - that's cool. Thanks for the link.

I also just learned about Digital Raster Switcher in the Modeling: Maya Vs. Max thread here:
http://boards.polycount.net/showthread.php?t=67733

Will give these shortcuts a go before I drop the $50 ...

Its not as easy as maya's, but it can save you 50 bucks! Goodluck!

The middle mouse wheel does two forms of moving the camera about the viewport. One if you hold alt, and another if you just click it. That is what I use for navigation...

Also, hit up the Polycount search. I found lots of useful stuff, just browsing Max 2010 in the search. Like "Cut in Max is the same as split poly in Maya...

http://boards.polycount.net/search.php?searchid=1101355

My shift + LMB does not add to the selection.

This is ALWAYS comes up....

If you can't see your move, scale or rotate widget/gizmo thing...press X on the keyboard...

If you rotate and your models turn into boxes...press the letter O on the keyboard.

...just trying to save you the headache.

oh yes and if all your UI vanishes its from CTRL X

and if you somehow loose your command panel, Load your startup UI

and if max crashes you can usually find an autoback file in the default max directory eg 3dsmax\autoback\autoback_01.max. You can set the frequency they are saved in the preferences. I have autoback's saved every 5 mins and have around 15 of them (they save sequentially). I learnt the hard way that Maya has no default autobackup feature.

As far as navigation i'd get used to max's and dont bother with the switcher as you'll find it a pain when you switch onto a new pc and its pretty easy when you get used to going from one to the other (max to maya to zbrush to bodypaint etc).

Another couple of points.... you might get stuck to an object and unable to select anything else if you hit the spacebar (lock). Just tap again to free yourself. Coming from Maya you'll prob do this a lot due to the hotboxing. If you want to save files sequentially just set it in customize/preferences so you have a history each time you ctrl+s.