Floating Viewport Windows in Max

Jesse Moody

Hey was wondering if it's possible to set up a floating window in max 2010+

Basically I have my user view set up with a concept piece in it and the view is aligned so that my model lays over the concept. So I would like to put this window on to my 2nd monitor and have my main window that i am working in take up the main monitor.

Anyone do this or anything like it?

Jesse Moody

I just thought this might work... Crazy work around but it might just work.

Open up max and the file i'm working in on my main monitor...

Then open up another instance of max. Xref my scene that I am working on in the main window and set that up on my 2nd monitor... and when I save the file on my main monitor it would work.

Drawbacks to this is when things get high poly its gonna suck ram, I have to constantly save the file.

Any other ideas....

Jesse Moody

Ok that sucked... But found this here http://forums.cgsociety.org/showpost.php?p=6629471&postcount=9

It seems to be working and as long as I don't move my original Ortho view it wont touch the floating window.

To work do this:

- Click on the viewport you would like to clone and make sure you have your full object in view
- Copy and paste all the code into max script and go to Tools > Evaluate All or Ctrl+E

- And floating window is created. Move to 2nd monitor and resize or scale the window.

Works in 2010... haven't tried in any other version.

(

    rollout tRO "floating viewer ;)" width:((gw.getWinSizeX())/2) height:((gw.getWinSizeY())/2)
    (
        local fixed_to_viewport = true    -- if set to true the same viewport is going to be displayed at all times
        
        local vpI = 0
        
        fn setROImg =
        (
            disableSceneRedraw()
            
            --set custom viewport and shading settings here
            local oldVPI = viewport.activeViewport
            
            if fixed_to_viewport == true do 
            (
                viewport.activeViewport = vpI
            )
            
            SetDialogBitmap  tRO (gw.getviewportDIB())
            
            --revert to old viewport and shading settings here
            if fixed_to_viewport == true do 
            (
                viewport.activeViewport = oldVPI
            )
            
            enableSceneRedraw()
            OK
        )
        
        timer clock interval:500
        
        on clock tick do setROImg()
        
        on tRO open do vpI = viewport.activeViewport
    )
    createdialog tRO bmpstyle:#bmp_stretch bitmap:(bitmap 1 1 color:orange) style:#(#style_resizing, #style_titlebar, #style_border, #style_sysmenu, #style_toolwindow)
    
)

Jesse Moody

Ok well that doesn't work either... You need to keep the original Orth view open or you get a viewport out of ranger error and then your viewports get jacked up...

Damn...thought I had it.

Playdo

Not sure if I understand you correctly. Can't you change your viewport configuration to have just a left and a right viewport, then stretch it out across your two monitors, so that you have one view in monitor 1 and the other in monitor 2?

Jesse Moody

Playdo.. Doesn't work so well with screens of different resolution

SideEffect

ah man I was wondering if there was a way to do this the other day too. Would be awesome, I use that floating window with photoshop for some things so I can see how useful it would be for Max.

Eric Chadwick

Weird sounding workflow. But maybe you could try it all in the same maximized window, just swapping different views into the same scene. The two objects are in different locations, and one of them has a frozen semi-transparent concept-textured plane overtop it. Swap views with a couple hotkeys, you could macroscript them.

McBradd

Thread back from the dead...

I'm wondering about a similar issue... I'm used to working in Maya where it's a simple as 'Tear off Copy' of any panel you want to float.

Now I'm working in a 100% 3ds max studio, and wondering how to achieve the same result.

Our game is from a fixed orthographic camera, I'd like to have a game-view panel over on my second monitor, while I work in the 4-split view on my main monitor. I move between views a lot, so I've remapped spacebar to 'Maximize Viewport.'

Has anyone got anything similar working?

spacefrog

That's still not possible with 3ds Max, Your viewport layout ist tied into its fixed viewpanel frame and tahts it. No detachable viewport, not more than 4 viewports Max. There were/are some plugins for specific game engines which rendered a view into the scene in a seperate window but that was not a standard Max thing.
Via Maxscript you can hack the viewpanel (by sending windows messages to detach from its parent window (which is 3ds Max) and attach it to your own custom created window (eg. a dotNet form) to have a floating like viewport layout, but all the viewport refresh code and viewpanel positioning code will put it back into Max again etc...

So in short: no there is no way to have detachable viewports in Max

Justin Meisse

yeah, you just learn to deal with it - after 6 years I work totally different than I did in Maya - I never look at the 4 panel split view, I work primarily in full screen perspective and use the camera shortcuts if I need one of the ortho views.

You can tear off the command panel and other tool bars to free up space - I used to move my command panel over to my secondary monitor.

cptSwing

Still up for debate..

Eric Chadwick

I vaguely recall someone on the Max team saying it couldn't be done with the current codebase, as spacefrog makes clear (thanks!), but apparently it is on the table for the total rewrite, in progress (XBR).

Ha, thumbnail even says it right there!
[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_LZMvlOn8V4"]Excalibur (XBR) Webinar recording from Feb 2011 - YouTube[/ame]

onionhead_o

this UI from the video they are demonstrating looks pretty similar to maya 2011+ .
on a side note, I can't believe that I didnt know Max has something similar to outliner in maya facepalm.

cptSwing

I recommend PJanssen's take on the Outliner. Better than Max's by miles and miles and miles..