Getting Started: Modeling a Revolving Door >
Setting Up Units and Snaps

Before you start to build your revolving door, you will set the display unit scale to feet and inches. You'll also make some changes to the snap options before you create the geometry.

Set up the display unit scale:

NoteIf you're using the product outside of the United States, you can choose to use metric display unit scale in the following steps. What's important is that the scale be a real-world measurement, rather than the default Generic Units setting in 3ds Max Design.

1. From the Application menu, choose Reset to reset 3ds Max Design.

   This tutorial does not require you to load any particular file to begin. As you work through it, if you get lost you can open a “snapshot” scene, so you can complete the tutorial.

2. On the menu bar, choose Customize Units Setup.

   The Units Setup dialog appears.

3. In the Display Unit Scale group, choose US Standard, if necessary.

   Set the scale to Feet w/Decimal inches, if necessary.

   NoteLeave the System Unit Setup as it is. This should be changed only to reset the system unit to the default setting (inches) after loading a file that uses a different system unit, or if you are working on files that are so huge or so tiny that values don't appear correctly in the numeric entry fields.
4. Click OK to accept the change.

   Now, when you make something, its measurements are displayed in the command panels in familiar real-world terms.

   Next you'll make some additions to the grid and snap settings.

Set up snaps:

1. On the main toolbar, right-click (3D Snaps Toggle).

   3ds Max Design opens the Grid And Snap Settings dialog.

2. On the Snaps panel, turn on Grid Points, Vertex, Edge/Segment, and Endpoint. Make sure all the other snaps are turned off.
3. Close the dialog.

   Now, when Snap is on, you'll be able to snap to vertices, grid points, and edges.

   You're ready to create a cylinder to serve as the central pole that rotates the revolving door.

Save your work:

- On the Quick Access toolbar, click (Save File), and save your file as my_revolving_door_units.max.

Next

Creating the Hub