BevelMan

MaxScript 0.3.0 for 3ds max 5 (09/30/2002)

It works with EditablePoly objects (with or without modifiers on the stack) in 3ds max 5 only. 

3ds max 4 is NOT supported.

• 6 MacroScripts to allow Keyboard shortcuts for all 6 menu items - New, Apply, Cancel, Group, Local and ByPoly. All found under BevelMan category (incl. the last version of the BevelMan Setup Utility!)
• Option to disable menus completely (useful when using shortcuts only to avoid display clutter)

• Setup utility (saves settings to disk under \plugcfg\BevelMan.ini )
• Enable/Disable BevelMan gizmo
• Multiple size control options for extrude gizmo 
  • Relative to Face Diagonal (old default)
  • Relative to Outline Gizmo (new default)
  • Relative to Total Object Size
  • Absolute Size in World Units
• Control over gizmo and text normal and highlight colors
• Menu items position (Start angle and offset angle)
• Gizmo offset from the face - you can have BevelMan above the move/rotate/scale gizmos now!

• First version posted

The following video shows a short preview of the BevelMan 0.1 workflow.

(ca. 4.387KB, DivX 4.11)

• To use BevelMan, you should be in Polygon (Face) mode of an Editable Poly object.
• Any number of modifiers can exist on the stack - BevelMan operated on the Base Object level.
• To activate BevelMan, press the Manipulate button on the Main Toolbar and select some polygons.
• BevelMan will build a floating UI around the FIRST polygon in the selection (the polygon with the lowest index in the PolyMesh). The complete UI can be offset from the polygon plane using the Setup Utility described later. 
• The UI consists of 
  • a Spherical Handle used to define the Height of Extrusion. The Size can be customized using the Setup Utility.
  • a Circular Handle used to define the Outline Amount of Bevel, Inset and Outline.
  • a set of 3 Buttons to control the workflow. The functions of the buttons can be assigned to keyboard shortcuts, and the display can be toggled ona nd off using the Setup Utility.
    • NEW - starts a new extrusion, sets both height and outline to 0.
    • APPLY - finishes last extrusion and starts a new one with the same parameters. 
    • CANCEL - cancels the current operation and returns to default 0 value for both Height and Outline
  • A set of 3 buttons to control the Normal mode of Bevel. The functions of the buttons can be assigned to keyboard shortcuts, and the display can be toggled ona nd off using the Setup Utility.
    • GROUP - uses a single averaged normal for the whole group
    • LOCAL - each polygon uses its own normal, but polygons stay connected.
    • BY POLY - each polygon uses its own normal, connected polygons extrude individually
• The current values of both Height and Outline will be displayed as tooltip when rolling over the manipulator elements.
• BevelMan is a perfect extension to the new polygon tools in 3ds max 5 - when the Bevel, Outline, Inset or Extrude floaters are opened, the BevelMan manipulators will adjust the respective values shown in the numeric fields. But in general, BevelMan is best used alone as it provides direct and interactive access to the same functions.

• The BevelMan Setup Utility is a MacroScript which can be located in the Customize dialog under the BevelMan category. 
• The Setup Utility has the following functions:
  • Toggle the BevelMan Gizmo on and off - when you don't want BevelMan to be displayed when in SubObject Face mode of an EPoly, turn it off.
  • Extrude Gizmo Size controls:
    • Relative to Face Diagonal - The Face diagonal is the distance from the center of the polygon to the farthest vertex. 
    • Relative to Outline Gizmo Size - The Sphere will be proportionally smaller than the Circular Gizmo and scale with it when it changes its radius.
    • Relative to Object Size - The Object Size is the Diagonal Length from the upper left corner to the lower right corner of the object's bounding box.
    • Absolute Size in World Coordinates
  • Extrude Gizmo Size Value - Depending on the type above, the value defines the relative or absolute size of the Gizmo.
  • Menu Items controls - two angle values let you position the menu items around the circle and define the distance between single controls.
  • Menu Toggle - a checkbox lets you disable the menu completely (for example when using the hotkeys only)
  • Color controls
    • Normal Gizmo color
    • Highlighted Gizmo color
    • Normal Text color
    • Highlighted Text color
  • The Copyright text is also a link to this page for quick help reference.

• All BevelMan menu functions - New, Apply, Cancel, Group, Local and ByPoly - are hotheyable now. 
• To assign Hotkeys to these functions, 
  • Go to  Customize>Customize User Interface>Keyboard and find the BevelMan category
  • Select each ActionItem in the list and assign a unique shortcut 
  • You can also assign a shortcut to the Setup Utility for quick gizmo tweaks.
• Note that you can disable the on-screen menu items using the Setup Utility if you are using the hotkeys extensively and want to avoid display cluttering

BevelMan 0.3 (current version)

• Download the ZIP.
• Unzip to your \Scripts directory.
• IMPORTANT! Copy the file to \Plugins directory or any other plug-in directory
• Remove any older versions of BevelMan!!!
• Start 3ds max 5 
• To use the Setup utility and/or shortcut commands, right-click a toolbar, select Customize UI, find "BevelManSetup" under "BevelMan" Category, drag buttons to a toolbar or assign to Keyboard shortcuts.
• Activate Manipulate mode.
• Select an EditablePoly Object, go to Polygon mode and start building!