Keyboard shortcuts in the 3ds Max software

The 3ds Max software provides many options. However, we often waste time on useless moves, and this way we lose precious minutes which could have been spent working on materials or light in the scene. Below you will find some basic shortcuts, which will speed up your workflow. Are you a beginner? Remember them. Are you advanced? Start using them! And then you will see how much faster you will be able to work with the software. Let’s get on with it!

1. ALT+ W

This shortcut will help you navigate effectively between windows

2. ALT+ Q

Mark an object and press this keyboard shortcut if you wish to isolate an object. Working in the isolation window makes things easier when there is a lot going on in the scene.

3. SPACEBAR

It may happen sometimes that you will press the spacebar and then you can simply do nothing. It’s just enough to press it again to unblock everything in the scene. Pay attention to the small lock.

4. W E R

The following shortcuts are very important. The sooner you master them, the faster you will navigate in the 3ds Max software.

W – move objects

E – rotate object

R – scale objects

5. F3

With this key, you will change the view from 3d to the grid view of an object (Wireframe mode)

6. F4

You will enable the grid view with polygons (Smooth + Highlights + Edged Faces mode)

7. F2

When editing an object on Polygons, you will change the view of the whole polygons to the view of their grid exclusively. However, it will always be the marked Polygon. Remember this. Useful when you draw an outline of something and the red glowing polygons obstruct the view.

8. TLFBUP

Change the views of object sides easily using keys

T – TOP view
L – LEFT view
F – FRONT view
B – BOTTOM view
U – ORTHOGRAPHIC view
P – PERSPECTIVE

9. 12345

These are probably our favourite keyboard shortcuts. Without them, work after Edit to POLY would be much slower.

1 – vertex (object point)
2 – edge (object edge)
3 – border (holes)
4 – polygon (squares, triangles, hexagons, rectangles of which an object consists)
5 – element (a single object may consist of several elements)

10. Z

When we do not have anything marked in the scene, on pressing this key, our scene will be centred, and when you have marked an object you can zoom in on that object.

11. C

C stands for the fast selection of cameras which you have in the scene, to avoid going into the side panel.

12. SHIFT +F

If you already have cameras in the scene and you have set the frames in the Render Setup window (F10), then this shortcut will help you see accurately a camera frame in a single window.