Quads Panel

Customize menu > Customize User Interface > Quads panel

The Quads panel lets you customize the quad menus. You can create your own quad menu sets, or you can edit existing sets. In the Quads panel, you can customize menu labels, functionality, layout, and shortcuts. The advanced quad menu options let you modify the color and behavior of the quad menu system. You can also save and load custom menu sets.

See also

Procedures

To create a new quad set:

  1. Choose Customize menu > Customize User Interface > Quads tab

  2. Click New.

    The New Quad Set dialog appears.

  3. Enter the name of the quad set and click OK.

    The new set appears in the Quad set list.

To add a command to a quad set:

  1. Choose Customize menu > Customize User Interface > Quads tab

  2. Select the quad set you want to edit from the drop-down list.

    If you want to change the name of the quad set, click Rename and enter a new name in the Rename Quad Set dialog.

  3. Select the quadrant you want to place the command in.

    You can edit the name of the quadrant by changing the text in the Label area.

  4. Select the appropriate Group and Category from the respective drop-down lists.

  5. Select a command from the action list and drag it into the Quad Menu window.

    Use the same procedure to add menus and separators to your quad set.

To delete a quad set:

  1. Choose Customize menu > Customize User Interface > Quads tab.

  2. Select the quad set you want to delete from the drop-down list.

  3. Click Delete.

To remove a command from a quad set:

  1. Choose Customize menu > Customize User Interface > Quads tab.

  2. Select the quad set you want to edit from the drop-down list.

  3. Select the command you want to remove.

  4. Press the Delete key.

    Use the same procedure to remove menus and separators from your quad set.

    Note: You cannot delete the default viewport quad set.

To move a command in a quad set:

Interface

Group: Displays a drop-down list that lets you select the context you want to customize, such as Main UI.

Category: Displays a drop-down list of the available categories of user interface actions for the selected context.

Action Window: Displays all the available actions for the selected group and category. To add an action to a specific quad set, select it and drag it to the quad menu window on the right side of this dialog. Right-click on an action in this window to edit the macro script that defines the action (if there is one).

Separator Window: Displays a separator line that can be used to separate groups of menu items in a quadrant. To add a separator line to a specific quad set, select it and drag it to the quad menu window on the right side of this dialog.

Menus Window: Displays the names of all quad menus. To add a menu to a specific quad set, select it and drag it to the quad menu window on the right side of this dialog. Right-click a menu in this window to delete the menu, rename it, or create a new, empty menu.

Quad Set List: Displays the available quad sets.

Additional quad menus appear in this list. They can be edited, renamed, and reorganized; however, they cannot be deleted.

New: Displays the New Quad Set dialog. Enter the name of the quad set you want to create and click OK. The new quad set appears in the Quad Set list.

Delete: Deletes the item displayed in the Quad Set list.

Rename: Displays the Rename Quad Set dialog. Select a quad set from the Quad Set list to activate the Rename button. Click Rename, change the name of the quad set, and click OK to change the name.

Quad Shortcut: Allows you to define a keyboard shortcut for displaying the quad set. Enter the shortcut and click Assign to make the change.

Show All Quads: When on, a viewport right-click shows all four quad menus. When off, a viewport right-click shows only one quad at a time.

Label: Displays the label for the highlighted quadrant (shown in yellow to the left of the Label).

Quad Menu Window: Displays the menu options for the currently selected quad menu and quad set. To add menus and commands, drag options from the Action and Menus windows to this window.

Items included in the quad menu are displayed only when they are available. For example, if your quad menu contains Track View Selected, the command only will display if you have an object selected when you open the quad menu. The quadrant will not be displayed if none of the commands are available when you open the quad menu.

There are several actions available when you right-click any item in the quad menu window:

Delete Menu Item: Removes the selected action, separator, or menu from the quad menu.

Edit Menu Item Name: Opens the Edit Menu Item Name dialog. The Customize Name checkbox must be on to edit the name. Enter the desired name in the name text field and click OK. The itemÆs name is changed in the quad menu, but not in the quad menu window.

Flatten Sub-Menu: Displays contents of selected sub-menu on top level of quad. When this is selected, the menu name will be followed by the string: [FLAT].

Edit MacroScript: Opens the macro script for the selected action in a MAXScript editor window.

Advanced Options: Opens the Advanced Quad Menu Options dialog.

Load: Displays the Load Menu File dialog. Allows you to load custom menu files into your scene.

Save: Displays the Save Menu File As dialog. Allows you to save any changes youÆve made to the quad menus to a .mnu file.

Reset: Resets any changes youÆve made to the quad menus to the default setup.