Why can't I select verts in Edit UVW window (3DS Max 9)?

fawnha

Sometimes I can't select vertices in the 3DS Max 9 Edit UVW window. I choose the Vertex option under the Unwrap UVW modifier but it won't let me select some of the verts (I can select the majority, just not some). I imagine lots of people have encountered this but I'm not sure where to go for information. Can anyone offer any suggestions as to what the cause might be? I don't have "Ignore Backfacing" on.

renderhjs

just hit [1] key for the sub-object mode 1 (vertex that is) - always worked for me that way.

fawnha

I had vertex sub-object mode selected but it won't allow me to select all vertices. Not sure why. Any suggestions?

badcop

Did you unclick your all of your sub-object modes in your editable poly/mesh?

[PB]Snoelk

stumbled across a similar problem as i accidently hided some vertices.
after i apllied the uv modifier ii wasnt possible to select some verts either.
and those verts where the hidden ones.
same problem ?

Ghostscape

Are you using MatIDs and hiding MatIDs for the vertices?

Are you in sub-object mode in the edit poly before applying the UVW unwrap?

Is the vertex always in the 0,0 position? This was a bug in Max 9 and lower, where when you auto-unwrap it would sometimes jam the W value of the 0,0 vertex to near-infinity.

[PB]Snoelk

oh jesus yes. the weird uv bug.
try to split the mesh in half and check if the single parts are working again.
then reattach them
this bug was horrible and get us much pain

fawnha

Thanks for all the suggestions. I redid the texturing because I did it wrong the first time (newbie) and the problem hasn't come back. I'll check all suggested solutions if the problem crops up again.

fawnha

Ghostscape wrote: »

Are you in sub-object mode in the edit poly before applying the UVW unwrap?

Is the vertex always in the 0,0 position? This was a bug in Max 9 and lower, where when you auto-unwrap it would sometimes jam the W value of the 0,0 vertex to near-infinity.

OK. The problem came back.

I wasn't in sub-object mode before applying the unwrap and the vertices aren't at 0,0. I can select the face in the edit UVW window and move it around so the definately aren't locked at 0,0. Is this what you mean?

None of the faces are hidden as suggested might be the problem.

I haven't changed the MatIDs for any faces.

If I press Ctrl-A all the verts are selected including the ones I can't manually select.

cman2k

I have seen this problem as well. I usually just collapse the UVW modifier and add another one...usually does the trick. Have yet to figure out the cause but I usually don't spend too much time wondering about it, just want to move on, lol.

SimonT

i know this problem too and had to work around with moving just the edges/faces instead of the vert. Maybe exporting/importing as obj (with uvs) could help but i'm not sure.

Mark Dygert

- Make sure you're not locking the selected verts (space bar/little padlock by the type in transform and MatID box). This drove me nuts in Unwrap and in the regular viewport had to unbind the keys.

- Switch to another rendering method. Software, OpenGL.
(Customize > Preferences > Viewports tab > Choose Driver > Revert from Direct3D)

- Update video drivers.

- Reset Xform (utilities tab, little hammer) collapse stack.

- Reset scale and transform (hirearchy tab, 4 little boxes).

- Create a new primitive shape, apply edit poly, attach your mesh to it, delete the shape in element mode so only your mesh remains.

- Upgrade, there have been some pretty big advancements to unwrapUVW since 9.

pior

Fawn, even if UVs are usually seen as a 2d thing they are actually 3D like everything else that has space coordinates : UVW.

What Ghostscape suggest is that your W might be set to an annoying value. Try selecting these guys using control-A, then switch to a mode showing W (If I remeber correctly Max let you chose what plane to adjust, UV or UW or VW) to solve things in that space. Or simply, type in 0 as a value for W. It should 'flatten back' your UVs to ... UV.

Good luck!

Jesse Moody

Yeah what Pior suggested. Try that out.

fawnha

Awesome! I did what Prior suggested. Switched to VW mode, set W to 0 and the problem was fixed. You guys rule!

dejawolf

another bug that you might bump into, is where you do a cut to a vertex, and don't hit the vertex perfectly, but miss by a tiny amount. you won't see it unless you move the vertex around, but if you try to relax the model in UVW, the relax will wringe the UVs.
to counter it, collapse stack, convert to editable mesh, select all vertices, and do a weld with the lowest possible weld treshold.
this usually starts happending after you've modeled a while, and the cut tool accuracy slowly is reduced to the point where its impossible to cut in perspective view anymore.

pior

Or, dont ever use cut to try and 'hit' vertices (hint hint Dejawolf) as it fucks up meshes in just about every program out there. Use connect, or target weld.

dejawolf

cut takes 4 seconds, select 2 edges> connect>target weld takes 12 seconds.

if i do 56 cut to vertex operations, instead of connect-targetweld, i save 7.5 minutes of modeling time.

pior

You are reading me wrong. I meant select two verts, hit connect, done (I do it approx 100 times a day). But yeah sometimes cut is faster (when it works), but I avoid it because of all the problems it is likely to create.
Most of the time if I need to create a line between the middle of two edges, I select both, and hit conect. Or, elect both, hit my shortcut to divide by either 2, 3 or 4 then connect. Since there is no vertex 'aiming' involved, it is safer.
I am not saying that cut is slow or anything. Just that in many apps, it is prone to create problems. I wish it didnt, but it does.

Mark Dygert

I agree connect is a lot better than cutting in new edges. But it depends on the action.

Cut in vertex mode is pretty much asking for a big pile of hurt and headache. Cut in edge mode instead it's much more predictable and reliable. I've never had edge mode cut freak out and try to assign the edge to an arbitrary point like it does in vert mode.

Also pay attention to the cursor when cutting it changes when you're over a vert or just an edge. If you're trying to hit a vert, wait for it to change before clicking.

dejawolf

i've had problems with cut in edge in 3ds max, and its a pain.
it looks like this:


these problems doesn't happend in orthographic views, but i haven't found the hotkey assigment for orthographic projection.

renderhjs

thats why I have split loop bound to a key and hit it like 100 times a day- I`ll clean up the edges I don't need later - never been a fan of the cut approach.

btw. are we drifting away from the real topic? I want my daily UVW portion :poly124: