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Problems Caused by U nit Settings 891
Editor or graph window, like Track V iew. After
you click, you notice an appreciable time lag until
the dialog or w indow opens. If you then attempt
to drag it to a new location, the dialog or window
does not smoothly follow your cursor.
The usual cause for this is a video driver conflict
or display configuration issue because opening
or dragging a dialog causes your graphic card to
refresh the screen. Try these steps to diagnose the
problem.
1. Start 3ds Max.
2. FromtheCustomizemenu,choosePreferences.
3. Open the Viewports panel and check the
Current Installed Driver.
Most likely , it will be set to OpenGL or
Direct3D.
4. If set to OpenGL or Direct3D, click the Cho ose
Driver button and choose Software.
The Software setting is a generic driver that
works for all video cards. It doesn’t have any
video enhancements but it ’s a good place to
begin diagnostics.
Note: If you’re switching from Direct3D, you
first have to use Revert From Direct3D before
choosing the Software configuration.
5. Click OK to close the Graphic Driver Setup
dialog.
You will be informed that you have to restart
3ds Max for the change to take affect.
6. Close t he Preferences dialog and exit 3ds Max.
7. Restart 3ds Max.
Try opening or dragging dialogs around to see
if performance has improved. If it has, do the
following:
• If the software was originally configured for
OpenGL, try configuring 3ds Max for Direct3D
and see if performance is improved. Or
vice-versa.
• Verify that your graphic card supports your
preferred display configuration choice.
Some cards do not ful ly support OpenGL or
Direct3D.
• Vis it the Web site of your graphic card
manufacturer and see if they have any newer
video drivers that you can dow nload and install.
Sluggish Command Response
Sluggish command response is closely related to
the previous situation. If you create an object such
asaBox,youmightnoticethatthecursorsuddenly
slowsdownwhenyoudragitintoaviewport.
Clicking the corners to set the length, width and
height is equally time-consuming. Once again, the
likely cause is video-related.
1. Start 3ds Max.
2. FromtheCustomizemenu,choosePreferences.
3. Open the Viewports panel and check the
Current Insta lled Dr iver.
4. Make sure you have 3ds Max configured for the
software display driver.
5. Click OK to close the Graphic Driver Setup
dialog.
You will be informed that you have to restart
3ds Max for the change to take effect.
6. Close the Preferences dialog and exit 3ds Max.
7. Restart 3ds Max.
Try using the command that was giving you
trouble and see if it works correctly now.
Problems Caused by Unit S ettings
The unit settings of a model can often get you into
trouble. Understanding some of the common
problems can help you avoid them.
This section addresses the two most common
problems that modelers encounter.