Going from Maya to Modo. Lots of random questions :D

BARDLER

I finally have some free time to learn Modo, and with the recent release of Modo 701 and that recent vertex normal script, I think this is the perfect time. I am watching a video tutorial at the moment but it doesn't cover a lot of Maya specific things that I like.

Question time!

1)I got Modo setup to navigate and control like Maya at the moment expect for one really annoying thing. I can't zoom with the middle mouse wheel while holding alt, it only allows me to zoom with only the middle mouse wheel so I have to let of alt. Is there a way to change this?

2)Is there a way to make shelfs like Maya where you can store whatever tools you want and have nice lables for them?

3)Radial menu in the view port. I really like Maya's viewport radial menu system where I can do nearly every operation I want right in the viewport without having to think about it. Is there something similar or something I can setup in Modo to have that functionality?

I will be posting some more questions as a mess around with it, so thanks for your help!

fattkid

Hey Bardler - I can only partially answer some of your questions because I've done what you want to do, but it was a long time ago and I don't remember exactly how I did it -

1) I have a Maya centric set up too. To change the action of the middle mouse button, you need to go to the Input Editor, change "Edit Mode" to "Viewports", and below you will have access to the mouse buttons. I forgot exactly what I did in there though.... But at least it gets you in the vicinity.

2) I built a Maya style shelf atop my viewport like you mentioned. That is a matter of viewport customization, which can be a little tricky. In the upper corners of the viewports are little triangle/tabs that have drop down menus. In there , you can split the viewport sections up, and load your own custom configurations. I believe I duplicated the default shelf/interface section across the top of the viewport, and then replaced everything in it with my own buttons/tools, and saved it. Definitely watch some videos on viewport customization before you have a go at it - it takes some figuring out. Also, be sure to back up your config file, cuz if you jack up your viewport, you can't really revert it back without deleting your config.

3) Radial Menus in the viewport are called "Pie Menus". Those are actually pretty simple. Lots of info/vids on that.

I found the best way to learn modo when I started was to just commit myself to a day of reading the manual. Not the whole thing, but everything that had to do with modeling etc. Get a feel for what all the tools/functions are, etc.

Good luck. I made the switch to modo about 2 years ago, after 4 years of Maya, and 4 years of Max, and I'm glad I did. The true power of modeling in modo is your ability to totally customize it to your needs and liking, so the process of modeling becomes very fluid and transparent and you never really have to take your eyes off the model. Add to that a bunch of good tools that give you lots of control and options, and you almost start looking for excuses to use modo

keelhauler

Here is some info on customizing that hopefully can help you with modo.

http://henningsanden.com/2013/03/31/how-to-optimize-modo-for-faster-modeling/