Creating toolbars in Gmax for MeshTools

[hairyspin]

The bamse_MTPalette for MeshTools 2.5 is a handy way to access the tools once they're installed, but here's an alternative method. Gmax is highly customisable and creating your own toolbars for a particular set of tools is really easy. I don't use all the options in MeshTools, plus I prefer not having a floating panel of partly-redundant buttons taking up viewport space, so I made my own toolbar as follows:–





That's the toolbar made, now to populate it with buttons! First call up the MeshTools commands in the Customize User Interface dialogue:–




Now just drag & drop!




In no time at all you can have your favourite tools on one toolbar.

[hairyspin]

The new toolbar's buttons will be rather dull and lifeless but you haven't borked it, they haven't anything to work on yet:–





Select an E-poly object, pick out one edge and the buttons spring to life:–





and here's the result:–





Finally, this selected set of MeshTools can be dragged off to one side of the screen where they're handy but don't take up much room. This method can be used to make custom sets of tools from anywhere in Gmax and I hope some will find it useful!

[tgibson]

Thanks, very nice tutorial.

[Milton Shupe]

Thanks Tom, well done :-)

[tgibson]

Hi,

Saw the Select By Material choice in the image of your command list, and found a version of the original by Hiroshi Igami that can be added to a toolbar, as improved by Bill Leaming (in an FSDeveloper forum post, as I remember). I added it to my MeshTools toolbar.

But now I can't find it! So here is the script - it's not mine, remember:

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
--
--  Description: Object Select by Material 
--  Created:  18MAR2009 version (0.75)
--  Created by : Hiroshi Igami (Project Opensky)
--  http://www.projectopensky.com
--  
--  Modified* and Expanded by: Bill Leaming (Eaglesoft)
--  Modification Date: 28APR2009
--
--  How to use:
--  1.  Select 1 parts which will has the material to be selected
--  2.  Run this script
--
--  Known problems.
--  Selects the group when there is a parts using the material inside.
--
-- *Added "On Execute do" command, and macroScript menu entries to allow
-- adding this script to an existing "Mesh Tools" menubar, or a user-created
-- menubar.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
macroScript SelectByMaterial
 category:"Meshtools"
 toolTip:"Select by Material"
 Icon:#("Material_Modifiers",1)
(
 On Execute do
 ( 
  selmat = $.material
  for i in 1 to objects.count do
  (
   if ( objects[i].material == selmat ) then (
    selectmore objects[i]
   )
  ) 
 )
)

Copy this code, paste into a new text document. Name it something like SelectByAircraft.ms, and place into the GMAX/stdplugs/stdscripts folder. Then add to a toolbar like described above.

Hope this helps,