Arranging, Selecting, and Editing an OpenFlight Scene

• Utilities panel > Utilities rollout > More button > Utilities dialog > Flight Studio > Flight Studio rollout > Modify Hierarchy/Attributes button > Hierarchy Browser dialog

The Hierarchy Browser is nonmodal: You can leave it open while you edit objects in viewports and elsewhere in the 3ds Max interface.

To view the hierarchy:

1. Import an OpenFlight file.

   See OpenFlight (FLT) Files for general information, and Importing OpenFlight (FLT) Files for a specific user-interface description.

2. Open the Flight Studio utility.
3. Click the Modify Hierarchy/Attributes button.

   This opens the Hierarchy Browser.

4. The Hierarchy window displays a single node, called Scene Root. To expand the scene graph, click the plus (+) icon to the left of Scene Root.

To select a node and all its children:

1. On the Hierarchy Browser toolbar, turn on Subtree.
2. Highlight a node by clicking its icon in the Hierarchy window.

   The node and all its children are now highlighted.

To copy a Hierarchy Browser selection to 3ds Max viewports:

1. Highlight a node or nodes in the Hierarchy window.
2. Click (Select Set).

To copy a 3ds Max viewport selection to the Hierarchy Browser:

1. Select an object or objects in 3ds Max.
2. Click (Select Get).

To change attribute values:

1. Highlight a node in the Hierarchy window by clicking its icon.
2. In the Node Attributes window, click the Value field to the right of the Attribute name.
3. Change the attribute value by typing or choosing from the drop-down list.
4. Press .

To change a node name:

1. Highlight a node in the Hierarchy window by clicking its icon.
2. Click the text of the node name.

   The name becomes an editable text field.

3. Type in the name change, then press or click outside the edit field.

To move a node in the hierarchy:

1. Highlight a node in the Hierarchy window by clicking its icon.
2. Drag the node to the name of another node that will become the parent.
3. Drop the node by releasing the mouse.

   The node you dragged is now a child of the node over which you dropped. If the parent has multiple children, the node you moved becomes the last child.

To create a new node:

1. Highlight a node in the hierarchy by clicking its icon.

   The selected node will be the parent of the new node. (To create a top-level node, first highlight Scene Root.)

2. Choose the node type from the drop-down list at the right end of the Hierarchy Browser toolbar.
3. Click Create.